“I look ridiculous,” JC said from the bathroom. “Eric has officially lost it.”
“It can’t be that bad,” Jenna assured him. JC came out in full costume, Jenna taking it all in. “Ok, not your best look in recent years, but also not the worst thing you’ve ever worn.”
“Ok, how far back are you going with that statement?” JC chuckled nervously.
“Do you remember any of what you wore for photoshoots in Germany?” she laughed. “I can go a little more recent with some of your award show looks. What was it with you and the VMAs, did you hate MTV? On stage was great for the most part, but on the red carpet…”
“Photoshoots don’t count, they make you wear that shit.”
“Is Eric MAKING you wear this? Could you get something else?”
“It’s 8:00, the party starts at 9, to go find a store, find a costume that looks good, then get changed and make sure it all looks ok…”
“Not like you need hair and makeup, depending on the costume,” she sighed.
“I’ll deal with it. Not the worst thing he could have me wear.”
“Were ALL those costumes his idea? Cuz I need to thank him for the years you were a cop and a lifeguard. Those shorts… mmm…” she smirked, chewing on her bottom lip as the pictures popped up in her head.
“I still have those,” he growled, stepping towards her.
“You better go home and change before coming back here tonight. I’m gonna need a shower…”
“Noted,” he smiled. “Don’t think I can wear them out tonight.”
“Don’t you dare, that’s just for my eyes now…”
“I think it’s cute that they’re doing trick or treating here, inviting the kids or grandkids. If nothing else, you have a crap ton of candy to snack on,” JC laughed.
“You’re helping me, the last thing I need is gestational diabetes and needing insulin shots.”
“I gladly offer my services,” he smiled. “Thankfully that’s not for a few more days, so I have time to buy a good variety. It’ll be weird, we don’t get anyone at the house, not really.”
“I imagine it’s hard with the gates and everything up around there. Does he normally have them several days ahead? It’s only Thursday and Halloween is on Monday… Why not have the party on Friday or Saturday?”
“I don’t question it, I just show up and have fun. I just wish you could come with me, meet Eric. Get used to his parties and meet people ahead of time.”
“Once I’m out of here, we can have him over or something. Charm him the way I charmed you. Without crashing any cars, though.”
“Sounds like a plan. Until then, you rest and relax. I’ll be back late, I told the staff to let me back in since the doors are locked by midnight. Though Lance’s place isn’t too far from here that I could stay the night at his place, crash on their couch.”
“See if the twins let you sleep or give you a lesson in life with an infant.”
“We’ll see. I’m swinging by my place for one of those costumes, though. That’s for sure,” he says, his eyes glazed with desire for her. He leaned over her, kissing her forehead. “I’ll wake you up when I get back, and you can decide if you’re awake enough for a little playtime.” He kissed her lips before pulling away. “Love you, babe.”
“Love you, too. Have fun, tell Eric I say hi.”
JC gave her one more kiss before walking out of her room, getting strange looks as he walked through the halls and out to his car. He had a strange feeling wash over him. Maybe because he knew things would be better tonight if Jenna could be with him, but he felt like something was off. He pushed the feeling aside, having promised Jenna he’d have fun without her there, see his friends and not be ‘stuck by her side’.
He’d started working on projects again, doing as much as he could from his laptop and not going into the studio. If he was being honest with himself, it felt good to be getting back into things, guilt creeping up every now and then. He spent most of his time working while Jenna had therapy of one kind or another. She’d been doing well, no longer attached to any machines, and her medications kept her from having any more seizures. If things went well, she would get to go home the following week. She was getting a bit claustrophobic, finding the room getting smaller somehow and wishing she could get around more. JC was still treating her delicately, except for their shower sex. Somehow he couldn’t put together that if she was ok with what they did there, that she would be fine to not be in bed so much. He was still so afraid of losing her or Liam, even though things were all showing they would be fine. He was waiting for the other shoe to drop, as they always seemed to do in these situations. It had been one thing after another the last 3 months, and now it felt odd to have smooth sailing.
He arrived at the party, seeing others going in, smiling as he recognized friends. Hugs and handshakes were given as he made his way through the party, wanting to find Eric, but also not wanting to ignore his other friends. Eric was hosting, he knew he’d see him at some point.
“C?” he heard a voice call out. “Oh my GOD, I love it! The wig matches your facial hair, I’m sure your lady is enjoying that…”
“I wish she was here, Lance, but good to see you. What’s with your costume?”
“Well, what I originally wanted ripped right before I came in, so this is what I got. Michael’s around here somewhere, I think he’s grabbing drinks. I’ll shoot him a text to grab you something.”
