“Hey Kara, what are you wearing to Jack’s party?” I asked about a week later. Tonight was Jack’s big New Year’s party, and I had no idea what I should wear. I held the phone between my ear and shoulder while looking at each individual shirt in my closet but not being able to decide on which to wear.
“Just wear a pair of jeans or something and any shirt, it really doesn’t matter,” she replied and I rolled my eyes.
“Well, uh, thanks for the help?” I told her but it turned out sounding more like a question and she laughed.
“It doesn’t matter what you wear, just as long as it’s comfortable. No one really pays attention to what anyone else is wearing since they’re usually too drunk to care,” Kara joked and I chuckled lightly before telling her I had to go before hanging up and continuing my search for an outfit. After much consideration, I finally picked out an outfit; I smiled happily before getting dressed. Once dressed, I quickly put on eyeliner and mascara before slipping on my shoes and walking out of my room and across the hall to Chase’s room.
“Hey Chase? There’s a party at Jack’s tonight, can I borrow your car for the night?” I asked once I saw him sitting on his bed texting and he looked up with a smirk and I gulped inwardly, not knowing what he was going to say.
“I don’t think you’re going to need my car,” he said while looking back down at his phone and I raised an eyebrow in confusion.
“What are you talking about?” I asked warily.
“Just look outside,” he said while typing a message out on his phone. I walked across Chase’s room and looked out the window before letting out a squeal and jumping slightly.
“Oh my God! Are you fucking serious?” I exclaimed happily and Chased laughed before standing up from his bed and walking over to me.
“It came a couple hours ago; apparently a Christmas present from dad, mom, Uncle Billie, and the rest of the family,” Chase explained as I looked down at the new car in our driveway, my new car. “Now you can finally stop bugging me about driving you places.”
I rolled my eyes before replying, “Yeah, yeah ok. Where’re the keys at anyways?”
“Um, I didn’t bring them inside, so they’re still probably in the car,” Chase said with a shrug and I smiled.
“Ok, I’m gonna go to the party now, see you later, Chay,” I said while giving him a quick hug.
“Have fun, Kay,” he replied while sitting back down on his bed, “but be careful, ok? Don’t get wasted, and don’t drive if you’re drunk, just call me and I promise I’ll pick you up no matter what time it is, and I promise I won’t tell mom and dad.” I rolled my eyes again at his protectiveness but I could also see where he was coming from due to past events.
“Alright I won’t,” I said before walking out of his room and shutting the door behind me. I skipped happily down the hallway then took the steps two at a time before finally making it to the front door. I stepped outside into the cold Lutherville air and regretted not wearing jeans like Kara said to do.

I pulled up to Jack’s house and sat in the car for a couple minutes, not wanting to leave the warmth of my car. I finally got out once I saw someone from school get out of their car and head into the house. I shivered once my body made contact with the cold before making my way up to Jack’s house.
“Kaylie!” Jack yelled happily as soon as I walked through the door and he walked over to me with a beer in his hand while I laughed.
“Hey Jacky,” I replied less enthusiastically and he rolled his eyes.
“Go get something to drink, Kaylie, you’re being boring!” Jack whined and I could tell he was already drunk, despite the fact the party had only been going on for around an hour before I got here.
“How much have you drank already, Jack?” I asked but nonetheless followed him to the kitchen before grabbing a beer and taking a small sip while he shrugged at my question; the contents burnt my throat slightly and I winced before taking a bigger drink of the first alcohol I’ve had in months.
“Loverboy decided not to drink tonight,” Jack said out of nowhere, slurring his words slightly and I raised an eyebrow.
“Who the hell are you talking about?” I asked and he rolled his eyes again.
“Alex of course,” he said simply and I blushed.
“Shut up Jack,” I murmured with the blush still on my cheeks.
“I don’t know why you guys won’t just tell each other how you feel and make out already, it’s obvious he’s in love with you,” Jack said loudly and I shushed him as my eyes widened at what he said.
“Jack seriously shut up,” I hissed while starting to get annoyed with him for bringing Alex up; it seemed like all our friends could talk about was Alex and I, and it was starting to get annoying.
“Sorry,” he replied and I decided it was time to find someone else to talk to, so I said a quick bye to him before walking off to find someone who wouldn’t pester me about Alex.
“Hey,” the boy who was currently on my mind said after a couple minutes of me searching for someone to talk to.
“Oh hey, Alex,” I said as I stood beside him with a smile on my face. “Not drinking tonight?” I teased and he shrugged.
“Nah, decided to celebrate the New Year’s sober,” he replied with a shrug and I giggled slightly.
“I honestly don’t know why I’m drinking,” I admitted while looking down at the nearly full can of beer in my hand.
“Not much of a drinker?” he asked and I looked back up at him to see him smiling at me and I smiled back slightly.
“Not really, at least not anymore; I’ve done some pretty crazy shit back in New York when I got drunk, so I haven’t drank much since then,” I told him and he raised an eyebrow.
“What did you do, Kaylie?” he asked surprised and I took a deep breath before deciding to just shrug his question off.
“It doesn’t really matter now, does it? What’s done is done, and I’ve learnt my lesson,” I muttered the last part as memories of New York flooded my mind.
“Oh,” Alex said and the atmosphere around us got slightly awkward.
