Sorry for the delay! It's been an extremely busy couple of days, especially with it being the 1st of the month at work!
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Chapter Sixteen
(New Year's Eve)
Mimi sat in the back seat of Nancy Wesley's dark blue sedan, staring out the window at the town of Salem passing her by. Nancy was letting Chloe drive her car while she was here on winter break, and they were heading over to Brady's loft along with Belle and Rory. Initially, they were supposed to have a New Year's party at the Kiriakis mansion, but when Phillip decided to go back to New York early, they had to change plans. So, they downsized the guest list and shifted things to Brady's loft.
Belle turned around in her seat and grinned eagerly at Rory, who was sitting beside Mimi. "Hey Rory... I heard that Nick gave you a little kiss."
Rory rolled her eyes and wrinkled up her nose in disgust. "Unfortunately, yes."
Chloe laughed softly but kept her eyes on the road. "Unfortunately? I don't think there's anything unfortunate about being kissed by a cute guy... At least not in my experience."
Rory sunk down in her seat and Mimi tried to explain. "Unfortunate because it hasn't happened again. He hasn't even mentioned it, and even though she's been back in Salem for four days, he hasn't kissed her again."
Rory nodded in agreement. "Yeah, that's just... wrong. You don't go kissing somebody and then pretend like it never happened."
Belle smiled and reached between the seats to pat her on the knee reassuringly. "Don't worry, Rory. This *is* New Year's... It's a time for romance, for new beginnings, for change..."
Chloe grinned and continued Belle's thought as she glanced at Rory in the rear view mirror. "For one perfect kiss at the stroke of midnight..."
Rory shook her head slightly. "You are all hopeless. Hopeless romantics. Not everything is some storybook fairy tale romance."
Mimi nodded in agreement with Roy. "That's true. Not everybody gets their knight in shining armor to ride up on his white horse, and carry you off into the sunset. Some things just end... badly. No matter how good things start off."
Rory leaned forward and looked at Chloe curiously. "Speaking of things going badly. What exactly went down with Dimple-man? One day he was here, and the next he was gone."
Chloe shrugged and found a parking space outside of Brady's building, pulling her mother's car into it with ease. "Believe it or not... I think he's finally over the fact that Brady and I are *together*. He even met some girl at Columbia... They haven't even gone on a single date yet, but he's already doing her bidding. She called and asked him to go out with her on New Year's Eve, so he went running. I don't know if that's romantic or just plain *weird*."
Belle smiled happily as Chloe turned the car off and everybody started unbuckling their seatbelts. "I'm just glad he finally got a clue, and now Chloe and my brother can live happily ever after."
Rory got out of the car, as did everyone else, and shut her door. "Don't say 'happily ever after'..."
Chloe locked the doors and nodded in agreement. "Yeah, Belle... Don't jinx us, please."
The group of girls made their way upstairs and knocked loudly on Brady's door. Brady slid it open and immediately greeted Chloe with a quick kiss. "Hey Diva... everybody else. Come on in."
They all walked in and Belle immediately glued herself back to Shawn's side. They spent so much time apart that when they were reunited, they were practically like Siamese twins joined at the hip. Rory and Mimi watched as Shawn and Belle recited their usual choruses of mushy words and confessions of love.
Rory crossed her arms and leaned over to whisper to Mimi. "How long do you give it before one of them transfers to a different school?"
Mimi laughed and shrugged her shoulders. "I'm surprised it's lasted this long. I'd say by the beginning of sophomore year, they'll be in the same city."
"Oh yeah... It's almost disgusting how sweet they are."
"And to think, you've only known them for a couple of months. I've known them my WHOLE life."
Rory shook her head sadly and patted Mimi on the back. "You poor thing..."
There was another knock at the door and Brady opened it to greet Jason and Nick who were both carrying large bags of ice in each hand. Jason grinned at him and held up his bags. "We come bearing ice from the 7-11."
Brady grabbed a couple bags from them and threw them on the kitchen counter. Jason walked over and gave Mimi a quick kiss, and they both turned to watch the latest drama between Rory and Nick unfold before their eyes. Rory sauntered over towards Nick and grabbed something from her pocket, laying it on the counter in front of him.
"Hey Nick... I got you a present."
Nick looked at the items on the counter strangely. "A pack of gum, a roll of Certs, Listerine breath strips and a tin of Altoids?"
Rory smiled proudly and nodded. "Yep... I don't want you to have bad breath when you kiss me later."
Nick covered up his surprise well and laid down the bag of ice in his hand. He lightly ran his fingers through her hair and smiled at her, leaning forward as he did. It seemed that he was moving into the perfect position to kiss her, but instead he laid his cold hand on her cheek. Rory squealed loudly and jumped a couple of feet away from him.
"You jerk! Your hand is FREEZING!"
Nick nodded and walked into the kitchen, ignoring her completely. Apparently the night of the Christmas party had taught him one important thing. He had just as much power over Rory as she had over him. Rory growled at him before walking away and taking a seat on the couch.
Mimi turned back to her boyfriend and wrapped her arms around him with a smile. Josh had left yesterday after spending plenty of time with Jason and Mimi, and the more she got to know him, the more she liked him. Josh was a great brother, and Jason was quite lucky to have him. "You know... It's too bad that Josh couldn't stay for New Year's."
