Object of Desire ; Eyeless Jack x Reader

Chapter 34

        The party was in full swing. Even though Alex said it was just going to be a small one, more and more people showed up and the party got bigger and bigger. It wasn't massive but there were definitely a lot of people I didn't know and most of the rooms in the house were pretty full. The living room was filled with people dancing to the loud music and in the kitchen a lot of people hung around to take short breaks and get something to drink or some snacks. Outside of the house were some people catching some fresh air or smoking. Everyone seemed to be having a great time. Especially Alex. He stuck to my side pretty much the whole time, probably to make sure I was feeling alright. But taking care of me didn't stop him from accepting drinks from every person around that offered something to him. Honestly, it was nice to see him drinking and having fun. Usually he always looked so worried, I was glad he could just relax for once. And it encouraged me to relax a bit more as well. I had a few drinks as well, though not as much as Alex. I still barely felt drunk at all.

The only thing I really couldn't stand was some of the looks I received. I was aware that a picture of me was on the news labeled as the missing teen with dead parents. And boy, did those looks remind me of that. That pity. That confusion. It was really annoying. And it definitely dragged my mood down. At least only the most sober people stared at me weirdly. Most of them were too drunk or busy to really notice me so I decided to try and still make the best of it, with Alex by my side and a few other friends coming up to me every now and then to hug me and talk to me. Quickly shutting down every question about the previous events, I actually managed to have somewhat of a good time.

Around 3am the party looked a whole lot different than at the beginning. Some people already left. Some people passed out in various places around the house. Some were still dancing. I didn't even want to know what was going on in the bathrooms. A very successful ending for a party, to be honest. However, it was also the time when started feeling tired and wanted to leave. I already spent about half an hour sitting on a couch watching Alex dance in the middle of the room with a few other people while some other people on the couch next to me played a drinking game I didn't quite understand. I got up from the couch and made my way over to Alex. Since the music was way too loud to talk over it, I gestured towards the door and he understood and nodded before stumbling towards the front door next to me, waving to several people on his way out. When we finally got outside he took a deep breath of the chilly night air.

"Wow, what a party!" He yelled, clearly still having a lot of alcohol in his blood. "Did ya have fun?"

"Yeah, it was nice." I replied. He obviously had some problems just walking in a straight line so I stayed close to him, letting him lean on me a bit. Macy's house, where the party took place, wasn't too far away from Alex' house so we didn't drive there. It probably was a 20 minute walk, though with the way Alex walked right now maybe it was more 30 minutes. It was pretty dark outside, of course because it was 3am, but also because only every other street light was turned on. They often didn't light up the whole town in our suburban neighbourhood. Though with a serial killer on the loose I kinda hoped they'd make an exception but apparently not. I listened to Alex mindlessly babble about random stuff that was coming to his drunk mind while I tried to safely navigate us home. I wasn't really drunk to begin with but especially now with the fresh air I felt like I was completely sobering up which only meant I got less carefree and more paranoid. I just couldn't shake off this feeling of being watched. Thinking back to that post-it note on my desk only made me feel worse. Jack might be watching us at that very moment. I couldn't help but look around me every now and then, trying to at least not freak Alex out as well but he was just in his own little world anyway.

Every shadow I saw in my peripheral vision made me turn my head rapidly into that direction only to see darkness in front of me.

"What'chu lookin' at?" Alex mumbled, clearly trying to focus his blurry vision on me.

"Nothing, it's fine." I replied, trying to sound casual but I felt my voice tremble a little. Alex seemed to notice too as his expression showed concern again. I sighed. "I just don't like walking in the dark. Let's just get home quickly."

"Sure thing." He chimed, before suddenly pushing me away from him and taking off. I took a moment to realize what he just did. He was drunk as hell but just started running. I shook my head. He was absolutely about to trip and hurt himself. What an idiot, I thought to myself, starting to smile slightly while running after him.

"Hey, wait up!" I yelled at him.

"Nuh-uh, catch up, slowpoke!" He laughed. Talking while running seemed to be a bit much for his brain as he started stumbling a bit. I already prepared for him to fall flat on the ground but luckily, he managed to catch himself and keep running and laughing at me. I couldn't help but join his laughter, watching him slightly zigzag and struggling to run in a straight line. He had amazing stamina for a drunk guy but it was still pretty easy to catch up to him and run past him.

"You have no chance in your state" I mocked him. We ran for a few more seconds before I noticed Alex getting slower. Looking back towards him, I saw him stop in his tracks and trying to catch his breath. I walked back towards him. "Regretting the sprint after getting drunk now?" I asked him jokingly.

"Kinda." He wheezed. "But we're gonna be home way faster now." I shook my head smiling and offered to support him again. The rest of the way we casually walked again, mocking each other and joking around.

A few minutes later we arrived at his house. Alex seemed very exhausted so I immediately helped him into his room and into his bed where he pretty much passed out as soon as he touched the sheets. I grabbed a bucket from their closet of cleaning supplies and placed it next to his bed, just in case, before walking into the bathroom. I changed into some sweatpants again, brushed my teeth and washed my face before leaving the bathroom again to go to bed. I didn't bother to turn any lights on in my bedroom, suddenly feeling all the exhaustion from the evening wash over me. I just walked over to the bed, letting myself fall into the sheets as I noticed a weird crinkling sound when my head hit the pillows. Lifiting my head up slightly I felt around the pillow only to grab what felt like a post-it note. I already felt my heart start beating faster as I slowly brought the piece of paper in front of me. I felt around for my phone on the nightstand, grabbing it and turning the flashlight on to direct it onto the paper.

Seemed like you had fun at your party. Already feel normal again?