Written: New Year's of 2021

It was a cold day on December 29th, and you had just gotten home to your apartment from a long shift at work.

As you walked inside, you toed off your shoes and made your way over to the couch, where you threw yourself down with a long sigh.

After just laying there for a moment, happening to glance at the date.

"December 29th." You sighed.

You had forgotten that it was almost New Year's Eve, but honestly, you didn't really care. You never had anyone to spend it with, and you definitely didn't want to go to your friend, Pete's party alone again, which had resulted in you drinking a little too much and almost going home with some random dude. Thankfully, Andy stepped in to saved you, but you weren't so sure you wanted to risk letting that happen again.

You honestly didn't mind just spending the day alone, ringing in the new year on your own. Besides, it was just you; You didn't have a partner to ring in the new year with.

You decided to get comfy and put on The Office, as you cuddled up on the couch, scrolling through your phone.

As you were however, your phone began to vibrate, signaling that you had someone calling you.

Reading the caller ID, you smiled a little, before reaching for the remote and muting the television. You pressed the answer icon, before bringing the phone to your ear.

"Hey, Patrick." You smiled a little.

Out of all of Fall Out Boy, you were closest with Patrick. You had known him the longest, and had been through thick and thin together. He was and always had been an awesome friend to you, not to mention sweet as can be.

"Hi, Y/N." He replied. "How are you today?"

You sighed a little. "Just got back from work.."

"Oh...rough day?" He asked, seemingly hearing the exhaustion in your voice.

"Yeah." You mumbled.

"I'm sorry.." he said.

The thing about he said sorry was, it didn't sound like a pity sorry. It sounded like he was empathetic and truly understood what you were going through. He was always like that, empathetic and caring.

"It's alright." You sighed. "Anyways, How're you?"

"I'm okay," he said, before chuckling. "I can't believe tomorrow's New Year's Eve."

"Me neither." You mumbled. "I actually forgot about it."

"Oh." He laughed a little. "I've been too excited."

"About what?" You Asked.

"I...Um.." he mumbled. "I mean...what are you doing New Year's Eve?"

Your eyes widened a little. Why was he asking?

"Um...nothing, actually."

"Really?" He sounded more excited than ever.

"Yeah, why?" You chuckled a little.

"I, Uh...was wondering if you'd like to go to Pete's party with me." He said. "I-if you want! No pressure."

You felt your heart skip a little as you thought about it. I mean, why wouldn't you go with Patrick? He was seriously the perfect friend. Surely he'd be fun to go with.

You swallowed. "Um...sure.." you mumbled, smiling a little.

"Really?" He asked. "You'll go?"

"Of course, Patrick.." You Said. "That would be a lot of fun."

"Holy Smokes!" He giggled. "We're going!"

You laughed a little. "We're going." You repeated, smiling at how excited he was.

"So...I'll pick you up tomorrow night?" He asked.

"Yeah." You smiled.

"Okay." You could almost hear him smiling on the other end. "See you tomorrow night."

"See you." You pulled the phone away from your ear, pressing the end call button, before your lips curled into a smile.

You honestly couldn't really wait until tomorrow. You'd finally get to spend New Years with someone, not to mention the sweetest guy you know.

Excited about tomorrow night, you got up, running into your bedroom to look for what you would wear.

You ended up picking out a short black dress, which was covered in sparkles, and a pair of simple black heels. You didn't do much with jewelry, only picking out a pair of crystal-like earrings.

After eating dinner, you were eager to get to sleep, so tomorrow would come sooner, so you got into your pajamas and brushed your teeth. As you got in bed, you heard a notification sound from your phone. You covered yourself up with your blankets, before picking up your phone and checking it.

You smiled a little when you saw that Patrick had texted you.

Patrick: Goodnight! Can't wait till tomorrow night!

You smiled as you texted a reply back.

Y/N: Goodnight Patrick. I can't wait either!

Patrick: Sweet Dreams!

Y/N: you too!

You set your phone down before laying down, hugging your blankets close.