"Yeah, I know... But, his friends down at school were having a big party, and he promised he'd back before that. Plus, I think two weeks with mom and dad is more than enough."
"Two HOURS with your mom and dad is more than enough."
Jason frowned and looked away for a second. "Mimi... I'm sorry."
Mimi shook her head and stopped him. "No, no, I'm the one that's sorry. I shouldn't be bringing it up. Josh was right. We can't listen to them."
"No, we shouldn't. And, nothing they say will ever make me stop loving you. I'm just in a difficult position, because no matter how much I despise them, they're still my parents."
"I know... And, we won't talk about it any more. Especially not tonight."
Jason smiled and kissed her again, and then dragged her towards the couch to sit with Rory. Rory was slumped in her seat with her arms crossed, frowning in frustration. Jason looked at her strangely. "Rory... What's up with you?"
"Why do I hate him so much?"
Mimi laughed and put her arm around Rory's shoulder. "Because you looooove him."
Rory nodded and groaned softly. "Oh, yeah... That *must* be it."
Any moment now, Mimi expected Nick to be pulling her hair, and for Rory to be calling him things like 'poo-poo head'. If there were ever a prime example of grade school romance existing in college, it was those two.
~*~*~*~*~*~*~
(Later)
It had been a pretty low-key evening so far, mostly conversation and snacking. But, it was getting close to the beginning of the New Year, and the eight friends were assembled in the living room around the TV. Brady put it on the channel that Dick Clark's Times Square celebration was on and took a seat next to Chloe.
Belle pointed excitedly at the screen as the cameraman did a swooping shot over the crowd in the streets of New York. "Hey! Maybe we'll see someone from school!"
Chloe looked at her skeptically and shook her head. "I doubt it, Belle. There are like three hundred thousand people down there. It's like finding a needle in a haystack."
Rory returned from the kitchen after refilling her drink and pushed at Nick until he relinquished space on the couch for her. She watched the crazy drunken people shouting at the camera on TV and shook her head with shame. "You know, that's really embarrassing for those people. They get completely smashed, then make fools of themselves on national television. Whereas, *I* prefer to make a fool out of myself in front of smaller groups of people."
Shawn looked at her curiously. "Well, you've been pretty well behaved tonight... so far."
"Maybe I'll make that my New Year's resolution. To calm down... You know, before some shrink puts me on behavior modifiers."
Brady took a sip out of his beer and looked back at her. "You know, my stepmother is a shrink if you need help with that."
Belle suddenly looked like a light bulb was going off in her head and she jumped up from her chair. "Oh wait, that reminds me... You said resolutions... I forgot what I had planned for us."
Jason looked at the tiny blonde in confusion. "Something to liven up this little party?"
"Ehhhhh... Well, I don't know if it will liven it up, but it's a Black family New Year's tradition." Belle went to Brady's desk and grabbed a stack of paper, handing a sheet and one pent to each of the other guests. "Everybody writes down their resolutions and then we read them out loud. We've got just enough time before midnight too..."
Mimi stared at her doubtfully and frowned. "Sounds... so boring, Belle. Very boring."
"It is NOT boring. It's enlightening... And, stop saying this party is boring. Everyone here agreed that we'd rather have a quiet intimate evening together than some noisy overcrowded party. So, don't complain about this."
Chloe smiled to ease Belle's frustration. "You're right, Belle. It won't hurt any of us to make some changes this coming year. And, I, for one, am perfectly happy being with the people in this room tonight."
Belle smiled and returned to her seat calmly. "Thank you, Chloe..."
The room fell silent as everyone stared at the blank pages in front of them. A few people began writing, but Nick was completely stumped. He looked up from his page and asked a question to anyone who would answer. "What if you don't believe in resolutions?"
Shawn looked at him with surprise. "You don't believe in resolutions? You're not saying that you're too perfect for a resolution?"
Rory muttered quietly under her breath but kept her eyes on her page. "He would say that."
Nick ignored her and turned to Shawn to explain. "No, it's not that. I just think that if you want to change something about yourself, then you can do it any time, not just because it's New Year's."
Rory rolled her eyes and lifted her face from her paper. She took her pen and leaned over to write something on Nick's page. "Here, let me help you..."
She finished writing and went back to her own page, as Nick read what she had written out loud. "'I resolve to stop acting like a know-it-all.' Geez, thanks, Ror... Now, let me help you."
Nick leaned over and quickly wrote something on Rory's paper. He sat back and Rory glared at him angrily as she read out loud from her page. "'I resolve to quit being a pain in Nick Cooper's ass.' Nope, sorry, that will never happen."
Jason put his pen down and glared at them like a disapproving parent. "Children! Do we need to separate you again? Mommy and I already took away your toys, I don't want to have to put you in time out."
Rory nodded and went back to her resolution writing, drawing lines through what Nick had written. "Okay, I'm sorry... I promised I would behave."
Mimi stared at her sheet of paper for what seemed like an hour. She thought to herself that she could fill two pages with things she wanted to change about herself. And that was when she realized the one thing that was the most important to change and began writing furiously to catch up with everyone else. She put the cap back on her pen and looked around the room at the expectant faces of her friends.
