Chapter Sixty-1

Chapter Sixty: Maggie The New Year is right around the corner. Close to the end of a crazy, hectic year, but one that I'll definitely hold dearest even after a new beginning arises. I'd be lying if I said that the first half of this year wasn't absolute mayhem for me, because it was. It was a rollercoaster ride that just kept going and going in an upwards direction and seemed to have never stopped. Until now that is. Though the journey was exhausting the end was fulfilling in its own way. I went through a lot of hurdles and disastrous mishaps; I lost friends, gained some, made mistakes, and also tried my best to fix them. I honestly feel like I'm not the same person I was before because the girl I was then - timid, reserved, and overly self-righteous, she's different from the person I am now. Sure, certain aspects of who I am are still there, but I'm learning. I'm learning to leave what's behind me and to come to terms with how my life is now and to anticipate what's in store for me in the future. Considering there's no point in dwelling on nostalgia and painful memories. With that being said, I'm ready to accept this brand new year with open arms. Awaiting for the new possibilities, opportunities, and even for the upcoming hurdles along the way. I've never been this optimistic and ready for the unpredicted until now, and in a way I guess I kinda got that from Evan as he had taught me to be more tolerant. Speaking of Evan on the other hand, he's grown so much since the day we met. Back then, if you had asked me if I could ever envision myself being remotely associated with Evan either platonically or romantically, I wouldn't even laugh. I wouldn't even entertain the idea with how much I know past Maggie would consider the scenario as every bit absurd. We started off so rocky that it's crazy to think that we ended up here, right now to where we are today. That's why I intend to finish this year celebrating it with the ones who helped me grow - my family, my new-found family, friends, and new-found friends. So when Tiffany approached me and Evan with a plan of hosting a New Year's Eve party at their company's building and how she's been planning it since last November, we knew we couldn't pass on the opportunity. "A New Year's Eve party?" Evan reiterated when Tiffany told us the news "Sure, doesn't seem too bad. Haven't had one of those in a while." Tiffany ecstatically clapped her hands at that "It's settled then! You can invite your friends if you want, I already contacted Jasper's parents to see if they wanted to attend and they were more than willing! The same goes for you too, Maggie!" With that, she left the room with a reminder to shop for clothes because the party will be lavish and filled with hundreds of guests from all kinds of connections, family or not, so we need to look our best. "I've never attended a New Year's Eve party before. I was always so used to just celebrating it with my mom and my grandparents." I told Evan as soon as Tiffany walked out of the room. Evan, appearing curious, then asked "Just you and your mom?" I nodded solemnly "Yeah, my father was usually the one to attend those New Year's Eve parties, sometimes he would ask me if I wanted to come with but I always said no because he never wanted mom to come along with us." He holds my gaze for a moment, a wave of incredulity washing over his face "Seriously? Who would do that? You're still his family for crying out loud." Yeah, we are, by blood at least. I shrugged, thinking despite how much the memory is upsetting there's no point wallowing over how much of an asshole my father is "It's alright, at least I get to spend my first New Year's Eve party with you and your parents instead of him, as well as my mom this time." Even though the disbelief and disgust were still visible in his gaze, his expression softened at my words as he made his way towards me, sitting beside me on the living room couch as he hugged me from behind. "It'll be fun. If you think my mom goes all out during Christmas wait until you see how she acts during New Year's Eve, her inner host always flourishes the best in that kind of environment." Chuckling, I turned my head and planted a kiss on his cheek "And I can't wait to spend it with you and your parents, I can't think of anybody else I would want to spend the holidays with." His eyes gleamed at that "Same as I." *  *  * The day leading up to the party was actual chaos, to say the least. Tiffany was all over the place trying to help us with what we were supposed to wear, with her and Evan going back and forth arguing about whether he should wear a tux and him just adamantly refusing. Whilst I, on the other hand, decided to just let Tiffany decide whatever she thought would look great on me for the party, thinking she knew better about these sorts of things than I did. Also for the fact that I didn't wanna get mauled. "A tux is so uncomfortable! Plus the party will only last for a few hours anyway!" Evan argued. "I already got a tux custom made for you from one of the most high-end designers I was able to reach these past few days; do not squander my plans for you, Evan!" Tiffany scolded as he groaned, clearly fed up with his mother. As soon as Tiffany left the room to get the portfolio of his tux that the designer sent, Evan paced around his room muttering curses about how much of a handful Tiffany is being right now. "A tux? I know she said formal but I didn't think it'd had to be that formal." "Just do what she says, you know how much of a control freak she can get during these sorts of things," I advised. He rolled his eyes as I stood up from the edge of his bed and let my hands roam on the expanse of his broad shoulders, before carefully pushing him down so my lips were at the same level as his ear "Plus, I think you would look really sexy in a tux..." I purred as I felt his body stiffen at my words.