Anger Issues

thirty two

Jessica

The party was smooth. More people came but it wasn't enough to pack the place, luckily. It was really chill compared to other parties.

Finally, though, we inched closer to midnight. Austin brought him and me towards the window a few minutes in advance, so we'd get a view of the ball drop.

With a party popper in our hands, we anxiously waited as the time passed. Soon, it finally happened.

"10!"

"9!"

"8!"

"7!"

"6!"

"5!" I moved my attention from the window to Austin, to see him already looking back at me.

"4!"

"3!"

"2!"

"1!"

"Happy New year!" We all cheered, popping our poppers and blowing our horns. Confetti fell around the room, and Austin began leaning in.

Cupping his face, I said the first three words I wanted him to hear from me in the new year.

"I love you." I said, just before he connected our lips. I felt a smile sneak onto his lips as we kissed, his soft lips slowly detaching from mine.

"I love you, too," he said, softly kissing me once more.

His eyes moved from mine to behind me. "Look," he nudged his head back.
I turned around, seeing Nikki and Angelo in the back of the room, parting from their kiss.

I smiled in victory, seeing as Nikki had a huge smile on her face.

"You had a good ass plan," Austin chuckled. I nodded my head. "It went exactly like it should've."

I looked out the window, only to see confetti still falling to the ground in the crowds of people below.

The ball and the buildings were blasting with multicolored lights, fading from one color to another as the people looked around, happily.

--

More time had passed. Austin went over to the snack table, and Nikki quickly approached me.

"Did he kiss you?" I asked, pretending not to know. She nodded her head, squealing with excitement, proceeding to throw her arms around me.

"Where is he?" I asked. "He went to the- oh," she cut herself off, calming herself down. "He was in the bathroom, he's back," she said. I turned around, seeing him look around for Nikki.

"Go, go!" I encouraged her by softly pushing her towards him. The smile hadn't left her face the entire time she walked over to him, and only grew as they started talking again.

Austin made his way back to me, handing me a cup and keeping one for himself.

Taking a sip, the taste of the champagne lingered in my mouth. Unlike serious alcohol, this tasted good.

Austin

"Did you drive here?" Jess asked as we sat on the large couch. I nodded my head, bringing the cup to my lips, only to be stopped.

"Don't drink this," she said. "It's fine, babe," I smiled, reaching for it again. "Please, I don't want to risk anything," she said.

Her soft eyes stared into mine, forcing me to agree, even though I didn't want to.

"You can share mine, just don't have too much," she said, handing me her cup.

A soft laugh escaped my mouth before I took her cup, and drank a little bit.

As the minutes passed, we switched conversations between each other and other people around the apartment. The TV was still showing the area and excitement while we did so.

"When are you leaving?" Jess grabbed my attention, looking up from her phone. I shrugged. "Whenever you are," I said. She nodded her head, typing a response to a text before putting down her phone.

"Is everything okay?" I asked. "Yeah, Noah's going to be here within the hour," she explained.

While we talked within our group, Nikki and Angelo made their way in.

"This is Jessica, and this is her boyfriend, Austin. Guys, this is Angelo," Nikki introduced us. As a natural instinct, I put my hand out and clapped it with his, whereas Jess went for a simple wave and smile.

We talked for a while. He was chill, but actually not. In reality, he ended up being the biggest dickhead I've ever met.