Mimi was the last one finished and she saw all of them waiting for her. "Oh. Guess I'm the straggler. Huh... Nobody ever accused Mimi Lockhart of being ahead of everyone else. That's for sure."
Belle smiled and glanced all around the room. "Okay... Who wants to go first?"
Brady looked at his little sister and grinned. "Your idea, you go first."
"Fair enough... Okay... My resolution is to..." Belle paused and glanced at Shawn for a second, but quickly turned her gaze to Jason, making sure that he and Mimi both knew what her words intended. "To leave the past in the past, and keep an eye towards the future, but live in the present. To forgive, and give second chances... and to be a better friend to the people I love, and they people they love."
Mimi smiled knowingly at her best friend, and Belle winked at her. It had been a rough year, but Belle had forgiven Shawn for everything that happened with Jan, and had all intentions of leaving that as history. And, she had kept her promise to Mimi, giving Jason the second chance he rightly deserved.
Shawn kissed his girlfriend on the cheek and decided to read his next. "Okay... I'll go. My resolution is to stop making stupid decisions, and to think logically before I do something. Brady?"
Brady frowned and looked at his page. "I guess... Uhm... I should be more open about my feelings, and communicate them... And, uhm, oh wait... This one is private."
Brady winked at Chloe, and she giggled bashfully as her cheeks turned bright red. "Braaaady..."
"Don't worry, Diva. I'll tell you later. Your turn..."
Chloe attempted to regain her composure and laughed softly. "Okay, I totally agree with Brady, because I also have a tendency to shut my feelings up inside... I also resolve not to push people who love me away anymore, especially my parents. Plus, I think I'm going to add another one to my list. I want to find out what Brady's private resolution is."
Rory laughed and eagerly grabbed her pen. "Ooh! I want to add that to my list too."
Brady pointed at her scoldingly. "Oh, no you don't. That's for me to know, and Chloe to find out. End of story."
"Alright, alright... I guess that leads me to my first resolution. To stop living vicariously through other people's love lives."
Nick looked at her in confusion and peeked at the paper in her hand. "That is *not* on your list."
Rory growled softly and pulled her paper away from his prying eyes. "No, but maybe it should be. I'm sure not getting any action in my own life, and that definitely needs to change. My *actual* resolutions, for those who are curious, is to finish at least one of those unfinished novels or screenplays that I have sitting around. And, to stop being such a manipulative game-playing bitch."
Everyone looked at her in surprise and Jason leaned over the couch to pat her on the shoulder reassuringly. "Don't worry, Rory... Six people in this room know Jan Spears, the queen of manipulative bitches. She makes you look like a completely harmless fluffy bunny rabbit."
Rory smiled thankfully and nodded. She still felt guilty for her actions at the Christmas party, but knew that her little immature games could never compare to what she had heard about Jan. "Well, that makes me feel a lot better. Thanks, Jase... So, Nicholas... Have you decided to believe in New Year's resolutions yet?"
Nick glared at her and stuck his tongue out. "I still stick by my original point. But, for the sake of Belle's 'tradition', I wrote a couple things down. The first one is to sell one piece of my artwork before the end of 2003. And, the other one is to stop being such a coward. If I want something, I should go after it, even if I get rejected."
Jason looked at his roommate proudly and nodded. "Nice one, Nick... Very nice."
"Thank you... What about you, Jase?"
"I... I guess mine are mostly to keep working on things I've already been working on for the past year. You know, being less of a jerk... And, finding an identity outside of my parents and my brother."
Mimi smiled at him and gave him a quick kiss on the cheek. Her eyes scanned around the room and took a deep breath in. "Last one to finish... Last one to read. So, uhm, yeah, I guess... Well... I took so long because I thought I needed like two pages to write down all the things I want to change about myself. But, then I remembered things that all of you have said to me before. And, the thing that I most need to change is how I perceive myself. So, that's what I'm going to do."
Belle hopped up from her seat and gave Mimi a tight hug. "Good... It's about time you start to see what the rest of us do."
"You were right, Belle. That little exercise was very enlightening."
Belle let go of her and clapped her hands together proudly. "Seeeeeeeee... You all nay-sayed it, but it was a very good idea."
Shawn tapped his watch and pointed at the TV. "Hey... we should start getting ready for midnight."
Everyone jumped up and began scattering around the loft to refill their beverages and prepare for the countdown. Rory was returning from the kitchen and Nick stood in her path and stopped her.
"Rory... Do you really think you're a 'manipulative bitch'?"
"Do you really think you're a coward?"
Nick sat his drink down and crossed his arms over his chest. "I asked you a question, don't answer a question with a question, Rory."
Rory set her drink down next to him and matched his stance. "Okay, fine... The answer is YES. Wouldn't you agree? I mean... after what I did at that stupid Christmas party..."
"So, that was a game? Bringing that guy? It was a game... For what? What were you playing it for? Why?"
Jason sat back down on the couch and pulled Mimi into his lap, finding that the show they were about to watch was much more interesting than the one on the TV. Brady and Chloe were standing behind them, and Chloe leaned forward with a question.
"Did anybody pop the popcorn? This is about to get good."
Mimi laughed and nodded in agreement as 'The Rory and Nick Show' continued to the delight of six interested people.
