=Trayden's POV=
(Tuesday, 12/31/2019; 8:00 pm)
(Barbarchi City, Archipelago)
(Hunter's House)

I could not believe that I fell asleep and was so behind on getting to Hunter's house for his New Year's party. I wasn't even up late, so I have no idea why I'd even be tired to need a midday nap! I left Hunter's last night around 10:15 pm, with the others. Everyone just got to talking after Hunter told his story from when he was kicked out and disowned at fifteen. It was really just Hunter and his original five friends catching up, but Hailey, Ethan, and I were in the conversation to get to know one another better since Hunter didn't know us as good as he did them. I got home by 10:30, redressed in my pajamas, then crawled into bed after putting my phone on the charger. I knocked out around 11 pm and then this morning, up at 7:30 am. I got myself breakfast, and cleaned the apartment until 12:30 pm. I had lunch, made sure the dishes were done. After that, I got dressed, and got some shopping done at one of the places that was still open despite it being a holiday. I grabbed gas for the car, and returned home for 2:00 pm.

I saw my family for a bit from 2:30 to 4:00 since I wouldn't be joining their New Year's celebration due to going to Hunter's. When they left, I flipped on the TV and had been in the middle of texting Hunter and a few others before I ended up falling asleep. The next time I woke up was 7:30 pm. Evidently, I fell asleep around 4:45, because Hunter had messaged me at 4:30 saying he was just finishing up cleaning his house and setting up for the party. I had apparently been in the middle of replying when I knocked out. I really needed to start setting alarms when I knew that I had places to be. After waking up and realizing how late it was when I was supposed to go to Hunter's for 5:30-6ish, I quickly showered, shaved, brushed my teeth, and got dressed. I took Hunter's suggestion to bring an overnight bag, so I packed that with a few bathroom items. I slipped my shoes on, double checked on having my wallet, phone, charger, and keys before finally getting out the door at 7:50 pm.

I reached Hunter's and parked, then locked up my car before heading to the front door. I rang the bell, and waited a few moments as the door opened to reveal Gregory.

"We were wondering when you'd get here," Gregory chuckled. "You're the last one,"

"I fell asleep…" I mumbled, embarrassed.

"Hey, don't worry about it. You're talking to the king of midday naps because I decide to sit down on the couch to relax for a few minutes," Gregory smiled. "Come on in," He motioned for me to enter the house. "As you can hear, pretty loud. I knew you were here because I was in the office when ya walked up the path," He added as I stepped through the doorway and Gregory closed the door and led me in. I followed through the foyer and saw everyone standing around to talk, or dancing. Some were doing both.

"Tray!" Hunter beamed as soon as I was in his sight, and then came over. "Was starting to think your boss decided to open up last minute and you got stuck working," He laughed a bit.

"If he did, I'd actually just quit," I smiled. "No, I made the mistake of saying I'll just sit down on the couch until it's time to go and fell asleep…"

"It's fine, handsome. I'm glad you're here," Hunter stated. "And hey, with the late nap, you won't get tired before midnight hits," He added.

"I suppose that's true," I nodded to him.

"Come on, let's set your stuff down with the others," Hunter took over leading me into the living room more as Gregory returned to the office, assumingly to escape the crazy party and also be a set of eyes if things got out of hand. I set my bag down where others were keeping theirs. "So…Hungry? Thirsty?" He asked.

"Definitely hungry, as I slept through normal dinner time," I replied.

"Well, all non-alcoholic drinks are in the fridge. Beers are in the coolers across from the fridge, they're mixed between cans or bottle and all different kinds. Harder liquor and soda bottles to mix it with, along with ice are on the bar. Food is on the dining room table, all kinds to enjoy," Hunter informed. "So help yourself," He chuckled. I nodded to him as he went off to join the rest, I'm sure we'd talk more after I ate. I knew that with this being his house, his party, he had to hang with everyone. For now, I was just going to get some food and relax, I was definitely more awake than before.

. . .

=Normal POV=
(9:00 pm)

Three hours to midnight and the party was well underway with music, dancing, drinking, talking and laughing. Trayden did eat and made himself a drink before working his way into mingling with others. Trayden was still shy with parties, this was a bigger one and only his second time attending one of Hunter's. Trayden knew how parties went, but he was never big on them. Trayden came to this because Hunter was a new friend, and had really wanted him to be able to enjoy it. Trayden especially liked that his friends got invited too now that everyone was friends with one another and there was nothing wrong with having more friends. From what Trayden could see, Shane brought his girlfriend, Madison Guarder, to introduce to everyone. And Addilyn was present too, as she came along with Tyler because they're dating. Fisher and Hailey were interested in one another, but neither would speak up to get together. Rylee was obviously dating Ethan, and then Alyssa was single as far as Trayden knew.

