DECEMBER 31, 1990. OLYMPIA, WASHINGTON.
THE MUCH anticipated New Year's Eve finally rolls around. Dave and Evie surprisingly hadn't made time to see each other over the last few days, so Evie is very much looking forward to seeing him again. She is also just so excited about the prospect of Ruby and Josh getting together, it's going to be perfect.
Dave calls her in the morning to offer a ride to Josh's house which she takes him up on. Normally her and Ruby would go to Josh's earlier to hang out, but she thinks today Ruby should go by herself.
Evie is in her room, playing her guitar when there's a knock at her door. Obviously not Mia, she thinks.
"Come in dad," Evie tells him through the door.
"Surprise," the door swings revealing someone who is not John.
"Ollie! What are you doing here?" She leaps up from her floor, pulling her brother into a hug of complete surprise.
"I'm here for New Years, Josh called and told me to come down and I thought, why not?" Oliver explains and Evie reminds herself to thank Josh later.
"God, I love that kid," Evie tells her brother.
"He's a good one," Oliver agrees.
"So, will I get to meet this boyfriend of yours?" Oliver questions.
Boyfriend. That sounds nice, but it's not true yet.
Evie laughs, "Dave's not my boyfriend. And how'd you know about him?"
"Nick told me about how he interrupted you guys," Oliver says, laughing at how visibly embarrassed Evie is getting. That's something he knows about her, she wears every emotion on her face.
"Oh god," Evie mumbles, reliving that moment when she spoke to Nick for the first time in six months at Josh's.
"Yeah, you'll get to meet him," Evie says, finally answering her brother's question.
"Good. I'm excited to," Oliver tells her.
"Was Nick upset?" She asks the insistent question on the forefront of her mind.
"Yeah, a bit," Oliver tells his sister truthfully.
"I felt terrible," she explains and he nods.
"I think he's coming tonight as well. Are you okay with that? He and I can always go somewhere else," Oliver reveals and Evie considers this. She's not happy about it, but she is aware she should be civil. He's friends with Josh and everyone else too.
"No I want you to be there Ollie. I'll be fine," she concludes.
They spend the afternoon catching up on each other's lives over the last few weeks since they've seen each other. Evie tells Oliver all about Dave - minus a few details.
Oliver is beaming with joy at how happy he can see his little sister is. If anyone deserves to be this happy, it's her. She's only 19 years old and she's already experienced so much pain in her life. From being the one to find her mom, to being hospitalised on the brink of death due to her battle with eating disorders. Oliver in the last year, has seen a shift in his sister. She's happy and she is finally herself again, her bubbly happy self that she hasn't been in years.
She lost track of time catching up with Oliver so she quickly gets ready for the night before Dave comes to get her. She pulls together an outfit that is surprisingly weather appropriate, settling on some plaid pants, a black turtleneck and her prized leather jacket.
Oliver's voice calls her name from downstairs, which she takes as the signal that Dave is there to pick her up. As she strides down the stairs to meet Dave at the door she can hear the exchangeof the two meeting each other.
"Hey," she tells Dave, finally coming into sight.
"Hi," he smiles.
"Hey what time will you be coming later?" She turns to ask her brother before her and Dave head out together.
"Nick's going to pick me up around 9," he explains and Evie nods slowly, swallowing this information and she can sense that Dave is doing the same thing at the sound of Nick's name.
"Oh cool, you're coming tonight?" Dave asks keenly.
"Yeah man, so I'll see you two later," Oliver smiles.
Seeing the Oliver and Dave meet is really exciting for Evie and she can sense the two would get along well. Oliver is essentially Evie in male form, so she assumes Dave would like him, and that he would like Dave.
Evie says her goodbyes to her family, calling into the house to her dad and sister.
"Bye, it was nice to meet you," Dave tells Oliver.
"Yeah you too, catch you guys later," Oliver states, closing the door behind the two as they walk out of the house.
"Your brother's home?" Dave notes as they get into his car, knowing that Evie probably wasn't aware that he was coming down.
"Yeah, he surprised us! Josh invited him to come down," she explains.
"That's cool of Josh," Dave says.
"Yeah it is. Josh and Oliver are pretty good friends too just from hanging out in high school and stuff, so they keep in contact," Evie fills Dave in slightly and he nods, taking in the information.
"Was the Nick he's coming with..." Dave starts, waiting for Evie to jump in.
"Yes, I'm afraid so," Evie nods hesitantly. She can understand this might be a bit uncomfortable for Dave considering how uncomfortable it is for her.
"So Oliver and Nick are like, friends?" Dave asks.
"Best friends. That's how I know Nick in the first place," she tells him.
"Oh, okay," Dave nods with an unreadable look on his face. She doesn't take him to be a jealous guy, but something about the tone in his voice makes Evie think he's overthinking the situation.
"What are you thinking?" she asks openly and he smiles bashfully.
"Nothing, it's stupid," Dave says, shaking his head.
