December 28th
"Tsubaki! I missed you!" Maka rushes into her friend's arms and hugs her tightly.
"Missed you too, have a good break?" Tsubaki replies, dragging her bags to the van that Maka had borrowed from Harvar. Well, she borrowed the keys, Maka thinks, Harvar hadn't come back yet.
"Yeah, it was fun."
"Fun?" Tsubaki questions slyly, "that's all? No romantic dinner like you had last holiday?"
"Shut up, there was nothing romantic there," Maka glares at her roommate and climbs in the front seat.
"You try telling me that you don't like him," Tsubaki teases, "with a straight face."
Maka pauses for a second, "it's not that I don't like him…"
"I knew it!"
"Stooop."
"You know, the boys are all having a New Year's thing in their suite."
"First I've heard of it," Maka doesn't want to admit that she's surprised Soul hadn't already mentioned it.
"Black Star just told me this morning on skype."
"It's hard for me to be happy for you two when you continue to be so disgusting."
"Anyway, you need someone to kiss at this New Year's thing right?"
"No."
"It won't be my fault if you die single."
December 29th
"Hey, you coming for New Year's?" Soul leans against the book-shop desk where Maka has resumed her regular job, though classes won't start for another week.
"What's happening New Year's?" she replies with believable innocence.
"Oh didn't I tell you? We're having a thing at our place." He says, seemingly oblivious.
"And you need me and Tsubaki so it won't be a total sausage-fest?"
"Hey, Ox is bringing his new girlfriend, Kim, and her roommate."
"Yeah sure, we'll be there."
"Hey, you could even bring OCD, if you're talking to him again," he prods.
"We've been talking, about his new girlfriend Liz," she spits.
"Oh. I'm sorry, I know you liked him."
"It doesn't matter. Whatever, I'll invite both of them."
He just shrugs, "whatever you want."
Nothing going on here.
December 31st
"Are you ready?"
"Almost!" Maka yells from her closet where she's dabbing on mascara in a very poorly lit mirror. She catches a glimpse of Tsubaki smirking at her in her mirror and throws the tube half-heartedly at her face.
"Aren't you all cute, dolled up, show Kid what he's missing."
"Hey, I'm the one who rejected him remember?" Maka scowls.
"I know, I know," Tsubaki strokes her head soothingly. It makes her feel sick. She's mad that everyone is making a big deal out this whole thing when it had been a really passing crush on both of their parts.
"Okay, let's go."
They walk the short distance to the boys' dorm, the next building over.
"Hey girls," Black Star slurs as he opens the door. "Come on in! Your god is blessing the world with his singing." Maka winces as she observes that they've set up a karaoke machine.
"Hey Maka, Tsubaki," Soul leans against the wall, as drunk as Maka's ever seen him.
"You've met Ox, Harvar and Killik," Black Star gestures around the room with a beer can, "this is Ox's girlfriend Kim."
"Nice to meet you," a cute girl with pink hair waves from the couch.
"And her roommate Jacquie," Black Star continues his round of introductions.
"I'd really prefer you call me Jacqueline," a brooding girl says from the corner before returning her obviously judgmental gaze to Ox and Kim on the couch.
"Ugh, Black Star, what is this music?" Soul grumbles, still leaning heavily on the wall.
"C'mon, it's New Year's Eve, we have to say goodbye to the 2009 top forty," Black Star yells.
"Whatever, I need another drink," Soul returns to the kitchen and Maka follows him; she knows he isn't a people person.
"Kim seems nice," she mentions.
"Yeah, sure," he replies grumpily, "you invite OCD?"
"Yeah, I told him to come at eight, so he should be here in about 30 seconds." She glances at her cellphone, "he's painfully prompt."
Sure enough, there's a knock at the door and she goes to answer it before Black Star can get to it.
"Hi Maka," Kid says a little stiffly.
"Hi, you must be Maka," a tall, blonde girl says, "I'm Liz."
Of course she's beautiful and nice.
"Nice to meet you, come in."
"Yahoo, Kid brought a sexy lady," Black Star cheers and spills beer on himself.
"I need a drink," Maka mutters and returns to the kitchen where Soul is still nursing something that is definitely not water. He pours her a heavy dose of vodka with a splash of orange juice.
"You're gonna need it," Soul swirls his own drink before downing the rest.
"I don't think I've seen you this drunk," Maka remarks, the liquor going straight to her head.
"I usually avoid it," he yawns.
She shrugs and returns to the group, because despite the fact that Kid's way-hotter-than-her girlfriend is here, she's going to have fun.
She sings a little karaoke, dances with Tsubaki, and eventually ends up on the floor next to one of the beds.
"You okay down there?" Tsubaki asks.
