It's almost midnight on New Year's Eve. It's loud, everybody around is cheering, kissing those they love, and celebrating the coming of the new year. Couples promising to be together through it all, friends talking about what it could all bring, and families are just glad to be together all at once. It's always a crazy night, especially in this house tonight.
This year, my boyfriend, Connor Franta, decided that the big New Year's party would be held at his house, where he lives with Kian, Ricky, and JC. When he told me his big plans of hosting the party, he mentioned inviting only a certain amount of people. "Only about thirty, I promise," he had said. "We don't want the place to be a complete wreck afterwards, right?"
The second he began to invite people, however, I knew the night would be crazy. Now, it is 11:40 on New Year's Eve, and Connor is nowhere to be seen. I walked through the house, in between the crowds, trying to find the living room where the tv is. He'd want to see the ball drop, right?
I sat on the back of the couch and observed. People were stumbling, kissing, drinking, eating, and sleeping. I have no idea how many people really showed up, but it was definitely more than thirty. At that moment, I was glad I had not been drinking much. I had a buzz, but I didn't want to be sick tomorrow.
I pulled out my phone, and tried to focus on finding Connor's contact in my phone. Where the hell is he? I thought to myself. He'd been gone for easily an hour by now, and for all I knew, he could be passed out drunk by now. Great.
I put my feet on the floor, and entered the kitchen to see Ricky sitting on the counter. He jumped off as soon as he saw me.
"Allison! Oh my god, Allison!" He exclaimed, smiling his typical wide smile.
"Yes, Ricky?" I smiled cheekily. He was probably only a little drunker than I was by that point. Thank goodness, because I didn't want to have to take care of everybody tomorrow morning.
"Have you seen Connor? He's looking for you!"
I rolled my eyes, "I haven't seen him anywhere. Where is he?"
Ricky just shrugged and walked off, slightly dancing as he made his way back into the crowds. Who knows when I'll see him next.
I looked out the backyard slider to see just a few people outside. I could definitely use a breath of fresh air.
I slipped out, and sat down in a chair. I took out my phone just to check the time. 11:48pm, and Connor was still nowhere to be found. I finally called him, and he answered after a couple rings.
"Hello?" He said.
"Hi babe, where are you?" I said just loud enough to be heard over the music.
"I'm waiting for you! Didn't Kian tell you?"
"Tell me what? I haven't seen Kian in such a long time."
"Oh… Come here!"
"Okay?"
I hung up and slipped back inside, where the music got even louder. I made my way through the crowds once again, and made it to Connor's room. He opened the door, and began to laugh.
"What?" I asked, dragging out the 'A.'
"I've been waiting for you!" He grabbed my hand and walked me to the other side of the room, where he had his camera set up. Sam, Ricky, and JC were all sitting in front of it, talking about the night.
JC turned and smiled, "There she is!" He turned back to the camera. "The lovely Allison has finally graced us with her presence."
I laughed, "I had no idea you guys would be in here, when the party's out there!" I leaned over so the camera could see me. "Hi everyone! Hope you're having a happy New Year's Eve so far!"
Sam turned to me, "Who wouldn't be? This party is awesome!"
"Not everybody watching the video will be here!" Connor threw in. Sam shrugged and continued talking to the camera, and Connor looked at me. "So where have you been, beautiful?"
I shrugged, "Just making my way around. It seems like more than thirty people showed up tonight."
He blushed, "Yeah, I guess I didn't specify to anyone that they shouldn't invite anyone else…"
Right at that moment, there was a knock at the door. We all turned to see Tyler Oakley stumbling in the room. "Heeeeey everybody!"
I smiled and walked over, "Tyler! What–" Before I could finish what I was saying, Tyler tripped on his own feet and fell on me. I remained standing, but Tyler was on his knees, with his arms wrapped around me.
"Allison! I have missed…sooo much of you!"
I laughed, "I've missed you too, Tyler! How much have you had to drink tonight?"
"A lot! Did you know it's unlimited tonight? I drink whatever I want, when I want, and don't even need to…worry about gluten!" He hiccupped, and I giggled.
"Tyler, maybe you should sit down for a minute." I bent down to help him stand up, and he wrapped his arms around my neck, pulling me to the floor with him. "Tyler!" I squealed, trying not to laugh.
Connor smiled, and kneeled down. "Alright Tyler, it's almost midnight, you should go watch the ball drop with everyone!"
Sam and Ricky walked over and helped Tyler stand up. "See you next year!" JC called over his shoulder as he left the room.
Ricky walked up and threw his arms around the two of us, "You know guys, this is the last time I'll be seeing you until next year! I'll missss youuu!" He made his way out of the room, slightly stumbling.
Connor shut the door behind Ricky, and I looked at him confusingly. "Aren't we gonna go watch the ball drop?"
Connor sat in front of the camera, and checked the time on his phone. 11:57.
He opened up his laptop to a live stream of NYC's ball. He held my hand and pulled me into his lap, so I was sitting sideways on his lap, and I kept my arms around his neck as we watched the countdown begin. 11:58.
"Hey Allison…" Connor started.
"Yeeees?"
"We've been together for over two years now, right?" He knew the answer to that. It'll be three years in just a couple months. Three years since the day he asked me to be in a video for his YouTube channel, caught us making a fool out of ourselves with cotton balls, and asked me to be his girlfriend.
I giggled thinking about it. "Yes we have. Why?"
He gave a small smile, "How many years do you think we'll be able to celebrate like this, on this night?"
"A whole lot more." I said confidently.
"No doubt about it, right?" I shook my head. "So…do you think we'll get married one day?"
I didn't even have to think about it. "Yes."
His smile grew, "So, if I hypothetically said I had to ask you something…do you think you'd be ready for it?"
