AN: Yay another chapter. Sorry it took a while, I've been travelling a lot. I know that last chapter was a bit shorter than the recent ones. I'm trying to keep them long and interesting, but I'm also trying to push the plot along. And include a little fluff along the way. Enjoy!
Travelling for Christmas had been a major struggle for the Aarons family.
They were driving to North Carolina, where Jess's grandparents lived. They didn't get to see his mother's family often, and they never saw his dad's family. While his dad refused to discuss his childhood, Jess had found out through various conversations with his mom that his dad's father was a drunk who left them, and his mother never got over it. Apparently, Jack Aarons got out when he turned eighteen and never looked back. It didn't really surprise him too much; actually, Jess found it explained a lot, in regards to his father.
His mother's parents were…well, weird. They always smelled funny and smothered him in affection even though he didn't really know them. He supposed it was nice, though. His mother was an only child so they didn't have a son, and it was pretty clear that Jack wasn't about to let them treat him like the son they never had. So the responsibility had, inevitably, fallen to Jess. Oh well. At the very least, he got pretty good gifts from them.
This Christmas, for example, they gave him a hefty amount of cash for a gift – with the stipulation that it would be saved for college. He could tell that his father hadn't been pleased with the idea. Jack had expressed time and time again that they couldn't afford to send their children to college, and Jess was supposed to take over the shop. On top of that, he really didn't like anyone else "helping out" because he couldn't afford it. But he said nothing, which made Jess even more grateful for the gift. College was something he had thought about a lot, in light of recent events. With the grades he was making now, he could apply for scholarships. And that's what he had done, without telling a soul. Well, he told Leslie of course, but he told Leslie everything. She had been the one to help him fill out the application.
He also neglected to tell his parents about it because he was applying for art schools. His dad would be beside himself if he knew that Jess, his one and only son, was going to a school for art instead of sports. He could hear his dad's voice in his head, yelling about "fruity pansy schools." It wouldn't be a pretty sight.
Jess knew eventually he'd have to tell them. But he would assuredly put it off for as long as he could.
His dad got him a football and a jersey for the Dallas Cowboys for Christmas. Go figure, nearly eighteen years of knowing Jess and Jack still couldn't shop for his son. Jess took it graciously regardless, and made a note that he'd have to wear the ugly jersey at some point just to keep his dad happy. The Cowboys were, for whatever bizarre reason, Jack's favorite football team – even though they couldn't ever win anything.
His mom got him some nice clothes that he knew he would wear. At least she knew how to shop for him.
May Belle got him Tic Tacs and some cheap cologne. At first he was particularly bothered by her attempt at making a joke regarding his relationship with Leslie, but her gift ended up tame compared to what Brenda and Ellie gave him.
Apparently, his older sisters (who had joined them in North Carolina) had heard about Leslie. Jess imagined May Belle had to have gotten a hold of them, because he seriously doubted his parents would have been so forward. Even though Mary had made a few comments about the pair, she knew that they weren't anything more than friends.
There Jess was, in the midst of his family, when he pulled off the paper revealing a very crude game that was meant to be played with a romantic partner. Jess's face was beet red as he quickly pulled the paper back over the front of the game, giving a very good death glare to his older sisters, who couldn't stop laughing. His embarrassment was pure torture, especially with May Belle and Joyce Ann poking and prodding and trying to figure out why the gift had been so funny.
Fortunately, Jess got his revenge when Jack and Mary looked. The screams could be heard clearly from the living room, even though the parents had taken the two older girls upstairs and shut all the doors. Jess had to take May and Joyce outside to keep them from overhearing anything inappropriate.
The rest of the trip had been particularly uneventful. Jess did enjoy spending time with his older sisters a little bit more, now that they were out of the house. They were a lot less hostile, just…well, extremely inappropriate. But, at the very least Jess appreciated that they treated him like an adult. Whenever he spent time with Joyce and May, he felt like a kid. Of course, none of them compared to when he spent time with Leslie. She didn't have to humiliate him to have fun, or talk about makeup and boys. He felt smart when he talked to her.
He really needed to stop thinking about Leslie.
Jess couldn't, though. Ever since Christmas Eve, he had thought about her almost non-stop. While Jess had been fighting feelings for a while, it was like that night was a catalyst for them being in full force. And Jess wondered if maybe he'd go for it. His sisters sure thought he should.
The week away from Lark Creek was nice, but he was tired of being cramped in a house with his family. There were only three males in the house compared to the six females, and he was ostracized from his father so he really only had his grandfather to talk to.
