Before Jake could get far, I quickly looked around, finding Josh back over at the pool table with Danny and Sam, having ordered another round of drinks.

"Hey.." I said softly, leaning in close. "I.. I think we should head home."

"Already?" He asked, looking over at the clock. "But it's almost time."

"I know, I just.. I'd feel better back home." I said, not wanting to get into just yet. He held his stare on me for a moment, eventually nodding.

"Yeah, okay. Sure. Um.. we'll finish up here then. Is.. everything okay? What happened outside?" I shook my head, looking around for Jake again to find him back at the bar.

"I'll.. tell you about it when we get home." I muttered. He nodded, his face dropping.

While the three of them finished up their game, I went back over to the bar.

"We're gonna head out." I said, sitting down next to him. He nodded, staying quiet and keeping his eyes forward.

"Jake.."

"What." He said, finally peeking over at me. I hated when he got like this.

But at least he was here.

"Thank you for not-"

"We don't have to talk about it." He sighed. I nodded, taking his drink from him as he placed it back down onto the bar. He looked back over at me, smirking as I took a sip, trying my best not to wince as it burned all the way down.

"Okay, but.. I'm happy you're here."

"Sure, Jaime."

He had every right to be upset.

But I'd rather he be upset with me and alive to tell me.

"I'd just really appreciate it if-"

"I'm not gonna tell anyone." He said, turning away again. "Don't worry. I know it didn't mean anything." My heart dropped. It's not that it didn't mean anything, but.. it didn't mean what he wanted it to mean.

I didn't fight him on it.

"Thank you." I took another sip if his drink, regretting it immediately before placing it back down in front of him. He gave me another gentle smile before I got up, making my way back over to Josh who was clearing off our table, bringing their empty glasses back up to the bar.

"He ready to go?" He asked. I nodded, peeking back at him.

"Y-yeah, I told him."

"Are you.. sure everything is okay?"

"Yeah, I just.. we'll talk when we get home." I said, knowing that it would be better if it was the two of us.

All I had wanted was for tonight to just be about the two of us, but maybe I was meant to be here. Who knows what could've happened if I wasn't.

Thankfully we didn't have to wait long for a car, everyone piling into the back as gracefully as they could manage considering how much they drank. I slid into the middle, Josh following behind me as Sam quickly made his way around to the other side, flashing me a smile before hopping in, moving in close, his leg brushing up against mine.

I couldn't help but smile at how easy it was for him to lighten to the tension, thankful that I never had to worry about anything like that with him.

The drive was quiet as I suspected it would be, aside from Sam occasionally humming along to the radio, reaching over and gently tapping along to the beat against the back of my hand. It was nice, to have some sense of calm before everything inevitably hit the fan again once we got home.

Thankfully, Jake had been quiet, which was weird for him, especially considering how angry he had been. I was always worried when he drank too much for that reason. I hope he had just fallen asleep, and then I could just finish the night the way I wanted to from the beginning. We could drop them off at their house and then Josh and I could come back and celebrate with my mom, and-

"You guys are staying, right?" Sam asked as we pulled into the driveway. I bit down on my lip, peeking over at Josh who was already nodding.

"Sure, yeah." He said, opening the door and hopping out, holding his hand out for me. I hesitated for a moment before taking it, climbing out behind him.

If he wanted to stay, I didn't want to be that girlfriend that kept him from having fun.

"Y-yeah, we'll stay." I said, following him close as he lead us all inside. Making our way back over to the bar, I noticed Jake stumbling his way into the living room, turning on the tv and plopping down onto the couch. I was thankful he had decided to stop drinking for the night, and maybe we could actually talk about this tomorrow.

"Here you go." Josh said happily, handing me a glass of champagne. I smiled back up at him as he slid his hand into mine, leading us back into the living room. Ten minutes until the new year. Ten minutes until it was our year, and as much as I didn't want to hurt Jake any more than he was, I was allowed to be happy too, and that meant finally getting to kiss my boyfriend at midnight.

Sam and Danny followed us in shortly after, Sam having already started drinking his champagne.

