"Can I just have like, a Coke or something?" you asked the bartender as you sat down at the bar.
"It's New Year's Eve," he said, putting a glass of Coke in front of you, "Aren't you gonna have even a little fun?"
You were currently in a club overlooking Times Square in New York City, waiting for the ball to drop. You hadn't planned on doing anything tonight since you've never really been the partying type, but when your friends asked you to be their ride home, you couldn't say no. You wanted them to get home safe and if that meant going out with them, that's what you were going to do.
There was a little less than 20 minutes until midnight and you were hoping they would would want to leave not long after that because honestly, all you wanted to do was go to bed.
"How much fun can the designated driver really have?" you sighed, taking a sip of your drink, "I'm not much of a drinker anyway."
He chuckled, "Say no more. If you need anything else, let me know."
"Thank you," you smiled and he went about serving the other people at the bar.
~
About 15 minutes later, you were still sitting at the bar, minding your own business as you switched between scrolling through your Facebook and Twitter feeds on your phone, when you were interrupted by a man who clearly had too many drinks.
"What's a pretty girl like you doing here alone?" he slurred, pulling the bar stool next to you as close to you as he could get it and sitting down.
You moved away cautiously, "I'm not."
"Doesn't look like anyone else is around to me," he smirked. Your heart began beating a mile a minute upon realizing that he wasn't going to be leaving you alone any time soon.
"Just because no one is around right now doesn't mean I'm here alone," you said as calmly as you could.
"Why don't we go somewhere more quiet?" he mumbled, putting his hand on your thigh. You squeaked quietly, pushing his hand off, but before you could say anything, another guy walked over to you.
"Hey, babe," he said, putting his arm around your waist, "What's going on here?"
"Oh," the man said in a seemingly disgusted tone, "You have a boyfriend." You looked at the arm around you, then the guy the arm belonged to. He was looking at the man with a glare and you knew he was just trying to get him to leave you alone.
"Uh, y-yes," you stuttered, "I-I do." The man scoffed and walked away. The guy who came to help removed his arm from your waist but stayed with you.
"You okay?" he asked, sitting beside you. You nodded slowly, your heart still pounding. "I would leave, but I'm sure once he sees you alone again, he's gonna come back."
"Thank you," you said quietly.
"You're welcome," he smiled, "So when were you planning on leaving?"
You shrugged, "I thought about it just before that guy came over here, but there are only a few minutes left until midnight and I didn't want to ring in the new year alone again. Plus my friends needed a designated driver."
"You've never been to a New Year's Eve party before?" he asked, genuinely shocked. You shook your head. "What have you been doing with your life?!"
"Not living it, apparently," you laughed quietly.
"Come on, there must be something you do for New Year's." You thought for a moment.
"Does burying myself under three layers of blankets and eating my loneliness count as doing something for New Year's?" you asked with an innocent smile.
"No," he laughed, "It doesn't."
"I'm not a partier," you shrugged, "I just came to make sure my friends get home safely." He looked at his phone and looked back up at you, pausing for a moment.
"Can I show you something?" he finally asked.
"That depends..." you said slowly.
He chuckled, "It's nothing bad, I promise." He held out his hand to you and you took it. He pulled you up and led you to a set of stairs. "I'm Maxx, by the way," he told you as he opened the door to the roof.
"Y/N," you smiled. Once you were on the roof, you were in awe of just how beautiful the city looked. "Wow," you mumbled under your breath, causing Maxx to smile.
"Told you it wasn't anything bad," he said, taking you to the edge of the roof. There was less than two minutes until the ball dropped and hundreds of people were crowding the streets below to watch it, but you now had the perfect view.
You watched as people held onto whomever they were with, randomly saying, "You know what I don't get?" When Maxx didn't say anything, you continued, "The whole New Year's kiss thing."
"What do you mean?"
"I don't understand it," you shrugged, "It's like, 'hey, it's the new year, we should make out for a couple minutes.' But why? Can't you make out with them all the time?"
"You've never had a New Year's kiss, have you?" he chuckled, shaking his head.
"That's not the point," you raised your eyebrows at him, "What's so special about kissing on New Year's?"
"I don't know," he sighed, leaning against the concrete ledge, "It's a good way to start a new year, I guess."
You were both brought out of your conversation when you heard the crowd below you start counting down. As they hit one and started cheering, Maxx turned to you.
"How do you feel about kissing someone you just met?" he asked.
"I feel like I'm about to find out," you replied. He leaned toward you, pressing his lips to yours slightly, and it made every part of your body weak. "Maxx..." you muttered as he moved away, "I understand why people kiss on New Year's now." He let out a quiet laugh before you pulled him back, kissing him again.