Septiplier Drabbles

Sparks

Fluff | College AU???

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A/N: I wrote this forever ago and just found it in an old document full of ideas. I finally took a little time to finish it up as best I could. It's inspired by my own Fourth of July experience... but with a much nicer ending.

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Jack has always been a bit of a loner. You wouldn't know it if you caught him talking with close friends; the way his voice would rise and the smile that seemed stuck on his face at times. But here, in a back yard with a group of people he hardly knows, his quiet side is at it's peak.

It's the fourth of July, a nice day with a decent breeze to keep him from feeling like he's trapped in an oven. Normally he would be at home or with family, but this year his room mate had managed to coerce him into coming here, then promptly ditched him to fool around with his girlfriend. It's been too long, now, to just get up and leave without seeming strange, and he'd have no way home either way. So he stays, a damn good burger in one hand and a hard cider in the other.

For the last hour he has been trying to learn everyone's names without asking directly. There's the host of the party, Dan. He's easy enough to remember since the guy next to him -whose name might be Arin but Jack's not sure yet- says his name pretty often. Then there's Suzy and Barry, who have been alternating between manning the stereo, flipping burgers, and chatting loudly with each other. Suzy will occasionally move to grab maybe-Arin's hand. There's also Kevin, a quiet boy, clearly a bit younger than everyone else, who has been tucked under Dan's arm half of the time. And of course there's Ross, whose name has mostly been followed by various insults meant to be friendly jabs. He has been tending the fire. Jack thinks to himself that it's not smart to make fun of the man with the fire poker.

Then there's the enchanting man who perched in a chair to Jack's left and remained there most of the night. He has been almost as quiet as Jack, only occasionally offering a joke or smart-ass remark to the conversations happening all around them. His name remains a mystery, and Jack wants to know. What he does know, however, is that this young man is stunning. Dark and probably really soft hair; deep, glimmering brown eyes that sometimes look like the amber glow of Dan's beer bottle in the sunlight; a smile so bright and blinding that it could easily outshine the sun; the voice of an angel, enchanting and soothing. Jack feels foolish for it, because really he doesn't know this man, but he finds himself enamored already.

As the sun is setting, just peeking through the tree line across the fence, Arin runs off, disappears into the house and returns a moment later with an armful of fireworks and sparklers. He's laughing about something clever he said -which Jack missed- as he tosses a little box of sparklers to each of the party-goers. Jack is excited despite how awkward and out of place he still feels.

"Wanna' trade?" The man beside Jack asks, leaning across the space between their chairs. Jack raises one brow, glancing from his own box to the other man's. They looks the same besides the color on the package. He shrugs and offers up his. "Thanks." the man says, grinning as he presses the red box into Jack's hand in place of the green one.

"No problem." Jack mutters, caught off guard at having that bright smile aimed his way. The man's eyes widen slightly and he tips his head a little.

"That's a nice accent you've got..." He says, clearly tiptoeing around the question just about everyone asks when they meet Jack for the first time.

"I'm from Ireland, originally."

"Really? That's cool," he smiles, eyes shining with interest. Jack's heartbeat flutters gently. "I've never been there, but I've always wanted to go."