Black & White

5 years later

December 31, 2019

Chaney looked through her closet for something to wear. She was nervous about tonight as it would be the first time she had seen most of her friends in the last couple years. After the crazy year she had a few years ago, she was afraid of who she would run into tonight. Her and John kept in touch and had remained fairly close over the last few years.

She had moved to the west coast after the year where her life went to shit and became a permanent San Franciscan. What she didn’t know was that Halvo had moved to LA not long after and had been trying desperately to run into her while they both lived in California. Though the pair sort of ended on better terms, she was still nervous about the possibility of seeing him. She knew that he and John frequently visited each other and for that reason she refused to go back to Tempe after she moved. She only ever saw John when he would go to visit Halvo, when they toured the west coast, or if she had a gallery show.

When John had made his way through California to see his friends along the west coast for Christmas, she was surprised when he invited her to go to his New Year’s Eve party. She found it a bit ironic considering her past obsession with kissing him at midnight. Though she finally got her kiss, and a little bit more, it was just another kiss. It was no where near what she had built it up in her mind to be despite what she thought at the time. Sure John was a great kisser, but she knew someone who kissed her better. John was a conveient for her at the time, or so she kept telling herself. Five years later and her feelings about the matter still weren’t completely resolved. But she quickly dismissed that thought.

With a sigh, she opted for the sleek, form fitting black and gold dress hidden in the back of her closet. She took the hanger off the rack and held it out, observing if this was truly the dress she wanted to wear. Her phone ringing on her bed made the decision for her as it was John calling to ask if she had left yet. Chuckling to herself she jogged lightly to her bed to retrieve her phone.

“Hello John,” she laughed.

“Yo Van Gogh, you ready to van go?” he laughed.

“Oh my god you’re such a dork.”

“Yeah but you love me anyway.”

“And why is that again? I don’t recall ever saying that.”

“Hey now, I could always retract my invitation for you to come tonight,” he mock warned.

She dramatically clutched a hand to her chest. “Oh whatever will I do O’Callaghan? A New Year’s Eve without your presence? I might just die!”

He laughed, “Had this been five years ago, you might just have.”

“Shut up,” she chuckled, “I didn’t ask for your input smart ass.”

“Psh, whatever. But you know you listen to it anyway.”

“Are you going to get to the point of this conversation or am I going to have to go bad-cop on you to find out?”

“I mean, if ‘bad-cop’ means a sexy police outfit and handcuffs…”

“My god John. What would Kelly say about that?”

“Meh, she knows how I am. She’s just as bad.”

“I know. You two are nauseatingly adorable. How is she by the way?”

“She’s doing great, she’s going to be there tonight,” he replied cheerfully.

Chaney smiled on the other end of the phone,”I’m glad to hear that. I’m so happy she was able to get off work and make it down there.”

He let out a breath, “I am too. She works way too hard and I keep telling her to slow down, but you know how she is.”

“What do you expect? She's a fellow creative. Alright John, I need to start heading out if I’m going to make my flight. Are you still picking me up?”

“Yup. Just let me know if your flight is delayed.”

“Sounds good. I’ll see ya in a couple hours.”

She hung up the phone and tossed it on the bed. She looked at her reflection in the mirror above her dresser and sighed as she ran a hand through her tangled hair. At this point she really didn’t care how she looked anymore. She was excited to see the rest of The Maine guys. She hadn’t seen them, with an exception to John and Pat, since they passed through San Fran on their fall tour a couple months prior. She walked into her closet and felt around the top shelf above her rack of clothes for a small duffle bag for the next few days she’d spend at John’s house. Her hand grappled around the empty, dusty shelf until she came in contact with a canvas bag. Sighing in relief, she grabbed onto the bag and pulled it down.

Her heart lurched in her chest as she gazed at the faded, worn out 8123 duffle bag she had gotten for Christmas five years ago. She had wanted one and someone her with it. She still never found out who it came from as Halvo’s note was never found. Tears filled her eyes as she looked at the bag. It reminded her of the home she left behind and of the man whom she had called her best friend, and had been in love with, for most of her life. She took a few staggering breaths as she tried to calm herself down. She thought it silly that something as simple as an old duffle bag could bring so many different emotions and memories out of her.

