A Disenchanting New Year: Theodora (Patreon)

Disenchanting New Year; Theodora

“At least Mor stole you a sick car,” Theo says, her seat leaned back and her sun visor down, content with being shotgun as you navigate the heavy traffic.

“Not technically stolen,” You correct her, “The salesman handed us the keys.”

She raises an eyebrow, her lips quirked in amusement, “Of his own free will?”

You decline to answer. It had been an emergency, after all, and how were you supposed to know Mor had decided to swindle you the fanciest car on the lot? Theo laughs at your lack of answer, and you find yourself rolling your eyes affectionately. You’ve come to dearly love that annoying cackle of hers.

Flipping your blinker on, you turn right per the GPS. It’s a two-ish hour drive from Catskill to New York City, and the roads have never been more packed.

New Year’s Eve is one of the busiest nights around here, apparent by all the cars headed in the same direction as you. You grimace, already thinking of the densely packed crowd in Times Square. Over a million people, one article had read…you try to imagine a million people and come up blank.

“Hey,” Theo rests a hand on your thigh, giving you a lazy smile, “This’ll be fun.”

You hope she’s right.

You had booked a spot in a parking garage, like, a month ago. Pretty much as soon as you knew you wanted to see the ball drop, you started planning. It was about a twenty minute walk to the Square, but you reached the city well before noon. They weren’t even letting people in before ten o’clock, so you had one or two hours to go yet.

Theo breathed in deeply as you exited the garage, taking in the bustling streets, “Ah, the sweet smell of pollution.”

With that she takes you by the hand and pulls you out onto the sidewalk. You both move quickly, her in front and you behind. The glamor hides your not-so-human features well to others, but you can still see her wings fluttering in your face. Your eyes catch on a few other supernaturals as you breeze by, but neither party makes an effort to stop. Everyone has somewhere to go, and you don’t feel like talking to strangers regardless.

The crowd grows thicker the closer you get, and Theo tucks her wings close to her back with a disgruntled frown, “So, next year-“

“We’ll watch it on streaming.” You confirm, dodging a few errant children, “Remember, though, you said this would be fun.”

“Yeah, sure, and when am I ever right?” Theo huffs out a laugh, “Let’s just make it to the countdown.”

You talk about everything and nothing as the seconds tick away, and then the floodgates open. People pour into Times Square, cameras already out and several children already squalling. Theo guides you through the crowd, and soon you find a place near the stage to wait out the rest of the day.

“You know, of all the times mom and dad have brought me here, we’ve never done New Years.” Theo says, leaning against one of the fences, “Probably because mom would lose her mind.”

Yeah, you could see that. her mom is great, funny, and totally chill, but she’s really not keen on crowds.

“We’ll tell her all about it,” You reach up, pushing her silly 2024 glasses into place, “And these can be her souvenir.”

“Wanna take a selfie for Spellgram?” She grins, “I mean, we look so stylish, after all.”

She flips her camera around, tossing an arm around you and cheesing wide as she takes the picture. She hunches over the phone for a second, typing away, before flipping it around to show you the caption.

See you next year! She’s put a little firework emoji beside the words.

You snort, shaking your head, “Lame.”

“It’s meant to be,” She chides, hitting post unrepentantly, “And I can feel Vik’s eye roll from here, which just makes it better.”

The time passes quickly, and the music is blaring in no time as acts take the main stage and are recorded to be broadcasted around the country. Despite Theo’s wishes, you two aren’t interviewed by any news station, but she hardly lets that dull her evening.

As the ten minute to midnight mark hits, there’s a buzz in the air as people get excited. The ball is a bright, shiny spot in the sky; it’s not nearly as big from the ground as it is on TV. Theo stares up at it, squinting, before she takes your hand.

“Trust me,” She whispers, pulling you away from the fence and toward the back of the crowd.

Before you can ask why she’s giving up your spots, you feel the glamor wash over your entire body. It sits on top of your skin like a warm blanket, though you still feel Theo’s arms around you in vivid detail. You hold on tight, bracing yourself as her wings rustle and move, lifting the both of you into the sky.

You grip her shoulders, and she braces you with her hands as you look around. The higher you go, the smaller the people below look.

The lights are stunning from up here, and you can see every little crystal that makes up the ball. As the screen lights up with the final countdown, you look back at Theo. Her wings shudder, moving in closer around you like a velvety cocoon as she keeps you both afloat. She leans in until her breath brushes your lips, her eyes shining brighter than any of the fireworks in the sky.

“Three,” She mummers, an arm snaking around your waist.

“Two,” You respond, your hands clutching her tighter.

You don’t reach one, your lips meeting as the sound around you becomes deafening. It’s over too fast, the cheering continuing below even still, but you feel frozen in time as she rests her forehead against yours.

“You know what the best part is?” She smirks.

“What’s that?” You mutter, already skeptical before she can get another word out.

“We still have to drive home.”

You sigh, nudging her shoulder in protest before she pulls you in for another kiss.

“Don’t worry,” She says after, “I’ll fly us above most of the crowd on the way out of the Square.”

She does, and you begrudgingly admit that it’s a lifesaver.