Jenna

Unedited.

Ok, so there's a reason I'm deliberately keeping Danphie's phone conversations from you. And there's a reason you're having chapters too. Basically, this is my week off work! Yay! So... I'm dedicating this week to chapters AND CHAPTERS ONLY for 'Hello.'

Yes, all this week, we'll be having chapters for this story. Yesterday we had Evelyn, today is Jenna, tomorrow will be from Samuel's POV (and I'll be introducing Daniel's parents!) Then Tuesday's chapter will be Daniel's POV. And from there... who know's. Sophie's probably.

Enjoy!

Sarah, xx

~*~*~

"Why am I here again?" I ask, watching Danny as he makes a mess of his bedroom. There's a case open on the bed and clothes strew around it, but as of yet, there's nothing neatly folded inside. Picking up one of the shirts that was in the ever growing pile, I hold it up against my body and frown. "Are you seriously taking this?"

Danny momentarily stops raiding his sock draw and turns to look at the offending article. He nods. "Yes. Why, what's wrong with it?"

What's right with it? I ask myself. It's bright blue and had a floral design on it. My grandfather, I'm sure, had worn something similar when he went to Hawaii in the eighties. It wasn't a good look then and it isn't a good look now. In fact, it will never be a good look.

With a shake of my head I throw the shirt back towards the closet, hoping that it never sees the light of day again. I make a mental note to break into Danny's house while he's away and burn the shirt. In the meantime, I need to help him pack for his trip to New York.

"Hey, Jen, what about this?" I turn around to see my friend holding up a khaki shirt that- if possible- makes his his green eyes look rather dull. I shake my head, reaching out my hand and taking that shirt away from him too. For someone that always looks so well put together, Danny's wardrobe certainly contains some fashion horrors. Perhaps once Sophie moves in, she can sort it out for him. "You're supposed to be helping me, Jenna, not disagreeing with all my picks."

"Well, if all your picks weren't so shitty," I give him a pointed look. "I might be more inclined to agree with what you're choosing. How is it possible that you have worst taste in clothes than Elias? That man dresses like a twelve year old."

Crap. I shouldn't have mentioned Elias. Ever since our dinner last weekend, I've tried to avoid talking about it with Danny at all costs. Elias said that he wouldn't mention it either, but he's so indiscreet that he's probably told the entire world an their grandmother about it. I, however, hadn't told anyone about the date. Not that I consider it a date.

Well, technically, it was a date but at the same time, it wasn't. It was simply two friends going out for dinner, while discussing their daughter and how much of a let down the man had been. See, it wasn't really a date at all.

Yeah, but how many dinners between two friends ends with a walk on the Embankment, a bit of snogging and then some serious sex dreams for the next week?

Even thinking about the dreams that have been plaguing me all week has me blushing, and from the amused grin Danny's wearing, he's noticed how flustered I am. The way he drops all the clothes on the floor and comes to stand before me, watching me carefully, has me unnerved. I know he's going to question me about Elias. Very rarely do I utter his name unless it's nestled between two choice words, so casually name-dropping him into a conversation is suspect, to say the least.

"Did you just say the 'E' word?" Danny questions me, the humour in his voice more than apparent. I try to roll my eyes, make a joke of it all and brush it off, but Danny Whitaker knows me far too well and my act fails miserably. "You know, he's been very secretive about your date. I mean, I know where you went, I know what you both ate and I know that you went for a walk after, but that's all Elias is willing to tell me. So, Jenna, is there anything you want to confess to?"

I shake my head. "There's nothing to confess," I lie, keeping my head low so that Danny can't catch me out. The lawyer in him knows instantly when someone is being untruthful and right now, I don't want to face a notorious Whitaker Take Down. "We ate, we walked, we kissed and then we went home. Separately."

"Ah, so you kissed, huh?" Folding his arms across his broad chest, Danny looked triumphant at this little snippet of gossip.

"It was a kiss on the cheek," I tell him. It's not entirely a lie, because that's how the kiss started. Elias dropped me home, walked me to the door and leaned in to plant a tantalisingly soft kiss on my cheek. When he pulled away, his blue eyes smouldering in the moonlight, my heart thumped in my chest, propelling me forward. Cue a five minute, extremely indecent make out session, and that was that. Elias pulled away, mumbling something incoherent to himself, before turning to look at me. He whispered, 'Good night, Jen,' and then left. "There's nothing more to it than that."

"Yeah, and the sky is neon green," Danny sarcastically bit back. He gave a small shrug, turning his back on me as he swiftly went to fold some of the clothes and placed them in the empty suitcase.

"That's all you're going to say?" I asked, frowning at the fact that he was so quick to dismiss the situation. Danny nodded, not saying a word. It felt like a trap, him being so quiet, but I wasn't the type to fall for it. Not after ten years of friendship. Instead, I did the only logical thing, I asked him about Sophie. "So, this woman... she's the one, is she?"

I haven't met Sophie yet, but I've heard enough about her from Danny, Elias and Nola. Danny, whenever we meet, won't shut up about her. Elias, whenever we spoke on the phone, would fill me in on Danny's love life. And Nola? Well, she was just excited that she had a new auntie that was kinder to her than Arabella ever was. Nola's one of those kids that loves everyone, but to hear her raving about Sophie like she does, I knew that it must be serious between my friend and her.

