Chapter Text
“Come on, it'll be fun.”
“Absolutely not.”
“But Amy--”
“Gina, I swear to God.”
The two girls were whispering back and forth in the library, Gina raising her voice with every protest and Amy trying to keep quiet. Amy had made the mistake of letting Gina know that her parents and brothers would all be out for the night. Of course, Amy had seen the peace and quiet as an opportunity to get a head start on Holt's essay.
Gina had other ideas in mind.
“Amy Santiago, if you don't throw a party at your house tonight, I will scream so loudly right now that we will be banned from the library for the rest of our lives.”
“Gina, don't you dare.”
With a challenging glare, Gina took in a deep breath and opened her mouth.
“Fine! Fine, I'll think about it!”
Gina let the breath out and shot her friend a triumphant grin. “I knew you'd come around to my way of thinking.”
“I only said I'll think about.”
“Oh, Amy, Amy, Amy.” With each word, Gina shook her head and patted Amy on the shoulder. She stood up from her seat, slinging her backpack over her shoulder. “You have no idea how far this rabbit hole goes.”
“What does that even mean?”
“I'm sure you'll find out tonight, little Alice.”
Amy glared at Gina's retreating form. “Making Alice in Wonderland allusions doesn't make you sound smart!”
She was immediately shh'ed by the librarian and could hear Gina cackling from the doorway.
–
“Amy, what the hell?”
“Not cool, Santiago!”
Amy looked up from her textbook with a start, eyes wide. Rosa and Jake were looming over her desk as the class poured in, waiting for Holt to arrive. Both of them were staring at her, Rosa's eyes narrowed and Jake looking unbelievably offended.
Amy sighed and marked her place in the book, shutting it. “To what do I owe the pleasure?”
“I can't believe you're having a party and didn't invite us,” Jake blurted out. He clutched his chest dramatically. “One, that hurts me deeply. Two, there's no way you're going to be able to throw a decent party without my help.”
“I just can't believe you would deny me the opportunity to find someone to hook up with for the night,” Rosa says, arms crossed in defiance.
Cue the mental image of Rosa boning down with a stranger in her bedroom, and if Amy wasn't already put off by the idea of throwing a party, she was at that moment. She couldn't afford to buy an entirely new bed spread or even begin explaining to her parents why she would need a new one anyway.
“The party is definitely not happening.”
“Well, it's a little too late for that.” Boyle popped up behind Jake, holding out his phone. Sure enough, he had an invitation from Gina to a “slammin', bammin', bangin'” party being held at her house tonight. Amy glanced at the 'invited' list and was absolutely sure she didn't even know half of the people on it.
She buried her face in hands, mumbling, “Where the hell is Gina?”
“According to her facebook status,” Charles supplied, “she ditched to go buy a new dress. Apparently one of her five boyfriends got paid today.”
“How many people have confirmed their invitations already?” Jake asked, snatching the phone out of Charles' hand. His eyes widened for a moment.
“... What.”
“Nothing!”
“Jake.”
“It's nothing! No one's coming. Gina forgot to invite anyone besides Charles.”
Amy rolled her eyes. “Whatever I'll just check on my phone.”
She pulled her phone out of her bag and scrolled through her apps until opened up facebook. She didn't have any new notifications.
“Wait a second – Gina is trying to throw a party at my house and she didn't even invite me?”
Rosa immediately burst into laughter, Jake looked like he was trying to bite back a comment, and Charles patted her shoulder sympathetically.
“Don't worry, Amy, people forget to invite me to things all of the time,” Hitchcock commented from one row over.
“Perfect. I'm the Hitchcock of my own party.”
“So you are having it, then?” Jake asked, beaming at her hopefully.
“Well, apparently people are already coming anyway. I might as well lean into it.”
Jake punched her shoulder goodnaturedly. “That's the spirit, buddy.”