She nods drunkenly, "I'm great; the floor is super comfy. It's my new home actually."
"Hey, can I sit with you?" Liz slides down the wall to sit in the cramped gap with her.
"Uh, sure." Maka smiles politely.
"I just want you to know, that there's no hard feelings between us." Liz starts crying a little and Maka tenses up, "I just want us to be friends, okay?"
"Okay," Maka pats the other girl's head awkwardly as she stands up. No way is she getting down.
"Hey, come dance with me," Killik pulls her towards him and she backs up. He smells like alcohol and sweat, and she definitely doesn't want to dance with him.
"Uh, I'm gonna get a little fresh air," she heads for the kitchen where she figures Soul will still be sulking.
He blows a puff of smoke out the window.
"I didn't know you smoked," she says, sliding to the floor again.
"I don't," he looks at the cigarette in his hand, confused, and laughs. "Guess I had a little too much to drink." He puts out the cigarette in the sink; she gets on her knees to glance in and see it join five more butts. "How're things with OCD?"
Ever considerate. "He's too busy being too awkward to talk to me." Maka laughs, "Whatever, I'm drunk, I don't want to talk to him anyways."
"I'll drink to that," Soul hands her another glass and raises his own. She knows that she is already piss drunk but she drinks anyways because she can't think of a good reason not to.
"It really does seem like a good idea to smoke one of these right now," Maka pulls herself up to the counter and eyes the pack, all sense of judgment gone. "Whose are these anyway?"
Soul lights one, takes a drag and passes it to her. "Hell if I know, they're in my dorm so who cares." Maka sucks in tentatively and it makes her mouth taste awful and her chest burn. She coughs and takes another sip of her drink. "Hey now, let's get you some water," Soul sloppily fills a cup from the sink and she takes it gratefully. He's back in concerned mom mode.
"Ten! Nine! Eight!" she can hear everyone counting down from the other room but she doesn't really feel like moving. Soul seems to be ignoring them too. "Three, Two, One, Happy New Year!"
She leans into the doorway to see an odd scene of barely adults either making out with their significant other or awkwardly staring at the wall. She notes in her muddled brain that no one is kissing her, the moment passes and she takes another sip from one of the glasses on the counter, she can't even tell what's in it at this point.
"I just want everyone to leave," Soul grumbles and pushes his hair back, irritated.
It's 2010 and she couldn't care less. She still feels wasted and her lungs hurt. The floor seems like a good place to be so she slides back down and leans against the wall.
Eventually most everyone leaves or falls asleep and it quiets down. It's hard for her to keep track of exactly who's there, but it looks like Black Star and Tsubaki have left, so she'll be spending the night here. She stumbles towards her usual sleeping spot but it appears that someone else, she guesses Killik, has passed out there. Given the choice between passing out in a bed with Soul in it, and one with Killik in it, she chooses the one with Soul and congratulates herself for her good drunk judgment.
He smells like vodka and cigarettes, but she probably does too so she isn't really bothered. She puts her back up against his and pulls on the pillow. He grunts with annoyance but looks over to see that it's her and that she's only claiming half of it so he relents. She drags some of the covers out from under him and pulls them clumsily over her shoulders. He rolls over and drapes them a little more skillfully before resting his hands on her shoulders. Very warm, and very intoxicated, she falls asleep.
She wakes up some time in the middle of the night, she guesses around three, with her mouth dry and her head woozy. She untangles herself from the blankets and crawls to the bathroom. The light is too bright and makes her head hurt so she washes her face in the dark and shoves her face under the faucet to drink out of it. She can sort of make out her face in the mirror and it doesn't look good. She looks at her phone and sees that it's actually half past five. She haphazardly dries her face and stumbles back to the bedroom.
She's a little too sober to crawl back in a tiny bed with Soul, but also too sober to sleep on the floor. She sits for a little while before giving up. It's cold, and she's still boozy, so she crawls back under the warm covers with the boy she doesn't not like.
"Hey, your face is wet," he grumbles when she leans her forehead against the back of his neck, but he doesn't move away or make further complaint.
January 1st 2010
She certainly doesn't feel new when she wakes up, her head spinning and her mouth dry. But it's a new year, and she spends the first morning of it chugging water and trying to make sense of her hair. Killik has disappeared at some point in the early morning and Soul is still asleep. She hears a groan from the bed and brings out a full glass of water. He reaches for it gratefully but spills a large portion of it on himself anyway.
"Fuck it all."
"Happy New Year to you too," she takes the glass back. Soul stands up and yanks all of the damp bedding off his bed before falling back into it, face first. "You want some toast?"
"Yes, please, thank you."
He's asleep again when she comes back, so she leaves the plate by his bed and starts cleaning the kitchen because she doesn't have anything better to do. Happy New Year.