Rory was staring at him in disbelief. "As if you don't know why I brought Andrew that night. Don't play stupid, Nicholas, because I know you're not."
Nick grinned wickedly at her and nodded. "Oh, I know. I just want to hear you say it. So, say it, Rory. Fess up."
"Fine. I did it to make YOU jealous, and it was wrong, okay. I shouldn't have done that, and I'm sorry. But, you -- you are no better than me."
"WHAT? What are you talking about?"
Rory narrowed her eyes and glared at him. "Answer my question. Do you think you're really a coward? Because, *I* do. You kissed me at that party, and that was it. You haven't mentioned it even once since I got back from San Diego, and you haven't even tried to kiss me again. You need to stop acting like nothing happened."
Nick nodded in understanding and sighed softly. "You're right, I do. And, I've been thinking a lot about that kiss over the past two weeks. I've been thinking... about how much I want to do it again."
"THEN WHY DON'T YOU?" Rory shouted and looked at him expectantly. "Come on... I'm right here. If you want to kiss me, you should."
"Do you want to kiss me?"
"That is COMPLETELY irrelevant."
Nick was still grinning slightly. Rory always brought out a side to him that was a little more confident, a side that could stand toe to toe with her and her antics. "It's completely relevant. I'm not going to kiss you if you don't want to kiss me back."
Rory threw up her hands in frustration and tried to walk around him, but he stopped her by putting his hands on her arms. She groaned loudly and gave in. "FINE! YES! I WANT TO KISS YOU! Did EVERYBODY HEAR THAT? I WANT TO KISS NICHOLAS COOPER!"
The other six in the room were still watching with interest and they all nodded their heads to her shouting, looking at each other and muttering things like, "Yep. We heard you."
Nick smiled victoriously and nodded. "Okay, you're free to walk away now."
Only one person in her life could ever leave her speechless on so many occasions. Rory stared at him with open-mouthed surprise. "You... I... What? You're not going to kiss me? I... don't get it."
"It's not 2003 yet... I don't have to put my resolution to not be a coward into action until then."
Rory frowned at him, her brown eyes drooping with disappointment. "But... Well... It's the year 2003 somewhere, right?"
Nick paused for a moment to think about it and then pulled her closer to him, wrapping his arms around her. He used one hand to brush through her hair, and she looked at him with the word 'want' written all over her face. Nick smiled and nodded, then speedily counted down to a false midnight. "10-9-8-7-6-5-4-3-2-1..."
He leaned forward; his lips only centimeters away from hers and whispered. "Happy New Year..."
Rory smiled in return and Nick pressed his lips against hers, giving her the kind of kiss he had been wanting to give her for a very long time. She melted into his arms, both of them planning on making this a kiss that would last long in to the New Year. The crowd that had been watching intently applauded for them, but Rory and Nick were oblivious to everything but each other.
Mimi wrapped her arms around Jason and smiled happily at him. "Add another happy couple to the list... I'm just glad the drama is all over."
Jason laughed softly and shook his head. "The drama will never be over with those two."
The others began to count down from ten, as Rory and Nick continued on with the kiss that hadn't stopped yet. When they hit midnight, everyone shouted, "Happy New Year!" and the other couples gave kisses to each other as well. Mimi locked lips with Jason, held tight in his embrace. It was only her second New Year's kiss, but to her, it was the first one that counted. Her first New Year's in love.
Rory and Nick probably could have gone on all night, but both of them felt a sudden need for oxygen and they broke off from each other.
Nick grinned at each other and kissed the tip of her nose. "So... Maybe I should ask you to go out on a date with me some time?"
Rory shook her head and wrinkled her nose with disgust. "Oh God NO. I'm only using you for physical pleasure."
"You're a liar."
"Yes, I am. But, somehow you have still found a way to love me."
Nick furrowed his eyebrows together and stared into her brown eyes. "Aurora Bennett... Shut up."
Rory laughed and poked him in the chest with her index finger. "Make me."
Nick nodded in understanding and leaned in for another passionate kiss. It was well worth the time that he had waited to kiss her. Nobody had ever made him feel the way that she did, even when she was making him angry.
On the other side of the room, Mimi broke away from Jason and smiled sweetly at him. "You know, I have a feeling that 2003 is going to be a good year."
Jason nodded in agreement and smiled back. "If it's anything like the last few months of 2002, it's going to be a great year. All because of you, Mimi. I love you..."
"I love you too..."
Mimi sighed softly and tipped her head up for another kiss. Each kiss with Jason was better, as their feelings for each other grew stronger every single day. If she felt like this for him now, she couldn't imagine what she would be feeling for him in another year.
***
Yup, this was mostly a Rock oriented chapter. The only reason I'm putting this much of them into the story is because you have all been so receptive to them. Honestly, I only intended them to be a small part of this fic, but they've really taken on a life of their own. Even when I don't plan to include them, they force me to write something for them to do. (You know Rory, she's as tenacious as it gets.)
And yes, I am talking like the characters live in my head... Which, they pretty much do.
The next chapter will have LOTS of Mason. Which is probably a good thing seeing as how this *is* a Mason story.
And for those that are curious, Josh WILL be back later on. :)
Thanks to everyone for reading and reviewing!!
