...And a Happy New Year

January 30, 2014

It had been another boring week at work. Nothing extraordinary going on. Stephanie found herself just as bored as Chaney had been on Monday. For whatever reason, this work week had been particularly slow, and the two of them spent most of their day trying to keep each other entertained since they sat bored most of the time.

Throughout the course of the week, Stephanie thought about what they should do for their girls’ night. Since today was Thursday, she knew that the local bar that they frequented had a ladies night on Thursdays, so she figured she would start there. Since they had been having such a slow work week, she didn’t see the harm in potentially getting plastered that night.

Stephanie had been sitting at her desk, occasionally messaging Chaney through their work IM, and proposed her plan of having their girls’ night tonight.

Chaney, how about a girls night tonight? The bar down the road has a ladies night tonight. We can get a couple drinks and you can tell me all about this boy drama you’re having.

Chaney had been sitting at her desk, trimming the dead ends of her hair to keep herself occupied when she heard the ding of the IM emitting from the speakers, signifying she had a message. She looked at Stephanie’s message and contemplated whether or not to go. She had work the next day, but at the rate work had been going that week, she figured a slight hangover in the morning wouldn’t be the worst that could happen.

She quickly typed a reply.

Sounds great! When and where do you wanna meet?

Stephanie saw her reply and debated on a meeting time and place before deciding that they should leave together after they both got off work.

Once their plans were solidified, Stephanie hoped that they could get off work early because she could use a drink despite it still being before lunch. She was in desperate need of some alcoholic release and ease of stress.

Stephanie wouldn’t ever tell anyone around her, but she had a lot on her plate at the moment, and truth be told, she was more than relieved at their less than stressful work week. Stephanie had a secret life of her own that she fought hard to keep hidden and never wanted to appear as the weak person she believed herself to be. The cost of keeping her secret was her sanity, and she was slowly beginning to lose it.

If she could drink away her problems and numb any and all of her emotions, she was more than willing to. Now that Chaney had admitted to having some boy drama, she was more than happy to invest all of her time and attention to helping her out. She wanted Chaney to be happy because Chaney was essentially the only girl friend she had, and that was reason enough to want Chaney to be happy. However, she couldn’t deny, that her involvement in Chaney’s romantic life was also for selfish reasons. She wasn’t using Chaney, but she was happy to divert her attention onto someone else so she could forget about the miserable life she had outside of work. She was tired of constantly being stuck inside of her mind, and any distraction she had from that, no matter how temporary, was welcomed.

Stephanie spent the rest of the day trying to busy herself with whatever she could to keep from trapping herself inside her mind, though it was proving to be increasingly difficult due to not having any actual work to do.

Lunch couldn’t come fast enough, and unfortunately Stephanie missed getting to Chaney before she left for lunch, leaving her alone for lunch again. She walked over to the fridge in the break room, remembering she had a frozen meal in the freezer that she brought a few days ago and neglected to eat. She quick popped it in the microwave and once done heating, brought it to her desk to eat in silence.

She had finished her lunch and was in the process of throwing it away when her phone buzzed. She was surprised to find a text from John.

Hey Steph :) We haven’t talked in a while. I just wanted to check and see how you were doing. Thought maybe we could grab some lunch once I got back?

Stephanie was thrilled at the idea. She would have some explaining to do about going to lunch with another guy, but she would worry about that later. She quickly agreed and was anxious to have lunch with him soon.

Sounds great John! When are you free? I miss you :(

John chuckled slightly at her text, realizing he missed her company as well.

How about when I get home next week? I was thinking Saturday? We could grab lunch, maybe make it a picnic, spend the afternoon together…

Stephanie was getting more than excited about the prospect of spending a Saturday afternoon with him, though she knew she would have to come up with excuses for her absence for most of that Saturday, but the risk was worth it.

That would be amazing. I would love to do that.

John was smiling widely, excited to be spending this time with Stephanie. The two of them clicked as soon as they met, and he was anxious to spend as much time with her as he could. He enjoyed her company and she was such a wild card. He never knew what would come out of her mouth; he was always on his toes trying to keep up with what she would say next.

It’s a date! I’ll see you in just over a week.

