Disclaimer: I don't own any of this.

(Sorry this chapter took so long! Busy time of year!)

Chapter 5

It was the day before New Year's Eve when I decided to brave the giant snowstorm and head out to Hole in the Wall. I hadn't spoken to Tristan since that awkward night at Buffalo Wild Wings. It wasn't on purpose. It just seemed too weird to call him up after chewing out his friends. I guess I was finally realizing how much I avoid confrontation.

I reached Hole in the Wall with a giant cup of coffee in my hand just like last time and ducked inside. Lucy wasn't at the front counter so I delved right into the books. I traced my fingers along the spines as I sauntered slowly down an aisle. Suddenly I tripped over a body and fell on the floor and in this person's lap. I looked up into Tristan's face. He seemed to be dying in laughter.

"Smooth move." He choked out.

I rolled off of him and sat Indian style across from him, leaning on the shelf behind me. "Sorry, but if you weren't sitting on the floor, I wouldn't have tripped over you." I bit out, trying to hide my embarrassment.

"You could have watched where you were going." He retorted.

"You could have told me you were down there. You could have coughed or said something.

Anything. You just wanted me to fall and seem like a spaz. You don't fool me with your games DuGrey." I argued, my face getting redder by the minute.

Tristan laughed again, holding his hands up in surrender. "You caught me. I just sit on the floor waiting for you to trip over me."

"I knew it." I exclaimed in mock victory. "Hey, I love that book!" I said, noticing what he was reading.

Tristan glanced at the book in his hands and shrugged. "This is my first time reading it."

"You'll like it. What are you doing here anyways? There's a massive storm outside." I asked, forgetting my embarrassment from earlier.

"I could ask you the same." He replied smoothly, arching an eyebrow.

I sighed lightly. "I was bored. Lonely. I miss home."

"Did you go home for Christmas?" He asked, looking at me in concern.

I nodded but didn't speak just settling back against the shelf even more.

"I'm sorry about my friends." He said suddenly.

I blinked and lifted my head to meet his eyes. "What?"

"I said, I'm sorry about my friends. They were dicks. Honestly, I'm sorry." He said, looking down at the book in his lap.

"I just don't get it. You've changed so much. They just don't seem like your kind of people." I said, studying his movements.

He sighed, then looked up. "They aren't. Well, Chuck and Sarah aren't. We were friends back in high school. They went to a different prep school in Hartford and we hung out. I can't just abandon them. We've been through too much. As for Dan, he didn't know that the paper he was bitching about was yours until after you left and I told him. I'm sorry. I probably should have let you meet my newer, nicer friends rather than subjecting you to Chuck, Sarah and Dan. They're kind of harsh sometimes." He explained, apology clear in his eyes.

"Nick was okay." I offered, trying to lessen his obvious discomfort.

"He's a good guy." He responded, nodding in agreement.

We fell silent at that point, just sitting there. I played with the shoelaces on my dirty converse sneakers. When I finally looked up, I found Tristan's eyes on me.

"We're friends, right?" He asked.

I nodded quickly, "Of course!"

In all honesty, I wasn't quite sure what we were. But there was no way I would tell him that.

"So what are you doing for New Years Eve?" He asked suddenly.

"New Years Eve?" I blinked slowly. I guess I didn't realize the New Year was here already.

"Yeah. Do you have plans?" He said, eyeing me curiously.

I shook my head. "Nope. I don't, actually. What are you up to?"

"There's this huge party at a club downtown. Do you want to go with me? Ring in the New Year together? You know, kick it off with our new friendship?" He asked, almost shyly.

I nodded but was still slightly shocked at Tristan's behavior. I wasn't used to this Tristan. The one who was nice, and friendly, and thought about things other than sex. It was so weird but oddly refreshing.

"I'll go with you." I added, smiling up at him.

"Good. I'll pick you up at like ten, okay?" He said, smiling back at me.

"Sounds good." My cell phone rang then and I glanced at the caller ID. It was work.

"Just a minute." I told Tristan, "I need to take this."

"Go for it." He said, gesturing for me to answer the phone.

"Hello? What? No! Fine, I'll be there in twenty minutes. Bye." I hung up. "I gotta go. There's some major crisis going on at work." I said frowning, at not being able to rummage through the books.

"Go ahead. I'll see you tomorrow night then." He said, giving me a sympathetic smile.