She almost put the bag back and looked for another one, but she was running out of time and she couldn’t stomach not using it. It had been a couple years since it had been used, but she wasn’t letting that stop her now. She brought it over to her bed and packed her clothes in it that she had already laid out, saving her dress for the night last to pack. She packed a few toiletries and zipped up the bag before grabbing her purse, locking the door, and making her way to her car.

She sped down the road, hoping she could check in and make it through security in time to catch her flight. She got too caught up going down memory lane when she found her bag and it caused her to be a few minutes late. She anxiously kept checking the time on her watch, watching the second hand impatiently as she waited in line. Once she got through security, she ran to her gate and luckily made it during last call to board. She breathlessly handed over her ticket to be scanned before making her way onto the plane.

Her plane landed a couple hours later and she exited the plane, texting John to tell him that she was headed towards baggage claim. She was scrolling through her social media notifications as she strolled to grab her bag. She didn’t see John until she looked up from her phone and saw him standing there holding a sign saying “Van Gogh let’s van go”.

She rolled her eyes and chuckled as she walked over to him. He put the sign down and engulfed her in a giant hug.

“God John, let up on the death grip will ya? I can’t breathe! You act like you haven't seen me in year rather than a few days,” she chuckled laboriously.

He laughed softly as he loosened his grip. “It’s just good to see you is all. We’ve missed you here in the desert.”

“I won’t lie and say I haven’t missed it because I definitely have.”

John smiled warmly at her as he leaned over to grab her duffle bag and lead her towards his truck.

She laughed when she saw it. “I can’t believe you still drive this clunker. What happened to the Jeep?”

“Hey, she’s a classic. Don’t insult her,” he retorted seriously. “But I couldn’t resist taking ya for a spin in the truck for old time’s sake.”

She looked at him incredulously for a moment and when she realized he was serious, apologized and made her way to the passenger door. She fought hard to bite back her laughter as his feelings about his truck were ridiculous.

John threw her bag in the bed of the truck and hopped in the cab, turning on the ignition.

As soon as the truck turned on, Chaney smiled. “Tom Waits. You remembered.”

“Of course! Like I would forget one of the few things we actually have in common,” he scoffed.

The pair rode in silence as they listened to the soothing, scratchy voice through his mangled speakers. He pulled into his driveway and the pair got out and made their way inside. John grabbed her bag and showed her to the guest room. “This will be your room for the next few days. Kelly will be staying here too if that’s okay,” he asked sheepishly.

“Psh, of course! Just let me know if I’ll need to wear earplugs to bed,” she teased.

He rolled his eyes and playfully pushed her. “Yes mom.”

She laughed as John left the room, closing the door behind him. She looked around the simple room, sighing in contentment to be back in the town she lived in most of her life. She made her way over to the bed and grabbed her clothes and makeup for the night and made her way to the adjoining bathroom to get ready.

When she got out of the steamy shower, she wrapped one of the giant towels around her petite frame and made her way over to the mirror. Using her forearm, she rubbed circles onto the mirror to alleviate the steam. She sighed as she looked at her stringy, damp hair and makeup free face. Shrugging her shoulders, she quickly threw her hair up in a clip while she dried off and got dressed. She left the bathroom door open as she walked back into her room to put her clothes away and put her dress on.

She made her way back into the bathroom a few minutes later and put on her makeup and do her hair. When she was finally content with how she looked, she went back to her bag and slipped on her shoes. She didn’t know when everyone else was supposed to start arriving, but she figured she would go help John prepare for the night.

The sound of clanging pots and pans made Chaney ditch her shoes in the hallway and run towards the kitchen to aid John. His skills in the kitchen were about as good as Chaney’s were at rocket science. She arrived in the kitchen to see John hunched over on the floor, muttering curses as he attempted to clean up all the pots and pans that had fallen on the floor. She couldn’t help but chuckle at the sight as it was something so typically John.

