Driving back to Levi's house, Skye and Levi crept into his house as his brother was upstairs asleep already and they didn't want Levi's parents to make a big fuss. Once successfully making it up the stairs, the two went to his room, quietly shutting the door behind them while still living a small crack.

Skye scanned Levi's room as she had never been in it before, looking at all of the posters and trophies scattered around. Levi was glad to have cleaned his room before leaving, mainly because he didn't want Skye finding his sketches in plain sight. One poster that caught her eye was an Avengers poster, which reminded her of memories with Nikki, aka times when things were innocent.

"An Avengers: Infinity War poster?" Skye furrowed her eyebrows, squinting in the dark to point out the poster on the wall. "Man, I remember dragging Nikki to the theater to see that and Endgame even though she didn't want to."

"I didn't know you liked Marvel," Levi said. I guess you could say he was marveled by the revelation.

"Are you gonna quiz me on stupid shit like what color socks Tony Stark wore in a certain scene cause I'm a girl?" Skye questioned.

"N-no." Levi stuttered.

"Thank god. Some guys always act like it's a crime for girls to be into comics." She rolled her eyes. If Skye had a dollar for every time some random incel beat her to death with insane questions to prove she was a "real fan" of comic book heroes, she would probably have a bathtub full of cash. Thankfully Levi wasn't like any of those guys, but he was definitely excited to hear about her interest.

"Well, I think it's cool." He replied.

"Nice." Skye softly grinned.

Followed with a bit of silence, Levi broke it by offering Skye an outfit to change in, all without being creepy about it, of course. "Uh, do you want to borrow my clothes to wear as pajamas or something? I'll wait outside and arrange a ride home for the gang while you do."

"Yeah, I guess." She shrugged. "Sleeping in jeans is like a sin."

"Okay, lemme just grab something for you." Levi offered, then walked over to his dresser to rummage through something suitable for Skye. No matter what he chose, it would be massive on her, so he just pulled out a pair of plaid pajama pants and a random t-shirt then asked if it would suffice. "This good?"

"Fine by me," Skye replied, then grabbed the pile of clothes from Levi's hands.

"I'll go out and shut the door." He said, looking away from Skye on his way out to ensure he wouldn't sneak a peek.

"Hey, Levi," Skye called on his way out, seeing Levi's eyes widen in confusion as he questioned what she had to say. "Thanks."

Levi merely smiled, then shut the door behind him as he exited the bedroom. He walked further down the hall to text and call the gang, offering them an Uber home on him. It was the least he could do considering he ditched them so suddenly, but once they realized the circumstances, the gang immediately forgave him and took his offer. Plus, they mentioned to not "do anything stupid like Hunter", which was a worthy piece of advice.

When Skye finished getting changed, she opened the door as a sign that she was done, giving Levi the okay to come back in. He stepped into the room, mid speaking to tell her everything was okay with the gang but stopped when he laid eyes on Skye in his pajamas. "Okay, the gang is all set for a ride home-"

"Do I look ridiculous?" She giggled as Levi stood taken aback.

"You look adorable." He said once he collected himself, which made Skye blush. His clothes basically drowned her frame. Levi's pants were so long on her that she had to roll down the waistband what seemed like a dozen times. The shirt given to her was a whole other thing as it was massive on her, but Levi couldn't help but think Skye was beautiful no matter what she wore.

Completely disregarding the fact that it was New Year's Eve, Skye figured she might as well go ahead and sleep, but Levi had something else in mind as the time neared midnight. "Well, I think I'll just go to bed now."

"Wait," Levi said quickly.

"Hm?" Skye watched as Levi walked over to her, crouching down and opening up his window, much to her confusion. "Why are you opening the window? It's freezing outside."

"It's almost midnight. The people a few streets down should be setting off the fireworks soon." He replied.

"Wait, I know just what you're talking about." She said, her eyes lighting up as she remembered memories from past New Year Eve's.

"Really?" Levi questioned.

"Yeah," Skye nodded. "Me and Nikki would watch from her bedroom window basically every year."

"You guys had a lot of traditions, I assume?" He asked.

"Yeah." She sighed. It was nice to think of about the good times, but seeing where Skye and Nikki stood now, it wasn't quite as pleasant.

But every time Skye mentioned Nikki, it practically upset Levi. It was so clear to him that Nikki meant the world to her once upon a time, but he also saw how she must've felt so alone when the two stopped being friends. Sometimes it made him want to help the two be friends again (ignoring the one time he snapped on Nikki), but he didn't want to intrude and potentially upset Skye. Levi actually did consider it once, but completely scrapped the plan as it felt wrong to do that without any consent. Plus after what happened at homecoming, he especially wouldn't dare attempt, but at least Skye had him as a shoulder to lean on.

"Well, now the tradition continues with me," Levi said, then patted down a spot next to him so the two could watch together.

"I'd like that." Skye grinned then went to sit down next to him on the floor beside his window. "It's pretty cold."

"Yeah, but sticking your head out the window gives you the best view." He replied. He then peered his head out, looking out to have a glimpse of the night sky.

