Noel

Noel wrapped her hands around her red Solo cup. She felt protective of it; you always wanted to keep your cup close by at parties, as a general rule of thumb.  Besides, she'd managed to get the last of the Diet Coke, and she wasn't going to let anyone steal it away from her.

Casey was off dancing with some guy, probably the person she wanted to kiss at midnight.  Noel could see them, up by the DJ and the speakers and the flatscreen TV with one of the New Year's Eve programs on.

She took a sip of her drink, glancing around the room.  Casey was probably having the time of her life with what's-his-face.  Noel was pretty sure he was the guy Casey had been crushing on since September.

She stumbled forward as someone crashed into her from behind.

"Oh, sorry, I... Jack?" she said.

"Hey, Noel," he said, running his fingers through his hair.

"How are you? I mean, we haven't talked in months, so -"

"Can you do me a favor?"

"Yeah, sure, what -"

"Great, thanks. Basically, could you -"

"Jack?"

"Yes?"

"Please stop cutting me off."

"Sorry."

"It's okay. What do you need me to do?"

"Pretend we're talking."

"We are talking, Jack."

"It's a really serious conversation though; no one should interrupt."

"Of course, yeah."

Jack glanced towards the back of the room and ducked his head.

"So, who are you hiding from?"

"Huh?"

"Jack, you're not being remotely subtle.  Who are you hiding from?"

"Sarah Miller.  We went on one date, and now she wants me to kiss her at midnight."

"Good old Sarah Miller.  Didn't she have a crush on you for all of middle school?"

"Yeah, that's the one."

Noel laughed, and took another sip of her drink. She fiddled with the cup.

"Jack, can I ask you something?"

"Yeah, sure."

"Why did we stop being friends? I mean, we'd been friends forever, and then in high school it just... ended."

Jack shifted on his feet, and Noel couldn't help but notice how thick the sudden tension between them was. She could've cut it with a knife. Or scissors. Or maybe even a dull letter opener.

"Geez, Noel, way to kill the mood."

"Sorry, I just always wondered. We were so close back then."

"No, it's fine. I don't really know. I mean, yeah, I've thought about it, but I always figured it was one of those things that was bound to happen."

They stood their in silence, the thick tension having returned full-force.

"Well, we could only have so many years of planning our Halloween costumes together, right?" Noel said, cracking a smile. The slideshow in her head was playing back memory after memory; all those years of friendship and close camaraderie before they swirled down the drain as she watched.