Disclaimer: I do not own the mentalist.

A/N: I've always wondered about the 'mean, cold hearted guy' Jane said Lisbon 'worshipped from afar' in high school in the episode Rose-Coloured Glasses. I was curious as to why Lisbon was attracted to him. So here is my really feeble attempt at giving some background to the whole thing.

The characters might be OOC at places, and I'm really sorry if you find it so.

That mean, cold hearted guy

'Oh my! Oh my oh my!' Teresa Lisbon muttered under her breath, face tinged with a slight blush, trying very hard to hide behind Jane.

Now that Jane and Lisbon were a couple, Jane could outrightly express his care and affection for her. This thrilled him to no end, and one of the ways he did so was by cooking for her and ensuring that she ate regularly. While Jane usually did the grocery shopping alone, Lisbon had decided that she wanted to come along that day, and the pair were doing their shopping at a local supermarket.

Jane looked around curiously to see what had caused such an uncharacteristic reaction from Lisbon. She was avoiding someone, that was clear, he just had to figure out who it was.

'Jane stop moving!' Lisbon hissed.

'Who are you hiding from? No! Let me guess! Definitely not the old lady... Oh! That blonde guy down the aisle! Who is he?'

'That's Jerry Jones. Will you quit moving!' Lisbon said, slapping Jane lightly on his shoulder.

Jane took a closer look at him. He was of quite a large built, with dirty blonde hair and eyes that were almost grey. The firmness of his jaw combined with his height and his general mannerisms gave him a menacing air that kept people away.

Hmmm... Interesting...

Eyes lit with curiosity, Jane turned to Lisbon.

'How do you know him?'

Lisbon sighed. 'High school!'

'Oh oh oh! I know who he is! He's that mean, cold hearted guy that you worshipped from afar isn't he?' Jane said excitedly, rocking back and forth, a wide grin on his face.

'Yes! Now can we go before he sees me?'

'Breathe sweetheart! Just be natural. There's nothing to worry about. I bet he didn't even know that you had a little crush on him!'

Lisbon looked down, blushing a little. 'Actually I think he did. He caught me staring more than once,' she whispered.

Jane's grin grew even wider. 'Awww... Lisbon! Translucent even then!'

At Lisbon's glare, Jane hastened to add, 'but that was all such a long time ago! No need to worry about it!'

'You're right! He probably doesn't even remember me!'

'I won't be so sure about that! Who can forget a beauty like you?'

Smacking Jane against his chest, Lisbon said, 'you're really of no help whatsoever you know? Let's go!'

With that, Lisbon spun around and walked in the opposite direction.

'As you wish m'lady!' Jane chuckled, pushing the shopping trolley and following Lisbon.

xoxoxo

Dinner eaten and dishes cleared, Lisbon lay on the couch, curled against Jane, simply basking in each other's company.

After a period of silence, Jane asked softly, 'so... what drew you to Jerry Jones?'

Lisbon stiffened.

Turning to face Jane, she replied, 'why do you want to know?'

'Contrary to what you might think, I don't know everything about you. And you fascinate me.'

Lisbon rolled her eyes. 'Yeah right! Like I'm going to believe that! After all the times you've commented on how predictable and translucent I am.'

'It's true.' Jane said quietly. 'You fascinate me.'

The sincerity in Jane's eyes as he said this caught Lisbon off-guard.

He's actually telling the truth.

The thought made Lisbon gasp softly. To think that Patrick Jane could be fascinated by her. A small part of her always thought that her predictability was part of the reason why Jane loved her. He saw her as something stable that he could hold on to in midst of all the turmoil he had experienced throughout the years. And though she would never admit it, that little part of her always feared that one day, when he had settled down and found stability in his life, he was going to get bored with her.

And then things would go downhill. Which was precisely why she generally preferred to avoid commitment altogether. Avoid the mess and heartache that came from a failed relationship. Avoid having to pick up the fragments and start all over again.

But with Jane, it was different. The whole process of catching Red John while being in love with Jane had brought her heartache time after time. It created such disasters, she sometimes didn't think she had the strength left to clean it all up. Resulted in broken pieces so sharp, she wondered whether she could even pick them up, much less ever put herself back together.

