[center][img]https://i.imgur.com/YV3Rb1d.png[/img]
[right][sub]interacting with: [@Akayaofthemoon][/sub][/right]

At first, Mila wasn't planning on going. 

When it came to the holidays, Mila Doehring's relationship with them were complicated to say the least. The last Christmas was spent in the lobby of student housing just because nowhere else was open long enough to spend more than an hour or so inside; she could've bitten the bullet and made an attempt to go see her parents, her family, but she made a promise and she was going to stick to it even if that meant spending a Christmas bouncing between reading about an ancient civilization and humming along to Here Comes Santa Claus. This Christmas, at least, she managed to spend with people at a little party hosted by her favorite teacher at the University. But that was Christmas and now it was New Years Eve and that meant a festival and with a festival meant people celebrating another year gone and another year to come. She didn't go to the festival last year with the excuse of having an excessive amount of homework. She had, of course, been lying, she always made sure her homework was finished at a reasonable enough time. She just didn't want to go. And she almost didn't go this year. But then she went to a cafe. 

Going to a cafe was nothing special, Mila went regularly enough when she wanted a change of pace from the library. Normally she would think little of it, except on this particular trip she noticed one of the employees was new and seemed to be a bit in over her head. Mila could empathize, there was a time when Mila didn't know anyone and had a hard time breaking that ice. It might have been an assumption on her part, but that didn't stop her from asking if the employee was new to Angel Grove, and it wasn't long after that that Mila had met Hana Song. 

It was Mila who invtied Hana to the festival believing that it would be a good way to end the year without having to worry about if a party was with the right crowd or not. Free music, food from trucks, attractions, what wasn't to like? And if Mila had her way, by the end of the night Hana would have expanded her circle of friends. Just because Mila often chose reading and history over dates and hanging out didn't mean she wasn't still a social butterfly when it mattered. What Mila didn't want to do was force Hana into an uncomfortable situation. Yes, the blonde wanted her friend - associate, whatever the term - to meet more people, to find her voice so the speak, but it was important that it be on Hana's own terms, not on Mila's. As long as it took. 

[color=3CB371][b]"Keep the change. Happy New Year."[/b][/color] Mila paid for a slice of sausage pizza and two canned beverages. One she popped open and took a sip from, the other wasn't for her. The other she offered to Hana. [color=3CB371][b]"I probably should've asked if you wanted anything, but I wasn't thinking. Still, it's yours if you want it."[/b][/color] Mila took a bite of pizza and her expression could only be described as...intense. Her eyes closed, she sighed deeply, and she savored the bite. What was it about festival food that made it taste better? The perfectly melted cheese, the slightly spiced sausage, the warm sauce holding it all together...Mila couldn't help herself and took a second bite as her ears pricked up from the sound of a police siren whizzing past in the distance. 

[color=3CB371][b]"Probably some drunken brawls or something."[/b][/color] Mila shrugged. It was that time of the year. Plus big gatherings of people always had a tendency to have a few rowdy jerks making things worse for everyone. Mila didn't want to focus on sirens, she wanted to focus on music, on the live performances going on. Some bands were clearly better than others but that didn't matter given the atmosphere of it all. [color=3CB371][b]"Do you want to get closer to the stage? Wait, better question: how are you doing? Having fun, right? I told you it wouldn't be so bad."[/b][/color] If nothing else, Mila hoped Hana would come away from the night not regretting being there. [/center]