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...And a Happy New Year
Now or Never
January 1, 2014
Chaney stirred awake, attempting to take in her surroundings. She found herself on the couch, squeezed between Halvo and a couple of his friends on one of the couches in the living room. She was one of many that ended up crashing at the host’s house after the New Year’s festivities due to not being sober enough to drive themselves. She tried to move, but realized she was pinned to Halvo’s side as he had his arm draped around her shoulders, holding her to his side. She tried to remove his arm as delicately as possible in hopes of not waking him. She was about to get up, thinking she had succeeded when she heard grunting to her right, coming from Halvo as he stirred awake.
“Ugh, Chaney, why the hell did you wake me up for? It’s so early.”
Chaney looked over at the clock sitting across the room on the mantel and saw that it read that it was 11:00 am.
“Halvo, it’s almost noon. It’s not early.”
“It is when you don’t go to sleep until after 3.”
“And exactly whose fault is that?” she asked pointedly.
He just flipped his middle finger at her as he struggled to sit up completely due to his massive hangover.
She laughed at his antics and got up to retrieve her coat and purse from the foyer at the front of the house. She was putting on her shoes when she sensed another person in her presence. She looked peripherally to her right and noticed it was John standing a mere couple of feet away from her, slipping on his shoes. She froze in her position, and stared at him, in complete awe of him.
She heard a slight chuckle behind her and turned her head slightly to see Halvo behind her making fun of her for her less than subtle staring at John. She just rolled her eyes and continued to put her shoes on.
Halvo clasped his hand on John’s shoulder as he finished putting on his boots. “Hey dude, great party last night huh?”
John laughed slightly and replied, “Yeah it was pretty great. Maybe next year I’ll actually have a girl to kiss at midnight.”
Halvo looked over at Chaney, wiggling his eyebrows suggestively before turning back to John. “Ha yeah dude. No cute girls here this year huh?” As he said this, he looked over at a less than amused Chaney who just stood there with her arms crossed.
“Well, I wouldn’t say there weren’t any cute girls here. All the ones I found were already taken.”
“Oh, I wouldn’t say that John O. You just gotta know where to look.” Halvo then turned to Chaney, calling her by her childhood nickname he had for her. “Hey Indy, I can’t drive you back home. I promised my mom I’d be home for lunch, and you live on the other side of town. You’re gonna have to get a ride from someone else.” He winked at her after, implying that this was an obvious set up.
It was as if John just noticed that Chaney was standing a couple feet away, listening in on their conversation. Being the gentleman he is, he addressed her. “Well, I live on the other side of town. I don’t mind dropping you off. Where do you live?”
She froze. Does she tell him she lives across the street from him or would that be too creepy since they’d never met before? She opted to just tell him the area of town she lived in and go from there. Let him discover himself that they’re neighbors. “I uh, live over in Tempe.”
“Hey, me too. I’ll gladly give you a ride. Oh, my name is John by the way.” He then extends his hand to me to shake.
Chaney gave him her hand and replies, “I’m Chaney. Nice to meet you. Thanks for the ride.”
He nods with a smile on his face and turns to finish chatting with Halvo before they left. She couldn’t help but be both nervous and excited about this. She figured had to talk to him sooner or later, and Halvo definitely helped in putting that ball in her court. He knows Chaney better than she gave him credit for. He knows that despite how determined she is and has been for as long as she can remember to get a New Year’s Eve kiss from John that she would never have the guts to approach him by herself. She would need help.
***
“So, Chaney right?”
“Yes.”
“Chaney, so how do you know Halvo?”
“I uh, met him in like fourth grade. He was in my class and we had some project to do in class, and our teacher assigned us together. We got along pretty well, and have been friends ever since. Honestly, it’s weird that we are friends to begin with. Like, we had to do the science fair and instead of us doing it by ourselves, she wanted us to be partnered up, something about learning to work as a team. I don’t know. Anyway, at first I really didn’t want to be his partner because he annoyed me. He was always cutting up in class, and I never found it amusing. I dreaded being his science fair partner. But the day we got the assignment, he called my house wanting to figure out what we wanted to do for our project. I went to his house and he was trying to be somewhat serious, but you know Halvo, and he ended up goofing off and trying to make me laugh, unsuccessfully I might add, and I eventually just walked out.”
