Thanks To You

"Are you alive?"

I swallowed hard, fighting to sit upright. I closed my burning eyes, attempting to get myself together while my insides twisted unpleasantly. It almost felt like Osmosis Jones and his stupid friend were running around inside of me, crashing and tearing everything up.

"Yeah, you're going to puke aren't you?"

I grimaced, barely bending over before bile was burning up my throat. I gagged harshly, watching brown and clear liquid splatter into the bucket held in front of me I clutched my stomach. Panting, I dry-heaved a good couple of times before the vomit turned into long globs of spit. I moaned, grabbing my throbbing head as water slipped from the corners of my eyes. I grumbled, wiping my cheeks before using the collar of my shirt to wipe my mouth off. The bitter smell of whiskey hit me and I doubled over, dry-heaving hard. I whimpered as my stomach clenched painfully, grabbing the back of my shirt and pulling it roughly over my head.

"Fuck." I whined, chills running down my spine once I was free from the strong odor.

I tossed the shirt to the ground and pushed the bucket away from me, my blurry vision coming into focus on very clean carpet. I winced, laying down on my back slowly and cautiously. I closed my eyes, avoiding any eye contact while my entire body ached.

"Do you want me to get you some more water?" Jack asked softly, making the bed squeak when he sat next to my side.

I shook my head, swallowing thickly when I felt his hand brush through my sweaty hair. Butterflies flopped around my stomach and my mind flooded while my heart skipped around my chest.

"Go back to sleep." He whispered, continuing to play with my hair.

"Lay w'me?" I croaked, rolling on to my side lazily.

"I will." He agreed quietly.

I hummed, feeling my eyes grow heavier by the second. When I was close to drifting off, pressure was pressed up against my chest and I felt my arm getting pulled over something warm. I moaned, digging my face into the softness in front of me and breathing in a comforting smell. Definitely better than the smell of whiskey.

"Sleep, Alex." Jack reminded, running his hand along my forearm.

"Mm." I mumbled, blocking all the shitty feelings out as I relaxed.

I breathed in deeply, feeling good with Jack in my arms despite the buzzing in my head and aching in my body. Lazily shoving my right arm under his head, I pulled him into me tighter and let myself relax enough to block the pain out for a little bit longer.
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
I winced, groaning quietly as I felt different parts of my body hurt all at once when an orange glow made itself known against my eyelids. The pins and needles filling my head have never been this bad before and that's saying something. The feeling of another body pressed against mine has never felt so comforting and scary at the same time, but that's probably because I know it's Jack laying in my arms. I know I came to his house last night. I know I wanted to see him and talk to him. I know I miss him. I just don't know know what I said or what I might've pulled on him, but it couldn't have been too bad if he's in his bed with me right now.

I swallowed thickly, feeling my stomach churn when he slowly pulled away from me. I opened my mouth, grimacing at the dryness as I tried to lick my lips. He sat up, causing me to look down as my arm fell limp against the warm spot of the mattress he was just laying on while he slowly twisted around to sit by my side. The dread washing over me felt just as bad as the internal pain from my drinking and all I want to do in this moment is crawl back to my apartment.

"You need to drink something." He urged, short nails scraping my scalp comfortingly when he brushed my hair back. "Preferably Gatorade."

I sniffed, unable to stop the grimace forming on my face when I ran my hands over stomach. I hissed lightly, accidentally pressing over a sensitive bruise. I blinked slowly, the dryness of my eyes informing me of what a bitch I acted like last night.

"Are you going to pretend that I'm not here?" He scoffed, removing his hand from my head.

I bit my lip, keeping my eyes closed as I sucked in a shaky breath. How can I face him now? I nodded lightly and bit my lip harder in anticipation when he stayed silent. The last thing I want to do right now is face the fact that I showed up here fucked up. I don't want to face the reality of how much I've done. I don't want to see the look on his face when he forces me to talk. I don't want to have to explain my feelings to him or try to make him understand why I've done what I did.

