Jack Kelly x Reader

Chapter Twenty

(y/n)'s POV

I looked at myself over in the floor length mirror that was in the corner of my room.

I looked fine, nothing too extraordinary or fabulous. It was just me.

I smiled as I pulled on my black leather jacket and decided, for an extra touch, to put on my gray newsboy hat as well. The only actual color on me was the bright red of the roses sprawled across the shoulders of my jacket, adding a cool, textured effect.

I didn't really wear a whole lot of color, so this was perfectly on brand for me. I looked nice, though nothing exciting. I never really was something exciting. While my friends had grown brighter, more charismatic, more interesting, I'd always been gray.

My thoughts were interrupted by a loud honk blaring from outside my house.

Katherine was always one to make a grand entrance.

I slipped on my shoes and grabbed my purse, hurrying down to open the door and run out, practically flying with my unnecessary speed.

I opened the passenger side door eagerly, plopping in the seat. Kath smiled at me, and I noticed immediately that she was wearing light makeup.

"You look good! What's the makeup about?" I asked with a teasing grin. She rolled her eyes playfully, but I saw a tinge of pink color her cheeks, a bit redder than before under her hint of cosmetic blush.

"No reason really, I just wanted to look nice." She lied blatantly, her flustered state serving as a dead giveaway.

"You always look nice. Is this about a guy?" I asked. When she looked at the road instead of me, without having started driving, I knew I'd gotten her. "Oh my god, who is it?"

"It's just... Davey and I have been close recently, and I think I like him." Katherine said closely. I immediately pulled her into a tight hug, expressing my excitement by squeezing her shoulders before letting go.

"You guys will be perfect together. Now I have something to hold over your head like you do for me." I teased. She slapped my arm, but I ignored it. After all, Kath had a crush! That was a rare occurrence. She was normally to busy on academics to even think about boys.

"If you tell him, I'll tell Jack how in love with him you are." Kath grumbled, driving off to Race's house. It was in walking distance from my house, but far enough from Kath that she had to drive, and I never minded a free ride from my best friend.

"I'm not in love with him, Kath, but touché. Has Davey made a move? Indicated in any way that he likes you?" I asked excitedly. I would love those two nerds to get together. They would be perfect together, I could see it now.

I was definitely going to demand they invite me to the wedding later.

Maybe tell Jack, considering everyone knew about our love life. It was only fair.

Plus, I could find out the truth on Dave liked anybody, which would certainly be good info to have.

"Sure you're not in love with him. I see the way you look at him, and I see the way he looks at you. Sure, he's way more obvious than you, but you get this starry look in your eyes when you look at him. It's so romantic." She gushed. I rolled my eyes.

"Untrue, I'm not stupid. You only see it because you know I like him. Which will never work out, by the way. If he likes me, I manipulated him into doing so. And that's not a healthy way to start a relationship." I told her.

"You hardly did anything. I was the one who pushed you, and he wrapped his arm around you at the movie. If anything, you need to start playing the game more. Flirt a little, I'm sure he'll reciprocate." She told me.

"I was the one who had the idea to fake flirt with Race on a phone call when Jack and Crutchie were in the room." I told her defiantly.

"That was nothing, it can easily be misconstrued as joking around and thus does not count," Kath declared.

"We're here, you can quit getting your panties in a twist about this." I told her, sticking my tongue out at her. She did the same before climbing out, and I soon followed her into the house. We let ourselves in, having been here often enough that it didn't even matter.

The cheesy pop music was obnoxiously loud as it blared from old speakers, and it definitely didn't smell very good in here. Even worse, Kath immediately disappeared once we got in.

I looked around, catching eyes with Jack, who seemed to have been looking around. He made his way to me, and I started to move toward him.

We met in the middle, his eyes never leaving mine and vice versa.

"Hey, Jack! How's it going?" I shouted over the music. His face was soft, with a gentle smile curling the corners of his mouth upward and a sparkle in his beautiful eyes. And now that I thought about it, I realized that was the way he always looked at me.

"I'm doin' okay, you?" He sounded calm, but his hands were fidgeting and giving away some nerves.

"I'm doing well, thank you. You said you wanted to talk to me?" I asked, raising a brow curiously. He took a sharp breath, never breaking eye contact.

"Yeah, well I... I was wonderin' since homecoming is coming up and our friends always pair up to go together, I was thinking that maybe we could be friend-dates? Just for pictures and slow dances and stuff, if ya want." He asked. I put a hand on his shoulder, reassuring him with a kind smile.

"I would totally love that. Our pictures will be the best. Besides maybe Kath and Davey's if they pair up, they'd be cute together." I grinned, winking before slipping in the whole Davey-and-Kath thing. His eyes widened, and he looked confused.

"How did you know about that?" He asked suspiciously.

"Know about what?" I tilted my head to the side.

"That Davey likes her. How'd you know?" He asked again, and I gasped with a huge, devious grin spreading on my face.

"I didn't! But I do know that she likes him." I said, earning a shocked look from him.

"They're gonna be perfect together, huh?" He glanced to his right, and when I followed his gaze I saw the two talking.

"It'll be beautiful, they'll be like two stupidly smart parents." I cooed, glancing at the pair fondly. I looked back at Jack, and in the corner of my eye I saw them look toward us and point to us.

This was gonna be hella fun.

(1150 words)