karaoke ➸ janthony

two

HIS head hanging low, Anthony reaches out of his coat pocket to grip the freezing door handle of the familiar coffee shop. After an eventful night of drinking, singing, and flirting, Anthony's headache was so bad he wanted to die. The next best thing from death was definitely a steaming cup of hot chocolate.

Anthony glances up and inhales the sweet smell of Christmas, it being December, and looks around the cafe. The barista smiles sweetly and her huge head of curly hair just causes images of Anthony and Jasmine singing against each other the previous night to pop in his head ; he needs to see that stubborn girl again, if it's the last thing he ever does.

The employee, her name tag so scratched Anthony can't even decipher it, smiles, "hi, what can I get you?"

"A hot chocolate, please." Anthony grins, not thinking he could possibly wait the few minutes it will take to prepare the drink.

"What are you, two?"

Anthony whips around to see none other than Jasmine - the girl from last night. She's wearing black leggings and a huge Christmas sweater covers her top half. She looks like a big teddy bear and Anthony just wants to hug her. "What're you doing here?"

"I'm sorry, I didn't realize this was a place only for you," She laughs half heartedly. "This is a public coffee shop, can I not be here?"

"No, of course you can, it just sort of shocked me." Anthony furrows his eyebrows and the barista calls his name. He stands up and straightens his camel colored coat a bit before rushing up to the employee and grabbing the hot chocolate from her hands. "Thank you." He drops a dollar bill into the tip jar.

Anthony heads towards the front door to leave, but before he steps back into the dropping temperatures of New York City, Anthony pauses. Without a second thought, he whips out his cell phone and dials the only persons number he can think of at the moment. The call rings three times and Anthony groans, knowing he most likely won't be up at this time.

Finally, a grumpy voice spits into the cell phone, "what do you want?"

"Good morning to you too, Daveed," Anthony chuckles, looking over his shoulder at Jasmine as she lightly laughs at something the barista says. She hands over her credit card and when the employee finishes swiping it, Jasmine places it back down in her wallet. "I need help, like, urgent help."

"This early? I love you, Anthony, but not this much." Daveed huffs and puffs as she leans up in bed, rubbing his eyes on the other line. "What do you want? I mean, I guess I'm awake now."

"Jasmine is here."

"Who?"

"Gosh, Daveed, you never pay attention," Anthony thinks back to the previous night ; surely, Daveed was hollering at anything any person said and continued to order drink after drink. He most likely doesn't remember Jasmine and the entire karaoke ordeal, anyways. "Never mind. I just need to man up and handle this myself."

As soon as he ends the phone call, Anthony realizes Jasmine is already rushing towards the glass door in an attempt to leave. "Wait!" Anthony says, but the bell hanging on top of the exit door is already ringing and Jasmine is already stalking down the sidewalk, farther from Anthony with every step she takes.

-

Oak taps his fingertips against the glass coffee table, looking over at his best friend and shrugging his shoulders. "Anthony, you need to stop thinking about her."

"How can I?" Anthony groans, rubbing his temple in complete annoyance. After seeing Jasmine yet again and not having the courage to talk to her is just going to bug him for the rest of his life. "She's the most gorgeous girl I've ever seen in my entire life and I lost my chance to talk to her. I can't just go out partying again, she won't leave my mind."

"It's been a few hours, of course she won't leave your mind." Oak huffs, standing up and straightening out his clothes. "We need to go somewhere - like, the Christmas tree light up! It's tonight! Anthony, we have to go."

"No."

"Are you kidding me?" Oak rolls his eyes, knowing that he's just saying that. It's a tradition that Oak and Anthony always go with each other to see the huge Christmas tree in Times Square being lit up. It's such a beautiful moment and the best friends love experiencing it together annually, and this girl isn't going to change that for Oak.

Anthony huffs when realizing how disappointed and sad his best friend is. That's there one tradition and he just declined just because of a girl he's probably never going to see again. "Y-you're right. I need to get out of this house. Let's get ready."

Thirty minutes pass and the guys are heading towards Time Square side by side. Anthony's fists are shoved in his jacket pockets in an attempt to hide them from the dropping temperatures, and it's not really effective. Oak rubs his arms as a shiver creeps down his spine.

The two guys rush up the stairs of the subway station and the first thing they see is magnificent. The gigantic Christmas tree is littered with different colored ornaments, and everybody is gathered around it. In the fifteen minute subway ride, small snow flurries began to fall. Anthony glances around and inhales the sweet smell of peppermint.

"C'mon," Oak ushers Anthony over to a not so crowded section and they wait. The sky gets darker and they're having a nice conversation about how girls shouldn't matter and they need to make a promise that no girls will get in the way of their 'bro time.'

Just as the Christmas tree lighting up for the first time in the year is about to happen, Anthony looks over and pauses when seeing a familiar group of three girls. He never in a million years would've guessed he would have seen them again, considering how crowded New York City is.

Jasmine Cephas Jones, and her friend group, are looking up at the big tree and taking many photos of it on their cell phones. Jasmine is leaning against a concrete wall, waiting under a small shop to get away from the snow. There are already little flakes of ice in her curly hair, and on the reflection of her cute, nerdy glasses, and Anthony is swooning over her.

"What are you looking at?" Oak asks, turning to where Anthony is staring and he jumps at the sudden voice. When Oak sees Jasmine about twenty feet away, his jaw drops and he glares at his best friend. "Are you kidding me? Of course! This was supposed to be a guys night and she just had to be here, didn't she? Why are you just staring at her?"

Anthony's face flush red and he stutters, "I-I wasn't staring! I was looking at somebody behind her!"

"Anthony, she's standing against a wall."

A loud voice on a microphone causes both guys to jump, and Anthony turns around to see a woman talking into a mic about the history of the tree and how important it is to New York City. And, with one click of a button, every single light on the huge Christmas tree is lit up.

The reflection of the lights goes on every bodies faces, and Anthony turns to see Jasmines face. She looks up, ice littering her porcelain skin, and a huge smile covers almost her entire face. She looks like the happiest girl in the entire world, just from a few hundred lights on one Christmas tree and it hurts Anthony's heart. He needs to go say something.

||

hey! its michaela, and I wrote this part! it isn't the best thing I've ever written, but I truly am proud of kirsty and I so far.

don't be scared to give criticism, for I know my writing can be improved! thank you!