Hey! I'm really obsessed with modern AUs now, so here's another!
I own nothing except for Melodie, who's returning from Broken Vows and Whispered Promises! I just didn't feel like putting her to waste, so here she is once more.
Thanks to Kendall (sam2zeus2) for helping out yet again! Mwah!
Enjoy, and have a happy new year, everybody!
Seven years ago
Jon Stark huddles in the corner by himself, nursing the same bottle of beer that had been thrust into his hand when he walked through the door two hours ago. It's not that he doesn't like the taste, more the fact that he doesn't want to get in trouble with his aunt and uncle when he comes home; after all, he is only a high school student. No doubt Ned and Cat would flip out if he came home reeking of booze. And plus, he doesn't want to get wasted and make a complete and utter fool out of himself.
Exhibit A: Theon Greyjoy, the only reason why Jon came to this stupid party in the first place, since Theon claimed that he needed to get that pole out of his ass and have a little fun on New Year's. Theon's a man-whore- to put it lightly- under normal circumstances, and the alcohol really doesn't help. Jon doesn't know whether to laugh or cry when he sees Theon jump up onto one of the tables, his shirt dramatically slipping off his shoulders. Greyjoy begins to shed the rest of his clothes in a provocative striptease, his hips swiveling and circling, his shaggy hair being tossed around from side to side. The guests hoot and throw money at him, and Jon decides that he won't be speaking to a certain someone for a very long time.
Jon looks around for his cousin, Robb. Maybe he could convince Robb to drive him home, since he always understood his lack of interest in socializing better than Theon ever did. However, any hope at a ride home is shattered when Jon sees him on one of the couches, playing a very rigorous game of tonsil hockey with his girlfriend, Jeyne. A game which Jon has no interest in watching, thank you very much.
Jon takes a sip of the beer- which has gone piss warm in his grip-, frowns, and sets it down on the table. His head hurts from the blaring music, and at this point, he's not even sure what song is playing, since he can only hear a faint buzzing in his ears. He pours himself a glass of water and chokes when he throws it back in one shot; vodka looks a lot like water. He coughs and searches around frantically for water.
"Oh my god, are you alright?" a voice squeaks, panic evident in her tone. Jon looks up- too quickly, which gives him whiplash- and sees a cute girl, her brown eyes blown wide in shock. He tries to formulate a response, but it only comes out as a wheeze, before he's doubling over and hacking up a lung.
"I'll go get water!" she throws over her shoulder, and the girl dashes off towards the kitchens. She comes back seconds later with a tall glass of water and thrusts it into his waiting hand. He chugs it and slams it down on the table, panting heavily. He hears the girl chuckling next to him, and he stares at her with wild eyes.
"That wasn't funny! I could have died!"
"I laugh when I'm nervous!" Almost as if to prove her point, she collapses on the loveseat next to them and clutches her sides, her chuckles escalading into giggles. Her head's thrown back, her long dark hair splayed over the armrest. Her cheeks flush a lovely pink, although Jon isn't sure whether it's from her laughter, or if she's drunk.
He sits down on the loveseat next to her, and she moves over to give him enough room. "Thanks, by the way." He smiles a little at the girl, who's calmed down by now.
"I'm Melodie Parker," she introduces herself, brushing her hair away from her face with one hand, while the other meets Jon's in a firm shake. "You can call me Mel, a lot of people call me Mel. But please, stay away from 'Peter', or any Spiderman references." She wrinkles her nose, and Jon notices the freckles there.
"Jon Stark," he replies, returning her handshake. He grins and lets out a quiet chuckle. "And don't worry about the Spiderman thing. I don't see any web shooters on you, so you're good." She laughs with him. "So, what brings you here?" He hasn't seen her around school before, so he figures that she's here with a friend.
"My family and I are in town for winter break, to see how it is. We were planning to move here," she explains, playing with the ends of her hair. "My mum's friend's kid brought me here. But I have no idea where he's gone, so I guess I'm stuck here."
