Showered, emotionally drained and mildly excited, I met Ember by the door to head to Alex's party. She had the keys in her hand to a piece of shit car our parents went in for so at least one of us could drive back and forth from school. Of course, I still couldn't drive, so the car pretty much belonged to Ember. I missed driving, a lot. Just having the freedom to go when I wanted. Now even that had been taken from me. My own mistake, I know. I have to live with that.


We played music the whole way there and tried to get ourselves in a more social mood, but this would be the first time I've drank alcohol since the accident and I was afraid that I wouldn't be able to handle myself. At least Ember knew of my condition and she was there for me. And fuck, did she look gorgeous tonight. Something about the way her dark hair fell over her face while she stared at the road, mouthing the lyrics to the songs made me feel like the luckiest guy in the world.


There were several cars parked outside of the Gaskarth's house when we arrived, but I noticed that his parents weren't here. That was a relief. Still, I was concerned as to who all was here. Ember seemed to take notice, because she grabbed my arm and yanked me inside.


"There his is!" Alex greeted, the red cup in his hand filled as he shoved a beer in to mind. "Our guitarist, everyone!"


Holey freaking crap there were a lot of people here. Rian was sitting on the couch beside Zack with his arm around Cassadee's shoulder. It looked like they'd been playing a drinking game. A few of Alex's ex-fucks were grouped together in the back of the living room. Some kids from school and even Ember's friends, Hayley included were on the living room floor, dancing to the loud music. Why hadn't Alex warned us that so many of these people would be here? We could have gotten caught.


Ember released my hand with a sad smile on her face, running off when Hayley called her over. I couldn't be mad at that - the last thing I needed was for us to be forced to part ways because word got out. I sighed to myself and opened the beer, chugging half of the can before Alex pulled me further into the living room.


"Dude. We're officially the coolest band in town."


"You bet your ass we are," I smiled, trying to loosen up. "I wish you had told us so many people were going to be here, though."


"Sorry, bro. You and Em can go back to your incest ways tomorrow."


"We're not related, Alex."


"Yeah, yeah," my best friend half smiled, nodding his head to the kitchen. "Come. Let us play beer pong."


I glanced back to where Ember was, only to see her looking at me with a smile on her face. She and Hayley seemed to be gossiping, so I left well enough alone and went with Alex. Go figure, there were more people in here. Alex cleared the table and we won two games against some of his friends. By the time I'd had enough, I was already tipsy.


Staggering back into the living room, I realized nearly everyone in there was dancing under a black light someone had put up. All I could see was a mess of shirts, teeth and some girls had their nails done. Except for Ember. She was closer to the door, with Hayley, dancing in what I think was supposed to be a funny way. But her hair was flying around her face, her hips were swaying, and though her arms were swinging totally off beat, she looked flawless. More than anything, I liked seeing her laugh and have fun, the way she used to with me.


"Jack!" Alex yelled from behind me, jumping on my back. "Dance, pony, dance!"


Snorting at how deep he attempted to make his voice, I began swinging him around. For a slipt second, I felt like I was back in my life before girls came into the picture. Like I was just a dorky, goofy kid having fun with his best friend. It was perfect.


Alex jumped off of my back and started to dance beside me. By this point, there were people all around us laughing. It was a dance that we had come up with one night when we were bored and drunk. We swore we'd do it in a music video one day. The best part was, Rian and Zack joined us. We'd taken up the whole floor and we were having a blast.


"Jack, you're so funny," a skinny blonde put her arm on mine when we'd finished dancing. "We should hang out some time."


"No can do," I grinned, locking my eyes with Ember's. She'd been watching me along with everyone else. "There's a really hot elf around here that has my attention. Thanks, though."


Ember rolled her eyes with a playful grin. I motioned my head towards Alex bedroom, sent her a wink and stalked away. It was pretty quiet in Alex's room and I was surprised that no one else had been in here to get their freak on yet. I sat down on the bed and patiently waited for Ember to join me.


"I shouldn't be in here," Ember smirked, closing the door behind her. "People are going to notice we're missing. Together."


"Let 'em get all worked up about it, I don't care."


She was going to protest, but I jumped off of the bed and took her into my arms. My lips found their way to hers, trying to be easy because of her lip but also wanting to be rough because I wanted her. Shoving her body against the wall, I let my hands trail down her sides until I felt myself getting excited. This was where I decided to stop. Ember whimpered as I pulled away, a small pout on her face.


"I love you," I chuckled, sloppily kissing her cheek. "But people we'll notice that we're missing together."


"I'm so going to get you for this."


"I dare you to try."


Ember grinned, chasing after me as I left the room. It was nice to feel like me for a night. Normal, happy Jack.

Notes

Just a little bit of happy. (: