Promises (Jack Gilinsky)

Chapter 16

Charlotte's POV:

I run as fast as I can to my house. When I get there, go to the back to door and run into the kitchen. My parents aren't home right now, so it's just me. I lean my back against the wall and slowly slide down to the floor. What just happened?

I don't know why I ran away like that. Jack finally told me how he felt, and I fell the same way. But, I guess I just panicked. I tried walking away, not knowing what to do. But when Jack kissed me, I just freaked out. I know I like him, but for some reason, I was just scared.

To be honest, that was my first kiss. And I'm glad that it was with Jack. But, I wish I had known how to react. I probably scared Jack running away like that, but oh well. I'm not mad at Jack for kissing me, I'm just surprised. But, when he kissed me, I felt something. I felt some sort of wave of warmth rush through my body. Is that how it was supposed to feel?

I sit on the floor for a few minutes until deciding to go up to my room. It's almost midnight, so I may as well get ready for bed. I don't think that going back to the party is a good idea. When I get up to my room, I take a shower to remove the smell of beer from my body. I may not have been drinking, but there were enough seniors at that party to make the stench of alcohol cling to me.

After a half hour of scrubbing my body with body wash, I dry off and put on some pajamas. I brush my teeth and put my hair up in a ponytail, walking back to my room.

When I get there, I look out my window and see Jack's house just a couple houses away. Right as I turn to look away, I notice someone sitting on the front steps. I get closer to my window and realize that that person is Jack.

The way that Jack is sitting just makes him look upset. I guess that's my fault. He probably thinks I hate him now. I want to go talk to him, but what would I say. Honestly, I'm not really looking forward to going to school with him either. It's not that I don't like him anymore, it's just that I'm scared that things have changed and we won't be like we used to be. There's nothing I can do about it now.

I plug my phone into the charger and get into bed. I thought that my thoughts would forbid me from falling asleep, but they don't. I
guess that it's easier when you aren't keeping secrets.

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Jack's POV:

I sit on the front steps of my house as the party goes on inside. I just need time to myself right now. I need time to think about what I'm going to do about Charlotte. She probably hates me now. She liked me and I blew it, as always.

When I woke up on the swing earlier, I realized that I had only been out for a half hour and the party was still going on. I really just wish it was over.

I sit out there for a good half hour until I decide to go inside. It is my party, after all. I need to forget about what just happened and have a good time. But, when I get inside, I realize that that's going to be hard. I need to talk to someone about this, and I know who.

I look around and see Matt and Carter sitting on the couch, hitting on some girls. "Hey," I say walking up to them. "Have you seen Jack?"

"Last I saw he was with Mallory." Matt says. Jack and Mallory have liked eachother for a long time now. He just recently got the courage to ask her out.

"Do you know where they are?"

"I think they're in the kitchen." Carter says, directing his attention back to the girl in front of him.

I make my way to the kitchen and sure enough, there are Jack and Mallory. Mallory's sitting on the counter while Jack stands in front of her. I come up beside him, trying to act as casual as possible. "Hey guys."

"Hey Jack." Mallory says, smiling at me.

"Hey, where's Charlotte?" Johnson asks. The mention of her name sends a wave of pain through my body.

"Umm... Can I talk to you for a minute."

He looks at me and can tell something's up. "I'll be right back, Mallory." He says grabbing my arm and dragging me out back. "Dude, what happened?"

I take a deep breath, trying not to get emotional. I'm not the kind of guy to cry, but when Charlotte ran away from me, I felt tears in my eyes. "Well," I start, hesitating to continue. "I came out here earlier because Charlotte was out here and Cameron said he saw Tony follow her out. So,
I came out and saw Tony kissing her. She pushed him off and he..." I drift off, not wanting to say what happened next.

"He what? Jack, what did he do?"

"He slapped her. So, I came and started yelling at him and we both just started fighting. Then, we started punching eachother. I punched him really hard and knocked him down, and after that he just left."

"Well that's good, isn't it?"

"Yeah, but after he left, Charlotte got really mad at me. Do you remember how me and Charlotte were mad at eachother last week?" I ask. Jack nods at me. "Well, we were mad because she told me to kind of back off because she didn't want more trouble with Tony. So, she got mad at me tonight for doing what I did because she thinks that I just made it worse. We started arguing and...." I stop what I'm saying. Jack knows how I feel about Charlotte, but I've been denying it the whole time. I guess I just don't want to admit it because I told him it wasn't true.

"Jack, what did you do?"

"I told her that the only reason I got involved was because I had feelings for her. Then she told me that she liked me too. But, then she said she was sorry for some reason and started walking away. I grabbed her wrist and turned her around and.... I kissed her." Jack stares at me with wide eyes

"So, let me guess. She ran away after you kissed her and now she's at home and you think she hates you so now you hate yourself." I nod
"Wow, dude, you screwed up."

"I know." I run my hand through my hair, trying to figure out what to do.

"You know, as bad as it seems, it really isn't that bad."

"What do you mean?"

"She likes you and you like her. Sure, kissing her probably wasn't the right thing to do, but I don't think you ruined everything. She might need some time, but I don't think she hates you. I think that you guys are actually going to go somewhere with this relationship. And, even if you don't, you guys are still great friends. I don't think a kiss ruined everything."

I think about what Jack just said for a minute, and I realize, he's right. Charlotte doesn't hate me for kissing her, she's probably just surprised and wants time to herself. I know that things won't be normal between us at school on Monday, but they won't be ruined either. "Thanks for the advice." I say to Jack.

"Hey, it's what I do. Just don't be a douchebag and hurt her. I'll have to beat your ass if you do."

"Got it." I say. I know he's not kidding. I may be taller than him, but Jack can throw a punch that could knock you out. Jack turns to go back inside and I follow him. I decide to go and play truth or dare upstairs.

When I go up, I take a seat next to Mahogany. Taylor and Nash are there too. I don't want to get into too much detail as to what we did, but let's just say that Nash and Morgan definitely had some fun. For the first time tonight, I finally calm down enough to enjoy myself. All of my worries go away for the rest of the night, and it feels great. That's a feeling that I haven't had in an while.