Everything Seventeen

Vernon (New Year Special)

"Here we are!" my friend announced.

The festival venue for the New Year Countdown was pretty cool. There was a variety of stalls ranging from food to games. There were bright fairy lights everywhere that contrasted with the dark midnight blue sky. There was the sound of people chattering layered over the dancey beats of the music blasted from speakers scattered throughout the place.

The only downfall? It was crowded. I had a hard enough time getting here via the packed trains. It was even more crowded here. I had to hold tight to my friends when we travelled in the crowd. We went to several stalls to get some grub before heading to the stage where some artists would be performing.

I trailed behind my friends at the back of the line we made. We slithered through the crowd to get to the stage. My hands were full of food and belongings so I had to follow closely behind them. It was going smoothly, just me keeping my eyes on my friend's back and following her. We were almost out the other end when a large muscular man cut through to get to another stall with his friends that I lost sight of my friends. I started panicking and blood rushed through my veins. I quickly headed in a generally forward direction. I made it out of the crowd and finally saw the stage but...

My friends were nowhere to be found. I looked around. If I called them, they would not be able to hear it over this noise. There was a big enough crowd gathered at the stage, the speakers blasted music so loudly and people were pouring in so quickly, making it difficult to even attempt searching for them.

I gave up searching and strolled out of the venue and to the quiet, abandoned beach where I could still have a glimpse of the stage and fireworks. I sat on one of the large rocks there. I stared out at the sea and took a bite of my crispy churro.

"Hey um excuse me, Miss?" a male voice called out from behind me.

I turned around to see a boy my age. He was good-looking. No joke. I almost choked on my food. I wiped my mouth briefly.

"H-hi there," I stuttered.

He came nearer to me and asked if he could join me. Of course, I let him. Apparently, he also lost his friends here at the festival. Well, lucky me.

"What's your name?" he asked as he settled down next to me on the rock.

"Carat," I answered him with a grin.

"That's a beautiful name. I'm Vernon," he introduced himself.

We kicked it off from there and we clicked together pretty well. We even shared the pile of food we got from the stalls prior to losing our friends. A reminder that we just met a few minutes ago. Despite that, I felt fuzzy on the inside and it was not just because he was good-looking. It was beyond that. I could have a racing heart due to a handsome person but it was definitely more than just that if I was feeling warm and comfortable around him even although I just met him. I felt myself fall deeper for him every passing minute.

"I'm sorry. I have a slow reaction time so I may take awhile to get your jokes and laugh," he apologised out of the blue, smiling sheepishly.

"It's ok! Everyone's different. I'll keep in mind to give you an extra 3 seconds to get my jokes," I said to him sincerely.

After hearing what I said, he had a few seconds where his smile dropped and he stared at me before he picked up his smile yet again. However, this time, he put on a bigger smile. It made my heart skip a beat.

A distinct loud cheer erupted. I looked over at the stage and I saw the screen had gotten brighter but I could not see what was shown. I checked my phone. It was a minute to the next year. I jumped in joy and tapped Vernon's shoulder several times, pointing to the time on my phone. Now that I paid attention to the stage, I could hear briefly what the emcee was saying.

"You know what goes down when the clock strikes 12, right?" a woman's voice resonated from the speakers.

The crowd cheered. Oh crap. I looked at Vernon and he quickly looked away. He seemed pretty flustered. I was too.

"Have you had your first kiss yet?" I asked him, playing with my fingers.

"Yeah, I have. You?" he answered.

"Nope. I've been hopelessly single," I chuckled lightly.

The crowd started counting down from 10.

"Do you mind?" he asked.

7

6

"Mind what?"

4

"Me being your first."

2

1

"Not at all," I smiled.

There was a loud whistle before an explosion. My phone's alarm for 12 am rung. It was the new year alright. He cupped my cheeks and leaned forward. Just as the fireworks went off, he kissed me. More fireworks went off within the kiss. His lips were gentle with mine. It seemed just too right. Soon, he pulled away with a grin.

"Happy New Year, Carat."