Ever After (Jack Barakat)

here it is! A short follow up to Time Bomb! I love these characters to much, who knows I may write another little story here and there with them.

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Riley giggled as Jack grabbed her hand, wildly waving his arm like a mad man half standing in the middle of the street. If he wasn't careful then he was more likely to get ran over than get a taxi for them. This may be Vancouver, Canada or not, if he got himself ran over nobody was going to be that apologetic about it. Yanking his arm and pulling him back a little closer to the side walk, Riley couldn't help but grin at him like a total fool.

He had pulled her out of the party rather abruptly, they had practically ran down the halls of the venue trying to get to the main doors. Riley had been in Vancouver for almost a week, seeing as it was Josh's birthday Riley wanted to be part of every little detail. The party had ended almost an hour ago, the guests trickled out slowly, some were still left inside chatting, or debating how to get home. Jack had been itching all night to get Riley alone, he had been away on tour - in town for only a few days, he left the day after tomorrow. Although the party was finished, it didn't mean their time had to end.

"Jack, be careful!" she laughed as the tall man beside he jumped up and down, waving at the approaching car that bore the familiar taxi sign on top of it.

"I'll be fine. Come on, he's stopping." Jack replied, opening the door for Riley and helping her inside. "Portside Park, please." Jack instructed the driver handing him over a generous amount of cash. If he paid first, there would be no questions. What fools in their right mind took a taxi to a park in the middle of the night?

Not bothering to ask, the driver nodded and pulled away from the curb. From the back of the cab, Riley watched as her hometown passed by, she hadn't lived in Vancouver for almost two years. In a way it was odd to think of anywhere else as home, but Baltimore had quickly become familiar to her and she loved being there. Watching Riley as she gazed out the window into the night, Jack smiled, he couldn't help himself. The feeling every time he merely thought of this girl drove him crazy. It was a feeling similar to the feel good buzz a person got after a few drinks. The happy, joyous feel that went straight to your head when you were on the edge about ready to tip over.

Slowing down, the cab pulled over, glancing at the couple in the back seat. Peering out the window to see where they were, Jack thanked the man driving and hoped out of the car, rushing around to the other side before Riley could register what was happening.

"We could have walked." Riley pointed out, as Jack opened her door and reached for her hand.

"It would have taken way too long." Jack reasoned shutting the cab door and waving to the driver as he pulled off. "I didn't want to walk all that way, especially since that was my last bit of money and we're going to walk back to our hotel." Jack announced with a bright smile.

"You're an idiot, it is a good thing I love you." Riley wrinkled her nose at him.

"I'd hope you love me." Jack teased, lacing his fingers with hers and walking further into the park. "Because I love you."

Jack sank down into the cool sand, bending his knees to rest his arms on them, staring out at the water. Carefully lowering herself into the sand next to him, Riley smoothed out her dress and kicked off her heels. Digging her toes into the cold sand, her eyes stayed focused on the water. The lights of the city were twinkling all around them, sparkling like tiny diamonds on the water. At the risk of sounding completely lame and cheesy, Riley would say they looked almost magical as the lit up the early morning sky.

Shivering slightly as a cool breeze blew, Riley leaned in closer to Jack who wrapped his arm around her. Resting her head on his shoulder, she smiled when he kissed the top of her head. It was the insane little moments like this which made her love Jack even more than she already did. He had a talent for being able to pull these kinds of things off, it was always exciting to see what he would get them into next. Silently they sat, their arms around one another, as they listened to the water lap at the shore line only a few feet away from them.