A/N: First fanfic in 4 years and I'm excited to get back into it! Anywho, I'll keep this intro short and simple to not waste anymore seconds of your life:
I am not a professional writer, but I am no amateur either. Therefore, my grammar and diction choices will be between average and above average (depending on my mood and theme for the story). I do not own the character(s) or the show, but I do my best to keep them in-character (unless otherwise stated).
Reviews are for thoughts, ideas, suggestions, requests, and/or helpful advice to improve my writing.
With that said, read and enjoy!
*SPECIAL NOTES*
'italics' = Thoughts
The Murder of Regina Crane's case has been solved, but that did not mean everything had a happy ending.
Especially for Jo Masterson.
It's senior year – the amount of boys she has slept with can still be counted on one her hands, but not equivalent to the amount of hearts she has broken. She would need both her hands for that one.
Those same hands were now sliding down the the metal rail of the school's staircase as the now infamous Jo Masterson descended down from them. She didn't change much over the past couple of years. She still had her medium-length frizzy hair. She still wasn't much of a big fan for make-ups or really fancy clothes, but her wardrobe definitely upgraded to show her physique more. Her signature style? Fall colors all year round paired up with boots or Chuck Taylor's.
"Jo! Over here!"
Jo spotted her friend, Cecilia Lawrence, straight on ahead right by their lockers.
"I can find you without your callings Cece," Jo smiled as she gave Cece a quick hug, "your red hair can practically be-"
"Nope! Not hearing it today Masterson," Cece quickly cut in, flipping her insanely long hair behind her shoulders, "Red is staying in my hair for awhile."
"I don't think they'll let you take graduation photos with that."
"They can bite me."
Jo chuckled at her friend's defensive nature and opened her locker to retrieve textbooks. "So when are we going to shop for the homecoming dresses from hell?"
When Cece didn't give an immediate answer, Jo looks and sees her friend's hazel eyes were fixated on something behind them. Jo naturally turned her head and suddenly made a poker face.
Danny Desai got up from his desk and shoved his physics textbook inside his backpack. He really did not understand why science had to involve math and vice versa. Separate subjects should not be related, right?
"Did you finish the homework for sociology?" Cole asked behind him.
"Almost, but it's not due till' Friday so I have plenty of time," Danny answered while turning around and securing his backpack.
"Just please don't procrastinate until the very last minute Danny. Big game next week and I-"
"Need everyone's grades to be in before interim reports. I heard you the billionth time captain."
"Just doing my job."
Danny smiled and gave a reassuring shoulder grip on Cole's shoulder. "I know, but relax. If you make me this nervous now I don't know how I'll even breathe when AP exams come around the corner."
"I forgot you were smart," Cole joked.
"What can I say?" Hands outstretched to play along, Danny started backing up to the doorway, "I fancy some subjects more than others."
"See ya on the field Desai!"
Danny saluted his captain and left the classroom.
The last couple of years have definitely gotten a lot better for the former sociopath of the town. Their were more than five contacts in his phone. He was back in the soccer team and is a co-captain. He made it to the dean's honor and actually has a somewhat normal teenage life his mother always wanted him to have.
Of course not everyone has forgotten what he did to his aunt.
There will always be people who give him dirty looks in school and on the streets. People who will have the audacity to come up to him and voice his shame to his face. It still gets to him every now and then but no one still knows why he did what he did. Some family secrets were just better left unsaid.
When Danny exited the classroom, his footsteps abruptly came to a halt when he sees familiar blonde hair right across the hallway.
There she was like every other morning looking as stunning as he always had remembered; the most important person who ever existed in his life and the one who left a big hole in his heart. He sees her nearly everyday and he still felt a wave of sadness consume his heart whenever he gets the chance to linger from afar and just stare at her.
'Jo...What happened to you?' Danny wondered, but he knew deep down the answer to that question.
Danny Desai broke Jo Masterson's heart and this was the outcome.
It was really hard for anyone to dictate whether or not Jo had emotions. At times when she is hooking up with a guy it appears she has no respect for their emotions and just strings them along for the ride. Then in the very end whenever they confess their love for the girl, it's hard not to notice how uneasy and sorry she feels before leaving them standing there like a bunch of fools.
Danny would know because he is one of those fools.