"You're a fucking asshole." He hissed, standing from the bed abruptly. "Here."

I flinched, a cold packet hitting my ribs before I heard his footsteps stomp out of the room. I winced, grabbing my head at the sound of the door slamming and slowly opened my eyes. Sighing, I lent up enough to see what he threw at me. Clicking my dry tongue against the roof of my mouth, I found a small packet of four Ibuprofen and picked it up. Sitting up straighter, I ripped it open with my teeth and dumped all four of the pills into my mouth. I tossed the wrapper down next to me, looking over and finding blue Gatorade on his nightstand. Leaning forward, I swiped it and pulled the cap off so I could swallow the pills easier.

"You better talk to me now." He ordered, walking back into the room while I continued chugging the cold juice.

I coughed, spitting some up when Jack yanked it away from me and out of my hand.

"You're drinking too fast. You'll puke again and I don't have any more pills." He reasoned, setting it back on the nightstand. "Lay down so your stomach can settle."

I swallowed slowly, wiping my mouth off with the back of my hand while I caught my breath.

"Alex."

I licked my lips, nodding my head in acknowledgement as I fell back on to my back. He sat back in his place next to me, leaning until he was hovering over me with his eyebrows raised. I looked back into his wide eyes for a split second before I moved my gaze to my feet.

"Dammit, Alex." He snapped, grabbing my jaw roughly.

I hissed, looking up at him when he jerked my head. He let go as soon as he realized it hurt me, giving me an apologetic but stern look. I gulped, my hands shaking anxiously as I linked them together over my stomach.

"You can't just sit there in silence after showing up here wasted. After weeks of not talking to me." He stated angrily, crossing his arms over his chest. "Do you even know what happened last night or are you still experiencing memory loss?"

"Kinda." I whispered hoarsely, ignoring the uneasy flips in my stomach.

"Talk to me. Why the hell did you come here?" He questioned, squinting down at me. "If I'm being honest, I was under the impression that you just didn't want to be friends anymore. I've been getting that vibe ever since you started ditching us for Mike and his friends."

"I don't wanna be friends." I blurted, clearing my sore throat nervously. "I uh-"

"Why do you suddenly not want to be friends anymore?" He frowned, cutting me off. "You're my best friend, Alex."

Maybe he'll accept it? Maybe it won't be as bad as I'm thinking right now? I'm always so negative. I'm also thinking about the downside when there's always an upside, right? There has to be an upside here. He's sitting with me, rubbing my stomach and playing with my hair. He cuddled with me and he kissed me back a lot from what I can remember. Maybe I've been worrying over nothing all this time? I frowned, ignoring everything running through my mind in favor of taking a leap of faith. It's now or never. I'll never get it off my chest if I don't speak up now.

"I wanna be more." I admitted, looking up at the ceiling.

"What?" He gasped, shoving my side. "What do you mean?"

"I don't know what you want me to say." I struggled to get out, feeling my chest tighten. "I-I just. I like you? Like, I want to be with you. Been feelin' that way for while. I don't know. I just think you're so beautiful and your personality and you cuddle with me and you smell good. You make me feel good when I'm with you and I uh, find myself thinking about holding your hand and kissing you and holding you. All the times we've kissed before just made me feel for you more and I can't control it, Jack. I just can't stop feeling for you. I'm sorry. I didn't want this to fuck up our friendship, but I just can't stop thinking about us."

"Alex..." He trailed off, sitting more on the bed.

"I don't want to do this." I mumbled, covering my face with my shaking hands.

"You've always had some kind of effect on me that I couldn't explain. That I can't explain." He revealed quietly, making my heart flip. "I ignored it most of the time because I feel like I shouldn't think about you like I do, but seeing you with all of those girls really started getting to me lately."

"Jack." I breathed, feeling my heart pound in my rib cage anxiously.

