The Chase
New Year's, a New Year, a time to make promises, correct mistakes, and make new ones. Time to change your life, to make things better, Jake mused silently as he and Marco headed for the brightly-lit house ahead of them. He tried to be optimistic but he couldn't stop the despair that came with those thoughts. Things will only get worse, the nightmares will grow, the pain, the death and the fear. Things are changing all right, but not for the better. Things were just getting progressively worse. He sighed deeply then pasted his familiar, fake smile on his face as he and Marco walked up the stairs to the front door. They didn't bother knocking it was doubtful anyone would answer. Walking inside they saw their classmates standing, sitting, and mingling everywhere. At Rachel and Marco's pleading and begging they had all decided to go to a party for New Year's. Marco looked at ease, a gleam in his eyes. Probably deciding which girl to go chase, Jake thought not without some affection. Jake scanned the crowd, looking for the only person he really wanted to be with that night. He thought he spotted her, but was caught as he tried to head over by a small hand.
"Hey Jake, glad you could make it," Christy, the party's host said smiling.
"Oh, yeah, great party," Jake said. She just smiled bigger and squeezed his arm.
"You're so serious, we need to loosen you up a little, make you smile some more," she said.
"I smile," Jake said lamely, looking for a way out.
Across the room Rachel nudged Cassie, who for the second time that year was dressed in an outfit of Rachel's choosing, in tight black pants, and a tight black spaghetti strap top, with a baby blue see through, button up top over it, and black boots with a medium sized heel. As Rachel had said, 'Jake is a lot taller than you, at least with these maybe you wont be staring into his chest all the time." So Cassie had given in, considering it an early birthday present, she felt incredibly strange, with her heels and felt she certainly looked like a parrot with the make-up Rachel had put on her. Rachel nudged her again.
"Look over there," she said pointing across the room. Cassie followed her finger. "Christy, that little s-," She was cut off as Cassie hissed her name.
"Rachel, don't say it," she warned.
"But she is," Rachel said grudgingly.
"That doesn't matter, its not nice." She said, then she spotted who Christy was staring up at, with her eyes big and flirty, licking her lips and smiling. She wasn't the jealous type but she didn't like the way Christy was touching Jake, or the way she was looking at him. "But true," she muttered. Rachel rolled her eyes.
"That was what I was trying to tell you," she said. "I mean I swear Cassie, you better just get things going with him. Cause if not, there are a lot of girls who would take your place." She said knowingly. Cassie looked at her sharply.
"What?" She asked.
"You think that you're the only one who thinks Jake's cute? Do you ever listen to gossip Cassie? So far it appears that a lot of girls would like to go out with him, apparently they think that his seriousness is mysterious or something. Personally I don't see it, but then again I am his cousin. He broke my toys and stole my pacifier, I don't think anyone would want to go out with him if they knew what a brat he was as a little kid." Rachel said dramatically.
"Rachel, you are such a ham," Cassie said rolling her eyes. Then she narrowed her eyes. "Girls really say that?"
"Yep, though so far Jake is totally oblivious. I mean he is pretty dense about some things." Rachel said, taking a sip of her drink. Then she made a face. "God what is this? This is a fresh batch and it's already spiked?"
"They probably do it in the kitchen," Cassie said off hand. "So you think I should initiate something?" She asked.
"We're going into the twenty-first century Cassie, girls gotta start taking charge." Rachel replied, scoping the crowd.
"I suppose you're right...ok, I'll do it," Cassie said, straightening her shirt. Rachel laughed.
"That's my girl," She said. "A new Cassie for the New Year."
"Well I wouldn't go that far," Cassie said and headed across the room, leaving Rachel to give up on trying to find something non-alcoholic and drink her spiked punch. She slipped past people and headed to wear Jake was, but when she got there, he was no where to be seen. Great, she thought. She turned around to look for him but couldn't see him anywhere. She did however spot Marco, talking to some girl who was smiling back at him. After a moment she decided to interrupt. She scooted through the crowd the best she could in her shoes and tapped him on the shoulder.
"Hey, Marco, have you seen Jake?" She asked. He shook his head.
"Nope, haven't seen him since I got here. If I do though I'll tell him you're looking for him though ok?" He said, Cassie smiled and touched his shoulder.
"Thanks Marco, I'll see you later ok?" she said and walked away.
Jake, finally haven gotten out of Christy's grasp spotted Rachel, leaning against the wall, a glass in her hand. Jeez, this place is like a maze, he thought. Making his way over to her, he must have bumped into at least five people.