“Yeah,” I said quietly while trying to take my mind off of everything New York related. I cleared my throat awkwardly before looking at Alex with a smile, “Enough with the serious conversation, let’s dance!” Alex laughed and I joined in while throwing my beer away and dragging Alex over to the makeshift dance floor. I stood on my tiptoes and whispered into Alex’s ear, “Let’s show people you don’t have to be drunk to have fun.” I giggled before I started to sway to the beat and Alex laughed.
“I’m gonna get something to drink,” I told Alex several songs later and he nodded before we left the rest of our classmates grinding against each other in Jack’s living room and walked into the kitchen. I walked over to the refrigerator and pulled out a bottle of water before taking a sip of it and chuckling at Alex who was eying the beer. “You know you can have one if you want, I don’t care,” I said simply and he looked over at me.
“No I’m fine,” he said before looking around the room before settling on a couple making out in the corner. “People need to learn to get a room,” he joked and I giggled while rolling my eyes.
“Leave them alone, Alex, they’re drunk; they probably won’t even remember it by tomorrow,” I told him and he laughed while nodding in agreement.
“Alex?” I heard someone say and I jumped before looking across the room to see a brunette standing across the room with a surprised expression.
“Caitlyn?” he asked equally surprised while she walked over to us and pulled him into a hug and I stood awkwardly to the side.
“Hey,” she said into the hug and I glanced down at my water and twirled the cap around in one of my hands.
“I’ve missed you; how’ve you been?” he asked.
“Better now that I’m back in Lutherville,” she joked while pulling away and looking at me. “Hi, I’m Caitlyn,” she introduced herself sweetly and I faked a smile.
“I’m Kaylie,” I said simply while looking at Alex questionably.
“Caitlyn’s one of my best friends, Kay; she’s been in Philadelphia with her family for a couple months now,” Alex explained and I nodded, not knowing what to say. “Do the others know you’re back yet?” he asked Caitlyn and she shook her head.
“You’re the first person I’ve found,” she told him.
“I’ll try to go find Jack,” Alex said before walking away to leave me alone with Caitlyn.
We stood in an awkward silence for a couple seconds before she finally broke it. “So how long have you been dating Alex?”
“Oh, um, we aren’t dating,” I said, slightly taken aback by her assumption.
“Really?” she asked surprised and I nodded, “It seemed like it; I’ve never seen Alex act like that around a girl.”
“What do you mean?” I asked confused.
“I saw you guys dancing earlier, and it looked like he was having a really good time and I’ve never seen him like that around another girl,” she explained and I blushed but wasn’t exactly sure why.
“We’re not dating. He’s one of the first people I’ve met when I moved here about two months ago, and we just became close friends instantly,” I told her and she nodded.
“But you like him, don’t you?” she said and I blushed.
“Yeah,” I admitted quietly. I wasn’t even sure why I was telling her this; I never opened up to people I didn’t know, but there was something about her that made me trust her instantly.
“And he likes you,” she said, not even asking this time. “I’m not a matchmaker or anything, but I say go for it, Kaylie. Alex is a great guy that’s been looking for the right girl for awhile now, and I seriously think you’re what he’s been looking for; I know I don’t know you at all yet, but he acts differently around you and I can tell you’re right for him.” I blushed at what she said while looking down.
“Thanks,” I said before looking up at her to see her smiling at me and she nodded.
“Caitlyn!” a completely drunk Jack slurred from the kitchen doorway and Alex, who was standing behind him, laughed while Caitlyn and I chuckled.
“I have to go, but remember what I told you,” she told me and I nodded. “See you later, Kaylie!” she told me happily while skipping over to Jack and hugging him tightly as Alex made his way over to me.
“She was cool,” I said simply and Alex laughed.
“Yeah; we’ve known her for a couple years now. She moved here from Philadelphia when she was twelve, and she quickly became friends with Jack and the rest of us,” Alex explained and I chuckled.
“Jack’s good at becoming friends with the new girls, isn’t he?” I joked and Alex laughed while nodding.
“I guess you can say that,” Alex replied and I giggled and was about to reply before I heard everyone starting to countdown to the New Year and I jumped in surprise. Was it really almost twelve already?
“Four!” several people yelled and I looked up at Alex to see him smiling at me.
“Three!” I sat down my water on the counter I was currently leaning against.
“Two!” I suddenly thought about how many people kiss at the strike of twelve and I gulped, was Alex going to kiss me again?
“One!” everyone yelled and a moment later I heard several cheers from many of the partygoers as it officially became a new year. Alex leaned down and I tilted my head up as my breath quickened nervously.
Here it goes, I thought to myself before feeling his lips brush against mine. I put my arms around his shoulders and felt him smile against my lips as he deepened the kiss. We broke apart a minute later and he rested his forehead against mine with smiles on both of our faces.
“I really like you, Kay,” Alex whispered.
“I really like you too, Alex,” I whispered just as quietly and it seemed as if the smile on his face became wider as he pulled away from me and looked me directly in the eyes.
“Will you be my girlfriend, Kaylie?” Alex asked and my eyes widened in shock as I huge smile broke out onto my face and I nodded slowly but happily.
“Yes,” I said quietly and he smiled while bending down and kissing me once again as I wrapped my arms around him while his rested on my waist.
I was finally dating Alex! I thought to myself happily. This is the perfect start to a new year.