Here's a challenge Writing Sia sent me! JasonxElla, meeting, talking, realizing feelings, being their out there selves. No break ups or pregnancy
¨Ow!¨ Jason held his throbbing thumb. He positioned the hammer above the two pieces of wood again.
¨Hi!¨ A voice broke his thoughts. A girl was standing in the door way of the storage barn at the back of the camp. ¨What are you doing?¨ She smiled.
He hadn´t looked up yet; his eyes were focused on the heap of wood in front of him. ¨Ask a guy to make you a simple bird house and this is what happens.¨ He muttered under his breath. He didn´t seem to have noticed she was in the room. She took a few steps and appeared next to him.
¨That´s a birdhouse?¨ She looked at it sideways. He jumped, making the hammer ricochet off the nail and just by his head. ¨Woh!¨ He released the hammer and let it fall it to the ground.
¨What was that for?!¨ Ella jumped back, putting her hands on her hips.
Jason stood up awkwardly. ¨Sorry, I didn´t hear you come in.¨ She looked at him incredulously. ¨I said hi.¨
He shrugged. ¨Sorry. It´s just that you know, for some reason I got really into building this thing, like I get with my music.¨ He nodded with a growing smile. ¨Do you know how to build stuff?¨ He gave her a sideways glance.
She laughed. ¨I grew up with six brothers, and a father who´s a carpenter. I guess that I should say yes.¨ She picked up the screws Jason had been trying to hammer into the wood. ¨You know these are screws?¨ Jason´s face reddened and he looked straight down at the table.
¨Oh...¨ But she pat his arm. ¨It´s okay, sometimes it´s hard to tell the difference.¨ She began to screw the wood together, making the simple frame of a bird house. Jason picked up the frame excitedly.
¨Oh my god it looks like an actual miniature sized house!¨ He exclaimed looking at it. She took it from his hands and began to add walls on it. ¨Have I met you before?¨ He was looking at her as if she were some strange creature.
¨I don´t think so.¨ She looked up at him. ¨Oh wow, you´re Jason, like from Connect 3.¨ He grinned broadly and nodded his head.
¨I completely didn´t realize.¨ She was looking at him as though she wasn´t sure it was him. ¨I´m Ella.¨ She stuck out her hand for him to take.
He shrugged and took her hand to shake it. ¨Hey it felt good being a regular guy, even for a minute. Just Jason.¨ She let go, both of their hands hanging for a second before they fell to their sides.
¨Do you miss your old life?¨ Ella asked, looking first at him and then back at the birdhouse in front of her. He shrugged noncommittally. ¨Come on, tell me! I´ve told you stuff about me.¨ Jason looked at her for a moment, but her face only portrayed innocence.
¨Yeah, I do. Before Connect 3 my parents were together, I had a job, even a great girlfriend. Don´t get me wrong I love being in the band and having the guys around, but I just wish I could have taken that stuff with me.¨ Ella looked up from where she had been quietly working.
¨Your parents split up?¨ She moved carefully so she was standing in front of the work place. ¨That´s awful.¨ She turned a piece of sanded wood in her hands.
¨When Connect 3 first started to get big, my dad went on tour with us, but my mom stayed home with my little sister Megan, they didn´t talk any more, my mom just went on long trips and my dad locked himself in his study. I babysat Megan more and more but I couldn´t take her on the road as much as I wanted to. That led to another fight, and after a few months my mom filed for divorce.¨
He had stopped speaking, but clearly the memories were still reeling through his head. Ella covered her hand with his, and that seemed to jolt another memory. ¨It was my fault they split up.¨ He told her, his gaze fixated on the floor.
But Ella shook her head quickly. ¨No! Jason, it sounds like this was coming for a while, it´s your parents´ business, and you took care of Megan, you were a great big brother.¨ He smiled weakly at her.
¨You know especially to someone you´ve never met before, you sure know how to say the right things. Megan and I used to go the arts and crafts store when we were home alone, but we could never quite figure out a bird house.¨ He laughed and she smiled encouragingly back at him.
¨Ta-da!¨ Ella stepped away from the bird house, Jason´s eyes widened. The bird house was neat, sanded, and simple.
¨Ella, that´s awesome!¨ he exclaimed.
She blushed and examined her handiwork.¨Thanks.¨ She placed it down on the table. ¨So where did you live before?¨ She sat down opposite him on the floor, toying with the instruments around her.
¨Rhode Island.¨ He told her, leaning his head against the wall. His feet splayed over a protruding instrument.¨What´s it like there?¨ She asked him quietly.
¨It´s not Los Angeles. It´s quiet and comfortable and you know everybody where you live.¨ Ella looked at him, a grin spreading on her face as well.
