Memories,
Or,
Why it happened.
----------
It's probably easiest to start in the middle, rather than the beginning.
----------
Both probably agree that one of the fondest memories they shared were those of their six-month-anniversary. It started with the strong scent of chlorine, and ended with the pure smell of country air.
At this point, Tess and Jason had been together for a while. Ever since the fateful Camp Rock 2008 Reunion Party they both attended, they'd been dating. Every weekend, Tess would come home from her performance classes to find either flowers or chocolates on her doorstep. She would smile, take the gift inside, then call Jason on her cell. Then, she would invite him to her apartment to share the sweet aroma of the flower, or delicious tastes of the assorted chocolates.
Every once in a while the two would even go out for a date. That's what they did on their six-month-anniversary. Jason had promised Tess a good surprise, so she climbed into his car when it pulled up that Saturday morning.
"Where are we going?" Tess rolled her eyes. "We've been in this car for an hour, are we leaving the city?" She looked out the window, seeing New York's buildings dwindle around the street, easing into a more grassy landscape.
"I already told you it's a surprise." Jason said. He was smirking. "But yes, we're leaving the city. We're going to a special place."
"Ugh." Tess groaned. She had a sort of love/hate relationship with surprises. On one hand, she always felt good when the surprise was revealed. On the other, she hated the waiting. The tension. Tess shivered.
"How's the Hasta La Vista scene?" Jason asked Tess, keeping his eyes on the road.
Hasta La Vista. It was a club Ella owned in New York. Tess preformed there every Saturday, but usually ended up going there to hang out at least three nights each week.
"It's fine." Tess pouted. To be honest, the club was going through some hard times. Tess would probably lose her gig there soon.
"Good." Jason said. "We're almost there."
Tess looked out the passenger seat's window, scanning the surroundings. It was a familiar area. "Are we..?" Tess trailed off. There it was on the horizon.
"Splashworld." Jason said.
"Splashworld?"
"Splashworld." Jason repeated.
"No way..." Tess said. Splashworld was, by far, the most fun part of her childhood. When her mom would work, she would be dropped off at the water park by a nanny. Tess came to know every nook and cranny of the park, and she loved every second of her time there. But she hadn't been there in years. "How did you know?" She asked Jason.
"Ella, she told me you used to love to go here." Jason said. "And here we are." The car finally pulled into the parking lot of Splashworld. Tess jumped out happily, running towards the park. Jason bought tickets and they entered.
"But wait." Tess froze a few steps in. "I don't have a..."
"Swimsuit." Jason handed her a plastic bag. Tess could see through it, spying a red swimsuit inside.
"Ella again?" Tess asked.
"No, I bought it." Jason furrowed his brow. "So hard to believe I went to the woman's section?" He cracked a smile.
"Oh, Jason." Tess hugged him.
----------
It should have been longer.
----------
Tess finally found herself taking a rest on a chair beside the main pool of Splashworld. She and Jason had been at it for four hours, going on slides, swimming, having altercations with lifeguards. Tess was tired, to be honest.
Jason joined her, just after attempting to slide down the kiddie slide and getting stopped by a lifeguard. "You getting tired?" Jason sat on Tess's lap, jokingly.
"Get off!" Tess laughed, playfully pushing him away. He took one of the seats next to her. "And yes, a matter of fact."
"Hey, no such thing as to much Splashworld." Jason shrugged.
"Well, we can stay a..."
"But if you insist, we can move on to our next activity." Jason smiled. Tess's heart jumped.
"Another activity?" Her voice was high-pitched now. She was amazed that she was lucky enough to get Jason. Why her?
"Yup, here." Jason slid two wet, though laminated, tickets out of his pocket. He tucked them in Tess's hands.
She raised the tickets up to look at them, brushing some water off the top, plastic layer. "Two tickets for..." Tess began to yell in surprise. "A hot-air balloon ride! What? Jason!" For the second time that day, Tess pulled her boyfriend into a hug.
"And the ride starts in twenty minutes, so we should get going." Jason said. "Meet at the car?"
"ASAP." Tess said, skipping off to the women's dressing rooms. Her heart was pounding. "A hot-air balloon ride." She mumbled to herself. "This guy is much better than Shane."
----------
Shane never loved.
----------
"You two, please keep all limbs inside the basket at all times." The man who owned the hot-air balloon company went through the safety guidelines with Tess and Jason. "And no kissing in the air." Tess blushed.
The couple stepped into the balloon's basket. Jason had his arm around Tess. That night's sunset was just beginning, and the sky was a rich red color.
"Pretty romantic." Tess whispered in Jason's ear.
"Get ready for lift-off." The manager said, firing up the balloon. He stepped off, leaving Tess and Jason alone for their ride. "Have fun!" They floated up, off the ground, until the manager was just a speck on the ground.
"Tess?" Jason said over the hum of the machine.
"Yup?" Tess turned to face him. He was beautiful, wearing a dress shirt and courteroy pants.
Jason almost began to say something, his mouth barely opening, but instead he just inched closer to Tess. His face was finally just a few centimeters from her's.
"Wait, the guy said no..." Tess said, but Jason ignored it. He closed the gap and kissed Tess for the first time. Tess accepted it, kissing him back. She loved him, she definitely loved him.
----------
Loved him forever.
Ressficent's Note: This is pretty much the first chapter of Memories, rewritten. Hope you enjoyed, review if you feel like it. Maybe continue? Who knows. My goal mostly is to explain exactly why what happened in Explode happened.
Thanks to Izzy for the original story/clarification on Ella's relationship with Tess/being awesome.