"You came on to me when you came home with me." He continued, staring right into my eyes. "I didn't stop you because I don't know. I kind of wanted you to come on to me. You made me feel something I never felt before and you told me all these things that made me feel special. I gave you a blowjob that was probably horrible."

"Jack-" I tried, feeling my throat close up when I saw the tears in his eyes.

"I got really pissed at you. I got pissed at you because you told me you loved me and didn't remember the next day. Then I got mad because I really hoped it wasn't true." He explained shakily, grabbing hold of my hand. "You can't like me, Alex. I don't want you to love me like that. I fucked up. I shouldn't have blurred that line between friends and something more. I don't know why I got so mad at you for using me, for making me feel good, but I'm sorry. I want to take everything you and I did and just forget it ever happened. I need to forget it-"

"Stop." I interrupted, pulling my hand from his.

"Alex." He sniffled, wiping his nose. "You don't understand."

I frowned, feeling my head spin while I tried to process his words. My heart practically sank to my ass while my stomach churned with regret. Regret for ever opening my mouth. Regret for letting myself get so drunk all the time and not having control of what left my mouth. Regret for telling myself to just man up and get all these feelings off of my chest.

"Alex." He repeated, running his hand over my side. "I'm not-"

"You kissed me." I deadpanned, looking over at him emotionless. "You sucked my dick."

"I knew you wanted it. I don't know." He whimpered, wiping at his eyes when more tears fell down his cheeks. "We're best friends, Alex. I like girls."

I don't want you.
I don't want you.
I don't want you.
I don't want you.

"Alex! Stop, please." He called, bringing me back into reality.

I bit my lips, pulling my shirt from the ground and slipping it back over my head despite the awful smell. Looking down, I found my jeans still over my legs along with my shoes piled next to the bed. I slipped my feet into them halfheartedly, checking my pockets to find them full with my things before I rushed over to his open door.

"Alex!" He shouted, grabbing my wrist.

I turned to face him, my lungs burning as I held my breath in. I can't be here. I can't have him see me like this.

"I'm not trying to hurt you. I don't care that you think about me like that, I'm still your best friend." He sniffled, letting go of my wrist to wipe at his eyes. "I'm just. I'm with Rachelle-"

"Okay." I interrupted, stepping out into the hall. "Good for you."

"Don't be like this." He whimpered. "You would've known about her sooner. This all wouldn't be happening if you didn't disappear for weeks at a time-"

"Oh fuck that, Jack." I laughed humorlessly, forcing myself to walk out into the hall. "You knew where I was. Everyone knew where I fucking was. I didn't stop you guys from trying to contact me, you just didn't and I'm not saying it's your fault because I didn't try either. But it wasn't just me."

"Stop, please." He begged, following my down the hall. "You're really hungover and sick and we need to talk about this-"

"No we don't." I swallowed thickly, unable to focus on anything besides the rejection tingling through my mind. "You made everything clear."

"Alex-"

"Shut up, Jack." I snapped, rubbing my face in frustration as I jogged down the steps. "Just let me fucking go."

"Fine!" He cried from the top of the stairs. "Get the fuck out of here and run away like you always fucking do! When am I gonna see you again? Are you gonna show up here drunk tonight or wait until next month?"

I stopped in my tracks at the bottom, turning around to face him reluctantly. He wiped his face furiously before crossing his arms over his chest, like he was challenging me. I cleared my throat, ignoring the sting of jealously stabbing through me at the thought of this girl I'm just finding out about and opened my mouth to shoot a comeback at him. Something to make him feel as shitty as I do right now, but I couldn't do it. I don't want him to hurt. So I closed my mouth and left without another word as fast as my numb legs would take me.
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
I stared up into the darkening sky, enjoying the yellow and orange glow from the sun setting as I huffed out my mouthful of smoke. Sighing, I brought the cigarette back to my lips and took another long inhale. I kept my mouth closed tightly, forcing my right arm underneath my head to keep myself from getting lightheaded. The action had my hoodie riding up, the coldness of the railroad track forcing goosebumps up my spine. I opened my mouth, casually blowing rings up into the air as I relaxed in the quiet atmosphere some more.

