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How Jared was convinced to attend his roommate’s friend’s New Year’s frat party, Evan didn’t know. How Evan himself was roped into attending, he also didn’t know. Neither he nor Jared were big on parties, especially frat parties. But somehow, someway, Evan found himself two drinks deep on a dingy sofa watching one Jared Kleinman dance and talk with whoever happened to be sober enough to hold a conversation.
He swirled the plastic cup gently in his hands, watching the drink – whatever it was – splish around right under the rim. Sure, he could go strike up a conversation with someone: after all, he was getting better at small talk to the extent where he could make conversation and sometimes even ask for numbers without being sent into a panic spiral. However, a dull pulsing in his head convinced him otherwise. No, maybe it was better to stay there and watch Jared flirt with people and pretend that was all fine and dandy with him.
Whether it was the strobe lights, noise, alcohol, or exhaustion, Evan was suddenly struck with a splitting headache and the need to block everything out of his mind. He screwed his eyes shut as tightly as possible.
“Hey.” Who Evan assumed must be Jared sat down on the sofa next to him and tugged the cup out of his hands.
“Hey,” Evan replied softly, holding back a yawn.
“You good?” Jared asked: half disinterested, half genuine.
“Couldn’t be better.” Evan muttered, digging the palms of his hands into his eye sockets. “Love parties. Love alcohol. Love New Year’s.”
Jared was quiet. Evan blinked his eyes open and squinted through the blinding lights. Wordlessly, Jared offered him another plastic cup, this one filled with cold water, without ice. Evan didn’t like ice. How or why Jared remembered, his brain was too fuzzy to consider. He simply sipped at it and let his tired eyes rest on Jared.
“You, uh…” Jared began, trailing away. He started again, softer. “You look like hell.”
“Feel like hell.” Evan mumbled in response. “Is it midnight yet?”
“Not even close.” Evan huffed at that, making Jared laugh. His eyes were bright and his smile was bigger and softer than usual. Pretty.
Evan didn’t know whether it was the alcohol or the excitement, but all of the sudden, he was struck with the intense urge to grab Jared’s face and kiss him breathless.
He needed to go home.
Before he could even open his mouth to speak, however, Jared was off the couch and hauling him to his feet.
“Wha- what are we doing?”
“We’re getting you home. You look exhausted.” Evan was sure it was true, because he was.
“But you’re gonna miss the-”
“No buts. Come on,” Jared already had Evan out the door and on the way back to his apartment before he could complain.
*-*-*-*-*
Before he knew it, Evan was wrapped in a blanket on a couch in his apartment, while Jared poured two glasses of apple cider.
“No champagne? Holding out on me, Hansen?”
“I’m sorry for making you miss the rest of the party.”
“It’s fine, Ev.” Jared set the cider glasses on the coffee table. “That party was lame anyways, you know I hate frat parties.”
“Oh. Well, why’d you even go, then?”
Jared didn’t respond. Evan cocked his head to the side, trying to study Jared’s face for an answer.
“Well, I wanted to talk to strangers and get drunk, obviously.” Jared said, deadpan. Then he sighed. “No, I just didn’t want to be alone in my dorm all night.”
“You- you could’ve asked to hang out with me,” Evan said timidly.
“Could I have?” Jared laughed. “What, just call you up and go, ‘hey Evan, we’re both lonely losers, let’s hang out at your apartment tonight’?”
“I mean… we would be right here either way.”
“Huh.” Jared’s sarcastic demeanor dropped for a moment as he seemed to consider that. “I guess so.”
They sat in silence for a moment, the only sound being the drawl of the TV. Evan was about to speak up (about what, he had no idea) when Jared jumped to his feet.
“One minute until the ball drops!” Jared exclaimed with mock excitement. Evan laughed, filled with light as Jared’s grin returned in full force. Happy, soft, pretty. Evan’s mind grew fuzzy again.
“Jared, can I,” Evan lost his words as he met Jared’s gaze. “Can I, uh.”
“Can you?” Jared asked, walking the border between mockingly and genuinely.
“Can I,” Evan took a breath. “Kiss you?”
Evan watched Jared’s eyes widen, his jaw drop, his eyebrows furrow, and oh God. Jared was mad at him, wasn’t he? He was disgusted and weirded out and he’s still just staring at him and oh God oh God Evan needs to leave he needs to make it better he needs to GO.
Jared blinked a few times and cleared his throat, about to say something, but the sound of it seemed to jumpstart Evan’s brain.
“Nevermind it’s stupid I didn’t mean anything, I’m sorry, it was creepy and weird and-”
“Evan. Jeez.” Jared put his hand over Evan’s. “Dude, stop freaking out, it’s fine, I promise.”
“I’m sorry.”
“It’s okay.” Jared grinned, then laughed. “Ten seconds.”
“Oh, huh.” Evan noticed Jared didn’t let go of his hand.
Nine!
“And that wasn’t, like, a joke. Right?”
Eight!
“What?”
“You asking to kiss me. Was it like a joke or something?”
Six!
“What, no! Of course not, that’d be so, um. So weird? And messed up. and creepy, maybe creepier than just wanting to kiss you in the first place, and oh God, that’s still creepy though isn’t it?”
Jared only laughed again, a genuine, joyous laugh that filled Evan’s chest with warmth and light.
Three!
“Okay.”
“Okay?”
“Okay, you can kiss me.” Jared moved his hand from Evan’s hand to his cheek. “Happy New Year’s.”
Evan didn’t have the chance to return the sentiment before the ball dropped and soft lips were on his.