follow me down.

"Orlando Bloom? Puh lease, Jules. I'm comfortable enough in my masculinity to admit that Johnny Depp is way cuter." Alex shrugged, grabbing the blanket off the back of the sofa and throwing it over the two of them. It'd been awhile since he'd seen Pirates of the Carribean-- in fact the last time he watched it was with Juliette, a few months before the party. It was a good movie, although Alex actually preferred the Harry Potter films if he were being honest. One arm was slung around Juliette, and with his free hand Alex navigated the Papa John's app and ordered he and Juliette's usual meal.

--

"Nowhere in particular.... let's just drive." Frankie smiled softly, giving Jack's knee a squeeze. "Besides-- isn't that where all of our great ideas come from?" It was true, though-- when Frankie and Jack hung out, they never really had a set plan. They just went wherever the night took them. The fact that they normally ended up in one another's beds was entirely irrelevant. "Maybe we could do mini golf or something? When was the last time we did something that normal people do? Let's not go see a movie though. That's stereotypical."

"No fucking way! You need to get your eyes checked, 'lex." Juliette said, shaking her head. "Orlando Bloom is way more attractive than Johnny Depp. He has Keira Knightley waiting to see him once every ten years for a freaking day. That says something about his level of attractiveness. I'd wait ten years to see him if I was her too." She was clearly very passionate about the Disney franchise. That was how she was with most Disney films though. Her family was one of those Disney families who went at least once a year to Orlando and Pirates also happened to be her favorite ride in the parks.

---

Jack nodded. "Alright, we'll just drive and see what happens then." He said. He didn't mind doing that. More often than not that was what they did anyway. He didn't mind not having a set plan and neither did Frankie, and she was definitely right about their best ideas coming out of them not even having a set plan. "I hope you remember that I'm a pro mini-golfer, Frankenstein." He said with a slight grin. "We can do that so long as you promise not to be a sore loser when I win like I did last time."

Alex scoffed, shaking his head before putting his phone down. "I'm not denying that Orlando Bloom is cute-- but on the cute scale? Johnny Depp ranks much higher. Not as high as me, though." The singer made a show of clearing his throat, a smirk appearing on his face. Alex then moved back into his original position, gently resting against Juliette. All he wanted right then was to just relax if not for more than a few moments. Just enjoy what would probably he one of his last hangouts with Juliette before they went into full baby prep mode.

--

Frankie shook her head, looking at Jack as if he were nuts. "Once. One time out of the thousands that we've played mini golf together, you actually won. And you're acting like tou won the god damn olympics." She had to admit, though, Jack's enthusiasm for things was infectious. It was one of the many reasons she adored him. Whenever she was around Jack, Frankie couldn't help but have a good time. "I'm gonna reclaim my throne, Jack, and you can't cry like a baby when I do. It's inevitable." The brunette winked.

Juliette rolled her eyes. "Eh, you're alright, I guess." She said with a smirk. "Now Jensen Ackles on the other hand...he definitely ranks higher on the cute scale than Johnny Depp and Orlando Bloom." She was relieved that things had turned out so well today. She'd been so worried and worked up over telling Alex the news, but he had taken it rather well, and after how stress-induced this morning had been, she was glad to just sit and relax for a while with him. She knew that they wouldn't really be getting days like this all that often soon enough.

---

"Maybe it was the mini golf olympics, Frankie. Regardless, I still one last time and I plan on winning this time too." Jack said confidently. He had really missed Frankie over the course of the last couple of weeks. He was glad that he was home and that he had a decent amount of time off now. He'd be able to spend more time with his favorite brunette, and he definitely planned on taking full advantage of that while he had the opportunity to do so. "Keep telling yourself that, Frankenstein, keep telling yourself that." He grinned.

"You know what, I'm not even gonna argue with you on that one. Jensen Ackles is one handsome fellow." Alex shrugged before settling in and continuing to watch the movie with Juliette. He'd just started to get into it when there was a knock on the door, signaling the arrival of their pizza. "One sec, Jules." Alex gave Juliette's shoulder a gentle squeeze before getting up so he could pay the pizza guy. He gave him a nice tip and thanked him before shutting the door and heading into the apartment. "Alright, lunch is served." Alex laughed, setting the pizza box down on the coffee table.

