welcome to part 274857 of I havent updated in forever. I can explain! I went from working 1 day a week to 6 so needless to say I've been very busy. But I'm back to 1 so hopefully I'll be uploading more consistently! (though knowing me that's not very likely). Anyway enjoy!
Also if any of you have seen the Umbrella Academy on netflix I just started a story for that I would love if you checked out :)
"Is that what you're wearing?"
Jane looked down at her outfit. Black jeans with rips at the knees, sneakers, and a grey t shirt certainly wasn't the fanciest outfit she owned. But she was going to a house party, not prom. She looked up at Max, ready to make a comment on her clothes before she realized that she'd gone to the bathroom to change. The high waisted jeans and bralette she had on under a jean jacket looked a lot nicer than what Jane was wearing.
"I thought so." She replied, leaning back in the chair at Max's desk. "but I'm guessing you're gonna tell me that I should change."
"You guessed right." Max said, heading over to her dresser and opening up the second drawer from the top. "Just because you're dead set on being just friends With Wheeler doesn't mean you can't show a little more skin. I'll even pick something black to fit your whole theme."
Max quickly found a black short sleeve crop top that she threw at Jane before telling her to go change. Jane obeyed despite the fact that crop tops weren't really her thing. She was always telling Leo he needed to get out of his comfort zone more often and she figured she needed to take her own advice every once in a while. Once she changed she stood in front of the mirror in Max's bathroom and surveyed herself.
What would Leo think when he realized she, someone he thought was so fantastic and amazing, was so plain?
Jane yanked out her ponytail and shook out her curls in hopes of making herself look a bit more exciting. It didn't work. With a frustrated sigh she pulled out her phone and typed up an email.
Leo,
Ever since you told me that you know we live close to each other because of my area code I've been going crazy wondering if we've ever met without knowing it? How insane would it be if we went to school together? Imagine if in person we hated each other.
I don't know if we live close enough to go to school together since you won't tell me where you're from. Which you should. I know you're scared to meet me because you think I won't like you as much in person. I'm going to be really blunt and tell you that you should suck it up. Don't you think I'm scared of the same thing? Of course I am! But I still want to meet you because you're really important to me.
Sometimes I feel like you just don't want to meet me.
I'm going to a party tonight on Cherry Street in Hawkins. If you're close enough to know about it you should go. Maybe going to a party will be easier if you know I'm there.
Virgo
Jane's heart was pounding. What had gotten into her that she was suddenly so bold? That was usually his job.
What if he was going to the party? What if they bumped into each other? What if he got drunk and started flirting with girls? What if she was one of those girls?
The thought of Leo flirting with her in person made every inch of skin on her body warm so she quickly cut that train of thought short and went back into Max's room.
"Can you straighten my hair?" she asked, sitting back down at the desk.
Max sat up on her bed. "Sure." She said, coming over and plugging in her flat iron. "What's the occasion?"
"You said I should look nice, right?" Jane pointed out.
She shrugged. "Yeah, I guess. I more meant not dressing like you just rolled out of bed. Mike won't be able to keep his hands off you now, you know."
Jane rolled her eyes. "That's not why I want it straight." She said. "I told Leo I was going to be at the party. I figured if he's close enough that he doesn't want me to see his area code he might be close enough to be at the party."
In the reflection of the mirror she saw Max raise an eyebrow. "That's crazy."
"Yeah." She agreed.
"But… if he won't let you see what area code he's in do you think he'll be willing to meet you at a party?"
Jane let out a sigh. "No." she said honestly. "I don't. But I'm just feeling kind of frustrated right now. I mean, does he just not like me as much as he says he does?"
Max shook her head. "No way." She said. "He's whipped."
She threw his hands up in the air, careful to avoid the flat iron Max was running through her hair. "Then why? I don't understand! It can't just be that he's scared."
"Maybe it is," Max said, "if he's got issues with anxiety. If he didn't I'd say there had to be something else to it. But I'm thinking that you might have to accept that he's just not ready for that right now."
But when would he be? If he wasn't ready after a year of Jane begging she doubted he ever would be ready. The real question was if Jane was okay with it. It was nothing new for her. But what if he still didn't want to meet her in another 6 months? Or a year? What if Mike really ended up having feelings for her? She'd have to pick between them, she supposed. And though she didn't want to she knew it would be foolish to turn down a real life relationship for someone who wouldn't even meet her.
Max must have been able to tell she had a lot on her mind because she said "Don't worry about that right now. With or without Leo we're gonna have fun tonight, right? We'll drink, and dance, and you'll flirt with Mike just for the hell of it, and you won't worry about Leo."
Jane wasn't so sure about that part but she smiled at her best friend in the mirror anyway.
xXx
She and Max got to the party on the earlier side and yet it was still in full swing when they walked in the door. Music was playing so loud that the floor was vibrating against her sneakers. The two girls grabbed something to drink and did a lap around the house to see who was there before going out to the backyard. It was hard to jump into a party straight away.
From where they sat outside they could see the party begin go fill up. When would Mike and his friends show up? Would they show up? He'd looked kind of hesitant when she'd asked him. Maybe parties weren't his thing. She didn't blame him. In all honesty they weren't really Jane's ideal way to spend a Friday night either. She was only going because she'd asked him to come. If she hadn't she and Max would be at her house down the street complaining about the noise.