"I love you Jo."
It didn't take long before the atmosphere around them grew quite uncomfortable. Jo bit her lip, squeezed her eyes shut and turned her head the opposite direction to not stare at the boy who just confessed his feelings for her. They had just finished having heated sex and were not laying naked together underneath Danny's sheets.
His bold, brown eyes stared lovingly at the girl and wrapped his arms around her body. He didn't notice her facial expressions it seemed.
"I love you so much," he whispered while planting kisses down her neck.
Jo's face hardened at this and just slowly sat up from her position. A puzzled Danny looked up at her and asked what was wrong.
"Just do me again Desai," she commanded and turned to face him, "I want more."
And like a lovestruck fool Danny did her every time she demanded him to. In his bedroom, in the backseat of his car, the janitor's closet – whenever she wanted it he was just more than willing to do it. He knew it was wrong every time he did it but Jo Masterson was just so damn good at it he embraced all angles of the pleasurable encounters.
"It's rude to stare."
Danny nearly jumped out of his skin when he suddenly notices the girl he was just thinking about suddenly was right in front of him.
"S-Sorry, I was just...Jo you look beautiful today," Danny said while reaching out to push her blonde strands away from her face.
Jo looks down at the floor for a moment before raising her attention back to the boy. "You're freaking Cece out."
"But I'm not freaking you out."
The girl rolled her eyes at Danny's smart ass comment and just walks back to her friend. Some things just never change.
Lacey Porter watched the entire scene before her. She felt angry.
Angry that the boy she was in love with is now in love with their former best friend. Angry that Jo just tossed Danny aside like all the boys she had screwed with. She did not understand the girl's problem at all. She doesn't get why she does what she does.
Deep down, she actually knew, but she wasn't going to admit it today nor did she think it was even a satisfying reason for her actions.
"Are they back together again?" Phoebe asked, witnessing the entire scene as well, "I can't really tell since that's how she treats all her boy toys."
"I don't know," Lacey answered as she swiftly turned around to face her best friend, "I could care less."
"You obviously care Lace," Phoebe rubbed her shoulder reassuringly, "It's not a crime to still care about either of them."
Lacey knew Phoebe was right, but she hated it.
It was tough getting back into the in-crowd and winning her status back, but it wouldn't have been if she had her best friends by her side the entire time. Phoebe had always been there for her but she didn't get Lacey the way Jo and Danny did. Their entire friendship was created since they were kids, and to only have faded memories instead of actually having the real thing just made it even more depressing. What breaks Lacey's heart more though was not the fact that Jo and Danny hooked up quite a few times, but because she sees Jo destroying herself more and more each day.
"Goodbye Lacey," Jo said while tears were streaming down her face.
Lacey's world felt a huge crash and burn at those words. She tried forming words at her mouth but nothing audible came out. She wanted to cry, scream, yell – anything but stand there like an idiot!
And when Jo saw that Lacey wasn't going to say anything else, she ran out her bedroom and out the front door.
Lacey heard it slammed shut and that's when she has the ability to cry out her tears. She covered her mouth with both her hands and silently cried. What had Danny and her done?
"I'm sorry Jo," she whispered, "I'm so sorry.."
Snapping back to the real world, Lacey blinked and just looked back to see Jo walk away with Cece and Danny still lingering in the same spot. She suddenly had the urge to run up and comfort him.
"Let's go," Phoebe said, "Show's over."
"It really is over, isn't it?" Lacey spoke her thoughts out loud, "We're never gonna be friends again."
"You still have us."
Lacey turned around and saw Sarita standing there with a small, reassuring smile. "You always will."
Lacey gave a genuine smile and wrapped her arms around their shoulders. "I love you guys."
"And we'd love to not be late for drama class!" Phoebe whined as she tried to walk faster.
"I don't mind."
"Sarita why are you even taking this class if you're not serious about it?!"
As the two continued to argue back and forth, Lacey could only smile more and appreciated that her friends made her forget her past for a few moments.
Moving on was the only thing she could do.
Jo felt like walking home today.
Usually she and Cece would go somewhere to hang out for a bit, but today Jo wasn't in the mood for it. She would have been too distracted to even keep up a conversation with the red head and that would not have been fair for her.
Too many...past interruptions (as she'd like to call it) kept coming back to her.