The classroom door opened, and before anyone even could have any way of actually knowing, it seemed the class was all scrambling to their seats upon Holt's arrival.
“I apologize for my tardiness. There was an incident in the hallway on my way to class that required my intervention.”
“There was a fight, wasn't there?” Jake asked, leaning forward in anticipation.
“That's not any of your business, Peralta. You're all far too interested in violence.”
Jake held up his phone. “Someone already sent me a video of you pulling the kids off of each other.”
Wordlessly, Holt snatched the phone from Jake and chucked it into his desk drawer. Amy couldn't help but feel a little vindicated for reasons she wasn't entirely sure of.
–
“Amy, it's going to be fine.”
“You don't know that.”
From his seat on her couch, feet propped up on her coffee table despite her protests, Jake shook his head with a sigh. He'd been reassuring her for the past fifteen minutes since he arrived that everything would be fine. According to Gina's invitations people were supposed to start arriving in about a half hour, and Charles, who had offered to pick up food and drinks, was running late.
Needless to say, Amy was in a frenzy.
“What if my parents forgot something at home and come back to get it and there are people doing it on the couch?”
“Amy, no one is going to have sex on your couch. They'll save it for either your, your parents, or one of your brothers' bedrooms.”
“That's even worse!”
“But your parents won't see it if they come back, will they?”
She shot him a look. “Yeah, but they'll see the a house full of teenagers!”
With a large sigh, Jake picked himself up off the couch and placed his hands firmly on her shoulders. “Amy. Nothing is going to go wrong. You are going to throw an awesome party that people are going to enjoy. People will probably make out in your living room, but I will personally make sure all of the bedrooms in your house remain unviolated throughout the night.”
Amy nodded mutely, closing her eyes and taking a breath in and out. “Right. You're right. But what if someone breaks something--”
“Amy!”
Before either of them could get another word in edgewise, her doorbell rang. Amy sighed in relief and walked over.
“It took you long enough, Charle--”
She cut off upon seeing the face on the other side of the door. Jake couldn't see who it was from his spot in the room, but he could see her face light up as she stepped outside to hug the person on the other side of the door. Jake leaned over a little and could only spot a boy roughly the same height as him with brown hair hugging her back.
His legs started moving before he could even process it.
“Heeeeey, what's going on here?” he asked, poking his head out of the doorway.
“Oh!” Amy, suddenly all smiles, took a step back and gestured from Jake to the other boy. “Jake, this is Teddy. Teddy, this is Jake. Jake's a school friend, and I met Teddy at summer camp a few years ago.”
Something about being described as a “school friend” made Jake irrationally annoyed, but there seemed to be a more pressing concern in the form of the overly fond looks Teddy kept shooting at Amy.
“Nice to meet you,” Teddy said, holding his hand out for Jake.
Jake eyed him for a moment, eventually shaking his hand. “Yeah, you too, bro.”
“How did you know about the party,” Amy asked immediately upon the break of their handshake.
“Uh, I got an invitation from Gina. Our moms are pretty old friends, so we've known each other a while. I think she just invited everyone she's friends with, to be honest, but I recognized your address and figured it might be fun to stop by.”
“What a. Great friend,” Jake said, trying his best not to clench his teeth.
Okay, so maybe Charles did have a point. A tiny, miniscule, but definitely there point. There was something about the smiles that Amy and Teddy kept shooting at each other that was gnawing at his stomach in an admittedly jealous way.
“Hey guys! Sorry I'm late!” Charles walked up the steps to Amy's house, completely hidden by the bags in his arms. When he poked his head around he looked between where Jake was standing across from Amy and Teddy, who were engrossed in their own conversation.
“Who's that?”
“Teddy!” Jake nearly squawked. “Amy's camp friend!”
Charles nodded understandingly.
–
When Gina invited everyone, she really did invite everyone.
