"we're about to turn the fuck up, motherfuckers!" jc shouted as he barged through the front door with oscar and crawford, their arms full of alcohol. adrian and i laughed helplessly as she stood on a ladder hanging lights while i held the opposite end of the string.
franny and nezza were hanging the streamers as well as blowing up gold and glitter-filled balloons with a helium tank. they had also blown some up manually to linger around the ground, but we learned not to have too many after the halloween party. i was jumping out of my skin all night with everyone continuously stepping on them.
somehow, ricky was able to help hook us up with a small platform stage for the speakers and music setup. jc called around and was able to get us a dj that could operate the playlist as well as bring some of his own equipment to mix around a couple tracks.
ricky and one of his buddies had gone to the store to buy snacks, cups, juices, mixers, and some other decorations we thought might help tie everything together. it was only one-sixteen, but the party is planned to start around seven-thirty or eight. planning a new year's party is more difficult than i thought, especially when it's last minute.
with a party where we all need to be awake and still partially functioning by midnight, you couldn't plan the time too early or else everyone would be obliterated and calling ubers by ten. you also couldn't plan it too late or else everyone would already have plans.
for it to be such a last minute idea, things were coming together surprisingly well. everyone had been sending group texts and asking our friends if they could make it. in the midst of everyone getting everything together, jc's phone was the one going crazy. he had done the most inviting because he knew the most people.
along with asking all of our friends, he invited people kian knew and people he hadn't seen in a while. he figured this was as good of a time as any for a reunion.
we made sure to tell everyone we had texted or called not to tell kian about this party. slip-ups were always stressful; all it would take is one person to text kian that they couldn't make it or whatever for it all to be ruined.
that reminds me how worried i am that kian won't even be able to come. i'm praying with my fingers crossed that he's available.
i had texted him earlier this morning and had a short conversation about a dream he had and about some video ideas he was wanting to shoot before heading off to new york. i think that was another thing that had been overwhelming kian. he wasn't kidding when he said he was super busy.
he'd been filming so much, since even before we went to tennessee for christmas, in hopes of making sure there was plenty of content for knj as well as his own channel. not only planning a video and filming, but editing takes a huge toll of your time too.
"liv!" adrian shouted, waving her hand in front of my face, "we need the other box of lights." after she'd pulled me from my thoughts, i reached by my feet to grab another box of white christmas lights for her to plug into the ones she'd just finished hanging and pick up where she left off.
"this should be our last strand over here. i think we should put the last two boxes around the selfie station and then around the stage. whatcha think?" she asked, looking down as i ran the length of the new cord through my fingers. "sounds perfect!"
the day went on as we kept getting everything ready, and some of our closest friends started showing up a little earlier just to hang out. i was pacing around, checking for lose ends that needed some adjusting when i heard the front door open.
"did someone say there was a party here tonight?" a very familiar voice said. i turned around to see who it was and saw none other than sam pottorff himself accompanied by his girlfriend, alexa. "sam fucking pottorff," i exclaimed, shocked to see him so soon.
