Friends Forever? - IC

[Xx-Katherine-xX]

IC Thread. To be posted in by @Xx\-Katherine\-xX only.

 

[Xx-Katherine-xX]

HUNTER



​

The pulsing beat of the music were calming to the petite blonde as she rested on the couch, a beer in her hand. Some kid from the football team's parents were away this weekend and well...when the parents are away, the teens will play. She had run into plenty of people she knew over the night, but certainly not the one person she wanted to see. She slipped her hand into her back pocket and pulled her phone out. She scrolled through her messages until she found the conversation she wanted. She thumbed out a text to Jack and sent it. 'Where are you?? You promised you'd come!' While she wasn't entirely unhappy with the situation she was in, Jack always made parties like this better.

ELY



​

Ely sipped his beer with a slight grin on his face as he watched the kid fumble with the keg. This was obviously the kid's first time at a party like this, and while Ely wanted to help, he found it much funnier to watch. He ran a hand through his soft brown hair and leaned against the wall. Somewhere in the house, he could hear a game of beer pong being played and the pulse of music filled the entire house. Not necessarily his scene, but he did have to keep up appearances, right?

 

[DisneyGirl]

LACY;


This party sucked. Lacy had only been here for ten minutes, and already there had been a fist fight between two jocks, a girl who had caught her boyfriend making out with another girl from the cheer squad, and a girl throwing up in the kitchen sink...who was also that same boyfriend stealing girl from cheer squad.


Now, Lacy was dealing with a very drunk and obnoxious hippie skater dude who was trying to flirt with her and kept saying "man" and "ya know what I mean?" every two seconds. She needed to find Ely and quickly, but her phone didn't have any signal in here. And hippie dude was not going anywhere any time soon. What if Ely was texting or calling her this minute? She said she'd be here. Ugh, she needed to get away from this weirdo.





JACK;


"Dude, come on. Let's go." Jack called out to his best friend, Jamie, who had been chatting up the cute girls who had been reading magazines at the local 7 Eleven the guys had stopped at to get some slurpies. Jamie always wanted to get slurpies before going to parties, claiming they helped him get him in the 'zone' but everyone knew he just liked to mix it in with the alcohol.


Jamie eventually parted ways with the girls, scoring one's phone number, and got back in the driver's seat. Jack's phone buzzed. Hunter. He smiled.


"Be there soon...Jamie wanted a slurpie..." he texted back.


"Who's that?" Jamie's brother, Mike, asked. "Oh, is it your giiirlfriend?"


"Shut up," Jack said, laughing. Although, he had to admit, he wouldn't mind having Hunter for a girlfriend. In fact, he'd love to have her for a girlfriend. If, ya know, he actually had the nerve to ask her out. But girls like Hunter, beautiful and smart and funny girls like her...didn't go for guys like him. Did they?

 

[Xx-Katherine-xX]

HUNTER



​

Hunt felt the vibration of her phone from between her thighs and smiled at the notification, identifying the message from Jack.

Jack

me

Where are you?? You promised you'd come!

them

Be there soon...Jamie wanted a slushie

She sighed. Jamie was one of Jack's less-likable friends. She didn't hate him or anything, but he certainly wasn't her favorite kind of person. Too obnoxious for her tastes. She ran a hand through her curly blonde hair and was surprised when someone leaned over and kissed her neck. She turned, eyes narrowed at the tall football player behind her. "Aaron," she said, disgust easily detected in her usually warm voice. Aaron was her ex-boyfriend, the same boyfriend she had lost her virginity to. It seemed that he thought because he had that, he had an invitation to screw her whenever he wanted. "Hey, cutie. There's a free room upstairs if you wanna have some fun," he slurred. He was so obviously drunk, his breath laced with the scent of beer and tequila. She rolled her eyes, "Not a chance. Last time I checked, we were over."


Hunter pushed herself off the couch, phone and beer in one hand and headed out to the front yard. There were kids littered across the lawn and sidewalk, talking, making out, drinking, and dancing. She perched herself on the front stoop and shot Jack another message.

Jack

me

Where are you?? You said you'd come!

them

Be there soon...Jamie wanted a slushie

me

Please hurry. Aaron is being a dick.

