Duskwood After Story

The Party, Part 2

Notes for this chapter:

Hi there lovely people,

It's been a while since I last added one of these notes. This time, I just want to show you the song I referred to in this chapter. There's another version from Sarah Cothran which is also good. But I think the original version fits the tone of the bar at that point better.

Anyway, I hope you enjoy the song and this chapter. :)

_End of Notes_

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It didn't take Phil long to open his eyes. His brows furrowed in fury. He stared back at Jake.

"And who the hell are you?"

"Phil, this is Jake! He's my..." – I interrupted, attempting to cut through the tension with the light tone in my voice.

"I'm Bailey's boyfriend." – Jake finished my sentence, pulling me towards his body.

"You're what?" – Phil raised one eyebrow. He asked in disbelief.

"Jake!" – Lilly's voice screamed out at that very moment, taking our attention away from the stressful situation we had suddenly found ourselves in. I secretly took a sigh of relief – "You're here!". She ran over to where we were. So did Hannah. Everyone else followed suit slowly.

Lilly went in for a hug with Jake. She wrapped her arms around him tightly, almost knocking him over. Jake stood frozen in her embrace. He hovered one arm over her shoulder, trying to return the hug. The same thing happened with Hannah. He once admitted to me that he disliked being touched, making hugs difficult for him, except when I was involved. The situation made me laugh a little.

Soon, Jake was surrounded by more attention than he asked for. He peered out of the corner of his eyes, looking for me to come rescue him. Then suddenly, the front door banged open. It was Dan.

"Hey baby, Daddy's home!" – Dan cheerfully announced his entrance – "Look what I've got!".

He shouted, then raised a llama covered in colorful tissue paper above his head.

"Dan!" – Jessy yelped – "Is that a..."

"... piñata?" – Cleo added.

"What the hell?" – Thomas ran over to check it out.

"You brought a piñata?" – Lilly laughed while rushing over as well.

"I'm going to see what's going on over there. You guys make yourself at home, ok?" – Hannah told us.

Finally, Jake exhaled in relief. I went over and took his hand in mine.

"Hey you." – I grinned up at him and watched his facial reactions.

"Hey you." – He smiled back at me. He took a firmer hold on my hand as we made our way to a table.

"I disabled all the cameras in this establishment so we can enjoy the night without worry." – He whispered to me once we had sat down.

"Oh, that's a great idea. I didn't even think of that." – I replied, nodding in agreement with Jake's genius.

We both lifted our faces up in our hands, gazing into one other's eyes.

"So, do you still feel out of place?" – I asked.

"Oh...?" – Jake's eyes widened for a second, surprised by the question. Then he realized why I had asked him – "Strangely, no. But all the attention can be a bit suffocating."