Ten fifteen PM

　　Ugh! Why did I even agree to come with? Sometimes, I surprise myself with my own decisions.

　　My idiotic best friend was a few steps in front trying to score a date, but was getting rejected badly. I scoffed and rolling my eyes, I checked my watch. I've been standing here for at least five minutes, outside of the party.

　　I don't even know whose party it is, but I allowed my friend to drag me here and now I'm regretting my choice.

　　I decided to go in, I grew tired of waiting pointlessly. Passing a glance in the direction of my friend, it looked like he actually found himself a date...lucky him.

　　The inside was quite loud, but I didn't mind it, I've been to louder places.

　　It was just like any other, noise, drinks and plenty of ladies. The house was quite large, it had an indoor pool, and an outdoor pool as well.

　　Some fool had taken the chandelier down and filled it with beer.

　　There were just too many people around, it was boring.

　　"Get your hands off me!." A girl shrieked, and my attention was gripped.

　　I looked over my shoulder, from the corner of my eye. I walked slowly towards the scene, keeping a safe distance, watching from afar.

　　The lady had blonde hair and blue eyes. She looked fresh from heaven.

　　She seemed agitated, but I could sense she was fierce.

　　The man walked up to her, and without a warning she threw her purse at him, and before he could react, she awarded him a tight slap. The encouraging cheers made her uneasy, I could see she was not used to any of this. Two guys intervened while I just stood there, watching how things would play out.

　　While they tried to calm things down, the man got mad and grabbed a bottle from the counter. I made a swift move and prevented anything that might cause anyone any sort of regret.

　　I stood in front of her, I could feel her staring at me, but I didn't let that bother me.

　　"Dude, take it easy."

　　"Don't tell me to calm down!." The guy yelled, while he was being held back.

　　The girl clutched unto my arm, and I knew I had to protect her.

　　"I'm not, just don't do what you'll regret." I said in a low tone, trying to serenade him.

　　He wasn't calming down I feared he might get hostile. Unfortunately, the scene caught the attention of the host.

　　And without thinking twice, we were all thrown out. While walking out of the house, I walked by my supposed friend who had two glasses in his handsand his shades on. Yeah, when he's indoor!.

　　He mouthed a sorry and I looked away, sighing at his stupidity. I left the house.

　　Parties weren't my thing anyways...

　　Eleven fourty PM

　　The night was chilly. It's a good thing I didn't forget to put on my jacket.

　　My friend took my car keys with him. While he's inside having the night of his life, I'm out here in the cold fantasizing about my warm cozy apartment.

　　I tried calling the guy, but he left his phone in my car. All I could do was watch it ring inside. While circling on the windshield, I heard some footprints behind me, and I turned around swiftly.

　　It was a certain blonde girl, in the cold, without a jacket. She was getting pale, which made me wonder why she hadn't gone home yet. All I knew for certain was that my jacket stays!.

　　We watched each other for minutes, till she opened up her mouth to say something.

　　"Am sorry, and thank you." She said, just what I needed to hear at that moment.

　　She waited for my response, but I said nothing. She decided to invite herself to sit on my car  bonnet, messing up my artistic snowmen!

　　I watched her, then smirked, she wanted to talk to me, which I found flattering. I decided not to be rude and sit down too.

　　"So, do you know the host?." I ended up asking.

　　"Yeah." She said, then looked at the sky.

　　"He's my brother." She said, then looked at me. I stared back at her, after about three seconds, we both shared a hard heartfelt laugh.

　　"Did you honestly get kicked out of your own house?." I asked, it really was something to hear.

　　"Not exactly..." She said half smiling, I was getting intrigued.

　　"I live alone, in my own apartment." She added.

　　"But he's still your brother."

　　I said in her defence.

　　"Yeah, I think he knows that, he doesn't just want to show it yet."

　　"But still, sending you out to the cold is a little harsh don't you think?."

　　"He didn't send me out to the cold..my house is a five minutes walk from here." She said.

　　I laughed. "Oh! Is that what you call living alone?." I blurted out, too loudly, my voice disrupting the serenity of the place.

　　"Yeah,I pay my own bills."

　　"Independent, a good trait." I pointed out. "Why did you come?." I asked her.

　　"Well, it's just that, umm..every year, my brother hosts this wild New Year's Eve party, and he has all these people showing up. Those he knows, and some, gay crashers." She said, then passed me a glance.

　　"And, every year..." She looked serious, her tone changed. She looked up at the stars, then at me.

　　"Every year, I can barely sleep because of the flashy lights and loud music!. And that idiot refuses to turn it down, so I just decide to come over instead of suffer in my apartment."

　　I chuckled as she laughed. " He is such a pain in the neck!." She complained.

　　"Same, I have a best friend in there who annoys the hell out of me." I said.

　　I was bored and needed to pass the time, so I guess talking was okay.

　　"Oh, my best friend is inside too, she's here every year too, well, she is his fiancee..."

　　"That must suck." I pointed out.

　　"Nah, serves her right, for forgetting my fifteenth birthday." She slyly said.

　　"You guys must have been friends for a while."

　　"Since Middle School." She said.

　　"Ditto." I said referring to my idiot best friend inside.

　　___---___

　　I was choked with laughter, my ribs cracking. "Say it again, I don't believe you." I said in firm disbelief.

　　"Am telling you, the guy at the party told me to put on a show for him...so I decided to give him my first class acting." She said, in between laughs.

　　"You mean the yelling, and the slapping was all just an act?." I asked, shocked beyond words.

　　"Hell yes!. I didn't know I'd get so into character like that!. And people started cheering me on, drunk sluggards and all. I guess it all got into my head a little too much."

　　"A little?." I asked. She kept quiet.

　　"You could have gotten yourself seriously hurt!." I pointed out.

　　"Yeah, yeah, but I didn't, the thing about acting is that you just have to take the riskand feel the rush." She said.

　　Immediately she said that, fireworks filled the air. She looked up at them, mesmerized. I stared at her.

　　"This is the only part I like about his new year's Eve party."she said in awe, not breaking her concentration.

　　"Ten!."

　　"Nine!."

　　People counted down to the new year,in excitement.

　　"Eight!."

　　"Seven!."

　　I watched her, and shifted closer towards her.

　　"Six!."

　　"Five.."

　　"Hey..."I said, bringing my face closer to hers. She turned and met my face so close to hers, we both sharing the same breath.

　　"Um...wh...what are you..."

　　"Three!."

　　"Shhhh."I said, and brought my head closer. She closed her eyes, and leaned in.

　　"Two!."

　　"One!."

　　"Happy New Year!." I whispered to her, snapping her out of her fantasy world.

　　"Huh..." She softly said as she realised that I had placed my jacket around her.

　　She looked at her shoulders, and then at me. A little smile played at the side of her lips. She held unto it, and was at a loss for words. She just stared at the fireworks.

　　"Happy New Year." She managed to say sweetly, not looking at me.

　　___---___

　　The fireworks had ended, she got down first, then I followed. She looked at the ground, then at the jacket.

　　"It smells nice."she said, shyly, grabbing my attention.

　　"It's yours." I said without thinking. Her eyes lit up. Damn!, They were pretty.

　　The girl took it, and walked away slowly.

　　"Thanks!." She said while she walked away.

　　"What's your name!?" I yelled, she stopped, then looked over her shoulder.

　　"Josephine!. But you can call me Joe!." She said and smiled.