Chaney was surprised at how much information she told John, forgetting her tendency to ramble when she got nervous.
John just chuckled. “You mean you just up and left him? Like no ‘Hey I’m going home’ or ‘You’re annoying the shit out of me, shut up so I can leave’ or anything?”
Chaney just smiled, glad he was letting her ramble and not seeming off-put by it. “Uh no. Like he was in the middle of doing some sort of weird impression and I just stood up from the couch, grabbed my backpack, and walked out the door.”
“Dude, how far away do you live from Halvo because his house isn’t exactly anywhere near us…”
“Yeah, I walked. Well, sort of. I walked the a couple blocks before calling my mom to come get me.”
“Ha. Wow. That’s pretty gutsy, and I’m sure it gave Halvo quite the bruised ego. I like your spunk. So ok, you’ve known Halvo for, what, like 15 years right?”
“Yeah…”
“Okay, and I’ve been friends with him just as long. How have I never met you before? We would have to have gone to the same school. Granted, we both know how easy it is to get lost there…”
Honestly, Chaney never understood why John and her had never really crossed paths before. He lived across the street from her, they both had the same best friend, and went to the same school. Not really any reason to never have met. She didn’t want to admit to him that she was always too shy to just speak up and talk to him. He was Mr. Popular, and Halvo was pretty much her only friend. That's not to say that she doesn’t have other friends, but Halvo is the only one that she really hangs out with.
She didn’t reply to John, and just shrugged her shoulders.
He frowned slightly and nodded, accepting her answer, but still contemplating how they never met before.
The rest of the ride was comfortably silent with the exception of the radio playing lightly in the background, and Chaney giving directions to where she lived.
As he pulled into their neighborhood, he asked, “So, are you sure that you aren’t just giving me directions to my house? Because I’m pretty sure I know everyone in this neighborhood and I would have had to have met you before…”
“Uh, I promise. I’m seriously giving you directions to my house.”
When he pulled onto thier street he broke the silence again. “Okay, you’ve got to be shitting me. You live on my street?”
She gave him her street address and he said, “No. Fucking. Way.”
“What?”
“You live across the street from me? How long have you lived here?”
“I uh, moved here when I was six…why?”
“I just, never knew you lived here, much less knew of your existence.”
Ouch. At least this wasn’t new information to Chaney. She remained silent not really sure how to answer.
John pulled up in front of her house and initially they both just sat there in silence, Chaney still a tad uncomfortable from John’s last statement before she reached for the door handle. “Thanks for the ride John. It was—”
“Chaney, stop. Look, that last thing I said, was pretty rude, unintentionally so, but that’s no excuse. I’m sorry.”
Chaney meekly nodded, seeing the genuineness in John’s eyes. She knew he didn’t mean what he said to sound as harsh as it did, but it didn’t mean it didn’t hurt. She just hoped this didn’t ruin her chances at hanging out with him more. If she was to get her New Year’s Eve kiss, she couldn’t exactly screw this up whatever this was between them. She would push through whatever awkwardness came up if that meant she could kiss him at midnight this New Year’s Eve.
She once again went for the door handle when John spoke up. “Hey uh, how about we meet up soon and you can tell me more of your crazy Halvo stories huh?”
Chaney could tell this was his way of giving a peace offering to apologize for practically ignoring her existence. She nodded. “Uh, yeah, sounds great John. You know where to find me.” She giggled softly.
He chuckled in reply and waved to her as she got out of his truck and made her way to her house. Maybe this whole thing wouldn’t be as difficult as she once thought.
Chaney stirred awake, attempting to take in her surroundings. She found herself on the couch, squeezed between Halvo and a couple of his friends on one of the couches in the living room. She was one of many that ended up crashing at the host’s house after the New Year’s festivities due to not being sober enough to drive themselves. She tried to move, but realized she was pinned to Halvo’s side as he had his arm draped around her shoulders, holding her to his side. She tried to remove his arm as delicately as possible in hopes of not waking him. She was about to get up, thinking she had succeeded when she heard grunting to her right, coming from Halvo as he stirred awake.
