Jack wasn't lying when he said they weren't far from his house. It was only a couple blocks before they stopped in front of an old house. The red paint was faded even in the dim light of streetlamps.
"This is it," Jack announced, gesturing to the house. It was everything Julia had expected. An old colonial style house, set snuggly between the neighbors' houses. "You wanna go in?"
"It's late. I don't wanna wake up your family," Julia reminded him. She really didn't have any idea what time it was, but she knew it had to be after midnight.
"We'll go in the back door," Jack reasoned, guiding her through the small space between the houses, and around to the back door.
"You just love sneaking me into places," Julia said quietly. Jack bent down, moving a rock beside the door to reveal a key.
"It's not sneaking if it's my house," he rolled his eyes. He unlocked the door, taking extra care to open it quietly. He pulled Julia inside, and the first thing she noticed was how nice the warm air felt against her cold cheeks.
Across town, the boys were still settled at their table at the bar.
"Do you think Jack and Jules are gonna come back?" Mark asked with a grin. It was the first anyone had brought up Jack and Julia since they made their escape, but the same thought had been on everyone's mind.
"I'm not gonna wait up for them," Silky smirked, wagging his eyebrows suggestively.
"Don't say it like that, Silky!" Robbie insisted with a glare.
"I'm sure it's not like that," Jimmy spoke up, trying to calm Robbie.
"I don't mind OC, and we all know they're nuts for each other, but that is one thing I do not want to think about," Robbie groaned.
"Look, it's obvious they like each other, I don't think OC would try to do that," Rizzo interjected, taking a sip of his beer. "However, I doubt they'll be joining us here. I'm sure they'll meet us back at the hotel."
"He better keep an eye on her," Robbie huffed, glowering down at his beer on the table.
"Jack won't let anything happen to her. That's one thing we don't have to worry about," Buzzy spoke up.
"You look like you're freezing. I'm sorry," Jack apologized quietly as they entered his bedroom, closing the door quietly. He flipped on the light, watching as Julia surveyed the room.
"I'm okay," she promised, not looking at him. She was too busy looking around his room, taking it all in. He had a ton of hockey stuff, of course, while other Boston sports memorabilia was spread throughout the room. The bookshelf in the corner was overflowing with books. An Aerosmith poster hung on his closet door. By the foot of his bed sat a box that was filled with a mix of records and cassettes.
"Your cheeks and nose are all red," Jack said, bringing her back into focus.
"Yeah, I guess I'm a little cold," she admitted with a shrug.
"We'll just stay here till you warm up," Jack decided, going to sit on his bed. Julia followed, sitting beside him. She noticed a framed photo of his family on his bedside table.
"Did you get along with Annie and Joe growing up?" She asked, her eyes fixed on the picture.
"Sometimes. Annie didn't really like growing up here, and she was kind of a moody teen, but we got along for the most part. Joe and I have always been pretty close," he said, taking her hand in his. "Your hands are cold, too."
"You've been dragging me around Boston all night. What did you expect?" Julia asked with a quiet laugh. "Thank you for tonight, Jack. It's been fun."
Jack gave her a half smile, turning his body so he was facing her.
"Julsie?" He spoke quietly, aware of his parents sleeping down the hall. Julia looked up at him, eyebrows raised in curiosity.
"Yeah?"
Without saying anything else, Jack let go of her hand and brought both of his hands to her cheeks, cupping her face. Julia took in a sharp breath, before closing her eyes. Jack kissed her, his hands still secure around her face. After getting over her initial shock, Julia kissed him back, hoping he wouldn't pull away anytime soon. The kiss wasn't hesitant at all, but hungry and needy. She brought her hands up to rest on his shoulders, as one of his hands slid down to her waist. Julia loved the way Jack tasted like mint. His lips were softer than she would've ever expected. When he finally pulled away, she couldn't hide her smile.
"You kissed me," she acknowledged, making him laugh softly. He ran his hand through her hand before letting it return to its spot on her cheek.
"Yeah, I did. Is that okay?" He asked, slowly moving his face close to hers once again. She nodded, before pulling him in to close the distance between them, kissing him once again. Jack couldn't help but grin at her eagerness as they kissed. It was like they had both been waiting for this forever. Julia wrapped her arms around the back of his neck, her fingers getting wrapped up in his hair.
"I feel like this was a long time coming," Jack mumbled after breaking the kiss to place a few kisses on her cheek and jaw.
"I'll say," she sighed, leaning her head on his chest. "Can we stay here a few more minutes?"
"Of course," he grinned, holding onto her tightly as she leaned against him. He kissed the top of her head. "We only have to see a few more places."
Julia looked over at this desk, finally seeing a clock.
"It's 1:27 in the morning," she giggled. "The boys are probably wondering where we are."
"Do you want to just go back?" Jack suggested, but he was dreading hearing her say yes.
"No," she smiled, looking up at him. Jack's face broke into another smile.
"Are you hungry?" He offered.
"You're always hungry," she laughed.
After a few more minutes of Jack telling her about his childhood, the two of them silently snuck out of the house, Jack locking the door and returning the key to its place.