Jake had always prided himself on being a pretty popular guy, knowing most of the kids in their school. Somehow he didn't know a decent majority of the people crowding Amy's house. Plus, he's pretty sure he already broke his promise of not letting anyone get it on in one of the bedrooms. But whatever, it's not like she's paying attention anyway. With stark bitterness, Jake couldn't help but notice that Amy had spent more of the night attached at Teddy's hip.
Charles slid up beside him, both of them staring at Amy and Teddy whispering to each other across the room. “I've got some information.”
“Shoot.”
“According to Gina, they went to camp together for five years. Amy told her they have this on-off thing every time they see each other. They've never been able to date because they don't live close enough to make things work.”
“Gross. That means they've definitely kissed before.”
Charles shot him a look that he chose to ignore because he was definitely too far past the point of trying to save his pride. The best option had to be owning his weird jealousy.
“You know, they might not be interested in each other anymore,” Charles said hopefully.
“He looks like he wants to devour her face.”
Across the room, Amy laughed and placed her hand on Teddy's arm. What bothered Jake more than the possibility of Amy kissing Teddy, he figured, was seeing her laugh and have fun with him. It wasn't like he and Amy were ever actually best friends or anything, but maybe he thought they actually had gotten closer over the summer.
In a panic, he remembered the phone call on the train from a few weeks ago. What if she did like him back and thought he was pushing her away then? Granted, he was, but he didn't want to anymore. Maybe this was her way of moving on.
Or maybe Jake was just her close friend, and she was super into Teddy.
Jake pinched the bridge of his nose. “Is this what overthinking feels like?”
Charles beamed at him. “It's the worst, isn't it?”
“Charles, why are you smiling?”
“We're bonding!”
“God, I need another drink.”
–
The thing was, Jake was normally really fun at parties. He was great at drinking games, personable, and had excellent music taste. Parties were usually his time to thrive. A party at his straitlaced friend's house should have been even better.
Instead, he found himself stumbling out onto her front porch at eleven and sitting on the steps. Everything inside was so loud and out of control, and for once, he didn't feel in the mood for it. Which was dumb because he shouldn't have been in such a bad mood just because Amy was possibly interested in another guy. It's not like he had a claim on her or anything – she was free to like anyone she wanted.
But, whatever, maybe seeing her hang off of Teddy's arm all night, smiling and laughing at his jokes, was a buzz kill.
Jake took a sip of his drink and tapped his foot to the beat of muffled song he could hear playing inside the house. It got clearer only for a moment when the door opened, and he turned around.
Amy stood there, face flushed and hair a little messy. She looked almost nervous and happy at the same time. It took her a moment to spot him sitting on her front steps, but her face brightened when she did.
“Hey.”
Amy sat down next to him and offered a subdued smile. “When did you leave? I've been looking for you.”
Oh. Oh.
“It was starting to feel crowded in there,” he admitted. “I just needed some fresh air.”
“Me too. Rosa and Gina made me dance with them, and I really couldn't keep up with them. Plus, it was so sexual.” Her face flushed and eyes widened when she spoke, looking scandalized and adorable all at once.
Jake couldn't help but crack a grin at her expense. “Yeah, Amy, that's the kind of stuff normal teenagers do.”
She scowled playfully at him and elbowed his arm. Sitting out there together felt comfortable. It was still early enough in the year that night time wasn't freezing, and talking alone on the front steps of her house on a warm night felt reminiscent of the months they were stuck alone together.
It was nice.
“Teddy left a little while ago,” she said quietly.
Jake bit the inside of his cheek. They couldn't have a moment alone together – of course there had to be a catch.
“Yeah?”
She nodded. “He had to start heading home since he lives further away, but he said he had fun.”
Jake pursed his lips. “That's good.”
“Yeah... It was nice seeing him again, but something weird happened.” She paused and shared a brief look with Jake, almost hesitant. “He asked me out on a date. He said I didn't have to answer right then, but I should think about it.”