“Ugh, Chaney, why the hell did you wake me up for? It’s so early.”
Chaney looked over at the clock sitting across the room on the mantel and saw that it read that it was 11:00 am.
“Halvo, it’s almost noon. It’s not early.”
“It is when you don’t go to sleep until after 3.”
“And exactly whose fault is that?” she asked pointedly.
He just flipped his middle finger at her as he struggled to sit up completely due to his massive hangover.
She laughed at his antics and got up to retrieve her coat and purse from the foyer at the front of the house. She was putting on her shoes when she sensed another person in her presence. She looked peripherally to her right and noticed it was John standing a mere couple of feet away from her, slipping on his shoes. She froze in her position, and stared at him, in complete awe of him.
She heard a slight chuckle behind her and turned her head slightly to see Halvo behind her making fun of her for her less than subtle staring at John. She just rolled her eyes and continued to put her shoes on.
Halvo clasped his hand on John’s shoulder as he finished putting on his boots. “Hey dude, great party last night huh?”
John laughed slightly and replied, “Yeah it was pretty great. Maybe next year I’ll actually have a girl to kiss at midnight.”
Halvo looked over at Chaney, wiggling his eyebrows suggestively before turning back to John. “Ha yeah dude. No cute girls here this year huh?” As he said this, he looked over at a less than amused Chaney who just stood there with her arms crossed.
“Well, I wouldn’t say there weren’t any cute girls here. All the ones I found were already taken.”
“Oh, I wouldn’t say that John O. You just gotta know where to look.” Halvo then turned to Chaney, calling her by her childhood nickname he had for her. “Hey Indy, I can’t drive you back home. I promised my mom I’d be home for lunch, and you live on the other side of town. You’re gonna have to get a ride from someone else.” He winked at her after, implying that this was an obvious set up.
It was as if John just noticed that Chaney was standing a couple feet away, listening in on their conversation. Being the gentleman he is, he addressed her. “Well, I live on the other side of town. I don’t mind dropping you off. Where do you live?”
She froze. Does she tell him she lives across the street from him or would that be too creepy since they’d never met before? She opted to just tell him the area of town she lived in and go from there. Let him discover himself that they’re neighbors. “I uh, live over in Tempe.”
“Hey, me too. I’ll gladly give you a ride. Oh, my name is John by the way.” He then extends his hand to me to shake.
Chaney gave him her hand and replies, “I’m Chaney. Nice to meet you. Thanks for the ride.”
He nods with a smile on his face and turns to finish chatting with Halvo before they left. She couldn’t help but be both nervous and excited about this. She figured had to talk to him sooner or later, and Halvo definitely helped in putting that ball in her court. He knows Chaney better than she gave him credit for. He knows that despite how determined she is and has been for as long as she can remember to get a New Year’s Eve kiss from John that she would never have the guts to approach him by herself. She would need help.
***
“So, Chaney right?”
“Yes.”
“Chaney, so how do you know Halvo?”
“I uh, met him in like fourth grade. He was in my class and we had some project to do in class, and our teacher assigned us together. We got along pretty well, and have been friends ever since. Honestly, it’s weird that we are friends to begin with. Like, we had to do the science fair and instead of us doing it by ourselves, she wanted us to be partnered up, something about learning to work as a team. I don’t know. Anyway, at first I really didn’t want to be his partner because he annoyed me. He was always cutting up in class, and I never found it amusing. I dreaded being his science fair partner. But the day we got the assignment, he called my house wanting to figure out what we wanted to do for our project. I went to his house and he was trying to be somewhat serious, but you know Halvo, and he ended up goofing off and trying to make me laugh, unsuccessfully I might add, and I eventually just walked out.”
Chaney was surprised at how much information she told John, forgetting her tendency to ramble when she got nervous.
John just chuckled. “You mean you just up and left him? Like no ‘Hey I’m going home’ or ‘You’re annoying the shit out of me, shut up so I can leave’ or anything?”
