Bets of the Confetti Kind by Maru

Chapter 1

AN: Okay, so this was really hard for me. This is the first time I've ever tried to write from Kagome's POV so forgive me if it's not very good. In fact, this is one of the first times I've ever tried to write completely in a females POV, and certainly the first thing I've ever let anybody read. If you haven't already guessed, this is in answer to the weekly challenge Nobody usually posts but Possessed posted for her. I went way over the word count, but... well. *shrugs* Its staying the way it is. LOL

The characters of InuYasha are not mine, they are property of Rumiko Takahashi, Shogakukan, Yomiuri TV, Sunrise, and Viz Media. I do not make any money from the writing of this story.

Bets of the Confetti Kind

So we had made the stupid bet, so what? I glared at across the room Sango and lifted the glass of wine to my lips, fuming for a moment. I couldn't hold onto the anger long, though. This was my fourth glass of wine and it was only 11:30. I still had a half an hour to go before the year would be upon us.

What had I been talking about? Oh yes, the bet.

You see, Sango and I had made a bet last year at New Years Eve that this year we would kiss the first guy we saw nearby when the clock tolled midnight. I had been pretty drunk and willing to go along with it at the time. Now, being held to the bet, I was a little annoyed with myself. How could I have made such a stupid bet? What had I been thinking?

I stared around the decorated room and refilled my wine glass with a bottle sitting in an ice bucket. Sango and I had brought our own mutually favorite wine, and lots of it. Just in case someone else wanted some. Just in case.

So far that had been no one. I giggled and shrugged. All the more for me... I mean us!

I turned and surveyed the room for the hundredth time, checking the clock. 11:40. Well crap.

My eyes fell on a guy talking up a slender redhead in the corner. I had talked to the tall brunette for a while, watching him flip open his bic over and over, until I couldn't stand the damn lighter anymore and had made polite excuses. His blue eyes caught me watching him and I looked down quickly, gulping my wine and blushing. I know, I know, I had to kiss somebody, but it wasn't going to be him.

Nor was it going to be the guy standing next to him, talking loudly and scowling at everyone. His silver hair had caught my attention... not many people had long silver hair. Nor did they have pretty golden eyes. I had tried to work my way into a conversation with him, but I must have looked at him too long or something. When his eyes had met mine, he'd scowled and said, "What the hell are you looking at?"

No, he was definitely out. I sighed and checked the clock again. 11:45. Crap. I was running out of time!

Desperately my eyes sought out Sango. She was standing next to a handsome guy with dark hair and bright, almost purple eyes. As I watched, his hand snaked out and slid along her rear, cupping it. She threw a punch into his cheek (and god could Sango throw one!) and the guy went down. Sango turned as if she could feel me staring at her and winked. I stared dubiously at her. That guy, really? She nodded as if reading my thoughts and I shook my head. Well, to each her own.

"Hi, miss?"

I jumped about a foot and stared at the handsome guy standing shyly near me. "Uh, hi." I said dumbly, cursing the wine and taking a huge gulp of it anyway. Empty already. Huh.

"'Scuze me, miss, could I get to the punch bowl?" He said oh-so-politely. I nearly tripped trying to get out of his way quickly, mumbling an apology. He filled a cup quickly and I summoned my courage.

"Shouldn't you have two cups?" I asked, trying to sound blasé.  He blushed and mumbled a negative, shifting from foot to foot nervously. I huffed and tried again.

"Oh. Well how do you like the party?"

Brushing a lock of dark hair back, he gave me a sweet smile. "It's okay." He tipped his head to the side and admitted, "a little loud."

I giggled and nearly hit myself for giggling. "Yeah, sure is."

To cover up the silly drunken noise I had made I grabbed the bottle of wine and refilled my glass, finding that I didn't seem to care if I spilled a little. Oh well.

A glance told me I had five minutes left.

When I turned back around there was a freaking gorgeous blond girl sliding through the crowd, looking annoyed.

"Ut-oh," he breathed, smiling apologetically in my direction, but never taking his eyes off of her. "I better go before she kills me. It was nice meeting you though." He nodded at me and I nearly moaned in disappointment as he left. No! Not the cute, sweet guy!

I stared desperately around the room, not caring that I was getting caught staring at guys I didn't know. I tried to lower my standards, but I just couldn't do it. That guy had a stutter and was a know it all jerk. That one had awful breath. That one was picking his nose. That one was wearing a red leather body suit. You see where I'm coming from, right?

The clock struck 11:58 and I was running out of time.

I filled my cup once more, downed half of it, and then charged into the crowd. I was GOING to win this bet.

I looked right. Nothing.

I looked left. Nothing.

I growled low in my throat and pushed my way through a bit more of the crowd, searching for... someone. Who?

I stared wildly around me and felt panic surging hotly through my veins. Please, please, please... I thought, not quite sure what I was pleading for.

People around me were counting down from ten now and I had no one. No one at all.

Five...

I spun in place and found myself face-to-face with the most beautiful man I had ever seen. He looked eerily familiar and I couldn't think of why...

Four...

His eyes were molten gold with flecks of red in them... his hair cascaded almost to his knees in a shimmering sheet of silvery white, reminding me distantly of snowflakes.

Three...

He was staring down at me, his face unemotional and cold, obviously waiting for me to get out of the way or something....

Two...

His face never changed as he lifted his glass and clinked it against mine, bringing it to his mouth to sip at. I brought my glass to my numb lips and sipped automatically, my eyes never leaving his -and his never leaving mine.

One...

The confetti fell like a sparkling snowstorm around us, littering his hair and making it more silver then white. I leaned towards him, thinking distantly, am I really going to do this? even as I stretched up onto tiptoes, placing my hand on his hard chest to balance. Somehow the distance became shorter much quicker than I expected... My lips pressed to his and the world stopped.

Distantly, I knew that he had leaned down some, because he was so tall it wouldn't have worked otherwise. Distantly I could feel heat flare up around us, but it was secondary to the feel of his mouth on mine. Distantly I knew that this kiss had really gone on long enough for a New Year's kiss, and that people would probably be looking at us. All of that didn't matter at all as we stood in the middle of the room, sharing in the first kiss of the New Year.

A scream finally penetrated my fogged up mind and we pulled back, looking around us. Sound came back and I realized people were screaming and that the room was filled with smoke. A moment later I realized the confetti was on fire and was catching fast all around us. I was almost positive how the fire had started, flashing back to the guy with the lighter. I turned around to find my beautiful stranger and to get the hell out of here only to realize he was gone.

Oh just my luck.

I ran out of the house, looking about for the mystery man, but it was like he had never existed. Forever a mystery.

I hated my luck.