Chapter 8

Autumn hosts a New Year’s Eve party so her parents can meet Jamie before their own plans. Jamie impresses her parents, reassuring Autumn that her image at school also reassures her mother. Friends Sasha, Brooke, Angie, Noah, Alex, and Jamie settle in for pizza, a mediocre movie, and teasing banter that drifts to joking about sex.

Near midnight, they gather pots and pans, charge outside, and celebrate loudly. Autumn shares a satisfying midnight kiss with Jamie. She then notices Finny, Sylvie, and their popular friends celebrating across the way. Autumn and Finny exchange a discreet wave, sparking an unspoken competition between the groups for who is happier and louder, until Jamie leads everyone back in by announcing hidden champagne.

Inside, they drink the warm champagne from water glasses, become tipsy, and dare each other to kiss. The group escalates to kissing everyone to seal their bond, then cleans up meticulously. As the boys prepare to leave, Noah mentions seeing Finn Smith wave. Sasha reveals that Autumn and Finny used to be best friends and their families spend holidays together, prompting brief scrutiny of Autumn before the topic is deflected when Autumn teases Sasha about trying out for cheerleading.

With the subject dropped, the girls unroll sleeping bags and gossip about their boyfriends and rival popular girls, with Autumn targeting Sylvie’s smugness and Angie mocking Victoria’s glare. Autumn’s parents return home arguing; her father retreats upstairs while her mother checks on the girls and gives Autumn a searching look. Autumn reflects that Sasha might have added they used to spend New Year’s together too, underscoring Autumn’s lingering ties to Finny beneath the night’s festivities.