Spy School High School (Highschool AU) [ONGOING]

09. On the 12th day of Christmas, my true love gave to me...

I got Home Alone nostalgia while writing this chapter.

December 31, 2019

During the new two weeks, changes spread throughout town. Residents decorated their houses with lights, christmas trees, and more. The lawns that sidelined the streets were usually ripe green, but today they were covered in fluffy, white snow. Individuals walking on the sidewalks only stopped to enter their favorite coffee shop to get a nice, warm Hot Chocolate. They escaped the warmth of the shop a few minutes later, and continued walking down the sidewalk, rubbing their gloves along the outside of the cup to warm their hands. A calendar sitting on the inside windowsill of a house was barely visible, due to the dew that had accommodated on the window, but from the inside, it was very clear what date it was. It was December 31, New Year's Eve.

On the west side of town, Ben was just waking up. To celebrate Christmas and New Year's, the school had given them a one week break. So not exactly Winter Vacation, but just enough to relax a bit. Ben yawned, stretching his arms as he got up. He walked over to the bathroom while rubbing his eyes, only bumping into the wall once, before grabbing hold of the door knob and walking in. He got ready quickly. After that, he walked out of the bathroom and to the window near his bed. He watched as kids ran out of their houses, grabbing their friends and starting snowball fights with one another. Ben chuckled as he watched them. Just then, his phone rang. He picked it up.

"Hello?" Ben asked.

"Happy New Years Eve!" Mike said, almost shouted, into the phone. Ben laughed at his enthusiasm.

"Same to you. What's up?" Ben asked.

"So Jay is throwing a New Years Party, and pretty much everybody in school will be there, and he asked me to ask you if you were free, so..." Mike let Ben figure out what he was asking.

"Um....give me one second," Ben said, walking over to his calendar. "So I don't have anything today, so ya, I'm down."

"Great! So, see you there?" Mike asked.

"Yeah sure," Ben said. Mike hung up.

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That evening, Ben got his mom to drop him off at the address Mike had texted him. He got out of the car slowly, absorbing every single detail.  It was what he hoped it would be and more. There were rainbow streamers hanging from pots and strings around the lawn. There were balloons in guests' hands, tied to ropes, and some floating away in the air. Ben turned to say bye to his mom, and after that he tentatively took a step onto the lawn. Ben then walked around the lawn, getting a feel of the mood, and greeting people he knew. After a few minutes, he headed towards the open front door of Jay's house. He took off his shoes, and stepped inside. 

The inside of the house was very much alive. Some people sat in groups play various group games, while others just stood talking, with cans of soda in their hands. Ben walked back and forth, looking for Mike, until finally he found him, talking to Zoe and a few other people Ben didn't recognize. Ben approached next to Mike. He was about to say something, when he was slapped on the back by Jay. Ben winced.

"Glad you could make it Ben!" Jay said, wrapping an arm around Ben's shoulders.

"Same," Ben said, smiling. Jay removed this arm. Ben rubbed his back.

"You have to stop doing that," Ben said.

"Nah," Jay said. Ben sighed. Jay walked away for a second. By this time, Mike had noticed Ben.

"Hey!" Mike said.

"Hi Ben!" Zoe exclaimed.

"Hello," Ben said, greeting both of them. Ben heard a noise behind him, and he turned around to see Jayden coming back.

"Well, there's some games going on around. Go play a few, and have fun. I'll be back in a few," Jay said, before walking away.

"Oh, let's play that one!" Zoe said, pointing to a game at the corner of the room. Mike and Ben followed her as she walked over, and started playing.

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Halfway through the night, at around 10, Jay pulled Ben aside for a second.

"What is it?" Ben asked, confused.

"There's someone I want you to meet," Jay said, smirking for a second but stopping before Ben could notice.

"Okay..." Ben said slowly.

"They're near the entrance. I have to go to do something, so bye!" Jay said, before practically skipping off. Ben was confused to say the least, but he still walked over to the entrance, where there was supposedly somebody to meet. Ben walked to the front of the house, and rounded the last corner, when he bumped into somebody. They immediately backed up a few steps. Ben looked to see who it was, but froze when he realized he knew them.

"E....Er...Erica???"

"No, my name is Kate. I just moved here," Erica said sarcastically.

"But...what are you doing here!" Ben said in a bit more of an accusation than a question. Erica glared at him.

"I have a life, you know," Erica said in protest. "Jayden asked me to come. I had nothing to do today, so I did."

"But..." Ben continued.

"Anyways I have to go, bye." And with that, Erica walked off into the kitchen, and disappeared. Ben tried to comprehend what had just happened.

"Oh no..." Ben said slowly, finally coming to his senses. At was at this moment, that he knew. He messed up.

"Ugghhhh!" Ben said. He sighed and walked back into the living room to join Mike and Zoe. He tried to enjoy himself as much as he could.

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The party continued as the clock neared midnight. A few people left, but most of the people stayed. At 11:55 PM, Jayden made an announcement.

"Please come into the Living Room. We have a live countdown until Near Year, with 5 minutes left!" Jayden announced. And sure enough, there was a timer on the screen, showing 4 minutes and 30 seconds left. 

The guests gathered around quickly, with just under 4 minutes left. 

At around 3 minutes and 30 seconds left, a song started playing from the TV. Ben recognized it as the song from Home Alone, called Somewhere in my Memory. As the song continued playing, the timer counted down.

1 minute....

30 seconds...

15 seconds...

10 seconds...

Then finally 10 seconds...

"9...8...7...6...5," the crowd starting counting down.

"5..."

"4..."

"3..."

There was some movement behind Ben, like somewhere trying to make their way through the crowd, to Ben.

"2..."

Ben, noticing the movement, turned around and saw what was going on. The final few beats of the song played.

"1..."

"Eric-" Ben started, but Erica cut him off.

With a kiss.

Dingggg!!!! The timer clicked to 0, signaling the start of a brand, new year.

Hope you enjoyed the chapter!

- Cookie