"See you." I unfolded myself from the floor and stretched before heading towards the door stopping only to wave at Tristan and Lucy who finally made an appearance.

The next night, I was ready and waiting this time so Tristan wouldn't have time to make fun of my belongings. I was wearing a pair of tight, dark jeans with a little flare and a red silky camisole with a black short sleeved blazer and black round toed heels. They were velvet and I was in love with them. The buzzer sounded at 10:05 exactly and I smiled. He was prompt at being late. I like that in a guy. Though, Tristan was just a friend. Nothing more.

"I'll be right down." I spoke into the intercom and grabbed my small black clutch that actually had a handle so I could keep track of it all night. I grabbed my winter coat and headed downstairs. My eyes met Tristan's as I got off the elevator.

"Hey." He said as his eyes broke away from mine and traveled up and down my body a few times. That much about him hadn't changed. Though I had to admit, I found myself doing the same thing. He was wearing a black button down shirt and dark jeans as well and he looked really good.

"Did you get a haircut?" I asked as we headed outside and Tristan opened a cab door for me.

"Thanks." I said, giving him a quick smile.

"No problem. Yeah, I did. Just a bit. Why?" He said, reaching up to rub the back of his head, smoothing his hair down.

"It looks good." I tried not to blush but I could feel my cheeks heat up, so I ignored Tristan's oh so familiar smirk and turned towards the window.

"Thank you." He said genuinely. That made up for the smirk. At least he was sincere.

We arrived at the crowded club and passed off our coats to a doorman and headed inside. The club was dark with a replica of the ball in Times Square in the center of the room. There were also televisions playing the actual scenes at Times Square situated around the room.

"Want a drink?" Tristan leaned in close to ask me. It was the only way I could hear him over the loud music.

"Sure." I said, nodding my head.

He held his arm out and I wrapped my fingers around it so I wouldn't lose him in the crowd.

He pushed his way through. At one point, I actually got stuck in a group of people and my grip slipped from Tristan's arm. I almost panicked but his fingers grabbed onto mine and I laced them together for a better grip. We arrived at the bar, hands still linked. I could feel it but didn't want to comment or let go. So I pretended I didn't notice. He didn't let go either. Instead he leaned forward to flag down the bar tender.

"What do you want?" He leaned back towards me.

"Um, Cosmo please." I said loudly so I could be heard over the music.

"What'll it be?" The bartender finally made his way to Tristan and me.

"Cosmo and a Wild Thing." Tristan replied loudly.

The bartender headed off and as someone passed, I got shoved roughly up against the bar. I winced as pain surged through my stomach. Tristan glared at the person who'd pushed me and unlaced our fingers. I stared at them, suddenly feeling empty, until Tristan placed his hands on my hips and pulled me over so I was standing between him and the bar. He stood close to me and put his arms around me, resting his hands on the bar.

"I just want to make sure you won't get pushed around." He explained.

I nodded and leaned back into his arms. The bartender deposited our drinks in front of us and we scooped them up.

"Want to find a table?" He asked, holding out his hand to me.

I nodded and linked my fingers with his. I followed him and tried not to spill my drink. We didn't find a table but we found an armchair in a corner. A couple had just given it up and Tristan instantly sat on it, pulling me down so I was in his lap.

"This okay?" He asked, somewhat unsure of his actions.

I nodded, smiling. "Better than standing for sure."

"So you're a Cosmo Girl huh?" He asked, looking at my drink.

"The magazine and the drink." I told him." What's a..." I trailed off and gestured towards his drink.

"Wild Thing. Try it." He answered, offering up his drink.

"What is it?" I asked again, looking at it cautiously.

He chuckled and shook his head. "Just try it."

"Tristan, I don't like not knowing what I'm drinking. What's in it?" I asked, furrowing my brow.

"Tequila, Lime Juice, Cranberry juice and club soda." He listed off, motioning for me to take a sip.

I shrugged and reached for the glass."Mmm. That's kind of good." I took another sip and another.

Tristan laughed and pried the glass from my fingers. "I'll get you one if you want but I get this one."

"I'll trade you." I offered him my Cosmo.

"What's in a Cosmo?" He asked.

I could tell he knew but was testing me so I stepped right up. Spending a couple years with Logan, Finn, and Colin had paid off for my knowledge and tastes of alcohol.