And yet through all the pain and the mess, and the brokenness, she still found that she loved him. And that love for him, gave her the strength to carry on.

It was also the reason why she was in a relationship with Jane, despite knowing that he wanted to marry her.

Normally, the mere thought of marriage frightened her away. But Lisbon thought that maybe after all that they've been through, it would work out. Maybe their past together would give them the strength and love they needed to get through the difficulties life would present them. Maybe they would be one of the successful ones.

'So... Jerry Jones?' Jane prompted, after a long pause.

'Huh?'

'Why were you drawn to him?'

'Oh. Um... I don't really know. It was such a long time ago.'

'Well... you can start by telling me what he was like.'

'He was sort of a loner at school, kinda like me I guess. Everyone was scared of him. Rumour had it that his father was in jail, and that he once injured someone so bad, the person died. I don't really think that was true. The killing someone part.' Lisbon chuckled a little.

'I saw him throw methanol into someone's bunsen burner though. The flame shot up right in front of the boy's face. Scalded his eyebrows and all. Apparently the boy had insulted Jerry. The boy kept his distance after the whole thing.' Lisbon continued.

'Oh! That must have been fun to watch!' Jane laughed.

'Yeah it was. Jerry didn't really care for people's approval though. Did as he pleased. That was pretty cool. To a high school girl at least.'

'Oh? What did he do?'

'Once, he wanted to get out school early. The teachers were paying particularly close attention to him cause he snuck out so frequently. To solve the whole matter, he pulled the fire alarm, and ran out amidst all the chaos.'

Jane smiled as he watched Lisbon laugh at the memory.

'Actually, come to think of it, you and him might have made pretty good friends. What with not following the rules and all.'

'Hm. We might.' Jane said, then asked, 'why didn't you ever talk to him?'

'Oh. Um... He was really cold. Outrightly told girls who tried to get close to him to get lost. I wasn't going to put myself in that situation. And anyway, I was taking care of my brothers then. I didn't have time to put myself in a messy relationship. He wasn't good for me.'

Jane looked intently at Lisbon, uncertainty flashing across his face.

'Jane?' Lisbon asked gently.

'I'm not good for you either Teresa' Jane said quietly.

'Patrick...'

'I can't promise ours is going to be a smooth sailing relationship. That all would be rosy and well.'

'Patrick...'

'It's more likely I'm going to do something stupid that hurts you and mess up whatever good thing we have. And you might end up wondering why you even let yourself love me.'

Grabbing Jane's arms firmly, Lisbon said, 'Patrick! It's okay! I know what I signed up for when I got together with you. I've wondered why I loved you. Many times. Especially when things got really hard when we were chasing Red John. But that never actually stopped me from loving you.'

'That's exactly what I'm saying Teresa. I've hurt you many times before. There's no guarantee that I won't hurt you again. What if one day, your love for me runs out?'

'It didn't run out then. I'm pretty sure it won't run out now! Not when I know you love me too. I didn't even have that then, and my love for you still grew.'

'I'm a broken man Teresa. Broken, with very little left to give.'

'We love each other, and that's enough for me! But I need you to promise me that you aren't going to run when things get hard. That you will stick with me and figure it out.'

'I will. Of course I will! I love you Teresa!'

'Good! I love you too Patrick!'

'Good!'

Somehow during the whole conversation, the pair had moved and were now sitting on the sofa, facing each other, eyes locked intently. Holding each others gazes, the pair suddenly broke out laughing. All at once, the tension in the room dissolved.

'You know, I actually realised something from this.' Jane said lightly.

'You've realised that it's a bad idea to pry?' Lisbon said, eyes filled with laughter.

'Not that. Never that. I learnt that you, my dear, have a type.'

'I have a type?'

'Yup! You are attracted to rebels. People who don't follow the rules. You find us irresistible!'

'Uh...'

'Oh come on Teresa, Jerry Jones? Me?'

'And here I was so hopeful you decided never to pry every again.' Lisbon shook her head, feigning a sigh.

-END-

A/N: The methanol thing actually did happen to a friend. Whatever they were heating caught fire and they panic and threw it in hoping it will quell the flames.

Do review and let me know what you think about it (: Thanks so much for reading!