With Extreme Prejudice, Julia. [Weak Hero Fanfic]

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Lily didn't usually drink. There were only two times she could recall drinking. Once was when she was 15. She, Julia, and Lala had been invited to a bonfire party hosted by Jack Kang on New Year's Eve. No one was going to say no to one of the most undisputedly popular high schoolers. He had a bottle of jack and it was only the obvious thing to follow his lead--never mind Lily had never tried alcohol before. She chugged a bottle of vodka right when the clock hit twelve. A new year. A new era. A new Lily.

Or maybe not. She couldn't say she enjoyed the experience. It tasted like liquid fire and not in a good way. Her throat burned and her eyes watered. But her friends were tearing up too and laughing about it, because how lucky were they to be invited to such a cool party? There was smoke, and alcohol, and attractive guys. There was Jack Kang, who apparently knew they existed. What was a little inflammation when they were given a chance to be one of those people?

Well, Lily was over it. It wasn't like Jack was going to date any of them and the newly-falling snow was biting at her skin. She should've just stayed home and buried herself in her sketchbook. A blanket and a cup of tea afterwards sounded heavenly at that moment.

Lily bid her friends goodbye and trudged to the bus stop a ways away from the bonfire site. She entered a nearby 7/11 and bought a cup of cocoa. It wasn't tea but it would do. As long as she was far away from the party, Lily could indulge in the illusion she was home.

In truth, Lily didn't even know if the buses to take her home ran that late. They were probably out of commission, seeing as it was New Years', but that didn't stop her from standing in the frigid air and waiting anyway. It was cold but the alcohol, mixed with her cocoa, was spreading warmth through her system. It wasn't an entirely unpleasant feeling.

A few minutes later, someone else joined her at the bus stop. She hid her face in her scarf and nervously sipped from her cup when she realized it was Jack Kang's friend: Jimmy Bae. He had apparently ditched the party too. She relaxed, no longer worried she might be abducted.

Neither of them acknowledged the other for a while, the space between them cultivating a strange feeling of camaraderie among deserters. He shivered and Lily felt for him. January 1st was not a good day to go without a sweater. The snow from earlier was coming down heavy and they were both covered in layers of frost.

Out of the blue, he glanced at her and asked "Is that any good?"

She startled, not expecting him to start a conversation. "W-what?"

He blinked. "The cocoa."

She peered down at the drink in her possession and smiled. "Oh...yeah, it's delicious."

"Lemme try." He snatched the foam cup from her hands and took a long swig of her hot chocolate. She could only stare in disbelief as he finished off all of it within seconds and aimed the cup into the bus stop's trash can with perfect precision. Then he smiled at her and let out a short burp, satisfied. "It was good."

She sputtered and thumped him on the arm. "Hey, no! That was mine! You can't just--"

He smothered her protests, placing a glove over her mouth, wearing a mildly amused expression. "Pipe down, Goldilocks, you'll wake up all the midnight freakshows. If you want another one so badly, I'll buy it for you."

So she ended up waiting next to Jimmy Bae in the 7/11 as he fumbled with the hot cocoa machine with minimal success and maximum rage. He ended up kicking (and breaking) the machine out of frustration and buying her a bag of crisps as replacement restitution. He shoved the lime-flavored chips into her hands and their fingers briefly made contact.

"Eat it or whatever. I don't care."

He wasn't meeting her eyes, but Lily did detect a faint blush. Or maybe it was just the alcohol from the party.