Stephanie’s grin spread across her face and she couldn’t wait. Chaney came back from lunch and noticed Stephanie’s uncharacteristically bright smile.

“Steph? Are uh, you alright there? Ha ha. What’s got you all giddy?”

Stephanie tried to bite back her smile, but failed as she decided to gush about her date with John the next week.

“Well…I uh, kind of have a date next weekend” Stephanie replied sheepishly.

Jaw slack, Chaney celebrated, “That’s amazing! I’m so happy for you! I hope everything goes well. Seriously.”

“Thanks. I’m really excited about this. I think things will work out this time. I’m ready to be in a committed relationship and I feel like it will finally happen.”

Chaney was beaming at Stephanie, excited that her sole girl friend had relationship prospects.

Despite the friendship Chaney and Stephanie shared, they had never been particularly close. Close in the sense that they had shared life stories or relationship stories with each other; never really having or trusting other people with what they had to say. Chaney was hoping that tonight when she opened up to Stephanie about her drama with John, she could have that sisterly relationship she never had, and hoped she could be that to Stephanie as well.

What neither girl realized was the complicated love triangle that they were both entering into.

***

Chaney and Stephanie were luckily relieved from work about a half hour early, and they were ready to hit the bar.

Since the bar was just down the street, they figured they would walk there, that way they wouldn’t have to worry about parking, and if they got too drunk, their cars were safe in the work parking lot and they could call a cab home.

They entered the bar and quickly found two bar stools at the end of the bar, ready to kick off their girls night.

They both decided to start off light and gradually work their way to the stronger stuff, so they started off with overly fruity drinks; Stephanie with a Pina Colada, and Chaney with a Strawberry Daiquiri.
Much to their luck, the bar tender was quite attractive, and on top of getting discounts for it being ladies night, he gave them their first drinks on the house.

They settled in their spots, ready to stake their claim on their seats for the evening. As they sipped their drinks, Stephanie decided to kick off the conversation by inquiring about Chaney’s boy drama. While she was still of sound mind, she wanted to be of some actual help before she got completely trashed. Not to mention, if she were to open up about her love life or personal life for that matter, it would only happen with a bit of liquid courage.

“Chaney, tell me. What boy has you in such a conundrum? You seemed pretty stressed out the other day.”

She chuckled darkly. “You have no idea. It’s honestly such a weird situation that you wouldn’t believe me if I told you.”

“Lay it on me, I can take it.”

Laughing she complied. “Long story short, I’ve been in love with this guy since I moved here. However, despite having mutual friends, living by each other, and going to the same school, we never met. It actually wasn’t until a couple weeks ago that he even knew I exisited.”

Stephanie hummed in deliberation. “That is odd. Why do you think he never knew you? I mean, I know the schools you went to were pretty big, so not knowing you from school is understandable.”
“Yeah, especially since we never had any classes together. He was a much better student than me, and was always in advanced classes, while I was in the basic classes, so we were never on the same side of the building.”

Stephanie considered that before continuing, “Right…So what about him has you in such a tizzy?”

Chaney sighed in contemplation. “I don’t really know. I’ve always been so intrigued by him. I watched him grow up, despite never really interacting with him, and it was one of those admirations from afar situations. Halvo, as long as I’ve known him, has always been trying to push me to talk to him due to my reservations…”

“Reservations? How so?”

“Believe it or not, I’m not the most sociable person. You are the only girl that I’ve ever been friends with. Halvo is literally the only close, true friend I have. Growing up, my little brother Alex was always my best friend. He and I had always been inseparable. That is until I became friends with Halvo. Then the divide came in, and now Alex and I don’t speak. He acts like I don’t exist and I have no idea why. He wants nothing to do with me and it kills me. I miss my baby brother. But besides that, I don’t know. I have always been a quiet person and have always kept to myself. It’s not that I didn’t want friends, I just never knew how to approach people. When I was little, I was more concerned with making sure Alex was okay from the move, and spent all my time and attention on him. I guess in the process I missed the step of how to talk to people.”

Stephanie sat there taking this in. She knew Chaney kept to herself, but she was discovering there was more to her than she realized. She never knew Chaney had a younger brother nor that Halvo and she were her only friends.