"I would offer you a ride home, but it's my friend Theon's car, and there's no way in hell he'd let me drive it." Jon nods to Greyjoy, who's put his own boxers on his head and somehow managed to squeeze into a chick's thong.
"You're friends with that bloke?" she asks, disbelieving.
He shrugs. "I grew up with him. His parents haven't really been around, so he stays with us." He looks back to Melodie. "He's not such a bad guy. He just...does some bad things."
"Doesn't everyone?" she counters smartly. She jumps out of her chair and goes to the nearby table. She comes back with a bowl of chips and two glasses of punch, and Jon's not exactly sure how she manages to hold it all in her small hands. "We'll be loners together," she declares, sitting back down next to him. She puts one of the plastic cups in his hand, and sets the bowl of chips down in between them.
"Sorry for your introduction to our town, by the way. This isn't exactly the best place for first impressions." He smiles crookedly, and decides that spending the rest of the night with her won't be all that bad.
She shrugs one shoulder, a coy smile playing on her lips. "I got a good first impression of you." The blush returns to her cheeks, and Jon thinks that it looks lovely on her.
"Everybody!" Margaery Tyrell- the hostess of the party- hollers, turning down the music. A few people grumble and groan in protest, but she quickly silences them with one death glare. "The New Year's almost here!" Cheering echoes around the room. Margaery starts the countdown, and everyone joins in. "Ten, nine-"
"You know, I don't get the big deal about celebrating the New Year," Jon mutters, taking a sip of his punch.
"-eight-"
"Spending a whole year with all these peasants is quite the accomplishment," Mel protests, her tone teasing.
"-seven-"
"I think it's worth celebrating," she concludes, crossing her arms over her chest.
"-six, five-"
She gets a dreamy look in her eye. "And plus, doesn't everyone have that secret desire to be kissed when the clock strikes twelve?" Jon only shrugs.
"four, three, two-"
Melodie grins at him, shaking her head. "That's your cue, stupid." Before he has the chance to respond, her lips are on his, her fingers tangling in his hair.
"-one! Happy New Year!"
Mel pulls away a few seconds later- too soon, for Jon's liking-, a wide grin on her face. "Happy New Year, Jon Stark."
Seven years later: present time
Jon steps outside into the chill night time air, buttoning his jacket all the way up. He sees his breath come out in little white puffs, and knows that being outside at this time of the night will only get him a death of a cold, but he can't be arsed to care right now. Somehow- yet again- Theon Greyjoy had managed to drag him to another New Year's party. Jon just wanted to get some rest after spending a week with his family- who is mostly comprised of energetic tweens and teenagers-, and the past two years stationed at Camp Lejeune in North Carolina.
Robb had come along as well, since he's not usually the type to miss these big events. He broke up with Jeyne a couple years ago, so he doesn't have to worry about her. Him and Theon had picked up a couple of chicks at the party, and were dancing with them- a rather raunchy dance, Jon thinks. He took it as his cue to leave, more for his own benefit than theirs; he has no desire to see his cousin or one of his oldest friends get busy on the dance floor.
Manhattan is beautiful at night, and Jon would gladly give up North Carolina to stay in New York City. North Carolina's great, but it gets lonely. He also wouldn't mind going to university, since he only ended up doing a couple years of college before making the brash decision of joining the army.
He stays at the edge of the sidewalk, craning his neck and watching the New York skyline. He spots the Empire State Building and smiles when he remembers the trip him and his cousins had made a couple days ago. A few fireworks crackle next to it, so Jon figures they're testing everything- the New Year must be close.
"You looking for Stark Tower?" a girl teases, and only then does Jon notice the young woman next to him. She takes a drag of her cigarette, the smoke wafting by Jon's nostrils. "Come on; don't pretend that you don't remember me." She flashes him a smile, her brown eyes meeting his.
Gears turn in his brain, and suddenly, it clicks. He smirks at her. "Actually, Miss Parker, I was looking for the OsCorps tower." He grins. "For the record, I'm not related to Tony Stark."