Her laugh alerted him and he quickly turned around shooting her a glare. “Ugh, don’t say a fucking word,” he groaned.

“Need some help?” she asked over a giggle.

He rolled his eyes and turned back to picking up the fallen dishware.

She bit her lip to hold in her laughter as she sank to the floor to help him clean up. “I wasn’t sure when everyone was going to start coming so I figured I’d help you out. Seems like you needed my help more than I thought.”

He scoffed. “Thanks anyway. Luckily I’m not making anything. This is all potluck.”

“So we know whatever Pat brings will be delicious,” Chaney mused. “But what about you Mr. Host? What are you in charge of?”

“Isn’t my place enough?” he asked with a raised brow.

Chaney shot him a glare.

“I’m kidding,” he chuckled. “I’m in charge of the alcohol,” he said proudly.

“Typical O’Callaghan.”

“So what about you?”

“What about me?”

“Anyone special to kiss at midnight?” he asked with a mischievous smirk.

“Nice try. I got my kiss from you, even if it wasn’t at midnight on New Year’s Eve. Besides, don’t you think your fiance will want to kiss you at midnight?” she challenged.

He chuckled, “I was kidding, and though flattered, that’s not what I meant.”

She sighed, “I know.” Chaney had stopped putting up pans and looked down dejectedly at her hands which were currently folded in her lap.

“So you seriously haven’t…”

“Not since Halvo,” she whispered sadly. "Well...and that night in your Jeep."

John frowned slightly. He hated seeing his two best friends that were so good for each other suffering so much from not being together. He knew Halvo had been the same way. Halvo hadn’t even looked at another girl since things went south with Chaney. He even moved to the west coast to be closer to her. However he wasn’t going to show his cards and let on to what he knew. He gave Chaney a sympathetic smile and a reassuring squeeze on her shoulder before he got up. “The guys should start coming in about half an hour. I’m gonna go get cleaned up. Feel free to chill on the couch, watch TV. Just answer the door if any of the guys show up,” he chuckled.

She smiled and he held out his hand to help her up. She dusted off the back of her dress from sitting on the floor. She made her way over to the couch and reached for the remote as she heard the shower turn on at the other end of the house. She sighed and relaxed back into the couch as she flipped through the channels for something to watch. Naturally there wasn’t anything on but various countdowns to the new year and cliche romantic movies. She scoffed and turned off the TV.

She once had her perfect romance. He was perfect. In her eyes at least. In hindsight, she wished she hadn’t had snapped so harshly at him for keeping secrets from her, but she had never felt so betrayed. Despite the words she spewed from her mouth that dreadful August day, she still loved Halvo. Even now. She felt a pang in her chest at the thought of the ridiculously quirky boy she grew up with. Memories of him brought a small smile to her face and she didn’t realize she had been crying until she felt her teardrops hit her hand. She quickly got up and made her way to the mirror in the hallway, making sure her makeup was in tact.

The doorbell rang, forcing her to quickly pull herself together as she went to answer the door. She opened the door to find Pat holding some sort of covered dish. The moment Pat saw it was Chaney on the other side of the door, the smile on his face grew as he moved to quickly set his dish down so he could embrace Chaney in a tight hug.

She smiled as she hugged the long-haired drummer to her. Outside of John, she had grown the closest to Pat. He had become like a younger brother to her, much in the way that Alex was to her. Her and Pat held a special bond and she was so thankful that she got to meet him through John. He was always able to cheer her up and encourage her whenever she had doubts about her art or any decision she had to make.

He released her from his grip as he grabbed his dish and made his way to the kitchen to set it down. Chaney was about to close the door, but she saw the infamous white, graffiti-covered van pull up and she saw Jared, Tessa, Garrett, Falyn, and Kennedy stepping out of the van. Her smile widened as she stood in the doorway ready to greet the rest of her friends that she hadn’t seen in months. She hugged each of them and the ‘inner circle’ spent time catching up with Chaney until John reappeared from his room.

