35.

AS SOON AS I STEPPED into Daphne's party, it felt like the room stood still.

In reality, no one really noticed my entrance. Most were too tipsy to realise, and the few sober teenagers were busy dancing or talking amongst their friends.

Jace's hand slipped over the small of my back and I turned to see him watching me, his brows drawn together.

"All good?" he shouted over the music.

I nodded. I had expected strange looks, stares, whispers. A part of me even thought that Daphne had invited me as a joke, and I was about to have a Carrie moment. At the very least, I expected the lights and music and alcohol to remind me of something – to send my pulse racing.

Instead, it all seemed exactly how I left it.

Like, I took a year break – I cried, and broke, and melted into my bed – but the world kept turning. It was comforting, somehow. That, no matter what, the world would keep spinning. People would keep living, moving on. And here I was, a year later, at a party for a girl I hadn't spoken to in years.

The lights were the same. The drinks were the same. The stench of alcohol, and sweat, and weed in the air – all the same. All familiar. Nothing had changed, except the people had grown a little taller, and my heart had grown a little sturdier.

Piper tapped my shoulder. "I'm going to give Daphne our gift. Do you want a drink?"

I nodded and she smiled reassuringly, promising to be back in a second, before elbowing her way towards Daphne. We'd gotten her a gift card because none of us were really friends with her and I wasn't sure if she was still obsessed with Disney's Descendants, or if that was a ninth-grade phase.

"So," Jace said, leaning closer to speak directly into my ear. "This is a high school party, huh?"

"Pretty much," I replied. "What do you think?"

He shrugged, gazing around the room. He skimmed over the drunken teenagers doing shots off a designer couch, a girl grinding against a fish tank, and some guy doing push ups in the corner.

"Basically, what I expected," he said. "But a lot less fun than they seem in the movies."

"Oh, all the fun is when we're half drunk," I replied, stabbing my finger against his chest. "And I have you against the wall."

"Oh, yeah?" He lifted a brow, moving closer. His fingers slid onto my waist, his thumbs brushing over my bare midriff. "Can we skip to that part, then?"

His eyes darkened, flickering down to my lips, when a red cup was shoved between us.

"Take it upstairs, you two!" Piper shouted, handing me my drink. Jace reached for the other cup in her hand and she stopped him, holding out an empty palm. "Keys."

He fished through his pocket, dropping his car keys into Piper's hand. She was the designated driver for today. Jace had insisted, but Piper was stubborn, whispering to me something about getting plastered with my boyfriend being a memory for the ages.

She was right. I knew that if I was even the slightest bit tipsy, Jace would refuse to touch me. But if we were both drinking... maybe we were both touchy drunks.

I hoped to find out soon.

I sipped my cup, smiling at the familiar burning of alcohol down my throat. It had been a long time since I had a drink. This was exactly what I needed. It felt like before. Except now, I had Jace with me. Jace, and everything I'd learned over the past year.

The song switched and Piper was bouncing on her toes, grabbing my arm, and screaming, "This is our song, Jasmine! Remember when we'd sing this with –"

Her voice cut off with a choking sound and her smile slipped.

"With Amber," I finished for her. I flashed her a smile and nodded. "We have to dance to this, Piper! Come on."

Her lips twitched and we stepped into the centre of the lounge room, squashed together by the sweating bodies around us.

And we danced, screaming to the music.

My throat burned but I grinned and washed the lyrics down with alcohol. Piper laughed with me as we stumbled through the chorus – that was always Amber's part – and my lips wobbled as I imagined her here with us. She'd probably be teasing Piper for the way she was dancing. Poke fun at her coming out of her shell. And then she'd slam back two shots of vodka and we'd be on to the next song.

Life was always fast with Amber. And being here, dancing with Piper, screaming to music in a dark, sweaty room filled to the brim with tipsy teenagers – it reminded me of her. It reminded me of me.

I loved it.

I loved the way I could feel the music, pounding through the floor. I loved the taste of the alcohol on my tongue, and the way it made the room buzz around me, the way it made everything somehow funnier and louder. I loved just laughing with Piper, for no reason other than the sheer absurdness of the situation.

We were dancing, and then we were singing, and then we were in the kitchen and I was refilling my drink. We were in the bathroom upstairs, giggling as I peed, Piper standing obediently in the corner as I made her swear not to look. Jace shouted at us through the door, telling us to hurry up, which just made us giggle more.

We were back in the kitchen, eating a stale bag of Doritos. We were dancing again, to a song that had started to sound suspiciously like the others. Jace was behind me, his hand wrapped around my waist to hold his drink near my stomach. Piper was laughing, taking photos of us. We were walking outside, because man a room packed full of dancing teenagers really stunk.

I was stumbling, my drink sloshing in my hand, and Jace was there, holding me up.

"I think you've had too much to drink," he said in my ear and I spun to face him, pressing myself closer to him.

"Jace," I cried, resting my face against his chest. "Your heart sounds so lovely."

"Maybe we should get her home," Piper chimed in.

