Midnight

"Jules, come on." Carlos slumped on Jules’ bed, exasperated. "You have to come with us. It's a once-in-a-lifetime chance!"

"Carlos, you can go to Times Square on New Years' Eve any other year," Jules said.

"We might die between this year and next year," Carlos said dramatically.

“Jesus Christ.”

“He’s not wrong, though,” Altair said. He was leaning against the door, seeming a bit nervous to come all the way inside after… well, The Kiss. It had been almost a week since it had happened. Jules had been waiting for him to say something, mainly because she was too nervous to say anything herself, but things had gone on as usual. Jules hadn't dared to tell Carlos or Nailah, as that would only have proved them right about the “chemistry” they kept talking about.

"Thank you, Captain Optimism," Nailah said. "I will go, as long as Fintan isn’t there.”

"Fintan’s still moping,” Carlos told her. “He’s not going anywhere. So, Jules?"

"Please." Altair cleared his throat and looked awkward. "I mean, it'll be bad enough third-wheeling Carlos and Nailah. If you don’t come too, I think I'm going to go crazy."

Carlos smirked at Rebecca. He obviously thought that if Altair asked, Jules wouldn't be able to say no. Jules was about to prove Carlos wrong and say no anyway, but she realized that without them around and Akira celebrating New Year’s at her parents’, she wouldn’t have anything better to do. "Okay, fine. Let me change into something warmer.

***

It was obvious to Altair that Jules was not used to the weather being this cold.

It rarely snowed in her hometown. However, it had been cold in New York City since October. She’d had two months to get used to cold weather

"I wouldn't have come if I'd known it was going to be this cold," Jules said, pulling her thick jacket tighter around her.

Altair wasn't sure whether she'd let him wrap an arm around her, to try to warm her up. Things between them had been a little awkward since their kiss. Altair could tell she was expecting him to be the first to break the silence, but he had no idea how to do that.

"Oh, please." Nailah scoffed and rolled her eyes. "This isn't even that bad. Besides, all of these packed bodies should warm us up."

"You should never say 'packed bodies' again, but you're right," Carlos said. He grinned. "Hey! Look, we're on the Jumbotron!" He waved at the camera enthusiastically. He'd mentioned that he’d never been to Times Square on New Years' eve before, so this was a big deal for him. 

Altair looked back at Jules, who was shivering and looking slightly grumpy. She looked up at him and asked, “You do this every year?”

“Mostly,” Altair replied. “My sisters aren’t really interested in the ball drop, but they like the music.”

Jules smiled. “That’s a nice family tradition.” She frowned over at Carlos and Nailah, who were whispering together. “What’s up, guys?”

Carlos tried to look innocent, which wasn’t his strong suit. "Bathroom. Be right back."

"Take someone with you," Jules said. "Buddy system. In case you get lost."

Carlos grabbed Nailah’s hand since she was the closest person to him.

"What are you up to?" Altair muttered, knowing enough about Carlos to know that he wasn’t going to the bathroom.

"Just my best idea yet," Carlos said vaguely as he and Nailah went past.

“You know what? Maybe we should all go,” Jules said.

“Come on, Jules!” Carlos whined. “Don’t you trust me at all?”

“Not a bit,” Jules chirped, grabbing Altair and Carlos’ hands. “But since you’re clearly not going to the bathroom, we should all go so we know if you get arrested.”

As Altair had predicted, they did not go to the bathroom. They slipped right past security and ducked behind the Jumbotron. Nailah popped open the control panel and started messing around with it. Carlos pulled out his phone and started tapping away at something.

"You know, this could be considered defacing government property," Jules muttered, glancing around nervously.

"Is the Jumbotron even government property?" Carlos asked, not even stopping.

"If it's not government property, it's public property,” Altair said. “and I'm pretty sure that's still illegal."

Nailah laughed. "If it's public property, then —" a wire sparked, and they all jumped.

“Jesus,” Jules muttered.

"Sorry. If it's public property, then I'm sure nobody will mind."

"I don't know why I let you do stuff like this,” Jules mumbled.

“Because deep down, you know you love us."

“I’m supposed to be the responsible one,” Jules lamented.

“I think we all know Akira is really the only responsible one,” Altair said.

“True. She’s got the one brain cell between all of us.”

“And now she’s gone.”

”And now she’s gone. She’s abandoned us.” She sighed. “Whatever you two are doing, can you please be quiet and hurry up before we get caught and arrested?”

“Can do,” Carlos confirmed, continuing to tap away on his phone. “You got that code, Nailah?”

Nailah answered in the affirmative. The two of them finished not long after that, and they returned to where they’d been earlier. They watched the live musicians sing, joining them when they knew the words and having a good time. Altair had forgotten completely about Carlos and Nailah’s plot until he heard Carlos mutter, “Any moment now…”

A few moments later, the Jumbotron flickered off, and there was a collective gasp. News cameras who were covering the celebration turned excitedly to the black screen and reporters started chattering fervently about malfunctions. Then, suddenly, the screen lit up again, but this time, the revolving words at the bottom of the screen read "ALTAIR AND JULES, SITTING IN A TREE, K-I-S-S-I-N-G ;D"

Nailah howled with laughter. Jules socked Carlos in the arm, blushing furiously. Altair wasn’t sure what to do, so he just sighed and shook his head.