"What the hell are you doing?"

I jumped, not expecting to hear or see the girl hovering above me. I opened my mouth, unable to speak as I looked up at her. Her skin was as white as paper while her hair was the darkest black. Her ice blue eyes were coated with dark makeup and her thin lips had a shade of an obnoxious blue lipstick over them.

"Hello?" She prompted, widening her eyes at me. "Are you crazy?"

I blinked slowly, trying to look at her better, but it was just making me feel dizzy with her being upside down and all.

"Are you a mute or something?" She went on, leaning down enough to run her smooth hand over the bruises along my face. "You look pretty rough."

"Today's the first time I showered in a month." I muttered, turning my face away from her grasp.

"He speaks!" She grinned, moving around to my side where she decided to drop her bag and sit down. "I'm Jasey."

I nodded slowly, taking another drag of my cigarette while I looked back up at the sky. I let out another set of smoke rings, before tossing my cigarette butt somewhere off to the side. I licked my lips, nicotine coating my taste buds as I swallowed.

"Are you going to answer my question?" Jasey asked, breaking the silence.

I raised an eyebrow at her, skillfully pulling another cigarette from the worn package in my long hoodie pocket and tucking it between my lips. She stared at me curiously, watching me pull the lighter out next and flick the small flame out.

"Smoking kills." She informed, pulling the light grey scarf covered with skulls around her neck up to cover her mouth and nose. "So does secondhand smoke."

I inhaled deeply, ignoring her as I moved my arm more under my head for a better pillow.

"I asked if you if you're crazy." She reminded, voice muffled by the scarf. "You're laying on a train track that has trains passing by daily."

"M'not deaf." I muttered, blowing the smoke out to the side she wasn't sitting on.

"So?" She pressed, nudging my leg with her knee.

"Didn't your mom tell you not to talk to strangers?" I shot back in annoyance. "Especially rough looking ones laying on the ground?"

"My mom tells me a lot of things that I don't listen too." She replied. "She told me not to dye my hair, not to pierce my eyebrow, not to wear bold makeup-"

"Can you go away?" I interrupted, cocking an eyebrow at her while I continued to lay lifelessly.

"Maybe if you answer my question." She bargained.

"I'm not crazy." I replied, taking another hit.

"Why are you laying on train tracks at eight in the evening then?" She continued.

"Maybe I wanna get run over." I shrugged, exhaling up into the sky this time. "You can go now."

"Why would you want to die in such a cruel way?" She interrogated.

"I don't want to fucking die." I muttered, closing my eyes. "I'm just here because I want to be, okay?"

"Well, I am too." She decided, scooting over until both of her bony knees were pressed along my left leg.

"Get out of here." I groaned, flicking the ashes of my cigarette by her in attempt to shoo her away. "Listen to your mom for once."

"Didn't your mom ever tell you not to talk to strangers?" She asked mockingly, scooting away from the ashes in disgust.

"I don't know my mom." I sighed, feeling a different kind of rejection fill the pit of my stomach. "She left me a long time ago."

"I'm sorry to hear that." She whispered.

I shrugged lazily, tossing my cigarette away. I tugged my hood more over my head, adjusting the black snapback before shoving my left arm underneath me as well. I sighed contently, feeling a lot more comfortable with both arms under my head than just one. Goosebumps ran up my spine again when my hoodie rode up more due to the breeze rushing by and I found myself wanting to go back in time. Back to this afternoon when I woke up with Jack's warm body in my arms.

"You look like you got your heat broken." She observed, poking at my exposed hips. "Also looks like you got beat up."

I bit my cheek, fighting to keep my mind from replaying earlier through my head. I've thought about it so many times over the past few hours and I really don't want to feel so horrible all over again. I don't want the regret in my stomach to grow heavier. I just want to pretend it never happened and go back to how things were before.