-Hope-
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Chapter Sixteen
(New Year's Eve)
Mimi sat in the back seat of Nancy Wesley's dark blue sedan, staring out the window at the town of Salem passing her by. Nancy was letting Chloe drive her car while she was here on winter break, and they were heading over to Brady's loft along with Belle and Rory. Initially, they were supposed to have a New Year's party at the Kiriakis mansion, but when Phillip decided to go back to New York early, they had to change plans. So, they downsized the guest list and shifted things to Brady's loft.
Belle turned around in her seat and grinned eagerly at Rory, who was sitting beside Mimi. "Hey Rory... I heard that Nick gave you a little kiss."
Rory rolled her eyes and wrinkled up her nose in disgust. "Unfortunately, yes."
Chloe laughed softly but kept her eyes on the road. "Unfortunately? I don't think there's anything unfortunate about being kissed by a cute guy... At least not in my experience."
Rory sunk down in her seat and Mimi tried to explain. "Unfortunate because it hasn't happened again. He hasn't even mentioned it, and even though she's been back in Salem for four days, he hasn't kissed her again."
Rory nodded in agreement. "Yeah, that's just... wrong. You don't go kissing somebody and then pretend like it never happened."
Belle smiled and reached between the seats to pat her on the knee reassuringly. "Don't worry, Rory. This *is* New Year's... It's a time for romance, for new beginnings, for change..."
Chloe grinned and continued Belle's thought as she glanced at Rory in the rear view mirror. "For one perfect kiss at the stroke of midnight..."
Rory shook her head slightly. "You are all hopeless. Hopeless romantics. Not everything is some storybook fairy tale romance."
Mimi nodded in agreement with Roy. "That's true. Not everybody gets their knight in shining armor to ride up on his white horse, and carry you off into the sunset. Some things just end... badly. No matter how good things start off."
Rory leaned forward and looked at Chloe curiously. "Speaking of things going badly. What exactly went down with Dimple-man? One day he was here, and the next he was gone."
Chloe shrugged and found a parking space outside of Brady's building, pulling her mother's car into it with ease. "Believe it or not... I think he's finally over the fact that Brady and I are *together*. He even met some girl at Columbia... They haven't even gone on a single date yet, but he's already doing her bidding. She called and asked him to go out with her on New Year's Eve, so he went running. I don't know if that's romantic or just plain *weird*."
Belle smiled happily as Chloe turned the car off and everybody started unbuckling their seatbelts. "I'm just glad he finally got a clue, and now Chloe and my brother can live happily ever after."
Rory got out of the car, as did everyone else, and shut her door. "Don't say 'happily ever after'..."
Chloe locked the doors and nodded in agreement. "Yeah, Belle... Don't jinx us, please."
The group of girls made their way upstairs and knocked loudly on Brady's door. Brady slid it open and immediately greeted Chloe with a quick kiss. "Hey Diva... everybody else. Come on in."
They all walked in and Belle immediately glued herself back to Shawn's side. They spent so much time apart that when they were reunited, they were practically like Siamese twins joined at the hip. Rory and Mimi watched as Shawn and Belle recited their usual choruses of mushy words and confessions of love.
Rory crossed her arms and leaned over to whisper to Mimi. "How long do you give it before one of them transfers to a different school?"
Mimi laughed and shrugged her shoulders. "I'm surprised it's lasted this long. I'd say by the beginning of sophomore year, they'll be in the same city."
"Oh yeah... It's almost disgusting how sweet they are."
"And to think, you've only known them for a couple of months. I've known them my WHOLE life."
Rory shook her head sadly and patted Mimi on the back. "You poor thing..."
There was another knock at the door and Brady opened it to greet Jason and Nick who were both carrying large bags of ice in each hand. Jason grinned at him and held up his bags. "We come bearing ice from the 7-11."
Brady grabbed a couple bags from them and threw them on the kitchen counter. Jason walked over and gave Mimi a quick kiss, and they both turned to watch the latest drama between Rory and Nick unfold before their eyes. Rory sauntered over towards Nick and grabbed something from her pocket, laying it on the counter in front of him.
"Hey Nick... I got you a present."
Nick looked at the items on the counter strangely. "A pack of gum, a roll of Certs, Listerine breath strips and a tin of Altoids?"
Rory smiled proudly and nodded. "Yep... I don't want you to have bad breath when you kiss me later."
Nick covered up his surprise well and laid down the bag of ice in his hand. He lightly ran his fingers through her hair and smiled at her, leaning forward as he did. It seemed that he was moving into the perfect position to kiss her, but instead he laid his cold hand on her cheek. Rory squealed loudly and jumped a couple of feet away from him.
"You jerk! Your hand is FREEZING!"
Nick nodded and walked into the kitchen, ignoring her completely. Apparently the night of the Christmas party had taught him one important thing. He had just as much power over Rory as she had over him. Rory growled at him before walking away and taking a seat on the couch.
Mimi turned back to her boyfriend and wrapped her arms around him with a smile. Josh had left yesterday after spending plenty of time with Jason and Mimi, and the more she got to know him, the more she liked him. Josh was a great brother, and Jason was quite lucky to have him. "You know... It's too bad that Josh couldn't stay for New Year's."
