In Your Eyes
By Jiberty Fan
Author's Notes: This story takes place after "A Second Chance" so if you haven't already, please read that fic before reading this one. I can tell that many people have read "A Second Chance." I don't own any of the characters and make no profits from this story. Thank you and best of luck to you, Ryan Cooley. This is a J.T. and Liberty AU after "Rock This Town." The title of this fic is a '80's song since the "Degrassi" writers seem to use a lot of song titles and pop culture references in their episode titles. The song "In Your Eyes" belongs to Peter Gabriel. Please read and review. The characters thoughts are in Italics.
J.T. as he had done each morning for the last week was heading to Liberty's house and then to Degrassi. J.T. stops his car in front of Liberty's house and decides to go ring the doorbell despite the fact that both he and Liberty both knew that her father wasn't exactly fond of him to put it simply. J.T. rings the doorbell and Liberty as if she knew subconsciously who it was answers the door.
"Are you going to do this every morning?"
"What Liberty?"
"Take me to school. You don't have to do that."
"I know, Liberty." Liberty starts walking towards J.T.'s car and J.T. follows behind her.
"I want to make sure you know that, J.T."
"I do. You trust me right, Liberty?"
"I do. I can't control everything."
"That's what broke us up the first time."
"You spelled it out perfectly and I just didn't care enough to listen. I'm sorry."
"It's alright. I forgave you for that a long time ago."
"We can't stay here all day; we have to go to school." With that J.T. starts the car and also takes Liberty's hand. The drive to school is quiet. Well, he really did forgive you and you have him back. Now, don't blow it. Let him have some space.
She doesn't know how many times I've wanted to talk to her like this before Mia was ever in the picture. I was just too chicken to do anything about that and I'm sure that I gave Toby a headache. Now, don't blow it, you have her back.
As they arrive at school, J.T. gives Liberty a kiss. "Have a great day, Liberty." She looks at him and is a little confused.
"Where are you going J.T.?" A million thoughts start running through Liberty's brain.
"Nowhere."
"Then I'll see you later and don't think that you're getting out of walking me to my first class."
J.T. smiles. "Oh, I wouldn't miss that for the world. Can you do one little thing for me?"
"What does it involve?"
"No catfights with Mia, please."
Liberty looked like the poster child of innocence. "What do you mean J.T.?"
"I know that you were just a little jealous…okay, let's be honest really jealous of Mia." J.T. is smiling the entire time and Liberty calls him on it.
"Why are you smiling J.T.?"
"Because, you look absolutely beautiful when you're jealous."
"Like when you get nervous?"
"Yeah, I guess so. "
As they head into school they are oblivious to the smiles and happy glances directed their way. Sure, they weren't the most popular couple in school but, there was just something undeniable there. They quickly get to their separate lockers and then meet up again to head to Liberty's first class, biology.
"You're forgetting something."
"What Liberty? You've got all of your things for biology?"
"It has nothing to do with me."
J.T. thinks for a second and then it dawns on him.
"Oh, no, the morning announcements and the T.V. show that was today."
"I have a feeling that Toby and anyone else will forgive you, J.T."
J.T. leans in to give Liberty a kiss, but, she stops him.
"You're going to be late, J.T., just go. Besides the P.D.A. stuff isn't us. I think that the whole school and anyone at Lakehurst knows we're back together already."
"I can't announce it over the P.A. system?"
Liberty has an amused expression on her face. "Please don't. You really don't need to. I know that you're happy and I'm happy that's really all that matters. Now, I need you to go."
J.T. walks down the happily down the hall and again avoids the happy stares of others. He hears Toby calling his name in the hall and looks up at him.
"Don't worry about today, J.T. I'm not even going to ask."
"Good, because, I wasn't going to tell you anything."
"J.T., you don't have to say anything. It's written all over your face. Besides after Liberty's party, I think that everyone here and at Lakehurst knows that you and Liberty are back together."
"Oh, great."
Toby knows that J.T. is less than thrilled about his love life being so public but, he has to laugh a little.
"Good luck hiding your relationship. It's just so obvious that you two really do love each other, even when Mia was in the picture. I'd never thought Liberty was the jealous type before that. Now don't mess this up because you two both gave me a headache. But, I do wish that I had what you two have."
"Someday, you will, Tobes."
At this point Toby sees that J.T. would rather talk about anything except for Liberty and they walk to class in silence.
Classes went by slowly for both J.T. and Liberty where she dodged happy looks for Emma and Manny. Toby knew better than to pry for more from J.T. but, he couldn't help noticing that J.T. looked happy and bored out of his mind all at the same time. Unexpectedly, the fire alarm rings and the students all scramble for the door despite the teacher's wish for some order.