Kelly arrived a few minutes later and John went to the door to greet her and bring her into the living room to talk with everyone else. Slowly, more and more of their friends started showing up and they were all eager to catch up with Chaney as most of them hadn’t seen her since she moved.

Chaney had been standing against the wall nursing her third glass of wine as a familiar presence made it’s way next to her.

“Ya know, the more you stand there not talking to him, the less likely he is to notice you. Just grow a pair and talk to him."

Chaney quickly turned her head at the familiar words and found Halvo standing next to her nursing a bottle of beer. Her eyes went wide as she gazed at him. Five years had treated him well and she couldn’t stop the blush that filled her face as she shamelessly checked him out in his fitted suit.

He smirked slightly as he kept his gaze on the crowd in front of them, knowing full well she was checking him out. He was silently thanking John for strongly encouraging him to work out over the last few months. It was showing and he was hoping he’d be able to do a little showing off himself later on, but he wasn’t going to get his hopes up.

He slowly turned his head to face her, laying eyes on her for the first time since she moved away and his feelings that he’d been harboring for her only intensified as she met his gaze. His breath hitched as his eyes trailed her body, noticing every one of her curves in her tight black and gold dress. When his eyes met hers again, his face turned red as she had caught him checking her out.

She chuckled lightly, as did he. The pair embarrassed and for once not really knowing what was proper protocol for how they should interact. If Chaney was being honest with herself, all she wanted to do was take him to a secluded part of the house and have her way with him. However, she knew that wasn’t exactly plausible at the moment and she had no idea where Halvo stood with his feelings with her.

He cleared his throat and finally had the courage to speak up now that she knew he was there. “So uh, how’ve you been?” he asked over a sip of beer.

She smiled, “Good. I’ve uh, got a studio space over in San Fran. There’s a local gallery over there that likes to regularly display my work. I’ve made some good sales from them. I’m getting by. How uh, how about you?”

Truth be told, Halvo had known all about her studio space and her galleries. He had been to every single one of them since she moved. The moment John mentioned her first gallery opening in passing, he made a point to go to every one she had. He’d even bought a few of her pieces anonymously. He was happy to hear that she was making a living for herself, but he wished that he was able to enjoy these victories with her. He hoped tonight would change that.

“Me? Oh, not much really. Just helping the guys out with tour on occasion. Doing some side projects. My gig with Cobra...ya know, not much,” he chuckled.

She smiled. She was happy that nothing had changed with him and that he was still the same, quirky guy she’d known.

A shout for him at the other end of the house pulled his attention away from her for a moment. They both turned their heads to see Jared yelling for Halvo.

“Dude! I’m being slaughtered in beer pong! I need your help!”

Halvo and Chaney chuckled.

“Aren’t you a little old to be playing beer pong? We’re like, 30,” she laughed.

“Eh, it keeps us young,” he winked. “So, have any plans for midnight?” he boldly asked, the liquid courage finally hitting.

She shook her head as she bit her lip.

He grinned widely, “I’ll meet ya under the mistletoe.” He then winked again before leaning over and giving her a quick peck on her cheek.

She felt her face flush as she watched him stumble over to the other side of the house. She looked down at her watch and saw that it was only 9:30. She wasn’t sure how she was going to survive waiting to kiss him until midnight.

Halvo’s attention unfortunately was occupied by endless drinking games in the kitchen and she spent her time catching up with the girls since it had been so long since she’d seen them. It was good to be back and she didn’t realize how much she had missed being home until now.

She talked with the girls for a while and looked back down at her watch. Only about an hour had passed. She looked casually towards the kitchen to see Halvo cutting up with the guys and kicking back cans of Pabst as they played who knows what drinking game. She sighed in impatience as she wished it to be midnight already.

She discreetly dismissed herself from the group and went to refill her glass. The wine was barely doing the trick to keep her nerves down and she was in need of something stronger. She knew John always hid his whiskey under the sink of the garage out back so she slipped through the kitchen and out the door towards the small room. She turned the knob to find it locked and sighed in defeat until she remembered that he always hid his key in the door jamb. She felt around for the loose panel next to the door frame and easily found the hidden key. She smiled in triumph as she unlocked the door and made her way inside. She didn’t bother to turn on the light as she wasn’t going to be in there longer than the amount of time it took her to pour the whiskey in her glass.

