"What are you doing?" I snapped, leaning in close. Kelly rolled her eyes, smiling back up at me.

"Hi to you too." She said softly, going over and helping herself to a drink.

"What are you doing here?" I asked, leaning back against the counter, tightly crossing my arms. She turned to face me.

"What do you mean, I always come to your New Year's Eve parties." She said, smirking back at me. "Because we always-"

"I know." I said, quickly cutting her off. "But.. I.. I don't think we should.. do that anymore." She glared back at me, her eyes getting wide.

"W-what do you mean?" She said, taking a sip, her cheeks burning. I sighed, looking down at my feet.

"I just.. you know, we aren't-"

"Yeah, you've made it clear that we aren't anything." I bit down on my lip, peeking back up at her.

"What's going on, Sam?" She said, starting to get louder. I felt my heart beat faster.

"Nothing's going on, I just.. I just think.. we need to stop doing.. whatever this is." I said softly. She held her glare on me, staying quiet for a moment.

"Who is she?" She finally said. My heart dropped.

"W-what are you talking about?"

"Who is she, Sam." She snapped. I felt my cheeks burn even more.

"There isn't a 'she.'" I said quietly. "But.. m-maybe there could be.. and I just-"

"And you're just done fooling around with me, because there's someone else you actually want to be with." My stomach dropped. I knew it sounded awful, but.. she was right. I bit down on my lip, peeking back up at her. She shook her head, looking away.

"Well, then who could it be, Sam?" I sighed, keeping my eyes down.

"Kelly, do we really need to do this?"

"Yes, Sam. You've lead me on for years, now who-"

"I have never lead you on, Kelly. I've always said-

"Yeah, yeah, everyone says that shit, but we were always supposed to get together. I know you're out on tour, you want your freedom, whatever. And I was fine with it.. but I figured you'd eventually be ready to come back home and grow up." I sighed, holding my stare on her. I didn't know what to say, but I always knew we were.. never actually going to be together.

"I'm sorry, Kelly." I finally said. "You can stay for the party tonight but-

"Is she here?" She asked. My heart dropped.

"N-.. n-no." I managed, avoiding her eyes, but I could feel her glare linger.

"Yes she is." She said softly, putting her drink down. My heart started racing.

"She's not." I quickly said, moving in front of her. "And.. besides, even if she was, why would you want to know?"

"Because I want to know what bitch thinks she can just walk in here and have you-"

"Kelly, stop!" I snapped. She sighed, leaning back against the counter.

"Fine." She said, gritting her teeth, grabbing her glass again. She quickly turned, making her way into the back room. My heart started pounding as I followed closely behind her.

"Hey Kelly." Josh called out, giving her a gentle wave. She flashed him a big smile, going over and sitting down on the couch between him and Danny. I felt my chest get tight as I looked over to see Jess and Jake over on the other couch, her leg overlapping his, his arm tightly wrapped around her, pulling her close. They were practically intertwined. She reached up, running her fingers through his hair, staring back into his eyes like they were the only two in the world. I peeked over at the clock.

11:35 PM.

And by the looks of it, they weren't going to let anyone or anything pry them apart. When I finally looked away, I saw Ronnie staring back at me wide-eyed. My cheeks burned. I knew that meant I was giving Jess.. the look again. I quickly shook it off, panning over to Kelly who was now sitting uncomfortably close to Josh. I sighed. I knew what she was trying to do, but I didn't care.

It wasn't going to work.

"How about a drinking game?" I called out. Everyone stopped, looking over at me. Jake smiled, leaning back in his seat.

"We do have the beer pong table set up out back." He said, peeking over at Jess. She smiled back at him, nodding.

"But it's freezing outside." Josh said. I rolled my eyes.

"The table is over near the fire and the heaters, we'll be fine."

"I'm on Sam's team." Kelly called out, hopping up from the couch. I sighed, forcing a smile. Jess reached over, gently squeezing Jake's leg. He nodded, leaning in, kissing her on the cheek before helping her up from the couch.