"Tell me," Evie continues, placing her hand softly on the back of his neck.
She finds herself doing this to lots of people she is close with as a reassurance thing. She thinks it's because of when she read The Catcher in the Rye. One of the characters in the book does this, and she's habitually found herself doing it since.
"I'm just thinking about how close your ex is with your family. It's stupid, so don't laugh, but I was just wondering how I'm supposed to compete with that," Dave admits to Evie, her gentle nature allowing him to feel like he can bare his emotions.
"Dave, Nick isn't in anyone's life anymore except Oliver's, but that's only because they've been best friends since they were toddlers. Their friendship isn't ever going anywhere and I'm uncomfortable about it too, but I've learned to accept it," she explains.
"I'm an idiot for getting weird about it, forget I said anything," Dave laughs, clearly finding comfort in Evie's explanation.
"You're not an idiot, but if it makes you feel better consider it forgotten," she laughs, easing his mind.
They arrive at Josh's and from where they parked down the street they can already hear music coming through the walls of the house, padding the air in the street with the sounds of guitars blasting through amps.
"The neighbours are going to love us tonight," Dave states upon taking in the sound.
"Oh yeah, just how they want to spend their New Year's Eve I'm sure," Evie quips.
"Listening to a bunch of rowdy kids with guitars," he says.
"Now that's the New Year's dream," she states.
They enter the house to a few of the boys jamming together with other people scattered throughout the living room, talking and laughing around them. There are more people than Evie expected there to be and she immediately scans the room looking for Ruby.
She finally spots her standing with her arm wrapped around the waist of none other than Mr. Joshua Bridges who also has his arm slung around Ruby. Evie almost screams excitedly at the sight of it. Dave seems to notice right as she does because he turns and leans down to Evie.
"Is that new?" He asks, gesturing with his head towards Josh and Ruby. Evie nods fervently.
"Yes, very new," Evie informs him as they continue to make their way towards the two of them.
"Hey you two," Evie says, taking in the new sight before her.
"Eves, Dave!" Josh says excitedly, letting his arm slip from Ruby to hug them both. Evie almost feels bad for saying hello when she sees them let go of each other.
"Ruby," Evie whispers knowingly in his ear as she holds him tightly, and when he pulls back he gives her the biggest smile.
"I know," he whispers back.
Evie brings Ruby into a tight hug too, repeating almost the exact same process as she had with Josh, whispering to her excitedly. As soon as they've said their hello's, Josh and Ruby assume the same position as before which makes Evie smile. She can't wait to hear Ruby explain how it all went down. It's all happening.
Evie reflects on herself and Ruby at fourteen and how would spend their nights talking for hours about their dream boyfriends and what exactly it would feel like to be in love with another person. She smiles at the memories that cloud her mind for a moment, realising they are both in the beginning stages of what they dreamed of all those years ago.
The night kicks off and even more people pile into the small backyard and living area. There is a fire burning in the backyard which is where Evie and Dave find themselves comfortably, just enjoying being in each other's presence away from the humming party proceeding around them.
"You know, they say the way you spend your New Year's Eve is meant to reflect your year to come," she tells him.
"Is that so?" he questions, tightening his hold around her waist and she nods.
"So, what would our night be a reflection of?" He prompts her, attentively waiting for her response.
"Well hopefully in 1991 there will be a whole lot of me and you," Evie states without a shadow of a doubt.
Dave leans forward and closes the space between their lips.
"I hope so." He states positively.
Her mind is pulled away from the moment with Dave when she hears people hollering her brother's name, obviously upon his arrival. People must be excited to see him as he's been in Seattle and rarely makes time to come down. He's got a new life up there. She doesn't go to say hi straight away because she knows who will be by his side and she doesn't really want to deal with that.
"Oliver's here," Dave notes, nodding towards the house.
"Yeah, seems so," Evie agrees.
"Should we go say hi?" Dave suggests what she knows would be the right thing to do.
"Yeah, let's go," she decides, feeling better when remembering she would have Dave with her to maybe dissolve how awkward she would feel around Nick.
They walk into the house and find Oliver and Nick in a matter of seconds hanging out in the kitchen, getting some beers from the fridge.
"Hey! If it isn't my favourite person!" Oliver states loudly when he sees Evie and Dave enter the room.
He's clearly already a bit drunk, he must have had some drinks at home beforehand. Evie laughs, Oliver is usually a quiet and mellow guy so to see him like this is quite a sight.
Evie, expecting he was talking about her is surprised when Oliver wraps his arm around Dave who also has surprise written all over his face in a smile.
"Dave's your favourite person now?" Evie asks incredulously, smiling at her brother's warm welcome.
"Anyone who makes you happy is deserving of the spot as my favourite person," Oliver explains and Evie blushes.
She is painfully aware of Nick's presence in the room and almost wishes that Oliver hadn't said anything.
"Dave, have you met Nick?" Oliver asks, taking it upon himself to introduce them.
"Uh briefly," Dave speaks up.
