Jasey Rae

"Wow, you look better than yesterday, Jase. I didn't think that was possible." Rian said, giving me a smile.

I reflected it, my cheeks turning red. "Thanks, Ri. This two hundred bucks is going to be harder than I thought."

"Alex never loses a bet." Jack said, shaking his head, but I shrugged that comment off.

"Neither do I."

As I spotted Alex at the end of the hallway, my jaw dropped instantly. He looked...different. To be blunt, he looked fucking sexy as hell. His hair looked particularly well today, his outfit as well. His now skinny jeans hung loosely off his legs, hanging below his waist and uselessly being held up by a pointless belt. His sweatshirt hung off his torso, a well-fitting band tee clinging to his body. And, to top it off, a wide smile was adorning his face. "Fuck."

Jack and Rian laughed, patting my shoulders for support. "What's up, Al?"

"Well played, Gaskank." I nodded approvingly. "Very well played."

He sent me a wink. "So well that you can't keep your hands off me?"

I smiled, laughing lightly. I leaned up, getting dangerously close to his lips with mine. "Wouldn't you like that? Trust me, you're gonna have to try a lot harder than that." I pulled back, grinning triumphantly as I watched him nearly fall forward. "This is going to be so much fun."

[jaseyrae]

A week and two days. Nine days the bet continued on. Nine days I went without touching Alex. Nine days without holding his hand, or kissing him, or being held by him. For a week and two days, we battled it out, trying anything and everything to get say other to cave, but nothing worked. Alex was too much into his pride, and I really wanted that money. No one was going to win. And it was slowly getting to me. I desperately wanted to hold Alex's hand, to be held by him, to be kissed by him. And right now, I especially wanted to be held by someone, seeing as tomorrow is Christmas, and every year I always replayed the incident in my mind over and over, crying at the end like I do each time.

I sighed sadly, looking up from my hands and over to Alex who was on the other side of the room. He locked eyes with mine, a sadness in them as well. I waved at him a little, and he sent me a sad smile. "I love you."

"I love you, too." He said, and I blew him a kiss. "I miss you."

"I miss you too." I sighed, looking back down at my nails. Okay, it's time to end this once and for all. "Maybe we should just call off the bet. I mean, I leave in like, nine days. I really wanna spend them with you."

I heard him sigh deeply. "But it's two hundred bucks I'll be losing."

"Not if we do it at the same time." I looked up at him, feeling a thin layer of salty water form over my eyes. "Come on, please? I really miss you, Alex."

He hesitated, thinking it over for a minute or two, searching my face for any type of trickery that could be there.

And then reel him in, I thought before blinking, letting the fake tears fall. "I-It's okay. I-I me-mean, two-two hundred is-s a l-lot of mo-money." I squeaked, his face instantly turning. Success.

"Oh shit, Jasey, don't cry!" He said, rushing over to me quickly. He hesitated for a few seconds before pulling me into his arms. If there was one thing Alex Gaskarth absolutely hated, it was girls crying.

I inhaled deeply, taking in his all too familiar scent. I looked stupid, but damn, I missed him. "God, I fucking missed you." I mumbled, wrapping my arms tightly around his body.

"You have no idea how much I missed this." He said quietly in my ear before kissing it.

I smiled to myself. "By the way, you owe me two hundred bucks." He froze, his grip tightening a little before I felt him shaking from laughing. He pulled back, a large grin tugging at his lips. "You are such a con artist."

I flashed him my teeth. "Come on, I had to get you to cave sooner or later. Besides, I couldn't take it any longer. Not kissing you for over a week was killing me." I leaned in and crashed my lips to his, the rush feeling overtaking me. The kiss was heated; full of longing from lack of kissing each other for nine days was pulling through. A few minutes later, I pulled back, trying to calm my breathing. "Holy shit, I really missed that."

He chuckled, kissing my lips shortly before pilling back. "Trust me, I did too."

"I love you."

He smiled wider, resting his forehead on mine. "I love you, Jasey Rae. Forever. Remember that: I'll love you until I die."

I smiled widely, my heart speeding up and my stomach getting knots, and I kissed him shortly. "Only if you remember I'll love you always, no matter what."

