New Year's Eve, Again - we fell twice

Two years ago, Jess kissed a stranger under the New Year's Eve fireworks in New York City.
No names. No rules. No faces.
Just one moment that knocked her completely off course-
and shattered her the next morning.

Since then, she keeps her distance.
From everything.
From everyone.

But after a drink is spiked at a party, Jess ends up-of all places-in a Columbia frat house,
and that same night a snowstorm buries the entire city under silence and chaos.

Jess is stuck.
With strangers.
In a house she doesn't know.
And with Isaac-the guy who found her before anything worse could happen...
and who now looks like he can't decide
whether he rescued her
or accidentally brought a problem home.

He knows the guys in the house too well.
He knows how loud they are,
how quickly they cross lines,
and that Jess shouldn't be left alone here for even five minutes.
So he gives her his room.
Quiet. Careful.
Not out of kindness-out of caution.

Jess quickly realizes he's keeping his distance,
that he doesn't know how to handle her,
and that somehow he ends up near her anyway.
Unwillingly.
Or... maybe not quite.

What Jess doesn't know?
Some truths take time.
Some feelings refuse to stay buried.
And some nights-
happen twice.

New Year's Eve, Again
we fell twice