"Did your girlfriend cheat on you?" She guessed.

"No." I answered weakly, unsure of why I'm actually talking to this strange girl. "I don't have one."

"Did you want one?" She went on.

"Dunno." I huffed, closing my eyes. "Doesn't matter."

"It matters if it's making you lay on a railroad track and contemplate whether you want to get run over by a train or not." She gathered, lightly bumping her knees into me.

"M'not suicidal." I conversed, taking a deep breath. "I jus' wanted time to think."

"Thinking by yourself can be dangerous." She noted, clearing her throat. "It's getting dark out."

I sighed, squeezing my eyes shut as I attempted to keep my mind blank. Instead, I forced myself to focus on the sound of the cars driving by and the noises from all the different things in the mini forests on both sides of me. I breathed in deeply, the scents from the gravel underneath me mixed with the grass all around and the hint of grease from all the fast food restaurants lined down the street oddly comforting me.

"Are you going back to ignoring me?" She whined dramatically.

I stayed still, opening my eyes to look in front of me. Dots clouded my vision while my eyes focused on the darkness beginning to surround us, making me wonder what time it actually is now that the sun is down.

"I said it's getting dark." She conveyed, poking my side after each word.

I rolled my eyes, turning my head back towards her slowly. I blinked, biting my lip as I looked her over. The scarf was back around her neck, the light grey contrasting the black shirt she wore. I chewed my lip ring, taking in the exposed half of her silky white thighs before my eyes were drawn to the teal thigh high socks taking over the rest of her legs.

"Dude, are you sure you're not deaf?" She scoffed, standing up abruptly.

She grabbed her backpack and slung it back over her shoulders, holding a small hand out to me. I continued to stare at her, distracted by her looks for another second until she kicked my thigh.

"Do you want to go to the Nando's?" She suggested, waving her hand out to me.

I freed my lip ring from my teeth, forcing myself into a sitting position before I stood to my feet. I grunted, dusting myself off before turning towards her and staring at her outstretched hand.

"How old are you?" I wondered, making sure my phone and keys were in my pocket next to my cigarettes.

"Fourteen." She shrugged, laughing when my eyes widened. "I'm just kidding. I'm seventeen."

I rubbed the back of my neck awkwardly, not knowing if I should let myself look at her again the way I was before.

"I'm seriously seventeen." She giggled, grabbing my left hand with her right. "Come on."

I cautiously held her hand loosely, allowing her to pull me off of the tracks and on the the side of the main road next to us. I slowed my pace, looking over to find her standing barely up to my shoulder.

"It'd be pretty sad if I was fourteen and wandering around by myself, don't you think?" She added, forcing her fingers between mine.

"I did that shit when I was younger." I shrugged, biting my tongue as we continued down the street.
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
"I don't think I've ever seen someone eat their feelings before."

I shoved another nacho into my mouth, moaning at the mixture of flavors swishing around as I chewed. I swallowed, immediately shoving two more inside my mouth. I closed my eyes, savoring everything about the greasy shit filling my cheeks.

"Really." Jasey continued. "You ate a burger, you ate my chicken tenders, you drank my milkshake, and now you're eating a bowl of nachos? Seriously tell me you're not in emotional pain now."

"M'not in pain." I mumbled through my mouthful.

She widened her big blue eyes, rolling them hard as she sipped at the second milkshake she ordered. I swallowed everything down, bringing my water to my lips and taking a few long sips.

"I haven't been sober for in a while." I admitted, sucking more water into my mouth. "M'gettin' much needed shit in my system."

She sipped at her milkshake peacefully, nodding her head in acknowledgment while I ate another few nachos. My stomach rumbled in protest, but I can't stop eating. It feels so good to feel something filling me and it tastes too good to waste. I never thought I would feel okay being sober, but here I am sitting in Nando's at night with a girl I just met and I'm not all that bothered by her. I thought I wanted to be alone, but I found that's not the case when I decided to come here with her.