"Lime Juice, Cranberry juice, vodka and triple sec. Kind of similar to your drink." I said proudly.

"Mmhmm. But no. I'm not a huge orange fan so the triple sec would throw me off." He said, looking at my drink with distaste.

I pouted but he still shook his head and refused to trade so I threw back my drink. "Mine's all gone. Can I have what you have now?"

Tristan rolled his eyes and handed me his glass. "Get up. I'll go get us more drinks."

"Surprise me." I offered.

He blinked at my forwardness. "Well, what do you like?"

"Anything." I told him shrugging.

He smiled. "Okay. You may regret that."

"I'll just steal yours." I said sweetly, giving him a big smile.

"So I'll make sure I like both. Got it." He said, as he made his way to the bar.

I sank into the chair and watched him go. Several girls sitting near our chair glared at me for being with him and more girls watched him go. I was happy to be with him even if it was just as friends. I was quickly finding, however, that being 'just friends' was getting harder and harder. I was pretty sure I really liked Tristan. Amazing, I know. Too bad I hadn't felt this way in high school when he was actually interested in me.

"Here." Tristan glared at a guy who was staring at my chest and handed me a glass filled with dark liquid. I stood and let Tristan sit before settling back in his arms, setting the other empty glass on the table next to us.

"What is it?" I asked, eyeing it curiously.

"Chocolate Orgasm." He said, smirking.

"Mm. Chocolate and coffee drink. My favorites." I said, smacking my lips in anticipation.

"Plus alcohol." He added.

"What did you get?" I said, looking at his drink.

"Cold Hearted Threesome without the orange juice." He said, taking a sip.

"It's not a threesome then." I frowned and shook my head in disbelief. "But let me try it."

He laughed and offered me the drink, stealing mine for a sip.

"I like trying new drinks." I explained, taking a second sip from his glass.

"Ever had a Cold Kiss?" He asked, suddenly.

"I think so…maybe…who knows! There are a lot of kissy drinks." I explained, beginning to feel a slight buzz.

"Kissy drinks?" He asked, amused.

"Drinks whose names have the word kiss in them." I explained.

"I see." He said, smiling.

"They're good. Most of them. But they lead to kissing." I sighed.

"Always?" He asked curiously.

"No." I shook my head. "But often."

To my dismay, I was thinking now of how Finn and I shared a kiss after him having a French Kiss and I had a Kiss Off. Logan never found out but we'd both felt guilty about it for months.

"Are you okay?" Tristan asked, noticing the slight frown on my face.

I nodded. "Yeah. Sorry. Just reliving the past. What time is it?"

"We've got about ten minutes to till the New Year." Tristan announced after checking his watch.

We'd been sitting in this chair forever if it was already that late.

"I'm going to the bathroom but I'll find you before the ball drops." I informed him and hurried off. At the late hour, everyone was preparing for the New Year so the bathroom was nearly empty. I was able to use it quickly and fix my hair without being pushed around for the mirror. I made my way back out to the club to find Tristan.

He was still in the chair but when I got there, we moved onto the dance floor where everyone was watching the television countdown.

As the clock hit 11:59:50 the people around us began counting down. I smiled up at him and he grinned in return and then I joined in the countdown.

"5...4...3!"

Someone pushed past me and I tripped into Tristan. He steadied me and I looked up at him.

"One! HAPPY NEW YEAR!"

Before I could change my mind, I quickly pressed my lips to Tristan's. I felt dizzy like everything was spinning. It was all so surreal.

I stumbled back, away from him and we both stared at each other. Tristan opened his mouth to say something, but afraid of what it would be, I quickly blurted, "Thanks. I just needed a New Years kiss and I'd rather it be with you than some strange guy walking past."

He blinked and closed his mouth. "No problem. Thank you, actually."

I nodded. Why did he look so dissappointed and sad? Had he thought the kiss meant something more? Had the kiss meant something more? Did I like Tristan? I had no idea. It was all so confusing that I just tried to push it out of my head to enjoy the rest of the night.

AN: Some serious Trory action right? It seems sort of sudden but it'll work itself out in the next few chapters so don't worry about it! As usual, big thanks to LoVe23 for being a fantastic beta and thanks for waiting so long for this chapter! Please leave some reviews! Good, bad, ugly...I want them all! Thanks guys!

melissa