But Baby, You're Not a Firework {1/2}

[onlythemediocre]

Title: But Baby, You’re Not a Firework
Part: 1/2
Word Count: 1,189
Summary: Tally, Nick, Annalise and Jared watch their first ball drop at Times Square together – and for Tally, it’s her first ever. Party hats are pulled into existence and boyfriends are ignored for fireworks. A very belated New Year!Fic.
Author’s Note: All these characters are mine. Tally is associated with the percyjacksonroleplay on Tumblr, and so is Nick, to a certain extent.

“Nick. I’m really excited. I’m really freaking excited. Can you tell?”Nick McCallister tried not to laugh at his girlfriend; however, he failed miserably. He managed to control himself enough so his laughter came out as chuckles, and he squeezed the hand in his a little tighter. “Just a little bit, Talls.”

His girlfriend Tally, who was very good at sniffing out sarcasm, surprisingly didn’t pick up on it, or was too happy to care. She beamed at him. “I can’t believe my parents agreed to this! I thought you must’ve used Charmspeak on them or something. It’s just so beautiful! The atmosphere feels… well, kinda electric, don’t you think?” She glanced around, looking very much like a kid in a candy store as she soaked up the scene around her.

Nick didn’t have the heart to remind her that he’d actually been to this event pretty much every year since he moved to Manhattan in eighth grade. He knew she’d figure that out eventually. And he was excited – after all, this was their first New Year’s Eve together, dating or otherwise. Usually the event was spent with family, but tonight Nick and Tally would be with their other two friends as they heralded in the New Year.

If Tally had told him this time last year that she hadn’t been to the ball drop live ever, Nick wouldn’t have believed her. Once she’d convinced him that she hadn’t, he’d probably try to figure out why Mr. and Mrs. Hue, pretty much the nicest parents alive, would’ve never taken their lone daughter to see it.

Having a new understanding of his girlfriend’s wacky family heritage (and why her cousins really were her cousins, but not), Nick could see the danger.

It had initially been their best friend Lise’s idea, to watch the ball drop together. Tally had naturally said no. She had explained to him that a packed Times Square – possibly with more than several demigods scattered through the crowd – was a threat to her safety. There was nowhere to run, and you couldn’t attack. “My dad fights with a sword. My mom relies on supernova powers. It’s conspicuous,” she explained.

He didn’t want her to get into trouble with monsters (he’d vaguely seen one during his time travels – the Mist wasn’t so effective within the barriers of Camp Half-Blood apparently) so he didn’t even argue. Lise looked at him like she did when she was trying to convince him to grow some balls, McCallister, you two like each other so admit it already! Nick’s face had changed slightly – instead of something that conveyed don’t be stupid, it was more Tally’s calling the shots here.

“Where do you think Lise and Jared are?” Tally asked finally, trying in vain to pivot and locate their friends. Her question drew Nick into reality, so he pulled his phone from his pocket to make the call. As a safety precaution (“Monsters can track half-bloods through cell signals, McCallister,”) Tally had left hers at home. Spotting the gadget in his hand, she nodded and continued to observe the atmosphere as he tried to call Lise first. The crowd was loud; hopefully she’d be able to hear her phone ring.

Finally, she did pick up. “Hello?” her voice called, drowned out by people talking on both sides of the line.

“Hey, Lise. We’re here. Where are you? Are you with Jared?”

“Yeah, I just found him, wondering around like a lost puppy.” There was a pause; obviously, Jared had heard. “Anyway. We’ve got a good vantage point of everything here, but if yours is excellent, we’ll move.”

“You’re lucky you’re talking to me, because I don’t think Tally knows the difference,” Nick joked. She was still looking at everything, eyes bright, occasionally murmuring under her breath. If she had heard what he’d said (which was difficult, considering the crowd), she probably would’ve hit him. Still, he found himself following suit and watching the big screen. “We’re on a bit of an angle, though. You more head on?”

Nick and Annalise spent the next few minutes deciding who had the better vantage point and where they were, before deciding they’d meet somewhere in the middle, defined by a landmark in the distance. They were surprisingly good at estimating things like this; they’d done it before to certain success. There were a lot more people around, but they were confident they’d meet up with each other.

It took them longer than usual, with people practically coming out of nowhere and trying to navigate Tally through the crowd. Normally, she was capable of doing this on her own, but she was so caught up in the atmosphere it was if she’d forgotten how to move. Nick and Lise had decided to stay on the phone to make sure they weren’t completely off and so they wouldn’t have to call again, but they were often drowned out by the crowd.

Finally, Nick saw Lise. Her dark hair was slightly curled and her phone was practically glued onto her ear. When she noticed him, she smiled briefly and snapped her phone shut. She hit Jared and then walked over to give Tally a hug. “Nice to see you guys finally!”

“Hey guys,” Tally greeted the other pair. Noticing something Jared was holding, she frowned. “Are those… party hats?”

Despite his natural cockiness, Jared seemed rather bashful when he realized Tally had seen his haul. “Well, yeah,” he replied. “This is a pretty big party, if you know what I mean? Hats and party horns were needed. Also glow sticks. This was how we used to celebrate it back home.”

Nick noticed Tally’s face soften as Jared talked about ‘back home’. He had moved to New York two years ago from Oregon after his parents divorced and he generally didn’t like talking about it. In fact, they hadn’t even learnt he just lived with his father from him. He was very much a private person – even more so than Tally, who probably had bigger things to hide – so for him to try and share some family traditions with them was a big thing.

“This is going to be so great!” she said finally, reaching for a purple party hat from the top of the bag. Nick would’ve bet that the four party hats in there were of their favorite colors. “How many glow sticks are we allowed each?”

Jared seemed to relax and Lise shot him a little grin that he didn’t catch (although Nick did, and he was wondering when would be a good time to bring it up – after all, she hadn’t given him hell for liking Tally without him jumping on a chance to make her squirm) and the rest of the party gear was distributed. Tally pulled out some ‘Happy New Year’ glasses he didn’t even know she had and handed them out as well. Lise and Nick had brought the food and cameras, meaning there was a lot snack sharing and derpy photos being taken.

The countdown still showed that there were three hours to go, but for the quartet, the party had already begun.