J.A.C.I.E.'s World (All Time Low Fanfiction | Jack Barakat)

Chapter 5

Jack's apartment was packed with people on New Year's Eve. We had decided to host a party at his place instead of going out like we did for halloween. Of course, all of our friends were invited, who in turn invited a few more friends. It was definitely the busiest house party I had ever been at.

People were dressed in all kinds of attire. There were girls in bright shimmery dresses, guys in blazers, and some people dressed like they were on a beach vacation. Everybody was sporting their own style. I had personally found a top with golden stars and moons on it and wore some nice black flared pants.

The apartment was full of glittering ornaments and festive lights, which we had spent the entire morning hanging up. Jack had taken the liberty to provide a range of different drinks for people to enjoy. The kitchen was full of different bottles: wine, champagne, liquors, soft drinks, anything your heart could desire.

And my heart was desiring. I couldn't remember how many times I had gone up to get another drink or one of my friends returned with cups for everybody. They just kept being poured and I kept drinking them like I hadn't seen liquid in days.

But it was okay. After all, it was New Year's Eve!

When only ten minutes were left on the clock, I stumbled over to Jack, a bottle of champagne in my hand. I had no clue where he was in the large crowd taking over his apartment, but a hidden sense brought me right up to him.

"Jack!" I shouted, my voice sounding slurred.

His eyes fell on me and he started to pry the champagne out of my hands. "I think you've had enough of this."

"No," I whined, but lost the battle. He managed to pull it away from me before taking a quick swing himself.

"It's mine now."

"Jaaack," I pouted, trying to grab the bottle back.

He shook his head and kept it out of reach. "Nope."

"Fine," I grumbled and grabbed onto his arm instead. "I came here to tell you about a New Year's tradition Hazel and I have."

"What's that?"

"A New Year's tradition."

"I get that, what is it?" He drank some more of the champagne from the bottle, making me envy him.

I might have stared at the bottle for a bit too long before I answered. "Hazel and I are always each other's New Year's kiss."

He pulled the bottle away from his lips and raised his eyebrows at me.

"It's tradition!" I argued, feeling myself almost fall over.

Jack was quick to hold me up before I found myself on the floor. "You're not going to kiss your own husband when the ball drops?"

Kissing Jack did sound nice. It was always nice. It was one of my favourite pastime activities. And this was our first New Year's together. Would sober Jacie have forgiven me if I rejected him?

"Okay," I accepted his non-existent terms, making my own compromise, "but do I get to give Hazel a New Year's kiss after?"

"Of course," he nodded with a smile.

I grinned back and leaned in for a kiss. He kissed me back, still holding me tightly so I wouldn't lose my balance. I could just tell how much I must have tasted like alcohol. Jack didn't mind, though. And I still wanted more. Somehow, he got distracted enough for me to snatch the champagne back. I laughed and quickly ran away before he could try to steal it from me again.

The next minutes were a blur. I suddenly found myself watching the TV countdown with Jack to my left and Hazel to my right. The timer was at 59 seconds and quickly went down. Soon enough, everybody was counting down.

10... 9... 8... 7... 6... 5... 4... 3... 2... 1...

I shared my kiss with Jack. It was sweet, a hopeful representation of what was to come the next year. My arms circled around his neck while his hands pressed into my lower back. It was the most appropriate and loving way to start the year together. When we pulled away, we rested our foreheads against each other, swaying a little.

"Happy New Year, Jacie," he whispered.

"Happy New Year, Jack," I returned, feeling the urge to kiss him again.

So, I did. I kept it brief this time, however. There was somebody else waiting for me.

When I broke away from Jack, I turned around to face Hazel. We only made brief eye contact before I put my hand on her cheek and crashed my lips against hers. Her own hands went down to my hips, pulling me closer. Our tongues became friendly with each other and I ran my fingers through her hair.

I could hear people hollering around us as we somehow managed to deepen the kiss even further. This wasn't our first rodeo. We'd shared many playful kisses before. This was the first time we got so drunk and had so many people watching us, though. But I was definitely enjoying it, and it felt like Hazel was too.

Eventually we broke it off and I raised my arms up to cheer, getting a few more hollers from the people around us. Both Hazel and I were laughing quite loudly. And Jack was staring at me with the widest eyes I'd ever seen on him.

"I thought you meant a little kiss." He seemed flabbergasted, unsure what he had just witnessed.

"That was a little kiss," I giggled, wrapping my arms around his waist. "You and I have done much worse."

"You're something else, you know that, right?"