hit the lights

“Some weird love magic sounds kinda fun though.” Ryder laughed. “Or any kind of magic really. Magic is dope. You know, I wanted to be a magician once but I decided to take up the drums instead.” He added, taking a swig of his drink. “Well you know what they say, consent is sexy.” He joked. “Although you just gotta make sure you choose the right person and it doesn’t end up being awkward as fuck at work on Monday monring.”

“You play the drums? That’s awesome, man. I used to play a while back, but I don’t anymore,” Finn chirped in, excited to have something in common with Ryder. He let out a small laugh and nodded along. “Yeah, I don’t wanna be that gross dude who ruins things by not being able to take ‘no’ for an answer or ignores the red light.” He would lie if he said he had always been careful when it came to that stuff, but it was a good thing that you learned as you lived. “True. Although I have for sure never seen 70% of these people here, so unless I got some sick dumb luck, maybe I won’t see them again until next year’s party.”

Marley laughed and shrugged, leaning back up, looking over at him. “I think they’re just showing off at this point now, and honestly maybe I’m here for it…that girl that does the mukbangs seems to eat crazier things than these right?” she asked, though she reached very carefully for a couple pretzels that she could munch on. 

“True, she does eat some pretty wild stuff,” Finn laughed genuinely, briefly switching his gaze to Marley before looking back down at the snack table. He grabbed a napkin along with a small slider, shoving it into his mouth before wiping his mouth with the napkin. “So,” he began as he was still chewing the last of the food, making sure he swallowed everything before continuing, “are you ready for the new year to start?”

“Maybe if the person in question is a thirteen year old. Who’s gonna forget to turn off the oven?” Even if she was trying to poke holes in his logic, she knew it was likely either one of their friends would forget. Especially if drinks were involved. Santana shrugged, sipping her drink again. “I dunno,” she said, “why were you running late then?”

“I don’t know, I’ve lived with people who did that,” Finn shrugged, thinking that it seemed like a totally common thing to do. What else would there be kitchen fires for? “Just lost track of time, I guess? The guys I was pre-gaming with forgot when the party started and when we were gonna leave, I went to pee and they left without me so I had to take the bus out here.” He made a note to not pregame with those guys ever again, and not only because they got way too drunk to his liking.

“Thank you, thank you!” Laughing lightly, he accepted the beer from Finn’s hand and gave a deep bow. “I do try my best to be the life of the party,” he joked. In all honesty, Mike was definitely not the wildest party animal out there, it being far more likely for him to be watching over friends and making sure they didn’t somehow injure themselves in their drunken stupors. But still, his affinity for dance was definitely infectious and his skill at getting others wanting to bust a move with him was unrivaled. “I’m thinking we need to get a few more drinks in you, buddy,” he grinned, patting Finn on the back good-naturedly. “Not too many, just enough to get you willing to get out there dancing, too.”

“You’re good at that,” Finn added with a grin, nudging him playfully with his elbow. All he really had to contribute to a party was his charms and hopefully some fun conversation topics, though he thought that should be enough. Not that he minded being on the dancefloor, but he definitely needed more liquid courage and some kick-ass music to go along with it. “You know exactly what gets me going,” he laughed as he pointed a confirming finger at Mike. “Let’s head over to the open bar, the line seems to be clearing up right now.”

Ryder was a people person, he was loud and full of energy but even he enjoyed the odd bit of people watching. Plus it was funny watching his co-workers start to embarass themselves as they gradually got drunker. He was sat at one of the tables when Finn appeared next to him. He’d met the guy a few times but he seemed like a cool dude. “Hey man.” Ryder smiled in return. “Yeah my night is going pretty well. Although no New Years kiss lined up so maybe not as well as it can be.” He chuckled. Maybe it was for the best he didn’t kiss anyone he worked with though, that just seemed like a recipe for awkwardness and disaster. “What about you? Are those lips destined for someone else’s at midnight?” 

Finn knew that Ryder was one of those guys who had been around for a long time because he heard his name around a lot, but considering he wasn’t on the video department, he didn’t see the guy around a lot. Ryder seemed chill enough, at least from what he could gather. “Ah, don’t think it’s a big deal. Pretty sure only couples or people who believe in some weird love magic get in their New Year’s kisses, anyway,” he said with a shrug. “Nah, but maybe a few more of these beers and I might grab someone at the end of the countdown and plant a smooch for the heck of it. Only if the other person is fine with it, obviously.”

Marley was not great at the small talk that everyone wanted from her. People she didn’t know, asking her crazy personal questions about her and her music and expecting her to give them all the answers they wanted. She had just managed to escape from a woman when she ran into Finn. “Oh…Hi Finn,” she said, brushing her hair back from her face. She laughed and looked at the table of snacks. “I have no idea…is that seaweed?” she asked leaning over to look at one of the items. “I don’t know…can you call yourself a snack master if you don’t know?”

Finn scrunched his face as he contemplated whether to go for pretzel bites or the tiny sliders - at least he knew what they were. “I mean, I thought I was until now. They must’ve told the food producers to go as wild as they could for this party, because this is pretty insane.” Based on the food videos he’d worked on and seen, he knew that the producers behind them were proper foodies, maybe even chefs. They could be if they wanted to. “Have you tried any of them yet?”

She knew he was joking about the oven. She knew a chuckle or a giggle would be an appropriate response. Instead, though, she just rolled her eyes. She knew he hadn’t meant any harm by his comment but sometimes it was difficult for Santana to put the hurt feelings aside. “Jokes on you, Hudson, I don’t even use the oven.” She said before taking a sip of her drink. “You sure you weren’t just avoiding the party?”

Finn chuckled at her response, leaning on a high table next to him for a relaxed position as he took another sip of the champagne. “Then we’re in trouble if someone comes over to use the oven and forgets to turn it off, because I don’t either,” he laughed, mostly to himself. “Avoid the party? Why would I do that?”

Santana was not the one to miss a party hosted by Buzz Entertainment. She knew the food would be catered by some of the best restaurants in town, the higher ups would be free to mingle with, and best of all the alcohol would be free. Though, the downfall of such important events meant having to be around quite a lot of strangers. Sometimes Santana forgot just how many employees worked for Buzz Entertainment. When she spotted Finn, however, she felt a sense of relief. Sure, she was still annoyed at him but at least she wouldn’t have to endure another boring conversation about the weather or the news. She had to fight off the grin threatening to grow on her lips. “I guess.” She shrugged, reaching to take the champagne flute. “About time you got here. Get stuck in traffic or something?”

Finn grinned as she accepted the champagne, raising his flute to clink it against hers. “Something like that,” he said with a smirk, quickly followed with a shrug. Santana was probably just more eager to get to the party than he was and it took about just fifteen minutes alone to even find her in this massive crowd. “I was just triple-checking that you didn’t leave the oven on,” he joked. 

You could have just saved all those extra words and said Thank you Marley for making me set up the studio everyday

You’re right. Thank you, Marley. When’s your next video coming up?