*make sure to read part 62 before this one!!**

Once the teenagers had arrived at the base of the famous Lotte tower, Seungmin had disappeared off somewhere. They had a few minutes before the show and so no one was worried. That is, until he arrived back and with a bottle and 7 plastic cups.

"I got us something to drink!"

Seungmin is all cheerful as he distributes the cups and Chan takes that as his moment to snatch the bottle from the boy.

"Where'd you get this?" Chan asks, eyes wavering between the bottle and the boy he thought was ever-so innocent (well, as innocent as sassy, big mouthed people could be).

Seungmin just grins. "It's crazy what people will sell to you on New Year's Eve."

"Let me see." Somi snatches the bottle from Chan and gasps.

Jisung topples over to her side to see and let's out an even more dramatic gasp. Athena watches Changbin and Felix share a confused look, to which she turns to the other four and finally asks, "What is it?"

Somi shoves the bottle into view and now the whole group (except for Seungmin) are gasping.

"I thought we'd start our celebrations earlier," Seungmin shrugs. "Plus, I heard watching fireworks drunk is like, a monumental part of turning twenty."

"Where'd you hear that?" Chan asks with a snort.

"Somewhere, look, you don't have to drink any if you don't want to. I'll enjoy it happily by myself," Seungmin states with a frown.

Changbin is the first to hold out his cup with a bright smile and Athena can't help but laugh. Seungmin smirks and fills the boy's cup up before pouring himself some. The two 'clink' cups and down the bitter liquid, faces squished at the taste.

"It tastes gross," Seungmin mutters with a cough.

"I second that," Changbin adds, falling back dramatically.

Somi looks between the two and then to Chan. "You're not going to stop them?"

"It's only a few minutes before you all are legally allowed to, I don't think starting early will get us into any trouble."

The girl drops a tad, shocked that their father-like friend was indulging them in rebellious behaviour. She turns to Jisung for help but he had already joined Changbin and Seungmin. Somi looks to Athena, who sends her a weak smile.

"Bottoms up, I guess?"

And like that, the group went from regular excited to slightly-tipsy excited. Chan doesn't drink because, despite them not driving into Seoul, he figures at least one of them should be sober. Jisung is a clingy drunk, to no surprise, and is latched onto Seungmin like a seatbelt, though he doesn't mind. Drunk Seungmin is a totally different one from sober Seungmin, and sweeter. Somi can't stop talking and Athena just laughs because she feels so bubbly inside. She hardly notices herself leaning comfortably into Felix's embrace.

"Oh, the fireworks are going to start," Felix utters hazily. Out of all of them, he seems the most unaffected and Athena wonders if he's done stuff like this with his friends back in Australia.

"Come on, we've got to take pictures!" Somi exclaims, urging them to get up.

The crowd chants together as the seconds count down and finally, the new year is upon them. The fireworks shoot out of the building in successions, bright and big. Athena stares with wide eyes, taking in the pretty colours and the vibrant light. For a moment, her eyes travel to the boy next to her and she can't help but move all her attention to him. Felix notices and holds her gaze.

She feels her world stop. The fireworks go off around them but she can hardly hear the noise, all she hears is her heart pounding as she stares into his eyes. So sparkly, she thinks to herself. The fireworks glitter in Felix's eyes and butterflies erupt in Athena's stomach. Felix moves closer to her, his hand wrapping around her waist, pulling them close, millimeters apart.

"Happy New Year Athena."

The words drift to her ears in the noise. She wants to respond, truly, but isn't sure if it was the alcohol or the moment that made her so flustered.

Or maybe it was the way Felix had quickly pulled her even closer to him, and suddenly the gap between them was no more.

 

~~~

a/n

yes, what you guessed happened did in fact happen😁