"Why are you here?" I asked, licking the cheese from my lips.

"Huh?" She hummed in surprise, sliding the large glass away from her.

"Why're you here with me?" I repeated, picking some loose black olives from my plate and popping them into my mouth.

"Because when I saw you on the tracks it hurt my heart." She answered without hesitation. "You looked lost. I wanted to make you feel better. I still want to make you feel better."

"You don't even know my name." I pointed out.

"Okay." She smiled, shrugging her shoulders. "You know my name and if you don't want me to know your's then that's perfectly fine. It's always easier to talk to a stranger."

"You're pretty nice." I told, drinking the rest of my water. "You shouldn't be wasting your time. I'm a pretty shitty guy."

"I want to be here or I wouldn't have dragged you here." She assured, reaching her hand across the table to pat mine. "Why don't you finally tell me what's going on in your head? We've been here for two hours."

"I don't even know." I admitted, just feeling numb. "I don't really feel anything."

"What do you mean?" She pressed, leaning forward over the table.

"I told someone," I started unsurely, keeping my gaze on the table. "I uh..I told someone I'm very close with that I kinda wanted to be with them. I mean, it's been building up for a while and I just. I tried getting over it. I started drinking and I guess I did some stupid shit when I was drunk."

"You told them today?" She questioned.

"This morning." I nodding, hesitantly continuing. "We fooled around a little before. When I was drunk. I don't really remember doing it, but I know I did. That probably doesn't make sense. I guess I just took it the wrong way? Uh, yeah."

"I take it they don't like you back?" She jumped in.

I shook my head, sucking on my lip ring when the rejection stung through me again.

"He doesn't." I revealed, picking at the skin peeling at the tip of my finger. "He said he felt something for me, but he doesn't want me. I just. I kind of spilled everything to him with a small hope in the back of my mind that it would be like a cheesy movie. Y'know? Where the girl tells the guy she loves him and he's all like wow I love you too. I don't know. I knew deep down that he wouldn't feel the same, but thinking and knowing are two different things."

"So he told you he didn't want to be with you?" She questioned, not batting an eye when I mentioned Jack.

"He told me he didn't know why he let himself cross a line with me." I nodded, swallowing thickly. "I don't know. He was weird and confused and I fucked everything up by telling him I can't stop thinking about him. said I'm still his best friend, but how long will it take for him to not want me around anymore?"

"If you're as close as you say, why would he want to get rid of you?" She pressed.

"I was distancing myself and being fucking stupid before so we've kind of been closed off from each other for a few months now. Now I randomly decided to finally tell him I want him like a best friend shouldn't? Then I pretty much ran away and he's also talking to a girl apparently, so there's that." I continued emotionlessly. "I know you can't help your feelings, but for some reason I just couldn't say that to him. I couldn't say anything actually. I like...forgot how to express myself."

"You had to get out of there, it's okay. I'm sure he understands." She smiled reassuringly. "It's kind of a lot to get rejected like that."

"It fucking sucks." I sighed, feeling oddly comfortable spilling my guts to her. "I feel like everything is gonna be different now. I want to take it all back, but I can't and I just feel awkward knowing everything is one-sided. It makes me feel terrible that he did things with me because I pressured him or-"

"There's no way he was pressured into anything." She told me. "Nobody would do something with someone if they really didn't want to when they have the chance to stop it. It sounds like there's been some miscommunication between you two, but it's obvious you both care about each other."

I sat silently, giving myself some time to let her words sink in. She had a point. I don't think Jack would let me kiss him or do anything with me if he didn't want to at least a little bit.

"Yeah." I frowned, looking up to find her staring at me with sad eyes.

"Is he out of the closet?" She queried, reaching over to hold my hand comfortingly.

"He's not gay. I think he has a girlfriend now." I replied honestly. "Hell, I'm not gay. I mean, I don't think I am. I don't know. I fucked a guy and it was good, but girls are great. There's just something about him that drives me crazy and he's just perfect."

