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“Can I tell you what I think?”
Sigh.
“...What do you think?”
“That you’re in love with her.”
Silence.
“So what? What if I am, what difference does it make?”
“Tell her.”
“You make it sound so damn easy.” He scoffed.
“Nacho, it is easy. Maybe she feels the same-”
“Feels the same?? What fucking fantasy world do you live in, huh?!”
Silence, again.
Nacho sighed and rubbed his forehead. He felt relieved that Domingo couldn’t see his face. That he couldn’t see the tears of anger or the pain in his eyes.
“Look, I’m sorry. It’s just… Complicated.”
“I know, Nacho. But trust me. She feels the same.”
“How the hell would you know?”
Silence. Always the damn defying silence. After what felt like eternity, Domingo talked:
“Because she told me.”
Chaos.
That’s what the mansion feels like. Drunk - or high - people everywhere. It’s a new years party, after all. The music, laughter and screams makes it feel like the house is vibrating. And the heat - from at least 50 bodies trapped together in a room with bad air conditioning, and from his own nerves.
It feels like they’re all caged animals, locked together, waiting for tragedy. He doesn’t understand how people can enjoy being squeezed together like this - or maybe they’re all pretending. Just searching for something - someone - to fill the void.
He usually enjoys parties. He is usually one of the people dancing and laughing, with his arms thrown around a pretty stranger. Not tonight.
Nacho fidgets with the first button to the red shirt, buttoning and unbuttoning, over and over. He has barely touched the shot in his glass.
“Are you gonna drink that?” Domingo’s words are slightly slurred, and his grin is wide. He shouts to overvoice the music, but doesn’t seem to mind the volume. At least someone is having fun.
“It’s all yours.” Nacho hands his friend the glass, and he empties it in only a matter of seconds. He grimaces. “You’re gonna be sick, Dom.”
His friend rolls his eyes.
“Whatever, dad. Don’t look so bitter, man!”
Domingo nudges his friend, who rolls his eyes in return. Yet, he chuckles. His eyes wanders across the room, hoping to see his tall friend amongst the sea of people. No sign of her , so far.
“Relax, dude. She’ll be here soon!”
I really hope so. He still has to apologize to Laura, after that ridiculous argument they had last week.
“What did you two even fight about this time?”
Nacho’s mind goes back to the phone call with Domingo yesterday.
“It wasn’t a fight, damnit.” He sighed. “Just a… Disagreement.”
“About…?”
“About her shit-ex. I told her she was stupid if she forgave them after everything they put her through.”
“And?”
“I sounded too angry. She got angry, and we both said things we didn’t mean.” Talking about it made Nacho realize how shitty the situation was. He felt like screaming from frustration. “Fuck, Dom… I really messed up this time.”
“You both did.”
“Yea…” He dreads the answer, yet he asks: “When did she… Tell you?”
“Back when you dated Mona.”
“Dude, that was like 10 months ago! Why the hell didn’t you tell me earlier?!”
“Hey! I’m Laura’s friend too. Besides, she threatened to kick my ass if I told you about her feelings for you.”
“What a damn shit show!” He cussed loudly, almost forgetting Domingo on the other line.
“I’m sorry, man.” He sighs. “But then, Laura got together with… Them. And well, you still dated Mona back then.”
“Yea…”
“And you seriously didn’t know Laura had a crush on you? Like, at all?”
“No, Domingo! I didn’t.” Nacho hissed.
“You’re a damn fool, my friend.”
“Rubbing salt in my wounds.” he muttered, frustrated by Domingo’s teasing.
“You and Laura have been dancing around each other for years. You both are idiots, y’know?”
“I hate you. No… I hate this. This situation? It sucks.”
“I’m so sorry, Nacho.”
Silence, silence, silence.
“So what now?”
“Talk to her, dumbass.”
And that’s the plan. Nacho refuses to start the new year whilst being in a disagreement with his best friend. Crush. Whatever.
“Damn, look at that girl over there!”
Nacho’s eyes follow to where Domingo’s glare is stuck. He grimaces.
“She’s way out of your league, dude.”
Domingo scoffs and begins a long, drunken rant about something…
That’s when he sees her. A tall figure amongst the crowd of people. Her brown wavy hair, that purple shirt he likes to see her in… And as usual, the high heels - as if being taller than him wasn’t enough.
“Shit, there she is!” He hisses, to gain Domingo’s attention. His friend whistles loudly, and Laura turns her gaze towards them. She looks pissed with someone whistling at her like that, until realizing it’s Domingo.
Shit, shit, shit.
She walks up to them.
“Hey, happy almost new years.”
She greets Domingo with a hug, and despite everything, she embraces Nacho too. He stands frozen, before slowly wrapping his arms around her. He breathes in the scent of her shampoo. Her scent. The hug only lasts for a couple of seconds, but it feels like hours. He wishes it was hours.