So he did.
As weird as it was, Jess talked to Grandpa Al about a lot of things. His grandfather was a lot more understanding and sensitive to Jess. He told him about his art, and about Leslie. It was the first time Jess really talked to anyone about Leslie, in a more-than-passing way.
When Jess was explaining their friendship, his grandfather got this strange look on his face and smiled knowingly. Jess was kind of bothered by it, until his grandfather started talking and flat out told Jess that he needed to make some kind of a move. Jess then spent the next three hours learning about how his mother's parents met, and came to find that it was a similar story to his and Leslie's. Jess never really realized how much he missed out by not having a father and fatherly advice, until that moment. He felt closer to Grandpa Al than he ever did to his dad.
As much as he didn't want to admit it, it hurt. A lot.
But he wouldn't sweat it. He was far too engulfed in getting the "fatherly advice" he had missed out on his whole life from his grandpa. Needless to say, Jess was a lot more confident in himself when they left, and he was pretty sad that he couldn't stay longer. But, Al made it very clear that Jess could call him any time, which was a relief.
As planned, the family had left North Carolina a little early to get back to Lark Creek because of the snow. It felt like an eternity of misery for Jess to spend that much time in the car with his sisters. May Belle was chatting his ear off on one side, and Joyce Ann was still stuck on trying to convince Jess that Leslie wasn't really Leslie, which was extremely confusing.
Needless to say, when they pulled up to the house, Jess practically pushed May Belle out to get out of the car.
There was a lot of snow everywhere. That was how it usually was in Lark Creek for the winter break. It would snow off and on through January and part of February, too. But Jess didn't have time to think too much about the weather; it was noon, and he needed to go take a much-needed nap in his room before Leslie's party that evening.
The excitement and anxiety that came with the idea of seeing Leslie after a week of being away made it hard to wind down, but his lack of sleep due to being stuck in a car ultimately prevailed.
When he woke up seven hours later, he was quite refreshed. The party started in an hour, and Jess didn't take long to get ready. He had already warned his parents that it was likely he wouldn't come home until early in the morning. Well, by parents he meant mother. His dad didn't seem to care what he did, which was fine by him.
Jess walked to her house. It proved to be a smart decision too because there were a lot of cars parked outside, and he would have had to walk anyway.
Leslie had been the one to answer the door, and he instantly got a really good hug. If it wasn't so taxing to be away from home, he would have considered leaving more often. It was pretty clear she missed him, maybe as much as he had missed her.
When they finally separated, Jess made a mental note that Leslie looked amazing. She had on a tight black dress, and he had to look away to keep himself from staring.
The party was full of older people. Jess vaguely remembered that Leslie had said it was her parents' party and they were inviting friends of theirs from DC. They were all nice though, and seemed to like Jess well enough. There were a few people closer to his age, probably kids of some of the adults. Just as he was wondering, Leslie spoke up.
"Jess, these are some of the people I knew in DC." Her tone and lack of using the word "friends" made it pretty clear that Leslie wasn't a fan of the group of teenagers in front of them, and he could tell why.
There was a girl, he learned her name was Brooke. She looked to be about fifteen or sixteen and had dark brown hair. She had on a dress that was made by some guy named Versace, who Jess found out later was actually a very expensive clothing brand. He could tell without pricing her entire outfit that she was extremely materialistic, and it made the conversation dull. All she wanted to talk about was what her Daddy bought her last and going to fashion week in Europe somewhere and the makeup she liked. It was like May Belle, if they had been rich.
There was a guy too, his name was Eric. He had this fake smile screwed in a little too tight and he also appeared to be sporting a very expensive outfit. If there had been a saving grace to him as far as his personality was concerned, Jess didn't look for it. He was too busy fuming at the guy who was making a blatant pass at his-er, at Leslie.
There was a younger boy who looked to be around twelve. He seemed to be completely out-of-place. At the very least, he had another young boy to play with.
Try as he might, Jess noted that Eric and Brooke were unrelenting at splitting Jess and Leslie up. He also didn't miss the scathing look Leslie sent Brooke, when she thought no one was looking. Two hours into the party and Jess was not having a very good time. It could have been because Eric kept trying to slip an arm around Leslie, which made Jess want to knock the guy's teeth out. Maybe.
He barely noticed that Brooke was vying desperately for his attention. He was so good at tuning out a conversation, thanks to May Belle.
