When the Clock Strikes Midnight

by A L Miller

  Three

  Danny

  I feel like this is the longest day of my life. Maybe because of all the anticipation from knowing the party is tomorrow. As much as I don’t want to admit it, I am kind of looking forward to it. I normally avoid parties or any type of gathering with lots of people like the plague. I’ll have to thank whoever came up the whole must wear masks to attend idea. It would be great to pretend I’m the old me again. The Danny before the scars. The Danny before he lost all those friends who said they would always be there even after the accident. One by one they slowly drifted away. They became too busy or just stopped dropping by to visit; their usual phone calls turned into text messages, which turned into an occasional email until there was nothing.

  I moved away in hopes of getting a new start. I still saw my family on occasion. They were only six hours away. I normally go up that way for the holidays, but I would be skipping that trip this year. I saw them for Christmas though, and I don’t think my parents care much for celebrating the New Year anyway. I normally don’t either and usually just dress down into my pj’s with a bottle of wine and sit front of the TV watching the Hallmark Channel until it’s time to change it to see the ball drop. Then I yell out, “Happy New Year,” to absolutely no one. Sad, I know, but it has become the life I am accustomed to. This year would be different though. This year I will be able to shout out, “Happy New Year,” along the side of many other people with one of those being my best friend.

  Vivian dropped me off in front of my complex and headed back home to the warmth of her own apartment. I was missing mine the moment I stepped out of it. I don’t like the cold and it doesn’t matter how long I lived here, I still hated being out in it. Sure, I loved dressing up in warm sweaters and having the excuse to wear long beanies and wrap long scarves around myself, but I hated being cold.

  I strip down to my boxers the moment I walked into my apartment, tossing my clothes in the hamper in the bathroom on the way to my bedroom. I pull out the warm flannel pajamas I got last Christmas and slipped them on. I grab my remote off the dresser and crrawl into my warm comfy comforter right before a ball of fluff snuggles up right beside me nuzzling his nose into my arm. I lean back against the pillow with my covers pulled up to my chin with just one hand sticking out so I can navigate Netflix. I land on Charmed and hit play from where I last left off, sticking my hand back under the warms covers. As I begin to adjust to where I’m comfortable, my phone goes off. I groan and almost don’t want to see who it is because that would require me to get out of my warm comfy bed.

  My curiosity gets the best of me, and I toss the blanket to the side and slide my body off my bed until my feet hit the floor. Felix meows in annoyance since the covers also slide off of him and the warmth of my body is no longer there for him to snuggle up into. I quickly grab my phone from the dresser and run back to my bed, tucking most of my body back under the covers. I open up my text message inbox to see a message from Melanie. I wonder what she wants, I already said I was going to the party with a plus one.

  She was excited to hear about me finally going to a social event. She has invited me to several, and I usually decline, so she was caught by surprise when I told her I would be attending this time.

  Melanie: Hey, so guess who is also going to the party tomorrow night?

  Me: Who? Is this someone I actually know?

  Melanie: Yes silly, well you see the man every day. He lives right across the way.

  My eyes practically freeze at the screen in front of me as I realize who she is talking about. I play dumb instead of telling her I know.

  Me: And who would that be exactly?

  Melanie: Oh Danny, don’t play dumb, you would have to be blind not to notice a guy like him. Anyway, I saw the way you looked at him the other day when he passed by us to get to his apartment.

  Oh god, please tell I wasn’t really that obvious. I always tried my best to look anywhere else but in his direction when he passed me.

  Melanie: Relax, I’m kidding. But based on your silence, it looks like I was right on the money.

  Me: Uh-huh, yeah. Look Melanie, I was in the middle to turning in early. I’m pretty exhausted from work and shopping for my mask today with Vivian.

  Melanie: Oh, you got your mask, you will have to show me. Quick take a picture of you in it, that way I know who to look for at the party.

  Me: Bye Melanie, See you tomorrow night at the party.

  I hope mentioning tomorrow night’s party keeps her from coming by my place before then. I was kind of hoping to be under the radar at the party and I’d much rather no one knows who I am other than Vivian. I don’t want to be linked to reality Danny tomorrow night; I can be him again in a couple days. Tomorrow is a night to remember what it was like to go to a party and flirt with guys the way I use to before the scars. Tomorrow is the night I could bring back that old confident Danny who had disappeared these last few years. I’ve only got one night, and I’m going to make the best of it and who knows, maybe I’ll even meet someone to share a midnight kiss with.

  Four

  Cole

  I keep dozing in and out on the couch after I finish my dinner. I don’t even bother with my usual shower tonight because I’m just that exhausted. I manage to make it to bed the next time I wake up. I strip down to my boxers because I was never much of a pajama person and I love having it cold when I sleep. I’ve buried myself beneath my covers lying face down into my pillow hoping I would stay asleep the rest of the night and luckily, I did.

  I’m reminded that I left my blinds open as the sun comes barging in through my window without any warning, making my eyes squint when I try to open them as I stretch out my arms. I rub the sleep from my eyes and check my phone for missed calls, finding a text from Paul telling me he will see me tonight and not to forget to bring a plus one. I ignore the plus one bit. I was flying solo tonight. I plan on having fun and I don’t want to worry about leaving anyone behind or have someone worry about where I was disappearing off to when I caught something appealing in sight.

