For Marr (the pirate!), because I finally have my muse back and she helped me pick a prompt. I hope you enjoy this, Marisa!
---
#71. Camera.
Tess Tyler is the paparazzi's best friend. It's a known fact, and one that the general public have grown to accept, whether they like Tess or not (mostly not). Tess Tyler loves the attention and the camera flashes, because if she isn't being photographed and shouted at ("Tess, smile for the camera!") then she's alone. And being alone is a curse. Being alone means being rejected, and rejection is not on her list of top priorities.
Her mother died three years ago, and after two months of carefully planned 'mourning' (who would love such a bitch of a woman, but the paparazzi love a bit of sadness) she went back to her normal party-drink-sex routine. No drugs though, because drugs taint her perfect skin even more than the drink, and her darling mommy showed just how bad drugs can be when she overdosed.
Of course, she used to have friends – although now it's such a foreign word, and one that doesn't slip from her lips much at all anyone – but they abandoned her, just like everyone and everything else in her life. That's another reason why she likes the paparazzi – they are the only constant in her life. The only thing that hasn't abandoned her yet.
So, on Monday morning, as she headed out to the recording studio (smile for the camera, Tess), she didn't expect to bump in to Jason Gray.
Jason who, four years ago, kissed her under the willow tree at Camp and told her he loved her. Jason who, four years ago, got his heart broken when Tess told him she didn't believe in such a thing as love.
"Tess?" Jason questions, delight dancing in his eyes (same old Jason).
"Jason ... hi." Tess replies awkwardly, wishing they could have done this meeting up thing in private so she didn't have to fake it in front of the cameras (same old Tess).
"Tess, how does Jason know you?" Someone shouts from the ever-growing crowd of press. She ignores them (for once), her eyes staying on Jason's. Five years seemed like such a long time ago in theory, but now that she's back with him she can't remember ever being without him.
"I ... missed you." Jason whispered, so the press wouldn't hear. They don't, thank God, because Tess can't deal with this right now.
"I ... I have to go, Jason. Goodbye."
And just like that, she made her exit. She pushed him away for a reason, she told herself. But she looked back at his hurt expression anyway.
"Jason" Tess giggled, trying to swat her boyfriend's hands away from her eyes "where are you taking me?"
"You'll see." Jason replied, grinning as he kept his hands firmly over Tess' eyes.
They walked for a few more seconds in silence before Jason stopped walking and gently dropped his hands.
Tess blinked as she took in the surroundings. "The willow tree?" Tess questioned, turning to face her boyfriend with a questioning look.
"Not just any willow tree!" Jason said dramatically, making Tess laugh. "It's the willow tree!"
"Oh ... I can't believe I didn't know!" Tess played along, but then realisation dawned on her. She gasped, not quite believing she'd overlooked the reason Jason had bought her here.
"This is ... this is where you asked me to be your girlfriend last year." She whispered, her eyes switching from the tree to Jason and back.
"Yep." Jason said, grinning happily when Tess finally noticed.
"And you bought me here again ... why?" Tess asked, searching Jason's eyes even though she knew it was useless – Jason was unpredictable.
"Because ..." Jason trailed off, and Tess could have sworn she saw uncertainty in his eyes. She smiled softly at him, kissing him quickly on the lips.
"You can tell me, Jason." She said, praying he wasn't going to break up with her.
"I ... I just wanted to tell you that ... I love you, Tess." Jason said, shuffling his feet but keeping his eyes on his girlfriend's. Tess gasped aloud, recoiling.
"Jason ..." She whispered, scared and unsure.
"I know you said you didn't believe in love, Tess, but I ... well, I can't help it. I lov-"
"No, don't say it. Please." Tess begged, and the second she said the words she regretted it. Jason's eyes glistened with tears. She'd broken his heart.
"Jason, I'm sorry. I just" she paused, taking a shaky breath "I don't believe in love." She said softly, knowing that with her words their relationship was going to crumble.
Tell him the truth part of her begged, tell him you love him.
