Dark Eyed Dreamers

As There for Tomorrow finished their set the boys ran off high fiving members of All Time Low on the way. The lights came up throughout the venue and towels were passed to the sweating bands. I smiled and leant my head on Alex’s shoulder. Jack frowned from the seat he was sat in opposite us and casually walked over before trying to sweep me up.

“No,” I whined slipping my arms around Alex’s neck and laughing. Alex tickled my sides earning a squeak from me who returned my arms to my sides. Both boys chuckled as Jack pulled me over to his seat. The guys talked for a while whilst I sat watching the ceiling.

“Bri?” I heard my name snapping me from my daydreams.

“Hm?” I replied turning my head between all the people with eyes on me. Jack let out a small giggle before pointing to the clock on the wall above where Zack was sat.

“I asked if you wanted me to take you home. Some of us are gonna go,” he whispered as the others split into mumbled conversations.

“Well, do you wanna stay?” I asked making sure I wasn’t demanding. He looked in thought before shaking his head, no.

“I guess not, I’d rather get home before we’re tired and it’s getting kinda late anyway,” he reasoned. I nodded and took to my feet.

“Going then.” I heard Rian confirm before we all bid our goodbyes to each other and began to walk home. We soon arrived back at his place and quietly made our way up to his room. As soon as the lamp beside his bed turned on I collapsed onto the end. I heard Jack giggle from behind me before the weight shifted on the mattress and he sunk next to me.

“Are you tired?” He asked sounding slightly shocked. I looked up to see him tilting his head and folder my arms beneath my chin.

“No way, my legs just hurt,” I replied still kneeling over the bed. He laughed and scooped me up next to him. I rolled onto my side and focused as he mimicked my actions. “I really enjoyed hanging out with you guys,” I commented with a smile. The edges of his lips turned upwards and he wrapped an arm around me, pulling me closer.

“I enjoyed spending time with you. We don’t see enough of each other enough anymore,” he commented lightly kissing various parts of my face.

“Jack we see each other every day,” I giggled causing him to pull back momentarily.

“And it’s not enough,” he smiled before the smile slowly left his face. My face mirrored his as his eyes dropped to the lower half of my face. For some reason I felt my heart beat faster, it began to ring loudly in my ears. As he bent closer towards me our lips met. It began soft, gentle. But within moments things grew more heated, each time our mouths met it was with a stronger sense of force and urgency. As this took place I was vaguely aware of Jack’s hand moving. It was almost unnoticeably shaky but was apparent when it slowly came into contact with the skin exposed between my shirt and jeans. I thought nothing of it until his fingers gripped the hem of the shirt. I gasped and pulled away from Jack, staring him straight in the eyes. I saw him wince and look away as if ashamed. I stared at him beneath his hair for a long moment, noticing the small amount of colour that was more prominent in his face now.

“Jack?” I asked quietly. He said nothing, merely took his time in looking back into my eyes. He struggled to keep eye contact at first but soon gave into my strong stare.

“I’m sorry,” I heard him whisper. I silently forgave him but said nothing aloud.

“We haven’t spoken about this,” I stated. I could see a nervous smile threatening his lips but it didn’t last long. “Are you sure?” I asked which seemed to catch him off guard as his eyebrows rose up his forehead. “I mean, do you really...” I trailed off. He seemed to catch where I was going. I saw him nod once before biting his lip.

“Are you, um,” he began before I nodded meekly in reply. I could feel my cheeks going redder but prayed he didn’t catch on.

“Are you?” I asked feeling my heart race again but trying to mask it. He nodded once in reply but appeared calm. Despite my respect for Jack I was slightly shocked. I’d always thought of him as the more advanced and experienced of us both but clearly, I was wrong. “Jack, are you sure?” I asked feeling slightly guilty. A small smile wiped across his lips before he brought a hand up to brush the hair from my face.

“Definite,” was his reply. I frowned, unable to understand.

“But, why me?” I asked more to myself than anything. He brought his face closer to mine, pressing our foreheads together, demanding my attention.

“Because I love you. I’ve never told a girl I’ve loved them before but I can’t say it enough to you.” He paused and quickly kissed my cheek. “You mean so much to me,” he added breathily before pulling back. “If you’re not ready, or don’t want to I understand, I don’t want you to make regrets.” I silently debated with myself. He was right. It wasn’t like Jack had been my first boyfriend, but he had been the first person I’d ever used the ‘l’ word with. I was scared, but who isn’t in situations like these? I responded when my eyes involuntarily dropped to his slightly parted lips. This time mine were the hands to shake as I brought one up and placed it to the back of his neck. His eyes looked at mine cautiously at first, making sure he wasn’t picking up the wrong signals but this disappeared when I brought him down to my level, my eyes fluttering shut as my lips found his. This time when his fingers brushed against my hip I gripped the top of his shirt. I wasn’t planning on making any regrets.