The very last day of the year had arrived and for some reason, Carter was feeling a bit emotional. He was sitting at his desk in his room, silently watching the sunset from his window. The orange colored sky, merging with the yellow of the sun, was a beautiful sight and the sun was slowly starting to disappear behind the horizon of the sea. He was excited for the countdown of the new year. Chris had called him a few hours ago and invited him to watch the countdown and the fireworks show on the beach. Of course Carter was looking forward to it; he had always wanted to spend New Year's Eve with his friends, watching the fireworks.
Josh had spent the night again but had left a few hours ago to be with his father again. Carter was glad that his parents were so acceptive of his relationship with him, which made him intensely happy. It was all he wanted, really. Even though he also wanted his friends to be supportive of their relationship, his parents were a good start.
There was only one more pressing matter to occur; Paxton.
According to Chris, Paxton doesn't remember seeing him together with Josh, though Carter knew that there was the possibility that he could in fact remember it, but was too afraid or shocked to talk about it to Chris. Or that maybe, very maybe, he thought he had dreamt it. Either way, and whether if he remembered it or not, he had to be told as well. Alongside Melanie, who most likely also wasn't aware of his relationship with Josh yet. Unless Chris had already told her. Carter wasn't too worried about Melanie, actually. Her personality was very similar to that of Chris, so he figured she'd be just as calm about it.
Thinking about all that had happened and changed within a year, even less than six months, was almost astonishing.
Within six months, he had moved back to Port Hayland after five years, he came out to his parents after all those years of hiding and lying by omission, he got together with Josh and his friends found out about their relationship by accident as well. Both exciting yet scary things had happened this year and Carter almost couldn't wrap his fingers around it. Right now, the only thing he was worried about was Alyssa. She was still furious at Josh and at Carter as well most likely. He wasn't sure if she'd also come to the fireworks show tonight, though either way, she already knew the truth.
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By the time evening had fallen, Carter had already made himself ready to go out. The weather was chilly so he wore an extra layer of clothing underneath his Christmas sweater, not caring less that Christmas was already over. The sweater had a few stars sowed into the design as well so he figured it was suited for New Year's as well.
When the doorbell rang, he quickly made his way downstairs to leave with his friends. He heard his mother talking on the phone with someone while his dad was watching something on the television.
"I'll call or text when I come back," Carter called out before he walked up to the front door. He knew there was a very big chance that he'd spend the night at Josh's boat but he wasn't entirely sure.
Upon opening the door, he was greeted with the sight of Melanie standing on the porch, and for as far as he could see, Josh, Paxton and Chris sitting in the car. In the distance, Carter could already hear numerous fireworks exploding.
"Happy soon to be new year," Melanie smiled and hugged him. Carter returned her hug with a smile and looked at the car.
"You too," he said as he let go and they walked off the porch towards the vehicle. "Are we all ready to go or are there still people coming?"
"I'm not entirely sure if Alyssa will come, honestly. I called her and she just said "maybe"." Melanie said, giving a light shrug. "She'll come if she wants to. That's just how she is, I guess."
Carter got into the car and took the empty seat next to Josh, who was also sitting next to Paxton.
Upon seeing Paxton, Carter got a bit of an uneasy feeling, even though he looked normal. It was still unknown whether if Paxton could remember seeing him with Josh, after all.
"Alright, that's about everyone. Now let's go to the beach!" Chris cheered as he started the engine again and drove away.
"And party like we're pornstars!" Paxton added. The car filled with laughter as they drove off and Carter was glad that so far Paxton appeared to be his normal self.
"I hope this year's firework show is going to be better than last year's," Melanie said. "Last year was a bit disappointing."
Carter could see that Josh had placed his hand on Melanie's thigh as they drove, and once again thought that they were a great couple. It made him wonder how long Chris had been in love with Melanie, seeing as Paxton sounded like he had tried to hook them up for at least a year now.
Carter gave a brief glance up at Josh, who was sitting right next to him. Their shoulders were pressed against each other, and he couldn't help but think how wonderful it would be if he could be openly affectionate with Josh like that out in public.
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There were more people on the beach than Carter had expected to, especially more young people. Por Hayland was a small seaside village which was mostly occupied by adult or elderly people. For as far as Carter knew, Him, Josh and Alyssa were one of the few teenagers living there. Though he figured that most of the people here were students or friends from Hayland, wanting to watch the firework show at the beach.
The sun had already set quite a while ago, and the sky had gotten dark. Luckily they were able to find a good spot near the sea to get a good view of the fireworks.
It was around 11 PM as of now, and Chris and Josh opened the beer bottles for everyone. Carter wondered if Josh would be okay with it, since he knew he avoided alcohol due to the problems it caused for his father.
"What a crazy year this has been, huh?" Chris said before taking a sip of his beer. "But it has also been a great one."
Everyone raised their beer bottles in agreement and Carter also took a swig of the alcoholic beverage. He had never been a big fan of the bitter taste of beer, and had always prefered the sweeter alcoholic drinks like sparkling wine or cider.
"So is Alyssa really not coming?" Josh asked Melanie.
"I don't think so. She would have called by now if she had changed her mind," Melanie responded.
Even though the weather was cold, the blanket they were sitting on, the tick coat Carter was wearing, and the fact that Josh was sitting so close to him made it warmer, and the cold more bearable.
"What's the deal with Alyssa this time? She was acting strange during the Christmas dance as well," Paxton said, voice strained with irritation.
Silence followed, and Carter then realized that indeed Paxton couldn't remember what he had seen during the dance.
"...She got mad at me during the Christmas dance. She still is mad at me so it most likely has to do with that," Josh said finally, causing Paxton to turn to him.
"Geez, when is that girl not mad at someone?" he said, rolling his eyes.
"No, this time, she has every right to be mad." Josh absentmindedly stared at the blanket before taking another swig.
"Come on, let's not worry about that, alright? This year's problems need to be left behind with this year, and forgotten in the new one," Melanie said. "Just talk it out with Alyssa when you see her again. True, she gets mad very easily, but it never lasts really long."
"I hope so," Josh sighed.
Carter looked up at him and knew that he was very troubled by the entire situation. Needles to say, Carter himself was as well. Alyssa was their still their best friend. Moving his hand a little closer to Josh's, he hooked his pinky finger around the other's, just like he did in the car when Carter had just moved back. Even if he was still a bit wary of openly showing affection towards Josh, he still wanted to do it in a very subtle, less visible way, just to let him know that he cared about him.
Josh's pink tightened around Carter's , letting him know that he understood the gesture and returned it. It made Carter's lips form a smile.
Time went by fast, as always when you're having fun, and the people sitting on the beach got up to count along to the final countdown. Carter and his friends followed their lead and on a boat in the distance, a large electronic sign was shown, counting down to midnight. The final minute was starting and the people around them began to count along.
During the final 20 seconds, Carter also began to count along out loud along with his friends.
Thinking back at how this year has been, he decided that this had been one of the best years of his life. He moved back to his hometown, rekindled his relationship with his friends, came out to his parents, finally got to be who he always had been, and got together with Josh as well. And even though he wished some things had gone a little more smoothly, he has no regrets of how he handled things.
"Ten! Nine! Eight! Seven! Six!"
Carter looked up at the sign which showed the countdown before he felt fingers intertwining with his own.
"Five! Four! Three! Two!"
Carter turned to Josh, who leaned in and took up the view he had.
"One!"
Their lips were pressed together, and all around them Carter could hear the cheering and people shouting happy new year.