"Settle down, settle down," Mrs Moore's voice resonated throughout the room, effectively silencing her guests.

The aged beauty's lips tugged up into a secret smile at her small accomplishment, before she went on to address the crowd, "Welcome to friends and family alike. We thank you for joining us, as we enter the new year. We've all had our ups and downs this year. For some more downs than ups and vice versa."

Mrs Moore's eyes pass over the crowd, before her gaze pauses on me. Her expression saddens, broadcasting an inquiry as to whether or not I was alright.  I nod to her, indicating that I was indeed alright and that she should continue.

"We have all lost a loved one this year. A young man we had all at one time trusted and admirred. We have not, however, lost him to the hands of death, but rather to the unexpected clutches of crime," Mrs Moore pauses once more, this time for herself rather than for my sake.

She sucks in a barely noticeable breath, composing herself. Her glassy eyes tell me that she is close to tears, but my knowledge of Mrs Moore's character tells me that she won't cry. Her make-up, after all, was much too expensive to waste on more tears than had already been spilled for a man they no longer knew.

"Fletcher," Mrs Moore began again, directly addressing the absent ghost of her imprisoned son. "We do not know what compelled you to do what you did, but my hope is that you'll learn to be my kind boy once again. In this new year, I know I will strive to be forgiving as I can."

I nearly scoffed. Forgiveness seemed to great a feat after Fletcher's betrayal. I felt as though I had loved a man whom had never even existed.

"It is my sincerest hope that you all, my dear friends and beloved family, complete your resolutions in the months to come. I would like to make a toast," Mrs Moore raised her chute of champagne, as neared the end of her speech, prompting her guests to do the same.

"To new beginnings," she exclaimed, raising her chute higher.

"New beginnings," the crowd echoed.

"Merry Christmas for old time's sake, and Happy New Year!" Mrs Moore said as a close to her speech, and entered the crowd to mingling with her guests.

The room quickly filled with chatter and laughter, returning to the natural boisterous state of a holiday party. I, in contrast to the gleefulness of my surroundings, sighed. I felt reluctant to the toast and had been reluctant to this entire holiday season. In truth, I was supposed to have been on my honeymoon by now, enjoying a sunny beach following my perfect Christmas wedding. I simply had no interest in so called "new beginnings". I was personally much more inclined to wallow in my bitterness towards my ex-fiancé or research time travel to stop the horrid events back in April from happening at all. 

As those around me began to clink their chutes in a celebratory fashion, I realized that I wasn't as alright as I had previously indicated to Mrs Moore. Her speech had once again reminded me, that I wasn't married to the man of my dreams at present, and that the man of my dreams had apparently been a fraud.

"I've had quite enough of this," I muttered to myself, placing my still full champagne chute on the tray of a passing waitress.

Checking the time on my cellphone, it became known to me that it was a mere ten minutes to midnight. Finalizing my decision to leave the party, I made my way through the crowd and towards the exit of Moore's lounge. I passed through the archway connecting the lounge to the hallway and began a swift pursuit of the front door, intentionally keeping my gaze trained forward to avoid glimpses  of the family photos decorated the hallway.The party's noise began to dull as I approached my escape from the Moore household.

"Alice!" A call of my name reached my ears, and I rolled my eyes at the sound of the familiar voice.

I stopped in my tracks beneath yet another archway, though this one leading to the home's foyer. With a sigh at my lips, I turned on my heel and came to face my pursuer. Running a hand through his messy caramel coloured hair, Felix's eyes met my own from where he was seated in my wheelchair. I raised an eyebrow in question as I stared down at my former fiancé's fraternal twin brother.

"Can I help you?" I asked, my arms folded in front of my chest.

"Where are you off to?" he replied, maneuvering his chair forward and closer to my person.

"What the hell do you want, Felix?"

"Hey now, miss. You can't just go and throw words like that around, what would your mother say?" he jokingly chastised me, a clear attempt to cheer me up.

"You're an ass, you know that?" I quipped.

"And you're a nerd. But our flaws are all part of our own separate charms," he replied, quick as a whip and with his stupid, dorky smile of his face.

I rolled my eyes again, making my annoyance clear. I was not in the mood for Felix and his witty retorts.

"What do you want, Felix?" I repeated my earlier question, only this time without the supposed offensive language.

"I just want to know why you're leaving."

"Maybe because I want to go wallow in my own self pity? Goodbye now," I huffed out pointedly, turning back towards the front door.

"That doesn't sound like a very productive way to wring in the new year."

"You know what would have been productive? Kissing my damn husband on an tropical island. But here I am with no island and no husband. Just a bucket full of betrayal and loneliness. Can I go now?" I spun around again in a flurry of annoyance and rage, unintentionally unloading some of my baggage onto Felix.

"That took a lot less prompting than I thought it would," Felix commented, more to himself than to me.

I stared at Felix in disbelief, hoping my expression would communicate to him that I was very close to strangling him. But of course, being left alone was too much to ask of this adult man wearing a Christmas sweater displaying Father Christmas as a cat. Adjusting the aforementioned sweater that the cursive letter proclaiming "Meowy Christmas" were once gain straight across his torso, Felix reached up to take my hand in his own.

"Listen, Alice. I'm upset too! But wallowing in self pity isn't suddenly going to not make Fletcher a criminal. You've got to get your life back on track," he told me gently, his green eyes suddenly resembling that of a puppy's, which only added to my annoyance.

I ripped my hand out of his, tears of frustration building up in my eyes. My hands balled up into fists at my sides, nails biting into my skin.

