Serenading Sirens

I still held Jack's hand tightly in mine. They had barely been separated all night. Surprisingly, it hadn't been fear that kept me with him. I didn't mind all the people, getting pulled away every once in a while by someone that wasn't him. I just wanted to spend as much of this night as was possible with him. And I had pulled it off quite well, if I really wanted to brag.

We were walking now, hand-in-hand of course, through some park close to the hotel that contained the still running prom. My flats were hooked onto two fingers of my free hand, swinging with each step. Though I wasn't cold -for the first time in my life- Jack's tux jacket hung from my shoulders. We were both quiet, enjoying the warm night.

"Thank you," I whispered after a few minutes, still not wanting to be too loud and ruin everything.

Jack turned to face me, never breaking our stride. His smile made me swoon, never letting me get used to it. "For what?" he questioned, gripping my hand just a little tighter.

It took me a minute to realize he'd spoken. I was too wrapped up in actually being here. "For just about everything," I finally answered with a sigh. "For taking me out tonight. For being great this past year, and even greater the past few months. I love you," I told him, hiding my face now. I focused on the sidewalk passing by under our feet. I didn't realize Jack had stopped. I was still walking, my arm stretching out behind me. My body snapped back at the resistance he was presenting.

Jack stood where I had last spoken. Slowly, he pulled me back and wrapped his arms around me. The jacket fell to the ground, as well as my shoes when I moved my arms around him, but we made no effort to retrieve them. My head was on his shoulder before I could think about it. He tangled his fingers in my hair to secure me to my rightful position. I sighed deeply and happily at how perfect this was.

"You never have to thank me, Clarke," he assured me, his lips against my hair. "I had to wait for you, but we're unstoppable now." He chuckled, which made me giggle. I lifted my face to his, puckering my lips for him to kiss.

The night just continued to be as blissful as every girl dreamed.

But I had gotten my fill of the night. I had Jack, and that's all that I needed from this experience. Other than that, my hair was falling out, the pins finding a new home in my scalp. My makeup felt caked on because of all the dancing, though Jack assured me I still looked as great as the moment I stepped out of the house. I was more than positive that I needed a shower though, and then to cuddle up on my bed with him until Hadley found her way home. If she found her way home.

Jack drove us back to my house. I rummaged through his CDs before finding the perfect one and sliding it into the player. I pressed the button to change songs until it was on the tenth one. The voice streaming through the car put a huge smile on my face. After half a minute, I felt Jack's hand find mine. I accepted it, knowing he realized the memory.

"Do I still have to compete with Andrew?" I inquired jokingly.

Jack chuckled a bit, nodding. "But we're gonna move somewhere that I can be with both of you," he declared, squeezing my fingers. He didn't hesitate now to mouth the words, continuing with all the songs that filled the space of arriving to my house.

My parents had decided to go out to dinner tonight, wanting to relive their own youth together. So I invited Jack in without any reluctance with thought of what they would think. He waited patiently for me while I showered. My heart sped up when I exited the bathroom, drying my hair with a towel, to him lying across my bed in a t-shirt and basketball shorts he'd stashed here for back up.

I crawled onto the bed with him, curling against his side. He wrapped his long arms around my waist after pushing wet hair from my face. Kissing my neck, he settled his head on my shoulder. He was just as tired as I was, if not more with everything he'd been doing with the band. I was pleased when I heard his breathing even out after just minutes.

I couldn't exactly explain how my mood had changed since the end of February. Since I had been with Jack, I was always happy. Not to say that Alex didn't make me exultant. But obviously, we had had our moments. I wasn't ever nervous or unsure anymore. I didn't worry about even half as many things as I had with Alex.

There was one exception to that. It just had to be something to -once again- put off until morning.

________________________________________________

When the morning came, I was reluctant to wake. I knew Jack wouldn't be there. His internal clock that had been in use these days would have told him that my parents wouldn't like the fact that he was here. He'd probably left late into the night. I extended my arm to the left anyway, where he had fallen asleep. I was startled when I found warm flesh where I should only find cold sheets.

"I don't think you should be feeling me up when you have a boyfriend," Hadley said.

My eyes flew open and I pulled my hand back to my own body. "When did you get here?" I asked her. I flipped on my back to stare at the ceiling, wishing that it would have been my boyfriend there instead of my best friend.

Hadley turned on her side and propped her head up in her hand to watch me. "Oh, about the same time Jack left," she answered, like I knew when that was. "How was the rest of your night?" she questioned suggestively.

"Nice," I replied with a smile. "We took a walk through the park, and then came back here. Fell asleep for a while," I told her. "Well, he did. I obviously slept through the night. Have you even slept?" I really looked at her now, noticing she was still in her dress and a hoodie I recognized as Zack's.

She smirked in response. "I only said I got here when Jack was leaving, not that it was last night," she corrected my thoughts.

I warmed a bit, knowing that Jack was still here when the sun came up. It was cut off by the cringe that came with registration of her words. "Please, do not give me details," I demanded of her as my hands flew up to cover my eyes, as if I was actually seeing it.

Hadley laughed. The emotion shook the bed.

I peeked from behind my fingers.

"Zack and I didn't sleep together," she promised. "We also took a walk. It just lasted a lot longer." She nodded once, a smile on her face. There were only a few seconds before she began giggling again.

I shook my head, but I couldn't stop the chuckling that escaped me as well.

It was weird having Hadley here, in between her normal visits. This year had brought us a lot closer, being able to see each other more often than usual. I was glad about the events that had caused this to happen.

