~All in my zone, all in my space,

Life is always in the way~

Mere moments after Edwin retreated into the shower, Zayn was alive again, and in the midst of a panic attack. Because finally, the ultimatum was setting in and he was not happy about it.

"Everything's going to be okay," Adam assured him, sitting on the floor with his friend. "After February is over, you can just lie. Keep seeing your man, if you want to. If it hasn't gotten to your head and you're done with all the drama." The words got through to him and the calming down process began. "But it is just a boy, after all. Not sure if it's really worth risking your education on."

Zayn glared at him. "He's not a boy, he's a man. And I happen to love him, though I'll probably never tell him that to his face." The two of them sat in silence, listening to the shower water run while the rest of the world was quiet - it was the middle of the night, after all. "On an introspective kind of note, I think I have addictive tendencies." It wasn't hard to see where he was going with this, so Adam bade him continue. "The cigarettes, which I can't quit forever. And the computers - I've never been away from one for as long as an hour. Now it's Hunter. I'm addicted to him, addicted to the attention that he gives me and when I'm without it I turn into a little brat." He sighed deeply - just the thought of cigarettes made him crave one. "Maybe when the school year is over, and he goes back to his wife, and we're off somewhere, enjoying the summer sun or maybe still taking classes, I'll forget. It'll be over and I'll forget."

"Well, I'm not one for long term relationships, so I can't really help you with that," Adam finally stood and made his way to the bed. "Now, we'd probably get some sleep,"

Zayn grumbled and dug in his bag for his laptop instead. After all, he was dying to check his email and do a bit of programming to calm down.

---

The group wandered the streets in the early morning, getting breakfast and then finding a nice piece of sidewalk in Times Square to take residence on for the rest of the day and evening until midnight. After all, this was a tourist attraction - one of the most overrated ones - but tonight was the biggest event of them all. And the square would be packed with bodies by nightfall, so it was best to get good spots now.

After Adam had helped Edwin pick up that girl the night before, his confidence was soaring as he walking around getting numbers left and right from the tourist girls his age. Adam and Zayn sat and drank coffee, talking about their lives and a little bit about their romantic lives too. Adam had a caramel apple smoothie and Zayn was drinking his vanilla latte, a habit he had picked up from Grant. "Not going to go pick up girls?" Zayn asked his friend, bumping him lightly.

"Nah, we're spending time together, idiot."

"Well, that's not what we were doing last night at the bar."

"Last night, I didn't know you were in a precarious mental state or we would've stayed in the hotel room, drank tequila, and watched whatever was on T.V." Zayn had an amazing best friend, truly. One who took too big sips of his gigantic sugary drink, gave mediocre advice, but was always there when you needed him.

They eventually ordered a pizza to where they were sitting, and gave what they didn't eat out to anyone who wanted some, since the area was really beginning to fill up. And Zayn took a nap for at least two hours, and when he woke it was dark. The sounds of loud drunk people filled the air around them. Adam was tired and whining about wanting to go, but they were already here! How could they miss something like this?

Edwin bought popcorn and sat down at nine with them to enjoy, and the drunk people were getting rowdy enough for them to notice that they were sitting in front of a bar, which was not going to be good for them as the night only got younger.

"Well, we can't leave now!" Adam yelled over the music that was starting to play as everything turned into a party.

"This is fun!" Zayn yelled, spinning in a circle and bumping into people constantly. Adam laughed at him and then turned to glare at someone who spilled water on him.

Then someone stopped Zayn's pushing through the crowd with a hand on his shoulder. "Hey there, pretty boy. Wanna dance?"

I've only been officially gay for basically 24 hours, and I have must have like sonar tracking to attract boys to me.

"Hell yes!" Zayn screamed, being dragged away from Adam. But Adam followed, because to lose his friend on New Year's Eve in Times Square would be a terrible thing. Once the two of them got to where everyone was dancing and grinding on one another, Adam watched his friend while picking up a girl, getting her number. Even though he was slightly distracted, once he heard Zayn scream his name a moment later, over all the noise, he heard it immediately.

Adam slammed into the guy who was trying to pull Zayn roughly away from the square - he didn't want to go anywhere. Zayn laid a slap to the guys face, before he came back and pushed Adam to the ground with a loud crack. And that's how they wound up in the emergency room, watching the ball drop on the television, intermixed with images from the crowd - one of those being Edwin, surrounded by girls. Adam was just fine, and it would definitely be a story to tell their grandchildren, though maybe they would keep this story to themselves.

Ah, to be young dumb and broke in New York on New Year's Eve.