“It’s been a while, how are things?” JC wondered.
“I know, we’ve only seen Jenna once since she went into the rehab place. Things are crazy with the twins right now…”
“Josh,” he heard a familiar voice say, sending both chills and excitement down his spine. He turned to face the voice.
“Jen,” he sighed. “Hey, I just wanted to say…”
“It’s good to see you,” she interrupted, not wanting to get into anything at the moment. She opened her arms, JC giving her a brief hug.
Guilt really ran through him now, a part of him bubbling to the surface that had missed her. He’d wanted to remain friends, but with everything going on with Jenna, he hadn’t reached out, wanting to give Jen space after the breakup. People walked past, seeing them standing together with Lance, Michael soon joining them. The four began to talk, JC feeling like old times, but also really wishing Jenna was there as well.
Eric approached the group, greeting them all with a drink in his hand. “It’s good to see you two back together, just like old times,” he smiled as he saw JC and Jen standing next to each other. Eric didn’t stay for long, making his way around to greet everyone.
“I should go, some of my friends are waiting for me,” Jen stammered. “It was good to see you, Josh, I’m sure I’ll see you around.” They watched her walk away into the crowd, JC knowing she was pulling herself away to not get more attached to JC, putting that wall up to protect her.
“That was less awkward than I thought it would be,” Lance admitted.
“Yeah. It felt good to see her, I’m not gonna lie…”
“You’re feeling guilty, though,” Michael noted.
“Is this what I was like before everything? I can’t even remember anymore. So much has happened since then.”
“You love her, at least part of you always will. We all deal with it at some point, especially the first time you see them after it all. Remember Justin at his first award show after he and Brit split up? You put on a brave face, then go home and try to forget about it. At least you have Jenna now. Congratulations, by the way.”
Eric walked by right as Lance was congratulating JC. His ears perked up, stopping to hear more without joining their group.
“I’m so excited. I never thought I’d get this in my life. I can’t wait to spend the rest of my life with her. Not sure when it’ll all happen, but it’s coming together and I can’t wait.” Eric walked away at that point, hearing all he thought he needed to know.
“Have you even proposed?” Lance wondered.
“I have things all planned out. I even have Kelly in on it. She doesn’t know the plan, but knows the rough timing of everything. We secured the time off for her so it’ll go off without a hitch, hopefully. Why am I so scared something bad is going to happen? She’s 3 weeks post op, therapy is going great, she’s not on any machines.”
“Maybe because it’s still rehab and not home? Or you’re afraid something will happen once you get back home. It’s a 10-15 minute drive down that mountain, let alone to a hospital. I can see how that would be scary in the back of your head.”
“Maybe I need to buy a new house, not so secluded, closer to things in case she has a seizure…”
‘She hasn’t had one since the surgery, right?”
“Not a single one as far as they can tell. The tumor was placing all the pressure that set them off, so now that it’s gone, she’s been good. Taking her meds consistently, I’ve been making sure of that.”
“Are you getting out, seeing friends?” Michael asked. “We miss you, man.”
“This is my first event since. I’ve been getting back into work, doing what I can on my laptop while she’s in therapy sessions. Things are feeling normal again, slowly but surely.”
“Go mingle, I don’t want us to hog you all night,” Lance said, almost pushing JC towards the mingling crowd. JC raised his glass in thanks, making his way around.
It felt good to see friends, getting a part of himself back he hadn’t had for a bit. He didn't resent Jenna for it, he had chosen to take on the role he had; wanting to get to know Jenna more, especially once he realized his romantic feelings for her. It was a pattern of his, diving deep into building that relationship, almost completely forgetting everyone else for a while. His friends understood, knowing he’d come up for air and be social again. It had been a while since this had happened, having been with Jen for so long.
The party was in full swing, JC having had a few drinks with him at that point, with a group of friends talking about various things. The music stopped, the guests hearing Eric on a mic.
“Congratulations are in order,” he said. “I think we can all agree that this has been years in the making, but we have a newly engaged couple here tonight!”
JC looked around, wondering who they’d be drinking to. “Congratulations JC and Jen!” Eric swiftly put Jen next to JC, people taking pictures as they cheered.
JC made eye contact with Lance and Michael, his eyes wide in disbelief at what was happening, but his body frozen on the spot. The guests chanted for them to kiss, Jen leaning in to appease the crowd.
Before Jen could put her lips anywhere on him, JC moved and headed straight for the back patio, pushing his way through the crowd.
What the fuck just happened?!
