#nye event.

BRADFORD SPRINGS CONVENTION CENTER | @caleb-johnson​

As the long night and longer year meander to a close, the anticipated countdown looming closer, there’s no denying the energy buzzing through the party. There are happy couples holding each other close, while near strangers, half-drunk and lip-locked, silently rejoice that they aren’t alone. And then there’s everyone else who, like Laurie, came by themselves and plans to leave that way.

Swirling what should be the last drink of the evening in his hand, Laurie hugs the back wall of the dance floor in these last ten minutes before New Years.  He people watches, half-hoping no one will bother him for the rest of the evening — but he catches familiar eyes across the room. There’s no escaping now. Laurie, buzzed and already nervous, feels fight or flight kick as he walks towards Caleb, the old friend he’s been narrowly avoiding out of embarrassment. 

BRADFORD SPRINGS CONVENTION CENTER | @lizwright

alcohol tw

Music pours out to the parking lot from the convention center each time someone opens the wide doors — the party is already in full swing when Laurie finally makes his arrival. Not typically one for these outlandish occasions, he prefers more intimate settings to get stupidly drunk in. He debated on not showing up to the party at all, but the pleading of his friends ( and last minute errand requests from his boss ) gets him to the convention center with plenty of time before midnight. There’s drinks and food galore, an admittedly overwhelming setup between all the choices and festivities that surrounds him. Feeling his nerves, Laurie settles on the quickest way to catch up with the rest of the crowd, full of drunken revelers. He approaches the bar, gingerly pushing past other people to catch the attention of the bartender.