  I turn the shower to hot just the way I liked it. I’m one of those who have to have it so hot I could almost feel my skin burning. This is probably why none of my exes cared to shower with me. I never cared to share my showers with anyone anyway. It was one of those things I liked to do alone. It was my time to myself where I could just close my eyes and sink into the hot water as I thought about everything I had to do that day and the day after. It was my relaxing time and I much rather not have someone there to interrupt it.

  Out of the shower, I throw on some jeans and a shirt before slipping on the first pair of shoes I come across in my closet. I figured I could get all my grocery shopping done this morning and then pick up some food on the way home so I can relax with some random movie I’ll probably end up falling asleep to. There were times I did eat food from my own fridge that didn’t come out a Styrofoam or plastic container. I sometimes bought frozen lasagna, stuff to make sandwiches and frozen pizzas, bagels and frozen waffles for those cold weekends I didn’t really feel like going anywhere. I also live off around eight cups of coffee a day, so that was always number one on my grocery list.

  The grocery store is fairly empty for a Saturday, but I bet it’s because no one wants to come out in the snow if they don’t have to. Sometimes it still doesn’t stop people though. It doesn’t stop me. I grew up in a town where it snowed a lot, so this was the norm for me. Everything was fairly close by my apartment anyway, I didn’t ever have to drive too far. That was what I loved most about living in a small town not far from the city. The only downfall about living in a small town during winter was that our roads were usually the last ones to get plowed.

  I throw everything into my cart that is on my grocery list, and I’m about to head toward check out until I come across a familiar person. I would say familiar face, but it’s covered in his usual sunglasses, beanie, and hoodie. I walk his way, and he finally turns to face me, lifting his glasses over his head while
pulling up his beanie to where it sits right at the top of his eyes. “Oh, hey there neighbor.”

  I smile his way. “Hey there, looks like Saturday is the perfect day to go grocery shopping, huh?”

  He nods after glancing around. “It would appear so, it’s emptier than I thought it would be which is always a good thing. I usually come Sundays but thought I would come today just in case I didn’t feel like going tomorrow and most places will be closed on New Year’s Day.”

  I nod. “Yeah, that is true. So, you have any big plans for tonight? Or do you not celebrate the new year?”

  He nods. “I usually don’t make too huge a deal of it, but this year I’m being dragged to some party with a friend.”

  I’m tempted to ask what party in hopes it will be the same one I will be at, but I don’t want to seem too eager. So instead I say, “oh, that sounds like fun. I’ll be going to a party too. Maybe we will be at the same one and if not then have a great New Year’s Eve, and Happy New Year in case I don’t see you tomorrow.”

  He smiles with his hands wrap around the cart handle. “Same to you, Cole. See you around.”

  I lift my hand up in a wave as I push my cart toward check out. I wish we could have talked longer but we were kind of just standing in the middle of the grocery store. I was surprised he was talking to me at all after yesterday’s encounter. Perhaps, he had had a long day at work and was caught off guard. I wasn’t always the friendliest when I got off work. It took everything out of me not to look back as I walked away from him. I throw the bags in my cart and push outside to my car.

  I manage to get everything up to my apartment in one trip, almost slipping on the small amount of ice on the steps and falling backward down two flights of stairs with twelve bags on my arms. That would have been a great way to start the new year, breaking almost every bone in my body.

  I load everything in the fridge once inside and just kind of stand there thinking of what else I that could do that wasn’t my neighbor to pass the time before the party tonight. Nothing else sounded more appealing, and once the thought entered my mind, it would be hard to get it out now. Perhaps I would meet someone tonight who could help me with just that. If only there was some magical way to speed up time so I wasn’t tempted to walk right across the way while shoving my neighbor into his apartment the moment he answered the door and claiming his mouth with mine then maybe even more right after that.

  Five

  Danny

  I manage to go two hours without thinking about my hot as sin neighbor, then I run into him at the grocery store. I can already tell I’m not going to be able to dodge him the way I usually did, especially after he saw me turn his way. His eyes land right on me before a smile spreads across his face. Once he catches sight of me, he begins to head my way so instead of taking off like I normally would, I meet him halfway with my own cart and manage to find my words this time. We have an actual full-blown conversation, and it seems like it would have lasted longer if we weren’t standing in the middle of the grocery store. I slide my sunglasses over my head since he already knew what I looked like anyway, and my scars didn’t seem to faze him before.

  Most people asked me about them right away or keep staring at my face as if they were trying to figure out exactly what I was, but not him. No, his eyes went to mine first thing and never quite left them. I went home afterward and waiting for 7 p.m. to roll around and for Vivian to arrive at my apartment.

  A knock came to my door at 6 p.m., and standing outside my door was my neighbor Melanie dressed in a bright red cocktail dress and strappy black heels with her hair styled in an updo. She looked perfect as usual. Her eyes went from me to inside my apartment. “Where are your party clothes, why aren’t you dressed? You’re still coming, aren’t you?”