"My mom called this morning. That's why I'm still up," Hadley admitted after a few minutes. She was lying on her back now too, staring at the same crack in the ceiling as I was.

I turned to look at her, wondering what might be wrong that had her mother calling.

"I got a letter from NYU." She faced me now, the smile on her features brightening the whole room. "She said it was a nice thick manila envelope. I got in." It wasn't an exclamation and that made it all that much more filled with excitement.

I jumped up, pulling her with me. I had no idea what time it was, but I didn't care if I happened to wake my parents. Squealing came from the both of us as we hopped up and down, holding hands. Excitement had never gotten to me like this before, and I was sure that if any moment would call for it, this would be it.

Surprisingly, my parents didn't come to check on us. We finished out our squealing and fell back to the bed.

"Where's yours?" she asked as she caught her breath.

Suddenly, I wasn't so happy anymore. Hadn't I just been worrying about this last night? When would my letter come? And when it did, would I be able to exert this much energy for it, no matter the outcome? It was a tough choice. I wasn't sure if I would ever really be able to answer it. Both results weighed heavily with pros and cons.

I cleared my throat. "I didn't get it yet," I finally stated. "I probably applied too late." I knew that wasn't it. If that were the case, I'd still get a letter.

Hadley scoffed, obviously thinking the same thing. "We applied at the same time. You're so much smarter. Don't fret," she insisted. She moved her hand and her index finger hooked with mine. She lifted our hands to hover above us. "Trust me, it'll be something we do together."

When she said it, I believed her. It was hard not to. She was always so sure. I rolled my eyes anyway and growled in fake frustration. "Maybe." I wasn't getting my hopes up... or down. Pulling my hand away from hers, I stood from the bed. "The guys are practicing today," I informed her, looking at the clock finally. "We should get ready and go watch."

Hadley grinned widely before jumping up and running to the bathroom ahead of me.

It was later than I thought it had been. Apparently, my body felt that it really needed to catch up on sleep. So it wasn't until after noon that I was in the passenger seat of Hadley's car, heading over to Alex's. My disposition had fallen some since the break out we had had earlier. I was worried. My future was seeming dim. I'd more than likely be stuck in Maryland, going to college here. The only good thing that would come out of that would be being able to stay with Jack... whenever he'd be home from the crazy touring schedule they were going to be on.

And now I really didn't feel like sitting with all my friends. They all had their futures set out for them for now. Hadley was going to New York in the fall, as where I was still waiting for my yes or no. The boys had the band, and they were going places bigger and better than they'd ever known. Even Matt. As their tour manager, he was going to be with them every step of the way. Right now, I felt as if I'd be stuck in Cokeysville and Towson and all their surrounding areas for the rest of my life.

I followed Hadley around to the side of the house, waiting while she pulled the side door open. On a normal day, I would have been as fast as her down the stairs to get to Jack. With what was troubling me, I walked as slow as was possible without sparking questions. Jack caught me on the last step, not noticing my depression. He lifted me from the step, his arms around my waist, and swung me around with a large smile on his face before setting me on the carpet.

Why he was so happy seemed to be a mystery to me. Though I'd probably be able to figure it out if I wasn't so self absorbed.

I planted a smile on my lips, and realized that I really was happy again. All it took for that change was to be with him.

I scanned the room quickly before I titled my head up to kiss him. I was mostly searching for Hadley, and was pleased to find her with Zack, their pinkies hooked together like she had done with our index fingers. Satisfaction teemed in me as my lips connected with Jack's.

Their practice was like any other practice had been the past few months. They were working hard, pushing themselves to potentials I definitely knew they had. Because of this though, there wasn't much interaction beside that when Hadley and I arrived. I had been the one that suggested we watch. Now I just couldn't force myself to pay attention to the music or the lyrics flowing through the room.

Being near Jack toned down my problems for me. He muted the constant talking that went on in my head, only when we were touching it appeared. As I sat there with my best friend and ignored her nudging, the talking was no longer muted, just turned down. And most of the worries were about losing the person that made them go away.

I couldn't really say when it was, but Hadley eventually had to leave. I remembered insisting that Jack could take me home and telling her to be careful on the three hour drive. After that, I did't remember much until I was in the car with Jack, driving through the dark street. I had been a zombie all day.

"Are you okay?" he asked when we were in my driveway.

I bit my lip as I stared at him, his eyebrows furrowed. I nodded, "Yeah. I'm still tired, that's all." It wasn't a lie. Being a zombie had taken a lot out of me.

He breathed a sigh of relief. "All right." He leaned over and pressed his lips to mine. I didn't let him go for several minutes. "I'll see you tomorrow," he smirked, his breathing uneven.

I grinned back and nodded again. I kissed him once more, briefly, and got out of the car. I slowly made my way into the house, watching him drive away over my shoulder. Once the door was shut behind me, I made my way to the kitchen where I heard my parents.

They already knew I was home. Both of their heads were turned in my direction, wide smiles on their faces.

I raised an eyebrow at them. "Yes?" I drew out, stopping in my tracks.

"You have a letter waiting on your bed for you," my dad answered, his grin getting impossibly bigger.

It still hadn't registered, but I turned on my heel just to get away from their odd behavior. It took me the usual two minutes to reach my bedroom. I pushed the door open, and there it was. The thick manila envelope Hadley had described just this morning.

I whipped my phone out as I walked toward it. I sunk onto the bed while it rang, right next to my future.

"Hello?" Hadley greeted cheerily, knowing already it was me.

Finally, I reached out to pick up the envelope. "I got in," I whispered.