A known threat

Jason sat in silence as he listened to Nick tell him his side of things and his reasons for bringing Elizabeth along. Though Jason disliked the way Nick went about it, he could understand his reason for doing so. If he had told them upfront who he was planning on bringing along. it would have simply gotten him rejection and protest. So risking getting into trouble and even being refused entrance, he chose to ask for forgiveness rather than permission.

Judging by his actions of today and the way he talked about her, Jason could tell that Nick had started to like Elizabeth as more than a friend. Since it had been the first time in a long time he saw his friend being actually interested in someone, he wanted to give him a chance at success. Jason could understand how Nick might do some stupid things to help the person he liked., because he too had someone he liked. If it was him in that position, he too would have tried everything he could to help the person he liked. So after listening till the end of his story he stared in the distance in silence for a moment before sighing and telling him to go bring Elizabeth in. Before he allowed him to go and get her from outside Jason gave Nick a warning, "Let's get one thing straight. I am doing this for your sake and I am only doing this once. For the sake of you guys making it work, I am willing to hear her apology. If she does anything to upset Jenny or tries to make a move on me or in any other way shows that she doesn't know her boundaries, I will make her leave right away. Not just from here, but also from our school and if necessary from this town and country. This is the last chance I am giving her. In the future don't test my limits again by putting me on the spot. You should know by now that I am not a kind person and don't mind showing uninvited people the door."

With this Nick, who had stood frozen to the ground gave a short nod before hurrying to the door. He knew he was playing a dangerous game by purposely arriving later than the rest and hiding the identity of his date, all in hopes of creating a chance for Elizabeth. Even then he wasn't sure if Jason would let them on the premises. At first he wanted to arrive even later so that he could slip into one of the vacant rooms and surprise them the next morning. That way she would at the very least gain the time it took to wait for a taxi to come pick her up and the time she would need to get dressed. However there were only so many excuses he could think of for arriving later. Nick wiped the cold sweat from his forehead and opened the door to let Elizabeth in. Elizabeth skipped with glee and walked passed Nick without so much as a look and went straight to her goal. Nick was about to step out to give them their privacy when he heard Jason say "Stay!" in a domineering voice. Both Nick and Elizabeth froze in their movements till Jason clarified who and what he meant.

"I promised Jenny that I wouldn't hurt her, so I will do whatever I can to leave no room for misunderstandings or confusion. So Nick I want you to stay here as Elizabeth tells me what she wants to say."

"Jason..I just want to talk to you. Do you really need to keep me at arms length? Do you have to treat me like a stranger?" Elizabeth said with reddened eyes, tears welling up inside. When Nick called her in, she thought that Jason might have eased up a bit now that Jenny was out of sight and that maybe it had been Jenny that was pushing him to be so mean and harsh to her. Till now, Jenny had been the binding factor between all those heart breaking scenes. However now she was nowhere in sight and still he wasted no time to crumble that little bit of hope she had.

"Elizabeth don't test my patience. You have been given this chance because of Nick. If you are unhappy with the conditions I set, I am happy to change the arms length to a plane's length. You should know the way you got yourself in this mess, so yes I have to treat you this way, because you are worse than a stranger. You are a known threat."

Jason's words matched his tone and eyes, which were harsh and cold. He had meant every word. Elizabeth was a threat. Not a physical one, but a threat to his happiness. He had once been misunderstood by Jenny because of her and she had even mistreated Jenny out of her own delusions. If Jenny had left him because of those things, he would have been destroyed as well as any chance at happiness. So he wanted to be sure that any hope of anything more than a possible friendship was killed off. If what Nick had said, and Elizabeth no longer held any feelings for him, then him not speaking to her alone, should not bother her. If she was simply missing familiarity, friends and comfort, she shouldn't worry herself over being kept at a proper distance by him. If that meant she could regain her friends, then she should accept the conditions that came with it. Only then could he give her this chance. It could no longer go back to situations where she could be alone with him in a closed room. Not because anything would happen, but because they shouldn't. It wasn't right to Jenny and now neither to Nick.

Jason had been successful with his words. The little hope Elizabeth had, had now vanished and the tears she had been holding back finally fell. With trembling hands she held onto her suitcase tightly with one hand and her other hand had been clenched in a tight fist till it had turned white. She was devastated, but this was no time to falter. She had finally gotten a chance to regain a place by Jason's side and if the only available spot was one of a friend, then she would accept the hand she had been dealt. At least for now...