Drive Safe

I pop open another bottle of champagne as a few of my friends gather around me, looping their arms around my neck, shoving their glass in my face for me to fill it with the bubbly drink that makes them act like absolute idiots and laughing in my ear with their hot and rather disgusting smelling breath. I decided to impulsively throw a new years party for all my friends, and their friends, and their friends' friends as a last hooray before the year ends. I'm not sure why though, I'm not a fan of parties, let alone hosting one. It's more for my friends to get out of the house rather than me seeing as it's my apartment that's being infested by drunk people and party animals all dressed like hookers or overly enthusiastic grandmothers.

I fill up everyone's glass with champagne as I try my best not to spill it everywhere as people lean on me and hit my arms as they pass by. However, one lady whos dressed in an ugly Christmas sweater that features two glasses clinking together tried to grab the bottle from my hands and in the process spilled it on my sweater.

"I'm so sorry!" she said, more like slurred out

I decided to just shrug her off with a quick 'it's okay' because accidents happen and it's not like I care about a little spill, even if it does end up ruining my sweater.

As I push my way through the crowd of people, some faces familiar while others will remain a mystery, I make my way to the main door of my apartment where I decide to see myself out, at least for the time being.

I begin to go up the many flights of stairs, up to the rooftop door where when I push it open, I'm met with a faceful of cold air that wakes me up from my zombie-like haze.

While walking across the roof to the edge, I noticed a figure sitting on the edge, like a silhouette of a person. Tucking my hands in my pockets, I approached them slowly.

"Do you mind if I sit here?" I asked in a soft tone as I try not to spook them, they are on the edge of a building for christ sake.

They glance up at me and nod softly. This person can't be more than maybe 17 years old. What are they doing out here? Alone? Maybe they're just getting ready for the fireworks to start. As I sat down on the edge with them, I checked my watch. 11:46 PM. The fireworks won't be starting for another 14 minutes.

"What'cha doin' out here?" I ask "Its a bit cold and a bit early to be sitting out here, don't ya' think?"

I watch as the kid starts swinging their feet instead of just letting them dangle. Their heels hitting the wall of the building with each swing. They tilt their head down so they're looking at their lap instead of the skyline.

"What are 𝘺𝘰𝘶 doing out here?" the kid asks. They have a softer voice than what I was expecting. Huh.

"I'm up here trying to get away from the headache that is my party" I say, moving my head to face in front of me.

"Why would you throw a party and then leave?" They asked

"I threw it for my friends, I'm not much of a social butterfly"

I see them nod from the corner of my eye. They're looking at the stars above us now. As I check my watch for the time, hear them let out a soft sigh before speaking again.

"I'm sitting up here because, in all honesty, I was going to... ya know"

"Off yourself?"

"...Yeah"

Although we were sitting outside in the fresh air, it felt like we were in a stuffy room. I look at the teenager beside me. They have golden brown curls that are hard to see in the dark but that frame their face and reaches their neck in an unruly mess. They have thick black-framed glasses that are perched on their nose. A 'Happy New Year' headband is nestled in the mop of curls, but it's brightly colored and obnoxious enough that there's no way you could miss it unless you're blind. The kid wore a black and white striped hoodie with white sweatpants and a pair of clunky white tennis shoes.

They must've noticed that I was taking note of what they looked like because they looked back at me, offering me an awkward smile and I offered one in return.

"I'm not going to do it anymore, there's no point." they said with a soft sound of defeat lacing their words "It would give people too much power like they've won"

Before I could ask for clarification, they continued "'Oh 𝘩𝘦 was so amazing, I absolutely loved and cared for 𝘩𝘪𝘮'" they said in a rather nasally and squeaky voice as if to mock someone. "They would all act like they loved and cared for me and that they would be the victims but they're the ones who would've driven me to doing it!"

"Wha, uh, what did they do?" I asked

"I came out to them, probably maybe like... a year or two ago? as non-binary and asked for they/them pronouns and I know it's difficult at the start but they make me feel like I'm worthless! and they don't respect me, or my pronouns, they still call me 'he' instead of 'they' and they don't even try to correct themselves!" they shouted, their arms moving in aggressive hand motions. This kid really had the androgenous thing working for them because I really didn't have an assumption as to what gender this kid was. Glad to know they weren't either gender, I guess.

I gently grab the kids arm to get them to stop flailing it like a madman.

"First of all: kid, stop swinging your arms around like a bat outta hell, second: Your family sound kinda shitty. But, you shouldn't throw your life away just because your family doesn't like you."

The kid's looking at me with all the fire of a thousand suns in their eyes, it's simultaneously impressive and unnerving.

"Why don't we watch the fireworks, ya? and then you go home, feed into whatever fantasy your family wants, and once you're a full-fledged adult you go out and get your own place and decorate it with all the pride shit you want."

They're still looking at me with anger in their eyes, but its not towards me and its toned down a bit. They nod slowly and pull their arm from my grasp, tightly hugging themself.

I check my watch and it's 11:53. We got 7 more minutes to go. The kid scoots a bit closer to me and rests their head on my shoulder in an 'I'm hostile at the moment but not towards you' sort of way.

"What's your name? and how old are you? 50?" they ask. If I didn't hear the sarcasm in their tone then I'd be slightly offended.

"M'name's Phillip, and for your information, I'm 34. How old are you? fuckin' 12?"

The slight laugh in their voice makes my heart swell with joy because it sounds so wholesome and pure.

"I'm 16, but I act like a twelve-year-old sometimes, and my name's River"

I nod and shift just a little bit, wrapping my arm around River's shoulders. "Well, it's nice to meet you River" I say, I get a 'its nice to meet you too' in return before they take note of my champaign stain that I forgot was there.

"Did someone barf up alcohol on your shirt?"

"More like she spilled champagne on me while tryin' to steal the bottle" I say. River chuckled and suggested that I clean it once I get back home which I was going to do anyways but being bossed around by a 16-year-old is interesting.

I glance down at my watch again to see that it's 11:59 now, so the fireworks should be starting soon. I gently shrug River off my shoulder and tell them to pay attention. They are visibly bummed that I evicted them off my shoulder for a few seconds before their eyes light up at the sight of the first firework, and then the second, then the third, then the hundreds more after that. They seemed so delighted by the sight of mini fireballs in the sky that its hard to imagine that they would've wanted to hurt themselves only 15 minutes before.

I walked back to the rooftop door with River once the fireworks ended, and we both sighed as the warm air from the heater hit us once we walked in.

"Which apartment do you live in?" I asked, ready to walk them to their door.

"Oh, I don't live here. My parents came for a small get together and left me here via cab."

I stopped and stared at them for a few seconds in disbelief. Who ditches their kid at someone else's home?

"Do you have a car? Can you drive?" I ask and to my surprise, they nod.

"I drove them here, I can drive back".

Huh. I'll be damned. I offer to walk them to their car in which they graciously accept and we walk down the stairs, past the lobby and down little ways down the street to a little red car.

They cleared their throat a little in an awkward manner "So uh, thank you, for talking to me and uh, being nice? I guess?" they said.

I nodded and offered them a smile

"Thank you for watching the fireworks with me, and for telling me I had to clean my shirt" I said. They smiled back at me and got in their car, starting it. They rolled down the window and looked up at me before getting ready to drive off.

"Happy New Year, Phillip"

"Happy New Year to you too, kid" I said, patting their head gently. "Drive safe"