--

Frankie laughed again. "The only place you'll be winning mini golf at today is in your dreams, Jack in the box!" She teased, grabbing her phone out of her purse as they drove to see if she had any messages. There was only one message, and it caused Frankie to raise a perfectly manicured brow. "Now that's weird... my contractor for Martini's just asked me out for dinner on Saturday." She opened the message, trying to decide what she wanted to say. On one hand, Frankie was absolutely head over heels for Jack. But on the other hand, she couldn't wait around for him forever.

"Good, because we were definitely about to have something major to argue about if you chose to argue with me there." Juliette teased, sticking her tongue out at him before she focused her attention back on the movie. Considering she'd been the one who had wanted to watch it, she hadn't been paying all that much attention to it since they started watching it. When the pizza arrived, she stayed put on the couch, nodding with a smile when Alex stood and told her he'd be back in a second. She was totally fine until he walked back over with the pizza box and set it down on the coffee table and she got a whiff of the pizza. Blue eyes widened as she gagged, covered her mouth and jumped from the couch and bolted to the bathroom faster than she probably ever had before.

---

"We'll just have to wait and see about that one, Young." Jack said, punctuating his words with a slight shrug of his shoulders. "If you're so sure of yourself and your mini-golfing abilities though, maybe we should try making things interesting." Before he could go on to make any actual suggestions, she was looking down at her phone with a questioning expression written across her face. "As in he asked you out on a date?" The lanky guitarist asked incredulously. "Why is your contractor asking you out? Isn't that unprofessional?"

Alex's eyes followed Juliette, and he was up immediately, following her to the bathroom. He gently nudged open the bathroom door and knelt beside her. "Hey," Alex whispered, rubbing her back with one hand and pulling her hair back with another. He waited until it seemed like Juliette was done before getting up and filling the little cup next to the sink with water. "Here, Jules. Drink this. And then brush your teeth. So, right now pizza is a no go. I gotta write that down." The singer mumbled as he searched for Juliette's toothbrush.

--

Her brow raised slightly at the tone in Jack's voice. She thought she detected a smattering of jealousy, but she chose to ignore it. There was no way that he'd care if Mike asked her out. "He didn't exactly say date, more like celebrating the completion of the club. But I think he likes me, so it might be a date." Frankie shrugged, running a hand through her hair. "Okay, so back to what we were talking about originally. How are we gonna make this interesting?" Frankie asked, putting her phone in her purse.

Juliette hadn't expected pizza of all things to turn her stomach, though she supposed there would be certain things that she normally liked that she wouldn't be able to stand for a while. Not eating pizza was definitely going to suck, though the mere thought of the food seemed to turn her stomach, so she pushed the thought to the back of her mind as she gripped the sides of the toilet and emptied the contents of her stomach. She had heard Alex follow after her, though it still caught her off guard when she felt him rub her back and pull her hair back. "Thanks, 'lex." She croaked, taking the cup of water from him and drinking the water as she watched the singer search for her toothbrush and mumble to himself about needing to write down that she couldn't stomach pizza right now. She couldn't help smiling as she watched him, it was a cute sight. "It's in the medicine cabinet."

---

Jack definitely wasn't jealous. Nope, no way in hell was he jealous. He and Frankie weren't together, they were just friends who hooked up quite frequently. If she wanted to go out on a date with her contractor, she could, but that didn't mean he didn't think it was unprofessional on her contractor's part to ask her out. "If he likes you, then it's probably a date, Frankie." He said. He refused to acknowledge the fact that the thought of her going out on a date with another guy caused his stomach to sink. No, it definitely didn't bother him one bit. She could go out on dates with whoever she wanted. "I don't know, maybe we should come up with a bet or something." He shrugged his shoulders.

