Work parties as a whole were new to you, and you were pretty sure that, if they were made to be voluntary, you wouldn't go again. It was nice, but there were so many people that you were expected to introduce yourself to that after the first twelve, you were ready to go home and crawl under the quilt.

If it wasn't for your knight in suave suit, you would probably have excused yourself not even fifteen minutes after arriving.

As if sensing your discomfort, Jack stuck by your side from the moment he arrived at the venue. He easily extracted you from conversations and helped you avoid any tipsy coworkers who were in the mood for a long-winded chat about their new car, or the new class they were taking with their spouse. Whenever you were starting to lose energy, he would drag you aside into a quiet corner of the hall so you could recharge, keeping you hydrated with the non-alcoholic drinks that were floating through the crowd via hired waiters.

'You don't have to stay for the entire thing,' Jack pointed out, leaning against the wall and adjusting the collar of his shirt. 'I'm sure Greg won't mind if we say he's in trouble, or in the hospital or something.'

'I'll stay for a bit longer,' you said, determined to last at least three hours. 'Even if I just talk with you the whole time, no one can get pissy with me. I'm here, and that's all that matters. Where'd that HR guy go? He seemed pretty normal.'

Jack stood up a bit straighter, craning his neck to see over the crowd of heads. 'Over by the bar. The people he's with all look a bit uncomfortable, so maybe stay away from him.'

'Oh. That's a shame. I thought he was quite nice.'

'Hm, he looked odd from the start. Thought I'd have to get the bucket from the car.' He grinned.

'He wasn't that drunk, surely,' you laughed. 'I mean, he didn't smell of booze, did he?'

'I have no idea. With the amount of alcohol being served here, it's hard to tell who's wasted and who isn't. Have you ever been that drunk before?'

'Nope,' you replied. 'I've never had time for that. Between school and part-time jobs, I didn't have a spare day to spend recovering from hangover. You?'

'Me neither. A classmate of mine once got so drunk at a party that she got arrested for attacking an ambulance with a patient in it. She was fourteen.' Jack grimaced. 'That put me off it even more.'

'God, that sounds awful. That would put me off drinking forever.'

'Agreed.'

'Some of the stuff people drink doesn't even taste good, so I always get—wait, is that Gia?' You stood on tiptoes, squinting slightly to make out the figure of your coworker gliding towards you with an empty glass in her hand.

She was quite a tall woman, and her heeled shoes (plus the high-waisted skirt) made her even taller. With long hair that was tied into beautiful cornrow braids, every part of her looked elegant and carefully arranged. It was like an angelic artist had painted her and brought her to life.

'(Y/N),' she called out, not sounding drunk in the least. 'Oh, look at you! Aren't you a bonny little thing?'

'Thanks, you're looking really pretty too, as always' you remarked, feeling warmth rise up your face and ears. 'I'd like you to meet my friend, Jack Nichols. Jack, this is Gia. She's responsible for the final formatting and design of all the work that gets sent to clients.'

'Nice to meet you,' Jack said, a small smile on his face as he shook her hand. 'I hope you helped (Y/N) settle in when they first started working here?'

'Of course! They fit right in with our team. Look, (Y/N), I'm so sorry for not getting here earlier. I had to pick up some hormones from the pharmacy before they closed for a week. I would have kept you two company and kept all the weirdos away.'

'It's fine,' you said hurriedly. 'Don't stress about it. Jack's been pretty good at keeping me away from the dreaded small talk.'

Gia's perfectly shaped eyebrow raised as she giggled behind a hand. 'A knight in shining armour, is he?'

'Definitely. Not that I'd want him any other way.' You gave his arm a quick, reassuring squeeze, not noticing his wide, revering eyes. 'Have you taken advantage of the bar?'

'That's next on my list,' she said, holding up the empty glass. 'I can't drink loads at a time, though, being on HRT and all. My doctor told me two small glasses once a week is fine, and Jingyi made a glass for me that's the recommended size.' She traced a single, manicured finger along the glass' rim, a fond look creeping onto her face. 'It's so pretty I might never stop using it.'

'That's so sweet of her,' you cooed, admiring the way the glass twinkled under the bright lights ahead.