"Who won the bet?" Zack asked quickly as Alex and I walked the living room, hand in hand. Rian and Jack quickly looked over.

I smiled triumphantly. "Me." Jack and Zack cheered as Rian groaned, forking over his money to the two winning boys.

"Fuck you, Alex. You were supposed to make her cave!" Rian said angrily.

"I'm just that amazing." I smirked.

"Yeah, 'cause you cheated." Alex chuckled, wrapping his arms around me from behind, resting his head on my shoulder. His hand slipped in my front pocket, causing me to jump. "Relax, babe, I'm giving you my money." He chuckled, giving me a kiss on the cheek.

"All two hundred?" I smirked, raising my eyebrow. "Hm, I coulda used that to buy your Christmas present." Everyone knows I don't celebrate Christmas, but the boys did and I wanted to get them something. And besides, I would feel terrible if I didn't get them anything for the holiday, even if I don't celebrate it.

He chuckled. "And you're lucky I bought your Christmas present before the bet."

"Ugh, stop being so sickly cute." Rian groaned, and I sent him a playful glare.

"Go over to Kara's." I said, and he hung his head sadly. Kara was out of town for Christmas break and it was really hard on the drummer.

"That was a low blow." Zack chuckled, high-fiving me. "Couldn't have done it better myself."

I shrugged, blushing as I heard my stomach growl. "Let's get something to eat. I'm starving."

"You're always hungry." Jack commented as we walked to the kitchen.

"Like you should be talking." Zack said and everyone laughed. We all knew, even Jack himself, that Jack loved food yet he never got fat. Jerk.

After eating what we could scrounge up, we decided to go watch a movie and relax since we hadn't done it in a long time. So, since it was his house, we let Rian pick the movie as we all got situated with the seating arrangements. Alex and I took the love seat, tangling our bodies together to get as close to each other as possible. Zack took his own chair and Jack sprawled out on the couch, leaving the drummer the last chair to sit on.

I felt a pair of lips attach to my cheek, causing me to smile, looking over slightly. "Can I help you?"

The boy sent me a cheeky smile, resting his head on my shoulder once again. "Nothing."

I raised my eyebrow, laughing lightly. "You're a freak."

"Yeah, in the bed."

I laughed loudly. "Yeah right. I highly doubt that."

His jaw dropped, the three boys around us saying 'oooooooohhh!' "What makes you say that?"

I shrugged, a smirk playing on my lips. "The way you kiss. Please, I think we all agree I'm best in bed."

The four burst out laughing, causing me to scowl at them.

"Please, you're a virgin, Chicago." Jack laughed.

"Fuck you. That's what you think." I said, untangling myself from Alex's death grip to get something to drink. What jerks.

But, their laughing stopped as the six words left my mouth.

"You're not a virgin?" Zack asked, all of them walking in the kitchen behind me. I smirked to myself, a little joke coming to mind. I'll just mess with them.

I shrugged, pulling water bottle from the fridge. I mumbled something that sounded like 'I'm not a virgin', but it really wasn't, making them strain their hearing to hear it properly.

"Sorry, come again?" Rian asked, raising his eyebrows. "Did you just say you're not a virgin?"

I shrugged, sipping my water. I hopped up on the counter, putting my foot on the edge of it. The boys were staring at me, eyes wide with shock. "Don't act so surprised. You guys aren't virgins."

"Y-Yeah, but...you're you." Jack said, and I knew he didn't mean that in a bad way. "You're so...innocent."

"I guess not." Alex smirked, causing me to blush. "You really aren't a virgin?"

I laughed lightly, shaking my head. I guess I should tell them. "Yes, I am. Not that's it's really any of your business, but I'm a virgin."

They breathed out, in almost relief, and smiled at me. "I knew it! You're way too innocent!" Rian grinned.

I frowned, sticking my tongue at them. "Jerks."

Alex chuckled lightly, walking over to me. He put his left hand on the counter beside me, using his right one to put under my chin. "Don't worry; I still love you all the same." He pulled my face closer to him, crashing his lips on mine to give me a long kiss. I smiled to myself, hearing the cheers from the other three boys. He bit my bottom lip, a light sensation rushing through me as he did so.