"Yeah, I know... But, his friends down at school were having a big party, and he promised he'd back before that. Plus, I think two weeks with mom and dad is more than enough."
"Two HOURS with your mom and dad is more than enough."
Jason frowned and looked away for a second. "Mimi... I'm sorry."
Mimi shook her head and stopped him. "No, no, I'm the one that's sorry. I shouldn't be bringing it up. Josh was right. We can't listen to them."
"No, we shouldn't. And, nothing they say will ever make me stop loving you. I'm just in a difficult position, because no matter how much I despise them, they're still my parents."
"I know... And, we won't talk about it any more. Especially not tonight."
Jason smiled and kissed her again, and then dragged her towards the couch to sit with Rory. Rory was slumped in her seat with her arms crossed, frowning in frustration. Jason looked at her strangely. "Rory... What's up with you?"
"Why do I hate him so much?"
Mimi laughed and put her arm around Rory's shoulder. "Because you looooove him."
Rory nodded and groaned softly. "Oh, yeah... That *must* be it."
Any moment now, Mimi expected Nick to be pulling her hair, and for Rory to be calling him things like 'poo-poo head'. If there were ever a prime example of grade school romance existing in college, it was those two.
~*~*~*~*~*~*~
(Later)
It had been a pretty low-key evening so far, mostly conversation and snacking. But, it was getting close to the beginning of the New Year, and the eight friends were assembled in the living room around the TV. Brady put it on the channel that Dick Clark's Times Square celebration was on and took a seat next to Chloe.
Belle pointed excitedly at the screen as the cameraman did a swooping shot over the crowd in the streets of New York. "Hey! Maybe we'll see someone from school!"
Chloe looked at her skeptically and shook her head. "I doubt it, Belle. There are like three hundred thousand people down there. It's like finding a needle in a haystack."
Rory returned from the kitchen after refilling her drink and pushed at Nick until he relinquished space on the couch for her. She watched the crazy drunken people shouting at the camera on TV and shook her head with shame. "You know, that's really embarrassing for those people. They get completely smashed, then make fools of themselves on national television. Whereas, *I* prefer to make a fool out of myself in front of smaller groups of people."
Shawn looked at her curiously. "Well, you've been pretty well behaved tonight... so far."
"Maybe I'll make that my New Year's resolution. To calm down... You know, before some shrink puts me on behavior modifiers."
Brady took a sip out of his beer and looked back at her. "You know, my stepmother is a shrink if you need help with that."
Belle suddenly looked like a light bulb was going off in her head and she jumped up from her chair. "Oh wait, that reminds me... You said resolutions... I forgot what I had planned for us."
Jason looked at the tiny blonde in confusion. "Something to liven up this little party?"
"Ehhhhh... Well, I don't know if it will liven it up, but it's a Black family New Year's tradition." Belle went to Brady's desk and grabbed a stack of paper, handing a sheet and one pent to each of the other guests. "Everybody writes down their resolutions and then we read them out loud. We've got just enough time before midnight too..."
Mimi stared at her doubtfully and frowned. "Sounds... so boring, Belle. Very boring."
"It is NOT boring. It's enlightening... And, stop saying this party is boring. Everyone here agreed that we'd rather have a quiet intimate evening together than some noisy overcrowded party. So, don't complain about this."
Chloe smiled to ease Belle's frustration. "You're right, Belle. It won't hurt any of us to make some changes this coming year. And, I, for one, am perfectly happy being with the people in this room tonight."
Belle smiled and returned to her seat calmly. "Thank you, Chloe..."
The room fell silent as everyone stared at the blank pages in front of them. A few people began writing, but Nick was completely stumped. He looked up from his page and asked a question to anyone who would answer. "What if you don't believe in resolutions?"
Shawn looked at him with surprise. "You don't believe in resolutions? You're not saying that you're too perfect for a resolution?"
Rory muttered quietly under her breath but kept her eyes on her page. "He would say that."
Nick ignored her and turned to Shawn to explain. "No, it's not that. I just think that if you want to change something about yourself, then you can do it any time, not just because it's New Year's."
Rory rolled her eyes and lifted her face from her paper. She took her pen and leaned over to write something on Nick's page. "Here, let me help you..."
She finished writing and went back to her own page, as Nick read what she had written out loud. "'I resolve to stop acting like a know-it-all.' Geez, thanks, Ror... Now, let me help you."
Nick leaned over and quickly wrote something on Rory's paper. He sat back and Rory glared at him angrily as she read out loud from her page. "'I resolve to quit being a pain in Nick Cooper's ass.' Nope, sorry, that will never happen."
Jason put his pen down and glared at them like a disapproving parent. "Children! Do we need to separate you again? Mommy and I already took away your toys, I don't want to have to put you in time out."
Rory nodded and went back to her resolution writing, drawing lines through what Nick had written. "Okay, I'm sorry... I promised I would behave."
Mimi stared at her sheet of paper for what seemed like an hour. She thought to herself that she could fill two pages with things she wanted to change about herself. And that was when she realized the one thing that was the most important to change and began writing furiously to catch up with everyone else. She put the cap back on her pen and looked around the room at the expectant faces of her friends.