Chaney just smiled, glad he was letting her ramble and not seeming off-put by it. “Uh no. Like he was in the middle of doing some sort of weird impression and I just stood up from the couch, grabbed my backpack, and walked out the door.”
“Dude, how far away do you live from Halvo because his house isn’t exactly anywhere near us…”
“Yeah, I walked. Well, sort of. I walked the a couple blocks before calling my mom to come get me.”
“Ha. Wow. That’s pretty gutsy, and I’m sure it gave Halvo quite the bruised ego. I like your spunk. So ok, you’ve known Halvo for, what, like 15 years right?”
“Yeah…”
“Okay, and I’ve been friends with him just as long. How have I never met you before? We would have to have gone to the same school. Granted, we both know how easy it is to get lost there…”
Honestly, Chaney never understood why John and her had never really crossed paths before. He lived across the street from her, they both had the same best friend, and went to the same school. Not really any reason to never have met. She didn’t want to admit to him that she was always too shy to just speak up and talk to him. He was Mr. Popular, and Halvo was pretty much her only friend. That's not to say that she doesn’t have other friends, but Halvo is the only one that she really hangs out with.
She didn’t reply to John, and just shrugged her shoulders.
He frowned slightly and nodded, accepting her answer, but still contemplating how they never met before.
The rest of the ride was comfortably silent with the exception of the radio playing lightly in the background, and Chaney giving directions to where she lived.
As he pulled into their neighborhood, he asked, “So, are you sure that you aren’t just giving me directions to my house? Because I’m pretty sure I know everyone in this neighborhood and I would have had to have met you before…”
“Uh, I promise. I’m seriously giving you directions to my house.”
When he pulled onto thier street he broke the silence again. “Okay, you’ve got to be shitting me. You live on my street?”
She gave him her street address and he said, “No. Fucking. Way.”
“What?”
“You live across the street from me? How long have you lived here?”
“I uh, moved here when I was six…why?”
“I just, never knew you lived here, much less knew of your existence.”
Ouch. At least this wasn’t new information to Chaney. She remained silent not really sure how to answer.
John pulled up in front of her house and initially they both just sat there in silence, Chaney still a tad uncomfortable from John’s last statement before she reached for the door handle. “Thanks for the ride John. It was—”
“Chaney, stop. Look, that last thing I said, was pretty rude, unintentionally so, but that’s no excuse. I’m sorry.”
Chaney meekly nodded, seeing the genuineness in John’s eyes. She knew he didn’t mean what he said to sound as harsh as it did, but it didn’t mean it didn’t hurt. She just hoped this didn’t ruin her chances at hanging out with him more. If she was to get her New Year’s Eve kiss, she couldn’t exactly screw this up whatever this was between them. She would push through whatever awkwardness came up if that meant she could kiss him at midnight this New Year’s Eve.
She once again went for the door handle when John spoke up. “Hey uh, how about we meet up soon and you can tell me more of your crazy Halvo stories huh?”
Chaney could tell this was his way of giving a peace offering to apologize for practically ignoring her existence. She nodded. “Uh, yeah, sounds great John. You know where to find me.” She giggled softly.
He chuckled in reply and waved to her as she got out of his truck and made her way to her house. Maybe this whole thing wouldn’t be as difficult as she once thought.
♠ ♠ ♠
So I updated as promised!!! Hopefully this makes up for the shorter first chapter??? Thank you so so much to everyone that has read and subscribed so far!! Y'all are awesome! :) I hope to stay consistent with updating this. As an aside, there will be dates at the tops of each chapter indicating moments throughout the year that John and Chaney interact. I hope to keep up my writing so I can publish on those days so that way it's as if it actually happens on those days! (if that makes sense) Anyway, don't hesitate to comment and tell me what you think or what you predict will happen, or if you just wanna tell me you hate it. haha.If you're interested, I have two other ongoing stories right now. One of them is another Maine fanfic, So Now, Run and an original fiction Love in All the Wrong Places. I'm hoping to update these three stories as consistently as possible. Preferably on a weekly basis, so we'll see how that goes.