To keep myself talking him right then and there, I pulled back, a smile on my lips. "I love you, too."

His eyes held an unfamiliar emotion, sparkling lightly from the light, a large smile tugging at his lips before grabbing my hand and pulling me back into the living room, the three other boys already there.

Tomorrow is Christmas. Fan-fucking-tastic.

[jaseyrae]

"JASEY RAE! Get up! Get up! It's Christmas!"

I sat up quickly upon hearing the shouting in my ear. What the fuck? I locked up the house. No one is supposed to be in here but me!

I had decided the night before to stay in my own house for the holiday, not wanting to intrude on the Barakat's Christmas. My heart returned to normal pace as my eyes finally focused on the person who had yelled. I groaned, falling back in my bed and pulling the warm covers over my head. "Go away. I don't like Christmas."

"Well, that's why I'm here! I've got a surprise for you!" Jack said excitedly, as if he had six cups of coffee before he came over me. But, knowing it was Jack, he was just excited because it was the holiday.

"No. Go away." I groaned, trying to get back to sleep. A scream escaped my lips as I felt large hands pull my ankles down, almost yawning me out of my bed. I'll kill him.

"No. Get up! I'm not taking no for an answer!" Jack said, snatching of my covers. "Please, Jase? I really wanna give you this surprise."

I sighed, hearing the sadness in his voice and stood up. "Fine. You're lucky you're my best friend." I said, taking my blanket from him and wrapping it around me after grabbing my glasses and slipping them on.

He grinned widely, yelling out a Whoohoo! and pulled me downstairs. "You're going to love it! I promise!"

I smiled to myself, jogging to keep up with him as he ran down the stairs.

"Okay. Ready?" He asked, grabbing my hand as we slowed to a stop, not making it all the way downstairs. We were at the section of the stairs that a wall was blocking the view of the living room until you went further down the steps and could clearly see it. I looked up at him, smiling as I nodded. He flashed his teeth and kissed my cheek. "Merry Christmas, Jasey Rae." He whispered in my ear before walking down the steps, telling me to wait until he said it was okay for me to come down. "Okay, you can come down now."

I gasped lightly as my eyes landed on the scene before me. My once boring and plain living room was completely transformed into something I only dreamt about. White and blue twinkling star lights were strung around the whole room and across the ceiling, sparkling with great beauty. A large evergreen Christmas tree was a few feet away from the fireplace, with twinkling white lights around it, and gorgeous glowing glittered ornaments of all colors, sparkling up the room. Under the tree were a few presents, some large and some small. Hanging from the ceiling with the lights were handmade cutout paper snowflakes, some with complicated designs and few having simple designs. Around the room were various Christmas decorations like snowmen and Santas and winter wonderlands.

And, standing in front of the Christmas tree, were the four boys I loved most and made all this possible. Their bodies sported multiple styles of pajamas. Rian had on basketball shorts and a fitting Face to Face tee shirt. Zack also had on basketball shorts, but had a white wife beater on instead. Jack was wearing his loose plaid flannel pants that I constantly stole, a sweatshirt hugging his torso. And, finally, Alex had on his two sizes too big sweatpants hanging below his waist to show his plaid boxers, and a tight tee shirt on top. Large smiles adorned their faces as each held up a paper. They read 'Merry Christmas, Jasey Rae!'

My hand went over my mouth as I felt tears brim my eyes. But, this time, they were from happiness, not sadness. "Oh, my God." I croaked out, slowly descending the steps, my eyes glued to the scene in front of me. "You did all of this...for me?"

Alex smiled from ear to ear. "We figured since you said you hadn't had a real Christmas in years-"

"We thought we'd give you one." Zack finished, earning a smile from me.

"So, do you like it?" Jack asked his eyes clearly showing hope.

"'Cause if you don't, it was all Jack's idea." Rian added quickly, earning quick nods of agreement from Alex and Zack. Jack glared at Rian for selling him out, but looked at me, hopeful.

I bit my lip, quickly wiping away the tear that had fallen from the corner of my eye. Do I like it? I haven't seen a Christmas like this since I was twelve. "Of course I like it, you idiots." I squeaked out, feeling another tear fall. The boys ran over to me, dropping the pieces of paper to give me a tight group hug. "This is the most amazing thing anyone has ever done for me." I confessed, squeezing my arms tighter around Alex and Rian's shoulders. "I love you guys so much."