"If you say so." She shrugged, sticking her head out as well, feeling the cold air hit her face which made her shiver.

"Don't worry, I'll keep you warm," Levi assured her, wrapping his arm around her, pulling the two closer together.

Pulling out his phone, Levi quickly looked at the time so he knew when to start the countdown, one that would start right now. "Alright, in five..."

"Four..." Skye continued.

"Three..."

"Two..."

"One." They whispered at the same time. The moment they uttered the last number, the very house they talked about set off the fireworks, shooting out vibrant colors into the sky.

Skye looked up in awe, feeling her whole mood completely change compared to an hour ago. Just when she thought her night was completely ruined, there comes Levi who immediately put her first. It was nice to have someone that genuinely cared about her, and Levi did exactly just that. He didn't want to be her "savior" or her "knight in shining armor", well, he knew he didn't need to be. Levi saw Skye as a strong woman, and he had no issue standing to the side while she proudly stood in the front.

While Skye looked up at the view, Levi was only looking at her as she was the only view he needed. With each passing moment, the teenage boy felt his feelings for the curly-haired girl blossom. He didn't think he'd ever find someone who made him feel the way Skye did, but he loved every single second with her. The moment she walked into that chemistry class his life changed forever, and he was so glad that he even had just the privilege to know Skye Simmons.

"Happy New Year, Skye," Levi said quietly, still looking over at her. She turned to him with the same smile on her face, then her eyes quickly widened as they stared into each other. Skye swallowed before responding, pulling herself together as being so close to Levi made her nervous.

"Happy New Year to you too, Levi." She grinned then looked back at the fireworks that were just finishing up.

As Levi's heart skipped a beat, a recurrence that he completely lost count over, he saw that this wasn't just a crush anymore, this was pure love. After telling himself for months this was merely a harmless crush and it would go away whenever he wanted it to, Levi realized it was never going to go away. As much he wanted to kiss her right now and make it a true New Year's moment, he couldn't. Not like this.

Once the fireworks finished, Skye looked up at the stars a few moments more, then moved her head from the window and watched as Levi shut it for the two of them. "Hey, Levi."

"Yeah?" He turned and furrowed his eyebrows. In one of the most confusing moments of Levi's life, Skye leaned in for what he thought would be a kiss but really turned out to be a hug as a way of thanking him for everything he's done for her tonight.

"You are a really good hugger." She whispered, letting out a quiet giggle as she remembered Levi saying how much of a good hugger he was on Christmas Day.

"Heh, thanks." He lightly chuckled, gently wrapping his arms around her as she rested her chin on his shoulder and held him tight.

After a few more moments of holding each other, Skye let go of Levi and watched as he stood up, standing up as well to wish him goodnight. The darkness in the room made everything feel much more intense, but both of them fought the fire and held back, especially Levi who valued Skye's comfort more than ever before. That's what you do when you love someone; put the other person first no matter how much it could end up hurting you, and that's exactly what Levi did from the very beginning.

"Uh, goodnight," Skye said, twiddling her thumbs as she locked eyes with Levi.

"Goodnight." He softly grinned, putting his hands in his pockets and awkwardly exiting the room while Skye stood by the window.

Levi carefully tiptoed down the stairs, not daring to make a sound too loud. Once he had made it down in the dark, he pulled out his phone for a source of light and walked into the living room as that was where he would be crashing tonight for the sake of Skye. He would've slept on the floor if he had to. That's how much Levi cared for her. Hell, that showed how deeply in love he was.

Making himself as comfortable as possible, Levi curled up on the couch, hugging one of the many couch pillows while resting his head on another, not even bothering to find and use a blanket. It wasn't the best, but as long as he had the thought of Skye sound asleep upstairs, Levi would make it through the night just fine. Besides, he had the rest of winter break to get some good shuteye.

Upstairs and left alone with nothing but her thoughts and all of Levi's stuff, Skye shut the curtains and looked at her phone, seeing that it was only a few minutes after midnight. It was crazy to think how those few minutes shared with him felt like a lifetime, but it was a lifetime that Skye could bear to live in.

Skye plopped down on the bed, letting out a sigh as she sat on the edge and thought about everything that occurred previously. It felt weird to consider this the worst but also the best night. She didn't really want to think much about it until at least tomorrow, but sitting in a dark bedroom alone really makes someone think about anything and everything. The reality of tonight wouldn't hit her right now, but it would once she got a proper night's sleep, even if she overthought everything and felt like a mess inside and out.

"Happy New Year to the present me, I guess," Skye said to herself, then laid back on the bed and shut her eyes in hopes to forget, even if just for a little bit.

•••

MARIA TALKS!

i honestly expected this to be a way longer chapter, but the fact that i made it so intense in only 2100 something words is pretty impressive.

i really hope i handled everything well, but i'm always open to criticism. as i've said before, there are ways to provide negative criticism without being a bitch.

i hope you enjoyed, and don't forget to vote! i'll hopefully see y'all in the next chapter where i cover new year's day.

adios mis amigos