"Yeah good to see you again man," Nick says maturely which takes Evie by surprise.
"Yeah, you too," Dave says.
"And you've met my sister, right? Just a few times? Her name's Evie," Oliver jokes making both her and Nick laugh.
"Yeah just a few times, right? Nice to see you Evie," Nick plays along.
"You too Nick," she agrees, smiling at the comfortability of the situation. She narrows how easy this interaction is down to Oliver's company. Her brother has a way of putting people at ease, and he always manages to do this for Evie.
Although she would have avoided an interaction with Nick at all costs about a month ago, now that she has moved on from their relationship, she feels no more animosity towards him. Being able to stand and joke with him again actually is a pleasant feeling for her. She's not one to hold grudges, so she's glad that they're both able to be mature after everything that went on between them.
"Want to come find Ruby with me," she turns to Dave taking a hold of his hand, worried he might feel a little bit awkward here despite her own feelings.
"Yeah sure," he smiles and Evie nods, pulling his arm and leading him into the house.
"Good to see you both," Dave tells them as they leave the kitchen.
"We don't actually have to go find Ruby, I just thought we should probably get out of there before a good situation had the chance to turn bad," Evie says and Dave laughs.
"Right," he laughs, "Smart thinking."
They enter the living room and end up finding Kurt, Krist and girl who Evie assumes must be Krist's wife Shelli entering the house. Evie has yet to meet Shelli, but she's heard a lot about her.
"Look who it is," Dave says as they greet the trio entering the room.
"Shelli, this is Evie. Evie, Shelli my wife," Krist says introducing the two and Shelli kindly pulls Evie in for a hug.
"Nice to meet you, I've heard so much about you," Shelli tells Evie warmly.
"I can say the same about you," Evie responds.
"All good things I hope," Shelli says, looking to Krist expectantly.
"Oh, of course," Evie laughs, assuring Shelli.
The five of them end up back by the heartening warmth of the fire in the backyard. Josh and Ruby find themselves by the fire too which is nice for Evie. It's like her two worlds at this point in her life have been brought together as they sit around laughing and sharing stories together.
Seeing all these people around her who she cares about so deeply almost makes her emotional. The coming of a New Year never fails to make Evie get reflective about her life and it means a lot to her. It's a reminder of everything she has survived, the turning of a new page you could say because what's life without clichés?
She takes in the moment savouring the feeling of the hot fire against her cheeks making them pink, Dave's hand in hers, and the voices of the people she adores most swirling in the air around her. A pair of arms wrap around her shoulders from the back which she immediately recognises as Oliver's. She let's go of Dave's hand to hold onto her brother's arms, the person who has helped her through every obstacle that life has thrown at her.
"I'm so proud of you," Oliver mumbles quietly, just for Evie to hear.
"Love you Ollie," she tells him, squeezing his arms.
"Love you more. Have a good night," he tells her, his arms slipping away from her shoulders as he turns back and walks into the party. It's only a small gesture, but it just adds to her emotions and how significant this moment feels right now.
Dave leans into Evie's side as she takes his hand once more, a movement that has become a feeling of ease for her, "Oliver's a great guy. He clearly cares about you a lot," he tells her.
"He's great. You've charmed him already somehow," Evie laughs regarding their earlier interaction with her brother.
"It's just all those good things about me you've been telling him," Dave jokes and Evie teasingly rolls her eyes, but he isn't wrong.
"It's almost midnight!" Shelli announces cheerfully to the group of them around the fire.
"What are we all wishing for in 1991?" Ruby asks everyone and each of them take turn in announcing their hopes for the year which is now only minutes away.
"New Year's resolutions are bullshit, but I hope we record our album and it does well," Kurt says tentatively when it is his turn.
Krist is next and announces shamelessly, "Fuck yeah man! Success if what I'm wishing for. 1991 is our year."
"I guess that's mine too," Dave adds, agreeing with both Kurt and Krist's hopes for the success of Nirvana.
It's Evie's turn last. She racks her brain for what she wants the next year of her life to look like, envisioning her future she's dreamt of for as long as she can remember. The thing is, she finally feels like she may be able to achieve it.
"I want to my art and writing to be received by audiences... And to move out of home," she states quietly, but confidently.
"Hell yeah Evie," Josh says encouragingly.
She locks eyes with Ruby who also provides a smile of complete support.
Dave squeezes Evie's hand, pulling her attention away from the group around them.
"To a year of us?" He states hopefully.
"I hope so," she nods.
"Should we make this official yet?" Dave says with no reservations, gesturing between the two of them with his index finger.
"If you'll have me," Evie smiles.
"I'd have you anytime," Dave nods assuredly.
"Lucky me," she says finally before closing the space between the two of them.
Cheers erupt throughout the house and the backyard indicating the turning of the clock, the start of the New Year, but Evie and Dave do not stop to look around them. All they can focus on in this moment is each other.
Dave's words circulate Evie's thoughts, 'a year of us'.
1991 is looking to be an amazing year already.