They pulled back after a minute, smiles still present. "We love you, too, Jasey Rae." Alex smiled, wrapping his arms around me before giving me a kiss.

"Come on! Let's go open presents!" Jack said excitedly, grabbing my hand and pulling me towards the gifts.

"Okay, mine first!" Zack said, grabbing his gift and handing it to me.

I grinned, running my hand over the sparkly red paper before ripping it to shreds and gasping loudly. "A new skateboard!"

"I saw that your old one looked kind of beaten up." Zack smiled, a blush on his cheeks. I smiled widely, leaning over and kissing his cheek, telling him thank you. "No problem."

"Mine next!" Rian yelled, handing over his present to me.

I laughed lightly and tore off the paper. My jaw dropped at the sight of it. "Holy shit! These cleats are amazing!" I lifted them out of the box, admiring the black and white leather.

"I hope I got the right size." He said nervously, rubbing the back of his neck, a trait no doubt all five of us shared.

I checked the tongue, smiling widely. "Yeah, these are perfect size! Thank you so much!" I said happily, leaning over and kissing his cheek as well.

"I have a girlfriend." He joked, a blush rushing to his cheeks. I laughed, shoving his shoulder playfully. "You're welcome, Jasey." He smiled his perfect smile, and it warmed my heart. I adored his smile.

"Okay! Now my gift!" Jack beamed, shoving his gift in my hands.

I laughed lightly, nodding as I ripped off the paper. My eyes went as I held up the highlighted yellow tee shirt. On the front, in Jack's messy scrawl was written All Time Low. And at the bottom, four little scribbles were written, and I realized they were the boys’ signatures. And, at the bottom of the box were a pair of black Vans, on the toe having written in purple 'I heart Jack' with Jack Skellington's head as the heart.

"You now own the very first All Time Low tee shirt." Jack explained, grinning widely. My jaw dropped, my eyes lighting up. "And, when we become famous, that shirt will be worth millions. And the shoes are to remind you of your best friend."

"Thank you so much!" I said loudly, giving him a tight hug and kiss on the cheek before pulling back. "That means a lot to me. And these shoes are amazing. They're perfect."

"Anything for you, Jasey." Jack grinned, resulting in me cooing 'Awwww' before smiling at him.

"Okay, now me." Alex smiled brightly, leaning down to put his lips to whisper in my ear. "C-Can we go in your room for it, please?"

I turned my ear, smiling lightly as I nodded. "Sure." I said quietly before standing up, pulling up Alex with me. He laced our fingers together. "We'll be right back."

"Ooh. Kinky." Zack joked, causing Alex and I to blush.

"Here. Take this." Jack said, fishing through his wallet before throwing Alex a square piece of foil. "You'll need it."

Alex scrunched his eyebrows together before his eyes going wide. He chucked the condom back at his best friend and it hit him square in the face. "You're sick, man."

Jack only laughed, and I pulled Alex up to my room before Jack had time to say something back. After sitting on my bed across from each other, I looked up at my boyfriend, a small smile present on my face.

"H-Here." Alex stuttered, handing over a small velvet covered box, clearing his throat. "I-I hope you like it."

I smiled. "If it's from you, I'll love it." I looked down and slowly opened the top of the case, inhaling sharply as my eyes landed on the small piece of jewelry lying on the dark blue cushion. Inside the box lied a stunning necklace. It had a simple silver chain, and in the middle hung a shining silver owl with what looked like diamonds as eyes. It was beautiful, and I loved it even more because it was my favorite animal. I was shocked, to say the least. I had told Alex only once the flying creatures were my favorite animal. "Alex..."

"You hate it, don't you?" He asked, hurt and disappointment in his voice. "Shit. I knew I should've gotten you that other one. That one was so much nicer-"

I crashed my lips to his, stopping him from ranting any further. He kissed back after a second of realizing what I had done. Pulling back slightly, I smiled to myself. "Shut up. I absolutely love it, Alex."

"Really?" He asked quietly, locking eyes with mine.

I giggled to myself, pulling back completely. "Of course I do! It's gorgeous!"