She couldn't do that to Jason – he was too innocent. Even though he'd changed her from the bitch she used to be, part of her old self was still there. She was too horrible to ever be with someone as sweet as Jason. She was selfish to think he could ever look over her faults.
"I'm sorry, Jason. I like you, I really do, but I'm too young to be in love."
There was no point telling him the truth – that she was all wrong for him. He'd deny it, and if he denied it she'd never be able to prove it to him.
"I ..." Jason trailed off, tears falling down his face. He looked at Tess in silence for a few seconds before turning and walking away. When he finally disappeared from sight, Tess let the tears fall.
The memories engulfed Tess as she walked, keeping her head down as the flashes hit her full force. For once in her life, she didn't want attention. She just wanted to be alone. Her blonde hair fluttered in the wind and she pulled her coat closer to her to avoid the winter chill. This was all wrong – she was never meant to see Jason again – not after what she'd done to him.
But he's forgiven you, and that's what scares you.
She ignored the rational part of her brain and stopped in front of her house, taking a deep breath as she entered the familiarity, closing the door to the cameras.
She hadn't left the house in three days – and it seemed the press hadn't left her door either. She'd been doing things on automatic – shower, eat, sleep. After five year she hadn't expected a simple exchange of words to have this effect on her. She'd forgotten about him, but all of a sudden she couldn't keep away the memories.
She'd been a bitch at Camp, with Mitchie and Peggy and Ella, but Jason had changed her for the better. Then they broke up and she turned back to her original self – alienating her friends, gossiping and slipping back in to the bitchy exterior. And now ... now she didn't know who to be. Didn't know who she wanted to be.
She was broken out of her trance by a knocking on the door. She rolled her eyes, not in the mood for another microphone to be shoved in her face. A few seconds past and she sighed in relief when the knocking stopped. Her relief was short lived, though, when she heard a knocking on the window opposite her. She looked up and recoiled at the sight of Jason's eyes meeting hers through the glass.
"Jason?" She said, shocked. He mouthed her name, and she ran over to the window, opening it.
"What are you doing here?" She whispered, not wanting to alert the press of his presence.
"I came to see you." Jason explained. "I need to tell you something."
"Well ... you can't. I'm busy." Tess replied, crossing her arms.
"Tess, you better listen to me."
Jason had never spoken to her like that before – she'd never heard him angry and it shocked her. She blinked, but didn't say anything.
"Five years ago, you lied to me. You said you never loved me and I knew you were lying. I can read you, Tess. And I know that, even if you don't want to admit it, you felt the same way about me."
Tess opened her mouth to reply, but was silenced once more by Jason, who put his hand up in a stop motion. She'd never seen this side of Jason before – he'd always been funny and caring – never serious and angry.
"Now, I have one question to ask you, Tess. And I want the truth. Do you think you can give me a second chance? If you say no, I'll walk away. I promise you that. But all I want is one word." Jason's eyes pleaded with her and she wanted to run away. She hated confrontation, and the way Jason was looking at her, waiting for her answer, it made her uncomfortable.
Could she give him a second chance? It wasn't him that needed it – he'd done nothing wrong. It was her. But was she willing to open up her heart – something she'd never done before? She'd only ever loved her mother, and that was thrown back in her face. Her worst fear was rejection, one of the reasons she lied to Jason all those years ago. Her mind was in turmoil.
"Jason I ..." Her breath made the window mist up slightly, and she stared at the condensation, not wanting to meet Jason's eyes.
"One word, Tess. And you'll never see me again, if that's what you want."
This was so cliché. This always happened in movies, and she'd never been that sort of girl. She'd always been unpredictable, like Jason. Not cliché and romantic. Yet ... somehow, something had changed. Jason wasn't like the countless one night stands – he was a commitment.
"Yes." She whispered, barely audible. "Yes, Jason. We can try again."
Cliché or not, she felt something she hadn't felt in years in that moment that Jason's face lit up.
She felt happy.
---
Yeah yeah, cliché and predictable, but I love JasonTess and they deserve a happy ending. I hope you don't hate this as much as I do. Plus, I haven't written anything in a while, so I felt the need to post something. Please review if you have a spare moment – it only takes a second!