The Heiress Club (COMPLETED)

Chapter 19: Jasper

"Yes," Jasper said, even though he definitely had not known that.

"And they get hunted for soup! Es just told me! It's so sad!"

Seung-jun promptly burst into sobs. "You should drink some water," Jasper told him, lugging him over to the kitchen. Drunk Seung-jun was funny but clingy. Jasper himself didn't drink. He found that it just made things less fun.

Seung-jun passed out midway through drinking his glass of water, so Jasper had to drag him up the stairs and into a guest bedroom that was basically Seung-jun's de-facto room whenever he came over. He'd locked off most of the upstairs since drunk teenagers had a tendency to get frisky and he'd rather not have that going on in his house, but this door only had one way to open it. There was no real special trick. All Jasper had to do was slam his shoulder against it as hard as he could (the doorknob tended to jam from the outside—the downsides of owning a historical manor) and it'd swing open.

After he'd deposited Seung-jun in his room, Jasper went downstairs and nearly stepped on a full bottle of wine being used to play spin the bottle.

He was about to move on when someone reached out and spun the bottle unsteadily. Jasper recognized the red lips, the wavy black hair, even in the dim lighting. Valentina.

The circle cheered as the bottle landed on someone—a drunk boy, maybe an underclassman. Jasper had never met him. Valentina—oh, she was drunk, wasn't she? Her cheeks had a wild sort of flush, her smile a little too wide. Her teeth were shark-like, gleaming in the darkness. She leaned over towards the boy.

Before Jasper even knew what he was doing, he grabbed her arms and hauled her up forcefully. "Enough," he snapped. As he dragged her towards the kitchen, his heart raced. What was he doing? He should've just left her. What did it matter to him?

He came to a stop at the kitchen island, letting go of Valentina. She nearly folded halfway over the table, going totally limp. Jasper frowned, leaning down to check if she was awake. She hadn't been mixing drugs with alcohol, had she? That would be bad—

Her eyes snapped open, a cheeky grin spreading across her face. "Surprise!" she giggled drunkenly, drawing out the last syllable.

Jasper realised at that moment how close he was to her. He jerked away. "I'm getting you some water," he muttered.

As Jasper began to fill a glass with water, something brushed against his cheek. He looked up. Valentina was suddenly very close again, her delicate fingers moving a strand of hair out of his face. "Pretty," she mumbled, staring straight at Jasper. "I like your makeup. And your face. Too bad you're 'n asshole though."

Jasper had to laugh at that. He didn't think Valentina would ever be like this. Not to him. "Are you even going to remember any of this tomorrow?" he asked amusedly, handing her the water. Maybe he could learn something about her while she was drunk.

"Abs'lutely not," Valentina declared, drinking the water like it was a glass of wine.

"Really," Jasper said in disbelief.

Suddenly, Valentina slumped backwards onto the counter again, facing the ceiling this time. Jasper glanced at her throat, the line of her chin, her lips—

Valentina was looking at him too, her eyes knowing and alight with repressed laughter. "It's why 'm not s'posed to drink. Can't remember shit afterwards."

So she wouldn't remember any of this. Good. Good. Jasper's heartbeat eased somewhat.

Suddenly, someone grabbed his shoulders from behind. Jasper flinched, but then recognized Mia's voice. "Jasperrrr!" she exclaimed, high-pitched. "Teddy told me you have cars!"