He smiled instantly, leaning in for another kiss before sighing of what I could only imagine was relief. "Thank God."

"Here; help me put it on." I smiled, handing it over to him. I twisted my body around, holding up my messy hair in the process. After clasping it shortly, Alex placed a kiss on my neck, causing a shiver through my body. A good shiver. A very good shiver. "I love you, Jasey Rae."

"I love you, too, Alexander William." I smiled, giving him another kiss before pulling him back downstairs to go meet up with the guys again. Jack gave me a sly wink, knowing what Alex had given me and I only blushed.

"Now your presents!" I said happily, rushing over to the closet. I grabbed each one, groaning lightly since some of them were heavy. After placing them on each correct lap, I sat back in my seat between Alex and Rian. "Go ahead!"

Instantly, each of the four quickly ripped off the wrapping paper. Quickly afterwards, I heard four individual gasps.

"Holy fuck!" Jack said, holding up his brand new electric blue guitar. And, it had bright yellow strings to go with it. "This is incredible!"

"Thought you could use a new one." I explained, smiling as I gave him a friendly wink.

"Thank you! Thank you! Thank you!" He shouted, tackling me into a hug. I laughed lightly, telling him it was no problem.

I looked over at Zack to see him admiring his new skateboard. "Thought you could also use a new one." I giggled, causing him to chuckle.

"Thank you so much." He blushed, giving me a quick kiss on the cheek.

Next was Rian who seemed to be clutching his personalized drumsticks. Carved on the side of each of them was his name. "Thanks so much, Jasey! These are perfect!" Rian said, kissing my cheek as well and flashing me a smile.

"Sure thing, Ri."

Then came Alex, my favorite gift of all of them. He was admiring thoughtfully at a hand crafted acoustic guitar. It was a really nice one. On the front body was hand carved designs of music notes and symbols of the like. It was a gorgeous guitar, really. "This is...incredible." His long, calloused fingers ran over the chords, playing a sweet melody shortly.

"Already tuned it for ya, too." I smiled, blushing as he leaned over and gave me a long kiss.

"Thank you so much. This means a lot to me." He whispered, pecking my lips lightly. "I love you so much."

"I love you, too." I smiled, giving him another kiss on the lips before standing up. "Come on, boys, I'll make you some breakfast."

After about a half an hour, we each had a hot stack of freshly made waffles, sausage links, and hash browns all piled on to our plates, a glass of either orange juice or milk next to it.

We each had smothered all of it in syrup, and I put ketchup on my hash browns, earning slightly disgusted looks from the four. "Shut up. It's amazing and the only way to eat them." I defended, laughing lightly.

A while later after all our stomachs were stuffed and the dishes were cleaned, Rian, Zack, and Jack all bad to leave to go with their families. So, after what seemed like thousands of pictures taken with them in the decorated living room with all four and them, and then in pairs, they gave me one more kiss on the cheek goodbye, telling me to have a 'Merry Christmas' and that they'd see me later. I thanked them for everything, and they were gone.

"Shouldn't you be going to your family?" I asked, looking over at the last boy left.

He suddenly grinned, shaking his head. "That's what I want to talk to you about." He bit his lip. "I want you to come with me."

My eyes widened slightly. He wants me to come? "You want me to meet your family?" I whispered, more tears coming to my eyes. I couldn't help it thought. This meant a lot. No one had ever asked me to come and meet their family. No one ever thought I was worth it.

He smiled, wrapping his arms around my waist. "Of course I do. You're really special to me, Jasey. When will you realize that?"

"I think I just did." I whispered, smiling as I gave him a kiss.

"So, you'll do it?" He asked, a smile tugging at his lips.

I nodded quickly, and he grinned. "Yes!"

"Awesome! Now, go get ready! We're leaving as soon as you do."

"But what about you? You're still in your pajamas." I said, scrunching my eyebrows together at his ensemble.

He blushed then, letting go of me and reaching behind the door for a second before pulling out a bag. And, hanging there, was a dress shirt, tie, pants, and shoes. I laughed lightly. "I had figured you'd say yes."

