If I Only Had the Heart

As Kylie walked out of the studio, Dave in front of her and the guys following not far behind, she sighed. Her first week was wrapped up, and she hadn’t killed Matt yet. In fact, she basically never got to see him. It was a huge sigh of relief.

As the group was walking out, Dave spoke up. “What are you all going to do this weekend?”
Kylie shrugged. The guys started going on about some party they were having at the house they were staying at. Jack was saying how they haven’t partied much, and how this would be like their “Welcome to New Jersey” party.

Kylie was ignoring them as she walked to her Jeep. “See you guys Monday,” she said, not caring if they heard her or not. Before she could shut the door and leave, Jack called out to her.

He jogged over to her vehicle and said, “Come to the party.”

She shook her head. “No.” She tried closing her door, but Jack stopped her.

“Please?”

Se shook her head again. “I’ve done a very good job staying away from Matt these past few days,” she said, lowering her voice. “I really don’t feel like hanging out at a party with him, too, though.”

“Come on,” Jack begged. “I’ll keep you safe; plus, there’s going to be tons of alcohol, so just get shit faced and it won’t matter.”

Kylie chuckled. She thought for a few minutes. Really, what would it hurt? She’d just ignore Matt and have a good time. She could show him that she was obviously better off without him. Finally, she nodded. “Okay, I’ll go. But you have to wait for me outside the house when I say I’m on my way so I don’t have to walk in alone.”

Jack smiled a goofy smile and nodded. “Sounds good! Just call me when you’re on your way.”

Kylie nodded and said goodbye to Jack, then drove off. She couldn’t help thinking that she might have just made a big mistake.

**

Some things never changed. Like the fact that Kylie still was a horrible person when it came to time management, and she also had a horrible time when it came to picking out what to wear. She had brought a few things she liked to party in, just in case, but she couldn’t decide on which to wear. She picked her phone up and called Jordan. “Help me.”
Her cousin laughed. “What’s the problem?”

“Jack asked me to come to a party tonight; Matt’s going to be there. I have no idea what to wear. You do the goddamn math.”

“Calm down. Wear a pair of jeans you love and that cute tank we picked up when I visited at Wet Seal. Put that on, and then find a cute black three quarter length sleeves cardigan, and call me back if you need more help.”

“I love you.”

“I know; now go.”

The two hung up, and Kylie went and changed. She smiled at herself in the mirror and was thankful she had such a great cousin. She hurried up and did her hair and make up quick. After she grabbed her glasses, not feeling like wearing her contacts tonight, and slipped her Converse and her pea coat on, she was on her way.

She got to the house where the boys were staying at in record timing. She made sure to call Jack five minutes before the estimated arrival time on her GPS device. She pulled in and parked, taking a deep breath before she climbed out of the Jeep. True to his word, Jack was waiting for her outside the house. “Kylie!” he yelled when he spotted her.

She waved and hurried over to him. “Hi Jacko,” she greeted him with a smile.

“You look good,” he told her. She smiled her thanks. “Ready to go in?”

She nodded. “Now or never.”

The two linked arms and ventured inside. Of course, no sooner did they walk inside and Kylie spotted Matt. He was grabbing a beer and talking to some friends. She frowned. He seemed pretty happy. “Hey, what's wrong?” Jack asked, noticing her change in mood.

She shook her head and smiled. “Nothing, but I could use a nice, strong drink.”

Jack smiled and nodded. “Come on mi’lady, for I have the perfect antidote for you.”

She laughed and followed Jack over to the make shift bar. He poured a concoction for her and handed it over. “Drink,” he demanded. She did as she was told, and cringed afterwards.

“Jack, what the hell is this?” she asked the lanky guitarist while peering into her red cup.

He smirked. “For me to know and you to not. Drink up baby! It’s party time!”

***

An hour later, and Kylie had drank too much and gotten roped into playing beer pong, trying a beer bong, and, where she was currently, playing strip poker. She giggled as she peered at her cards, having a hard time seeing them. She had lost her glasses a little while ago, and was currently blind as a bat. Ever since she was little, she had always had terrible vision. So the combination of losing her glasses and being drunk was doing a number on her seeing capabilities.

She leaned into Alex, who was sitting next to her. “I have no idea how to play poker,” she confessed.

Alex laughed. “Maybe you should sit this one out. I think Jack and Rian are in the kitchen; maybe go find them.” The blonde nodded, stood, and after stumbling slightly, made her way into the kitchen.

“Jack!” she yelled, not sure if he was there or not. She heard laughter, and went towards it. “Jack?” the blur nodded.

“Hey Ky. You seem a little drunk. And where are your glasses?”

The blonde shrugged. “No clue; I lost them earlier, and now I’m kinda blind.” She giggled and hugged the boy. “Thank you for making me come, Jacko,” she slurred.

He laughed. “You’re welcome, but maybe you should go sit down or something. And maybe no more drinks tonight.”

She shook her head. “No way! It’s party time Jacko! Drinks galore!”

Jack shrugged, and she decided to go get another drink. She grabbed a beer and drank it within five minutes, then grabbed another and went in search of her friends. She wasn’t sure where she was going, and since she couldn’t see, everything looked the same. She started to get dizzy and decided to take a seat on the couch. She felt her way around and eventually made it over to her destination. She collapsed and soon started to feel the after effects of all the alcohol she had had tonight. Laying her head on her hands, she groaned.

She had a headache because of the whole losing her glasses thing, her stomach was upset because she had drank too much too soon and because she hadn’t eaten all day, and she last saw Matt talking to some girl. She wanted to go home. She wanted to forget Matt. She wanted it to not hurt anymore. She lay her head on the back of the couch with her eyes closed, trying to calm her stomach and her headache.

Suddenly, she felt someone sit next to her. She decided against looking to see who it was, because she was absolutely blind anyways, so it wouldn’t have mattered. She thought she heard them say, “Come on, Ky, I’ll take you home.” She ignored it. Suddenly, she felt them putting their arms under her legs and scooping her up off the couch.

She let it all happen. She laid her head against their chest while she got carried out of the party. She assumed it was probably just Jack anyways. “Thanks Jacko,” she mumbled into his shirt, keeping her eyes closed.

Soon she was being set inside a car and driven to the hotel. It didn’t take long to arrive at the hotel. She felt the arms pick her up again and hold her close while he carried her into the hotel. They got in the elevator and she wrapped her arms around his neck. She giggled. “You smell good, Jacko.” He chuckled.

Finally, they were in front of her hotel room. “Where’s your room key, Ky?”

“Front pocket,” she mumbled. She felt hands search her pockets until the key got pulled out. She heard the door click open and felt the body start walking again. She groaned as he set her on the bed. She curled up in fetal position and mumbled, “I don’t feel good.”

“Do you want to change into some pajamas or something, Ky?”

She shook her head. “Sleep…” she trailed off.

He nodded and picked her up off the bed again. He pulled the sheets down and laid her in the bed, then covered her up. “I’m going to leave, Ky. Will you be okay?”

She shook her head. “Stay with me Jack.”

He nodded and climbed into the bed with her. He watched her until she fell asleep peacefully. It wasn’t until then that he wondered if he should have corrected her every time she called him Jack when he so obviously was not the goofy guitarist.