"Yes," Danny answers, giving a curt nod. He finishes folding the pair of jeans in his hands and puts them at the bottom of the case. Then he sighs heavily. "Jen, I've never known anyone like her," he confesses, clearing a space on the bed for us to sit. "She frustrates me like there's not tomorrow and she's always got me second guessing her, but life with her is never dull. As corny as this will sound, she's the missing piece of the jigsaw that is my life. She's the piece that was missing all my life, and not matter how many other pieces I tried to put in her place, they never quite fit."

I nod. "But she does? She fits?"

"She does," he smiles. His phone rings then, a tone that I'm unfamiliar with. Danny's  had a generic ringtone for as long as I've known him, but this tone was different. He takes his phone from his pocket and eyes the ID on the screen, Sophie's name flashing back at him. He gives me an apologetic smile. "I have to take this." Sliding to answer the call, he presses the handset to his ear. I hear her voice coming down the line, soft and playful. "We're doing this again?"

Hearing him laugh, I decide that Danny's phone call with Sophie is something private and that I shouldn't be sitting here, listening to him. I make a gesture with my hands and quickly walk out of his bedroom. Going down the stairs, I make my way into the living room, where giggles and barking fill the room.

Lying on the floor, tackled to the ground, was Elias. He was laughing as Nola was climbing all over him, Snuggles and Alfie crowding around them as they fought to be included. I stood at the doorway, struggling to hide my smile as my daughter played with her father, knowing that only a few short months ago that this scenario would have seemed impossible.

Elias wasn't cut out to be a father. Any idiot could see that. When I found out I was pregnant with Nola, I have him the choice to leave. I told him that I was more than willing to go through with it alone. I had the support of my parents and friends, I didn't need Elias.

Still, he stuck around. In a way.

I try not to dwell on that too much, knowing that I had to give him a chance. After all, that's what the dinner last week had been about. He apologised profusely for all the wrongs he'd done and asked if there was any chance that I would be willing to let him make up for it all. At first, I was reluctant. I've seen the way Nola's face would fall whenever I had to tell her that Daddy couldn't make it, but recently I've seen the huge smile she wears whenever someone knocks and I open the door and there Elias stands. Nola is a Daddy's Girl, through and through. How could I deny her that?

"Oh, hey," I hear Elias' voice speak. My eyes trail from Nola up to Elias' face, seeing his bright blue eyes on mine. Even after everything we've been through, I still get that initial flutter of butterflies in my stomach whenever I see Elias' eyes. They're so vivid and spellbinding that I can't help but get entirely lost in them. I suppose that's why I've never come close to dating anyone else after I'd been with him; no one can compare to Elias and the way he makes me feel. He grins at me as he simultaneously nudges at Nola to stand up. "We were just messing around. Did Dan finish packing already?"

I shook my head, my blonde hair falling over my shoulders. "No, he's on the phone to Sophie so I though I'd make a start on lunch," I explain. My attention falls to Nola as she and the two dogs play together. Shaking my head at the idea that both Danny and Elias are now pet owners, I fight back a sneeze as my allergies flare up. Pinching the bridge of my nose, I turn from the room and start making my way down to the kitchen. Behind me, I hear faint footsteps as Elias follows. "You don't have to help me, you know. You can go hang out with Nola."

He laughs. "Nola's far too preoccupied with Snuggles and Alfie," Elias explains. When we finally get to the kitchen, I start to pull out ingredients from the fridge while he makes a start on putting a pan of water to boil on the stove. "I still can't believe we let her name the puppy Snuggles."

"There was no 'we' in that decision making," I remind him, pointing a knife in his direction. Realising how threatening that looks, I turn back to the peppers that I was chopping. "Nola wanted to name him Snuggles, I said no, she batted her eyes at you and you said," I pause so that I can airquote. "'Sure, sweetheart, if that's what you want.'"

Elias sighs. "It's those eyes," he grumbles. "It's like with you, I can never say no."

"You can never say no, huh?" I say, peeking at him from the corner of my eyes. I see him nod, letting his gaze wander around the room awkwardly as he clears his throat. Putting the knife down, I wipe my hands on a dish towel and lean against the counter, nodding my head slowly. "You can't say no to me?"

"No, I can't," he says weakly, his hands clasping together.

"In that case," I say slowly, exhaling a long breath of air. pushing a loose strand of hair behind my ear, I try to be casual as I say the next words, but even I can hear the uncertainty in my voice. "Would you like to go out with me again?"

Elias' eyes- bright blue- stare at me. For a moment, he looks confused but then the corners of his lips turn up and he smiles that breathtaking smile of his, the one he flashed at me all those years ago when he asked, 'Do you want to come back to mine?' Elias nods. "Of course I would."

I nod. "Good," I manage to say while trying to keep my voice level. Turning back to the ingredients, I pass Elias a knife and a chopping board. "You're doing the onions, by the way."

"Of course I am," he replies, a smile seeping into his words.