Coming Home (Jace Norman fanfiction) (COMPLETED)

Chapter 22

I'm so excited, it's finally time! I could barely focus during my classes today. I was just too preoccupied with the thought of tonight, and the sleepover.

I run outside. Blake and Ashtyn are standing on curb already, waiting patiently. Lilian texted me to say she would be a few minutes, something about talking with a teacher. I have no idea where Carter is though.
"Hey Katie." Blake says, as I walk up. I smile.
"So is Jace coming?" Ashtyn jumps in to the conversation. I laugh.
"Yes. But he has stuff to do first, so he's coming later." I explain, grinning.
"He's coming?" Blake asks. He looks so sad. I look at Blake, surprised. I raise an eyebrow.
"Yeah, is there a problem?" I reply.
"No, no! Sorry, I was surprised! I thought he'd be busy filming, and stuff!" Blake blushes bright red, he's clearly trying to cover up his jealousy for Jace. It's kind of cute. I sling my arm around his shoulder, which is somewhat hard to do, considering he's a good foot taller than me.
"Chill, you're my friend. I'll always make time to hang out with you, okay?" I see him look a little unhappy at the "friend" part, but I need to make it clear. I hate that I've friendzoned him, and to be perfectly honest, if he had asked me before Jace, I probably would have said yes. But, I'm with Jace now, so I don't want Blake to get the wrong idea,

"Hey guys!" Lilian yells, coming out the door. She bounces over to us, with Carter in tow.
"Hey." I great them.
"Hey. Are we still waiting on your mom?" Carter says to me. I check my phone.
"Nope, here she is now." I point to her car. Which comes to a stop in front of us. We all climb in. She's taken my siblings home all ready, so there's room in the SUV for my friends.

It's a quick ride home, a mostly silent one too. Each of my friends brought a duffel bag with them, as well as their normal backpacks, containing stuff they would need for tonight, and probably a change of clothes.

We arrive at the house, and my friends and I head inside. I lead them to the basement. Sam's already waiting downstairs. She shows Ashtyn and Lilian where they'll be sleeping. And I explain the guy's sleeping arrangements. They both toss their stuff on the air mattress for now. Since we're all going to be chilling and watching TV on the couches.

Sam, Lil and Ash come back from the bedroom.
"Let's watch something!" Lilian says excitedly. Sam grabs the remote, and selects 'ondemand'. She picks an episode of Henry Danger, "Too Much Game.", her favourite. My friends and Sam share a knowing grin, while Blake and Carter make faces at me.
"Suck it up!" I tell them teasingly. They grumble, and then sit down on the couch next to the girls. "I'm going to get snacks." I say. They barely acknowledge me. Too engrossed in the show.

I run upstairs to the kitchen. I throw some popcorn in the microwave, and raid the pantry for chips. I also find some salsa in the fridge. I butter the popcorn, then grab everything and head downstairs. They're about 10 minutes into the episode now. I set everything down on the coffee table in the middle of the couch semi-circle. Then I pull my phone from my pocket. There's a text from Jace, received 5 minutes ago.

J: be there in 10 minutes, can't wait! :)

K: I can't either!
K: btw, my dad doesn't know we're anything but friends, so yeah.... 😬

J: no worries, I gotcha 😉😏

K: I'm not sure if I should be scared by that or not 😝😂

Just then, I hear the doorbell ring. I quickly return my phone to my pocket, and dash upstairs. Callum's beat me to the door, and has opened it. Jace stands there, in his usual, laid-back style of a hoodie and Vans. He also has a messenger-type bag slung over one shoulder.
"Who are you?" Callum asks rudely. For a 10 year old. There's still a few things he could stand to learn.
"I'm Jace." He answers, smiling.
"Oh, aren't you that guy Katie's always talking about?"
"Thanks Callum! I got this now, go back to your video games!" I say, rushing up. I push Callum behind me. I hear him mutter something to himself, before he leaves. I smile at Jace. "Hey." I say, smiling. I can feel my cheeks getting warm.
"Hey." He replies. He grins at me. "Love your brother, barely remember him, it's been so long." He adds. I blush furiously.
"Sorry about that." I say, embarrassed.
"It's fine." He says reassuringly.
"Oh, come in!" I say, realizing he's still standing on our door mat outside. He comes in and takes his pair of Vans off. He gives me a quick hug, before we pull away and he follows me downstairs. We walk in just as Henry starts his one-on-one match. Jace looks at me teasingly.
"Nice choice in TV shows." He says, mostly to me, but everyone else can hear him too. Sam, Lilian, and Ashtyn turn around. Ash and Lil blush instantly, as soon as they see its Jace.
"Hey Sam, Ashtyn, Lilian." Jace greets them. They smile in reply.
"This is Blake, and Carter." I say, introducing them to Jace. They nod in return.

We all settle into the couches and watch the rest of the episode. By the end, Jace has put his arm around my shoulders. I move closer, it's a comfortable feeling. It doesn't look like anyone's noticed yet though, which is probably a good thing.
We watch a few other movies, snack, and just chill.
Soon, it's time for lights out. I tell Ashtyn and Lilian they can use the bathroom connected to the bedroom, and I tell the boys they can use the one at then end of the basement hall. Sam and I use our own bathroom upstairs, since all of our things are there anyways. When everyone is done, the girls part ways with the guys, and head into the bedroom.

"If one of you guys would prefer the couch, you're welcome too it." I say to my friends. They shake their heads no.
"We're fine sharing." Ashtyn says, smiling sweetly.
"Ok." I answer. Sam sets her sleeping bag up on the smaller of the two mattresses, and Lilian and Ashtyn set theirs up on the bigger one. We're soon all settled, in our blankets. I rest my head against my pillows. I have a lot.

"Let's tell ghost stories!" Lilian says. We all agree. I'm not sure how long it goes on for. It's maybe been half an hour of storytelling, before I drift off to sleep.