 

[Xx-Katherine-xX]

ELY



​

Ely pushed himself away from the counter and wandered away. The kid had eventually figured it out and Ely's entertainment was over. He wondered if Lacy was here. Parties weren't exactly her scene, but he knew she knew that he'd be here tonight. She'd show up then sometimes. The idea of her being here made Ely smile. Despite the fact that they had once promised to never let romantic feelings get in the way of their friendship, Ely couldn't help it. At the time, he would have never thought of her in that way but the last few months...He had begun to notice so much more. The way her eyes would crinkle at the corners when she laughed, her smile, even the way she bit her lip when she was thinking hard.


He shook it off and put a grin on as he saw her, obviously being harassed by one of the stoner kids. He pushed past the warm bodies filling the room and grabbed the guy by his shoulder, "Hey man, mind if I cut in?" The stoner walked away dejectedly and Ely leaned against the wall, his plastic cup of beer still in his hand, "Wow, Lace. Didn't realize you were into stoners. Maybe you'd like me more if I started smoking pot."


@DisneyGirl

​

 

[DisneyGirl]

JACK;


The guys laughed and joked around, listening to rock and roll like they did every weekend night. Jamie was telling Mike and their other friend, Brian, about the cute girl he had met inside 7 Eleven when Jack got the text about Aaron.


Damn Aaron.


He could only imagine what that shithead was doing now, how he must have been bothering his best friend, and it got Jack's jaw tense and his heart racing with both jealousy and anger like no other.


"Don't worry. We're only five mins away." He replied to her urgent text.


Jamie was now talking something about how the cute girls and her friends might be showing up to the party, but the only girl that Jack could think of was Hunter.


"Speed it up, Jamie," he said. "We don't want to miss that party."


When they arrived, Jack wasted no time getting out and found Hunter outside, next to some obnoxious couple who couldn't keep their hands off each other.





LACY;


Ely was here, thank goodness. Stoner kid, realizing he didn't stand a chance with Lacy, slowly made his way out of the way holding up his hands and claiming that, "Hey, man, I didn't mean to give the lady any trouble, man, so sorry, man..."


Lacy smiled, relieved that Ely had come to her rescue. Somehow he had always been good at that. At his joke, she laughed and wrinkled her nose, and said, "Trust me, I like you just the way you are. If not for you, I wouldn't even be here."


Lacy looked around her surroundings. Was it just her, or was everyone in here with someone? Everywhere around the room, people were flirting or kissing like this was some sort of couples retreat.


"Nice party," she added, with a smirk.

 

[Xx-Katherine-xX]

HUNTER



​

Hunter tracked Jamie's car down the street as the boys searched for a space on the crowded street. Eventually, they pulled into a space and Hunter pushed herself up off the concrete, relieved to see Jack hurrying toward her. She smiled softly and gave a quiet sigh of relief. At least with Jack here, she wouldn't have to worry too much about Aaron harassing her. "Thank God you're here. You'd think that Aaron would have eventually figured out that when I say 'no' once it means no, period." She chuckled and sipped from the bottle in her hand, feeling the warm alcohol slide down the back of her throat. She didn't drink often, but she wasn't a lightweight either. It took a lot to get her drunk, and this was only her first beer.

ELY



​

Ely chuckled, his face turned into a wry smile, "Not the best party Warner's ever thrown. There's more fornication than partying going on at this point." He pushed up off the wall and sighed, running a hand through his dark hair. He reach into his pocket and pulled out a package of Marlboros. "You wanna get out of here?"

 

[DisneyGirl]

JACK;


"I don't think he's that smart," Jack half joked, feeling a little tense. If he saw that moron at this party, he might have to...well, whatever he would do, it wouldn't be pretty. He needed a drink.


"Come on, man!" Jamie yelled from the entrance of the house, Mike and Brandon next to him and already having beers in hand.


Jack chuckled and looked to Hunter. "Want to...go inside?"


But before they could get into the house, before Jack could hang out with Hunter, before he could get a beer or two for himself, Madi spotted him.


"Jaaack," she said, running towards him in her little red heels. Madi was Jack's neighbor, and possibly the most annoying person in his life. She was pretty obsessed with him, too obsessed.


"Now the party's really started," Madi said, her orange hair and freckles reminding him of a Chuckie doll. "You have to hang with me and my friends!" She added, pulling Jack by the hand.


Jack cleared his throat and replied, "Actually, Madi, I'm going to stay with Hunter."





LACY;


"Weeelll," Lacy replied, pretending to think about it. "Yes. Please."


"But only if you share your cigs," she said, taking one from his package and lighting it. Then she took his hand, and led him out of the maze of couples.


