27: Fight for this Love

These last few days had been such a blur. I had spent most of my time trying to get into contact with Jason and Liz, but neither would respond back. I eventually gave up and had been sulking at home the rest of the time. I felt like this situation was all my fault and I didn't know what to do to make this better.

As I slumped on the sofa in the living room, my dad came in and sat down beside me, placing his tea down on the table. "Do you want to talk about it?"

"What's there to talk about?" I shrugged "Liz won't speak to me and Jason won't either. I have no one to speak to"

"I'm here. You know I'm always here". After the party, I explained everything to my dad. I told him about my feelings for Jason and why I wanted to initially keep it a secret from everyone. He understood but felt hurt that I didn't tell him in the first place. I just wanted to make sure that we would go all the way before telling anyone.

"I just don't know what to do. All I know is that I want to make things better"

"You just need to give them both time and space"

"Its been three days. I think that should be enough time, don't you think?" I groaned, getting frustrated.

"Have you even gone up to their house to apologise?"

"I think I'm the last person they want to see right now. Besides, I don't think Liz is even staying at home right now. I'd feel so bad if I was the one responsible for breaking up Jason and Liz's relationship"

"They are both very close. I don't think anything could break those two apart" my dad reassured me. "If they aren't answering your calls or responding back to your messages, then I think you should go up and see them. Or at least Jason if he is the only one at home. It's better than sitting around here moping all day"

"But what if they turn me away? What if they don't want to hear what I have to say?"

"But what if they let you in? What if Jason really misses the sound of your voice and appreciates you being there for him?" my dad chuckled.

"I hate when you get all wise on me" I mumbled.

"With age, comes wisdom and I know for a fact that Jason would not turn you away. I think what he needs now more than ever is a friend to hear his side of things"

"I'm sure he has Ethan to talk to, there pretty close"

"But not as close as you two. You've been friends since childhood. I'm sure there's things about Jason that even Ethan doesn't know. That's the responsibility of having friends for that long. Its natural to have your fights. I can even remember the times you used to fight as kids, shouting at each other when you would accuse one another of cheating at Monopoly. You guys wouldn't speak for a day or so and then you would go back to being best friends" my dad laughed.

I chuckled, remembering those little memories. "But this isn't like that. This is something much bigger. Why did no one tell me being an adult would be this hard" I groaned.

My father laughed "You guys have always been close. We used to call you the three musketeers. Sooner or later, you'll make up again. That's just the way its always been with you guys"

I hoped my dad was right. I hoped Jason and Liz could forgive me and everything could go back to the way it was. I needed a plan of action, the right words to say. Right now, my mind was drawing a blank, and I told my dad as such.

"The right words will come to you once you're there, I promise" he smiled, making me believe him.

"So, what do you really think of Jason?" I asked, hoping to find out what he really thought. When we had our conversation after the party, he said he was happy that I was happy, but I couldn't tell from his face was he really thought. Now he seemed to be in a better mood, so was better to gauge his reaction.

"You know what I think" he chuckled. "I think he is a nice lad"

"Is that all? A nice lad?" I chuckled, raising an eyebrow.

"I trust him" he smiled, all joking now aside. "He's been a part of the family for so long, that I know everything about him. And I know he won't break your heart. He's a good one. Make sure you hold onto him. If you really love him, you'll fight for him"

"Thanks dad" I smiled, hugging my ever so wise father.

I stood at the front door of Jason's house, the large door looming over me. I was debating whether or not just to run away until I ran out of breath. I didn't think I was ready to do this. But then my father's words ran through my mind. If I wanted Jason in my life, I had to fight for him. And fight for him I would. I just had to make the first move and knock on the door.

I closed my eyes and took a deep breath, my heart thundering in my chest. I raised a shaky fist to the door and quickly chapped it before I changed my mind. This was it, no going back now.  I didn't have to wait long for the door to be answered as it was opened by a dishevelled looking Jason. I was kind of glad his parents didn't answer, as I didn't know how they felt about the whole situation and I could easily bypass any awkward conversations.

Jason's blond hair, which was normally kempt, was standing up in all sorts of ways. His plain white t-shirt had a couple of food stains dotted around and he was in a pair of jogging bottoms. His attire was usually so immaculate I had never seen him like this before.

"Wow, you look like you've been swept up in a hurricane" I said, before I could stop myself.

Jason chuckled, rolling his eyes "Thanks for that. I suppose I've had better days"

"Sorry, I didn't mean to say that" I gave a small smile, hoping he would accept my apology.

"No, you're right. I do look like a hot mess" he groaned, looking down at his appearance.

"Well, you were always hot" I mumbled before I even realised what I had said. I sighed and closed my eyes, desperately hoping he hadn't heard that.

"I suppose that makes up for the other 'compliment' you were trying to give me" he laughed.

"And to show you how truly sorry I am, and not just for commenting on your appearance, I come bearing gifts". I produced a little gift bag and handed it to him.

He opened it and laughed at the contents inside as he pulled them out. "Oreos"

"And there will be plenty more of them in your future if I can come in and tell you how sorry I am"

He gave a small smile and opened the door wider for me, letting me in. I smiled to him, grateful that he at least let me in. That was a step in the right direction. His mom and dad were in the kitchen and I gave them a wave before heading up to Jason's bedroom. The house was noticeably quiet, save for the clattering of a few pots and pans from the kitchen.

