smells like teen spirit ~ danny gonzalez x drew gooden high school au

xxviii: interlude

Author's Note: hi guys! this story has been getting a fair amount of attention lately, so thanks for that! here's a short chapter in the meantime, until I have the time and energy to put out a longer one. thanks again! <3 ~Marin303

The rest of Winter Break flew by in a whirl of fairy lights and tinsel. New Year's Eve found Drew sitting in his room, gazing out the window into the night. The ambient noise of his parents' party guests drifted up the stairs, but Drew tried to ignore it. Kurtis hadn't been able to make it to the party, and there was no way Drew was going to invite Danny, so he was alone. Even Amanda was downstairs, hanging out with the adults.

Drew let out a sigh, looking out into the darkness. The stars glittered mockingly in the sky, faint and distant. How had his life changed so quickly? He was halfway through his first year of high school, but Drew felt like he had gotten lost somewhere along the way. He was adrift, trying to find a foothold in the changing landscape around him. Until now, he had been holding onto Danny. Danny didn't change; he was reliably cool and unattainable, and that was reassuring. But now, Drew didn't even have that.

He wanted to bury his face in his hands and cry, but that seemed too pathetic a way to end the year. So, Drew looked out the window, wishing the stars were brighter.

Distantly, he heard dozens of voices begin to count down.

"Ten...nine..."

Drew tried to think of a happy moment to end the year on.

"Eight...seven..."

Him and Danny sitting on the back lawn, looking up at the stars. Drew shook the thought away. No. Something happier.

"Six...five..."

Kurtis singing Blink-182 with him at seven-thirty in the morning. No, not that either.

"Four...three..." The voices were growing in numbers and volume.

Drew squeezed his eyes shut.

And there it was. Drew, safe and warm in The Pit, drumming his feelings out like he hadn't for months. Happy.

"Two...one...Happy new year!" The chorus of voices shouted in unison.

Drew's eyes flickered open just in time to see the first of the fireworks begin to burst in the sky. He leaned forward, straining to see more of them. They bloomed in more colors than he remembered, and seemed to go on endlessly. The lights burned themselves into his vision, but Drew didn't mind seeing them when he closed his eyes.

It was a new year.

Anything was possible.