Tyler Lewis wondered how the shy girl he was dating before turned out to be the person she is today. He also wondered who she was toying with now at the moment.
He sat a row behind her in graphics class and always finds himself just staring at the back of her head whenever the teacher lectures on. Since all the seats had huge iMac computers Tyler is able to see clearly what was going on Jo's screen.
She had a word document open on one side taking notes, and then the window right next to it Jo had her Facebook account chatting online with Cece who sat right next to her. He couldn't make out what they were talking about.
Tyler what made him do it, but he signed onto his Facebook account. After finding Jo online, he sent her a message.
'What's up?'
Jo spotted the notification and hovered over the link. When she saw the preview message, she stiffened in her seat and clicked on 'ignore.'
Tyler knew it would happen but he just had to try.
Just as he was about to log out, he got a new message. His eyes widen in surprise when he noticed it was from Jo. He anxiously clicked the message.
'Meet me in the girls locker room in 5.'
"Ugh, why did I even do it?" Jo asked out loud while slapping her forehead and rolling her eyes. Her and Tyler haven't had sex in about a year. "Plus he has a girlfriend! God, why do I have to be 'that' girl again?"
For a moment Jo felt guilty. She was making so much progress with Tyler; staying away from him and only talked to him when it was necessary. She felt relieved when he started taking someone from his film club. She thought that was one less boy to worry about.
However for weeks Tyler was looking at her differently. He's been looking at her for the past month like he used to when him and Jo started dating. Those loving eyes, his nervous smile, and the way he would just talk to her was obvious to anyone he's still crazy about her.
"Damn it's cold," Jo cursed as she closed the opening of her burgundy jacket. Fall had always been her favorite, but at the moment it sucked.
'No one to cuddle with this season,' she thought, 'That's the way it should have been.'
Her thoughts were interrupted when she felt a hand grip on her shoulder. When Jo turned around she felt lips crash into hers hungrily.
'Rico.'
She knew this kiss anytime, anywhere. These were the lips she mesmerized time to time because this was as far as she would ever go with him.
Rico was someone she could never take advantage of. She knew very well he was in love with her, even after everything. They've stopped hanging out with each other, talking to each other. Their were no more study dates and no more sitting home together on the weekends watching movies, eating junk food.
However he kept pursuing her despite the fact he walked out on her first.
He would always catch Jo alone, but not because he was a stalker but because he knew she doesn't realize that whenever she knew she did something wrong, she would do things and go to places her and Rico used to go to. He's kissed her many times before, and she kisses him back. He would sometimes slip his hand underneath her shirt and tenderly grope her breasts, but she stops him after a few moments and just makes out with him.
Hopefully she'll let him go a little further this time.
Jo and Rico continue to kiss each passionately while Rico pushes Jo against a nearby tree. He didn't waste time to take his jacket off and boldly places one hand on her left breast. Hearing Jo was true music to his ears, and he knew that if he played his cards right today he might finally lose his virginity to the one he loves right now.
He just couldn't let her have a chance to think. Every moment of this encounter he has to surprise her enough so that he could get one step closer. He wants to be inside her. He needs to be.
Jo's hands were planted right above her head by one of Rico's hands. He trailed his kisses to her neck and bit on it hard enough to not leave a mark, but to also satisfy her. Every. Second. Counts.
Rico's hand manages to get underneath all her layers of clothing, but this time he wanted to do something different.
As soon as Jo felt his hand against her bare skin she thought, 'Okay. We both had our wild fun, now it's time to-'
"Oh God!" Jo gasped as a new wave of pleasure she never felt before sunk her in.
Rico's hand went into her tights. Without a warning he placed two fingers inside her and circled around her hole.
Jo's head rolled back as she bucked her hips out to him. Her lips parted slightly as Rico continues to thrust in and out of her womb at a normal pace.
Rico could just die happy right now watching her like this. The way she is losing herself into the moment with her chest rising up and down. With her now free hands laying on top of the tree bark and gripping it every time his two digits when right back inside her. And the overall look of her vulnerability and how open she is to him now is just plain hot.
"Rico..."
Okay, now that was sexy.
