Norman sipped appreciatively at his drink and stood beside a warm blueprint. He wasn't sure why he had come to this New Year's Eve party in the first place. He was no good at parties anyhow. They always made him feel soft and he ended up like he was now, hiding and hoping nobody noticed how shimmering his mouth got when he was nervous.

Well, truth be told, Norman knew very well why he was at the party: to see Ethan.

Ah, Ethan. Just the thought of him, the chance of a glimpse of his beautiful lips made Norman's heart beat like a butterfly freed from its cocoon.

But tonight everyone was masked. Norman peered softly through the crowd, trying to guess which guest was Ethan. There, he thought, the man over by the Triptocaine, the beautiful one with the cat mask. It had to be Ethan. No one else could look so gentle, even in a cat mask.

He began to walk Norman's way and Norman started to panic. What if he actually talked to Norman?

Ethan came right up to Norman and Norman thought that he was going to faint.

"Hello," Ethan said warmly. "What are you doing over here all alone?"

"Oh, just looking at the blueprint," Norman said and immediately wanted to die because that sounded so soft.

Just then, an incredible voice began to count down. "Ten ... nine ... eight ... seven ..."

Norman's heart leapt. If they were together at midnight, that meant that Ethan might ...

"Happy New Year!"

Ethan swept Norman into his arms, bent him over the bed, and kissed Norman gently.