In another part of Degrassi, Liberty does secretly wonder if this fire drill is yet another one of J.T.'s pranks. She shakes her head to herself and smiles.
As if it were fate, the first person that Liberty sees is J.T. who grabs her hand.
In a quiet, low voice, Liberty decides to ask the question that's been on her mind all morning.
"Is it just me or does it feel like everyone is looking at us?"
"I didn't say anything to Toby, honest."
"I didn't mean, Toby."
"There were a lot of people at your birthday party."
"I really wasn't paying that much attention to anyone who was there except for you honestly."
"It wasn't just me Liberty; you know that Manny, Emma, and Sean all helped with your party too."
"Yeah, but, you were the only person there who really mattered to me."
Just as J.T. and Liberty are about to kiss, the bell rings telling everyone that it's safe to go back into Degrassi.
As soon as Liberty fully remembers where she is and that the whole school is outside, she goes into Liberty mode. "I love you, J.T. but, not in front of the whole school. Having people who didn't know me smile at me all morning was a little uncomfortable."
"See you at lunch?"
"Not today, J.T." He looks a little disappointed at Liberty and she notices.
"Prom committee meeting."
"Wow, already?"
"Yeah, this is just a meeting for planning."
"Promise to save me two dances at the prom for me, Liberty?"
"Why two? Isn't it save the last dance for me?"
"I don't think we ever got the chance to dance at the prom last year."
"The only thing I remember from last year's prom is Paige going all psycho when she wasn't elected homecoming queen."
"Not to mention also having someone else show up wearing the same dress as Paige. That was hilarious."
"I didn't think about us not dancing at the prom before."
J.T. can't help but notice that at least for the moment that Liberty wasn't in a rush and didn't feel the need to be the first or the best. J.T. secretly cherished moments like that with Liberty the most.
The rest of the day is fairly uneventful except for when Liberty was in math class and was for once caught without the correct answer. This time it was a little different, however. She didn't seem to mind that she was wrong. The break up with J.T. taught me that I don't have to be right all the time and that it's okay to be wrong sometimes. This was also one of the few times that Liberty didn't have some after school meeting or club to go to but, she couldn't wait for school to be over. When is that bell going to ring? It's taking an eternity today. Anyone who knew Liberty well knew that patience wasn't one of her strong suits. She was never someone to sit around for long; she liked to make things happen.
In another part of Degrassi, J.T.'s thoughts mirror Liberty's. He cannot wait to get out of school today, but, a person wouldn't know it from watching J.T.'s body language. Liberty was right, answer a few questions in the beginning of class and you're off the hook. The teacher thinks you've done the work. J.T. had in this case done his homework, but, his heart and mind are elsewhere right now.
The bell that Liberty was waiting for finally rang and she jumped up and in the process almost runs into Manny. Liberty nervously apologizes to Manny. Manny wasn't upset at all and she couldn't help but give Liberty a big smile. Before Manny can say a word, Liberty gives her look that makes her forget about trying to pry into Liberty's personal life. "No comment, Manny." Liberty gives a smile that reveals much more than her words would indicate. After seeing weeks of Liberty being so quiet and reserved Manny was happy to see some light in Liberty's eyes and on her face.
J.T. has the same problem that Liberty had in trying to leave her last class of the day.
When is that bell going to ring? This is taking forever. Why does it have to take forever today?
It takes longer than J.T. wants it to but, the bell that J.T. is anxiously waiting for rings. J.T. jumps up and starts moving quickly and in the process almost runs into Toby. J.T. starts apologizing to Toby. For his part, Toby isn't mad at all and also knows full well that J.T.'s mind is elsewhere much like it was when he was dating Mia Jones.
"It's okay, J.T. Just go. Something tells me that you won't even remember this if I were to ask you about it again in five minutes."
It made Toby happy to see some light and enthusiasm in J.T.'s eyes and on his face after pretending to be happy with Mia. The look on J.T.'s face is similar to the one when he talked about Liberty's reaction to him wanting to do the morning video announcements.
J.T. finally gets to his car and not surprisingly he finds Liberty waiting for him. He quickly opens the car door for her and really wants to get out of the Degrassi parking lot, but like with the school bell it is taking forever and Liberty notices.
"Long day, J.T.?"
"Yeah, even with that fire drill."
"I thought that I was supposed to be the one who had no patience?"
J.T. couldn't help but smile, because generally speaking she was right about that issue.
"Not today."
"Speaking of that fire drill, you didn't ah; have anything to do with it?"
"Nope, but, it was a great excuse to spend some extra time with you."