'I know, right? I should probably give it a christening—do you mind coming with me, Jack?'

'Uh, sure?' The poor man looked confused as to why Gia wanted to talk to him alone. 'I'll be back in a bit.'

You waved as Jack was dragged off, staying in your corner as the two disappeared into the crowd. Pulling out your phone, you tried to ignore the covetousness that was making itself known in your torso, turning your attention to the message that had popped up a few minutes prior.

socks:

How's the party?

you:

it's pretty good. lots of drunks. what're you up to?

socks:

Not much really. Just binging some crime doc.

you:

oo which one? is it the new one they made on that con artist?

socks:

Not sure tbh. Im not really paying attention

you:

oh okay !

i might watch it this weekend

jack's coming round on sunday so i'll watch it with him then

socks:

Why?

you:

why what?

socks:

Why is he going round? You know I dont like him

you:

i don't like some of your friends, but i don't say they can't stay over at your place

if you're just gonna complain about how much you don't like him i'm gonna go.

gia's talking to him now, so.

socks:

He's there at the party with you??

you:

yeah cause you didn't wanna come

i wasn't going on my own

bye

You switched your phone off and turned it on silent. You didn't have time to deal with that when you were having a perfectly normal night. That's what you kept telling yourself: you were a perfectly normal person, with your perfectly normal plus one, attending a perfectly normal work party with your perfectly normal coworkers.

Everything was going to be fine.

If you told yourself that again and again, then maybe it would come true. That's how that worked, wasn't it? Even if it didn't work, you were a smart cookie—you would figure out a way to make it work.

It was lonely in your corner of the hall. With no Jack around, it was startlingly quiet and isolated. It reminded you of the times when Socks would take days off school due to sickness or table tennis competitions, and you would be left in a class full of people that you never connected with.

It was just like being back at school, you realised. You were still in a room full of people you didn't really know, waiting for that one person to return, idly twiddling with your thumbs as you beat back each wave of despondency.

You perked up when Jack returned, gazing at him in concern as you noticed his ghostly sick skin and rigid posture. He forced a weak grin, which ultimately made you worry more (probably the opposite of what he wanted).

'I think,' he began feebly, 'that Gia is now your adoptive mother. She just gave me the talk.'

You let out a surprised laugh, asking, 'What did she say?'

'She said she'd pluck the hairs from my head one by one if I did something to upset you. She thinks we're together.'

'Do you want me to go talk to her?'

'No, it's fine. I told her you were with someone else. But...' He chewed on the inside of his cheek, avoiding all eye contact with you entirely while his left hand began to pick nervously at the skin around his fingernails on his right hand. 'If you decide that you want another relationship after you break up with Socks, then I'd be more than willing to be that person. If you just want a rebound or no relationship at all, then that's okay too! Just tell me and I'll make it work.'

You placed your fingers over his, forcing them away from the now raw and bleeding skin. 'Relationships are a two-way thing, you know? You don't have to be the only on to make it work—I can meet you halfway. It's something people do together.' Fingers intertwined, you beamed at him reassuringly. 'I'll break up with Socks soon; I promise. Then we can do whatever we want.' For once, you didn't have to thing about what to say: the words just came flowing out in the right order, as if you were always meant to say them.

'Are you sure? I don't want to rush you.'

'I'm sure. I'll take care of things, and then everything will be fine. Trust me.' You winked cheekily, watching him fluster. 'Whatever happens is just...another hurdle, I suppose. We'll be fine, though.'

'We will,' he echoed. 'We'll be fine. I'd give you a kiss, but I don't wanna make you uncomfy, since we're in public and all.'

'Save it for when we get together, okay? Then you can get all the kisses you want.'

That seemed to cheer him up, and the conversation moved onto the documentary you had thought of watching with him on your first, bi-weekly hangout (was that now a date?). You fizzled with excitement at the thought of your first real date, and you were sure that you would start glowing if you worked yourself up anymore.

And then the cheer of the evening was swept out from underneath you in the form of your seething partner creeping into the hall, anger radiating off them in waves as they began to search for something amongst the merry workers.

ngl i felt nervous for jack writing this.

- k.