It was a clear night in Port Charles, teens of every label - punks, jocks, preps, etc. - are gathered in the park for the fourth of July fireworks. Not her though. She tracked her way to the abandoned boxcar on the outskirts of town, not really feeling the festivities this year. The stars were much clearer in this part of town and she'd be able to see the fireworks in its entirety from there.
Normally she'd be amongst the excited members of her peers, anxious to see what kind of layout they had this year for the fireworks, giggling over the most recent PCH's hottie of the month. But this year is different. This year she can't stand to be amongst the crowd. Places with lots of people freaks her out.
"Who's there?" she calls out into the dark, hearing a rustling noise off to the side. "I have a gun and I'm not afraid to use it! I swear I will."
"You hate guns." he says, walking out of the foliage. "And you'd never shoot anyone."
"Whatever." she says, relaxing back against the doorjamb. "Did you bring it?"
"Like promised." he holds up the bag of food. "You?"
"Duh, Jason." she rolls her eyes, holding up the container of fudge brownies. "Sheesh, its not my first time, you know."
"Okay." Jason hops up, sitting in front of her with one leg folded in front of him and the other hanging over the side. "What's up with you?"
"Nothing." she shakes her head, open the bag swiftly and laying out the contents on the blanket she laid out. "Where's the drinks?"
"In the cooler behind you." Jason stops her from turning. "What's going on?"
"Nothing." she says firmly, stretching to pull the cooler closer. "I'm allowed to be crabby once in a while. You've been known to be worse on occasion."
"I know you." Jason stops her again. "And you know I'm not going to stop until you spit it out."
"Fine." she sighs, tossing her spoon into her container. "I'm a freak."
"Come again?" Jason arches his eyebrow, not sure if he heard her correctly. "You're a what?"
"Don't act like you don't hear people talking." Elizabeth snaps, sitting upright, folding her arms over her chest. "Even your friends are talking about it! Stupid Carly."
"Since when do you let anything Carly says bother you?" Jason counters, seeing that she was really upset. "She's never said anything but bad stuff since the two of you met."
"It bothers me because its true." Elizabeth sighs, slumping back against the doorjamb again. "I'm a freak."
"No you're not." Jason states firmly. "Just tell me what they're saying."
"They're saying that I'm a freak because I've never been kissed before." Elizabeth throws her hands up. "I mean, come on! Even Carlos Jr. kissed a girl and he smells like frog guts."
"Why does it matter if you haven't kissed anyone?" Jason counters, seriously not getting the big deal. "You've never had a boyfriend. Get one and you can kiss him. Problem solved."
"Easy for you to say!" Elizabeth groans, hating that she was even discussing this with him. "You're like a god amongst men! Girls are lining down the block to kiss you!"
"I don't get why this bothers you." Jason brushes a few strands of hair from her face. "You're a great girl. You'll get your first kiss when its the right time for you."
"Whatever." Elizabeth sighs, opening up her container. "Lets just eat and forget I said anything."
They ate in silence, Jason watching her as she ate, knowing that she was really hurt by the talk around town. Once dinner was done, they threw all the empty containers and used utensils/napkins into the bag he brought them there in. The fireworks would be starting soon and they'd make their wish just seconds before.
"Ready?" she whispers, touching her brownie to his. "Count us down."
"Five...four...three..." Jason counts down the seconds with the help of his watch. "two...one...make a wish."
With their eyes closed, they both make a wish on the brownies. Jason cheats for the first time, opening his eyes to watch her as she made her wish. He hated seeing the defeated look on her face and it made it worse because it was his friends that really drove it home. Not giving it a second thought, Jason leans in and claims her lips with his as the fireworks explode in the distance.
Elizabeth is shocked at first, her eyes shooting open to see that he was really kissing her. Jason pulls away for a second, waiting for to grasp that it was really happening and then claiming her lips again. As this kiss deepened in intensity, Elizabeth's eyes close slowly, taking in the feel of his lips on hers.
"Now its not true." Jason whispers, tucking a few strands of hair behind her ear - the same strands that just wouldn't stay off her face. "Can you be my best friend again and not care about what's being said?"
"Uh-huh." Elizabeth shakes her head, her heart pounding so loudly that she's afraid he can hear it. "Whatever you say."
Elizabeth shakes her head at the memory, a soft smile touching her lips. That wasn't the last time their friendship turned physical, but it was the first. After that fourth of July in '98, nothing had been the same between them. Didn't mean they didn't try their hardest to keep their friendship strictly platonic, it just never ended up that way. Strange enough, the only time things turned physical was on a holiday or special occasion. She thinks its strange anyway.
