Like the rooster that crows at the crack of dawn, the vicious verbal attack between family members ring out through the house, awakening him from his deep slumber, producing the ever low groan to escape his lips as he pushes the silk blankets from his body.
"Another day." he mutters beneath his breath, slipping his feet into his plush house slippers. "Another argument."
From the ice cold water of his shower to his ever expanding closet for his usual attire, he gets dressed for yet another day in the prison of his life known as Port Charles High School. If luck remains on his side, he has exactly one hour to dodge his brother's constant badgering, his parents' persistent questioning of what he plans to do after graduation, and get to his girlfriend's house to pick her up.
"Jason, wait up!" his sister yells after him as he straddles his bike to leave. "I need a ride."
"Ask Reginald." Jason responds, working on thirty minutes left to make it to his girlfriend's house, not even daring to face the tantrum that would surely ensue if he's late. "I'm running late."
"Please, Jason." she pleads. "I cannot take another round with the family today. Not even to ask Reginald for a ride. I have to get out of here, now."
"What part of I'm running late aren't you getting?"
"I get it, I do, which is more incentive to drop me off." she says coaxingly. "The faster you drop me off, the faster you'll get to her house. It's on the way."
"Hop on." he says in defeat, scooting a little more to the front to make room for her. "And hold on tight."
"Perfect." her glee shines through as she slings her backpack over her shoulder and straddles the bike behind him. "You remember Audrey Hardy, right? Drop me off at her place."
"Audrey Hardy?" he looks back at her in disbelief. "I'm risking the chance of being late so you can do some charity work before school?"
"Do you really want to waste time questioning me now?" she counters, arching her eyebrow at him. "Ticktock, Jason."
"You're lucky I love you." Jason mutters, starting up his bike before swiftly kicking it off its stand. "Hang on with your life."
Speeding through the streets, he could feel his sister clinging to him, her nails starting to dig into the flesh of his abdomen. In that moment, Jason makes the dreadful decision to endure whatever tantrum his girlfriend has to offer if he's late by reducing the speed of his bike to the legal limit. As much as he'd like to avoid another nagging episode, he'd prefer to not scare the life out of one of the two people in his family that he actually loves.
Every morning, her grandmother wakes her up for chores before she can get ready for school. Like every morning since she was dropped off there by social services, she does it in silence, from cleaning up last night's dishes to making breakfast for her grandmother.
Hours later, she'll make her way upstairs for a brief bath time before getting dressed for school, making sure that her trusted sketch pad and charcoal pencil set are among the items that make their way into her backpack. A day without either is a day she refuses to see come to life.
"You make sure that you're home right after school, young lady." her grandmother calls out to her as she's walking to the front door. "You've got a list of chores that still need to be taken care of."
Taking a deep breath, she makes her way out onto the porch to wait for her best friend before they walk to school together, thankful that she has at least six hours of reprieve away from house chores. In all her life, she has never been made to do so much housework, not even when she was put under the care of her neighbors back in Boulder and they lived on a farm.
Pulling out her sketch pad, she decides to put some finishing touches on some of her sketches while she awaits her best friend, wanting to finish the ones she has begun before she starts on a new set. From the local diner to the hospital, she has sketched almost every person and place she has come across on a regular basis. Finding that her art is the only escape she's granted in this town.
Slamming his bike into an abrupt stop, he waits for his sister to dismount the bike before strapping down the helmet and preparing to take off to his girlfriend's house. With ten minutes to spare, he has to get there as fast as his bike can take him, knowing that if he can do that, he'll be golden.
That had been the plan, anyway, before he laid eyes on the reason his sister felt the need to have him take her instead of riding with Reginald. Walking out from the house from the porch of the Hardy's home is a girl that he had never seen before, not that he can recall. He couldn't explain what it was, but something in her eyes reflected something he could relate to.
As her baby blue eyes lifted to meet his, curiosity clouding her bright eyes, Jason's survival instincts kick in and he speeds off to his girlfriend's house, knowing that he didn't have much time left. If traffic's as bad as it usually is, he won't get there on time, making him believe that luck really isn't on his side today.
"Finally!" his girlfriend practically shouts as he pulls up to the front of her house. "I can't believe you're late again! Don't you remember what happened the last time you were late? Do you hate me that much? Or maybe you just like it when I'm worried about you, is that it?! You want me scared to death that something bad happened to you? That maybe you were hit by a large truck or a bus or something?"
"Carly, I'm five minutes late." he replies, handing her the helmet to strap on. "Will you get on before we're late for school?"
"Oh, so you're worried about being late for school, but being late to pick me up doesn't bother you?" she rants on as she straddles the bike behind him, helmet snug upon her blonde head. "This is far from over, Jason Morgan. You can bet your ass on that."
Revving his engine, if only to drown out her ever persistent ranting, Jason speeds down the roads in direction of school. Not a day in his life is he ever as happy to go to class as he is when she's having one of her over the top tantrums. She'll cool down by lunch time, that much he's sure of, but he's stuck with her big mouth until then.
Walking to school had to be her favorite part of the day, aside from doing her art, of course. As she walks with her best friend, new things always seem to catch her artistic eye, whether its a mamma bird in its nest with its babies or a couple enjoying an early morning out in the park, its always so beautiful.
"So, now you've met my brother, Jason, sort of." Emily voices as they make their way through the park. "Not exactly the social type, but he's okay. His girlfriend on the other hand, well, you've met her. Carly."
A shocked looked crosses Elizabeth's face as she takes in that information, he just didn't seem like the type that would date a girl like Carly Roberts.
"Yeah, I know." Emily chuckles at Elizabeth's shocked expression, knowing that she would throw her friend off with that. "Shocked me, too, but its true."
With a shared laugh, the two make their way to the school, taking up their usual spots in the cafeteria. The best thing about their friendship, in Elizabeth's eyes at least, is their differences. While Emily talks almost nonstop, Elizabeth remains in silence, speaking less than ten words a day and only to Emily when its absolutely necessary.