She made her way over to the sink on the other side of the garage and bent over to feel around for the bottle of Jack. She gasped in surprise as she felt a pair of hands hungrily grasp her sides. She quickly stood up and turned around only to see Halvo standing there.

She had just enough time to identify who it was before he lurched forward and aggressively attatched his lips to hers. She moaned into his mouth as his lips worked against hers. Her hands desperately grasped onto the back of his shirt, happy he had already ditched the jacket. One less item of clothing for her to worry about.

His hands massaged her hips as he pulled her hips to his. He moved to start kissing across her jaw and towards her neck in order to catch his breath some.

Chaney’s eyes rolled into the back of her head as she moved one of her hands to run through his neatly combed hair as she looked for whatever part of him she could to hold on to. Her mind flashed back to the last time she had been kissed like this by him. It was unsurprisingly the day they told each other “I love you”.

She was brought out of her haze as she felt his teeth start nipping her collarbone. “Eric,” she moaned breathlessly as he continued to pepper kisses across her chest.

He groaned deep in his throat, “I can’t tell you how much I’ve missed you.” His breathing was staggered as he was trying to calm his nerves. “Couch,” he breathed as he attached his lips back to hers. He began to walk her backwards towards the couch against the wall. He gently moved to lay her down as he hovered above her, bracing himself on his arms.

Chaney removed her arms from around his back and moved start unbuttoning his shirt as she untucked it from his pants.

She had gotten about half of his shirt unbuttoned when he gently grabbed her hands. “Chaney, wait.”

She stopped and began to slowly sit up. “What’s wrong?”

He moved to put his weight on his knees so she could sit up all the way. “Nothing! I just, I’ve been waiting for this moment for five years. I don’t want this to happen in some dingy garage. I want to do this right,” he breathed as he placed his hand on the side of her face, smoothing down part of her hair that he’d messed up moments before.

With a small smile she nodded. “Ok.”

He smiled back and got up off the couch so she could stand. He began buttoning up his shirt and running his fingers through his hair as Chaney straightened her dress.

The pair sheepishly smiled at each other before making their way back inside. He lingered outside for a few minutes so she could go in without it seeming suspicious. Not that any of their friends would care. They all knew how crazy about each other Chaney and Halvo were. He needed some air though to clear his head of what had just happened.

He had been sitting at one of the patio tables by the pool when he heard the door from the kitchen open up behind him. He turned around to see John coming out of the sliding door.

John made his way over to the table and sat across from his friend. One look at Halvo and he chuckled. “Nice lip shade man.”

Halvo’s eyes went wide as he scrambled to wipe his mouth off.

“I take it from the shade of lipstick you’re wearing that you found Chaney?” he smirked.

Halvo rolled his eyes and grabbed a handkerchief from his pocket to wipe off his mouth. “You could say that,” he mumbled.

“Look dude, I’m glad. I was really hoping you guys would be able to work things out.”

“We uh, haven’t exactly gotten that far yet,” he mumbled as he continued to rid his lips of Chaney’s smeared lipstick. “Damn red lipstick. Does she not realize how impossible this is to wipe off?” he muttered.

John laughed. “Man, if you’re biggest concern right now is the fact that you’re covered in your lady’s lipstick, you’ve got it pretty good.”

Halvo smiled as he looked down at the table and nodded. “Yeah, I just. I wasn’t expecting her to be here.”

“You’re welcome.”

Halvo smiled before standing up. He gave John a friendly slap across his shoulders before making his way back in through the kitchen. Halvo made his way through the crowd, trying to find where Chaney was at. He stood on his tiptoes hoping to see over the crowd enough to spot her, but to no avail. With a defeated sigh, he lowered himself back to his flat feet and continued to look around. He about jumped out of his skin when he felt an arm snake around his stomach from behind and gently squeeze the bit of pudge on his stomach. He knew instantly who that hand belonged to, because only one other person loved playing with his belly as much as he did.

