Coder Girl /Dreamwastaken/

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George's house never felt so comforting before. The warmth was just what we needed, and the coziness of the silence after being exposed to the loud streets made everything even better.

Half an hour before the new year and they were halfway through the bottle of Jack Daniel's they bought. I didn't even understand how they enjoyed it. To me it tasted like pure shit. Clay didn't like drinking either, so he just called it quits after half a glass.

"Put on Happy New Year by Abba."

That's when we knew Nick was already drunk. And halfway through the first verse when George started crying, we realized that he was drunk as well.

They were both sitting on the floor with beer bottles in their hands, cause apparently they were done with Jack Daniel's and thought mixing drinks would be a good idea. The lyrics were on the huge TV screen, yet they still misread half of it.

"I'm gonna miss them." I smiled, talking to Clay and realizing we were going to separate ways tomorrow.

"We'll get them both to Florida, don't worry. As soon as possible."

We were both on the couch, behind their backs, watching them swing side to side with their bottles and scream the lyrics. Something about the moment was making us both sad. Even though their drunkness was concealing half of the sadness, still it remained the dominating atmosphere in the room.

But when one particular song started playing, they both went silent. Just sitting there, listening to it and looking at the lyrics - maybe because they were hearing it for the first time and couldn't pick up on the melody just yet.

But here we are again, with family or friends
Some extra time to spend and I'm not mad about it
Don't waste a dime on me
Just want your company
Beside a Christmas tree, if the dog allows it

They both looked back at me and Clay after those lines. We smiled, watching them turn around again and pay attention to the lyrics, as if they were interested on what they were going to hear next.

But we completely missed the first chorus. George started sobbing again, and had to get a hug from Nick and reassuring words from me and Clay to calm down.

Don't have a clue where I'd be
Except for next to you on New Year's Eve
I don't believe a resolution's gonna change me
That's an awful lot of bullshit ain't it, baby?

Involuntarily I changed my spot on the couch to be closer to Clay. Curling up in a ball made me feel more secure, resting my head on his shoulder and feeling his arm wrap around me,  holding me close and cozy.

But here we are tonight, drunk by the firelight
The future could be bright though no one's sure about it
And if the ending's sad, at least these times we've had
The good outweighs the bad
You wouldn't know without it

It was amazing how all of us were sitting there in silence, observing a song we were hearing for the first time, and wondering why did we relate to it as much as we did.

Hurry home, please, I don't belong without you
Your ice-cold feet; write all my songs about you

My hand went across Clay's lap to grab his hand and bring it closer to mine. Whenever I felt sad, I needed to keep myself concentrated on something to not let myself break down. And this time I intertwined our fingers with one hand, and started tracing whatever patterns I found on his hand with the other, watching the goosebumps rise.

I love you more and more each day
Can't find poetic ways to say
"I hope it lasts another year"

I heard him sigh. A deep, full-hearted sigh which was followed with a squeeze on my hand.

"Good song." He finally spoke, breaking the silence.

George and Nick were still on the floor, almost in the same position as me and Clay except they weren't holding hands. They were holding beer bottles instead.

"Happy New Year." I probably should've made my voice louder for all of them to hear, but all that came out was a broken mess.

"Happy New Year." Clay's voice was quiet as well.

This isn't how I imagined we'd welcome the year. Sad and anxious.

"Can't you stay?" George turned around with a pout, looking at us through his glassy eyes.

Never thought the scene of a drunk man crying would make me emotional. I pouted as well, sighing and detaching myself from Clay. I just wanted to give George a hug.

And it turned into a group hug pretty quickly, with Clay joining us on the floor.

"Can we all sleep on the floor? Together?" Nick was sad as well. And that's a rare thing.

"Can we not sleep? Talk all night, on the floor together." George added to the idea.

"And finish the Harry Potter marathon?" Clay smiled. And that's how you make George stop sobbing.

"And get snacks?" It was adorable how Nick's eyes sparkled from my words. I found my people.

"And cuddle!?" He added with hopeful eyes.

"Perfect," Clay smiled, "I'll bring the blankets and pillows."

Even though George and Nick were drunk, me and Clay still wanted to make the best of the night for them. It felt even worse knowing that Nick would be miles away from us too, even though we lived in the same country.

Then remembering that school started in 2 days, remembering that I had to go back to studying all alone in my room almost gave me a panic attack. I had to force the thoughts away and concentrate on what we had - a night and two drunk idiots that deserved the best.