"Okay, it really sounds like this is more complicated than I thought." She giggled, squeezing my hand. "Definitely don't put a label on yourself because if you've had sex with both and enjoy it then let's just say you're an everyone type of guy."

I nodded, shrugging my shoulders in agreement. I could go with that.

"This friend of your's seems to be just as confused as you, if not more. I don't know, there's a lot of things that could be happening with him." She ranted. "He's feeling some type of way towards you, but he's probably afraid to feel that way when you're his guy best friend. Especially if you were both sleeping with just girls until recently."

I nodded, suddenly feeling a little bit overwhelmed and more confused with my feelings. Whatever I was thinking about Jack just got ten times more twisted after talking with Jasey. Why do I care so much about him liking me when I knew it wasn't going to happen? Why did I feel so hurt and sad? Why do I feel okay now?

"What's your story?" I asked, letting go of her hand in order to grab another nacho.

"Um, wow." She replied, surprise taking over her features. "That's a sudden subject change."

"Yeah." I shrugged. "I don't wanna talk about me anymore. I'll get over him. I wanna know why you were by the tracks in the dark."

She sighed, brushing her choppy bangs to the side while she leaned on her hand. I took the moment to really take in her appearance. Her eyes seriously looked like a clear ocean and her skin had no flaws whatsoever. Her nose was small, her lips were thin and her teeth are as white and straight as Rian's.

"I um." She stumbled, rolling her teal lips together slowly. "I was walking home from a friend's house."

"You soun' unsure 'bout that." I mumbled, trying to keep my mouth closed as I chewed.

She huffed, tugging her scarf until it hung more loosely from her neck. I licked my lips, trying to fight the urge to look down. The tight v-neck mixed with how she's slouching had me failing my attempt to be at least somewhat respectful and after a good thirty seconds of me staring into her impressive cleavage, I forced my eyes back up to her's and caught her staring at me with her eyebrow raised.

"You're such a guy." She noted, pointing at her face. "My eyes are up here."

"I'm aware." I chuckled, raising my own eyebrow piercing back at her as I snatched a few french fries from her plate.

"I didn't really fit into what they were talking about and I didn't feel like getting made fun of again." She told, blushing slightly as she brought her shake back in front of her. "So I left."

"Made fun of?" I repeated, cocking my eyebrow again.

"Yeah." She answered, sipping the melted chocolate through her straw. "That happens when you're friends with three preppy girls."

"Okay. And?" I pressed, grabbing more fries as I motioned for her to go on. "You gotta gimme more than that. I just told you my life."

"That's dramatic." She scoffed, rolling her eyes. "You told me what your problem was."

"So what's your problem?" I pushed, holding the fries up to my mouth.

I slumped back into my side of the booth lazily wile I waited patiently for her answer. It's only fair that she tells me her shit now, right? Venting to her helped me in a way and now I need her to help me not think about it anymore. I want to go the rest of the night not feeling confused. I want to go the rest of the night without thinking of Jack.

"They've all experienced some things that I haven't." She explained. "Don't get me wrong, they're my three best friends. It just gets super annoying when they talk about the same thing every time we hang out, going on about it for hours when they know I can't join in. Then the teasing starts because no guy could possibly want Jasey Rae-"

"Wait." I interrupted, replaying her words. "Are you a virgin?"

"Um.." She coughed awkwardly, cheeks flushing a deep shade of red.

The way she avoided eye contact with me and the fact that her cheeks are the color of ketchup seems to point to yes.

"Do you want to be?" I asked casually, grabbing the new water the waitress dropped off for me.

"Of course I don't!" She hissed quietly, glancing around the mostly empty restaurant. "I don't have a boyfriend though and I don't have a boyfriend because I don't know how to do anything sexual."

"No way." I denied, glancing back down at her chest before I made eye contact again. "I don't believe you."

