The party was loud, rambunctious, and certainly not something Ja'far would go to under normal circumstances. Unfortunately, Sharrkan forced the usually introverted high-schooler to come to the New Year's Eve party he was throwing at his house. The now chaotic two-story home was filled to the brim with students (some drunk), flashing and bright strobe lights, and music that seemed to shake the walls with its vibration.

Ja'far had stayed in the corner of the living room the whole time, refusing any drinks and trying to ignore the strange things that happened between teenagers around the room. He silently cursed his fool of a friend for dragging him to this hallhole of a "fun time." Ja'far had tried to escape multiple times, only to somehow be stopped by Sharrkan, who seemed hurt with every attempt. By now, he was only staying to be polite.

With a sigh and a growing headache, Ja'far checked the time on his phone quickly. He only had to wait for a few minutes until midnight and then he could leave. The thought caused him to smile slightly.

Having nothing better to do, he surveyed the crowd. It seemed, from what Ja'far could see in the blinking, colorful lighting, that most of the teens had paired up, probably to kiss at midnight. Ja'far himself didn't particularly care about the tradition, finding it idiotic, and he didn't mind that he didn't have a partner to kiss. As long as he could leave the place and be home by 12:45, he was fine.

"Hey, Ja'far!" The silver-haired teenager turned to see a classmate, Sinbad, shouting to him. He knew barely knew the purple-haired peer, but Sinbad was one of Sharrkan's close friends.

"Hi, Sin," Ja'far called back, staying loud to be heard over the dubstep playing at what was probably the highest volume possible on the two speakers on the other side of the room.

Branching off from his friends, Sinbad sat down on a chair close next to Ja'far's. "What do you think of the party?" he asked, leaning close to the silverette due to the loud room.

"It's not something I would usually come to," he answered.

"Yeah, I didn't think you would show up to a party like this. So why did you?"

"Sharrkan wanted me to come," Ja'far explained simply. "It's his party, and I'm his friend."

"Okay. I wan-"

Suddenly the music stopped and was replaced by a voice, interrupted Sinbad's sentence. "Everyone, let's start the countdown to midnight!"

Some of the students scrambled to find anyone willing to kiss and all began chanting, counting each second as it passed.

"10, 9, 8-"

Sinbad's eyes met Ja'far's all of the sudden. His gaze was powerful and conveyed so many different emotions.

"7, 6-"

Ja'far felt his beat a little faster in his chest.

"5, 4-"

Sin's expression seemed to hold a question.

"3-"

Can I?

"2-"

Ja'far hesitated, unsure of exactly what was happening and what to say in reply.

"1-"

He nodded slightly. Sin grinned in return.

"Happy New Year!"

Sinbad leaned forward, and caught Ja'far, kissing the shorter high-schooler. It seemed to last an eternity, yet it ended after only several seconds.

As realization of what had occurred sunk in, Ja'far blushed, a light pink color covering his face. Sinbad smiled largely, whispered "Happy New Year, Ja'far" into the sitting student's ear, and left, disappearing into the crowd.

After a minute of shock and confusion, Ja'far found Sharrkan, wished him a great new year, and started the walk home.

He analyzed the situation as he walked, but even after he reached his house, Ja'far wasn't sure what to make of what had happened. What he did know was that Sharrkan was right when he said that strange things happen at midnight.