The Switch / Shourtney

Chapter Seventeen: New Year's Eve

December 31st, 2017 – January 1st, 2018

Christmas break had been great. It was nice to spend time away from the office and clear my head. I had spent Christmas itself with my family and had flown back to LA on the 30th. Tonight, we had an office party for new years at Ian's place. Everyone who was back in town was coming, cast and crew included. I had also invited Sophia to come with me. We had been dating for a couple months now and she had mentioned wanting to meet my friends. I knew that a lot of people were bringing their partners and I thought it would be a good opportunity to introduce her to everyone.

We walked through the door and were immediately greeted by Ian who was wearing a very corny party hat that said 2018 on it in large gold letters.

"Shayne!" he exclaimed, "Glad you could make it."

"Of course man," I replied grinning. I introduced him to Sophia and she ducked her head shyly, telling him he had a beautiful home.

We made our way into the main area where most of the cast and crew were already milling about, talking and drinking. I grabbed Sophia's hand and made my way towards Damien, Boze, Keith, and Noah who were standing by the snack table.

"Shanye!" Keith called, slapping me in the shoulder.

I introduced Sophia to them as well. She was starting to warm up to them and even made a few jokes. I was glad that she was feeling comfortable, and was happy it was going well. I always felt awkward introducing girls I dated to my friends, and worried that it would feel forced, but this was going very smoothly. I found myself smiling, one hand on Sophia's lower back, until I noticed a certain blond heading towards our group and I felt my stomach sink through my toes again.

"Hey guys, happy New Years!" She grinned, bouncing up to us and coming to a stop next to Boze. She turned to Sophia and stuck out her hand. "You must be Sophia. Hi, I'm Courtney."

Smiling politely Sophia took her hand and shook it.

"So you're, Courtney, I've heard a lot about you."

"Good things I hope," Courtney grinned nervously.

"Oh don't worry, nothing too bad." Sophia joked.

I felt myself blush, had I mentioned her too often? But then Damien made a joke about something and Boze said something ridiculous and the conversation moved on. I felt myself start to relax again as my friends continued to speak. I pushed any confusing thoughts I had out of my mind and tried to enjoy the party and the company.

* * *

I was having a great time with my friends. They all seemed to like Sophia and it was great to catch up with everyone and hear about their holidays. We all spent so much of our time together that it had been weird not seeing each other for the past week.

Courtney had been telling me a hilarious story about how her younger brother had knocked over the Christmas tree when I realized that I hadn't seen Sophia in a little while. I excused myself from my friends to see where she had gotten off to. After checking the kitchen and dining room, I caught a glimpse of her brown hair outside the window and I headed out the door to see what she was doing.

I found her standing at the edge of the drive way, arms wrapped around herself against the cool breeze.

"Hey, where'd you go?" I asked

Without looking back at me, she answered, "I didn't think you'd notice."

Her voice was cold. I was confused, and dread filled my stomach as I walked up to stand next to her.