Mimi was the last one finished and she saw all of them waiting for her. "Oh. Guess I'm the straggler. Huh... Nobody ever accused Mimi Lockhart of being ahead of everyone else. That's for sure."
Belle smiled and glanced all around the room. "Okay... Who wants to go first?"
Brady looked at his little sister and grinned. "Your idea, you go first."
"Fair enough... Okay... My resolution is to..." Belle paused and glanced at Shawn for a second, but quickly turned her gaze to Jason, making sure that he and Mimi both knew what her words intended. "To leave the past in the past, and keep an eye towards the future, but live in the present. To forgive, and give second chances... and to be a better friend to the people I love, and they people they love."
Mimi smiled knowingly at her best friend, and Belle winked at her. It had been a rough year, but Belle had forgiven Shawn for everything that happened with Jan, and had all intentions of leaving that as history. And, she had kept her promise to Mimi, giving Jason the second chance he rightly deserved.
Shawn kissed his girlfriend on the cheek and decided to read his next. "Okay... I'll go. My resolution is to stop making stupid decisions, and to think logically before I do something. Brady?"
Brady frowned and looked at his page. "I guess... Uhm... I should be more open about my feelings, and communicate them... And, uhm, oh wait... This one is private."
Brady winked at Chloe, and she giggled bashfully as her cheeks turned bright red. "Braaaady..."
"Don't worry, Diva. I'll tell you later. Your turn..."
Chloe attempted to regain her composure and laughed softly. "Okay, I totally agree with Brady, because I also have a tendency to shut my feelings up inside... I also resolve not to push people who love me away anymore, especially my parents. Plus, I think I'm going to add another one to my list. I want to find out what Brady's private resolution is."
Rory laughed and eagerly grabbed her pen. "Ooh! I want to add that to my list too."
Brady pointed at her scoldingly. "Oh, no you don't. That's for me to know, and Chloe to find out. End of story."
"Alright, alright... I guess that leads me to my first resolution. To stop living vicariously through other people's love lives."
Nick looked at her in confusion and peeked at the paper in her hand. "That is *not* on your list."
Rory growled softly and pulled her paper away from his prying eyes. "No, but maybe it should be. I'm sure not getting any action in my own life, and that definitely needs to change. My *actual* resolutions, for those who are curious, is to finish at least one of those unfinished novels or screenplays that I have sitting around. And, to stop being such a manipulative game-playing bitch."
Everyone looked at her in surprise and Jason leaned over the couch to pat her on the shoulder reassuringly. "Don't worry, Rory... Six people in this room know Jan Spears, the queen of manipulative bitches. She makes you look like a completely harmless fluffy bunny rabbit."
Rory smiled thankfully and nodded. She still felt guilty for her actions at the Christmas party, but knew that her little immature games could never compare to what she had heard about Jan. "Well, that makes me feel a lot better. Thanks, Jase... So, Nicholas... Have you decided to believe in New Year's resolutions yet?"
Nick glared at her and stuck his tongue out. "I still stick by my original point. But, for the sake of Belle's 'tradition', I wrote a couple things down. The first one is to sell one piece of my artwork before the end of 2003. And, the other one is to stop being such a coward. If I want something, I should go after it, even if I get rejected."
Jason looked at his roommate proudly and nodded. "Nice one, Nick... Very nice."
"Thank you... What about you, Jase?"
"I... I guess mine are mostly to keep working on things I've already been working on for the past year. You know, being less of a jerk... And, finding an identity outside of my parents and my brother."
Mimi smiled at him and gave him a quick kiss on the cheek. Her eyes scanned around the room and took a deep breath in. "Last one to finish... Last one to read. So, uhm, yeah, I guess... Well... I took so long because I thought I needed like two pages to write down all the things I want to change about myself. But, then I remembered things that all of you have said to me before. And, the thing that I most need to change is how I perceive myself. So, that's what I'm going to do."
Belle hopped up from her seat and gave Mimi a tight hug. "Good... It's about time you start to see what the rest of us do."
"You were right, Belle. That little exercise was very enlightening."
Belle let go of her and clapped her hands together proudly. "Seeeeeeeee... You all nay-sayed it, but it was a very good idea."
Shawn tapped his watch and pointed at the TV. "Hey... we should start getting ready for midnight."
Everyone jumped up and began scattering around the loft to refill their beverages and prepare for the countdown. Rory was returning from the kitchen and Nick stood in her path and stopped her.
"Rory... Do you really think you're a 'manipulative bitch'?"
"Do you really think you're a coward?"
Nick sat his drink down and crossed his arms over his chest. "I asked you a question, don't answer a question with a question, Rory."
Rory set her drink down next to him and matched his stance. "Okay, fine... The answer is YES. Wouldn't you agree? I mean... after what I did at that stupid Christmas party..."
"So, that was a game? Bringing that guy? It was a game... For what? What were you playing it for? Why?"
Jason sat back down on the couch and pulled Mimi into his lap, finding that the show they were about to watch was much more interesting than the one on the TV. Brady and Chloe were standing behind them, and Chloe leaned forward with a question.
"Did anybody pop the popcorn? This is about to get good."
Mimi laughed and nodded in agreement as 'The Rory and Nick Show' continued to the delight of six interested people.
