Ilya

You celebrated every New Year's with your parents. They simply wouldn't let you go, because, "There's no point in hanging out, it's a family holiday!" And it was incredibly annoying. You really wanted to be with your friends, not sitting with your parents. So when you turned 16, you just ran away. You lived on the ground floor—so you quietly climbed out the window. Your friends were already waiting, so you went out to have fun. You rented a house and turned on the music. It was great: food, games, everyone dancing, no one bothering you. And most importantly, with friends.

There you noticed a guy looking at you. He was cute, tall. Your eyes met, and you realized you were probably attracted to each other. It was obvious he was already tipsy, though, and his gaze was a bit cloudy. But when he came over and asked you to dance, you accepted. And that's it, he's stuck to you like a leopard. You go to the kitchen—he's right there. You take photos with your friends—he's right there. At first it was even funny, but then it started to get on your nerves.

About an hour later, he showed up at your place with a bottle of wine. It was almost empty, and he was barely able to stand. He started trying to hug you. You were so angry. You started yelling at him: “Are you nuts? Leave me alone! I said no! I don’t want to be around drunks, go get some sleep!” You were really angry.

And he listened and listened... Then he laughed, silently came up to you, easily threw you over his shoulder, like a sack of potatoes, and carried you into another room. He carries you into some bedroom, closes the door with his foot, and carefully deposits you on the bed. You're ready to scream again, but he sits down next to you, looks at you seriously, and says:

"Your stubbornness is getting to me! I've been following you around all evening, and you haven't even asked my name. My name is Ilya, by the way."

And then you noticed that his gaze was no longer so cloudy. You looked closer, and he...

— Were you pretending or something? "Well, not exactly," he grinned. "I drank a little for courage, and the rest was just make-believe." And you're sitting on your bed, angry, unsure whether to give him a hard time or laugh. And you realize you definitely won't forget this New Year's.