The Jumbotron, it seemed, could not be fixed. Carlos and Nailah’s message was to light up the screen for the rest of the night.

***

Back at the dorm, their friends were congratulating Carlos and Nailah for their stunt. Fintan had come out of his room to tell the guilty party that they were stupid before grabbing a bag of chips and retreating back inside.

Akira was back from her family’s house; her little cousins had been ordered to go to sleep and there had been nothing else to do there. She laughed at the duo’s retelling of their antics. "I cannot believe you did that!"

"I still can't believe I let you," Jules grumbled. "Carlos do Céu, you are a terrible influence."

Carlos was laughing right along with Akira and Nailah. It was obvious he thought he was a genius.

To be fair, he was, but it still hadn't stopped Jules from rushing them out of there. They had to leave before someone found them. It wouldn't have been super hard, either, because they'd been right there in the front, in view of the camera, the only ones laughing their heads off.

So it was decided that they'd celebrate the final moments of the year back at the dorm. It wasn't terrible; they’d still see the fireworks, and there would be food. And, even better, it wouldn't be exactly zero degrees inside, meaning Jules wouldn't need the coat anymore.

The dorm residents were celebrating in the lobby. Some of the guys from the seventh floor were leading a very loud and rowdy version of "Auld Lang Syne."

The four of them got into the festivities quickly. Nailah had found a party horn and was taking great delight in blowing it as loud as she could. Carlos had joined in on the singing. Jules preferred to watch the chaos. She grabbed a coke and sat down, taking in the scene. Altair joined her moments later. 

"Not into parties either?" He asked.

"I prefer watching the party to actually partying,” Jules replied. “Look at Nailah.”

Anne had gotten ahold of a second party horn and was blowing them both at the same time. She'd also found some Pop-its and was throwing them at unsuspecting people.

"Wait until she finds the sparklers," Altair snickered. 

Jules laughed. "We should call the fire department now while we have time." Was it just her imagination, or had Altair gotten closer? Never mind, it didn't matter. "Or maybe we should just hide them."

"Yeah. And don't let her anywhere near the fireworks.” Altair was definitely closer now. It wasn't something Jules noticed with discomfort. She hoped he’d finally do something, say something about the kiss. She sort of wanted him to kiss her again, but she wasn't sure she was ready for whatever they had to be public.

Suddenly Jules felt Altair’s hand slip into hers. She looked up at him, and they spoke at the same time.

“Altair —

"Jules, look, I —"

They both stopped abruptly, apologizing quickly, and awkwardly tried to start over at the same time. Then both of them gave up, sinking into awkward silence.

"Hey, Jules! Al!" Carlos had a hat with sparklers poking out of it. It looked like a fire disaster waiting to happen. He was waving the two of them over. "Come on, it's time for the countdown!"

They all headed to the roof, where Jules could see Times Square. Her hand was still tightly clasped in Altair’s. She figured it was probably a good thing — they would've gotten separated in the crowd if they hadn't been holding hands. They secured a good position close to the edge of the roof. Carlos and Nailah were a few feet away to their right, and Akira was pulling out her phone to film the experience to their left.

Altair let go of her hand; he’d probably realized he’d still been holding it. Jules frowned and decided to be brave. She shifted closer to him and linked her arm with his.

The countdown started. "10! 9! 8!"

Altair looked down at her and she smiled back up at him, hoping she looked encouraging and not uncomfortable. She wanted him to be closer.

"7! 6! 5!"

Altair grinned back down at her and playfully bumped his shoulder against hers, prompting Jules to laugh. They joined the countdown at the last few seconds.

"4! 3! 2! 1! HAPPY NEW YEAR!"

The fireworks exploded. A million colors exploded in the sky. Jules and Altair joined the cheers around them. Someone started singing Auld Lang Syne again. Couples turned to each other and shared their midnight kiss.

Jules had been hoping she and Altair would be a part of that, but she decided it just wasn’t their time yet. Maybe next year. She turned to Altair to make a comment about the fireworks, but before she could get out a single word, he took a deep breath and blurted out, “Jules, I know this is the most cliche thing ever, but do you think we could maybe —” he cut himself off and shook his head.

“What?” Jules asked eagerly.

“Nothing. Never mind.”

Jules huffed. If you wanted something done, you had to do it yourself. She knew he wanted the same thing she did, and she was tired of him psyching himself out.

“Altair, I want to kiss you,” she told him. “I don’t care if it’s a cliche. I like you, and…” why was she at a loss for words now?

“Really?” Altair asked. “I wasn’t being too forward last time?”

“No, I loved that! I’ve been waiting for you to make a move!”

“I thought you were mad at me.”

“Of course I wasn’t mad at you, you oblivious —” she sighed and shook her head. The longer they argued, the longer after midnight they kissed, and it wouldn’t be a proper cliche. “Altair… just kiss me. Please.”

Altair beamed. He leaned down, then hesitated. Impatient now, Jules took his face and pulled him down so their lips met.

When she was younger, she’d read romance novels about a kiss with your true love feeling like fireworks. Jules knew now that that was just another cliche. But that didn’t make this kiss feel any less special. She wound her arms around Altair’s neck, pulling him closer, until the world faded away.