After another half hour of mingling and only speaking to Leslie in fleeting moments, Jess was fed up. It was like she was suddenly avoiding him, completely uninterested in spending time together. "Excuse me," he interrupted whatever Brooke had been talking about and boldly walked over to where Leslie and Eric were.
"Hey, I need to talk to you. Oh, you're not busy? Good." He didn't allow any real time to answer, and there were a few times he had cut Eric off, but Jess didn't really care. He grabbed on to her forearm and quickly led Leslie away, who barely had time to throw a brief apology over her shoulder before she was being led to the room they had painted.
"You know, that was pretty rude," Leslie chastised as Jess shut the door, muffling the music and noise from the party.
Jess looked at her for a moment, shocked. "What, you can't honestly tell me you were having a good time with that clown." His tone had probably come out a little sharper than he had wanted it to, but Jess was frustrated – and Leslie's apathetic behavior towards him was really striking a nerve.
Apparently, Leslie had a hidden temper that was quick to flare. "I'm sorry, since when were you the one elected to determine if I'm having a good time or not?" Her sarcastic tone was duly noted, and Jess grimaced.
"Look, I'm not trying to make decisions for you or whatever you're implying. I was just trying to get you away from that creep. A 'thank you' would be appreciated. Last time you sure didn't mind." The jibe wasn't dismissed easily, and things were escalating at a rapid pace.
"Thank you? I'm still waiting for your apology of rudely interrupting my conversation with Eric and dragging me in here. I'm not some damsel in distress, I don't need rescuing. Besides, it looked like you were having a great time with Brooke anyway." There it was. That was why she had gotten so defensive. Jess took a moment, looking at her funny.
"You really think I was having a good time with that Barbie Wannabe?" His lack of anger caught Leslie off-guard.
"Well yeah, it sure looked like it from where I was." She was a little more insecure in this answer, and her voice had come down a few notches.
Jess snorted, hardly able to contain his laughter. "Les, it was like talking to an older, richer May Belle, if she was desperately trying to hit on me every five seconds. It was miserable."
That seemed to extinguish the flame in Leslie's fury. Her arms folded across her chest in a protective manner, and Jess could tell that she was unsure. "Why were you so harsh?"
"Leslie, I got back in town this morning. I haven't been able to see you or talk to you for a week. I was just so frustrated because it was like you didn't even care that I was here. Every time I tried to talk to you, you just went off with Eric. And I didn't like seeing that boy-band clone trying to make a move on you." He shrugged, finding the floor surprisingly interesting all of the sudden. Jess had been preparing to pour his heart and soul out to her that night, after his conversation with his grandpa. Now he felt like the only solution was to shrink back into his shell, if she was going to trample over his feelings without a care in the world.
He hadn't seen her move due to his sudden interest in the floor, so when she pulled him into a hug he had been quite surprised. "I'm so sorry Jess. I don't know what I was thinking. I was just…jealous. I thought you were having more fun with her and I felt the same way, about having not seen you and wanting to spend time with you, so I got angry." A few of the words were hard to make out because she had been speaking into his shoulder, but he got the general gist and wrapped his arms around her. "And I know it's extremely catty and I swear I'm not like this at all so I don't know why it happened."
"It's okay. I'm sorry too." They remained like that for a while. He rested his head on hers, quite relieved that things hadn't escalated any further. Jess didn't like fighting. He knew it was a part of any healthy relationship, friends or otherwise, but he really didn't like being angry – especially not at Leslie.
After a while they separated. "Well, we've got-" she paused, looking at the clock on the wall, "about ten minutes before the New Year," they both heard a crash on the other side of the door, followed by laughter, "and it sounds like a good portion of my parents' friends are pretty drunk already."
They both laughed, and Jess opened the door to the hallway. The music was louder, as was all the laughing and voices. "Hey, do you have a place on your roof where we could sit?"
Leslie furrowed her brows in thinking for a moment. "Um, I think so. Why?"
"I'll show you." They were walking out of the room then, heading toward the stairs. Eric and Brooke were a thing of the past; Jess didn't notice the pair watching them ascend the stairs with glares on their faces. He was too busy thinking about the fact that Leslie had boldly placed her hand in his, and how their fingers were laced.
They were in her room in no time, and Leslie let go to open the window. It looked like she was about to climb out, but she paused, before grabbing a jacket that was thrown on the back of her chair. Jess then remembered he hadn't even taken his coat off, and was glad it wasn't strewn somewhere downstairs. Trying to find it amidst the tipsy house guests would have been a nightmare.
