The Gift of Nothing | ✓

Resolutions

Chapter 15 | Resolutions

New Year's Eve was definitely eventful for me. Maria Santiago was going to throw a party, and she practically invited everyone. My friends and boyfriend -- that was still different to say -- would be going and this time, we didn't care about who saw us together. It was time to stop hiding our friendship and embrace it, as cheesy as that sounded.

We had a few hours to spare. The whole day was spent with each other, like always.

I was next to Reece on the couch, who put his arm around my shoulders and pulled me closer. I could hear Lizzy and Kate gushing about us from the other couch, and I noticed Luke grin from his lone chair. And speaking of them, the three were so supportive and it just made me -- and Reece, I'm sure -- glad to have them as friends.

I was afraid of what they'd think. Reece and I just liked each other too easily.

That led to another fear of mine. We fell in like too quickly, but what if we had a fall out just as fast?

I looked at Reece, who was intently watching TV before glancing back at me with a soft smile. The gesture was reasurring because it reminded me of the present. He was here now and that was the only thing that really mattered.

The clock read: 8:04 P.M. The five of us wouldn't get ready and leave until ten, the latest. And since we didn't have to do anything until then, we would continue watching The Big Bang Theory.

It had been calling for our attention for a little while now.

~*~*~*~

Sometime later, we dressed up more decently.

Lizzy and I didn't glamor ourselves like Kate did. We stuck with a t-shirt and an army jacket for myself and a large Barbie jumper for Lizzy. Kate, on the other hand, put effort into her outfit, claiming that it was the last day of the year to look nice. She curled her hair and wore a black dress with nude pumps, looking gorgeous as always.

We went downstairs to see Reece leaning against a wall, and Luke on his phone.

"Took you guys long enough," Luke said, eyes lighting up when he saw Kate, "Looking wonderful as always, babe."

Reece let out a small laugh and reached for my hand, "You look like yourself."

"Gee, thanks," I sarcastically said.

The five of us actually walked there, seeing that Kate lived down the block from Maria. We arrived a few minutes later, 'fashionably' late. I scoffed at that.

But in all honestly, the house looked great. It was almost pitch black inside, aside from a few glowing neon colors. It probably took Maria a lot of effort trying to make the house look perfect, and put all the expensive things somewhere safe.

Maria was at the door when we came in, greeting everyone with a smile. She was automatically next to Reece, though, when she laid her brown eyes on him.

"What are you doing here?" Maria asked, looking me up and down. Her eyes slid over to Lizzy and then Kate and Luke, realizing that I came with them.

"Partying at a party," I countered, "Where everyone's invited, of course."

"Hmmph," Maria turned to Reece with a sickly sweet smile, "At least I'll be spending time with Reece-y here."

"Uh, one, my name's Reece. Two, I'm gonna spend some time with my friends and girlfriend."

"Girlfriend?" She pouted, "Who?"

"You were talking to her not too long ago." Maria didn't catch on immediately, but once she saw Reece grabbing my hand, a lightbulb went off.

"Her? You're dating her of all people? She's a freakish loner and you're the bad boy. That's not fair."

"Hun," I said in a clipped tone, "Life isn't fair."

"Besides, loners and bad boys aren't so far off in the spectrum of life," Reece squeezed my hand, to which I returned, "It doesn't matter anyway because the five of us are going to break the stereotypes."

Maria stomped away, absolutely outraged. I didn't know when she would learn, but life was far from being a stroll in the park. It threw hurricanes and floods and every natural disaster at a person, but the key point was to tread on. I hoped she learned that soon.

It had taken me a little while to accept that, too.

"C'mon, Chance. Let's go have fun."

~*~*~*~

Plenty of dancing went on for everyone here. The house was packed, and that was saying a lot since the place was huge. There were the glowing colors everywhere, now painted on bodies and the clothes of some people. There were even glow-in-the-dark stars, which were also pretty cool against the darkness.

Music pulsed through the room, numbing me with enjoyment. Centuries by Fall Out Boy was currently playing, and everyone was singing along while jumping to the beat.

I was with Reece, having fun, just as he promised. Luke and Kate weren't too far off, and Lizzy was talking to one of her school friends farther away, holding a cupcake in her hand. They seemed like they were living in the moment, forgetting about the past for one night.

It was close to midnight, probably five or six minutes away. I couldn't help but think about the approaching minutes, blending into another year.

As midnight came closer, the hype grew even louder.

I thought of a story I heard of while back from my parents, and how they fell deeply in love. A kiss on the brink of a New Year. They told me how it created it stronger bond with one's lover, that it would make another year of a good relationship. Or that someone would be willing to spend the rest of their life with who they kissed.

"Five!" The voices cheered, merged into a single tone.

"Four!"

I draped my arms on Reece's shoulders, and he put his hands on my waist.

"Three!"

Reece was someone I was willing to risk my feelings with.

"Two!"

"One!"

I pressed my lips to Reece's, long and sweet and full of smiles and drunken love. Everything sounded distant, even the, "Yeah, baby! New year, new me!" that someone had shouted, stirring up some laughter. It was just the two of us in the world.

And the events leading up to the moment I gave Reece my full trust was unexpected. I thought it would be a longer, carefully built-up confession. But truly, it was a sloppy, spur-of-the-moment decision.

"Reece," I mumbled, my forehead against his own. My fingers were tangled with his soft caramel locks of hair, and I felt like I was on fire, "My name is Park Louise Chancellor."
________________________

LOVE ME MORE!

THIS BOOK IS ALMOST DONE, GUYS. ;-;

THE NEXT CHAPTER WILL BE THE LAST.

BUT STAY TUNED FOR AN EPILOGUE AND MAYBE SOME BONUS CHAPTERS (HAVEN'T DECIDED).