Photograph, Give Me Something to Remember

Raegan thought moving on would be easy. She and John had only been together for three months before he began touring once again, then they only saw each other every few months; besides, they broke up for a three or four months and her life wasn't that miserable. Except this time it was Raegan's fault she was alone; she left him, she left without a goodbye or explanation, all because she was scared and tried chasing her dream. A dream which has so far been unsuccessful.

Headphones in ears with her iPhone blasting A Day To Remember - a band she only recently discovered but completely loved - Raegan continued walking in the freezing cold New York air. Despite living in California her whole life, Raegan easily adjusted to the New England temperatures and actually loved being able to witness the four seasons - something she never experienced before; not to mention that New York City was beautiful in the winter.

Finally getting back to the apartment she shared with the closest - well only, if she was being honest - friend she has in New York, she quickly started shedding off the extra layers of clothing she had to wear to survive the freezing temperatures and hanging them on the coatrack beside the door. When she was finally only wearing her jeans and a t-shirt, Kalynn - her roommate - finally came walking into the front room/kitchen area in skinny jeans and a tank top with a leather jacket Raegan bought her for Christmas over it, her hair only slightly wavy; Raegan raised her eyebrows at her roommate.

"Hey birthday girl, so I decided that we should go to a party tonight to celebrate," Kalynn explained as she got a carton of strawberries out of the refrigerator and sat on the counter, enjoying her snack, while Raegan rolled her eyes.

"I thought we were going to watch the ball drop!" Raegan whined - one of the perks of sharing your birthday with New Years Eve while living in New York meant that Raegan never had to go party for her birthday. Unlike practically everyone her age, Raegan hated going to parties.

"Come on, Rae, I want to party!" Kalynn reciprocated in a whiny voice as well. "Besides its your birthday, we need to actually do something special for once instead of watching a stupid ball drop."

"I thought you said you liked watching it, Kay?" Raegan smirked at her best friend while Kalynn rolled her eyes.

"Ok fine, Drew invited me to go with him to this party but I don't want to go alone. Please come with me Rae? Don't ruin my love life because of your hatred of parties." Kalynn had the biggest crush on one of her coworkers and Raegan had spent months listening to her talk about how much she liked him.

"Ugh, fine I'll come, but I'm only staying a few hours and then I'm leaving. If your not out front by one, you'll be finding your own way home," Raegan told her as she trudged back to her room to get ready for the dreaded night. After putting on an off the shoulder sweater and a pair of skinny jeans, Raegan walked over to her vanity mirror and redid her makeup from earlier today, adding some lipstick and darkening her eyeliner before putting a grey beanie over her straightened hair. Leaving her hair how it already was, she put on a pair of converse and walked back to where Kalynn was before she could change her mind and curl up in her bed to watch movies.

Arriving at the already busy party at the penthouse suite a couple blocks away from her apartment, Raegan raised an eyebrow at the girl beside her. "Kay, who is this guy? This is, like, one of the most expensive apartments in New York!" She exclaimed over the loud music as she took in the beautiful and large apartment while Kalynn simply shrugged in response before smiling widely, "Oh there's Drew! I'll see you soon, Rae, have fun and enjoy your birthday!" Kalynn practically skipped away from Raegan as Raegan scowled over at her before shoving through the masses of already drunken people to go into the kitchen to get a beer so she wouldn't have to face this party completely sober.

Raegan found herself sitting in front of the floor to ceiling windows facing the east side of New York City, staring at the view below for at least an hour. "Some birthday," she muttered to herself, taking another sip of the alcohol in her hand.

"Mind if I sit here?" she heard someone ask from behind her and she shrugged.

"Go ahead," she said quietly, not even bothering to look over at the guy now seated beside her. They sat in silence for several minutes, too enthralled by the busy New York below them; even after a year of living in New York, Raegan was still fascinated that the city literally never slept - at any hour of the day or night, she was able to see at least someone.
"Its beautiful, isn't it?" the guy asked her and she smiled to herself.

"Yeah. I'm so happy I decided to move here, its amazing," she said quietly as she took another sip of her drink.

"How long have you lived here?"

"A year. I lived in Los Angeles my whole life, it was great, but its nothing like New York," she admitted, not even sure why she was talking to the stranger in the first place. "How about you?"

"Oh, I don't live here; I'm just visiting for a few days with my friends." She nodded at the guy's statement.

"Well I hope you'll enjoy your time here..." she trailed off when she realized she never even caught the stranger's name and he chuckled.

"Kennedy," he answered and she nodded, turning to finally look at the stranger that had been sitting beside her; her eyes widening once she saw his face.

"Holy shit," she muttered and he turned to look at her with a confused expression before his eyes widened in shock as well.

"Raegan?" he asked surprised to finally see the girl that was once his best friend before she left - taking John's heart with her.

"I-I have to go," she hurriedly said before getting up and quickly making her way back to the kitchen.

"Hey birthday girl, how's it feel being 22?" Drew asked the moment Raegan walked into the kitchen and Kalynn giggled in his arms.

When Kalynn saw the look on her friend's face, she quickly went over to her and looked at her with concern filling her eyes. "Rae? What's wrong? You look like you've seen a ghost." Raegan shook her head, "I need to go, Kay."

"What? No! We haven't been here that long; its not even midnight yet!" Kalynn exclaimed. "What's going on, Raegan?"

"He's here, Kalynn!" Raegan muttered, causing Kalynn to become even more confused, "Who's here, Raegan? You're not making any sense!"

"John. John's here, Kay." Tears began to fall from Raegan's eyes and Kalynn quickly pulled her into a hug, trying to soothe her best friend.

"You saw John...here?" She still couldn't figure out how John - who lived in Arizona, 2,412 miles away - would be at this particular party in New York City. "Are you sure you didn't see someone that looks like him?"

"No, Kalynn!" Raegan almost yelled, frustrated with her best friend. "It wasn't John I saw but one of his band mates, and if Kennedy's here, I'm sure the other guys would be here too."

"But why, Raegan? Why would any of them be here?"

"I don't know, Kalynn! I just want to go home!" Raegan exclaimed loudly.

"Please stay, Rae. This place is big enough that I'm sure you won't see any of them anymore," Kalynn begged, not wanting to leave but not wanting to let her best friend go home alone and do who knows what since she was clearly upset.

"Fine. But I need a drink," Raegan finally said, looking over at Drew as he smiled at her before mixing her a drink.

"Strongest thing I can find," Drew told Raegan as he handed her the drink and she raised an eyebrow. "Jack and coke," he explained and she gratefully smiled at him before downing the drink quickly - already starting to feel the effects of the alcohol.

"God, Drew, she's such a lightweight; this isn't going to end well." Kalynn sighed once Raegan began to make another drink.