"Come on, get dressed!" Luna calls from the bathroom. "It's New Year's Eve!"

"I don't feel like getting dressed up and going out somewhere now, not after you and your mom forced me to see that I love Gabe."

"We're not going out anywhere," Luna yells. She pokes her head out of the bathroom door, her hair wet and her body wrapped in a towel. "We do a cleansing ceremony on New Year's Eve."

"A cleansing ceremony?"

Luna rolls her eyes. "Don't ask. It's my mom's thing. A bunch of her hippie friends come over and dance naked in the backyard, burn sage and all that."

"You didn't mention there would be naked people in the backyard when you sold me on coming here for the holidays."

"Would that have made you more or less likely to come home with me?"

I pretend to consider the question for a moment. "Depends on the quality of the nudity, I guess."

Luna snorts. "So what's all this about? You're lying on my bed wrapped in a blanket watching sad movies because you realized you love Professor Ryan?"

I flip the channel on the television. "Um, yes, I am. I realized that I love someone who's older and a professor and who probably doesn't love me back, so I'm curled up under this warm blanket. I'm going to watch a sappy romantic comedy and maybe watch the ball drop in Times Square later and contemplate the sad state of affairs that is my life."

"When I finish drying my hair, you're getting out of that bed," Luna declares before disappearing back into the bathroom.

I lean into the massive number of pillows piled on Luna's bed and take a bite of a big chocolate brownie. I could call Gabe and tell him what I realized. I could tell him that I want to be with him, not just have sex with him. But he may not feel the same way, and if he didn't, that would mean that I was putting my heart out there – on New Year's Eve, of all nights – and getting my heart trampled on.

No, thanks.

Even I am not that much of a masochist.

Luna is quiet for a while, and then I hear her blow dryer running, so I settle into When Harry Met Sally and finish eating my feelings. When Luna comes out of the bathroom, she's still wearing a towel, but her hair is dry and she's wearing makeup.

"I was in the bathroom for fifteen minutes. How is it possible that you managed to become even more of a hot mess?"

"I'm not a hot mess!"

Luna puts her hands on her hips and squints at me. "Are those crumbs all over your shirt?"

"I didn't see any ice cream to drown my sorrows."

"Um, where did you get that brownie?" Luna asks.

"There was a big plate of them on the counter," I tell her. "You were in the shower and I helped myself. Oh no, was your mom saving them for something?"

Luna snorts. "Do you recall a conversation we had where I told you specifically not to ever eat a baked good in my house?"

"No, I would have remembered that!"

"Mom!" Luna calls loudly. "Did you make pot brownies?"

"What?!?" I shriek. "You did not warn me that your mother would leave pot brownies lying around the house!"

Luna laughs. "Well, if there's anyone who needs to eat one, it's you."

"Oh my God, am I stoned?" I squeal, patting my face.

"Not yet," Luna snorts. "But you will be."

Jez pokes her head in Luna's bedroom. "Why are you screaming across the house for me?" she asks. "Oh, you look so nice, Luna! Purity, why are you in bed?"

"She's moping around because she's too chicken-shit to call Professor Ryan and ask him to be her boyfriend," Luna says.

"I'm not moping!" I protest. "Well, maybe a little bit. And I'm not going to ask him to be my boyfriend, because I'm not in the seventh grade."

"Are you sure about that?" Luna jokes, then gives her mom a look. "The brownies on the counter, Mom?"

"Oh, yeah, don’t eat those," Jez says. "The girls are on their way over for the cleansing ceremony and – did you eat them? You know better than to get into that stuff, Luna."

Luna laughs. "It wasn't me, Mom."

Jez's gaze goes to me. "How many did you eat, Purity?"

"One," I reply.

"Well, you'll probably be pretty baked, dear."

* * *

"I'm so glad that brownie didn't do anything," I declare, exiting the bathroom. "I'm starving, though. We should order pizza or something. Actually, no. Tacos sound really good."

Luna is texting on her phone. "Yeah, I'm soooo glad you're not baked at all. Nice caftan, by the way."

I twirl around in the beaded, flowing blue number Jez let me borrow for tonight. "This is soooo comfortable. I think I'm going to start wearing caftans regularly."

"You need more blue eyeliner," Luna advises. "I'm not sure the blue you have on your eyes is glittery enough."

"Really? You think?" I peer at myself in the mirror. "It looks like an awful lot, but I was trying to cover up my red eyes. I don't know why they're so red. It must be dry in here."

"I'm sure that's why they're red."

"Who are you texting?"

"No one," Luna says with a shrug.

"Oh, is it the guy from the band?" I ask with a giggle. For some reason, everything seems especially funny tonight. "You should invite him here for the cleansing ceremony."

Luna smirks. "Why don't you call Professor Ryan and invite him?"

I giggle so hard it makes me snort and I have to cover my nose with my hand, which seems even more hilarious. "Maybe he can dance around the fire with us," I suggest.

"I doubt he'd argue with seeing you dance naked around a fire," Luna points out.

"Does your mom have ingredients to make s'mores?" I ask. "S'mores sound really good. Is the fire in the backyard going already?"

Luna snorts. "I'm not sure, but you could maybe sandwich some marshmallows between a couple more brownies."

"Don't be ridiculous," I say, laughing. "I don't want to get high."