Once they were outside, she saw Madi MacDonald all over some guy she knew from school. John? Josh? No, Jack. Was it Jack? Oh, well, who ever he was, she looked pretty stupid and desperate trying to get his attention.


"I hope you brought your car," Lacy said, "where ya wanna go?"

 

[Xx-Katherine-xX]

HUNTER



​

Hunter was about to head inside with Jack when she spotted her. That fire-engine red hair could be recognized from a mile away. Madi MacDonald. The plague of Hunter's existence. Madi and Jack had been neighbors for longer than Hunt and Jack had been friends and the girl had a pretty powerful crush on the boy as well. Her smile that had been brought on by Jack quickly vanished as Madi took hold of Jack's hand, begging him to hang out with her and her ridiculously skanky friends. Please don't go, please don't go. As Jack told Madi that he was going to stay with Hunt, a smile crossed the blonde's face for a moment. Madi, a reluctantly pouty look on her face, wandered back to her friends, all of which looked sad and dejected.


Hunter took Jack's hand, in the same manner Madi had and led him into the house. The pulsing beat grew louder as they entered the house and Hunt quickly found her way to a cooler. She pulled out two beers, one for herself and one for Jack. "Here's to obsessive ex's and neighbors," Hunt chuckled. She popped the top off the bottle against the counter and clinked it against Jack's, and took a big swig.

ELY



​

Ely playfully shoved her as she took one of his cigarettes and led the way out of the huge house. He stepped out on the front porch and was practically assaulted by little Madi MacDonald in her rush to get to Jack. Ely vaguely knew Jack, they were in several classes together. He knew the blonde at his side very well though. Hunter had been his next door neighbor since freshman year. They weren't close or anything but there had been several awkward instances where their mothers had forced them to get together. During these times, they would mostly sit out on the park benches and smoke cigarettes, playing on their phones.


He watched as the little scene played out and chuckled as a rejected Madi stalked away. Ely rolled his eyes and turned back to Lacy, lighting the cigarette that dangled from her mouth. He lit his own and then waved for her to follow him. His little Honda Civic was parked down the street, close to the corner. He wandered around to the passenger side and held the door open for Lacy. "M'lady," he said, with a mock bow.

 

[DisneyGirl]

JACK;


"You can say that again," Jack agreed.


The party wasn't as bad as he thought it was going to be. Sure, kids were busy making out everywhere, but hey, once one got used to that, the food and music was pretty good. Or maybe it wasn't as bad as Jack imagined because Hunter was here.


All around them, people danced to a dubstep remix of a hip hop song he heard on the radio a lot, and it felt awkward just standing there while everyone had someone to dance with. Just when Jack was about to ask Hunter if maybe she wanted to dance, Jamie and the rest of Jack's friends came over with cute girl from 7 Eleven and her crew.


"Jack, meet Becca, and her friends, Cassie, Carrie and Annie," Jamie said, being such a polite gentleman.


Annie rolled her eyes. "My name is Anya," she said, in a Russian accent.


Cassie and Carrie, twins, giggled at the comment.


"So I was thinking maybe we could all hang out upstairs, yeah?" Jamie suggested, grinning ear to ear.


Shit. Would Jack ever get any alone time with Hunter?


That's when Becca noticed Jack's hesitation. "I mean, if you'd rather hang with your girlfriend, that's fine." She said with an embarrassed smile.


"Girlfriend?" Jack said, his eyes going wide.





LACY;


Lacy thanked him and got in, putting the radio onto an alternative rock station almost immediately. She turned down the window and exhaled her smoke, feeling freer than she had felt in a while.


It wasn't a cold night, not at all, which made her take off her leather black jacket and toss it into the backseat after she finished her cig. Her high ponytail was being a pain, so she undid it, shaking her head as she did so.


"Guess what I got?" Lacy asked, and then she pulled it out of her purse: her older brother's credit card.

 

[Xx-Katherine-xX]

HUNTER



​

Hunter's eyebrows shot up as Jamie brought not one, but three, girls over to Jack. She wasn't necessarily surprised - this was average behavior for Jamie - but more jealous than anything. She didn't expect Jack to go hang out with them, but she could never be sure. Jamie was able to get Jack to do all sorts of things he normally wouldn't. The sudden reference of herself as Jack's girlfriend brought her back to the current events, bringing with her an unwelcome blush. She lifted her sweater sleeve and covered her face, utterly embarrassed. Not because she didn't want to be Jack's girlfriend, but because the thought, while never have occurred to her until now, was quite appealing in its nature. "I'm not his girlfriend. We're just friends." She turned to look at Jack, "Go if you want." She said exactly the opposite of what she wanted. She wanted Jack to stay here and dance and shit talk with her all night. Not go upstairs and hook up with a gaggle of girls from 7-Eleven.