"No!" I protested, turning to shove my finger in her face. "It's not even eleven yet!"

"It's actually – oh, shit. It's twenty-past. You need to be home in ten minutes, Jas."

"Noooooo."

"How fast can you sober up?" she asked. She waved her hands in front of my face, fanning me. "Five minutes? Ten?"

"I'm completely sober," I said, stumbling over my words. Jace shot me a doubtful look and I pouted at him. "Like you're any better."

"Hey! I'm way more sober than you are," he said. He stepped towards Piper, as if to take sides, but instead tripped over the air and stumbled on his footing. He landed on the grass and stayed there. "I chose to do that. It's comfier down here."

"Alright," Piper said, glancing at her phone again. "Let's go. Can we go?"

Jace pouted but stood, brushing his jeans off, and walking towards the car. I followed, the world spinning around me. It was strange, how I'd felt completely normal inside, but suddenly the world was spinning as soon as I stepped foot on the front lawn.

I stared at the path ahead, trying to clear my head until we reached the car. Piper rushed, hopping into the driver's seat, and starting the engine.

Jace waited for me, holding the door open.

"Come on, Jas. Let's go before your parents put a hit on me," he said.

I stepped forward, my eyes drifting to the seat. The world stopped spinning.

Everything stopped.

Everything changed.

"We'd better get you home." It was Amber's voice.

She stood in front of me, holding the door open. I leaned closer, smiling too close to her face.

"I don't want to go home."

"Well, what do you want to do?"

Something stupid. I leaned in and I kissed her. She blinked at me. I swayed, drunkenly. She smiled.

"Let's get you home, Jasmine."

"Let's get you home."

It was Jace's voice. I knew that. But my body was buzzing. The world was blurring. Piper was already in the driver's seat, twisting the keys in the ignition. The sound of the engine made me want to vomit.

"No," I whispered. "No, no, no..."

"Come on, Jas," Jace said, wrapping an arm around my waist and guiding me towards the car. I twisted out of his grip, trying to shrink myself.

"No, no. No. I – no. Amber."

Jace's eyes widened.

"You don't want to sit in the car?"

I shook my head. "No. No. I can't. I – no. The car. It's..."

My vision blurred and I wiped at my eyes, realising I was crying now. And I was breathing hard, trying to stop the tears from falling, but they were there, mixing with mascara and slipping down my cheeks, and I wanted them to stop but they wouldn't stop, they couldn't just stop...

"You don't have to, Jasmine. We can – We can walk. I'll call your parents."

His mouth was moving but the words – I couldn't understand him. I couldn't hear him. All I could hear was Amber's voice. Amber's screaming.

"No, no... Amber..."

I fell into the grass and the tears wouldn't stop and I blinked, and suddenly I was lying in bed.

Jace was sitting beside me, my hands gripped in his.

We were sitting in the dark, and Piper was gone.

Amber was gone.

And it was just me and Jace.

He pressed a kiss to my fingertips and told me I was safe. Told me to sleep. I could hear music downstairs and knew I was still at Daphne's house. I didn't know how I got here, but I was here now. And I decided that sleep sounded like a good option.

▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔

When I woke up, Jace was lying in the bed next to me. He had gathered me against his chest, and I could see where my makeup had stained his t-shirt. I shifted and his eyes opened, sliding over my face.

I smiled and he sat up, running a hand through his bed hair. The room was still dark and all I could see was Jace's face, close beside mine.

"What time is it?" he asked, his voice raspy with sleep.

"No idea," I replied. "Where are we?"

"Daphne's guest room." He shifted, pulling my phone out of his pocket and glancing at the screen. He still hadn't gotten his phone back from his mom, and I vaguely remembered him picking mine up from the grass after my little breakdown. "4AM."

"Four?" I repeated, bolting upright. "My mom's going to kill me."

Jace chuckled, catching the hem of my top before I shot out of bed, and tugging me back to the mattress. "It's fine. Piper spoke with your parents. Told them I'm taking care of it."

"Oh." I muttered. I felt stupid and wanted to sink deep into the mattress, never to be seen again. "Sorry for ruining the party."

He was silent for a second. Then, he was turning, pushing my curls out of my face and forcing me to look at him. "You didn't ruin anything."

I snorted. "Oh, come on, Jace."

"Seriously, Jasmine. I had an amazing time," he said. "It was the best party I've ever been to."

"It was the only party you've ever been to."

"Hey! Don't forget the Chuck-E Cheese parties. Those were the talk of the playground, trust me."

I rolled my eyes but couldn't help the grin tugging at my lips. His fingers trailed down the side of my face, pausing to cup my cheek.

"Really, though. I had fun dancing with you and getting off my face," he said. "And at one point, you shoved me against a wall to make out. That was probably my favourite part."

I warmed, avoiding his eyes. "Did I really?"

"Yeah. It was amazing." He laughed, his hand moving to the bare skin of my waist to pull me closer. "Did you have a good time?"

I nodded. It was true. Up until the whole car incident, I'd been having an amazing time. I had forgotten how much I enjoyed parties and having a boyfriend at one was even more fun. I just wished I hadn't freaked out so badly at the end.

