T W E N T Y - T W O : NEW
THE CHAMPAGNE was singing a siren song to her, luring her in for just… one… more…
“Mae,” Icelyn stepped in front of her best friend, unintentionally freeing Mae from the allure of the gold bubbly on the table. The dance wing had been decked out once again, but this time, in the spirit of the new year. Gold streamers and ribbon were strung up along the walls, tables were blanketed in a sparkly gold fabric, and gold party hats sat on the table nearest to the entrance.
This year's New Year party was bedazzled and spirited.
Mae turned to her best friend, jamming her pockets into the pockets of her comforting Hollister sweatshirt. In the spirit of the theme, she had on a gold top hat headband that was currently crushing her skull. She blinked, “Hm?”
Icelyn huffed, placing her hands onto her hips. She was covered in gold glitter from decorating this place earlier, a yellow bandana tied around her head. She wore a sparkly sequin top and white jeans. At least she wasn't dancing tonight. Well, not formally. But while Icelyn took the chance to wear a pair of nude wedges, Mae stuck to a pair of sneakers.
“No champagne, but we can hook you up with some apple cider. You can cheers with that when the ball drops,” she offered. Mae couldn't help her lip quirking upward. So Lyn had been paying attention.
Mae nodded. “Lead the way.”
And that she did. Icelyn poured Mae a generous amount of apple cider into a red Solo cup, dribbling the liquid down the inner wall to avoid a spillage of foam. Mae nodded her thanks and took a sip of the beverage. She had forgotten how timeless apple cider was.
“So where to now?” She asked Icelyn, scanning the room. “Raise Your Glass” by P!nk played in the background of loud chatter and laughter. People were moshing on the dance floor. Others, like herself and her best friend, stuck to the sides with plates of food and cups of drinks in their hands.
Icelyn shrugged. “We can go find Jo? I hear she's playing something tonight again.” The two maneuvered their way though the crowd towards the stage. Behind the thick, heavy red curtains, Joanna was setting herself up on a wooden stool with a black music stand before her. She was patiently tuning her acoustic guitar.
She lifted her head up, a grin spilling onto her face. “Hey guys. How was your Christmases? Oh! I got both of your gifts, too; y'all are too sweet!”
“It was no problem. Thanks for your gift, too,” Mae replied. “So what are you playing tonight?”
“Just a few top hits from this year. It's almost 12 already, so I should get to it,” Joanna mumbled under her breath, slinging the strap of her guitar across her body. “Could one of you guys work the curtains for me, please?”
Icelyn nodded first, hurrying backstage.
When she was gone, Mae began helping Joanna with the stool and stand. “Parker was looking for you earlier,” Joanna hummed.
“What?” Mae froze.
“Said something about wanting to talk to you and you left the Christmas party before he had a chance to see you,” she went on. “What's that all about?”
Mae sighed waving her off. “Nothing really. I'll go find him after I help you.”
Joanna nodded. “Sounds good. Everything okay?”
“Yeah, everything's fine.” Once Icelyn had drawn back the curtains and Joanna was comfortably situated onstage, Mae dove into the crowd on her own, searching for a familiar doodler.
She found Parker near the windows, a red Solo cup of what she assumed was alcohol or cider in his hands. She nursed her own cup between her hands as she approached him. He was wearing a signature black leather jacket and jeans, nothing gold on him.
“Hey,” she said. His eyes left the throng of people on the dance floor to her. She wanted to flinch back from the intensity of the stare, but she held firm.
“Hey,” he replied. “I wanted to talk to you at the Christmas party, but you must have left early.”
Mae glanced off, avoiding his gaze. “Yeah, right.”
Parker pushed off the wall and stood before her. “I wanted to apologize.”
“For what?”
He smiled, a breath escaping his lips like some resemblance of a laugh. “You know what, Mae. But if you really want me to say it: I wanted to apologize for the way I spoke to you on Winter Formal night. I wasn't thinking straight, and I was probably just a little bit drunk and idiotic.” He winced at that, and Mae smiled a bit. Parker continued, “I'm not saying that I don't like you now, but I'm going to offer friendship. Obviously our stars weren't ever properly aligned.”
Mae gaped at him amusedly. “Since when did you get all purple-prose? Our stars were never aligned?”
He shrugged, a smile falling into place. “What can I say? It's what I get for hanging out too much with a hopeless romantic like Dustin.”
Mae's mood dulled. “About Dustin…”
“It's chill. You guys can be whoever to each other, get involved with each other. I won't step in this time.”
To be frank, she was a bit scared as to how mature he was being. She hoped he wasn't drunk or high. “No, I mean… I don't know if he told you, but after I walked away from you, he wasn't at the dance. He left, so I just went home.”
Parker frowned slightly, downing the rest of whatever crazy liquid was in his cup. “Hm. Probably because of his parents, but I guess it's not exactly like him to ditch his date at a dance, especially one he likes.”
Although Mae's heart skipped a beat at the latter, she still frowned. “It's fine. What I was going to say was that I'm not sure if I want a relationship yet. I like him, too, but—”
“You're just not ready yet?” He finished.
She nodded. “Exactly. And plus, I must admit, that you both looked really happy at the party. I saw you guys from afar, but walked away because I didn't want to intrude.” Half truth, half lie. “It was then I began to realize that maybe I wasn't ready for a relationship, no matter how much I liked him.”
“I got your present, by the way,” he said. “Thank you.”