Jake stopped tapping his foot and swallowed hard. He knew what was coming next. Amy wanted advice on the last subject he wanted to help her with. He didn't even know if he wanted to ask her out yet, but the thought of her going out with someone else still made him irrationally jealous.
“What are you going to say?”
“I don't know yet. I think I want to say yes, but the distance will still be a hassle.”
He shrugged and leaned forward, staring straight ahead. “I think you should do whatever you actually want to. You always overthink things.”
Amy looked at him with almost indiscernible expression on her face for a moment before looking back down at the steps. “You're half right. I do overthink, but I still don't know what I want.”
“It's not like you're in a rush – you have time to figure it out, Amy.”
He glanced back over at her and caught her smiling softly and nodding.
“Yeah, you're right.”
She looked pretty underneath the porch lights, hair only slightly mussed and a small smile gracing her lips. He'd been attracted to Amy before – he was a teenage boy, sue him – but it felt different. It felt almost difficult to breath for just a moment, and he wanted to kiss her.
“Hey, I need to tell you something.”
Amy looked up quickly and raised her eyebrows questioningly.
“I broke my promise,” he blurted out quickly, feeling like he had to catch his breath afterwards. The air didn't feel as thick anymore.
“What?”
“I'm about ninety percent sure at least four people have already hooked up in your bedroom. I kind of dropped the ball.”
Amy's face fell immediately at his words. “That's disgusting.”
“It was bound to happen.”
“I'm going to have to sleep in my parents' room tonight.”
“Yeah, I wouldn't go in there either.”
“Jake!”
As scandalized as she looked, Amy was trying her best not to break out into laughter. Jake seemed to recognize it, and once he cracked a grin, she was done for. Both of them burst into a fit of laughter. It was comfortable. Safe.
“You know, this party wasn't as bad as I thought it would be.”
“I didn't even know you knew the definition of fun.”
Amy rolled her eyes and tried to fight back a yawn, failing miserably. “How do you kick a mass of people out of your house?”
Jake thought to himself for a moment, then smirked. “I've got an idea.”
–
“COPS!”
Jake ran back into the house, Amy following after him frantically.
“THE COPS ARE ON THEIR WAY!”
All at once, everyone seemed to rush for an exit. The music playing stopped abruptly with almost comedic timing, like they were in a sitcom or something. Everyone was almost gone when Gina yelled over to Amy, perched on top of the shoulders of a boy Amy didn't recognize.
“I'm going to throw parties at your house more often, Amy!”
Jake snickered next to her, and Amy pinched the bridge of her nose. They said goodbye to Rosa as she walked out, and Charles, who was following her out at a distance.
“Not bad, Peralta,” Amy said, looking around at the now empty house. It was a mess, but that sounded more like a problem for future Amy.
“Well, you know how I do.”
They exchanged a look of mutual distaste and shook their heads.
“Right. Not saying that again.” He rocked on his heels and looked around. “So, uh, I probably better get going too.”
It hadn't occurred to Amy that Jake was leaving too, but it made perfect sense. Still, it left her feeling the tiniest bit disappointed.
“Oh, yeah. Text me when you get home so I know you're safe?”
He gave her a funny look. “Amy, I'm not going to get murdered on my walk home. It's not even late enough for murderers to be out yet.”
She scowled. “See – this is a lose-lose situation. You always accuse me of being mean, but when I'm nice, you pick on me.”
“The difficult life of Amy Santiago.”
Amy scoffed and took a step forward before catching herself. She had been about to give him a hug goodbye. It felt natural at first, until she remembered that Jake was Jake and it would have been completely weird.
“See you later,” she said as he stepped out of the doorway. Jake waved at her, and she shut the door behind him.
Ten minutes later, her phone went off as she was climbing into bed.
'got confronted by a gang of criminal mice on my way home. fought them off with nothing but my bare hands, natural wit, and a discarded potato chip bag. more details tomorrow.'