-c o u n t d o w n-

ten minutes He drums his fingers on his steering wheel, glancing at the time. Eleven-fifty. The clock is accurate, he knows. The back of his neck prickles. He can't make it, he thinks, then dismisses the idea immediately. He has to. He has to make it. He has got to make it. The light seems to be red forever. He swears, looks out the window. Teens in New Year's hats and glasses walk by in groups, one group coming dangerously close to his car. He turns back. If one of those fuckers touches his new car- he stops the thought. The light turns green and he pushes down, going over the speed limit, hears the groups cheering. "You go, man!"

nine minutes She's not having fun. No fun. She's bored. She doesn't want to drink, doesn't want to mingle. Wishes she was on a mission, just like him. Avoid all this bullshit. "Find someone already!" A giggly voice says. She turns around. Black hair, blue eyes, plain black dress, with a man on her arm. Different from the one of Five Minutes Ago. "It's not that hard." Macey McHenry giggles and walks off, leaving her there on the barstool. She could mingle, she supposes. She checks the clock on the wall. Nine minutes until the new year. New year- when everyone starts to randomly make out with strangers. That's probably how mono spreads. Nine minutes. Not enough time, she thinks. Brilliant. "Stupid tradition," she says to herself.

eight minutes Another red light. He flips down the mirror and checks his tie. He could never really get it straight. The collar of his starched white shirt feels restricting. He pulls it down, sees the scar, lets it slide back in place. He attempts straightening his tie. No luck. He attempts flattening his hair. No luck. He attempts turning the red light green with his mind. No luck. He sighs to himself. He's used to bad luck; but why did that have to happen now? The fluorescent 11:52 flips to 11:53. The red light stays red.

seven minutes "I'm just going to go," she says to the blonde next to her. "I can make it home in time to see the fireworks," she assures the blonde. The blonde's face droops anyway. "Hey, you have Jonas." The blonde's face brighten again. The blonde walks away. She sighs. It will take all of two minutes to get to her house. She grabs her bag, gathers her dress, empties her water glass, and strides away to the elevator. Nobody notices. She doesn't expect them to. "Gallagher girl," a voice whispers. She spins around. Nothing. Oh, hallucinations, how lovely, she thinks grimly.

six minutes He's reached the hotel where the party is, finally. With six minutes to spare. Not to bad, if he says so himself. He walks inside and takes the elevator up. Now luck seems to be on his side- it has just arrived. The metal doors open immediately when he presses up. Elevator music entertains him while his adrenaline levels rise. Suddenly, the elevator seems to be taking forever to get to the floor. Which fucking genius decided to have the party on the top floor? He tries straightening his askew tie again.

Of course, no luck.

five minutes She pulls into her street and looks at the time. Eleven fifty-five. A new record, one and a half minutes. She had really wanted to get out of that hotel. She walks inside, drops her keys in the bowl, walks upstairs, slips off her dress, slips on some pajamas, and lets her hair down in all of thirty seconds. Finally, she flicks on the TV and curls up on the couch.

four minutes "She just left."

three minutes "We are now at the three minute mark," the reporter on the news says. She yawns and walks to the fridge, grabs a bottle of water, shuts the door. Looks at the paper taped there. Mission extension for Agent Zachary Goode. Former end date: Dec 24th. Current end date: unknown. Looks at the wrapped package sitting on the counter. Looks at the note sitting by the package. I'll be home soon, Gallagher girl. He only ever called her that now when he didn't want her to panic. No worries. -Z

two minutes He goes over the speed limit again, this time pushing a seventy on a forty-five limit road. He realizes he hasn't slept for days. He realizes he only realizes this because he can't see the house numbers clearly. He exhales and brakes the car at random, hoping some sort of higher being/psychic powers would land him in front of the right house.

one minute She checks the time on the oven. 11:59. Grabs a tub of ice cream from the fridge and settles down with it in front of the TV. "And the countdown begins," the TV announcer says. "Ten. Nine. Eight. Seven. Six..."

five He gives up trying to put the key in the keyhole and goes for the window.

four She turns the volume up.

three The window popped open.

two "Turn around, Gallagher girl." She swallows.

one He brings his lips to hers.

Don't worry.

aw, wasn't that dramatic? no? well i write too much humor anyways. :/ was the ending too cliched? like in a bad way?

you can blame it on lily:

me: because then it can be all dramatic, like, Zach is gone and nowhere to be seen but all of the sudden, BAM, he's kissing Cammie.
lily: Yeah, Cammie could be like, the worried, un spy like girlfriend, and then as the clock is a minute or two to midnight Zach comes through the window behind her ('cause the door isn't very cool or romantic)