“No problem.” Silence. Joanna's music echoed throughout the room, people swaying and jumping to the beat of the strings and thumps against the wood of her guitar. Mae finished off her cup and set it on the windowsill beside Parker's. “Did Pete like his present?”
Parker snapped out of some kind of daze and nodded. “Yeah. Thanks again. Did you see him at the party?”
So Pete didn't tell Parker. She noted to say thanks to the kid. “Only glimpses. He was running around with his friends and all. Little kids, right?”
There was a ghost of a smile on his face at the mention of his little brother. “Of course. I also wanted to ask—are you done with alcohol? You were drinking cider just now, weren't you?”
Mae bobbed her head. “Yeah. I'm done with alcohol, and Snow. Don't worry.” She chuckled, prompting him to join her. “That part of me is over.”
“Pity,” he mused. “Wild card Mae was cool.”
She gasped, feigning offense. “Excuse you? I happen to be a very interesting human being when I'm not drunk.”
They laughed again, then it slowly died. Parker cleared his throat, looking straight at her now. “Does it feel weird to you? I mean, having a conversation like normal people when we're not flirting, arguing, or suspecting each other of anything.”
She hummed to herself, lacing her fingers in her sweatshirt pocket. “I suppose. But we're friends now, right?”
“Totally.”
It was at this moment that Mae felt a sense of calm. At least she managed to rescue one fallen bridge from the ravenous rapids. It was also at this moment that the countdown to midnight began.
“10!” The crowd thrummed with buzzing anticipation, Joanna leading them.
“9!” Parker beamed at Mae, and she couldn't help but return the expression. It came naturally.
“8!” Mae spotted couples begin to hold each other and stare into their partner's eyes. Kissing at midnight. Her eyes widened.
“7!” She found Icelyn's eyes in the crowd, but she was far too deep in the crowd. Her best friend disappeared behind someone's head.
“6!” Parker stepped closer to her, his body angled slightly in front of her, as if guarding her from someone's view.
“5!” Joanna's eyes lit up, feeling the beat in her pulse like a second heartbeat.
“4!” Icelyn reappeared in Mae's line of sight, but this time, she was swept up in the arms of a boy she guessed to be Ace Beckett.
“3!” Mae's eyes scanned the room once more before zeroing in on a familiar face who was inches away from another girl's.
“2!” Her heart thundered in her ears and it felt like it was about to pop right out if her ribcage. Dustin. That was Dustin. And he was right in their line of sight.
“1!” She couldn't believe it.
“HAPPY NEW YEAR!” Dustin pulled that girl in close, pressing his lips against hers. The color and warmth drained from Mae's face, but deep inside she tried being happy.
Dustin's eyes left the girl he was kissing, but his lips were still connected to hers. Parker realized this, too, and whirled himself around.
“Pretend we're kissing,” he commanded, holding her by her waist. Mae didn't register what was happening—she just did it. Their foreheads were touching and guilt flashed in Parker's eyes.
“I'm sorry,” he whispered. “I promise he liked you, too.”
“It's fine.” She gulped. That statement was more for convincing herself than anything. She didn't want a relationship. Right.
Somewhere, sometime, Auld Lang Syne began playing and people were cheering. A brand new year. Yes, Mae could do this. Of course she could.
Parker let her go, squeezing her hand as he did. Apologies sat on his tongue, but Mae beat him to it. “I'm sorry for everything I did to you. I should've said this earlier, but I did like you, too, at one point. I'm sorry and thank you.”
He shook his head, dragging his fingers through his hair. “You should probably go without me. Find yourself a drink. Maybe ditch the headband so he doesn't recognize you. Unless you don't want to.”
Mae struggled to swallow, forcing her eyes to her beat up sneakers. “Yeah, right. Thanks.” She tore the headband off her head and tossed it onto a nearby table.
Parker had already disappeared when she glanced backward.
MAE ANTICIPATED the ping before it arrived. She fished her phone from her pocket, the silence of backstage filling her. She slumped on the stool Joanna had used earlier, a cup in hand. No alcohol, shed told herself. And it wasn't.
Hey, where are you? It was Icelyn.
Mae felt like a coward. She was a coward. Too cowardly to confront Dustin. Too cowardly to even try to survive out in the crowd. And too goddamn pathetic to have realized sooner that Dustin was probably over her.
Backstage.
Icelyn appeared by her side moments later, her hair disheveled and her bandana nowhere on her body. She frowned at the darkness and silence of backstage, sensing the wrongness.
“Did Parker…”
“No,” Mae shook her head. “It's fine,” she insisted, hopping down from the stool, “let's go back out.”
Icelyn clutched onto her best friend's forearm, not letting her pass. “Hey, what's wrong? You were fine before you went to go find Parker. Seriously, did he say something to you again?”
She shook her head again once more. “It's fine, Lyn, really. I can—I’ll just tell you tomorrow, okay?”
The dancer nodded warily. “Okay, but you need to tell me when you want to go home.”
“Yes, yes,” Mae forced herself to let out a breathy laugh. “Now, how good of kisser is Ace Beckett?”
Icelyn threw her head back and groaned, shoving past the curtains. “You saw that?”
Mae snorted. She was glad the subject could change so quickly. “The whole freaking party saw it.”
“Shit.” She choked a fake sob, while Mae choked on a laugh. “I'm so screwed if that ends up on social media.”
“Oh, honey,” Mae sang, “you were screwed from the start.”
a/n: well how about that? In an AU with magic, Dustin would've been disguised as Parker and Parker would've been disguised as Dustin. Sad that I'm writing about our boring little world lol