"There's a diner not far that's open 24 hours. We can grab a bite to eat," Jack told her once they were back outside. As soon as the cold air hit her, Julia clutched onto Jack to try to stay warm. Jack couldn't help but smile at her actions, wrapping his arm around her. He kept his arm around her tightly as they walked through the town, ignoring a few groups of teenagers who were loitering on the streets. After a short walk, they arrived at a small, dingy diner. Julia was happy to once again be out of the cold as Jack pulled her to a table, sitting in the booth across from her. A bored-looking girl brought them over some menus, monotonically asking if she could get them something to drink.
"Just coffee, please," Julia requested, making the young girl finally look over at her. The waitress stopped smacking on her chewing gum, her eyes widening.
"Aren't you that Julie Brooks girl?" The waitress questioned in a strong Boston accent. Julia smiled, nodding at the girl.
"Yeah, that's me."
"The hell are you doing in Charlestown?" The girl questioned, making Jack and Julia laugh.
"Getting a tour from a local," Julia explained. The waitress nodded, still looking shocked. Jack ordered water and a burger, Julia deciding to stick with only her coffee.
"I can see the headlines now. 'Julie Brooks spotted in a dive diner in Charlestown in the middle of the night with a hockey player.' That'll be a read," Jack teased her.
"Better than the ones about me being dead," Julia laughed. The waitress returned with water and a coffee, before leaving to take care of the only other occupied table in the restaurant.
"You drink black coffee," Jack noticed, watching her take a drink of the bitter coffee.
"Sure do. That's how my dad used to drink it. I used to always sneak it when I was young," Julia told him, before her face went blank and she froze while bringing her coffee cup to her lips. "Well, he was putting something in his coffee. But it wasn't creamer."
Jack reached across the table, taking her hand in his. Julia gave him half a smile, putting her coffee down.
"Sorry to be a downer," she spoke quietly, looking down at her coffee.
"You don't have to apologize, Jules. You can always talk to me," Jack assured her. Julia nodded, but she didn't continue. She glanced across the restaurant, looking for a way to change the subject. Her eyes landed on the group of guys across the restaurant, who were already staring in their direction. They were muttering quietly amongst themselves, their eyes fixed on Jack and Julia.
"Those guys are staring at us," Julia muttered, looking at Jack. Jack frowned upon seeing the nervous look on her face. He stayed facing her, not wanting to turn and look at them obviously.
"They're getting up," Julia whispered, her eyes widening as three of the guys got up from their table.
"It's fine ," Jack assured her, squeezing her hand. As he heard the guys approaching their table, he turned into the booth, looking at them head on. Julia noticed the way his face hardened, his chest puffing out in a subtle way. The three guys stopped at their table, glancing at Jack before they all looked at Julia.
"Can we get your autograph?" One of them asked, presenting a napkin and pen. Julia almost laughed, realizing how badly she had assessed the situation.
"Uh, yeah," she stuttered, taking the pen and napkin from them. "Of course."
Jack relaxed, sitting back in the booth with a hint of a smirk.
"We're really big fans," one of the other guys said. Julia asked their names, before signing the flimsy napkin as best she could.
"It's really nice to meet you guys," she told them with a smile. After handing back the napkin, the guys all thanked her.
"You're a lucky guy," one of them said to Jack as they walked away. Jack just grinned cockily as Julia sighed, shaking her head.
"I can't take you anywhere," Jack teased. "And you were scared."
"The way they were glaring at us before they came over, I was sure one of them was your high school nemesis or something. They looked mad," Julia insisted. Jack just laughed as the waitress brought over his burger, rolling his eyes as Julia reached for one of his fries.
"You said you weren't hungry," he pointed out.
"You're supposed to be eating healthy. You don't need the fries," Julia countered, taking a couple more.
They ate slowly, too absorbed in conversation to do anything too quickly. Jack teased Julia about her three cups of coffee, insisting she'd be up all night. She pointed out that he was the one keeping her up, and it would be his fault when she was grumpy the following day.
"You're grumpy in the morning regardless," Jack said matter-of-factly.
After the diner, Jack took her to the park nearby, showing her the pond he learned to skate on. He told her all about the adventures he'd had as a kid there. It was nearing 4 a.m. when Julia decided it was time to get a cab back to the hotel. The night sky was just starting to lighten by the time they made it back across town and to their hotel. They walked hand-in-hand through the lobby and to the elevator.
"I hope Rizzo didn't lock me out. He's got both keys," Jack suddenly realized as the elevator moved past several floors, a quiet ding sounding with each one they passed.
"You could always sleep in the hallway," Julia told him with a mischievous grin. Jack just gave her an annoyed glare before the elevator stopped on their floor. Neither would admit it, but both of them were suddenly nervous about getting caught after spending the entire night out.
"Try to get some sleep, alright?" Jack whispered as they stopped outside of her door.
"Yeah, you too," she whispered back, not letting go of his hand.
"Goodnight, Jules," he said, leaning in and giving her one more quick kiss.
"Goodnight, Jack."
Julia gave him a smile before going into her room, unable to wipe the smile off her face. She slipped off her coat, shoes, and jeans, before falling into bed. She happily drifted off to sleep as the skies above Boston were turning to dawn.