Alex nodded his head, grabbing Juliette's toothbrush before handing it to her. "Here ya go, kiddo." He spoke, stepping out of the way of the sink so she could brush her teeth. "I'll go take the pizza into the kitchen and eat there so the smell isn't killing you." The singer gave Juliette's shoulder a light squeeze before doing just that, heading out of the bathroom and grabbing the pizza box from the coffee table. He plunked himself down at the kitchen table and took a slice out of the box, taking a huge bite. "Do you want a ginger ale or something, Jules?" Alex called to the living room as he got up from his spot to get a beverage from the fridge.

--

Frankie smirked to herself, looking out the window. Yep, the clipped tone in his voice and the sudden change of the mood in the car told her that he was indeed jealous. A plan started to formulate in the former stripper's mind, and she composed herself. "I'm probably gonna tell him no. I mean he's cute, but I don't wanna fuck things up if it goes sour." She shrugged before looking over at Jack again. "A bet, huh? Okay. Loser buys dinner? AND has to post a selfie in the outfit of the winner's choosing." Frankie smirked. "What do you say, Barakat? Unless you're scared," there was a teasing tone to Frankie's voice, and she gently nudged her companion in the ribs.

"Thanks, Alex." Juliette said quietly, mustering a small smile as he handed her toothbrush to her. She started brushing her teeth almost immediately after, wanting to get the acidic taste out of her mouth as quickly as she possibly could and nodded when the singer told her that he was going to bring the pizza into the kitchen. The mere thought of it was making her nauseous again, so she was glad that he was going to do so. Once she had sufficiently gotten rid of the taste in her mouth, she set her toothbrush down on the vanity and headed back out into the living room. She curled back up on the couch and pulled the blanket back over herself, focusing her attention back on the movie. "Just some water, please!" She called back when Alex asked her if she wanted anything.

---

Jack refused to even consider the fact that he might be jealous, and he would deny it up and down if Frankie were to mention it. He had absolutely no reason to be jealous. If she wanted to go out with her contractor, then he wasn't going to stop her. He still thought it was weird that the dude had asked her out in the first place, definitely unprofessional in his opinion, but Frankie could do whatever she wanted. She didn't need to ask him or anything like that. They weren't together or anything, just friends who occasionally slept together from time to time. That was it. "It's totally up to you, but I still think it's weird that he asked you in the first place." The guitarist responded, keeping his eyes on the road. He scoffed in response to her later words. "Me? Scared? Please. I think you're the one who should be scared, Frankenstein. You're definitely going to lose."

[I'm sorry for disappearing for a couple of days, it's been a busy few days...should be back to normal once my brother graduates on Friday]

(it's okay! Take your time, hon!)

Alex nodded his head, ducking into the fridge to grab Juliette the water she requested. Once he did, he shut the door with his hip and shuffled back into the living room. "Here, kiddo." He handed Juliette her water before sitting down next to her, arm slung over her shoulders as they settled back in to watch the movie. A tattooed hand absentmindedly played with her hair, and Alex felt a content feeling settle over him similar to the blanket that was covering Juliette. He could really get used to this-- just sitting and watching a movie on the couch with Juliette. It blew the singer's mind that this time next year, her apartment would be littered with baby toys, clothes, perhaps even one of those little swings. Alex was more than financially able to take care of his son or daughter, but still. Everything that a child would potentially need blew his mind.

--

Frankie practically wanted to beat her head against a wall. Everything from Jack's demeanor to his tone of voice screamed that he was jealous at the thought of her contractor taking her out on a date. But he was being such a fucking ding dong and refusing to admit his feelings. She bit her lip to hide her frustration, rolling her eyes at his comment. "Me? Lose? Pshh. Loser is your middle name, buddy. Be prepared to wear one of my crop tops and some leggings." Frankie winked, frustrated mood quickly evaporating.

"Thanks, Alex." Juliette said quietly, mustering a small smile as she took the water bottle from him. She took a couple of sips of the cool beverage, and leaned her head against the singer's shoulder when he threw an arm over her shoulders once more and focused her attention back on the movie. This was something that she could definitely get used to, though she knew that the coming months would be pretty busy getting ready for the baby and everything. It was crazy to think about how much things were likely going to change in just a few months time.