Patrick smiled to himself as he gazed at his phone. For the past three years, he had wanted to ask you to Pete's party, but he always chickened out at the last second. Especially with how things went for you last year, he felt that this has to be his year.

And it was.

"Why are you smiling like that?" Pete Asked, sitting next to him.

"Oh, nothing...I was just saying goodnight to Y/N." He put his phone down.

"How do you know when she goes to bed?"

"She always texts me before she goes to bed." Patrick shrugged.

"Oh.." Pete laughed a little. "Have you asked her to the party yet?"

Patrick smiled, biting his lip. "Actually.." he said. "I did."

"Really?" Pete smiled widely. "What'd she say?"

"She said yes!" Patrick Exclaimed.

"Yeah, man!" Pete high-fived him. "Maybe this year wont end up like the last."

Patrick chuckled a little. "I hope not."

The next day, you tried to pass the time by doing little things, such as watching The Office, or scrolling through Instagram, until Patrick would finally be coming in an hour. You excitedly went to your room, grabbing your dress and shoes. You quickly changed into them, before going to do your hair.

You decided to just pull it up into a bun, leaving a couple of strands hanging on each side of your face. You put in your sparkly earrings, before getting out your makeup kit.

You didn't do too much with your makeup, just some concealer, mascara and red lipstick, which really pulled your entire outfit together.

After you finished, you looked at yourself in the mirror, a small smile tugging at the corners of your lips.

You couldn't remember the last time you dressed up like this. Being so busy all the time, you really didn't get to much.

Just then, you heard your doorbell ring, and your heart fluttered a little.

This was it, Patrick was coming to pick you up.

You took a deep breath, composing yourself, as you looked in the mirror one last time and smoothed out your dress. You touched up your lipstick once more before grabbing your purse from the bed and leaving the room.

You went over to the door, standing there for a moment before taking a deep breath and reaching for the doorknob.

You pulled the door open to reveal Patrick, who was in a grey suit with a red tie, and a black fedora which went with it really well.

His eyes widened as you looked at you, and you smiled.

"Hey Patrick." You Said.

"Y/N...you look great." He smiled, looking up at you with his blue-green eyes.

"Thank you." You blushed a little. "You do, too."

"Thanks." He pulled something out of his pocket. "I, uh, have something for you."

"Oh?" You asked, before he handed you a small box.

You looked at him, before opening the small box, revealing a silver chain necklace with a crystal heart dangling from it.

"Oh, Patrick.."

"If you don't like it I can take it back." He smiled sheepishly. "I didn't know what you liked, so.."

You interrupted him by slamming into him with a hug, which caused him to blush a little.

"Thank you, Patrick.." You Said. "I love it."

He smiled. "You're welcome.." he said. "Here, let me put it on you."

You pulled away from him, and he took the necklace out of the box, before You turned around to let him put it on.

"Done!" He exclaimed, and you turned back around.

He looked at you, smiling a little. "You look...beautiful."

Both of you blushed a little as you looked down and mumbled, "Thanks."

The drive to Pete's party was rather quiet, apart from the Elvis Costello CD that was playing from Patrick car stereo.

Occasionally, he'd hum along a little, but for the most part, neither of you said much.

Once you finally got to the apartment, Patrick struggled to find a place to park, which made you guess that the party was pretty big.

The apartment wasn't Pete's, but a large one he rented every year for his New Years party, as well as his son's last birthday. The apartment was the only one in the building to have a rooftop, where everyone went when it was nearly midnight to count down to the new year.

Once Patrick finally found a parking space, you both got out of the car and rushed into the apartment building to get out of the cold. You almost regretted wearing such a short dress, especially since you'd have to go up on the roof in the cold later.

You both went into the elevator, and you shivered a little, causing Patrick to look at you worriedly.

"Are you okay?" He asked.

"Yeah, just a little cold.." you mumbled. "I'll be better when we get inside."

"Oh.." he looked down a little, before reaching his arm around you and hesitantly pulling you close to him.

He blushed a little, looking at you. "Better?"

You smiled a little. "Yeah, Thanks."

He smiled and nodded, before the two of you just sat in silence as the elevator went up to the fifth floor.

