A/N: Technically, this is the last chapter/drabble in this series, although I do have an epilogue coming. Hooray!

This project has no doubt been a way for me to experiment with imagery and other things, so please bear that in mind. :)

ONCE UPON A HIGH

"Love sucks."

"I hear ya, bra."

Jen sighed, staring at the ceiling above her. She'd been sitting on her living room couch for eons while binging on junk food, the only thing causing her to move being Jude. He'd rung the doorbell thinking Jonesy was home, but Jen said he was out with Nikki. Jude had looked more upset than usual, alarming her. She therefore invited him to share what was wrong, what had brought him down.

Of course they were both having the same issues at the same time.

He sighed. "I guess Starr can't be the same anymore, bra. She'll always be changing and I just dunno if we can be a thing because of that. It's like, when you love someone, you just gotta set them free, like an eagle or something."

Jen looked at him, grinning at that last sentence. "Are you high right now?"

He chuckled. "Li'l bit."

That explained a lot—even though she'd caught the smell of marijuana when he'd walked past her. She ultimately shrugged before joining him in divulging her own feelings. "Well, I guess Travis and I can't be together at all. It's just too much right now." She exhaled. "Maybe we're better off as friends. Maybe that's all we'll ever be."

"I hear ya loud and clear. Maybe that's the way Starr and I are meant to be, just friends."

Jen figured some people were better off as friends (or even nothing at all) instead of lovers. Relationships could be too complicated. Only the strong could brave what romance entailed while the weak would break under pressure. Some could make it work—like Jonesy and Nikki, who'd broken up but reunited stronger than before. Some wanted to try—like Wyatt, who'd spilled to her the other day that he wanted another chance with Marlowe. Some just couldn't try anymore. That's where Jen and Jude lived—in the we-can't-do-this-any-longer state of mind.

Even though the breakup was difficult to think about, moving on was the best option for both her and Travis. Talking on the phone with him the other day made it clear to her. It was clear that a high like hers wouldn't last.

All she could do was fall onto Jude and curl next to him and his comforting aura on this couch too big for the two of them. She closed her eyes and smiled when he ran his fingers through her hair, soothing her. He made falling from the high easier and safer.

Inhale. Exhale.

Inhale. Exhale.

Inhale. Exhale.

She bolted upright, her eyes widened at a sudden realization. Gone were his fingers from her hair. Gone was her head from his chest. Gone was this feeling of peace, currently replaced by shock.

She'd been cuddling with Jude, and not in a platonic way. Far from platonic.

He was just as startled, but for a different reason. "Whoa, bra. You okay?"

"Jude, do you realize we were cuddling? You had your your fingers in my hair and your heartbeat was so steady and I was so into you and…" She stopped her rambling. Did she really admit that?

He grinned innocently. "You were into me?"

She blushed. "Only a little bit. I was caught in the moment, that's all."

"Oh,"—he sounded disappointed—"cuz I was really into you, too."

Her mouth went dry. "Really?"

"Uh-huh. I think you've always been, like, the best girl a guy could have. And even though Travis didn't have time for ya, I know he tried, because I know I'd totally try. I'd try to make you happy all the time." He scratched his head. "Did that make sense? I don't know if it did, but it sounded pretty good in my head."

"It makes sense, Jude." She grinned. "Thank you for that. You've always been my best friend—best guy friend, I mean." (Nikki always took precedence in best friend department.) "But do you think we should really go there—get in a relationship after we both just left one?"

"I dunno. I think it's worth a shot." He leaned in, feeling brave. "Do you wanna—"

She gulped. "Kiss?"

He nodded in slow motion.

She licked her lips in anticipation, reneging on the last question she asked him.

He leaned closer and her breathing became uneasy, but, as soon as their lips met, she became high. High upon the moment. High upon him. High upon them—the possibility of a them.

She and Jude made no sense and all the sense in the universe. She would never understand how they went from lamenting and being lovelorn over their exes to finding a spark within each other, but maybe it was meant to be unknown. The best part of the high was the high itself, not how it happened or coming down from it. But she didn't want to focus on coming down, because she was light years away from earth.

His kiss brought her to heights she'd never reached. It broke her through the stratosphere and all the other regions of the atmosphere she'd learned about. It brought her among the stars, comets, and asteroids. After days of feeling so blue, she couldn't help feeling so celestial and so weightless.

Her mind explored all the possibilities of being with Jude. Maybe they entered the we-can't-do-this-any-longer state of mind with Travis and Starr to leave the are-we-just-friends? state behind themselves. Maybe they were meant to be more after all.

For once, she didn't bother questioning logic or reason or common sense, deciding to let life whisk her away instead.

She smiled as he ran his fingers through her hair. Even when they parted from one another, she continued to smile. (Because the high lasted.)

She absentmindedly caressed one of his hands. "So, where do we go from here?"

"Anywhere you wanna go, babe."

While she inwardly squealed over being his babe, she wanted to be among the stars again. When she kissed him again, she almost tasted stardust.

"Way to go, Jude!" she heard, sending her down to earth again.

She didn't notice until now that Jonesy and Nikki had entered the living room.

After rolling her eyes at Jonesy "bro-fisting" Jude, Nikki smirked at Jen. "Looks like someone got over you-know-who."

Jen smiled softly. "He's in the past now."

"Same thing with Starr," Jude said to Jonesy. He then locked eyes with Jen. "It's definitely for the best."

"Of course it is."

She prayed to God this high with Jude would last.