---

Jack refused to admit that he was jealous, and he refused to acknowledge the hostile and obviously jealous nature of his reaction to Frankie's words. He had no reason to be jealous. She could do whatever she wanted, and that included going out on a date with Mick or Mitch or whatever the fuck the dude's name was. "I think you have me confused with someone else, Frankenstein. I'm definitely going to win. Just you wait and see." He said with a grin.

Alex pretty much zoned out through the rest of the movie, sort of falling asleep. He came to towards the end and looked over at Juliette, smiling gently. "You still awake, kiddo?" He asked, knowing she pretty much had the same habit as him. Alex gently unwound himself from her and got up to throw out their empty water bottles, tossing them into the recycling bin like water bottles. "If you're feeling up to it, do you wanna go out and get some ice cream? It's been a minute since we have."

--

Frankie rolled her eyes, gently nudging Jack's shoulder. "Puh lease," she spoke, eyes landing on the entrance of the mini golf place. "I'm just gonna humor you so you don't have one of your tantrums." She winked, unbuckling her seatbelt before hopping out of the car. Once out, she instinctively linked hands with Jack as they walked towards the entrance. It just felt right, the two of them. So why in the hell could neither of them grow a set and make it official?

@ saraya-jade.
[If you're still up for this, I would love to continue it. Sorry I've been a shitty partner ]

(you're okay! of course I'm down. we can do this or start up a new one, whichever you like!)

@ saraya-jade.
[Let's continue this one do you wanna just pick up where we left off?]

(that works for me! <3)

Juliette didn't realize she was dozing off against Alex's shoulder until she opened her eyes a towards the end of the movie. She really wasn't all that surprised that she had though. She was one of those people who could fall asleep just about anywhere, any time of day, so long as she was comfortable. "I am now." She said, stifling a yawn. "I never say no to ice cream." She was feeling a lot better, and she hoped that pregnancy hadn't ruined ice cream like it had pizza for her for the time being or else she was going to be pretty freaking annoyed.

---

"Believe whatever you want, Frankie. I think that we both know who's going to come out victorious here." Jack said, slinging an arm over her shoulders as they walked across the parking lot. He really hoped that he wouldn't be eating his words later. He knew how Frankie was, and he knew that she wouldn't let him forget it if he ended up losing. He wouldn't tell her that he was somewhat doubting himself though. Nope, if he did that, well, he wouldn';t hear the end of that either.

"I'll take that as a yes." Alex laughed as he got up, turning off the DVD player so it wouldn't be running while they were gone. He threw on his hoodie and patted his pocket to make sure he had his wallet. Once he did that, he slipped on his shoes and made sure the laces were tied before sitting down on the arm of the couch and waiting for Juliette to get ready. "Remember the last time they ran out of pistachio?" Alex spoke, mentioning his favorite flavor. "Man, that was scary."

--

"Yep. Me." Frankie laughed, sticking her tongue out at Jack as they walked inside. She grabbed the cash that was in the back pocket of her jeans to pay for her own portion of the club renting fee. "It's the least I can do for humiliating you out there in a bit." Frankie winked before grabbing her own club, and selecting a day-glo pink ball to go along with it. "Hurry up, Barakat. We don't have all day."

"That's a hell yes actually." Juliette said as she got up as well. She was never one to turn down food for the most part, although pizza was apparently a no-go for a while, and she certainly wasn't going to turn down ice cream of all things. She grabbed a sweater to throw on over her t-shirt and then slipped on her shoes. "You mean when your biggest crisis of the year happened? Of course I remember." She laughed. He had been pouty for the rest of the day because he couldn't get the ice cream that he wanted. She had found the entire thing extremely amusing and clearly she still did.

---

Jack scoffed. "If that's what you want to believe then by all means believe it. I don't want there to be any sore losers when you're wrong though." He said with a smirk as they walked into the place. He was about to argue with her and tell her that he'd pay for her too, his treat seeing as he hadn't seen her in a few weeks, but she was too damn fast for him. It probably would have been a losing battle anyway and he knew that. "Keep telling yourself that that's what's going to happen, Frankenstein. We'll see who's right soon enough."