Jess climbed out of the window first, and held a hand out for her to use for balance as she followed. There was a small ledge, and it was barely big enough for both of them. Leslie pointed up behind Jess, and he did his best to scale the sloped roof, seeing the larger flat surface a little ways above them.
He helped her keep her balance and they both sat down. "So, what are we doing up here exactly?" Leslie asked, turning to Jess.
Jess looked out over the forest."There's a lake, on the other side of the forest. I don't know who they are, but every year for like, the past ten years there's been a group of people who go out on the lake and launch fireworks at midnight on New Year." He felt something on his shoulder then, and realized just how close they were sitting. Her head was resting on his shoulder.
It took a moment for Jess to react. He had no idea what he was supposed to do in this kind of situation – probably because he hadn't ever been in it before. After a little bit, he carefully wound his arm around her. He was tentative at first until she relaxed into his arm, which made him more confident in his choice. The sound of the people downstairs got louder as they started counting down from twenty.
Ten. "I guess it's almost the new year." Her voice was quiet, and Jess gave a small nod.
Nine. They were quiet, and they still heard the countdown from below.
Eight. "I guess so," Jess responded back softly, still looking out over the lake.
Seven. A winter wind blew through, and he felt Leslie bury herself more into his side. His arm tightened around her.
Six. Jess had no idea if this was real right now. He had been so sure that it was going to be an act of Congress to tell Leslie how he felt, and yet here they were, on her roof, with his arm around her.
Five. His head rested on top of hers gently, and from that angle he could see a hint of a content smile on her face.
Four. It was as if time was in slow motion. Everyone was excitedly counting down below, completely unaware of the two younger guests' disappearance.
Three. "Hey Leslie?" Jess lifted his head.
Two. "Yeah, Jess?" Her head lifted as well, and she turned to look at him.
One. His eyes darted out across the forest, and they heard the first firework go off. There was a bright explosion of light in the sky. He could hear Leslie gasp softly.
There was a bunch of cheering below, and he could hear people all screaming Happy New Year to each other. "Happy New year." His voice was soft as he turned back to look at her, and she met his gaze with a small smile on her face.
The last conscious thing Jess remembered was that his lips were pressed against hers while the fireworks went off in the distance. He was kissing Leslie. And she was kissing back.
The first thing Jess knew when he came to was that his head was ringing and it was way too bright in the room. He tightly shut his eyes, knowing he definitely wasn't about to open them again any time soon.
It felt like someone had taken a hammer to his head. Repeatedly. As Jess attempted to recall what could have possibly happened to put him in such a predicament, he fought the pain that was overwhelming.
Oh. Maybe it had been the alcohol.
It had started off innocently. At least, that's what he remembered. They went back downstairs, and people started handing them stuff to try. First, it was the classic drink everyone had for New Years - champagne. That was mild enough. He had champagne before, for New Years. But he did remember taking a lot of sips from a lot of different drinks after that. He was pretty sure he tried both white and red wine, beer, a margarita cooler, and a straight shot of tequila. That one probably wasn't the best idea, but it happened after he lost the ability to make good decisions.
It wasn't as bad as the whiskey incident, in the sense of him not being over a toilet the whole night. But this nasty headache that refused to leave certainly wasn't a good alternative.
Jess attempted to pull the covers up over his eyes, but for whatever reason they wouldn't move. That was when something in his brain went off. The blankets didn't feel like his.
He went to move his arm to attempt to get himself up, and found it also stuck.
Finally, he decided he would just have to endure the brightness to figure out what exactly was going on. Slowly he cracked an eye open and was immediately met with the pain of the sun again. He blinked furiously in hopes of it allaying the pain, if only a little. Once his vision settled, Jess noticed that he was staring at a ceiling. One that definitely wasn't his.
His head felt like lead as he tried to move it. Very slowly he turned, trying to see what was preventing his arm from moving. Oh, it was Leslie.
Everything froze as the realization hit him.
Leslie. Beside him. Leslie was sleeping beside him.
What the hell happened last night? Jess's heart rate skyrocketed as he panicked. Carefully as to not disturb the sleeping Leslie (who was on his arm and curled into his side) he peeled back the blankets in fear. Relief flooded through him as he noted that they were both clothed. And he came to find that her arm was across his chest. How had this happened?
Right. He kissed Leslie. That probably started everything. The memory came back to him, and he couldn't help but grin. Pre-alcohol he had kissed Leslie, and she had kissed him back. He was also pretty sure they had kissed after the alcohol, but Jess didn't think that really counted.
Shit. What was Leslie going to think? What was she going to remember? And how was she going to feel about Jess afterward?