The traffic is now moving at more than a snail's pace. J.T. and Liberty finally leave the Degrassi parking lot and J.T. grabs Liberty's hand.
"So you didn't notice everyone staring at us?"
"Toby knew better than to ask about you today, even though I know he was dying to."
"I'd never waited so long for the school day to end before and I jumped up so fast that I honestly almost ran Manny over."
J.T. laughed not only because it was funny but, because he also had a similar situation with Toby today.
"She really wanted to ask about you and I but, she didn't."
"Liberty, it was probably written all over your face."
"You're probably right. I'm a terrible liar."
"Me, too."
"What are you talking about J.T.?"
"You and Toby both knew that I didn't love Mia and you knew that a subtle approach wasn't going to work. I love that about you."
"Taking the bull by the horns, that's what I do best."
The radio has been blaring but neither of them has noticed it much until a song that describes them well is playing. They both stop speaking and just listen.
"In your eyes
I see the light and the heat
In your eyes
Oh; I want to be that complete
I want to touch the light, the heat I see in your eyes"
Liberty gives J.T. a kiss and he can't help but smile and at the same time be a little confused.
"What was that for?"
"I never thanked you for my birthday party."
"Aren't you still anti-birthday?"
"It was beautiful…perfect really. I couldn't sleep afterwards… It was out of happiness. It didn't seem real to me. I wanted to call you, but, I thought my father wouldn't be happy with me calling anyone so late."
"What was your favorite part Liberty?"
"I'm still debating between the look in your eyes when you asked me to dance or the kiss."
J.T. laughs and kisses Liberty again.
"What was your favorite part?"
"The look in your eyes while we were dancing. You had this glow in your eyes… I thought that you were the only person in the room. I couldn't sleep either afterwards and I wanted to call you too. It just didn't seem like something Toby would want to hear about."
"I thought that you weren't into PDA's Liberty?"
"Oh, I'm still not, but, we can't take that back and I wouldn't ever want you to."
They have talked almost all the way home and now they are at Liberty's house. Liberty looks as if she's hesitant to leave and J.T. notices.
"What's wrong?"
"Nothing, everything's perfect. I love you."
"I love you, Liberty."
At this point, Liberty is just about to get out of J.T.'s car but, when she hears exactly what J.T. has said Liberty stops dead in her tracks.
"Who are you and what have you done with J.T. Yorke? This isn't like you, you're more subtle."
"I think that you should hear it every now and then and if I told you over the phone I would've totally missed the look in your eyes and on your face afterwards." Liberty is for once speechless and changes the subject quickly.
"I'll call you later, J.T."
"Doesn't Degrassi's valedictorian to-be have a lot of homework to do?"
"Yeah, but, I can multi-task and so can you. You can do anything that you put your mind to, J.T."
"So I'm not a slacker, huh?"
"No, I was just mad at you when I said that."
"Yeah, try mad with jealously. But you looked absolutely beautiful." J.T. can't help but smile.
"You do remember that we were broken up at the time, right?"
"Yeah and your point is…"
"Most guys don't think of their ex-girlfriend as absolutely beautiful when they're dating someone else, that's all."
You are so busted, J.T.
"I never loved her, Liberty. Mia just wasn't you. The funny thing is you knew it before I did."
"You looked like you were putting on a façade and it was all a show for me and the rest of Degrassi."
J.T. looks a little surprised but says nothing and Liberty continues.
"You can't lie and get away with it with Toby and me, J.T."
"I'm sorry about that…if I did anything to hurt you."
"We both made mistakes, but, I love you anyway. But, now I really have to go and hope that Danny isn't there to give me the third degree."
"Meaning what?"
"He refers to us as "Jiberty."
J.T. laughs. "I actually like that nickname for us."
"You don't have to live with Danny on a daily basis."
"Oh, I have faith that you can handle it, Liberty."
Liberty smiles and gives J.T. a kiss before heading up to her house. J.T. makes sure Liberty gets into her house safely and then starts his car and heads home.
Just as Liberty is reaching her house, her cell phone rings. She answers the phone and assumes that it's J.T.
"J.T., what did you forget to tell me?"
"So, I see that Jiberty has finally gotten back together. It's about time."
Liberty is surprised and a little embarrassed to hear Danny's voice on the other end of the phone.
"Danny! Where are you?"
"J.T. must really like you after throwing you a birthday party. It was definitely the place to be that night."
"So, J.T.'s good enough for me now? I'm not even going to ask about what you saw at the party."
"Yeah, he's good enough for you in my book at least and well, Dad is…Dad."
Liberty sighs and smiles. Just another day in the life of Jiber…J.T. and me. Oh, no, Danny's got me saying Jiberty now.
The End.