She wasn't just on the lookout for Mike. Jane's eyes were peeled for any sign of Leo inside the house. Which was kind of stupid since there was nothing she could really look for. She didn't even know if he was coming to the party. But, for some reason, she had some kind of gut feeling that he'd be there. Even if he wasn't planning on going she thought that he would change his mind when she told him she would be there. Unless he lived an hour away.
Jane didn't want to think about the possibility that he would chose not to go despite knowing she'd be there. It would break her heart.
"You look like a nervous wreck." Max commented.
She looked down at her legs, bouncing up and down and creaking the wood of the back porch. "Sorry." She mumbled, taking a drink from her cup.
"You gotta put him out of your mind." Max told her. "You have no idea if he's coming or not. And even if he does you're not gonna recognize him the second he walks in the door. Unless he tells you he's coming we should act like he's not."
Max was right. But Jane wasn't ready to admit that he wasn't coming.
A few minutes later her phone buzzing snapped her out of her train of thought and she quickly dug through her pocket to answer it. A smile spread on her face when she saw Mike's name calling her. She lifted her phone to her ear, "Hey."
"Hey." He answered. "We're just walking up to the house. Parking is insane."
Jane stood up and motioned for Max to follow her. "Yeah, I bet." She said. "It was getting bad when we walked here."
"Looks like the whole school's here."
She wondered if that included Leo.
"We just walked in." Mike said as she and Max struggled to make their way to the front door. "I see you guys."
"Okay."
She hung up and searched the crowd for a familiar group of boys. Mike's height gave him an advantage and she was able to spot his head sticking up higher than most of the people in the room. Jane and Max linked arms as they forced their way through the crowd to reach them.
As soon as Mike came fully into view she knew she was going to have a tricky night. He looked really nice. Damn him. For some reason, possibility the humidity, his hair had a slight curl to it. Which she wasn't complaining about at all. He had on black jeans, boots, and a baggy striped sweater. But nothing that he wore was as cute as the smile of relief that appeared on his face when he saw her. Shit.
"Wow." He said when he reached her, having to yell over the music.
"What?"
"Your hair." He commented. "It looks great."
Jane's face flushed bright pink and she self consciously tucked a piece of hair behind her ear. "Thanks." She said, "Max did it."
"She did a good job."
"I am right here, you know." Max, who was still glued to Jane's side, pointed out. His friends all laughed while Mike and Jane went red.
"Sorry."
Max rolled her eyes. "Let's get some drinks in you guys."
Jane only took a few steps towards the kitchen when she heard someone behind her call her name. When she turned around she spotted Will trying to catch up with her.
"Hey." He said once he reached her. "Thanks for inviting us."
"Yeah, sure." Jane said. "My pleasure."
"You know, not to tell Mike's business or anything but I'm kind of surprised he agreed to come. And that he followed through."
She glanced at Mike, who was now in the kitchen with the others. "Really?" she asked, looking back at Will.
"Yeah." He admitted. "I think parties kind of freak him out. A few months ago we pretty much had to trick him into going to one."
Jane raised an eyebrow at him. "Really?"
Will nodded. "We told him it was gonna be a lot smaller than it actually was. We was pissed until we got some drinks in him."
"I probably would be too."
"It was for his own good." Will defended. "We're amazing friends, if I say so myself, but he needs more than us. Like you."
Jane blushed, yet again. "Well he's a great friend, too. I don't see why he doesn't have more already."
Will shrugged. "He never really wanted more." He told her. "He must think you're pretty cool."
"I guess."
"Well, thanks for inviting us." Will walked away, likely oblivious to the way his words affected Jane.
Mike didn't really seem like the loner type. Sure, he and his friends mostly kept to themselves. But he was friendly with her since the day they met. And he'd been to two parties in a matter of months, which was more than Jane could say she'd been to. He didn't at awkward or shy around her. Jane hadn't really noticed just how small his circle was until recently. It didn't make sense at all. Mike was a great guy, why wasn't he incredibly popular.
She needed a drink.
Jane made her way to the kitchen, squeezing past drunken and dancing teens she vaguely recognized from the hallway. Max and the boys were all standing around the drink table, cove red in cups, beer bottles, and a very classic looking bowl of spiked punch. Her eyes lingered on Mike, who seemed to be scanning the crowd for something. Or someone. Did he have a girlfriend he'd never mentioned?
"Looking for someone?" she asked when she finally reached him.
Mike met her eyes and for a moment he looked like he didn't know what to say. For a moment she thought that maybe he was keeping some kind of secret from her, which he was allowed to do of course. But his usual smile reappeared on his face before she could think about the possibility too long. "Yeah, you." He said, then turned towards the drinks on the table. "What are you having?"
"I'll take some of the suspicious punch." She said, picking up a plastic cup.
Mike picked up the ladle and poured some of the drink. "What do you think is in this?"
She shrugged. "No idea." Jane said, taking a drink and then wincing slightly. "It's strong though."
He looked down at the punch for a moment and she could see him debating whether or not he wanted to take a cup himself. Mike eventually grabbed a cup, filled it, and drank almost the whole thing in one shot.
"Holy shit." Jane said.
Mike shrugged. "I'm trying to catch up with you."
"I had one beer." She told him. "In 45 minutes. That's nowhere near chugging that instant alcohol poisoning potion."
"Okay mom." Mike said sarcastically
Jane punched his arm and took another drink.