"I'm guessing Liz is still at Ian's?" I said as I sat down on his bed.

Jason came to sit down beside me and sighed "Yeah. She's refusing to speak to me. No matter how many times I've tried to call her so we can talk about things, she just won't answer her phone. She's been keeping in touch with my parents though, but they do miss her"

"If it helps matters, she's also ignoring my calls and messages"

"She's always been so stubborn" he gave a small chuckle, ruffling his hands through his hair.

"Have you spoken to Ian?" I asked, hoping that at least their friendship could be mended.

"I have. I've had a few days to think about things and maybe I did handle things badly at the party" he sighed.

"You didn't exactly find out in the best circumstances" I argued "I think your reaction could have been a whole lot worse. I think you managed to compose yourself"

He gave a light chuckle. "Thanks, but I still think I went about it the wrong way. But I managed to clear the air with Ian. I can see that he cares for my sister a lot and I'm happy that Liz is happy with him. Ian is someone I can trust, and I know he will treat her right. I just wish Liz would give me the chance to tell her all this"

I smiled, glad that Jason and Ian cleared the air. Things would be fragile for a while between them, but I hoped that they would get back on track soon enough. "I'm sure Liz will come around soon enough. She always does. Eventually"

"I think the thing that hurts the most was that she kept this a secret from me. That she felt like she couldn't speak to me about it. I don't think I would have minded if she was with someone else, but she was sneaking around with my best friend. Even though Ian and I have cleared the air, it still feels strange between us"

"If you think about it, its not so different from our situation. We also kept our relationship a secret. I'm guessing Liz is probably feeling the same way"

"You're probably right" he sighed. "I think we all went about this the wrong way"

"I think we've all learned a lesson  . No more secrets" I chuckled.

"Ain't that the truth" he laughed.

"I just feel bad about everything that's happened. I feel bad for keeping secrets from you and from Liz and just everyone"

"It's not your fault" he smiled, tucking a stray piece of my hair from my face. "We all had a part to play in this. We're all responsible. And I'm sorry for not answering your phone calls. I just needed time to think things through"

"So, does that mean I'm forgiven?" I smiled, hoping he was no longer mad at me.

"As far as I'm concerned, there was nothing to forgive" he smiled, leaning in for a kiss. My stomach was doing somersaults, not realising how much I missed and needed this contact with Jason. He let go all too soon, a small moan escaping me, showing my disappointment. He chuckled, placing his palm on my cheek, which I instantly leaned in to. "I've missed you"

"Me too. These past few days have been the worst"

"Hopefully we can get things back to the way they were. We just need to get through to Liz first"

"I'm guessing Ian will try his best to get Liz to see sense. Once she knows that you're a bit more understanding of Ian's feeling towards Liz, she'll hopefully come around"

"Here's hoping" he sighed, wrapping his arms around my waist, pulling me down onto the bed.

I snuggled closer to him, placing my head against his chest as Jason arms wrapped around me. "What do your parents have to say about all this?"

"I think there just mostly hurt that we didn't tell them about it" he sighed. "But for the most part, their happy for us"

"My dad felt the same way, but he understood why we decided to keep it a secret"

"My parents just laughed at our excuse. They kept saying how we were the perfect couple and we didn't even need to hide it in the first place"

"I think we are far from perfect" I blushed, burrowing further into Jason's chest, trying to hide my pink cheeks.

"There just happy that I'm with someone as perfect as you". I could feel Jason's heartbeat fast, mirroring my own. "They kept saying how you had always been a part of the family and they were excited to welcome you officially as their own daughter"

"That sounds like something parents would say to someone when their kids are getting married" I laughed.

"I'd say there's a very high chance of that happening" he smirked.

If it was possible, I was blushing even more. Jason placed a finger underneath my chin, bringing my face up to his. Our lips touched and my whole body was on fire. I was reminded then just how much I loved this boy.  As much as I wanted to think about the future, with Jason being a huge part of it, I couldn't. Not without patching things up with Liz first.

After chatting for a while, we decided to head downstairs and have a chat with the parents. My stomach fluttered with butterflies. I had known Jason and Liz's parents my whole life but now I was having an official 'time to meet your boyfriend's parents' meeting. It felt weird but Jason reassured me that they weren't mad at me and they were excited to officially welcome me as part of the family.

They were as friendly as ever, and Natalie even joked about getting ready for two weddings. It didn't even feel like I was Jason's girlfriend, it just felt like old times.

I was glad I had cleared the air with Jason, and everything went back to the way it was between us. I could leave happy knowing that everything was right again. Well, almost everything. I said my goodbyes to everybody, with a huge smile on my face, glad that there was no hard feeling between us.

Just as I opened the door, a face stared right back at me, wide eyed before glaring at me. I stood there opened mouth, not expecting to see her "Liz" I managed to get out.

"What is she doing here?" she screeched out.

"Liz?" Jason ran, coming up behind me. "Please just come inside"

"I'm not coming in if she's here" she screamed, storming back outside.

"Liz, wait" Jason shouted, ready to run after her.

"You go get Liz. I think I'll just head home. I think its better if I'm not here right now"

Jason nodded before running after Liz.

I had fought for my love for Jason, but it seemed I had to fight even harder for my friendship with Liz.