Willing to forgive

Jenny was still hurt and she felt betrayed, but she could feel Jason was holding onto her with all his might. His heart was beating like crazy and each beat seemed to be resonating through his chest into hers. As if his entire body was trying to scream the words he was trying to say. He must have chased after her right away. As she turned around to face him, she saw the fear in Jason's eyes. He was really afraid of losing her and he looked like he was speaking the truth. At least she should give him the benefit of a doubt. Wasn't that what she had promised him in the beginning? Plus the delusional words Elizabeth had spoken during class made her believe that she was capable of forcing a kiss on someone. Adding to the credibility of his story. So she nodded and followed Jason back for now, but she couldn't make herself hold the hand he held out for her.

Jason accepted the rejection of holding hands with a forced smile on his face and a hurt look in his eyes. Swish. Another knife pierced her heart and struck her with guilt. She knew Jason wasn't the one fully at fault here. He was trying to clear up a misunderstanding she partially had created by wanting to keep their relationship a secret. She knew that he had the right intentions, but she couldn't help it. She kept seeing the image of Elizabeth kissing him. Of him holding her by the shoulders. She knew it didn't make sense, but she just didn't want to be touched by the same hands that were just touching someone else.

The images made her relive her anger and hurt. That is why she needed to regain some of her sense of safety around him and her trust in him. A better word would probably be confirmation that her initial trust and comfort around him weren't a mistake. She needed to know if he was in this state because he was caught or because he really felt like the situation in itself was inexcusable. He might not have been the one to initiate, but he was the one who allowed himself in such a situation. Why would he place himself in a situation where he was alone with a girl who clearly had feelings for him. She could only accept his hand after everything had been cleared up and some boundaries had been set. She did not want this situation to repeat itself or for something worse and unforgivable to happen, because by then it would be too late to regret. Until then she should not falter, despite the regret and pain she was feeling after seeing the hurt she had caused with her initial rejection.

Jason was already happy she stopped running and was willing to go back with her, this much was to be expected. In his head he understood this, but his heart was still a few steps behind and at the moment it was still hurting. They were finally in a good spot and it sucked that something like this had set them back a few steps. It had been a long time since she had refused him when they were in private, but right now it wasn't about him and he needed to give her some space. He was pissed at Elizabeth for causing this misunderstanding, but he couldn't put all the blame on her. If only he had set her straight before, he could have prevented this situation. For now he had to put his focus into clearing up this misunderstanding. He quietly walked back to the house, followed a few steps behind by Jenny. When he reached the house he paused for a minute to allow her to catch up. Without turning around he asked her, "Do you want me to send Harry and George home or do you want to ask them about what happened in the kitchen?"

She was actually really happy he asked her this. Now that he gave her all the options it made her trust Jason more. More so then when he would push his friends to testify for him. The more you defend yourself, the more guilty you usually are. Though they would be able to perfectly vouch for Jason's relationship with Elizabeth, but if she didn't trust Jason himself how would she trust the friends? She would still have these thoughts deep inside that they might lie for him, to cover everything up. Besides, if she relied on his friends to fix their misunderstandings, what was she going to do in the future. If there was no trust between her and Jason, there was no relationship to begin with. "No, I don't want to face anyone right now. This is a matter between you and I, and I need to learn to trust you. So I will listen to your explanation and if I need some extra confirmation we will look at the security footage, but I don't want my first meeting with your friends to end up with me interrogating them." "I agree. We should fix this by ourselves. I will let them know they should head home for today. You can wait in the kitchen if you don't want to see them right now. I'll be sure to explain it to them." "Hm" Jenny said and nodded her head, despite Jason not being able to see it because he was still not facing her. Both of them headed inside and Jason continued on to the living room. Jenny took a seat on one of the bar stools in the kitchen and waited for Jason to return.

The two friends who had been anxiously waiting for their return, took one look at Jason's face and they knew that things hadn't gone well. "What are you going to do man? Is she willing to forgive you?" "I don't know yet" Jason said while rubbing the back of his neck and standing dejectedly in front of them. "But at least she is willing to listen and give me a chance to explain myself. I think you guys should leave for now. I have to try and fix this. I will let you know how it went." The two friends nodded and left after wishing him luck. Jason straightened his back and his eyes showed determination and strength as he headed towards the kitchen. It was time for him to win back the favor of his feisty lady!