I Settle For Long Distance Calls

Chapter 55

I woke up before Jack did on Christmas morning and decided to let him sleep. I stood by the tree we had set up, staring out at the steady rain.

I felt two arms wrap around me followed by Jack pressing himself against my back.

“Morning,” I hummed, leaning into him.

“Merry Christmas,” he smiled, kissing my cheek. “Whatcha thinking about?”

“Just about how much has happened in a year. I mean, just over a year ago I was buying new All Time Low posters to hang in my room. And now, I hate that band,” I smirked, turning in Jack’s arms.

“Yeah, they’re really overrated,” he laughed, rolling his eyes.

“The guitarist is cute though,” I said thoughtfully, pressing my lips to his.

“Glad we agree on that,” he laughed. “Time for presents?” he asked, pulling away and grinning like a kid. He hurried over to the tree, pulling me with him as he sat down next to the pile of presents.

We spent the rest of the morning tearing open our presents.

I got him a new Ravens blanket for his tour bunk, a little scrapbook of us, and some new sneakers. He got me a Ravens jersey with his last name on it (he said he was “tired of sharing”) and perfume. We wanted to keep it all relatively simple this year, especially with the move.

As soon as presents were opened, panic mode set in.

“Okay Shane will be over here in… five hours. I need to cook dinner, throw away all our wrapping paper, put the boxes away so that they aren’t cluttering the living room-”

“Holy shit, breathe,” Jack laughed, holding my shoulders. “I’ll go put the boxes away after I throw away all the wrapping paper, you go cook.” I nodded and made my way to the kitchen, where I spent the rest of the morning and afternoon.

Around 4:00PM there was knocking at the door. I was in the middle of putting the finishing touches on dinner, so I couldn’t get the door.

“Jack! Can you get that?” I called.

“On it!” he replied. It was silent for a few moments before he reached the door.

“Hey, man!” I heard Shane’s voice fill the room, instantly making me relax.

“Hey, Merry Christmas!” Jack replied. Thank God they’re getting along.

“Jules!” Shane grinned as he walked into the kitchen. I smiled back, wiping my hands off after finishing dinner.

“Shane!” I laughed as he pulled me into a hug.

“I missed you,” he said quietly.

“I missed you, too,” I replied, still grinning.

“I’m sorry,” he whispered. I squeezed him tightly.

“Well, let’s eat,” I clapped my hands, pulling away.

Dinner went smoothly, presents were exchanged, and we were finally relaxing around the tree.

“What are you guys doing for New Year’s Eve?” Shane asked, glancing over at me.

“All Time Low party,” I laughed, shaking my head. “You should come!” he exchanged a quick look with Jack, who smiled back at him. Good boy.

“I think I will,” Shane nodded.

“Who are you gonna kiss at midnight?” I teased, poking his side.

“I dunno,” he mumbled, shrugging as a blush creeped on his cheeks.

“Who is she?” I exclaimed, eyebrows raised.

“She works at the stand next to me at the farmer’s market and I ran into her the other day,” he smiled meekly, making me smile.

“You have to bring her,” I stated, and he nodded.

After Shane left, I was immediately back in moving mode.

“Can you sit still for like, ten minutes?” Jack asked, leaning against the door frame as I placed the last of the boxes by the door.

“Yes, actually, I can,” I smirked, standing back to admire my work. “We’ll just need to bring like the bed and all that stuff over later tomorrow.”

“But for now, let’s go sleep in that bed,” Jack laughed  sleepily, tugging me into the almost entirely empty bedroom.

“This is so weird,” I say, staring around the room as Jack settled in next to me. “A good weird, though,” I nodded.

“Tomorrow’s going to be a busy day, we should get some sleep,” he mumbled, eyes drooping.

“I don’t even want to think about it,” I groaned, snuggling into his side.

“So don’t,” he yawned, only half listening. I smiled, drifting off to the sound of his even breathing.

A/N: it’s been like a month so yeah that’s my bad. Anyway. I’m just going to skip the moving in and shit because there’s not possible way to make that fun to read (or write) about. I have some things in the works, so it should be moving along. I am working a lot, so I’m going to try to be updating but it might not be as often or consistent as I would like. I’ll aim for like once a week, cool? Cool. Thanks for all the reads / votes / comments, I love you guys to death.