It was the day of Ria and Via's birthday, New Year's Day, and things weren't exactly going so great. "Hey, Ria!" a voice called. Ria turned to see who was calling her. She turned to see L looking straight at her. "Oh, hi L," Ria said, slightly disappointed. L smiled at Ria, not really caring about her lack of enthusiasm. "Are you having a good time?" he asked. Ria looked about frantically as she replied, "Uh…not really…have you seen Near? He said he was coming…" L thought for a moment, "The last time I saw him he was in the Common Room, working on his puzzle I believe.": "Ria rushed out of the room and headed straight for the Common Room. She spotted Near on his way to his room. "Near!" Ria yelled. He turned to face her with the emotionless face he always wore. "I thought you said you were coming," Ria said softly while looking down at the floor. "I was going to," he said, "but I just…" He had no clue what to say. Ria looked quite different in her teal dress and black pumps, so contrasting to the usual skinny leg jeans and converse sneakers.
Near felt awkward in his plain clothes. "I don't care for parties much," he said. Ria looked up at him her eyes filled to the brim with tears. "You promised though…" she said. Near gripped his toy so tight he was almost sure it was about to break through his skin. It was a nervous habit he had. They looked at each other. Ria with her pretty, red cheeks and Near with his dead, blank face.
"Fine…" he said, "I'll go…just let me get your present." Ria followed him into his room eager to see what he had gotten her. He dug through his top drawer and pulled out a small box wrapped in black paper with red roses on it. He handed it to her and she tore off the paper, a huge smile across her face. "I hope you like it," Near said, now squeezing his toy even tighter than before.
Ria opened the box and pulled out a brand new 120 GB iPod. "HOLY SHIT NEAR!" Ria squealed. "I knew your old one just broke and well I thought…" She took a few steps closer to him, hugged him tight and kissed him on the lips. For once Near showed emotion on his face as he blushed severely. "I love it," Ria said, smiling from ear to ear. There was an awkward moment of silence between them until Near said, "We should probably get back to that party. Everyone must be missing you."
: Ria took Near's hand and walked with him back into the party room. Ria walked into the room and took a seat in an empty booth. Near had already taken out a toy from his pocket and started playing. Ria giggled slightly and took out her new iPod to look at it. She turned it on, only to find that her favorite songs had already been downloaded. "Thank you, Near," she said as she leaned over to kiss him lightly on the cheek. Near's face changed from blushing to smiling, "You're welcome, Ria," he said softly.