Sitting at the counter of the local diner, Elizabeth absentmindedly stirs a cup of hot cocoa, wondering how long it'll take her to get back to Port Charles this time. Only allowed to be there for the summer, it was going to take a lot to get her back there again, but she knew that she had to. She had to be in that town. She couldn't explain why, but she had a strong feeling like this is the town that will be home.
"Elizabeth, you sure I can't get you anything?" Tammy, the waitress, asks her for the fifth time that night. "You've barely touched your hot cocoa."
"I'm okay, Tam, really." Elizabeth assures with a soft smile on her face.
"Sure." Tammy shakes her head. "What's going on, love?"
"I leave in the morning." Elizabeth confides. "It took me a year to get back here. I'm not sure how long I'll be gone this time."
"I'm sorry, sweetie." Tammy replies, knowing exactly what her life's like when she's not in that town. "Think of it this way, two more years and you'll be a full fledged adult."
"That's something to be hopeful for." Elizabeth agrees. "What I wouldn't give to be eighteen now."
"You and I both." Tammy goes for light humor. "You call me over if you change your mind, okay?"
"Will do."
Turning back to her cocoa once Tammy walks off, Elizabeth lets out a deep breath as she continues to stir it, knowing that Tammy means well. As much as she cares for that woman, she simply hates talking about leaving or the prospect of being an adult, knowing it couldn't come fast enough. If she could snap her fingers and make herself an adult, Elizabeth would do it in a heartbeat. Being the black sheep of her family, its been a tough ride, but she's almost to end of her stint with them and she just couldn't wait till it was over.
The usual crowd that made their way into the diner was starting to whittle away to nothing when a man she has never seen before comes walking into the diner. She wasn't sure what it was about him that captured her attention instantly, but she just couldn't tear her gaze from him as he walked over to the counter. Digging in his pockets, he pulls out a few dollars before glancing over the menu, clearly trying to figure out what he could afford on the list. In his silence, she could almost hear him pondering it, a slight smile gracing her lips as he steps over to Tammy.
"Hi, hon, what can I get ya?" Tammy asks him kindly.
"Coffee. Black." he says, sliding over the few dollars he had to his name. "Thanks."
"No problem, love." Tammy says with a soft smile. "I just put on a fresh pot. Should take a couple minutes. Why don't you have a seat and I'll bring it over to you when its ready?"
"Sure." he says before taking the corner table, his back to the wall.
Stopping Tammy before she could walk off to tend to another customer, Elizabeth tells her to put in an order for Ruby's famous chili for the man in the corner, knowing how hard it was for her to be without. She struggled for a while when her parents took her allowance from her, thinking it would force her to bend to their will, but it didn't work. It wasn't until she really started selling her art pieces that she was able to stand on her own two feet. Seeing someone going through that same struggle, it wasn't something she liked to see, not if she had the means to help them out of it. Of course, Tammy didn't put the order in unless she agreed to put in an order for herself, something that Elizabeth readily accepted.
"I can't afford that." she heard him tell Tammy when she brought the food over to him.
"Its okay, hon." Tammy waves away his refusal. "The tab was picked up by another patron."
"Who?"
"Elizabeth." Tammy gestures to her, making her feel a little uncomfortable with the spotlight. "She really means well."
"Elizabeth?" he questions Elizabeth when he walks over to her with the bowl of chili and cup of coffee.
"Yeah?" Elizabeth turns to look at him with a slight smile.
"I can't accept this." he says, setting the bowl down in front of her. "I can't afford to pay you back."
"I didn't ask you to." Elizabeth points out.
"You wouldn't have to." he counters. "And I can't afford to."
"Look, I was in your place once, hard to imagine, but I was." Elizabeth turns to face him completely. "If it weren't for people like Tammy, I never would have been able to afford a decent meal. You won't always be without, you're bound to land on your feet, but you gotta take the help while you need it or you'll never get there."
"Okay." he finally accepts. "But I will find a way to pay you back one day."
"I don't doubt it." Elizabeth says with a soft smile. "For now, can I get a name?"
"Jason." he concedes, shaking her hand when she holds it out to him.
"Its good to meet you, Jason." she says with a soft smile. "You can join me, if you'd like."
"I...I'd prefer the corner table."
"Okay." Elizabeth smiles softly. "Then I'll join you instead."
"Okay."
Jason helps her carry her things over to the table to sit down with him. As they sit down together, they allow a calm silence to fall over them as they enjoy their meals together. It was something new for him, to be able to share a meal with someone without any expectations or selfish desires. As their meal comes to an end, he finds himself staying in her presence, listening to her as she talks about her life and the things that have brought her to that town. He couldn't exactly say why he stayed there listening to her, but he found that he didn't mind her rambling, it was refreshing from the Quartermaines' constant bickering.
They sat together for a few hours as the diner continued to empty out, Jason probing for information when she found herself running out of things to talk about, listening intently as she divulged more and more of herself to him. She admitted that it was her last night in town and that made him a little sad to hear. Being in her presence felt so easy to him that he didn't want it to end just yet. Knowing they couldn't stay there, Jason asked something of her that he never thought he'd ask of anyone, he asked her to take a ride with him.
It was an entirely foreign feeling that washes over him as they ride through the streets of the town together, her arms around his abdomen, her head thrown back into the wind as her screams of delight fills the air. If that ride could go on forever, he'd be very okay with that, but it couldn't and he knew that. Taking her back into town, he pays attention to her taps, signalling which road to take to get them to her grandparent's place. Pulling into the driveway, he kills the engine before helping her dismount the bike, accepting the helmet from her.
"Guess this is the fork in the road." Elizabeth says with a soft chuckle. "Thanks for the ride, Jason, it was unbelievable. I have no words for what that made me feel."
"Its why I ride." he admits.
"I don't blame you." Elizabeth agrees. "I'm really glad we got to meet."
"Me, too." Jason admits. "A new concept for me, to be honest."
"Well, I'm glad." Elizabeth says before stepping over to wrap her arms around him, placing a soft kiss upon his cheek. "Take care of yourself."
"Sure." Jason says, hugging her back before allowing her to pull away when she moves to do so. "We'll see each other again."
"You sound certain."
"I am." Jason says matter-of-factly. "I still need to pay you back for that meal."
"Right." Elizabeth laughs softly. "Till next time then."
"Till next time."
Taking one last look at him, she shares a soft smile before making her way into her grandparent's house to prepare for her flight in the coming morning. She wasn't sure what would come of Jason or if they'd ever really get a chance to see each other again, but she was hopeful. Once she gets back to town, if he's still around, there's a really good chance that they could see each other again. Packing up her things, she gets to sleep, knowing that she had a long day ahead of her tomorrow. Her last thoughts as the fatigue pulled her under is of the tall, blonde, biker and the many hopes for the future that lay ahead of her.
To the Liason loving hearts out there.