"I have nice boobs." She shrugged, rolling her eyes. "Just because I have a nice rack doesn't mean I'm a slut. I don't know how you think differently because apparently everything about me just screams virgin."

I chuckled, a sudden feeling of appreciation for her filling me. If it wasn't for her, I'd probably still be on those tracks feeling like shit. Hell, I'd probably be getting drunk by now if she wouldn't have annoyed the shit out of me. If she wouldn't have cared for me, a stranger to her, I wouldn't be actually having a good time right now. I can't even describe how thankful I feel that I met her tonight. I randomly met this awesome, sexy girl on what started out to be a pretty shitty day.

"What are you laughing about?" She demanded playfully. "Is it because I'm a virgin?"

"Nah." I smiled, shaking my head. "S'cause you made me feel better even after I was being my usual asshole self earlier. Thank you."

"You're very welcome." She smiled back, showing off her teeth.

"For the record, your looks don't scream virgin and I don't think being a virgin is something for people to laugh at." I enlightened. "If anything, it should make people want you more. You're pure. Your friends are assholes if they make fun of you for that."

"It's not even that they make fun of me." She rambled. "They just go on about all of their experiences and then look at me with pity? They don't even expect me to have any juicy stories anymore and it bothers me that they just know. I don't know what's wrong with me. Every time I try to be with someone they end up turning me down because I don't kiss good enough or I don't know where to put my hands or how to turn them on. I just fucking hate it. I get all turned on only to be turned down and at this point I'm going to just need a dildo-oh God. I'm so sorry. This is definitely TMI."

I laughed, taking a long gulp of my water before sliding it away from me on the table.

"Did you seriously just say TMI?" I teased, wiping my mouth off on the sleeve of my black hoodie. "Nothing is too much information for me, hun. It really is easier to talk to a stranger, huh?"

"I told you." She mumbled, covering her cheeks when they flushed red again.

I bit my lip to keep from smiling at her like a creep. How did I not meet this girl sooner? She's almost like me, but a girl. It's kind of weird actually. I mean, she gets pretty embarrassed easily but that might be one of the few differences I see between us so far. She's pretty blunt, brutally honest, sassy, talkative, outgoing, and I don't even know. She's just really cool.

"You're really cool." I repeated out loud.

"What?" She snorted, covering her nose.

"You're cool." I noted, licking my lips.

"Thanks?" She responded, leaning on her elbows. "You're cool too. I like you."

"I like you too." I informed, adjusting my snapback as I sat back up. "Thanks for talking with me. It helped me out."

"Thanks for actually replying to me back on the tracks." She giggled.

"Alex." I blurted.

She tilted her head, confusion washing over her face as she stared at me with her thin eyebrows scrunched up.

"My name is Jasey." She spoke slowly.

"I know." I stated, tapping my chest. "I'm Alex."

"Really?" She questioned, humming when I nodded my head. "Well then. Hi Alex. I guess we're not strangers anymore, huh?"

"I guess we're not." I responded, leaning forward on to the table like she was.

"So Alex?" She giggled, leaning on her elbows. "Why do I know your name now?"

I cleared my throat, grabbing hold of her chocolate shake and bringing it over to me. I took a long sip, the melting cold ice cream soothing my sore throat after all that eating more than the water. I pushed it away, slowly licking my lips as I smirked.

"So you'll know what to scream when I help you out later." I winked, slumping back in my seat.

Notes

So this happened. The infamous Jasey Rae is introduced and she's going to be a pretty important character. Yay for sober Alex actually knowing what's going on around him for once! Boo for feeling rejected. I know it's probably really confusing how they feel about each other in this chapter, but it will be explained more clearly soon! Sorry to everyone who thought the Jalex was coming with sober Alex, but I hope you all still enjoyed the chapter!

Thanks to all my commenters and readers as always!

In case anyone wants to picture Jasey, I picked out a picture from google!

https://s-media-cache-ak0.pinimg.com/564x/f3/05/24/f305247de8afe59c3b6daac99408bb69.jpg