A Story to Tell Your Friends

Jack grinned at me like a child as he handed me the stuffed animal he had won. It was Saturday night and we were out at the fair with Alex and Lisa, who we had been wandering around the city with all day. I held my candy floss in one hand and tucked the stuffed bear under my other arm, grinning and thanking him. We had spent almost every day of the week together so far, either just going for lunch when I was at work, or he coming over to my apartment for the night and having dinner with Tammy and I after work. Tammy hadn’t expressed any more concerns since last Sunday, which I was grateful for, and I finally felt like she was starting to accept that Jack and I really were something worth paying attention to, something worth accepting.
Today, Lisa had insisted on seeing us, telling me she hadn’t seen so little of Jack while they were in the same city since they were teenagers. I felt a little guilty at her remark, realising I had been monopolising him, though he’d never once expressed any interest in us doing anything other than just hanging out wherever. I’d jumped at her offer to spend the afternoon at the fair, to which Jack had only laughed at me and agreed that it sounded good. I had been thoroughly out doing myself, acting like an excited child all day. Jack had joined me, getting excited over fair games and rides almost as much as I did, with Lisa and Alex hanging back and laughing at us and trying to remind us that we were in our twenties.
“Hey!” I squeaked as Jack grabbed my candy floss and starting eating it himself.
“What?” He asked, half of what he had stolen still hanging out of the side of his mouth. “Oh, you want this? Come get it.” Jack held the stick above his head and laughed at me as I tried to jump high enough to at least reach his hand. Shockingly, I was too short, so I did what any self-respecting twenty-four-year-old would do, I folded my arms and pouted like a child. Jack pulled some more of my treat from its stick and put it in his mouth before turning to look at me and laughing. He chuckled at me and pulled me in to him, pressing his lips firmly to my own. I melted into him a little, though still trying to pretend I was angry. We hadn’t progressed any further over the course of the week than we had in our first weekend, stealing kisses and holding each other’s hands whenever we could. If anyone asked me now, I would still stand by last week’s ‘perfect gentleman’ comment. The only difference between now and then was the way my knees had suddenly started to buckle every time he kissed me and my mind drew a blank on anything I had been trying to think of or say before he had taken me in his arms. I was becoming lost in his every movement and I couldn’t stand it.
“I think that stuff actually tastes better when I taste it on you,” I mumbled when he let me go.
“Well, I’d hate to deprive you of the pleasure, beautiful,” he told me, taking another bite and kissing me swiftly. My cheeks heated slightly at his comment, though I brushed it off and took his free hand in my own, adjusting the teddy bear in my hands so it wouldn’t drop as we walked.
“The pair of you make me sick,” Alex stated as we finally caught up with him and Lisa. “One minute you’re five and acting excited over nothing, the next you’re seventeen and can’t keep your hands off each other. I’m beginning to feel disturbed just by watching you.”
“’Watching’? You mean, you watch me make out with girls? Are you jealous of them again, Alex?” Jack snorted, ignoring the dig Alex had made.
“Half of the internet already knows we used to hook up, I just like to remind you what you’re missing occasionally,” Alex shrugged, trying not to laugh. I saw Lisa roll her eyes swiftly.
“You don’t wanna see what comes next,” Lisa told me, grabbing my arm and pulling me away from the two boys. “They go on to fake like they’re going to make out with each other, declare their love a few times, it’s both too much PDA and disgustingly cheesy at the same time.” I laughed, looping my arm in hers as she made her way to the drinks stall, leaving the boys behind us in the middle of the fairground, completely oblivious to the fact that we weren’t there anymore. Lisa grabbed us both a beer each and we sat down at one of the benches next to the stall, waiting to see how long it would take the two men to realise we’d left and actually find us.
“So, you and Jack have been spending an awful lot of time together,” Lisa grinned. She was attempting to regain her subtlety, but just like every other time, she was failing miserably.
“We have,” I nodded nonchalantly.
“And?”
“And nothing,” I shrugged. “You and the guys leave in like a week. I’m staying here.”
“Jack lives here though,” she frowned at me.
“I know,” I sighed, pausing to take a drink from my cup. “I do like him. A lot, in fact. I’m just not trying to build it up too much, you know? For all I know, he’s going to leave for tour and just completely forget I exist.”
“Unlikely,” Lisa snorted. I raised my eyebrows at her, signalling for an explanation. “He either spends all his time with you, or all his time talking about it. It’s infuriating. Jack’s a pretty laid back guy, but he’s acting really… intense about you. He knows we all love you, but we’ve already told him to shut up about a thousand times. There’s only so much a girl can take. He really, really likes you Clara. You’re basically him, but all wrapped up in a female body. It’s his dream come true.” I laughed at her joke, buying myself some time to mull over her words. I knew Jack liked me, that was abundantly clear, and he had admitted it himself more than once, I just didn’t know if it matched in any way what I was feeling for him. If what Lisa was telling me was true, he wasn’t too far below me on the feelings scale. Honestly, that scared me.