Chaney continued, noticing that Stephanie wasn’t saying anything.

“Anyway, this guy, he just amuses me. He’s always been a very charismatic person, and one of those people whose personalities you’re drawn to. No matter where I’ve seen him, he’s always surrounded by a flock of people. That much hasn’t changed in almost 20 years. However, now he seems to hate my guts. Well, maybe. I honestly have no idea what’s going on. One day, we’re hanging out and getting to know each other after I’m forced out of my shell by Halvo, and things are going great. I mean, it’s a slow start but it’s progress. However, one day he completely snaps at me for no reason and starts accusing me of being this malicious, manipulative person, and doesn’t have anything on which to base those accusations.

“Now suddenly, after giving me the cold shoulder for what feels like forever, he’s wanting to explain to me what’s going on. At least I think that’s the case. I’m not positive. All I know is that he has said that he doesn’t want me to hate him for all the shit he’s been putting me through and wants to explain himself. As I think he should. I deserve to know what I’ve supposedly done to receive his unwarranted wrath.”

“Okay, that makes sense I guess,” Stephanie hummed, “but if he’s been treating you so terribly, why give him the time of day? I mean, if he was really a guy worth your time, don’t you think you should surround yourself with someone that treats you with respect and dignity?”

“I mean, yeah of course I do, but I don’t know. This is going to sound childish…”

“Go on.”

“Okay, so you know how I’ve said I’ve liked him since I was 6?”

Stephanie nodded.

“Well, it’s more than that. I’ve become so enamored by him. I’ve had this dream my entire life to kiss someone special on New Year’s Eve. Not sure why, but I have. I’ve always thought that a New Year’s Eve kiss was one of the most romantic. It’s a way to celebrate the past year you’ve spent with that person, combined with sharing in the excitement of what’s to come for the two of you in the coming year. To me, a New Year’s Eve kiss is more than just some random to lip-lock at midnight. It’s a milestone in a relationship you have with a person.”

“And this is relevant to said guy how? I thought you said that the two of you didn’t interact until a couple weeks ago…” Stephanie mused.

“I did. But it’s a special case with him. Like I said, I’ve always been enamored by him, and something about him makes me break out of my shell. I’ve been such a quiet, lonely person my entire life, and he makes me want to be me. Watching him interact with others only makes me want to be more comfortable with who I am; something I’ve never been. For once, I want to depend on someone emotionally rather than just Halvo. Halvo is special to me, but not that kind of special. He never will be. We just don’t…function like that. That’s beside the point. Point being, I guess something about this guy’s approval of who I am would give me some affirmation that I’m a decent human. If that makes sense?”

“…So you want to kiss said guy at midnight so he can affirm what kind of person you are?...”
Chaney sighed in slight frustration. “Well, not exactly. Like you make it sound like I need a guy to tell me who I am.”

“Isn’t that what you’re saying though?”

“In a way I guess. Like I said, I’ve never had many friends, so I have no idea of what kind of person I truly am.”

Stephanie smiled in understanding.

“Why don’t we get more drinks. Maybe move to something a bit stronger?”
Chaney laughed and nodded in agreement.

“These drinks are good, but I don’t feel a thing. I need something a little harder.”

Stephanie enthusiastically nodded and they flagged down the bar tender to order more drinks.
They had spent most of the night just talking about random topics, nothing really of substance, as they were both continuing to get gradually more inebriated.

There were a slew of empty shot glasses and a few empty bottles sitting on the bar in front of them as they continued to talk.

Chaney remembered that Stephanie still hadn’t divulged anything about her big date the following weekend and decided to ask her about it.

“S-s-stephanie! You h-had, y-you s-s-said that you h-had a d-date. W-who is this g-guy? I-is h-h-he hot?”

Stephanie giggled, more from the alcohol than the questions themselves.

“Y-y-yes. H-he’s soooooo h-hot. H-h-hey! Y-y-you know h-him!”

Chaney laughed, and had to grip the side of the bar to keep herself from falling off the bar stool as she attempted to focus on and comprehend what Stephanie was saying.

“W-what? I-I-I know h-him?” Chaney hiccupped.

“Yes! I-it’s J-j-john!”

