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they’d ditched the noise of andre’s family—only his parents, really—an hour ago, slipping outside to the far edge of the vacation house like they always did.
the night was cold and open, they hovered near the driveway with a small pile of fireworks at their feet, andre’s camcorder already on, night vision washing everything in that eerie green glow. the red light blinked steadily as crappy music leaked faintly from inside the house, muffled through the walls, barely reaching them. mostly, it was just the hum of insects, the distant ocean, and the two of them waiting—too early to light anything, too late to go back in.
“dude it’s almost midnight”, cal says, squinting at andre’s wristwatch. “your watch is slow as hell though”.
“it’s not slow, asshole”, andre replies. “yours is the one that’s wrong”.
cal snorts. “shut up. you’re just mad mine’s cooler”.
andre rolls his eyes but keeps glancing at his watch anyway. 11:59. the seconds pass in the quiet, each one feeling way more serious than it should.
“okay, okay”, cal says, sitting up a little. “ten”.
“dude, are you seriously gonna countdown?” andre’s mouth twitches, already grinning.
“shut up! nine…”
andre bumps his shoulder with cal’s. “don’t be weird”.
“i’m not being weird,” cal mutters, absolutely being weird. “now let me fucking count!”
“eight… seven…”
andre shifts closer. cal doesn’t comment on it, just keeps counting, voice a little faster now.
“six… five…”
andre’s grin widens, like he’s waiting for something, coiled and impatient.
“four… three—”
“two—”
“one—”
“happy—” cal starts.
andre doesn’t let him finish.
he grabs the front of cal’s shirt and yanks him forward, crashing their mouths together. it’s clumsy and sudden, teeth bumping just a little, cal letting out a surprised sound before he starts laughing into the kiss. andre kisses him anyway, messy and unplanned and way too bold for someone who usually overthinks everything.
cal freezes for half a second, then melts into it, hands coming up to clutch at andre’s shirt collar. when they finally pull apart, both of them are breathless and grinning like idiots.
“what the fuck”, cal laughs, shoving him lightly. “you scared the shit outta me”.
andre shrugs, trying to play it cool and failing miserably. “new year man. felt right”.
cal’s cheeks hurt from smiling. “you’re such a jerk”.
they laugh again, quieter this time. cal leans back against him. “happy new year, asshole”.
andre tilts his head, resting it against cal’s. “happy new year”.