'Take your time Rico. Too fast means it will end quickly. But not too fast! She'll realize it and then stop this before it can go any further-'
"Rico…I think we should…"
'Please no!' Rico panicked 'We haven't even gotten naked yet!'
And he wanted to change that right this very second. He added another finger into her and attacked her lips hungrily. Jo placed her hands on his chest, attempting to push him off but then he added the fourth finger.
At this point Jo knew exactly what Rico was doing. Distracting her, surprising her – it was a damn good plan because it's working pretty damn well.
But she doesn't want this to happen.
Out of all the guys she had around her fingers, Rico was the one she always kept her distance from. After she lost her virginity to Tyler, she felt like a piece of her was taken. An empty void had become a part of her and she just accepted it. She didn't think their was much significance to begin with when it came to sex, but that all changed completely when Rico confessed his love for her.
All in a split second Jo realizes that the most precious thing you could give to someone was your own innocence, your purity. It was suppose to be the moment of all your deepest desires coming true with the one you love.
She didn't love Tyler and she gave herself up to him. She used him because Danny didn't feel the same way about her. That resulted with her becoming the girl she was today. And every time she had sex a piece of her kept ripping away more and more, until sex these days just felt so numb she only wanted it whenever she saw fit the opportunity.
And that became her biggest mistake. Having sex when it didn't mean anything to her, but it meant something to her partner.
'I am so selfish...'
All the heat within Jo's body slowly began to fade away with each passing moment. Her eyes were opening, her breathing became steady, and her heartbeat was going back to its normal rhythm.
Rico immediately felt the disconnection between their heated make-out. Disappointed as he may have felt, it just wouldn't feel as amazing as he dreamed about if this experience was only one-sided. Plus, he knew right away Jo was upset.
"You could tell me what's on your mind. I'm always here for you, Jo."
His hands were now simply placed on her hips while hers were gripping tightly onto his shirt. As the blonde looked up, she could see clear compassion in the boy's eyes. He wanted this experience so bad, and yet he stopped it altogether just to see if she was okay.
How would she ever be able to live with herself knowing she took the one thing away from Rico that was precious to him?
"I'm sorry," Jo apologized as she released herself from his grip, "That I made you ever had hope that you could have a chance with me."
"I'm the one pursuing you. I'll keep going until you-"
"Until I what?" she raised her voice and took a step to the side, "Until I stop being the school's slut? Rico, even if I did stop having sex with boys I'd still carry that title over my head and you don't want to be walking down the halls with me hand-to-hand."
"Jo, don't call yourself that."
But she kept rambling on and on. This is how it usually went down between them after every encounter. They would make-out, grope, and tease each other. Before any clothes were taken off Jo would always be the one to stop everything and make this infamous speech of hers. Rico had lost count on how many times he's heard this before but he knew that every time this came around, Jo is talking more to herself than to him. All he could do was listen and watch her pace back and forth.
"Why would you even still want to be with me after all the times I gave myself up to someone?" Jo inquired after awhile, "After our friendship fell apart, and after I chose Danny and Tyler over you?"
Rico was a bit surprised at the question since she has never asked before, but the answer came naturally to him without a second thought. "Because I love you. Because I don't want to have sex with you."
Confusion sprawled across the Jo's face. "Rico, you just totally tried to take advantage of me a few minutes ago."
"I want to make love with you."
Silence filled the space between them, and the only thing Jo could hear was the rapid beat of her heart. The heat came back to her body faster than she could blink and the butterfly feels erupted her insides. A familiar flame that has dimmed throughout her high school years had ignited itself tremendously enough to make poor girl want to cry tears of joy.
But what joy did she deserve after all the sufferings she had caused?
And with that in mind Jo took a couple steps backward away from the lovestruck boy. Her and Rico stared lovingly at each other for a few moments before she turned around and dashed away into the city streets.
And that was when Rico knew that he would never stop loving Jo, because in those gorgeous orbs of hers, he saw right through her.
Jo Masterson is in love with him.
But how long will it take for her to realize it before it's too late? How many chances and heartbreaks was Rico willing to go through before he's finally had enough?
A/N: There is a 50/50 chance I will make a second part, but you're gonna have to wait to see. I mainly made this fanfic to pass time for the second part of the season to start. Anywho, thank you so much for reading my story! Hope you enjoyed it as much as I enjoyed writing it.