ELY



​

Ely shut the door behind her before wandering back to the drivers side. He climbed in and shut the door before putting his key in the ignition, starting up the vehicle. It was chilly tonight and he flipped on the heater before putting the car into drive and heading out for the highway. He and Lacy had a little spot out on an abandoned air strip where they would go sometimes late at night. They'd sit out on the trunk, huddle under blankets, and stare up at the stars, passing cigs back and forth between them.


His attention was taken from his driving for a moment as Lacy shook her hair down. He always liked it so much better that way. Her dark hair would fall in waves, framing her heart shaped face, wispy little pieces tickling against the nape of her neck. She had always been pretty but in the moment, arm hanging out the window, flicking her cigarette away into the distance, she was gorgeous. She was saying something now. Ely struggled to process the information for a moment but noticed the credit card in her hand. He smirked, Lacy could be a clever little thing. "Well, now, what on Earth are we going to do with that now, Lace?"

 

[DisneyGirl]

JACK;


If Becca was embarrassed by her error, she did a good job of hiding it. In fact, she looked pleased and giggled with her friends.


Jamie gave Jack a fake and tense smile. "Yeah, Jack, join us..." He said.


Jack understood what was going on just then. Right now, there were four girls and three guys. If one girl was left to the side, then they would all leave. But as long as he, the fourth guy, was there, then no problem.


"Why not spend some time with Annie?" Jamie said, shoving Anya towards Jack. That was the only confirmation he needed that Anya was the fourth girl.


"Anya!" She cried. "It's ANYA!"


"I really don't want to leave Hunter by herself---" Jack tried, and Becca went up the stairs and cut him off, by saying, "Then bring her. Come on."





LACEY;


She smiled at him, wiggling her eyebrows, before bursting into laughter.


"Lots of things," Lacy said, trying to control her laughter. "We could buy a shit ton of snacks, or get some more cigs, or...I don't know, hop on a plane to Disney world,"


She laughed again, taking another cig and lit it. Exhaled, then added, "Or we could just run away together. Of course my brother would find us and totally kick my ass!"


She giggled more, feeling happy. So happy. And she kicked off her shoes.


And that's when she saw it, just a mile from their usual hang out spot: the outdoor community swimming pool, open and unattended.

 

[Xx-Katherine-xX]

HUNTER



​

The blonde's bright blue eyes flickered between Becca, Jamie, and Jack. Becca and Jamie were obviously the instigators here. It was well known that Jamie could be more than friendly to girls at parties. Almost as well known as the fact that Becca and her boyfriend had broken up a week ago. She had always been quick to be back on the prowl, and Jamie was obviously at the top of her list. She didn't speak, remaining tight-lipped and flushed, as Jamie badgered Jack.


"Then bring her. Come on."





Becca was soon sashaying her way up the stairs and Hunt turned, a troubled look crossing her porcelain features. "Are you going to go too, then? I wouldn't put it past you. I'm sure you have needs to be met, darling Jack. Why don't you and Jill," she nodded toward the little Russian girl staring up at him, "head on up the hill?" She didn't mean this, of course. But it was her first line of defense. She was hurt and frustrated, not necessarily by Jack but by Jamie, and she couldn't let people see it. She just hoped that this once, Jack didn't see through her.

ELY



​

Ely was laughing, his warm voice filling the car. Running away was an option he had thought about one too many times. Between everything that had happened before moving here...and his moms' constant pressure on him. He could use a break from reality. He turned to look at Lacy, admiring the way she got that dreamy far off look on her face. And then he noticed what she was looking at.


The pool was completely deserted. Average for the cool January night. Despite that, the blue water was visible from the highway. "Are you thinking what I'm thinking?" he asked, turning down the street leading to the small parking lot. They didn't have swim suits, but that had never stopped Ely. He pushed the Civic into park and pushed his door open, slamming it shut as he stepped out. He winked at Lacy, "Race you." He ran toward the loosely locked gate, quickly picking it with a safety pin and slipping inside. He pulled his shirt off and slipped down to his boxers before diving deep into the cold blue deep.