Suddenly, it stopped, and dinged, signaling that you were there.

You pulled away from Patrick and smoothed out your dress, before the door opened and you both stepped out.

The apartment door was open, letting out the sound of the music, and revealing the crowd of people inside.

The both of you made your way into the apartment, and you looked around a little. The windows around the apartment showed a beautiful view of the city, which was something you absolutely loved.

"Hey guys!" You heard, before looking up to see Pete walking over to you.

He was wearing a large sweater, and had his long hair up in a couple of buns.

"I'm so glad you two made it!" He smiled at you, before winking at Patrick.

Patrick immediately blushed, looking down.

"Anyway, come in, have a drink." He said. "We have only an hour till midnight then we'll all go up."

"Okay." You smiled at him before he walked away to go and talk to Gabe.

"Come on!" Patrick Exclaimed, taking your hand. "Let's go look out the window!"

He practically dragged you over to the window, then looked down at the city, a smile growing on his face.

You knew he loved this city. He was constantly talking about it, and he always had that look on his face when he looked at it.

It almost reminded you of the way he looked at you.

You smiled a little at him, and he looked up at you.

"Do you want something to drink?" He asked. "Champagne maybe?"

"Sure." You nodded.

"Okay." He smiled. "I'll be back."

He walked away, and you continued to stare out the window.

"Hey, Y/N." You heard, and looked beside you, where Travie was now standing.

"Oh, hey Travie." You waved at him.

"I see you came with Patrick." He smiled a little.

You blushed a bit. "Yeah." You smiled. "It was nice of him to bring me. He's a good friend."

He nodded, taking a sip of his drink.

"Hey, I'm gonna go chat with Pete." He Said. "See you later?"

You nodded, and he smiled at you before walking away.

You turned around, leaning against the window. You saw Patrick over by the drinks, getting a couple of glasses of champagne, and smiled a little.

He looked up to see you, and smiled back when he made eye contact with you.

You waved a little, and he went to wave back, but realized he couldn't from holding two champagne glasses.

He walked back over to you, handing you one of the glasses. "Here you go."

You took the glass from him, smiling at him. "Thank you, Patrick."

He nodded, before taking a sip of of his own.

The two of you chatted for what seemed like forever, and after a while, Pete ran up to you.

"Guys, it's two minutes to midnight." He said. "We're gonna head up to the roof."

"Already?" Patrick looked at his watch.

"Yeah, come on!" Pete Exclaimed, patting both of your shoulders.

You looked at Patrick, who looked back at you and laughed a little.

"Guess we were talking for quite a while."

"I guess so." You chuckled a bit, before Patrick grabbed your hand.

"Come on, let's go!" He exclaimed.

Both of you went up the stairs to the roof with everyone else, crowding around Pete who was clearing his throat.

"Alright everyone, it's a minute till midnight!" Pete Exclaimed. "So I'd like to make a toast...everybody, raise your glasses."

Both you and Patrick raised your champagne glasses, along with the entire party.

Pete looked around, smiling. "May everybody have a safe and happy new year. To making 2022 our year!"

Everybody took a sip of their champagne, and Pete looked at his watch.

"Alright everyone!" He Said. "Time to count down! We'll start from 12, 11,"

You looked over at Patrick, who took your hand and began counting down.

"Ten,"

"Nine,"

"Eight,"

"Seven,"

"Six,"

"Five,"

"Four,"

"Three,"

"Two,"

"One!!!"

Before you had a chance to think, Patrick crashed his lips into yours, wrapping his free arm around your waist and pulling you close to him.

You blinked surprisedly, but soon joined his kiss.

He pulled away, a light blush creeping up on his cheeks. "I've been waiting for years to do that.."

You smiled. "I guess 2022 did end up being your year."

He chuckled a little, before hugging you.

"Happy 2022, Y/N."

You smiled, laying your head on his shoulder. "Happy 2022, Patrick."

Oh my gosh! I can't believe it's almost 2022! I just want to thank you all for sticking with me, and reading my stories for all these years! I wish you a all safe and happy New Year!! XoXo, Cheyenne.