Chapter 2

Izzy was sitting down in pavement, crying. She was hiding her face with her hands. Alex was standing in front of her, hands in his hipbone, looking like he was desperately trying to make Izzy talk or at least listen to him.

April felt bad seeing her friends in this situation. She didn't want to interfere whatever they were doing. She was pretty sure she knew what was going on. This is all she could ever think this past couple weeks, specially after Alex begged her not to tell Izzy.

"You know I think five minutes is too long." April heard Jackson walking behind her. Before he got to far, she stopped him, hold his arm prevent him to walk past her.

"Shhh! They're having a moment." She quietly whispered. She turned to Jackson, hoping he would just wait like her.

Jackson stopped beside her, looking amusedly to Alex and Izzy direction. "What he did now?"

"Nothing." Then April realized her hand still holding Jackson arm. Letting go his arm and standing straight. "It's not my place to say." She added shortly.

"But it's my place to tease him. I will not let this past him." Now he moved his body to look at her, hands folded in his chest. Blocking her from watching their friends.

"I'm not gonna tell you." She put her hand in his shoulder, asked him to move away.

He moved like she wanted, still smiling. "You no fun Kepner. We should be friends. I can teach you be fun."

April never thought about someone else badly in her life, but she couldn't find anything good being friends with this Avery boy. She looked up and arched her eyebrows, "No thanks."

"Ah come on! You can be friends with Karev. I'm better than him. We can be friends!" Jackson said

"So you say."

"No. That's a fact. I'm not bragging."

"Look.." Annoyed with him, she turned and looked at Jackson. "I don't know you. You don't know me. So don't act like we know each other."

Jackson pressed his lips together, holding back his smile. "We don't know each other, right?"

"Yup." April said.

"So, how about this?" Jackson said. April didn't hear anything more, like he was expecting her to look at him. So she look at the boy next to her. He was asking her to shake his hand.

"What?" April asked softly

"Like you said. We don't know each other. So we take this from the start." He smiled to a confuse April.

He coughed once, rubbing the back of his head and started talking. "Hi. I'm Jackson Avery. West Lake High. Nice to meet you. And you are..?"

April was speechless, she just blinking her eyes over and over again. She couldn't believe this boy.

"Come on, I'm waiting.." April heard he said. Coming back to her senses, she shaken his hand.

"Hi. I'm April Kepner. West Lake High too. Nice to know you." April couldn't help a little smile that form in her face.

"Nice indeed." Jackson said. Happy that he succeed to ask her.

"What are you two doing here?" Suddenly Alex and Izzy stood beside them.

April let go of Jackson hand in surprise, turning to face Alex who draped his hand around a smiling Izzy, "What are you TWO doing here?!" She asked back to Alex who now smiled guiltily. Well, more like she screamed to Alex.

Alex dropped his hand from Izzy's shoulder and scream back to April. "What is your problem Kepner?"

"Hey hey hey.." Izzy and Jackson together said. Tried to pull Alex and April apart.

Once it done, April walked back to the school building, throwing her hands up in the air and murmured something like cursing. And leaving Jackson and the smiling couple.

"What the hell man! You screamed at your friend! And you two still smiling?" Pointing April that walking back to school building.

That just made Alex laugh loudly, but Izzy tried tried to explain to Jackson, "I'm sorry Jackson, we were just messing with April. She kept a secret for Alex, she forbids Alex to give it to me so that's why she's mad."

Throwing an annoyed look to the couple and he walked away. "Whatever. 5 minutes, Alex. Or I will say something bad about you."

:::::::

"Why are you stopping?" Jackson asked Alex.

It was Saturday morning and they were in their mandatory morning run. Some people from school have this habit to go morning run every Saturday morning. They run together in big group. But not for Alex and Jackson that morning. They chose different route than the other, Alex actually wanted it and Jackson just following him. Alex said after the win yesterday, he didn't want to end up talking with other people about it. Something about clearing his head.

"I'm tired. What do you think." Alex said.

Jackson keep his pace, a little run while he waited Alex. "Come on, I really want to go back to bed. We still have some miles to catch." Jackson said.

"Relax would you." Alex said. Then continued running again. They run for another miles and stopped when they make it to downtown. It was almost 8 o'clock, they planned to go get some drink first before they run back to their homes.

"What happen yesterday?" While looking into refrigerator for some drink in the store.

"What happened?" Alex answered.

Looking up to his side to Alex, "Come on. You were freaking out entire morning, yelling at me while I pick you up, disappeared when we were warming up, Sloan yelled at me because of that by the way, what else, oh Izzy! Izzy crying on the back then suddenly nothing seemed happen, and YOU YELLED at freaking April Kepner. What the hell man." Pointing out each action with his fingers Jackson said.

Alex just keep opening and closing the refrigerator looking for his desired drink like Jackson said nothing. Then Jackson closed one of the door Alex been opening.

"What the hell man!"

"I'm asking." Jackson insisted.

`Taking a bottle of Gatorade, he was taking his time to answer Jackson. "Um, I gave her a bracelet, bought it from my saving." He said

"Cool." Jackson beamed. "But what's April's problem on that?" He added.

"Problem?"

"I don't know. It seems to me she has a problem with your plan. You two talking secretly and yesterday you yelled."

"She helped me keep the money. No way in hell I could keep that, I'll buy shit, used up the money." Alex said

"I don't understand." Jackson said.

"She helped keep the money. She told me what I want is way higher than my saving, she didn't want me keep looking for random job to get money because Izzy started to get suspicious and my mom started to ask her too." He clarified.

