Seven Twenty-Eight

41 (Avalon and Jackson).

Manhattan, New York - December 25, 2018

Jackson stared up at the ceiling blankly feeling the boosted bass vibrate the bed beneath him.

"There you are!" Avalon stumbled into the room, hanging from the door frame, "God, my mom is shitfaced."

"So are you," He breathed out, not taking his eyes off the white canvas above him.

"Okay," She hiccuped, dragging her feet into the room, "Well only one of us deserves it-"

"God, Ava-"

"He took my heart-" She paused, holding her chest as she burped- "And crushed it."

"Welcome to the club," He mumbled, rolling over to lay on his side sadly.

She sat down beside him, automatically flinging herself back to lay her body over his. "What are you talking about?" She slurred, "You got the girl— You got the girl, and he still doesn't want me."

"We should throw a pity party," Jackson said loudly, spinning over to stare back up at the ceiling.

Her head clunked against his legs as they moved, creating a nauseating sensation in the pit of her stomach. "Now? I don't think I could make it back down those stairs," She sighed deeply, knitting her eyebrows together.

He blinked slowly, feeling a heat in his eyes as he did. "How did we end up here?" He asked, throwing his hands down to his sides, knocking the back of his hand against her ribs.

"I think-" She paused, her eyes darting around the ceiling as she thought. After a moment, she sucked in a sharp breath, nodding to herself as she replied, "The stairs."

He frowned, turning his head to look at her.

"They go like this-" She mumbled, lifting her hand and swirled her finger in the air, "Like a rollercoaster."

"No, they don't," He said dryly, blindly smacking his hand over hers, bringing it down against her stomach.

Avalon pressed her lips together, the glow of her intoxication burning deep in her chest.

He glanced down at her when her breath grew increasingly heavy, moving out of sync with his as it was moments before.

"I feel lonely," She admitted in a mumble, "I've always felt sort of alone but now I feel really lonely."

"I'm sorry, Aves," He sighed deeply, calmly rubbing his thumb over her knuckles.

She was quiet for another moment, still staring so blankly at the white ceiling. Then, she turned to look at him, cranking her neck slightly. "Do you ever think about what it'd be like if we had ended up together?" She asked, "How different our lives would be?"

He blinked at her, taking an extra second to process her words before he nodded. "Sometimes," He shrugged. "I used to a lot more but we met Oliver. You fell for him and I became content with not being in a relationship," He half-lied, knowing better than to let a drunken confession slip out.

She hummed softly, taking her hand away from his to fold them together over her stomach. "What's it like for you?" She pushed another curiosity, "When you think about us being together?"

"Calm," He replied instantly, "We know each other well enough— We know each other's feelings and limits. It-"

"It hurts a lot less?" She interrupted, suggesting her own thoughts.

He nodded slowly, pulling his hand away from her to fold them both over his stomach.

"I thought it would be different after— When you told me what Kara did, I thought it would change," She trailed off, letting her gaze float forward again, "But he met Elisa."