"CHUG CHUG CHUG!" Cheering from the living room could be heard from throughout the house. It was now about 11:15pm, and the party had picked up. Kids were already passing out on the floor and to say (Y/n) was drunk would be an understatement. She had decided to try an drink away her worries as she watched the party go on around her. Jackson had agreed to not drink, was never really his thing, so he watched as his girlfriend chugged her 5th bottle of beer. She was beginning to stumble while the two made their way back to the corner of the living room. She thanked him for holding her when Genevieve came running up to the drunk girl. "(Y/nnnn)!" She whined as she held onto her friend for support. It was hard to hear as the music was blasting so loud the teens couldn't hear themselves think.

Genevieve had also been drinking, but unlike (Y/n) she hadn't been monitored by her boyfriend so she was worse than her friend. "What's... *hic* wrong?" (Y/n) replied as she focused on the girls face.

"It's Brandonn, he'ss been ignoring me aaallll night!" She slurred. (Y/n) couldn't think properly, all she could do was stare at her friend. She then caught him out of the corner of her eye, Brandon was talking to Chris and Lainy as the three sort of danced. He had appeared to be quite faithful to Genevieve all night, not even talking to one girl outside of the friend group, but he wasn't talking to her. Though she hated to admit it, that only made her angry. She wanted him to mess up, to do anything that would make Genevieve hate him. Drinking hadn't quite solved her excessive hateful thoughts toward Brandon, but instead made them worse in a sense that she wanted him to do something to hurt Genevieve, just to make her realize he wasn't a good person. She only felt guilt at her corrupted mind, and continued drinking the pain away.

"M-maybe he's *hic* forgotten about you!" The girl laughed as she spoke her mind. Jackson widened his eyes at his girlfriend's remark and was very relieved when Genevieve asked her to repeat herself because she couldn't hear what she said.

"(Y/n)..- (Y/n) its too loud in here! I can't..." Genevieve trailed off as she looked over to see Brandon looking at her. "Hear you." She finally spoke and began to blush. "I think I love him!" She yelled as she got herself ready to run up to him. She began to run when she almost tripped, though she was thankfully caught by a very cautious male.

"Whoa whoa, Genevieve, you need to be careful. Maybe it's time to stop drinking?" Jackson stood her up and nervously chuckled. Almost a second later Brandon was near the trio and he didn't look too happy.

"What the fuck dude, are you trying to get in on my girl?" He seemed a little tipsy, but was very conscious of his actions. He shoved Jackson, making him trip backwards a few inches. The two girls stared in fear, though (Y/n) was getting ready to break both of Brandon's outstretched arms. Jackson stared in shock as he stood in his spot, locked in eye contact with his assailant, and his shirt wrinkling under Brandon's closed fists. The two males stood in silence for a few seconds until Brandon burst out laughing. "Dude you should've seen the look on your face!" He pulled Jackson back and gave him a quick hug. "Bro you were so scared! And you two," he pointed at the girls, "absolutely priceless! So funny, ugh, lighten up you guys." He was near tears, but the others weren't laughing. He quickly grabbed Genevieve's wrist. "Come on, babe, let's go dance." The girl nervously giggled as she was pulled away from her best friend. (Y/n) stood in her spot as she glared at the red haired male.

"Fucking douche bag... I'm gonna kill him!" She whisped. Jackson realized her fingers were turning white and grabbed the bottle out of her hand, which she hadn't realized she was clenching.

"He's probably drunk, don't waste your anger on him. You almost crushed the bottle and that would not have been pretty." Jackson tried to remain calm, though he was finding it hard to when the music was loud enough for him to feel it deep within his core. He held onto (Y/n)'s hand when she started to mumble something he couldn't hear.

"Who the fuck does he think he his laying his dirty hands on you? Let's see how he feels when I shove my foot so far down his thro-" before she could finish the alert of the night came.

"10 MINUTES TO MIDNIGHT!"

-

"Hey! I see you, drop it!" Giovanni yelled out as Connor snapped his head towards the male and dropped the small glob of cookie dough on the floor. He raised his hands in defeat.

"You caught me..." He sighed as he slowly kneeled down to pick up the cookie dough with one hand. "Cookie dough will be the death of me... And my stomach!" He used his clean hand and quickly scrapped the bowl for one more helping of cookie dough.

"Connor!" The blonde laughed out as he jumped at him and tried to pull his finger away. The two began to fake wrestle, Gio was trying to keep Connor from licking his finger.

"No! Must... Eat... More!" He struggled against Gio, trying his semi-hardest to get the dough towards his mouth. The two continued for a few minutes until they fell to the ground. They burst out in laughter as they realized what they were doing. It took the. a few more minutes to finally calm down and Gio stood up. He helped Connor up and the two smiled at each other. They looked at the time, it was about 11:50pm. They had gotten back from the store at 10, which took way longer than they had hoped, but they got distracted by every little thing one their way home. They boys had just put the cookies in the oven, and they were planning on bringing in the new year with freshly baked cookies.

Gio was breathing heavily, he was quite frail and easily winded. He hadn't had this much fun in a long. He was smiling, and not because he was nervous or because of his syndrome, he was truly happy around Connor and felt safe. This feeling of safety was different to the one he felt with Brandon, it was like a warm hug. "Thank you, Connor." Gio spoke as the two looked back at each other. "I'm having a really good time!" He smiled.

"I am too, I'm really glad I can be here with you, Andy." The name hit Gio square in the gut. How long could he hide from him, he was going to find out sooner or later.

The two were having an intense staring match, both of their stomachs were upside down. The timer near them ticked as they looked into the other's eyes. "1 minute till the New Year!" The TV cheered in the background. They hadn't noticed that they were getting closer to each other, inching closer as the seconds passed. Gio could hear his heartbeat in his ears, what was this feeling? It was like his chest was heavy, but at the same time, it was as if he was floating. His face was hot, and he could see the tint on Connor's cheeks. Connor had taught him so much these past few weeks together, he had given him a different view on so many things. He even started to make him realize what true friends were... but had he really thought of him as a friend? He felt something deeper, something he couldn't explain. He suddenly realized what it was, and became aware of a new sensation: a pair of lips on his.

-

Everyone was yelling and squeezing into the living room as someone turned the TV on. No one could hear it, but they would be able to know when to count down. 1 minute. (Y/n) was dizzy, she was not used to drinking more than a cup of beer, let alone 5 bottles. She stood in Jackson's arms making her realize she actually had a new years kiss. She smiled and looked at him, forgetting the world around her as the countdown began.

"5... 4... 3... 2..." The world became fuzzy, all she could see was Jackson. He was truly the best thing that happened to her in a long time, what had she done to deserve such a person. All the worry and anger of the night melted away as they kissed, sounds tuned out, and for a moment, (Y/n) was able to stop thinking about everything and everyone. Just her and Jackson... but that was only a moment. Something was telling her to open her eyes, open them right now. The urge was so strong that she had no choice but to obey whatever was telling her to do it. She opened her eyes and looked to her left. That small glance was all it took to freeze her in her spot. Her stomach turned and dropped to the floor as she looked at her best friend. She was kissing Brandon, and not just a little peck for the New Year. It was a passionate kiss and she could tell was going to be talked about later. Time was slow, and this somehow granted Brandon the small window to shoot a one opened eye glare at the girl, then closed his eye before anyone say. They both knew she had lost. She had been in a battle with him, trying desprately not lose her best friend to him, and this was the final blow.

(Y/n) tore away from Jackson, who quickly opened his eyes. The first thing he saw in the new year was (Y/n) holding her lips, forcing herself to not throw up, and quickly running away to find the nearest bathroom.

~