"We're here." Francis's voice pulls her out of her thoughts. "Need me to go in with you?"
"No. Its okay." Elizabeth assures, opening the door and getting down. "I'm just going to sign for it and roll it out on a dolly."
Walking inside, she meets up with the store owner that was a little surprised to see her. After pleasantries are exchanged, the owner leads her to the storage unit where the chandelier is being kept. The moment she lays her eyes on the piece, Elizabeth knows she made the right choice by going all the way to Rochester. The piece looked even more beautiful in person than it did in the photographs. Loading it into the truck with Francis's help, they got back inside and took off back to Port Charles.
"Benny will wire five hundred dollars every day." Jason explains as the guards load her luggage into the private jet. "If you need more, just call and I'll have Benny transfer more, okay?"
"I'll be fine, Jason." Sam says softly, touched to see that he was worried for her. "I'll call you if I need anything, I promise."
"Just be careful." Jason says seriously. "The guards will be there, but still...just watch yourself."
"I will." Sam wraps her arms around him, thankful that he does the same in return. "Take care of yourself, too."
"Don't worry about me." Jason says, stepping out of the embrace. "I'll be fine. Just focus on you and have fun with your brother."
"Okay." Sam smiles slightly, not happy with having to leave, but she needed to see her brother. "See you when I get back."
"I'll be here." Jason says before watching her board the plane.
He walks back to his SUV, waiting until the plane was in the air and on its way to its destination before he gets into the driver's seat and heads back to his penthouse. He noticed right away how quiet his penthouse was the moment he walked into it. Usually Sam was playing some kind of song on the entertainment center or she'd be walking around talking on her phone. It was going to be a little weird not having her popping in and out of the rooms at any given moment.
"You're quiet." Francis comments, wondering if he should shake her or something. "What's got your mind in overdrive?"
"Jason." Elizabeth sighs, kicking up her heels on Johnny's dashboard. "I can't believe he's really going to marry her."
"What did you expect?" Francis counters, stopping at a red light, looking at her. "Its not like you've professed your undying love for him."
"Like it would matter if I did." Elizabeth mutters, gesturing for him to step on the gas - the light having turned green moments earlier. "Jason's not the type to fall in love."
"I still think if you blurt that little tidbit, you'll rock his foundation." Francis says simply, stepping on the gas and driving into the night. "Better yet, can I tell him?"
"No!" Elizabeth slaps him, knowing he found it amusing. "You won't tell him and neither will I. Jason can never know!"
"Then what are you doing in town?" Francis counters, stopping at another red light. "If you're not back to tell him how you feel, what are you doing here?"
"I need to see it for myself." Elizabeth says simply. "Once he says "I do" it'll be the end of it."
"Wow." Francis shakes his head, stepping on the gas. "You must have said that lie enough times that you actually believe it."
"Oh shut up." Elizabeth mutters, looking out her window. "Just get us back to town."
Francis hid a smirk, knowing that he was wearing her down. No matter what she says and what Jason doesn't, he knows that they love each other mutually, they were both too damn stubborn to admit it. Of course, there's the small obstacle of Sam McCall, but he's working on that too. For someone that wasn't romantically entangled, he sure had a lot of relationships to fix.
While he's planning ways to throw the two together, Elizabeth is thinking back to the memories she shared with Jason. The more she started to feel for Jason, the more she started hanging out with Francis. The moment she fell in love with Jason, she became equally attached to Francis. They stuck by each other so much that everyone thought they were dating. Not that either of them cared, but both found it kind of funny because Jason believed it, too.
"Tell me you've got something hard." Johnny says, bursting through Jason's door. "And take your mind out of the gutter because I didn't mean it like that."
"One...you're the only one who'd think of that." Jason says, taking the bottle from Johnny. "And two, get your own liquor."
"Elizabeth's on a road trip with Francis." Johnny counters, hitting below the belt with that comment. "Still won't share?"
"Screw you." Jason hands him back the bottle, picking up the bottle of tequila and downing some. "You're an ass."
"It got me what I wanted." Johnny shrugs, walking over to sit on the club chair, downing a couple shots at once. "I went out with your sister tonight."
"I know." Jason states, downing more tequila.
"Please kill me."
"I would." Jason says with a shrug. "But you had to bring up Liz and Francis."
"Damn." Johnny downs another shot. "Me and my big mouth."
"You like my sister." Jason points out. "Why are you making it so difficult?"
"Because I like your sister." Johnny says like its obvious. "I suck at relationships."
"You and me both."
A/N: Thank you for the reviews, we hope you keep up with them.
-ROCkER & The Jackal's Vixen-