I'd never in my life had a headache as painful as the one I woke up to the next morning. It honestly felt like someone split my head open with a knife or something. After adjusting to the pain, I realized Jack's arms were wrapped around me, and he was shirtless. I immediately sat up, trying to remember what had happened last night. Luckily, the memories returned easily, and I remembered that Jack had just been too lazy to put on his pajamas. Good. I got up and stumbled downstairs, pouring two glasses of water and returning to my room.

"Good morning," I said, setting the water on the nightstand and poking Jack awake. He protested a little, but I managed to force him to get up.

"Dude, my head fucking hurts," he groaned, rolling over to face me. I handed him his water.

"Same. Just drink water, then we should probably eat breakfast. Or, brunch," I added, glancing at the clock in my room, which read 12:19.

"Are you gonna cook?" Jack asked, taking a long sip from his cup. I shook my head, then winced at the pain.

"I really don't feel like it, and my parents are at work. I guess we could go into town and eat at the diner or something," I suggested. Jack nodded.

"Why don't we invite Ellie and Finn. We all haven't hung out in a while," Jack offered, and I agreed.

hey guys

wanna meet me and jack in town for breakfast / lunch

we're both insanely hungover and hungry

I'm down

What time

like an hour

Where

the diner

Kk

Ellie I can drive you

K thanks

See you guys soon

"Ok, they're meeting us in an hour. Let's go," I said, dragging Jack out of bed. We got dressed as fast as we could, both opting for comfort over fashion, and drank two more glasses of water each before going outside. My headache was still pounding, and Jack and I both agreed it would probably just be better to walk into town. The diner was only like fifteen minutes walking distance from my house, so we should get there fine. Plus, it was probably safer than my driving skills in my current state and the fresh air should be good for us.

When we arrived at the diner, I already saw Finn's car parked outside. Upon entering, we found Ellie and Finn sitting at one of the booths by the window. We quickly joined them, eager to eat.

"Woah, you guys look awful," Ellie gasped when we slid into the seats across from her.

"Hello to you too," I grimmaced.

"What foods cure hangovers?" Jack asked, grabbing a menu off the table and getting straight to the point.

"I'm pretty sure eggs and coffee are the best," Finn helped. There was no one else in the restaurant, so the waiter was probably coming by soon. Jack and I agreed on splitting pancakes along with whatever else we wanted to get separately.

"How romantic," Finn snickered after we'd reached our decision. I felt my face turn red, and glanced at Ellie, who was giggling.

"Dude, shut up," Jack scoffed. To save us from more awkward jokes, the server appeared to take our orders. Finn got blueberry waffles, Ellie got toast, I got bacon, eggs benedict, and coffee, and Jack got scrambled eggs, toast, home fries, coffee, and pancakes for us to share. We waited anxiously for our food, and Ellie and Finn didn't seem to want to bother us anymore until we actually ate. The food came fairly quickly, and once Jack had finished his toast and eggs he was in a significantly better mood. By the time he had finished his coffee, which he made me add seven sugar packets and three coffee creamers to, he was back to his usual self.

"So, what's up with you two?" Finn asked once Jack was normal again.

"Nothing much. We've been together all weekend," he responded.

"Yeah, we know. We've seen your snap stories. Last night you posted like 50 things of you guys 'dancing,' or whatever you call that," Ellie laughed, using air quotes when she said dancing.

"Damn, that's embarrassing," Jack sighed.

"So are you two still, like, friends?" Finn said suddenly. I frowned, not exactly knowing what he meant.

"Duh," I replied, confused.

"He means just friends," Ellie supplied. I glared at her, begging her to shut up.

"What?" Jack said, staring at Finn.

"I don't know, are you guys like dating now?" Finn stated simply. I didn't react, but in my head I was freaking out. What the fuck was going on?

"Us? Oh god no. Why the fuck would you think that. Ew. We're literally just friends, as always. That's it," Jack said, and I sensed anger in his voice. His reaction didn't seem defensive, it seems... disgusted. I tried to keep a straight face, but my heart sank. Jack really seemed repulsed at the idea of us. Whatever. I tried to enjoy the rest of my meal, but suddenly it wasn't very appetizing. Why was he so confusing? Sometimes it seemed like he really liked me, other times it seemed like he really liked my friendship. I was so over it at this point. I finished eating in silence while the others talked and joked, and was ready to leave the second we paid the check.

"Finn, do you think you could give us a ride? We walked here and I really don't feel like walking back," Jack asked as we left the diner. Finn agreed, and we got in the backseat of his car, him and Ellie getting in the front. I immediately rested my head in Jack's lap, laying across the seats. While my headache was gone, I was still really tired from the night before and a little mad at Jack's comments. After a few minutes of driving, I was half asleep. Jack began running his fingers through my hair, making me even more relaxed. The others talked about camp for a little while I rested, and we took the long way home so we could drop off Ellie before Finn dropped us off.

"Is she asleep?" Finn asked from the front seat once Ellie had been dropped off.

"I think so, she falls asleep really fast," Jack answered, and I was too tired to correct him.

"Why haven't you talked to her yet? You know, about the thing?" Finn questioned.

"We're talking tonight. She has this secret to tell me, and honestly I'm kinda scared. But we agreed if I tell her she'll tell me whatever the fuck she'd hiding," he explained.

"Hmmm. Well good luck, dude. Hopefully everything goes according to plan. I'm rooting for you guys."

"Yeah, thanks."

We got to my house about two minutes later, and Jack shook me awake, even though I wasn't completely asleep. I thanked Finn for the ride and brought Jack inside. He packed his things and we agreed I'd go to his house in an hour so we both had time to shower.

Once alone in my room, I sat down and took a few deep breaths. What was that conversation Finn and Jack just had? Why had Jack told Finn some secret that he hadn't told me yet? Was that what he was telling me tonight? I decided none of it mattered anyways. This was the night everything was going to change. There was no more waiting, no more stalling, no more excuses, this was the night I was going to tell Jack the truth. As I laid on my back, staring at the ceiling, I felt more sure than I ever had. I didn't want to just be Jack's best friend. I wanted to be more. Much more.