She laughs. "So you do remember me!" She lets go of the cigarette and steps on it, extinguishing it. "I knew it was you. I'd recognize that curly hair anywhere." Melodie laughs and enfolds him in a hug, shivering against him. "How are you? It's been, what, five years?"
"Seven," he corrects and returns her hug. "I'm alright. It's good to be back."
"Back?" She pulls away from him and stares at him in shock. "Jon Stark, where the hell did you go?"
"I joined the army," he admits.
She recovers quickly. "Well, I did always like a man in uniform." She winks and salutes him with two fingers.
He chuckles. "And what about you?"
"My family and I moved here after I graduated high school. I work part time as a waitress, and…I got in to Julliard." She smiles a little, obviously proud of herself.
"Julliard?" he echoes. "That's awesome. I'm proud of you." He hugs her again. "You really shouldn't smoke," he murmurs against her hair.
"It's a once-a-holiday type thing, I promise." He feels her smile against his cheek. "So, what brings you to this party? I remember you telling me that New Year's isn't worth celebrating."
He lets her go. "Theon Greyjoy and his escapades dragged me along yet again."
"The stripper at Mags' party?"
"That's the one."
She nods and sips her beer in silence. "You got a lady?" she asks after a few moments of silence. Jon turns beetroot red and shakes his head furiously. "That's too bad." She tosses the empty beer bottle into the nearby trashcan. "I don't have one either."
"A lady?" he squeaks out.
She throws her head back and laughs. "No, a fella. But I don't have one of those, either."
"Oh."
Melodie picks her purse back up from the ground. "You wanna go see the ball drop? We should make it in time if we get going now."
"Robb and Theon are in there, I should head back-"
"They're probably getting laid in the bathroom," she states matter-of-factly. Mel slings her purse onto her arm. "Isn't that why you came out here?"
He blushes an even darker shade of red and gives the slightest of nods. "Something along those lines."
"Then c'mon!" She giggles and grabs his hand, and pretty soon, they're dashing down the streets and sprinting towards Times Square. Cars honk at them and a few drivers even shout profanities at them, but Jon and Mel continue to run, giggling and laughing like fools.
"Talk about perfect timing," Melodie pants, squeezing Jon's hand. The two of them push past a few people to get a better spot. "And Jon?"
"Hmm?"
"Just for the record, my cousin's name is Peter."
"Peter Parker?"
"Yep." She laughs and wraps her arm around his waist, her other hand still intertwined with his. "Just thought I should let you know." Jon doesn't even ask why she's still holding his hand, nor does he protest when she snuggles deeper into his chest. He figures she's just a bit tipsy from the booze, and isn't entirely in control of her actions. He doesn't complain; in fact, he rather likes the proximity.
Someone begins the countdown, and everyone in the audience joins in. Despite living in New York for most of his life, he hasn't ever seen the ball dropped in person. He's seen it on TV a few times when he was a kid, but he'd never had the energy or the willpower to stay up that late every year.
"Ten-"
"Isn't this exciting?" Mel asks in a hushed whisper, unable to hide her glee.
"-nine-"
"You know I don't give a shit about New Year's."
"-eight-"
"So our midnight kiss way back when didn't change anything for you?" A smile peeks out behind the curtain of her hair.
"-seven-"
"Maybe I still think like this because I only had one midnight kiss with you," he retorts, and only after the words leave his mouth does he realize what he said.
"-six, five-"
She grins widely. "Would you like another, Jon Stark?" He meets her sparkling brown eyes with his own grey ones.
"-four-"
Jon nods.
"-three-"
Melodie reaches up on her tiptoes and presses her lips to his, her hand still gripping his coat.
"-two, one! Happy New Year!" The ball drops, shattering into a million pieces. Mel gasps against Jon's lips in shock, and he takes her distraction as an opportunity to bring her closer.
"Happy New Year, Melodie Parker." He kisses her again, making up for all the New Years apart from her.
"Got any resolutions?" she asks when they finally break away, breathless and red-faced from more than just the cold.
He thinks for a moment. "To spend all my New Years with you."
She smirks impishly. "Only New Year's?"
He grins. "Maybe a bit more than that."