Chaney felt her heart shatter. She was praying it was only the alcohol and that she didn’t hear Stephanie right. As soon as Stephanie said John’s name, Chaney seemed to sober up rather quickly. She struggled to focus, as her mind went reeling at what she heard.

Stephanie began to wave her hand in front of Chaney’s face while still laughing from the insane amounts of alcohol she had consumed.

“Ch-ch-chaney! Y-you, a-a-are you o-o-okay?”

Chaney shook her head to get out of her trance, and replaced her scowl with a forced smile.

“Uh, y-yeah. I-I’m good. Let’s j-j-just go h-home. I’m p-p-pretty tired.”

Stephanie agreed and they both left a few bills on the bar top to pay for their drinks as they left the bar.

Stephanie slung her arm over Chaney’s shoulders as they stumbled out of the bar for stability.

Chaney had lost whatever buzz she had been feeling from the alcohol, and seemed to instantly sober up to what was going on around her. She knew that she had consumed too much alcohol to safely drive home; even as her mental state was clear, her vision was still a bit blurry.

Chaney hailed a cab and guided Stephanie into the cab, as she slid in beside her, giving the cabbie directions first to Stephanie’s apartment.

Chaney had never been in Stephanie’s apartment, but knew where she lived due to picking her up for various events when they’d carpooled in the past. She knew she would go inside Stephanie’s apartment for the first time ever in order to help Stephanie get inside and settled.

Upon arriving at Stephanie’s place, she told the cab driver to wait as she would return once she got her friend upstairs and into her apartment. The driver nodded, as Chaney carefully maneuvered Stephanie out of the cab, and towards the elevator inside her apartment building.

Stephanie still had her arm slung around Chaney’s shoulders as they stumbled towards her apartment door, and Chaney braced Stephanie against her doorframe, as she got Stephanie’s purse to look for her keys to let her in.

Stephanie, forgetting about keeping her secrets due to her inebriated state, brushed Chaney’s hands off, and said it wasn’t needed.

Confused, Chaney stood aside and watched Stephanie to make sure she indeed got inside.
Stephanie turned to where she was leaning on the door, face first, and with the largest grin on her face, began knocking loudly on her apartment door, asking to be let in because it was just her.

Chaney thought she was crazy, because she knew Stephanie lived alone.

She quickly found out she was mistaken, when she heard footsteps on the other side of the door.
The door opened, and a man in his mid-30’s opened the door, and upon seeing Stephanie’s state, looked at Chaney with disdain, before grabbing Stephanie and pulling her inside, slamming the door behind them without a word to Chaney.

Confused as to what just took place, Chaney stood there for a moment before making her way downstairs and back to the cab.

She gave the driver her address and he began driving towards her house. She paid the driver for both her and Stephanie’s fare, and got out of the cab. Luckily the drive between the two wasn’t long, so Chaney didn’t have too long to get trapped in her mind about the things she learned tonight.

She thanked the driver, and made her way inside her house. All the lights were off, so she knew that the rest of her family was asleep. She dragged her feet up the stairs and collapsed on her bed as she plugged in her phone.

Her phone had died somewhere in the midst of their girls’ night, and she didn’t think anything of it until her phone buzzed, signifying she had a couple text messages, a missed call, and a voicemail. Her missed call was from Halvo, so she figured the voicemail was from him.

She quickly checked the voicemail, and basically he tried to reach her, but it had gone straight to voicemail since her phone had died and he wanted to hang out with her that night. She figured she would text him the following day and make plans to hang out since she missed him that night.

She checked her messages and she saw that one was from Halvo, essentially asking to hang out. The next one, however, surprised her. It was from John.

Hey Chaney. I need a nickname for you. It isn’t fair that Halvo’s the only one that gets to give you a nickname. I just wanted to say that I’m excited about getting to talk to you next week. We are currently in Oklahoma City and are about to sound check. I’ll talk to you soon Chaney.

Chaney completely forgot about Stephanie’s date with John, and was basking in the fact that she was going to talk to John the following Friday. She was especially excited that John was looking forward to talking to her as well. She wondered why he would be excited, but she brushed it off as she went to sleep. She was excited that she would get to see the gorgeous green-eyed man she’d been daydreaming of most of her life in just over a week.