¨That sounds nice.¨ She said dreamily. He grinned, remembering where he had used to live.
¨Where are you from?¨ He asked her. She pursed her lips as though thinking.
New York.¨ She finally answered. He nodded and urged her to continue. ¨My parents met when my dad was building the set for one of my mom´s broadway plays. I guess they fell in love. My mom´s still on Broadway and my dad has a great carpentry business.¨ Jason nodded as he listened.
Jason picked up a nearby guitar and strummed it thoughtfully. Ella went to stand up but her leg had fallen asleep so she was unable to stand stably. She lunged for the table but missed so she went sprawling across the floor, landing in a heap of old broken records.
¨Ow.¨ She rubbed her sore backside. Jason stifled a laugh and stood quickly to help her up. He extended a hand that she grasped, pulling herself up. ¨Thanks.¨ She muttered, her red cheeks fading.
¨No problem.¨ He smiled back at her. Suddenly a phone vibration broke the easy silence. Jason fumbled in his pocket and answered the phone. ¨Oh, oh,okay! See you in ten.¨ He snapped it shut and began to walk briskly to the door.
He turned to say one last good bye but before he could speak she slipped his phone out of his grasp, she entered her number and handed it back to him, once she had called herself to get his number. She waved and stood at the work bench as he exited.
She began to examine the fragments of the broken records and started to get an idea. Pulling out an exacto knife and glue she held the bird house and records in her hands. She got to work.
Jason? He opened his phone to read the one word text message.
Yeah? Ella opened her phone and began to text. Can you meet me at the docks? He looked at Nate and Shane, bickering over Nate´s lost guitar. Sure.
He took off from the cabin and walked into the darkening night. He turned onto the wooden docks and saw Ella waiting at the end. She was sitting with her feet dipping into the lake. As he walked closer he saw that she was holding something bulky in her lap.
¨Ella?¨ He called, he could barely see her anymore. He felt his way through the dark and sat next to her. ¨Hey what´s up?¨ She held out the birdhouse. Shining a flashlight on it she showed it to him. She had glued the broken records all over it and Jason loved it.
¨Ella that´s so cool!¨ He hugged her. She laughed and hugged him back. Once they had moved apart. Jason sat beside her. removing his shoes and socks and dipping his feet into the water as well.
¨Can I ask you something?¨ Ella asked, twirling her feet in circles in the water. Jason nodded and realized she probably couldn´t see him.
¨Yeah sure.¨ The moon was coming out and was basking her in a steady glow. She moved her hands from her lap to the edge of the dock.
¨You said you had a girlfriend...What was she like?¨ Ella asked quietly.
Jason thought back about Nicole. ¨I worked with her at the movie theater there. Her name was Nicole. We dated for about six months. She was really into dance. She broke it off when I missed our high school prom because of a concert.¨
Ella´s face fell a little bit. ¨She broke it off?¨ Jason shrugged. ¨Yeah, but I was going to break up with her, she was really shallow, I figured that out after a while.¨ Ella nodded as she listened.
¨Have you had a boyfriend before?¨ Jason asked quickly. Ella looked at him, her fingers fidgeting.
¨Yes. I have. Sixteen actually.¨ Jason´s jaw dropped. ¨Wha-what?¨ Even in the moonlight he could see that she blushed. ¨This year, a few of my friends, as a fun senior thing they made a list of the hottest girls in our grade. Even though I told them not to. I was number one. More guys started saying hi to me and asking me out on dates, they weren´t the longest relationships, but I guess they all counted as boyfriends.¨
Jason readjusted himself on the docks and shut up. Ella leaned over to look in the water, getting closer to Jason. ¨It´s cold out. I should probably head back.¨ Ella began to stand up; feeling stupid for telling him about the sixteen. Jason stopped her, taking her hand.
She slowly sat back down and Jason moved his arm to her shoulders. ¨Better?¨ She nodded, looking at him with a smile. Jason leaned his head in towards hers. Just as their lips were about to meet, Ella shifted slightly and as Jason wrapped his other arm around her the two fell into the lake.
Jason surfaced sputtering but Ella was no where in sight. He dove back under and opened his eyes to look for her but it was so dark he could hardly see his hand in front of his face. He felt an arm brush his and he grabbed it pulling her up. ¨Why were you under so long??¨ He asked worriedly. ¨I uh, never quite learned how to swim so I guess I kinda sunk...¨ Jason laughed and helped her back onto the dock.
¨Thanks Jason. Enjoy the birdhouse.¨ Ella waved as she scampered off. Jason ran his hand through his hair and made his own way back to the cabin.