Rory was staring at him in disbelief. "As if you don't know why I brought Andrew that night. Don't play stupid, Nicholas, because I know you're not."
Nick grinned wickedly at her and nodded. "Oh, I know. I just want to hear you say it. So, say it, Rory. Fess up."
"Fine. I did it to make YOU jealous, and it was wrong, okay. I shouldn't have done that, and I'm sorry. But, you -- you are no better than me."
"WHAT? What are you talking about?"
Rory narrowed her eyes and glared at him. "Answer my question. Do you think you're really a coward? Because, *I* do. You kissed me at that party, and that was it. You haven't mentioned it even once since I got back from San Diego, and you haven't even tried to kiss me again. You need to stop acting like nothing happened."
Nick nodded in understanding and sighed softly. "You're right, I do. And, I've been thinking a lot about that kiss over the past two weeks. I've been thinking... about how much I want to do it again."
"THEN WHY DON'T YOU?" Rory shouted and looked at him expectantly. "Come on... I'm right here. If you want to kiss me, you should."
"Do you want to kiss me?"
"That is COMPLETELY irrelevant."
Nick was still grinning slightly. Rory always brought out a side to him that was a little more confident, a side that could stand toe to toe with her and her antics. "It's completely relevant. I'm not going to kiss you if you don't want to kiss me back."
Rory threw up her hands in frustration and tried to walk around him, but he stopped her by putting his hands on her arms. She groaned loudly and gave in. "FINE! YES! I WANT TO KISS YOU! Did EVERYBODY HEAR THAT? I WANT TO KISS NICHOLAS COOPER!"
The other six in the room were still watching with interest and they all nodded their heads to her shouting, looking at each other and muttering things like, "Yep. We heard you."
Nick smiled victoriously and nodded. "Okay, you're free to walk away now."
Only one person in her life could ever leave her speechless on so many occasions. Rory stared at him with open-mouthed surprise. "You... I... What? You're not going to kiss me? I... don't get it."
"It's not 2003 yet... I don't have to put my resolution to not be a coward into action until then."
Rory frowned at him, her brown eyes drooping with disappointment. "But... Well... It's the year 2003 somewhere, right?"
Nick paused for a moment to think about it and then pulled her closer to him, wrapping his arms around her. He used one hand to brush through her hair, and she looked at him with the word 'want' written all over her face. Nick smiled and nodded, then speedily counted down to a false midnight. "10-9-8-7-6-5-4-3-2-1..."
He leaned forward; his lips only centimeters away from hers and whispered. "Happy New Year..."
Rory smiled in return and Nick pressed his lips against hers, giving her the kind of kiss he had been wanting to give her for a very long time. She melted into his arms, both of them planning on making this a kiss that would last long in to the New Year. The crowd that had been watching intently applauded for them, but Rory and Nick were oblivious to everything but each other.
Mimi wrapped her arms around Jason and smiled happily at him. "Add another happy couple to the list... I'm just glad the drama is all over."
Jason laughed softly and shook his head. "The drama will never be over with those two."
The others began to count down from ten, as Rory and Nick continued on with the kiss that hadn't stopped yet. When they hit midnight, everyone shouted, "Happy New Year!" and the other couples gave kisses to each other as well. Mimi locked lips with Jason, held tight in his embrace. It was only her second New Year's kiss, but to her, it was the first one that counted. Her first New Year's in love.
Rory and Nick probably could have gone on all night, but both of them felt a sudden need for oxygen and they broke off from each other.
Nick grinned at each other and kissed the tip of her nose. "So... Maybe I should ask you to go out on a date with me some time?"
Rory shook her head and wrinkled her nose with disgust. "Oh God NO. I'm only using you for physical pleasure."
"You're a liar."
"Yes, I am. But, somehow you have still found a way to love me."
Nick furrowed his eyebrows together and stared into her brown eyes. "Aurora Bennett... Shut up."
Rory laughed and poked him in the chest with her index finger. "Make me."
Nick nodded in understanding and leaned in for another passionate kiss. It was well worth the time that he had waited to kiss her. Nobody had ever made him feel the way that she did, even when she was making him angry.
On the other side of the room, Mimi broke away from Jason and smiled sweetly at him. "You know, I have a feeling that 2003 is going to be a good year."
Jason nodded in agreement and smiled back. "If it's anything like the last few months of 2002, it's going to be a great year. All because of you, Mimi. I love you..."
"I love you too..."
Mimi sighed softly and tipped her head up for another kiss. Each kiss with Jason was better, as their feelings for each other grew stronger every single day. If she felt like this for him now, she couldn't imagine what she would be feeling for him in another year.
***
Yup, this was mostly a Rock oriented chapter. The only reason I'm putting this much of them into the story is because you have all been so receptive to them. Honestly, I only intended them to be a small part of this fic, but they've really taken on a life of their own. Even when I don't plan to include them, they force me to write something for them to do. (You know Rory, she's as tenacious as it gets.)
And yes, I am talking like the characters live in my head... Which, they pretty much do.
The next chapter will have LOTS of Mason. Which is probably a good thing seeing as how this *is* a Mason story.
And for those that are curious, Josh WILL be back later on. :)
Thanks to everyone for reading and reviewing!!
-Hope-