"You don't know  what it feels like to have your entire future ripped away," I yelled, exploding entirely.

I was crying now, my face likely red. It was only until a few moments had passed that I realized the weight of my words. I gasped out a sob, my eyes widening, though Felix seemed unfazed.

"Actually," he began, folding his hands on his permanently unmoving legs, though I quickly interrupted him.

"That's not what I meant," I stuttered out guiltily.

"I know, but this a good opportunity for a life lesson, so listen up," Felix said, smiling cheekily.

"I was an athlete in high school. A rugby player and the best of the best too. I thought my future was pretty set in stone. And then boom, a drunk driver hits my car, shattering my spine and paralyzing me. My entire world was turned upside down, and I was very inclined to wallow in self pity. But life continued on whether I could walk or not, and I realized that I didn't want to be left behind. So metaphorically got my ass up and dealt with it."

Felix reached for my hand again, gently unfurling my fist. He pet my palm in a comforting manner. I wanted to hate both myself and Felix in that moment. Myself for my insensitiveness and rage and Felix for his stubborn insistence on being a good guy despite it all. But I found that I couldn't hate him or myself, I just found myself to be exhausted. With my free hand not occupied by Felix, I wiped at my face in an attempt to dry my tears.

"I know this sucks. I mean Fletcher is my brother, so I know almost exactly how much this sucks. But life's unpredictable and people are unpredictable. Shit happens and we've got to learn to cope with it. And the lucky thing is you don't have to do it alone," Felix finished and we exchanged small smiles.

A moment passed before he spoke again, "Damn, why am I in marketing? I would make a great motivational speaker."

This statement prompted a giggle out of me, leading me into a fit of uncontrollable laughter. Felix began to chuckle along with me, and it seemed like forever until our laughter dissipated out to a mysteriously pregnant silence.

"Right, well, thanks," I offered as both a filler to the silence and a genuine statement.

Felix shrugged innocently, his face still adorned with a smile. Before he could reply, however, were starkly remined that we were in fact, not alone in the house. The party-goers in the other room began the countdown, indicating that we were closing in on the new year. I suddenly felt awkward where I stood across from Felix, our hands still joined. I went to extracting my hand from Felix's, when his grip suddenly tightened.

"Five," the crowd chanted, my eyes connected with Felix's.

"Four," mischief clouded his features.

"Three," Felix gave me a toothy grin.

"Two," I opened my mouth to question his motives, but quickly snapped it shut again when he tugged on my hand, causing me to involuntarily bend closer to Felix's face.

"One!" the crowed jovially exclaimed, as Felix pulled me into kiss, his free hand at the back of my neck.

For the briefest of moments the world fell away, and all that I could feel was the press of Felix's slightly chapped lips on my own. The kiss was sweet, and I found that I had no desire to pull away. And despite what I expected of myself, I returned the gesture with some enthusiasm, closing my eyes. I knew in that tiny moment that this kiss held little romantic significance to either myself or Felix. This wasn't the type of kiss that lovers shared. There was no passion, there was no spark. Neither of us deepened the kiss further than a gentle press of lips. Rather than a declaration of love and deep connection, the kiss was a comforting gesture and a sign of a new beginning. It was my very first kiss since Fletcher, and it severed some of my connection to my former fiancé. This kiss signified my first step away from a Fletcher-filled future, and for the first time since Fletcher and I had started dating, I was okay with that prospect. I wasn't necessarily happy about, rather just okay with the fact that Fletcher was no longer my horizon.

Felix pulled me down into his lap, and I went willingly, smiling into the kiss. I loosely draped my arms around his neck, and he placed his hands on my hips. The kiss lasted mere seconds and when it ended, I tugged Felix into a hug.

"Thank you," I murmured gratefully.

"Happy new year, Alice," Felix whispered in return.

Pulling away from each other, I jokingly decided to question Felix. "Aren't you gay?"

Feigning offence, Felix gasped dramatically and playfully hit my arm.

"I'm bi, and even if I wasn't, I'd still have been under strict obligation to kiss you,"

"And why is that?" I continued my faux interrogation, narrowing my eyes at Felix suspiciously.

Felix shrugged, pointing upwards and towards a sprig of mistletoe hanging from the archway we where under. "Midnight and mistletoe."

I snorted ungracefully at his response, rolling my eyes at Felix a final time, though playfully this time. Felix wiggled his eyebrows at in a theatrical manner. I shook my head at the utter silliness of the situation.

"I suppose your obligation was indeed quite strict," I said, unwrapping my arm from his neck and tapping my hands on his own to indicate to Felix that I wanted to get up.

Felix did as prompted, and I got out of his lap, but not before pressing a small kiss to his cheek. I smoothed my hands down the front of my maroon dress. I looked to Felix and gestured to my face, silently asking about the state of my makeup. He nodded after taking a moment to scan my face, and I used I still looked somewhat presentable.

"The way I see it, you have three options now," Felix said, holding up three of his fingers.

"Okay, lay it on me," I replied, with a smirk.

"You can either go home, go back to the party or we could go to the kitchen and raid my father stash of ice-cream he thinks I don't know about," Felix listed, lowering a finger at each new option.

For a moment, I pretended to ponder my options, tapping a finger on my chin.

"You know what? Ice-cream sounds perfect," I replied, nodding firmly to myself.

I bent down to remove my heels from my feet, as Felix turned his wheelchair so we could make our way to the kitchen. With my shoes slung over my shoulder, I tapped Felix's head in a way I knew he hated, and together we ventured away from the mistletoe and into his home and the new year, though not before Felix huffed in annoyance.

Fin