Fixing Us || l.h

Chapter Fourteen**

^^ New Year's Eve performance above

I strike my final pose, breathing hard as the music ended. "Thank you guys so much!" I shout, looking out at the thousands of people currently in Times Square. "Hope everyone has a happy New Year!" I conclude, making my way off the stage where Luke was waiting with my coat. I gladly shrug it on, then check the time. We had about half an hour until New Year's Eve.

"That was amazing, Dylan!" Luke shouts above the noise of the crowd as Taylor's announced, the screams getting louder. I give Luke a thankful smile, turning when someone taps me on the shoulder. It's someone working for the event, ushering me over to a lady holding a microphone to interview us after the performance. 

We watch Taylor perform, the crowd going crazy. The song ends and the camera in front of us turns, now focused on us. "I'm here, minutes away from midnight, with two people the world has been begging to get back together; Dylan Ryan and Luke Hemmings. Are you two excited for a new year?" She asks, pointing the mic in our direction. I laugh, smiling, "I'm beyond excited, this year brings my first tour, new friendships, new places, it's going to be very exciting!" I state, glancing at Luke. He leans toward the mic, "As Dylan said, new friendships, new places, a second world tour to open on, the opportunities are endless. I'm incredibly thankful for everything the last few years have given me to be able to be in a position like this."

"Sounds like a great year ahead of you two, now, if you didn't have to be here to perform and everything, what do you think you'd be doing?" She asks. This time, Luke laughs, leaning forward again. "Sleeping." That gets a laugh out of the surrounding people and everyone looks to me, "as much as I would also love to say sleeping, I'd most likely still be here in the crowd, My brothers have taken me for years to celebrate the new years with the ball dropping, so I've watched it live a lot. I've gotten to witness beautiful proposals and dramatic kisses, it's my favorite thing, which isn't super common for a New Yorker." I laugh, the lady nodding.

"Speaking of kisses, will you two be kissing tonight?" We had already discussed this question during rehearsals, deciding this would be when we would announce that we are back together. Luke squeezes my hand and I look up at him before back at the camera. "You'll just have to wait and find out," I say with a shrug, the interviewer turning to the camera again. "We'll be sure to keep at least one camera on them while the ball drops to see if that kiss happens." She says with a laugh, the cameraman spinning around to get the final performance.

Miley Cyrus performs, and now we're a minute from midnight. Luke squeezes my hand again, the camera turning back to us. The countdown begins, and Luke grins down at me, bumping me with his elbow. At 30 seconds, I turn to face Luke, unable to hide the smile growing on my lips. At 20 seconds, he pulls me closer, the crowd screaming around us. "10! 9! 8!" Luke starts to bend down, his face centimeters from mine. The countdown almost seems to grow quieter, Luke pressing his lips to mine. I wrap my arms around his neck, pulling him closer. I hear the fireworks go off as the crowd screams Happy New Year, but I'm only focused on Luke. 

He pulls apart just barely, mumbling a quick 'Happy New Year' before kissing me again, his arms around my body pulling me closer to him. I pull us apart, knowing they want more questions answered. "Happy New Year," I tell him, slowly turning toward the camera. "That was quite the kiss." The crowd screams in response, Luke and I laughing. "But it seems that Luke wasn't the only 5SOS boy who got a kiss tonight." She adds, my eyebrows raising in surprise. She shows us a video of Calum kissing a girl, her dark hair cascading down her back. They pull apart and I recognize Katie, making me smile. The next video was Ashton, dramatically dipping Kiera and kissing her, both of them giggling as they come back up. Michael has the final video, kissing a girl who seemed vaguely familiar, but I couldn't put my finger on it. "Looks like this year might be a busy year for you boys, between the tour and dating, I wish you all luck!" She turns to the camera. "I'm signing off for the night, I hope everyone has a safe and great new year!"

We get the good-to-go to leave, and we wander through the crowd to find the other boys. We run into Ashton first, who introduces us to Kiera. They both look as tired as I felt, Kiera leaning on Ashton. We all go find the other two, finding Michael alone grinning to himself. "So," I bump my hip into Michael. "Who was she?" I urge, eager to see who it was that he kissed. "Just a random girl." He shrugs, putting his hands in his pockets. "Nuh-uh, I need more than that." "Really, she was just a random girl." He pulls his phone out quickly, reads whatever is on the screen, and smiles before putting it away before I could see. I narrow my eyes at him, shaking my head. "I'm watching you, mister," I warn, catching up with Luke.

We finally find Cal, who was talking with Katie off to the side of the crowd. I give her a wave, introducing myself.

"Hotel?" Ashton asks, looking around at all of us. I nod, and we walk across the traffic of people, now incredibly thankful that we got a hotel in Times Square. My feet could not take these heeled boots much longer. The blast of heat hits us as we enter the vestibule, my body physically releasing the tension of trying to stay warm. I pull off my gloves, bending my fingers to get the circulation going in them again.

We get into the elevator, going to the 36th floor. "Thanks for being here to support me, guys," I say, looking around at everyone. "'Course, this is huge, and it's you're first true performance! We'll always support you!" Ashton tells me. I smile, leaning against Luke. He wraps his arm around me. "If any of us do this again, maybe request Miami or LA, just a thought. A very, very warm thought." Calum says, making us all laugh.

"Can't argue with you there, it just had to be the coldest day of the year tonight." I laugh as the door opens. We go to our respective rooms, Luke falling back into my bed while I go to the bathroom to take my makeup off. "Don't get your crowd germs all over the bed, I just got better." I plead, peeking out at him as I take my eye makeup off. He sighs but sits up, taking off his coat and putting it on the couch. I wash my face and run a brush through my hair, and Luke is half asleep in bed already. I grab water from the mini-fridge, drinking it while I scroll through social media. I'm tagged in photos and videos of Luke and me kissing, and everyone is freaking out.

Luke's arms wrap around my waist, pulling me toward him. We cuddle until I fall asleep, his body heat warming me up quickly.