As if reading my mind, Jace squeezed my waist, smiling.

"Hey. Don't think about that part. Besides, I'm glad I was able to end up in bed with the hottest girl at the party." He grinned cheekily and I laughed.

"I probably look like a wreck right now," I said. "I hope I didn't ruin Daphne's sheets with my makeup."

"Oh, you think a bit of makeup's bad? You should've seen what Hugh did to her carpet. It was not pretty."

I let out a weak laugh, running a hand over my face. I was tired and my head was pounding with a hangover. The events of last night were slowly coming back to me: Piper and Jace whispering in the car, her driving off as he led me back through the party, Daphne appearing for a moment to guide us to the guest room. I remembered crying, and crying, and crying, until I was lying in bed, hiccupping as Jace held me.

"You should have some water," he said. He had shifted on the bed to grab a bottle from the bedside table, unscrewing the cap and offering it to me. "You must be dehydrated."

I nodded wordlessly, taking the bottle, and moving to sit upright. He followed, moving my hair out of my face, and pulling it over my shoulders. It had turned into a massive bird's nest after sleeping, and my curls turned to frizz, sticking out in all directions.

Jace's fingers moved to my scalp, massaging my head, and my eyes fluttered shut. God, it felt amazing.

I brought the bottle to my lips, swallowing large gulps of water. After drinking half the bottle, I sighed, wiping my mouth, and handing the bottle back. Jace released my hair for a moment to move the bottle to the table.

"Better?" he asked.

"A little." I took his hand, placing it back onto my head, and shifted so that I was leaning against his chest. "Don't stop."

He laughed, obeying my orders, and massaging my head even more. He took the loose strands of hair, gently tugging them into place and began braiding it.

"You should go back to sleep. I'll wake you up when Piper comes to get us in the morning," he said.

I sighed, leaning further into his touch. "I'm not tired anymore. Where did you learn to braid?"

He paused for a second, probably considering whether he should allow me to change the topic or not.

"Two sisters, remember?" he said eventually. His fingers slid through my hair, avoiding the knots and pulling the frizz off of my brow. "Plus, about a million baby cousins. You should see me change diapers."

I wrinkled my nose. "I'm glad I'm an only child."

He had reached my neck now and his fingertips traced lightly over my neckline, taking hair from my collarbone, and pulling it into the braid. I shivered under his touch, tilting my head to expose more of my neck to him.

And then he was leaning down, pressing his lips to the exposed skin.

His fingers were finishing the braid, my knotted curls holding in place even without a hair tie, as his lips made their way down from my ear to my collar. He traced gentle pecks over the skin, and I sighed, leaning into him.

"Jasmine," he whispered against my lips. His hands released my braid and moved to my waist, pulling my higher against him and tracing patterns on my stomach. His fingertips reached the edge of my bra, exploring just beneath it. I wanted him to move further. I wanted to kiss him.

I tried to twist in my seat, but he held me in place, his lips sliding closer to my throat.

"Jace," I murmured. "Let me kiss you."

His grip on me tightened for a moment, and then he was muttering against my neck, "I wouldn't be able to stop if I see you properly right now."

"What if I don't want you to?"

He breathed against my neck and I shuddered. "You're still drunk."

"Not anymore drunk than you are," I shot back. I tried to twist against and this time he let me. I turned my body to straddle him, his eyes darkening as he looked me in the eyes. His fingers moved to my face, grazing my cheek, and cupping my jaw.

"So fucking beautiful," he muttered before kissing me.

I'd been to a lot of parties before. I'd made out with a few guys. Kissed more than a few. Spin the bottle was a particularly popular game back in freshman year.

But here, with Jace – straddling him in this random bed at four in the morning, his lips on mine and his name on my tongue – this was different. My heart was racing in my chest and I felt like I'd choke on my own breath. Suddenly, I didn't know where to put my hands. I didn't know anything except his lips on mine and his fingers on my skin.

I settled with placing my hands on his chest, tugging at his t-shirt, and sliding my fingers beneath it. He groaned against my lips, his hand dropping to catch my wrist.

"Don't," he said.

"I want to."

He shook his head and I realised he was blushing. "Not now. Not today."

"But –"

He kissed me again, swallowing my words, except this time it was gentle. Soft.

"Not today," he repeated. "Please. Not like this. It needs to be – it should be different. Better."

I watched him, watched his eyes. Our chests were rising and falling in sync. And I became viscerally aware of us sitting in dirty clothes, in a stranger's bed, with my makeup streaking down my face.

I laughed pressing my forehead against his and muttered, "Okay."

"Thank you," he replied, leaning up to brush our noses together. "I love you, Jasmine."

My heart jumped and I kissed him, smiling against his lips.

"I love you too." 

▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔

AUTHOR'S NOTE

Hi guys! Hope you liked this chapter as always! Let me know what you thought! Y'all deserve a little fluff... for now hehe. Next time: Jace misses class. 

I'll try to post a double update this week, so see you soon!