“Well, hello there, ladies,” Alex said, sliding himself into the seat next to Lisa and taking her beer. Jack sat himself down next to me, winding his arm around my waist and I leaned my head on his shoulder, a little grateful for the interruption.
“Are you guys done pretending you’re in love?” Lisa asked, taking the drink back from him.
“We don’t pretend anything, Lisa. Alex and I are soulmates. You’re only here because I don’t have boobs,” Jack replied, his face completely straight.
“You’re sure? I’m pretty sure you do have boobs.” Jack cracked a grin, admitting defeat, now copying Alex and taking my drink from my hands and taking a drink himself. “Not to be a spoil sport, but I think it’s time Alex and I went home. You still up for breakfast tomorrow, Jack?”
“Yeah, though I might drag Clara along too,” Jack grinned, looking at me to confirm. I nodded slightly, agreeing. Jack and I had already agreed we would give Tammy a break from being the third wheel tonight and stay at his, so why not go to breakfast again too? At least this week I would be wearing something other than last night’s clothes. “We should probably go too,” Jack suggested. “I’ve got plenty of terrible films to watch and some scary ones so I can make a terrible move on you.” I snorted into the cup I had stolen back from him. I knew he was only half joking and I was fine with it either way.
“Text me the details in the morning,” Alex winked at me, earning a playful slap on his arm from Lisa.
“We can compare notes,” I agreed, laughing.
“And I thought I was the weird one,” Jack stated, rolling his eyes at me. I grinned childishly, pushing a kiss to his cheek.
“I know I’m the consummate perv in this duo, but can we go to bed to watch this?” I pouted as Jack pulled out The Nightmare Before Christmas for us to watch, telling me he was going to ease me into the scary films. I was laid on Jack’s sofa, wrapped in a blanket in my pyjamas (which were, once again, a pair of shorts and a tank top).
“No wonder Alex keeps telling me you’re just me with a vagina,” Jack laughed. “Giant pervert, loves bed and acts like a five-year-old on sherbet? All three ways people describe me that I would use to describe you.”
“Maybe that’s why you keep me around. The narcissist in you just loves flirting with yourself.”
“Guilty.” Jack held his hand out to me, helping me from the sofa and collecting the remaining DVDs he’d accumulated to bring to bed with us. I shuffled under the covers as Jack set the DVD to play, taking off his t-shirt and joining me. I leaned into him, his arm finding its way around me as my head lay on his chest. Jack’s fingers started to trace circles on my hips and I smiled, moving myself closer to him and draping my arm over his waist.
I tried to focus on the film, but all I could think of was Jack’s fingers, playing with the hem of my shirt, brushing my hips occasionally, his chest rising and falling under my head, his heart beating in my ear. I bit my lip, willing myself to focus on anything but him. My own fingers began to wander as Jack Skellington left Halloween Town, running up and down Jack’s hips, occasionally brushing the top of his shorts.
Before I knew what was happening, I was laid on my back, Jack hovering over me, his lips on my own in one swift, desperate motion.
“You’re such a fucking tease,” he groaned, as my hands slid themselves into his hair, pulling him into me.
“You and me both,” I replied, already starting to feel breathless. My heart was racing, feeling his bare skin come into contact with my own and knowing there was no one here to disturb us. His lips left my own, trailing kisses down my neck and chest, occasionally nipping my skin between his teeth lightly. I stretched myself out automatically, allowing him access to as much of my skin as I could. I could feel his smirk on my skin, but I didn’t care, already beginning to lose myself in his touch. I groaned in frustration as he stopping kissing me, choosing instead to brush his lips over my skin, never settling in one place and making me shudder at their light touch. I pushed him back onto the bed, turning my body so we were facing each other, both on our sides. I pulled his face into my own, making him kiss me again, while I hooked one of my legs over his, tangling myself in him.
His hands slipped under my shirt, working their way up my back and pulling me as close to him as he could. I barely registered my shirt as it found its way over my head and onto the floor, only noticing Jack’s lips leave my own, pushing my lips to his neck as soon as it was clear. I found the crook in his neck I’d located earlier in the week, biting it softly as I heard him let out a small moan.
“Fuck,” he groaned, as I grinned mischievously into his bare skin. He moved his hands (which up until now had been on any part of my body he could reach), putting them to my face and pulling my face up to meet his. “I’m going to need you to stop that.” I bit my lip.
“Make me.” His lips were pushed back onto my own and we began to lose track of the night.

Notes

So, turns out Blink are doing a UK tour in June.
Just announced, so excited, have an update for it! <3