He turned his head to look over his shoulder to find Chaney standing behind him with a sly smirk. “Is it midnight yet?” she asked as seductively as she could.

“It is somewhere,” he shrugged as he grabbed her hand that was on his stomach and began walking through the house until they reached the guest room. He pushed open the door, pulling Chaney in behind him before closing the door and pushing her up against it.

She instantly reached for his shirt, untucking it from his pants as his lips attached to her neck.

His hands snaked around her waist as he trailed his hands up her back to find the zipper of her dress. He quickly undid it and she removed her arms from around him so it could slip to the floor, leaving her in her black lace bra and underwear. Never had she been so glad to decide to wear fancy lingerie that night.

He groaned at the sight of her and quickly brought her body back to his. His hands slipped down to her bum, squeezing it lightly as she moved to jump up to wrap her legs around his torso. He backed her up against the wall so she could unbutton his shirt easier. He set her down momentarily so he could discard his shirt before picking her back up and carrying her over to the bed.

He threw her down, and quickly shoved her bag off the bed as he moved to climb onto the bed. Once he was hovering above her, he paused before he continued. Both of their chests heaving, he looked into her eyes and couldn’t hide how he felt any longer.

“Chaney, I just. Before we continue, I’ve gotta get this off my chest.”

Her heart beat faster in anticipation of what he was about to say.

“Chaney. I love you. I never stopped loving you.”

A smile lined her lips as she wrapped her arms around his neck. “I love you too Eric.” She then pulled his head closer so she could kiss him with the passion for him that never left.

***
Halvo rolled over and they both laid there breathlessly. He rolled onto his side so he could face Chaney and placed an arm across her waist.

She rolled over to face him as well and cuddled into his chest. “I’m really glad I didn’t chicken out and decide not to come.”

“You and me both,” he chuckled.

“I just, I can’t believe that you’re really here right now,” she said as she lightly trailed her fingers across his torso, paying particular attention to his stomach.

He smiled at the gesture. “I could say the same. It’s so strange seeing you again…”

“Yet it feels like the most natural thing in the world,” she finished.

Halvo nodded in agreeance.

“Ya know, these past five years have treated you well,” she winked.

“Well, except for the beer belly,” he chuckled.

She gasped in mock horror. “But I love your pudgy belly! It’s like my favorite thing about you!”

“And not my devilishly good looks or ridiculously witty humor?”

“Psh, those are just added bonuses,” she grinned as she leaned towards him to give him a sweet kiss.

His grip around her waist tightened as he brought her closer to her closer to him once again.

Their moment was interrupted by John walking through the door and instantly covering his eyes. “God guys! Don’t you believe in locks?”

They both chuckled. “Sorry dude, it’s your own fault for not knocking first,” Halvo quipped as he trailed kisses along Chaney’s neck.

John groaned. “At least cover up with a sheet or something so I can uncover my burning eyes.”

Chaney rolled her eyes with a smirk as she reached for the sheet that had been kicked carelessly to the end of the bed and pulled it so they could cover up. “Ok, we’re decent. Well...more decent.”

John hesitantly uncovered his eyes. “Well, I came in here because no one had seen you guys and we were looking for you so you could see the ball drop.”

“We’ve been busy having a ball drop of our own,” Halvo chuckled.

“Yeah, and with that being said, John, I think you’ll be the one needing earplugs tonight. I’m pretty sure this isn’t ending anytime soon.”

John groaned. “You guys are sick. I don’t wanna know this shit. I’ll leave you be. I’m burning these sheets after you leave,” he deadpanned as he exited the room closing the door behind him.

The pair turned back towards each other. “Where were we?” Halvo grinned as he moved to kiss Chaney again.

They heard cheering in the other room, breaking up their kiss and Halvo sat up slightly to look over at the clock sitting on the nightstand. He laid back down and looked at Chaney with a smile. “Happy New Year.”

It was a very Happy New Year indeed.