My heart started racing. He wasn't gonna…was he?
"What would you ask me?" I said quietly, smiling. 11:59. The countdown began.
"60, 59, 58, 57, 56…" He started whispering along. I leaned forward and kissed his nose. I could feel his smile grow as he continued to softly count down. "47, 46, 45, 44, 43…"
I looked at the camera, "Is that still on, by the way?"
He nodded as he counted. "39, 38, 37…"
I smiled at the camera. "It's almost time, guys. What do you all want to accomplish in 2014?"
Connor wrapped his arms around my waist. "I know what I wanna do, and it may or may not have something to do with a ring…"
"You stopped counting!" I said, my face heating up.
"Oh! Uh, 26, 25, 24, 23… Shouldn't you count with me now?"
We both began to count down, and when it hit 10, Connor stopped and looked at me.
10, 9, 8…
"Allison, hurry up, will you…"
I bit my lip, and he leaned forward.
6, 5…
I could swear I was shaking. His lips were barely an inch away from mine.
4, 3…
"…Be in my first video of 2014?"
My jaw dropped as the clock struck midnight, and Connor pressed his lips against mine, closing any distance between us.
Although everybody in Los Angeles was screaming and cheering right now, it was as if I couldn't hear any of it. It was just me and Connor.
He passionately kissed me, our lips moving together in perfect sync. I placed my hand on his cheek, and he put his on my waist, pulling me closer.
I pulled away just enough to whisper, "The camera's still on."
He shrugged and kissed me again. After a moment, we both pulled away, and he kissed my cheek. "Is that a yes?"
I raised an eyebrow, "Is what a yes?"
"You're in my first video of 2014!"
A bright shade of red began to spread across my nose as I recalled what I thought he was going to ask. Of course he wouldn't ask yet, he'd think it's too cheesey.
"What?" He asked. I looked up at him. "Your face is super bright," he said, giggling a bit. "What are you thinking about?"
"Nothing, I just thought…" I shook my head, laughing softly to myself, "Never mind, it's stupid."
"Whaaaaaat?" He asked, gently motioning for me to get up. I slowly slid off his lap, and into the next chair.
"I just thought you were gonna ask something different." The blush on my cheeks was returning. Or just getting darker. I couldn't really tell anymore.
He leaned over me, putting his hands on the back of my chair, on either side of me. He was close, and I softly pecked his lips. "It's nothing, I was just thinking. Do you wanna go check in on everybody?" I looked towards the door, and he used his fingers to turn my face to him once more.
"What did you think I was gonna say?"
"Well…" I looked at him. His eyes were beautiful right now. Not that they're not always beautiful, but something about when he's being sweet makes his eyes even brighter than normal. "I thought you were gonna…I dunno…ask a certain question…" I mumbled quietly.
He smirked, "Like…maybe a proposal?" I nodded quickly, looking away, slightly embarrassed. Obviously he wasn't ready, why was I thinking too far ahead? I mean, I am in love with him… He's the best thing that's ever happened to me, and I know I'll always love him. But I did know that he wanted to wait until we had our own place and everything. We're so close to making it really happen, too. But it'll still be just a little longer.
He kissed my forehead, then moved to my nose, each one of my cheeks, and slowly kissed along my jawline, and finally pressed a soft kiss to my lips. "That's ridiculous…" He whispered before kissing me again.
"Mhmmm…" I pulled away, "I know, sorry…"
He kissed me again, and pulled away. "You know, people who propose to their girlfriends right at midnight… It makes no sense. That quick moment to explain just how much you love somebody, and to ask that one special person if they'd be willing to remain that one special person that gets to put up with the other's crap, for the rest of their lives? That's ridiculous... Honestly, if I were gonna propose to someone, it'd probably go a bit more like this."
He stood up completely straight, grabbed my hand, and helped me to stand up.
"First, I would tell you how perfectly beautiful you look right now. You always look absolutely stunning, but damn, you're beautiful."
"Then, I would probably tell you how much I really do love you. I could list endless reasons as to why, such as the way you always get me, or how you check your Tumblr every single day just for the smallest things. I love every single thing about you. I would tell you that I love you more than you could ever imagine, and that I love you just enough to say that I want to spend every day with you. But this is all hypothetical, right?"
"Then, I'd probably get on one knee, kind of like this…" He got on one knee, and I giggled.
"And I'd grab your hand…" He grabbed my hand in both of his, and then reached into his pocket with one hand still holding mine.
"Then lastly, I'd probably grab the small box I've been carrying in my pocket for a while… This is all hypothetical, but…" He pulled out a small velvet box, and then a realization hit me. Oh my god. Wait.
"Allison… Will you marry me?"
My jaw dropped. I had no idea what to say.
Then he giggled, "But that's all hypothetical… Until I open the box."
He let go of my hand, and opened the box to show a gorgeous diamond ring. I finally remembered to breathe, in the midst of all of this.
I nodded frantically, forgetting how to speak.
"Wait… Is that a yes?" He whispered. I covered my mouth and nodded again, tears welling up in my eyes.
"Yes… Yes, I'll marry you…" I said as coherently as possibly. His smile grew, and he stood up and crashed his lips onto mine. He fumbled with the box for a moment before I pulled away and helped him to open it. He grabbed the ring and slid it on my finger, where it fit perfectly. I couldn't help but to stare at it, and to think about what all of this meant.
"Oh my god, Connor, I love you!" I kissed him again, holding his face in my hands. He reached one arm around my back, one behind my legs, and lifted me up bridal style. I kissed him again as he carried me out the door and back into the party.
"She said yes!" He yelled to nobody in particular. "She said yes!"
I nodded, "She said yes," and I kissed him again. It really would be a happy New Year.
