A/N: Jackson x Melissa. Wow, I can't stop writing about these two. I have a feeling there will be a lot more coming.

For now, just a brief glace into Jackson's thoughts on Melissa and their relationship throughout the series.

Everything

Jackson had always been the outsider.

It wasn't that he didn't want to be around people, but more the fact that they didn't want to be around him. They were afraid, and he didn't try because he knew it was pointless. He didn't belong with anyone. He was meant to be alone.

So he sat alone each day, under his tree, hood drawn up to hide himself from the world. It was the best thing to do, he knew. The only thing. Everything.

And then she came along. He hadn't been expecting her, he hadn't asked for her, but there she was anyway. She walked up to him fearlessly and she looked at him like he was worth something. Like she believed in him.

She handed him the chance of a lifetime, and somehow he found the courage to accept. He knew he never would have done it if she hadn't fought for him. She fought for him, and she didn't even know him. He didn't understand that kind of blind faith. It scared him.

It scared him, the way she walked over to him with a hopeful smile on her lips. The way she saw the real Jackson no matter how hard he tried to hide it. It scared him, and so he pushed her away.

Unconsciously, he gravitated toward the kind of girl he was used to being with; all blond hair and selfish thought. For a minute, he actually let himself believe that Taylor was the one he was supposed to be with. They were alike, weren't they? Maybe the deserved each other.

But Melissa was strong and beautiful, and even when he hurt her, she still believed in him. Sure, she got hurt and they both said some awful things. He humiliated her and made a mockery of the situation. He walked away.

But suddenly, when he believed he'd finally lost her, he began to panic. He needed her faith to keep him alive. She had become an essential in his life. He couldn't live without her. He needed her.

She was his everything.

Of course, he hadn't really lost her. Melissa was strong and tolerant, and because she could see him, she forgave him.

And so Jackson made a crucial promise to himself. He would be the kind of person Melissa could be proud of. He would treat her like she deserved to be treated. He would give her a reason to keep believing.

He would do everything in his power to be her everything.

A/N: Isn't Jackson just irresistibly adorable? Sigh.

Review, please?