"Hey Rachel, have you seen Cassie?" He asked, finally meeting up with her.
"Yeah, as a matter of fact she just left to go talk to you," Rachel said. "Drink?" She asked holding up her half-empty glass a little unsteadily.
"Thanks," Jake said and took a gulp of it. After swallowing he looked at it suspiciously. "What is this?" He asked.
"Punch," she said and took the glass back. "It's good, you should have some." She said.
"And how many have you had?" He asked her, looking at her closely.
"This is only my second one." She replied defensively. He sighed, great, Marco was chasing half the girls in the party, he could see Ax munching on half the food, Tobias was perched on the couch watching Ax single-handedly devour it, Cassie was no where to be found and his cousin was getting wasted.
"How about you go sit by Tobias ok?" He said and pointed her in the right direction, and gave her a little push, watching her walk a little unsteadily toward Tobias and Ax. Well Marco could talk care of himself, kind of. And Tobias was watching Rachel and Ax, now to find Cassie. He looked at the clock on the wall, thirty minutes to midnight; Marco and him had been a little late.
"Hey Jake!" He heard someone call; it was a guy from school, Matt. Nice guy but he went off at parties. "See you made it huh? Here have something to drink," he said pushing a beer into Jake's hand.
"Oh, hey that's ok," Jake said trying to give it back.
"Keep it, keep it. You don't even have to drink it, though I highly recommend it, just hold it, besides you gotta have something at midnight. It's like tradition. Oh hey, I saw that girl you're always staring at. Cassie right? Woo, can't believe I never noticed her much before." Matt said winking at Jake suggestively, then walked off to talk to a group a few feet away. Jake frowned; he didn't exactly like the idea of Matt, or anyone else for that matter, thinking about Cassie that way. He turned around and looked around the room again, still no sign of her. He headed for the back door, but was stopped by someone else, after about fifteen minutes he managed to get away from them. Ten more minutes, he thought. Where is she? He had been looking around the room while talking, but she wasn't there. Again he headed for the back door, and this time made it out without being stopped, except for one guy, obviously drunk yelling that Y2K was coming, and the world was going to end.
Cassie had been looking out in the back for Jake, with no luck. She headed back inside, passing a group of people talking, and headed back for the party. She saw Marco, talking to another girl, who in her opinion didn't look quite sober. Ax was sitting on the couch looking a little ill, and Tobias was staring in astonishment at Rachel who was still holding her punch, or probably a new one it looked pretty full, and trying to dance to the music. She wandered around for a few minutes, then sighed dejectedly. She couldn't find him, and according to the clock she had only about 3 minutes until midnight.
Jake quickly checked outside, then assuring himself she wasn't there walked back inside. Great, what a way to celebrate the New Year, alone, I hope it isn't an omen. Then, as Christy turned off the music and told everyone to shut up as she turned on the huge, big screen TV, displaying Times Square, he saw her. Standing in the middle of the crowd, arms crossed, looking absolutely wonderful. He smiled, a genuine smile this time and headed toward her. He reached her just as the one-minute count down began.
"Hey," he whispered in her ear. She turned around quickly.
"Jake! I have been looking for you everywhere," she said, smiling.
"Likewise," he said. "You must have been hiding." She shook her head.
"I was thinking," she said. Then shook her head. "No, more like, I was thinking, and feeling. It seems like we've been at a standstill lately, we, me and you."
"Thirty seconds!" Someone yelled, and people began to chant the countdown.
"And I don't want to lose you to someone else," she said. "And-"
"What?" Jake said cutting her off. "Cassie, there is no chance of that." He said, putting his hand on her waist.
"Are you sure?" She asked quietly.
"Fifteen!"
"Absolutely," he said, putting his other arm around her.
"I love you," she whispered, smiling, her heart in her eyes.
"I love you too," he said leaning down, to her. He brushed her cheek with his finger and smiled at her. He dimly saw Marco kissing a short blond girl, Rachel, finishing her fourth punch had just kissed Tobias, and was now kissing Ax a happy New Year.
"Five!" They chanted. And as Jake's lips met Cassie's they no longer heard the chanting, or the cheering, they didn't see anyone else. All they knew was that from that moment on they would always be together, regardless of what happened. Their love was meant to last until the next millennium, and further, through death and life and eternity. Cassie smiled into the kiss. And neither of them heard the utter silence a few moments after midnight, or the confused, drunken male voice saying.
"Dude, turn on the lights."
The End