Mostly, Trayden was just standing with his friends, popping in and out of conversations. The group of them were still getting used to things with having Hunter part of their lives again, so it made sense why a party like this would feel odd and like they were out of place. Granted, this wasn't a wild party, Hunter stated those could happen in the summer. This was just a get together to bring in the new year with friends, but it was different for Trayden's group of friends. Regardless, things were still enjoyable and mostly clean. Everyone present was old enough to be there and drink, but the friends who weren't dancers obviously weren't doing things as the others were. Trayden stayed tuned into the talking with his friends, taking small drinks from his cup, but positioned in a way to watch Hunter with the others. The last thing Trayden needed were his friends to give him crap again about him and Hunter.

"Well, we're doing more here than we would have if we stuck to our normal plans," Rylee informed.

"Yeah, we usually just listen to music and sit around with snacks and drinks to talk. Maybe watch a movie before midnight," Alyssa agreed.

"At least we haven't changed much from being the group of outcasts like in school," Shane shrugged.

"I'm sure we could go along with things like they are, but it would feel weird," Fisher said.

"It's only weird because you're not used to seeing Hunter like this. You knew how he was before everything happened," Ethan mentioned. "The stuff he had to deal with taught him to embrace everything and do what he wants to do. Perhaps back then, Hunter was quieter and fit in with all of you because he knew he was gay and that it could cause problems if he decided to be open about it,"

"Hunter did mention this, based on his backstory of how he knew he was gay at a young age. Even Greg told him not to say anything to avoid a situation like what that other kid had to go through. And when Hunter did come out at fifteen, he was disowned and kicked out…Which threw him into a depression. Sadly, a lot of gays and bisexuals go through similar things," Hailey nodded, agreeing with Ethan.

"And Hunter said that it was really Greg's words that helped him realize that he didn't have to change for anyone. People could accept him as he was, or not, but he wasn't going to stop being who he is. So all he's done is just embrace himself, and do what he likes to do," Trayden added. "So in my eyes, this has always been the real Hunter. Forward, open, honest…But Hunter probably felt back then after that kid got sent to therapy that liking only boys was wrong, so he took Greg's advice to hide it until he was older, so no one could question if he was old enough to understand what it meant…"

"Even then, he still got negative backlash for coming out…" Addilyn reminded.

"But it opened the door for Hunter to realize that just because his parents didn't accept him, didn't mean everyone was going to do the same. The example being that Greg supported Hunter from that young age, and even after the fact. Greg didn't abandon him, so it showed Hunter the difference and made Gregory's words all the more helpful. Now, Hunter isn't afraid to be himself because he knows the people who truly accept him will always be there," Hailey smiled. "Sometimes the greatest lessons we learn in life are learned through pain, and as the saying goes…"

"What doesn't kill you makes you stronger," The group chuckled together.

Hunter eventually broke away from his friends and joined the other group, he didn't want to be rude by not socializing with everyone, but his Wild Fantasies group kept him pretty engaged from being able to wander off. "So, are we having fun?" Hunter chuckled.

"It's definitely fun," Ethan replied.

"If we weren't here, we usually spend out New Year's in someone's apartment watching movies until the final five minutes," Hailey giggled.

"Sounds like fun, if you're not someone who is big on parties," Hunter nodded. "Took me a bit to get into them. Before I got this house, I'd go to their places and always felt a little weird at them. You warm up eventually when you come to enough of them,"

"It's more that it's…Diverse," Fisher told Hunter. "You guys party differently than we do, with all the dancing and what not, while we feel out of place because we don't do that,"

"You don't have to do what we do, it's all where you're comfortable. We do what we do because it's what we do on stage for complete strangers, so it makes no difference to do it during a party. The only real change is how much more touchy we get in private than on stage and most often, we keep our clothes on," Hunter chuckled slightly. "You could just come over and talk, move with the music like how school dances used to be. It's not really any different and a lot of these guys and girls are into some of the stuff you five are," He motioned Alyssa, the twins, Shane, and Fisher. "You might be surprised how much you could have in common," Hunter smiled.

"That's true. I never thought Hunter and I would have so much in common until we started talking more after we met because I returned his wallet to him," Trayden shrugged. "Hell, we even share a birthday," He laughed.

"I still find that hilarious," Hunter nodded. "Same day, same time, but different parents, hospitals and towns,"

"That's unreal," Madison blinked. "Really?"

"Yep," Hunter replied. "Both born on February 29th, 1996,"

"5:35 am. Me on Eyja Nott," Trayden added.

"And me on Berk, 5:35 am," Hunter informed.

"That's crazy," Jason remarked calmly. "We wondered where you snuck off too," He smiled.

"Not far, making my way around to see everyone," Hunter replied. "And yes, it is crazy, but I love it. It's not overly rare to be born on February 29th, but being born the same year and at the same time as someone else? That's awesome,"

"I agree. I told my parents about it and they found it funny too," Trayden mentioned.

"It is kind of laughable," Bryan chimed as now it appeared everyone was gathering in one spot to talk, which is secretly what Hunter had hoped for. Now, everyone was talking more on birthdays. Hunter knew everyone would get along as friends, there just needed to be that ice breaker between the groups. Hunter understood what Fisher was saying, it was different for them to hang with the dancers because they felt like they didn't fit into that mold. But Hunter wasn't asking them to take part in that, just join in the general group of people to talk. No one had to dance if they didn't want to. No one had to start touching one another. Hunter didn't expect any of that, he just wanted to see everyone have a good time.

