Tiffany Hwang was not the type of woman to let herself be publicly humiliated; and not, especially, on New Year's Eve. Not like this.

"I thought you guys were still friends," Sooyoung mumbled into her glass of ice. She rested her elbows on the wooden bar and motioned to the bartender for another. She turned back to her friend. "And for the last time--" 

Tiffany sighed. Her fingers opted to run along the rim of her half-empty Sangria instead of brushing the errant bangs out of her face. "I know, Sooyoung, 'he probably doesn't care,' ‘we’re still good friends,’ I know. It's just... It's New Year's Eve. You know?"

"First of all, the amount of times you said 'know' in that sentence says ‘Tiffany needs to lay off the drinks.' Second..."

Tiffany’s voice was very soft when she interrupted the taller woman. "Let me…” She shrugged. “Let me have this night, okay?"

Yes, perhaps Sooyoung was neglecting to be the "good" friend, but she instead chose to be the friend Tiffany needed in that moment. At any rate, Tiffany was thankful for the exasperated—but still affectionate—sigh Sooyoung gave. She loved Nichkhun. He was kind and sweet and everything she could have asked for, but it hadn’t been right.

Speak of the devil. Scene: generic city nightclub. Enter: the boys. Tiffany offered a friendly smile to them across the room and Taecyeon gave a wink back--to which Sooyoung laughed and Tiffany blew a mocking kiss. And Nichkhun...

Maybe it was the dim lighting of said generic city bar, or maybe it was the contents of the empty glasses in front of her, but Tiffany's eyes went right past him to the lone girl sitting at the lone table in the corner.

The girl’s face was lit by her phone’s screen—a rose gold iPhone without a case? This girl lives life on the edge. And this girl was clearly not having the time of her life, Tiffany noted. Light brunette hair curled into perfect waves, chin in hand, elbow on table, thumb on screen—the girl was bored out of her mind.

Nichkhun told Tiffany to have a good time, right?

Tiffany wasn’t sure when her heels hit the floor or what Sooyoung was saying after her, but before Tiffany was truly prepared, she stood in front of the lone girl.

“Uh,” Tiffany said.

“Charming,” the girl returned without looking up from her phone or missing a beat.

Tiffany adjusted the strap of her dress, biting her lip. She had not actually planned to get this far, and this girl was very pretty up close. She opened , and—

“Seventeen reasons,” the girl started, “the club is a ty place to go with your friends on New Year’s Eve.” She waved her phone’s blindingly bright screen at Tiffany. And then she looked up and made eye contact, and Tiffany thought she might have died for a second. The girl’s glance could cut steel, and her lips could—

“I’m kidding, wow. Lighten up a little. And my friends say I space out on them. ‘Hello’ could also work.”

Stirring back from her moment, Tiffany shook her head gently. Oh my god, this was going so much worse than she could have imagined. “Hey, uh. Who are your friends?” Yeah, okay, she could work with this.

The girl jerked a thumb to the dance floor. “Tall girl there in the middle, see her? No, not that one, the one with the black hair—that’s Yoona. Probably breaking hearts as we speak. Blonde a few feet over? Hyoyeon. She’s probably showing everyone how inferior they are at dancing. You?”

Sooyoung? Tiffany scanned the dim surroundings. “Sooyoung is... I have no idea where I left her.”

“Some friend you are,” the girl laughed, locking her phone. She crossed her legs—she’d taken off her shoes at some point already. How long had she been scrolling through Buzzfeed articles in the corner of the club while her friends danced the night away?

“Listen,” Tiffany mumbled, not sure if her face was warm or the alcohol was kicking in (hadn’t she already blamed the alcohol tonight?). It was 11:58 and Ryan Seacrest’s voice was saying something distantly on the TV. “Listen, you’re…” She’s what? Where was Tiffany planning on going with that? 

“I’m..?” the girl continued, gesturing for her to continue.

And there he was, in her previous seat at the bar. Nichkhun was laughing with Wooyoung over some drinks, looking like he was having a party. Not that Tiffany was bitter—she and Nichkhun would always, first and foremost, be friends—but it was New Year’s Eve, honestly, and…

“Kiss me,” Tiffany found herself saying, dragging her eyes away from her ex and back to the girl who was now tapping her bare foot on the floor. “When the clock hits midnight, I mean, and the ball drops, like…” She winced. The girl looked like she could murder Tiffany.

She wasn’t sure she would mind. Better than dealing with this disaster of an encounter.

“Okay.”

Tiffany wasn’t sure she had heard correctly. “Wait, what?”

The girl rolled her eyes. “I said, ‘Okay.’ Need me to run that by you again?”

A breathy laugh. “I mean, you don’t…” Tiffany was feeling increasingly ridiculous the longer she stood there, despite the heels giving her a few inches over the stranger.

The girl sighed, stepping closer, her simple black dress looking far too perfect. “That guy over there has been staring at you since he walked through the door. Who’s this guy you’re trying to make jealous? Boyfriend?”

“Ex,” she replied without looking, hearing a faint countdown from ten on-screen.

“Mm. I see.” The girl was close enough that her breath brushed past Tiffany’s hair.

Nine.

Tiffany briefly wondered where Sooyoung went.

Eight.

This had been a bad idea.

Seven.

“Hey,” the girl murmured, fingers toying with the ends of Tiffany’s hair.

Six.

“Yeah?” Tiffany breathed in response. Her hands found the girl’s hips.

Five.

“Do I get a name?”

Four.

“Tiffany,” she said, not sure if her words actually bridged the miniscule gap between the two of them.

Three.

The girl smiled, fingers brushing across Tiffany’s chin, pulling her closer. She smelled faintly of tangerines.

Two.

“Jessica. Nice to meet you.”

One.

////////

A/N: Chapter title from Say Yes, because I'm still not over this song.