[jaseyrae]

I sighed, slipping on the cream-colored dress on my body, frustrated that I couldn't button it up by myself. It is my most favorite out of the few dresses that I actually own. Its cream color lace went perfectly over the white silk, going just above mid thigh with its slightly bubble-like bottom. It was gorgeous really. I never really got to wear it until now. "Alex? Can you come in here?"

He was in here two seconds flat, smiling wider than I had ever seen before. His black shirt and white tie seemed to look absolutely perfect on him, matching his black jeans and all black Converse. He looked amazing, to say the least. 'Always comfortable, yet always put together,' he once told me when I had asked him why he was wearing Chucks at a wedding one time. "You look..-"

"Ugly?"

"Breath taking."

Blood flooded at my cheeks, burning my ears as I gestured for him to help button the dress up. "You don't look bad yourself." He did, looking at me through the mirror we were standing in front of. His hands found their way around my waist, his lips attaching to my neck instantly.

"My God, I can't get enough of you." He whispered in my ear before biting it softly. I bit my lip to keep myself from doing anything drastic, like pushing him on the bed and taking him right then and there. "I don't know what I did to deserve you."

"Trust me, it's I that doesn't deserve you." I whispered before turning my head to kiss him.

He checked his phone a minute later for the time, standing up straight. "Come on, love, it's time to leave." We grabbed our things, got in his car, and drove off.

We walked through the door, knowing it was already open for family and friends to walk through. The house was definitely energetic. Christmas music was playing in the background, but barely anyone could hear it because of the whole family and friends were talking very loudly to each other, laughing and having a good time.

Alex and I made our rounds, saying 'hello' and 'Merry Christmas' to each family member and friend and Alex introduced me as his girlfriend. From the reactions I saw, they all seemed to like me, or at least accept me, and that made my heart warm. It was nice to go to a family party. My heart seemed to stop pounding in my ears because I wasn't as nervous as before. Alex seemed to noticed, giving me a smile and a kiss on the head before walking over to the next family member. After a while, we finally sat down to have a conversation of our own.

The food was amazing. The Gaskarth's family was really fantastic cooks. After the last person had finished his piece of pie and all the dishes were clean and dry, Mrs. Gaskarth had announced the exchanging of presents. My smiled faltered for a second, knowing I wasn't going to get anything from anyone. But, I sucked it up and went to the living room where everyone was seated, already exchanging and passing out the gifts they had for one another. I quietly sat on the white couch next to Alex, smiling as I watched him grin ear to ear as he received and exchanged gifts with his family. He got a few articles of clothing, a pair of shoes, and a few other miscellaneous things, each bring a bright smile to his face.

As the family finished up unwrapping and thanking each other, everyone went their separate ways, leaving Alex and I behind in the living room. He smiled at me, causing me to smile also. "You look absolutely stunning, Jasey."

I blushed. "Thanks. You look really handsome, too, Lexi."

He smiled, glancing up for a second before laughing. "I love my family."

"Wh-" I looked up, my smile present once I saw the green leaf hanging off the ceiling with a red bow. "I love your family."

He laughed, and we both looked at each other. His right hand found my cheek, holding it gently as his thumb brushed under my eye. "Well, can't break tradition, can we?" He whispered before closing the small gap between us.

Something sparked as Alex pressed his lips to mine, as weird as it sounds. The rush of his lips on mine was amazing. I'd say it felt like we were the only two people on the earth, just like it felt when I had kissed him the first time.

I pulled back, blushing like mad when I saw his smile. "Well, I think that's one mistletoe's worth." I cleared my throat.

He shook his head, leaning in for more. "No, there's still more." He muttered before pressing his lips on mine once more. I smiled into the kiss, running my hand through his messy yet slightly tamed hair as I felt him pull my body closer to his chest. My free hand rested lightly on his chest over his heart, and I could faintly feel it beat. "God, I love you so much, Jasey Rae." He whispered huskily, pressing his lips to mine for a few more seconds.

I laughed breathlessly. "I love you, too, Alex. More than you'll ever know."

"Trust me, I think I got it for the most part." He chuckled breathily, using his hand to brush a lock of hair behind my ear. His eyes looked into mine for a few minutes, an emotion in his eyes that looked like love. "I love you." He whispered.

I smiled. "I love you, too."