He didn't have much time to think about any good excuse to give her, because she stirred beside him. When her eyes opened he could tell her head hurt too, but she still looked surprised.
"Good morning." She said after a moment of processing. She didn't sound angry, or scared, or anything – mildly surprised that he was beside her, but nothing more.
"Uh, good morning," Jess said carefully, not really sure if he should say anything else.
Leslie looked around as much as her head would allow, before looking back at him. "So…what exactly happened?" She still didn't sound upset, which was good. If anything, she just sounded curious.
Jess was really grateful at that moment for Leslie's calm personality.
"I don't really know. I think we probably had a little too much alcohol. I didn't even realize it had been that much, but apparently…yeah." He averted her gaze, worried again. Was she going to blame him for her trying stuff? Was she going to freak out?
Leslie was quiet for a moment, which was unsettling. "Well, I guess it's safe to say we're both lightweights," she said after a long pause, laughing slightly.
Jess was shocked for a moment, before he laughed a little too. It had been true, after all. All things considered, neither of them had that much. Things were starting to come back to him. He remembered feeling really tired, and saying something about it. And then they went up the stairs and back into her room. A red tinge started to grow on his cheeks as a memory flooded back into his head of how they got into the current predicament. He sincerely hoped she wouldn't remember, for the sake of his embarrassment.
If she had remembered the events that happened after they were loaded, she didn't show it. Leslie attempted to roll on her back, wincing as she did so. "Why does it hurt so much?" to which Jess laughed a little at her childish whining tone.
"We need to drink water. That's what I've heard, at least. Hangovers mean you're really dehydrated." He carefully pulled his arm out from under her then, and made a very slow attempt to stand up. He was incredibly unstable on his feet, and had to catch his balance a few times. He looked over to Leslie, who also attempted to do the same, only she fell back on the bed with an "oof."
Jess laughed at her, which caused her to stick her tongue out at him. "Let's not refer to it as a hangover. That implies that we had a lot of alcohol." Leslie rubbed her head as she stood for the second time, not falling over.
"But…I mean that is what happened," Jess responded plainly, confused.
"Yeah, I know that. But-I don't know. I don't like it, that makes me feel like I did something really bad." Jess couldn't help but laugh, and she glared at him.
"It's not that bad. People do worse things at our age. And I don't know about you, but I'm not interested in doing that again. Even without the constant vomiting, it's just not that fun." Except for that part where you kissed Leslie. A lot. He did his best to not listen to that voice in his head, but Jess had to admit, it was right. But, it made him feel guilty, like he took advantage of her or something. It would be better if she was fully coherent and in control of her own actions.
"I guess. I mean, I've had stuff with my parents before. Just apparently not quite that much." She walked to her closet and started rummaging through it. Some sweat pants and a t-shirt soon landed on her bed, and Jess laughed a little.
"At least we know we're not fun, you know? I mean we basically just passed out." Leslie had turned back around, and there was a small smile on her face. For a moment Jess wondered if she remembered, but he figured she would have been a lot more…well, awkward if she had.
She said nothing more and grabbed her clothes, before looking at him pointedly. "Ahem." Her voice startled him from his thoughts, and he realized she was waiting for him to exit her room so she could change.
"Oh, right, sorry. I'll just be…out here," he said awkwardly as he exited her bedroom and closed the door. That was when Jess noted that no one was awake, or at least he couldn't hear anything. The house was quiet, and Jess wondered if it was early.
Leslie opened the door a moment later, and he blinked a few times. She was really quick at changing. Probably from the locker rooms. He knew that improved his time. It was just plain weird to change in front of anyone.
They quietly walked downstairs and were greeted with an empty house. Leslie simply shrugged. "I guess everyone left. That's a little scary to think about, most of the people here were pretty drunk." Jess could only nod in response as they went in to the kitchen and got some water.
After drinking two glasses, Jess decided it would be best if he headed home. He didn't particularly want his parents worrying or coming to figure out why he hadn't come home yet, and he knew that even though he had told his mom he'd be coming home in the morning it was still not something he had initially planned on.
Leslie walked him out. Their departure was a hug, because Jess couldn't quite find the courage to kiss her again. Leslie didn't let him go without kissing his cheek though, which boosted his ego a little. Maybe his fear that she regretted it was just that – a fear. He knew he had to tell her how he felt, but Jess knew it would be best on a new day, when they weren't recovering from a lapse of judgment. When he could go home and get his courage up again.
It was definitely a New Years he wouldn't ever forget.