"Alright then, you two against us." He said, taking her by the hand, heading outside. I glared over at Kelly, doing my best to keep a straight face as she glared back at me. I followed Kelly over towards the table where she stood on the far end next to Jake. My heart started beating faster as Jess made her way over to my side, smiling up at me. I bit down on my lip, smirking back.

"Funny seeing you here." I giggled, moving closer to her. She smirked up at me, her cheeks getting red.

"Ready to lose?" She asked, raising her eyebrows. I laughed, nodding as I set up the cups. She leaned against the table, watching closely. I felt my cheeks burn, my heart beating even faster the longer I felt her eyes linger on me. When I turned around, she was still staring back at me, a gentle smile across her lips. I felt my smile grow.

"She's cute." She whispered, subtly motioning towards Kelly. My heart sank.

"O-oh.. um.." I shrugged, holding my stare on her. She giggled, nodding.

"So.. is she your New Year's kiss?"

I could hear my heart pounding in my ears. Even under just the lights of the heater, I knew she could see how badly I was blushing. I bit down on my lip, holding my stare on her. My eyes moved down to her lips.

She noticed.

Her eyes got wide as she licked her lips, tightly crossing her arms. I sighed, peeking back over at Kelly who was talking to Jake as he set up the cups on their side of the table. She eventually looked up, her eyes meeting mine. I quickly looked back at Jess who was still holding her stare on me. I leaned in close, whispering into her ear.

"Not if you don't want her to be."

She stared back at me wide-eyed, her face dropping. I bit down on my lip, giving her a subtle smile.

"You guys ready?" Jake called out. I waited for her to break our stare, turning back towards him.

"You start!" She called out, flashing him a smile. He smirked back at her, tossing the first ball.

Right in.

Jess grabbed the cup, quickly drinking it, and sliding it over to the side.

"Lucky shot." I said, smirking over at him. His smile grew. I threw another ball.

Miss.

I felt my cheeks burn, avoiding Jess' eyes.

"Way to go." Kelly snapped, forcing a smile. I glared over at her, feeling my heart beat faster. Jess grabbed another one of the balls, gently tossing it.

Right in.

I sighed, rolling my eyes.

"That's my girl." Jake called out, flashing her a big smile. He grabbed the cup, tossing it back. Looking over, I saw Jess staring at him with dazed eyes. He winked back at her, sliding the empty cup over to the side. She bit down on her lip, holding in her smile as her cheeks burned red. Jake then made his way over to our side of the table, leaning in, gently tapping his finger on his cheek. She laughed, moving in closer, kissing him on the cheek.

"Sam.." I heard, but I just couldn't bring myself to look away from her. The drinks were finally starting to hit. I leaned my hands up against the table for balance. Finally, Jess turned to me, motioning towards the ping pong ball in my hand. I scrunched up my face, smirking back over at her.

"Sam, go!" I heard again. I quickly snapped out of it, glaring back over at Kelly. I carelessly tossed the ball towards one of the cups on the other side of the table.

Miss.

I sighed, turning back towards Jess. She giggled to herself, peeking over at me.

"I figured you'd be good at this." She said softly. I shrugged, moving in closer to her.

"Maybe I should've had you on my team." I laughed, wrapping my arm around her.

"Hey, hey, hey!" Jake laughed. "Don't touch my partner. You're gonna throw her off!" I rolled my eyes, peeking down at her. She smirked back up at me.

"You heard him." She said quietly. I flashed her a smile, gently backing away.

"5 minutes till midnight!" Mom called out from the back door. "Everyone come and get your glass of champagne!"

"We'll finish this after." Jake said, quickly making his way over to Jess, wrapping his arm around her, flashing me a wide-eyed smile. He leaned down, kissing the top of her head before leading her inside. I held my stare on her until they were out of sight.

"Oh my god.." Kelly yelled, coming up behind me. She gently shoved me, forcing me out of my trance again.

"What!" I snapped, glaring back at her. She glared up at me, her cheeks burning red in anger.

"It's her!"