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"One more drink to end the year off?" Tyler suggested, 5 minutes before the clock struck midnight.
Nodding excitedly, Josh ordered another two beers from the crowded bar and took off towards the outdoor seating, grasping her best friend's hand as she weaved through the mountains of people celebrating the new year.
"God, I hate crowds," she murmured, intertwining her fingers with Tyler's. They stood outside in the twilight haze of the night, the busy pub behind them muffled as they both took a deep breath in the fresh air.
"Me too," Tyler replied. "I always forget how uncomfortable they are until I'm outside, on my own, and I feel so much better."
Josh dropped Tyler's hand to take a sip from her glass, briefly mourning the loss of touch. The beer slid down her throat, slightly burning the back of her mouth but in a strangely satisfactory way. And when she glanced at her best friend, she found that Tyler was already staring her way, an unreadable expression on her face.
Tyler's gaze was almost overwhelming, and Josh quickly looked away as she felt her face starting to heat up in quiet embarrassment. Tyler chuckled lightly.
"How long is it until midnight?" Josh asked as Tyler retrieved her phone from her back pocket.
"Uh..." she started, the light from her lockscreen bathing her face in soft white light. "...Three minutes. Well, two minutes and thirty seconds."
Two more minutes. Two more minutes until Josh could leave 2024 behind. Two more minutes until the sky explodes into glorious colour. Two more minutes until...
She looked at Tyler again, anxiety bubbling in her chest as the timer slowly, steadily, decreased towards zero. She only had one chance.
Maybe Josh had been reading all the signs wrong. Maybe Josh only caught Tyler looking at her by chance. Maybe Tyler is just really touchy to all of her friends. Maybe Josh wasn't anything special.
But still, she pushed her nerves back down into her stomach and took a deep breath. Tyler's phone now read 11:59, and Josh tentatively grabbed Tyler's arm as they stared at eachother, both hyper-aware of the clock ticking down.
This was Josh's chance. This was Josh's chance.
("Ten.")
A reporter on the TV inside the pub counted down the seconds and there was a small cheer each time he spoke. Josh abandoned her drink on the nearest table, willing her nerves to disappear.
("Nine.")
She rubbed her hands together, anxiety unable to contain itself as her mind ran through every possible reaction that the other girl could have.
("Eight.")
Tyler could push her away, lip curling in disgust as she backed away from Josh. She could never want to look at her again. Tyler would never do that, but Josh never really knows how Tyler is going to react.
("Seven.")
Tyler could freeze up, an uncomfortable expression on her face as she refused to return the kiss. She could awkwardly excuse herself and run away, never seeing Josh ever again. That reaction wouldn't be much better, in Josh's opinion.
("Six.")
She could politely decline and step away from Josh, embarrassedly informing her that she really isn't interested in the other girl like that. She could half-heartedly suggest that they stop being friends, as Josh would nod, trying to will the tears away from her eyes.
("Five.")
Tyler could brace herself and return the kiss, before pulling away and trying to hide the obvious disgust on her face as she reveals that actually, she's straight, she changed her mind, it was just a phase, please don't do that again.
("Four.")
"J, you okay? You look anxious," Tyler murmured, leaning in so Josh could hear her. The other girl nodded, almost deliriously nervous.
("Three.")
Tyler could pull away before Josh even made it to her bitten lips, laughing it off awkwardly as they celebrate the new year and never speak of the incident again.
("Two.")
Or maybe, just maybe... Tyler could want this just as much as Josh does. Just maybe, Tyler could kiss back - not out of obligation or kindness, but mutual want.
("One.")
Josh, almost operating on autopilot, dragged herself out of her downward spiral, and placed her hands on Tyler's soft shoulders. She dared a glance down to Tyler's lips, and froze up as she felt a warm hand cupping the back of her neck. It was happening. It was happening. It was happening.
("Zero! Happy New Year, everyone!")
Tyler's lips smashed into hers as fireworks exploded into the previously silent air, a loud cheer sounding from inside the pub.
Josh's heart exploded into her mouth and she grabbed desperately at Tyler's shirt, looking for something to ground her from this ethereal experience. Their mouths moved against each other as Josh gently opened her lips to allow Tyler to taste the beer that she had bought just five minutes ago.
It simultaneously felt like one second and hundreds of hours that they were kissing, but eventually they broke apart, attempting to regain the breath lost.
In the dark-purple aftermath of the kiss and the start of the new year, Josh absorbed the feeling of Tyler's amber eyes focused, completely, on her lips.
And she knew then, that 2025 would be a good year.