This was fun for all party attendees. Music, friends, drinks, food. And nothing was out of control. Hunter knew that the two groups could mesh easily if everyone just talked to one another. It seemed his Wild Fantasies crew knew that Hunter was trying to hang with everyone, so they decided to join and maybe it would make things better to have everyone conversating. The idea seemed to be working, everyone was talking completely normal about whatever subject came up. Birthdays, memories, things to agree or disagree, like or dislikes, hobbies. Just anything, everyone speaking together with smiles, and enjoying the music. No one was drunk, people were eating and snacking. It was amazing.

Now, it was about 10 pm with everything still being enjoyable. Not everyone was standing in a big group anymore, but close enough to talk to one another in general. Some were dancing, but it was innocent like at a school dance and no slow songs, just as Hunter stated it could be. With everyone mingling now, Hunter happily just made his way into the kitchen to make himself another drink. Hunter wasn't drunk, maybe tipsy, but he did need to maintain the guests in his home during a party, so he'd switch back and forth between alcohol, juice, soda, or water. And he would make sure to snack too, that kept him from getting wasted. Normally, Hunter would have let himself go by now, that's one of the reasons Gregory was over, to watch over the partyers in the event Hunter did end up too drunk. Hunter mainly didn't want to drink as much because he was seeing how things went with his older friends meshing with the new ones. Also, Hunter didn't want to scare any of the older ones with how crazy parties could get if they decided to go all out.

Trayden was enjoying everything, not drunk, and for the most part, not too shy either. Hunter found himself incredibly attracted to Trayden, maybe a little crush on the cute gay who was still coming out of his shell. Hunter loved the innocence of Trayden's blushing because he was new to everything still. Regardless, Hunter didn't think much more would develop between them as Trayden knew that Hunter was his friend and would always respect those boundaries unless Trayden wanted to do something and was ready too. Hunter didn't have relationships with his other male friends, just the occasional hookup during a party. Hunter assumed Trayden likely suspected that that's all it was meant to be when the friends hooked up, just hook ups and nothing more past that. However, Hunter knew that anything was possible after the things he'd been through, so maybe it wasn't out there that the little crush could become more. For now, though, it wasn't something Hunter was worried about.

"Well," Hunter heard Trayden speak and the auburn-haired male looked over to see Trayden now beside him. "Looks like you got everyone mingling nicely,"

"I'm pretty good at removing tension and awkwardness," Hunter chuckled. "Did you come over for another drink, or to be close to me?" He teased.

"Figured I'd use getting a drink to be close to you, kill two birds with one stone," Trayden admitted, blushing a bit.

"Handsome, you never need an excuse to be close to me," Hunter winked. "But very clever," He added. "What would you like for a drink?"

"I dunno. Was gonna go light for the sake of not wanting to be totally wasted before the night is over," Trayden shrugged. "I don't assume you all just ring in the New Year, and instantly shut it down to sleep by 12:30 am?"

"In most cases, we party until we can't anymore. But it's really up to the individual, if you felt like you were done partying at 12:45 am, you could just grab your bed to head off to one of the guest rooms to get some sleep. Its first come first serve on who sleeps where, as the rooms do get shared by everyone staying over," Hunter informed.

"I guessed as much. I've seen the inside of one guest room. You've got beds, couches, chairs…" Trayden nodded. "I figure that most of them don't care if they share?"

"Not really. The girls will generally separate from the males, which works out with me have two guest rooms. Jay and Eli share all the time, you'll find them cuddling most mornings after. Dev, Thax, and Bry will sleep on separate pieces, and I usually make sure there's a cot or two available as well. Same with the girls, but they don't really care if they all find a way to cram into the one bed," Hunter laughed a little. "And of course, the living room is available too, but the people who end up there are ones who stayed up the latest and that's where they finally dropped when everything is shut down,"

"And then you wind up in your bed after all said and done?" Trayden smiled.

"Usually. Sometimes I'll crash out here once I've made sure everyone is not sleeping on the floor, hasn't thrown up, and that the hall light is on so anyone waking up before it gets lights outside can locate the bathroom. Most times, yes, I'll end up in my room by myself," Hunter nodded.

"Most times?" Trayden wondered innocently. "Most times in your room or in your room alone?"

"Only time someone comes into my room with me is if we're fucking," Hunter said with a slight laugh and shrug. "Or if I happen to be in a relationship and they spent the night. Other than that, I'm in there alone to sleep," He mentioned.

"Makes sense. I don't mind people in my room to see it, but definitely feel you on only letting someone sleep in there if you're dating the person or hook up with a friend. I think, if I were doing anything with a stranger, it would be in a motel or hotel room. I wouldn't feel right having a stranger at my apartment," Trayden remarked.

"Another thing you and I agree on and have in common," Hunter chuckled as he handed Trayden a lighter-made Jack and Coke, then raised his own cup and Trayden copied. "I think this is going to be a great year for us both,"

"Couldn't agree more," Trayden replied as they tapped their solo cups and took a drink, then smiled and stayed where they were, watching the others continue to have fun.