"Wow. Complicated much." Not amused at all to the antics, Jackson said.

"Yeah for someone who doesn't even thinking about girls and relationship like you, it is complicated." Alex said.

The two walking out from the store after they paid, walking to their way home.

Jackson later add, "I still don't understand why." Alex just slapped Jackson back to ask him to stop asking.

"No. I mean if she helped then why she was like mad at you yesterday? Just this one, then I'll drop it."

"I wanted to give the bracelet to Izzy sometime later. But April told me Izzy's been super suspicious, accusing April with crap. Also she told me she tried to mention to Izzy about promise things I might give to her, Izzy freaked out. I didn't want to listen at first, but then.. yeah just like that."

Jackson laugh at that, "You ass. She helped you!"

"Hey! She was the one freaking out yesterday. Don't blame me for that." Alex said.

:::::::

April Kepner known as a very patient person. She lived with a very demanding family. Her parents both have a very successful carrier and wanted all her children to be as perfect as possible. She did good living under her parents' pressure her whole life. And doing great at school was not something difficult for her, but with all what her parents taught her she became a perfectionist in such a young age, a perfectionist who could be very patient to reach her goals.

On Saturday, she perfected science fair that she has been devoted to for this whole month. She ditched her social life, she might forget how to be relax for that whole month. She wanted her creation and presentation to be as perfect as possible. She wanted that and she made sure she get what she wanted.

Her presentation was the best in the fair, the teachers were so proud of her and praised her. She felt like she was at the top of her life, everything was perfect nothing could go wrong. She made sure of it.

But reality never really worked for her sometimes. Over working herself for a month did no good for her body. After all the adrenaline and excitement slowing down, came exhaustion and sore and illness. She wasn't feeling good, her weekend sucks. She should be celebrating her success, instead she was buried in her bed and couldn't move an inch. She banned Izzy and Lexie who wanted to see her. Her family let her be for the rest of the weekend, let her take her time buried herself in bed after her mother brought her to doctor. She was over tired she just need sleep.

She only came back to school on Tuesday, she braved herself talked to her mother asking whether she could skip Monday to get more rest which miraculously approved by her mother.

April walked in corridor with her fresh spirit and big smile plastered in her face, she was ready for the day. She opened her locker, take everything she needed. When she turned around she was surprised to find Lexie and Izzy standing behind her.

"We thought you were dead!" Lexie snapped at her.

"We were worried April." Izzy said while rubbing April's arm slowly. With a very concern expression all over her face, so typically Izzy.

April put her hand around Izzy's shoulder, side hug her and rubbing her shoulder back. "I'm fiineee. I was over tired, I just need my sleep. Thank you for checking me though." She said.

"Yeah thank you for kicking us out. How nice of you." Lexie petulantly said.

April laughed at her friend, "Ah come on. Don't mad at me. You should be happy I don't give you my precious germs all over you two." She pinched Lexie's check to tease her. Which got her a slow slap in her hand from Lexie.

"Shut up. You still high from your win."

"Off course I'm high!" April said, but a little too loud, people starring at them. She looked around guiltily then add, "From my win."

Lexie and Izzy laugh and pulled her hand to start walking to their class.

"Wait, they all know I'm not drinking to school right?" April asked.

"Let it go April, let it go." Izzy said.

:::::::

Jackson was loading up her bags into his car when he heard someone calling his name. "Avery!"

He looked back, "Yang. What's up?" He asked.

"Going to dinner tomorrow? I'm looking for an escape." She said.

"An escape? Why?" He asked back.

"I'm too old for this crap. I will leave in couple months to college. What's the deal following tradition coming to a crappy dinner." She answered.

Cristina Yang, basket ball team's manager. Her family was an old friend of Jackson's family. He knew Cristina forever. She was senior, together with Mark they would graduate in couple months.

Their family among with some other families in town, had a dinner tradition once in couple months. Started since his grandparent era. When Cristina's family moved to town, they immediately had a great relationship among the families that included. Shortly they were asked to join the gathering and became closed to each other.

Jackson never stop admired the older girl, she was smart for sure, and she really could handle the team. Whole team even scared her. He idolized her. He knew he can easily dated her if he wanted to, been known each other for so long and all. But being a single child he valued her as his older sister. He definitely needed that older sister figure more than a girlfriend figure. At least for now.

"Your mother ok with that? I don't think I want to start excusing myself to my mom." He said. Feeling sick already thinking about that. He usually just nodding his head, and follow his parents every time.

"Oh I have an excuse. I just talked to Mark, and he join me. I need you on board." She said.

"Hell yeah I'm on board." He answered without thinking. The thought of ditching the dinner was something he wouldn't miss.

Cristina smiled to the younger boy, knowing that whatever she brought to him he would follow her. "We'll say we will find a new manager for the team. The one who's gonna replacing me." Cristina said.

"And? We're gonna pretend that we are going to do something here after school?" He wondered.

"No. Not pretend. We really need looking for a new manager. Tell that to your mother, tell her I say hi too." She said. Then she walked past Jackson to her car. Leaving a very confuse Jackson behind.

"Huh.." Then he jumped in to his car, ready to leave school.

The concept of not having Cristina Yang as team manager was something weird for him. How in the world anybody capable enough to drag every boys on team to do shit they needed to do and teaming up with their coach and captain. Hell, if Cristina already looking for replacement, Mark should be the next one looking for replacement too. And he was not sure if he was ready for the change.