The World As We Know It

Chapter 6: New Years Eve Champange

Art Credit: huxidools on Instagram
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Trigger Warning : Domestic abuse
Hotline number: 1-800-799-7233 (US only)

A note on trigger warnings in TWAWKI: As I changed the books rating to mature, this fanfic will include some trigger warning. I will ALWAYS warn about possible trigger warnings in the notes before the chapter starts. In the actual chapter, I will in include asterisks (this symbol *) at the beginning and end of the trigger warning scene. Today's trigger warning is pretty vague, as I will make most of them out to be, but please stay safe and proceed with your caution! As always a number to call will always be included.
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Through the cracked glass door of the balcony, the smell of cigarette smoke wafted into the room, making Yelena cringe at the all too familiar scent. The fumes had been hanging around the room for a while, the source coming from Bianca and her friends, socializing and smoking as they hung outside on the balcony.

Bianca had graciously offered Yelena a cigarette of her own before she had gone outside, but Yelena had naturally declined. She wasn't fond of cigarettes at all, and with their toxic taste and fumes, Yelena wasn't willing to try them. She much rather stay inside and plainly enjoy the party around her, preferring sips of champagne over puffs of chemicals.

Like always when it came to the holiday season, Bianca was willing to throw a party every occasion, including one for the holiday happening today. While it was slow at first, Bianca's New Years Eve party was starting to gain some traction, with the majority of guests arriving fashionably late as expected.

The original time of the party was set for one hour earlier, but because of the nature of this holiday, the city was filled with traffic from the influx of tourists. Yelena had tried to beat the traffic herself by leaving beforehand, but the commute was still horrible despite it being early on in the evening.

Despite all the traffic, Yelena still was one of the first few people to arrive at the party, along with a few other employees who were trying to make a good impression. Even with the party being held at the top floor of the office building, the guest list wasn't strictly forced on having a job at Diamond Corp. Bianca had invited her rich socialite friends as well, creating a true hodgepodge of people attending the party.

At the current moment, the party was starting to fill up with people, but that didn't mean Yelena had anyone in specific to talk to. Her one connection to new people was still out on the balcony, and without her, Yelena wasn't about to go socializing on her own.

Yelena always had company employees to converse with, but she much preferred to keep things work professional, finding no use in making relations with anyone working underneath her. And while Bianca's friends were anything but work related, Yelena could find them a little too pretentious for her taste.

She was perfectly fine with being by herself at the moment, relaxing at the less populated corner of the room, enjoying the city skyline view she saw through the balcony. Bianca and her friends were mostly blocking it as they chatted on the rooftops, but that was a problem that clearly would last long. With the cold temperatures out tonight, they could only last as long as their cigarettes, especially with their glitzy party dresses.

Once their cigarettes turned to ash, Bianca had led the group back inside, bringing cold winter air and traces of cigarette smoke with them. While most of her friends were focused on warming up, Bianca was more interested in greeting her recently arrived guests, quickly ditching her old group for the newly formed one at the center of the party.

Unlike her other group from before, Yelena was actually familiar with a few faces standing in the crowd, recognizing a shareholder and his wife, and one of Bianca's friends from Wall Street.