"Are you going to Lilia's party?" I asked Finn as we walked out of school. Jack had already left by the time Finn and I had reached the bus.

"Yeah, maybe," he shrugged.

"Why didn't you tell me about it? I only just heard today from Asher," I said, bumping his shoulder.

"I don't know. Guess I forgot or something," he grumbled, looking at his feet.

"Hey, I was kidding, it's fine," I smiled, reaching for his hand. He gave me a small smile in return.

"I'm gonna get a ride with Millie today. I'll probably see you tonight," he said, kissing my forehead and walking away to join Millie, who was sitting in her car parked on the curb. That usually happened a few times a week. It hadn't bothered me until now, when I remembered what Lilia had once said to me. Millie had a thing for Finn. And they had been spending a lot of time together lately. Maybe... no. I trust Finn. He'd never do that. Maybe he'd done it to Ellie, but that was in the past. The Finn I knew wouldn't do that to me. The bus honked, a warning that it was about to leave, snapping me out of my thoughts. I rushed on and slid into the empty seat next to Ellie.

"Are you going to Lilia's party?" I asked her after I'd settled in, repeating the question I had just asked Finn. She took out her airpods and turned to me.

"Oh, yeah, I think so. I can come over before and get ready with you if you want," she offered. "The party's at 9, if you didn't know," she added. I considered, but decided against it. I needed time to focus before I'd talk to Jack.

"Can't. I have to prepare for Jack. I'm finally going to talk to him," I told her. She nodded.

"About time. But I'll see you there," she smiled, putting her airpod in, signifying the conversation was over.

I got home at around 3:15. Having no homework to do, I had almost six hours to kill. After an hour of trying to come up with what to say to Jack, I decided I'd just wing it. It didn't sound like the best idea, but things usually come naturally when I'm with Jack. I was hoping that hadn't changed.

Four hours of netflix later, I started to get ready. My parents were fine with me going, they knew I was responsible enough. I changed from my school clothes into something a little more "party appropriate," aka a crop top and jeans. Normally I'd go for something more attention grabbing, like a skirt, but tonight wasn't about me. It was about Jack. I finished getting ready at 8:45, but I didn't leave my house until 9:15. I didn't want to be the first person to show up, especially if I wasn't personally invited by Lilia. I vaguely remembered Lilia's address from when we were closer a few years ago, and took a few wrong turns, but ended up arriving just on time. I parked on a patch of grass in her front yard along with twenty or so other cars. I looked around for Jack's car, but didn't see it anywhere. The party had already started by the time I entered the door. People were everywhere, drinking, talking, and doing whatever else people do at parties. I scanned the room for a familiar face, recognizing a few kids from school, but no one important. I made my way into the living room, where a table of drinks was located. I grabbed a red solo cup and filled it up with fruit punch, hoping it wasn't spiked. Being drunk and confronting Jack didn't seem like a good combination. I took a sip, and the liquid caused a slight burning as it traveled down my throat. Sighing, held the cup firmly in my hand, but didn't drink anymore, and looked around again to find someone I knew. Finally, my eyes found Ellie, who was standing alone by the stairs on her phone.

"Hey," I said, walking up to her. She glanced up from her phone and smiled. "Have you seen Jack?" I asked. She shook her head.

"I texted him, he said he'll be here with Asher at like 10," she informed me. I checked my phone. It was 9:44. "Asher's nice, isn't he," she commented. I think she could tell how nervous I was and was trying to change the subject.

"Yeah. I didn't like him at first, but he's actually a good person." We talked for a few minutes, me constantly checking my phone to see the time and staring at the door to see who entered. I noticed my hand began shaking slightly at around 9:57. He would be here any second, and all this would be over. Everything would finally be fixed. The door opened for about the seventh time since I'd been keeping watch, and in walked Asher, followed by Jack. My heart nearly stopped. He looked as good as ever, wearing an army green jacket that was one of my favorites in his wardrobe. My hand was still shaking as I emptied the contents of my cup into my mouth.

"Go. Talk to him," Ellie prompted me, following my gaze to Jack's face. I took a deep breath and forced my feet to move in his direction. My heart was beating out of my chest, and my breath was coming in short waves. It wasn't talking to Jack that I was scared of, it was the fact that he could reject me. This was pretty much my last chance to fix things between us. If this didn't work, I might lose the person that matters most in the world to me forever.

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authors note: hi! so this chapter is a little shorter than normal, because a super important chapter is coming in the next few days, yay! also this book is almost at 10k and im SHOCKED. im so blown away by the support im getting, never in a million years did i think that many people would actually read this. thank you so so much.