“Yo, thirty minutes left until the new year! I need to find someone to kiss.”
With that, Domingo walks off, stumbling forward onto the living room, which is used as a dance floor. And just like that, Nacho and Laura are alone.
Thank you for the support. Nacho will remember to give his friend hell for this. He turns his gaze back to her , and she gives him a sheepish smile. Her. His best friend, the girl he’s known since teen years. They’ve gone through up and down together, and shared so much. Laughter, tears, secrets…
And there it is, the familiar heartache. The urge to run away from the situation, to flee his complicated feelings. Yet, he stands there and looks at her. They both speak, at the same time, the same words. Like they’re telepathetic.
“I’m sorry-” Their voices harmonize.
“You-” Again.
“You first.” Nacho is quick to say.
“You were right, Iggy.”
I did not see that one coming - Nacho thinks.
“I… I’ve ended it with my ex. Once and for all. They’re trash.”
“Laura… I’m so relieved to hear that.” He gathers his thoughts. “I’m sorry, too. For being so harsh on you. I just care about you, Laura.”
“I know, Iggy…” She sighs and uses the nickname that used to drive mad early on in their friendship. But now? He loves it. “I know. And I care about you. And I don’t want us to fight any more.”
“Me neither.” Everything else fades. It’s only them. Laura, and Nacho.
Nacho and Laura.
“We need to talk.” At the same time, again.
“Alright, this is getting creepy.” Laura giggles. “Come on, let’s head out.”
The cold night air hits them, but it’s a nice change from the warm house. A couple of lonely snowflakes fall down to the frozen grass as they walk.
Nacho gathers his thoughts, mentally preparing for what he’s about to say - but he needs to say it. Now.
From inside the mansion, the guests are preparing for midnight. Preparing to celebrate the new year to come. 10 minutes left.
Laura sits down in a sunchair, next to the covered up pool. Nacho awkwardly stands next to her.
“Hey, idiot. Sit down” Laura says, holding back a laughter. She moves to the side and pats the spot next to her. He sits down, very aware of how close they are to each other. Their legs are touching and so are their shoulders. Their exhales come out as steam in the crispy air.
“The reason why I was so harsh, Laura, was because I was jealous. Jealous of your damn ex, because they got to call you theirs.” The words leave his mouth before he can think twice. The sound of the music inside feels louder, and he feels scared to breathe too loudly.
“I don’t know why I said that. I’m sor-”
“I never liked Mona, because I wanted you to be with me. Not her.”
Nacho’s heart skips a beat. He stares at Laura, blinking his eyes - as if trying to process what she just said.
They’re both silent again, but this time, it’s a comfortable silence. The beat of music echoes - or maybe it’s just the beat of his own heart. Her hand finds his, and her fingertips tap against his knuckles. He opens his hand, entwining fingers with her.
They’re so close now. So close. Yet, he wants closer.
“Are we done playing pretend now?” Laura asks.
“Yea. We’re done being idiots. Took us long enough, huh?”
They both grin at each other.
“Yea. You wanna head inside again?”
“Not really. Unless you have a midnight's kiss waiting for you…”
“No, you idiot.” Laura slaps his arm lightly. “Not yet, at least… Do you volunteer?”
His face heats up once again and he nods, failing at trying to act nonchalant.
From inside the house, they hear the shouts, as the countdown begins.
60… 59… 58… 57…
The two friends move even closer to each other - closer than they thought was possible. He can feel her hot breath against his face, and looks into Laura’s green eyes. He can almost see his own reflection in them. He squeezes her hand tighter and leans in. His focus is now solely on her, taking in details about her that he’s never appreciated before. The mole under her left eyes, the freckles on her skin, her crooked nose and the acne scars on her cheeks.
20… 19… 18….
“You’re so damn beautiful, Laura.” He whispers hoarsely. It’s her turn to blush now, too. The intensity that she looks at him with makes him shiver.
“So are you.”
8… 7… 6… 5…
The shouts are getting louder, yet it all seems to fade out.
Nothing else matters - no one else matters.
ZERO.
Their lips meet, and Nacho’s hands tangle into Laura's hair, whilst her hands rest on his back. They pull on each other, trying to be as close as possible. Both of them melt into the kiss and embrace. Now that they finally have each other - no one is allowed to separate them.
“Talk to her, dumbass” The frustration in Domingo’s voice was clear, and even on a phone call, Nacho could almost see how he rolled his eyes.
“I don’t want to lose her.”
“You really love her, don’t you?”
Silence.
Domingo was right. So he realizes now, when he holds onto Laura. She rests her head against his shoulder, and Nacho has his arms wrapped around her. He can’t help but look at her. She is smiling, and her eyes are glued on the fireworks lighting up the sky. Realizing that he’s staring, he turns to look at the sky.
Yeah, I love her.
And so, he’ll tell her. Eventually.