"You're supposed to wait!" I laughed, playing hitting him. He smirked back at me, his cheeks burning red.

"Oh, there's plenty left, don't worry." I rolled my eyes, trying my best to contain my smile.

"That's not what I was worried about."

It was always crazy how nostalgic you felt, seeing the clock start to tick down, second by second, the year flashing before your eyes, getting to relive those blips of a moment again, realizing which were truly the most important.

I had too many too count.

The first time we kissed, the first time I spent the night, the first time he said 'I love you," all played over and over, and how beautiful our firsts were, even those that were.. a bit more messy, I still wouldn't change a thing.

Peeking over, I watched as he held his stare on the tv, a subtle smile on his lips as he watched the timer go down, one by one. I wondered what he was thinking about, what moments stood out the most to him.

I wondered if we shared the same.

I reached over for his hand, intertwining our fingers as I leaned my head on his shoulder, my heart jumping as I felt him gently kiss the top of my head.

"One more minute!" Sam called out. Josh then leaned down closer, whispering in my ear.

"I'm so happy I'm here with you." He said, kissing my cheek. I nodded, looking back up at him.

"So am I."

"I want to start and end every year with you, Jaime."

"Me too." I sighed. His smile grew as his eyes lit up.

"Really?" He asked. I nodded, giggling to myself.

"Really."

"5! 4! 3! 2! 1!"

"Happy New Year, Jaime." He said, reaching over and holding my face in his hands as he pulled me into a passionate kiss. It was everything I had imagined it would be. I grabbed onto his shirt, pulling him in closer, kissing him back harder until I felt that familiar smile that always made my heart skip a beat.

"Happy New Year, Josh." I finally said, moving away, each of us taking a sip of our champagne before leaning into another kiss.

"Alright, alright you two." Sam laughed, practically prying us apart. He pulled Josh into a tight hug, loudly slapping his back before turning to me, pulling me in and squeezing me tightly, spinning me around before carefully placing me back down, kissing the top of my head.

"Happy New Year, Jaime." He said softly, flashing me a shy smile, his eyes already in a daze. But I suspected it was from too much alcohol. I hadn't seen him empty handed all night.

"Happy New Year, Sam." I said, feeling my cheeks burn the longer he stared at me, finally breaking his gaze to finish what was left of is glass, carefully inspecting mine too.

"You're running low." He said, taking it from me. "Hey, um.. you wanna.." He stopped, motioning out into the kitchen. I looked back at Josh who was already making the rounds to everyone else in the room.

"Sure." I said, following him as he lead us into the quiet kitchen and out towards the back doors.

"Outside?" I asked. He nodded, giggling to himself.

"Yeah, it's cold enough to keep the rest of the alcohol out there."

I followed him closely as we made our way across the yard, instantly starting to shiver in the cold air. I heard him sigh as he peeked back at me, playfully rolling his eyes as he slid off his sweatshirt, handing it to me.

"It's okay, I-"

"Take it." He insisted. I did, wrapping it around me, immediately becoming engulfed in a cloud of his cologne, woodsy and sweet.

"So.. you excited about school?" He asked, trying his best to fill the silence. I nodded, unable to contain my eager grin.

"Yeah, and now that I have a camera, it's only going to be that much better." I said. He smirked back at me.

"Thank you again, that was really-"

"It's okay. You're welcome." He said simply. "You deserve it."

"I.. I do?" I asked, feeling my cheeks burn. He nodded, biting down on his lip.

"Mhm.." He said, turning around and leaning back up against the garage, staring back at me with those same eyes, dazed and enchanted.

"Well, thank you, it's just.. it's just really nice to finally feel.. recognized for something, you know? It's like.. music has always been Jake's thing, and your thing, and.. well, Josh has film and.. I never really felt like I had anything, and then, even when I did, I never really thought I could be good enough, at least not good enough to get into a school like this, but.. I did and now.. things are really starting to happen and I'm just.. I'm so happy and-"

And then in an instant, he cut me off, reaching out for me, and pulled me into a deep, passionate kiss.