Joe Keery Imagines

New Year's Confession-Joe Keery

I looked around the hotel conference room at all my castmates. It was an hour to midnight and Netflix was throwing a big New Year's Eve party. I smoothed at my dress before grabbing a fresh glass of champagne.

"You look beautiful."

I turned around my face burning when I saw Joe slowly looking me up and down.

"Thank you," I smiled. I nervously tucked a piece of hair behind my ear as I cleared my throat. "You look rather handsome yourself."

"Thanks," he chuckled. "Are you enjoying the night?"

"I am," I answered automatically.

"Are you?" He lightly challenged.

"Is my poker face that bad?"

"Probably as bad as mine," he laughed.

"Can I admit something to you?" I sighed as I walked over and sat on a decorative couch.

"Of course," he said as he followed me.

"I love my job, but sometimes. . ." I glanced over at him and sighed, "The little stuff is what I could live without. The cameras. The interviews. Basically no privacy. I mean, I can't go to the store without being bombarded. Nothing in my life is mine anymore. Everything I do, I do for my manager, my costars, my fans. It feels like I don't do anything for myself."

I glanced over at him, my face burning. "That was way too much," I chuckled awkwardly. "I'm sorry. Just forget I said anything."

I was about to get up, but Joe grabbed my hand and stopped me. I expected him to let go of my hand, but he didn't.

"I know how you feel," he said. I held my breath as he intertwined our fingers. "Sometimes this career can get suffocating."

* * * * *

Joe and I spent the rest of the night talking about our job. We talked about the good and the bad. Soon I looked over at the big clock on the wall and smiled. I turned to talk to Joe but noticed an odd look on his face.

"You okay?" I asked.

"Screw it," he growled. "A new year is about to start, and I can't go another year hiding this from you."

"Hiding what?" I stuttered.

"I love you."

"10 more seconds to the new year!" Someone announced over the speaker.

People around us started shouting and counting down, but Joe and I were staring at each other. He was waiting for my answer and I was trying to figure it out. I finally made up my mind.

"3. . . 2. . . 1. Happy New Year!"

I grabbed his face and pressed my lips to his. It took him no time to start kissing me back. He instantly wrapped his arms around my waist and pulled me closer to his chest.

We ignored the cheering and the music. We didn't care about the new year. We focused on how it felt to be in each other's arms. When neither one of us could breathe, we broke the kiss.

"You weren't the only one hiding," I whispered.

"I wasn't?"

"No," I chuckled, suddenly embarrassed. I took a step back and wrapped my arms tightly around myself as I softly added, "You weren't."

I heard Joe let out a small laugh as he reached over and grabbed my arms, making me look up. He gently pulled me into his chest and pressed his lips delicately to mine.

"Happy New Year, you two."

We broke apart and turned to see Charlie smirking at us. "I see you finally told her."

"I did," Joe said clearing his throat and glancing back at me.

"You did it!" Natalia giggled as she joined us.

Soon, we were surrounded by the rest of our cast. They were all smiling widely at us, sending each other knowing looks.

Joe and I shared embarrassed smiles before stepping out of each other's hold. I wrapped my arms around myself and looked away from their smirking faces. I cleared my throat and excused myself.

"Thanks," I heard Joe sigh.

I walked back into the party and got lost in the crowd. I was almost to the exit on the other side of the ballroom when someone grabbed my hand and spun me into their chest. I barely had enough time to see it was Joe before he pressed his lips to mine.

When he broke the kiss, his eyes were soft. "I'm sorry," he whispered. "I didn't expect. . . They shouldn't. . . I wasn't. . . I'm sorry."

"Hey," I gently cut him off. "Why don't we go somewhere else and talk some more?"

He smiled, letting out a sigh of relief. He reached down and grabbed my hand, instantly intertwining our fingers. With a small smile on his face, he led me out of the hotel ballroom and led me outside. Neither one of us said a word as Joe led me through the parking lot to his car.

When we got to his car, he pulled on my hand to stop me. He turned me towards him, clearly hesitating something. He reached down and grabbed my other hand.

"I'm sorry about everyone kind of cornering us back there," he said gently. "Whenever I imagined finally telling you how I felt, it was never with the entire cast of Stranger Things as an audience. I never imagined an audience at all."

"Whenever you imagined?" I repeated. "How often did you imagine telling me?"

"Probably more than I should admit," he chuckled, slightly embarrassed.

I squeezed his hands, making him look up at me. I smiled at him before standing on my toes and pressing my lips to his. He instantly let go of my hands and wrapped his arms around my waist. I slid my hands up his body and wrapped my arms around his neck.

When we broke the kiss, I leaned my forehead against his. Joe took a deep breath as he tightened his arms around me. I leaned back and nervously bit my bottom lip.

"What?" He chuckled.

"I love you too, Joe."

Joe let out a small relieved chuckle before pressing his lips back to mine. I giggle against his lips as he pressed me up against his car. We broke the kiss, both of us breathing heavily. He was still out of breath, but he chuckled.

"Let's go celebrate the New Year somewhere else."