  I roll my eyes. “Yes Melanie, I’m still coming. It’s only six, and the party doesn’t start until nine and no one is ever there right when it starts.”

  She pushes her way into my apartment, and I don’t put up much of a fight because there really isn’t much point. She takes a seat on my couch. “So, show it to me since I’m here.”

  At first, I have no idea what she is talking about until my eyes fall to the bag sitting on the kitchen counter with my mask inside. I grab the bag off the counter and pull the mask out and hold it up so she could see it. She gasps and quickly gets up from the couch to pull the mask from my hand. “Oh, my goodness Danny, I love it! It’s perfect! I can’t wait to see you in it tonight.”

  She hands it back to me, and I slip it back inside the bag before tossing it on the couch. “So, where’s your mask at?”

  She grabs her clutch purse from my couch and pulls out a small red and black sparkly mask. She puts it on and strikes a pose with her hands framing her face.

  “Very nice, it goes with your dress perfectly. Is your boyfriend wearing a matching one?”

  She crinkles her nose in disgust. “Ugh no, he insisted on wearing this bright hideous green one I begged him to take back and said it wasn’t his color. He hates being one of those couples who matches all the time.” She shrugs. “Oh well, at least I will look fantastic, that’s all that matters.”

  I nod. “That’s good then I guess. My friend will be wearing a pink one, so we aren’t matching either. Matching is so boring anyway.”

  She smiles, “Well, I will see you later then. Make sure you at least find me when they do the count down so we can wish each other Happy New Year at midnight.”

  “Will do,” I say, even though I have zero intentions of doing so.

  I was going to dodge Melanie and her boyfriend like the plague. I didn’t want to risk her telling everyone there, hey look it’s my neighbor with the scars on his face. I knew she was bound to make a comment about how the mask hid them well in front of other people. She always did stuff like that. I also just rather not ring in my new year with Melanie and her loudmouth boyfriend, Paul. I only met the guy once but once was enough for me. She said he and Cole were like best friends, which was a huge surprise to me because he didn’t seem like someone Cole would hang out with, but I did see him come around a lot when I would be arriving home from wherever it was I went that day. I’d much rather ring in the new year with a complete stranger than with some mushy couple making out in front of my face when the ball drops.

  After she leaves, I hop in the shower before tugging on my black formfitting slacks and black button-down top. I pull my gold and black vest from the closet and slip it on over my shirt. As I’m slipping on my socks and shoes, another knock comes at my door. This time it’s more aggressive, and so loud it’s like the person is trying to break the door down. I know right away that it’s Vivian. She is the only person I know who knocks on my door like that; she’s also the only person I know besides Melanie.

  I open the door to a spinning Vivian in a tiny black glitter dress that outlines all her curves, perfectly paired with a pink pair of stilettos that almost make her the same height as me. “So, do you like? Will I be the belle of the ball?”

  I take her by the hand and twirl her toward the inside of my apartment. “Sweetheart, you would be the belle of any ball. That outfit is perfection on you.”

  One hand holds a cute pink clutch and pink masquerade mask, the other holds a large bag of takeout food. I grab the bag from her hand and set it down on the kitchen counter. “Shall we eat then? Maybe I should take off my vest in case I get it dirty while eating.”

  She pulls the containers out of the bag. “We could just always get you a bib instead. Knowing you, you will somehow manage to find a way to stain black clothing.”

  I laugh. “I would argue with you if you weren’t right.” I open my container of food and moan at the first bite of Mongolian beef that enters my mouth.

  Vivian laughs and shakes her head. “Geez, save it for that sexy stranger you’ll be making out with at the party tonight.”

  I wave her off. “Sorry, I haven’t eaten since this morning. I was too busy running around and getting distracted
by my hot neighbor at the grocery store. Can you believe we had a real conversation this time? Also, he confirmed he is indeed going to be at the party.”

  She slams her hand on the counter. “No freaking way, tell me everything. Who walked up to who and who talked first? Did you ask what color mask he would be wearing?”

  I shook my head. “We kind of met in the middle; I said hi first, and no because then he would ask me about my mask.”

  She nods, and her phone goes off with a text message from the guy she invited to meet us there. Her focus shifts to him and I’m thankful for the distraction and change of topic. Talking about Cole has just made me more nervous at the idea of me running into him at the party. Melanie did mention Paul’s house was huge, so maybe I wouldn’t run into him at all. Even if I did, how would I know unless I went around asking every guy who approached me to take off his mask? Besides, if I knew it was him, I would definitely be wanting him to take off more than just that.

  Six

  Cole

  Getting ready for the party doesn’t take me long. I text Paul asking him if he needs me to bring anything with me and he tells me just to bring myself and my plus one. Once again, I ignore the plus one comment. Hopefully, I’ll find my plus one at the party tonight. I reach for the burgundy tuxedo I swapped my black one out for at the last minute. I showed my sister what I would be wearing tonight, and she insisted I wear something other than black since it’s basically what I wear to work every day. She said I needed something to bring the black mask out more. When I showed her the burgundy suit I bought on a whim last year, she was sold.