dinner with nick's family went so much better than ailee had expected. the conversation flowed with ease and it was nothing but laughs and banter. ailee and nick were now in nick's childhood bedroom as they waited for midnight to approach. his parents had invited some of their friends over to celebrate the new year - and with each guest arriving bringing their partners and children, the home became crowded very quickly.

they found peace within each other, no matter how hectic the party was downstairs they felt grounded here, both laying on the bed with ailee's head rested on nick's chest as they both mindlessly scrolled through their social media, responding to the occasional text and showing each other anything funny they come across.

the clock beside them read and they planned to join the party to be with nick's family at midnight, although they revelled in their few more minutes of peace in the bedroom.

nick wordlessly turned off his phone and placed it on the bedside table, causing ailee to do the same before she looked into his eyes with a smile. he smiled back and pulled the girl closer to him, wrapping his arms around her in a hug as her face fit perfectly in the crook of his neck. "youre so pretty" he whispers, barely audible. ailee lets out a quiet giggle, slightly muffled as she is still cuddled into his neck. "you cant even see my face idiot" she replied, matching his voice in the same whispered tone. "doesn't matter, i just know you are" he says matter-of-factly, making the girl laugh while simultaneously feeling her cheeks heat up and her smile grow wider.

the two of them stay in the cuddled position for a while longer, feeling as though they could stay there forever. ailee shifts slightly in order to check the time, seeing shine in the luminescent red lighting in the darkened room. ailee's movement caused nick to groan sadly. "why did you move you're so comfy" he mumbles, his eyes still closed. "its quarter to 12, we should head down now" ailee says, reaching up to brush a strand of hair out of nicks face as he hums gently and a small, peaceful smile shows on his lips. he finally opens his eyes and stares adoring at the girl, the same smile staying as she plays with his hair. "i was right, you know" he whispers. "about what?" ailee asks inquisitively, not recalling anything he could be talking about.

"you're pretty. i didn't have to look at you to know but now i am looking at you and im right" he says, his voice groggy from the tiredness that he felt as though consumed him, the girl being the only thing he could, and would, stay awake for right now. ailee's face heats up once more and she places her forehead on his chest to hide the red tint and massive grin on her face. nick reaches down and lightly holds her chin, tilting her head up to look at him and leaning in to place a delicate kiss on her lips.

the party downstairs was almost forgotten in that moment. it was just the two of them; against everything they had known and will come to face.

although, a loud cheer of "10 minutes!" interrupted them, and they were reminded that they were expecting downstairs soon. nick sighs sadly as ailee sits up and gets off them bed, holding out a hand as a way to signal nick to join her in going downstairs. grabbing her hand, nick does nothing but the opposite. he uses the contact to pull her into another kiss, leaning up slightly to meet her in the middle and supporting himself with he free elbow, ailee using her own free hand to cup the side of nick's face.

"you're in a good mood today" ailee giggles once they pull away, met with a wide smile from nick as he inspects her face, regardless of the fact he had memorised her beauty months ago. "im just happy you're here. come on, lets go downstairs." he says, finally standing up with a sweet smile, intertwining their hands and walking out of the room and downstairs.

the party was loud, people around every corner and filling the backyard, the place where ailee and nick were headed now. they step out in the cool december air and are instantly greeted by many of nick's parent's friends, ailee standing there cluelessly as nick caught up with people he had known since childhood, introducing ailee proudly. the time nears midnight; a screen projecting

they continue walking around, standing near the edge of the pool as they quietly talk. "we should go for a swim" nick says, a sly smirk showing on his face as an idea creeps into his mind. "absolutely not! it is the middle of winter you idiot" ailee says, subconsciously understanding nick's intentions and trying to come up with the best way of getting out of there dry. "its heated...." nick says, a moment of silence enveloping them as they held suspiciously calm eye contact.

taking this moment to his advantage, nick quickly makes a move to pick up the girl, right as she made her own move to bolt away as quickly as she could. she makes her way around the edge of the pool as fast as she could without slipping in, unfortunately it proved to be not faced enough as her boyfriend's arms snaked around her waist and pulled her flush with his body as she let out a quiet squeal. the hold on her body turns her until she is face to face with nick, a smile on his face as ailee accepts defeat, although still tries to escape his grasp. he picks her up until she is slightly elevated off the ground, her squeals turning more into laughter as she couldn't help but find the situation funny, knowing that nick would end up in the water only moments after her anyway.

and that is exactly what happened. ailee is quickly dropped in the surprisingly warm water with a loud squeal, the guest of the party laughing at the sight as a few cheers sounded. ailee swims to the surface and moves her soaking wet hair out of her eyes with a smile, meeting nick's gaze as he has an equally big smile adorning his own face. not even moments later, nick calls out "cannonball!" and runs along the edge of the pool, cannonballing into the opposite end of the pool with a cheer.

ailee laughs at her boyfriend's idiocracy, watching him emerge and swimming towards him. right as they meet, the rest of the party go-ers begin the 5 second countdown.

ailee wraps her arms around nick's shoulder's and feels nick's wrap around her waist

the eye contact is electrifying; unlike any moment they had previously had, they felt like the only people in the world

their faces were both absolutely overtaken by smiles, bigger than any other as they did nothing but adoringly admire each other.

ailee feels nick's hand slowly move up and down comfortingly, his fingers tracing up and down her spine, sending shivers all over her body.

"happy new year, bug" nick whispers, and despite the pure volume of the cheers the erupt within the crowd as soon as the clock hits midnight, ailee heard nick as if he were the only person in her conscience, the only one occupying her mind and thoughts. "happy new year, pandas" she whispers back.

the two lean forward and meet in a heavenly kiss, nothing like they've ever felt before as their minds clear and it is just them in this moment, with not a worry in the world.