Author's Notes: Hello my lovely readers! :) So glad to know that you all are sticking with this story lol. It DOES develop somewhat slowly, but I am pretty certain you will enjoy the rest of it...especially if you are a fan of Taylor Lautner...like me! ^_^

I am now back from vacation (whoo hoo! I loved Southern California!), and so I have a little bit more time to dedicate to my story and writing chapters until I have to move towards the end of the month. Towards the end of June, I may be MIA for a little bit...just warning you!...so, I'm trying to churn out these finished chapters as often as possible before I go into "hermit mode" lol.

Chapter 6... This chapter was a little tricky to write, because it does throw a little "tension" into the dynamic. Call it, a slight "monkey wrench" if you will. I wanted it to be realistic, but yet at the same time not TOO overly "dramatic". I tried putting myself back in the mind-set of being a 15 year old High School student again, going through raging hormones, irrational fears, emotions, and insecurities. I'm hoping that I conveyed those aspects well in this chapter, but I'm not sure lol. I guess hopefully someone will tell me if I went a little TOO over the top haha!

And now, on to my favorite part of the Author's Notes...Dedications! ;)

DEDICATIONS: I just wanted to give a nice shout out and dedicate Chapter 6 to my newest reviewers since my last update! Thank you so much Emily (aka "Taycob Love") for your nice review! I really appreciate it. I would LOVE to be able to post the pictures of my cast here, but this site doesn't really allow for pics or links I've noticed. Hmmm... :-/ Anyway Emily keep the reviews coming! :) I would also like to give a shout out to Vickey! I loved your review! So glad you're enjoying the reading and are getting into it so far. I too like stories that develop somewhat slowly and more naturally. I realize the slow-pacing of this story may drive some people nuts (sorry! lol), but for me, I much rather prefer stories that heat up like a nice warm oven...gradually and consistently. :) So thanks again Vickey! I'll be curious to know your thoughts on future chapters as well. Love you lovely ladies on the TL site (you know which one! ;) lol ).

All of this feedback is sort of forcing me to try to be a better writer and to be more aware of what I write in each chapter.

And as always, any additional reviews/feedback is GREATLY appreciated! ^_^ I may dedicate upcoming chapters to you as well!

Let me try to see if I can post the link (slyly) to my "Cast Page", so that you can see pictures of my "Cast". It may help the story become more real to you once you can actually see PICTURES of the entire cast. :)

TRY THIS-Link: Just copy and paste the link below into your browser... (take away the spaces of course lol)

My Cast...
destinyc1020. livejournal . com (forward slash) 840. html

Let me know if this works! ;)

Much Love,

~Destiny


Chapter 6

Months have passed by.

A new year had finally arrived, and with the new year came the dark, cold and snowy weather. Not quite Crystal's favorite time of year-summer was more her season-but winter break had been nice.

She had spent a lot of her winter break catching up with her girlfriends, going to the movies, going to a sleepover at Alisha's house, and spending time with the family. She was so happy because in a few days Stephanie was coming home from school while on winter break to spend 2 weeks with the family before she had to go back to school on January 25th. It would be nice seeing her sister again, Crystal thought to herself. It had felt like ages since she saw her last. Since last summer to be exact.

On a less happier note, math class had not been the greatest. In fact, algebra had become downright torturous. The last exam that was taken a few days after winter break was abominable.

"A D minus? A D MINUS?", she remembered crying out in shock. How could this have been? She thought for sure she was paying enough attention in class and completing all of the homework assignments. What could have gone wrong?Whatever the culprit was, Crystal was desperate, and she needed to do something quickly if she was going to maintain her 3.5 GPA.

Since Jason had already offered to help her out in Algebra a while ago, she figured, why not take him up on his offer? So, for the past 2 weeks, she and Jason had gotten together every Monday and Wednesday after class so that he could tutor her in math. So far, the tutoring was helping significantly. She was still very rusty and unsure with how to do certain math problems, but she had to admit, her homework was becoming a little easier, and she was remembering more and more formulas now with Jason's help. In addition, Jason had a very patient and simple way of explaining formulas and math concepts that it made understanding what she was learning in class so much easier.

"Oh boy...I think I've had just about enough of x + y = ab crap for today", Crystal put her pencil down on the kitchen table of Jason's kitchen and folded her arms.

"It's a bit overwhelming huh?" Jason asked, visibly seeing the frustration on her face.

"Yeah, it is sometimes. BUT...I have to admit that I am starting to catch on to a few things", Crystal said.

"Oh really?", Jason said, as a smile crept to his lips.

"Yea. Don't get me wrong, it's still challenging and a bit annoying sometimes, but now that you've been tutoring me, it's starting to get a little interesting and...dare I say it? Even a little fun?"

Jason chuckled. "See! I told you it wasn't that bad. Plus, you're catching on pretty quickly. I think you kind of know the formulas, you just have to be more comfortable using them and knowing which formulas to use and when."

Crystal had to admit, Jason seemed pretty knowledgable and confident in the subject of math. Something about that fact made him more intriguing for some reason. But that thought left just as quickly as it had come to her mind.

"Oh gosh, I better use the restroom before my mom comes to pick me up", Crystal immediately sat up after glancing at the time on her cell phone. "Where's your bathroom?" she asked.

"You go out of the kitchen, then make a right and then another right and the bathroom is down the hall on the left hand side."

"Thanks," she said.

As soon as Crystal got up from her seat however, she accidentally knocked over her chair, and the heavy book bag which was hanging on her chair fell to the ground with a loud THUD! Everything came tumbling out of her book bag and on to the floor.

"YIKES!" she screamed.

"Oh wow...that was nice", Jason joked.

"Ugh...I'll just get it when I come back. I don't have time right now", she swiftly said as she ran down the hall to make it to the bathroom in time.

Jason just smirked to himself as he watched Crystal scurry down the hallway to the bathroom in haste. His eyes then turned to the mess made on the floor. Feeling like it was the right thing to do, Jason walked over to the chair and sets it upright again. He then starts to pick up the materials off of the floor that had fallen out of her book bag, and tries to rearrange them to put them back neatly inside the bag.

While arranging her things and putting them back in the bag-pencil case, science book, english book, english notebook-he comes across a pink spiral floral notebook that was smaller than the rest, and was opened to a page in the notebook that had the name "Trevor" on it.

It was a poem! Filled with curiosity and inquisitiveness, Jason takes the notebook and looks closer at it. He knew he probably shouldn't have looked any further, but for some reason, he couldn't put the notebook down. He was very curious and drawn to know just what Crystal's thoughts about Trevor were, and why Trevor's name was in the notebook in the first place. Besides, it wasn't like he didn't know that she liked Trevor, he reasoned. That was a secret that he had kept and swore never to tell, so it was almost like their very own "secret". She wouldn't mind...would she?

After a couple of minutes, Crystal suddenly walked back into the kitchen and saw Jason looking at something intently in his hand. The sound of her footsteps broke his concentration, and he immediately looked up and turned to glance in her direction.

"Soooo...Uhhh...you like to write poetry I see!" Jason joked and pointed to the notebook in his hand.

Crystal was taken aback and confused for a moment. What is he talking about? She wondered.

Then, upon a closer look she noticed that she recognized that notebook. She had seen it many times before. She had written in it many times before. Immediately, her head began to feel dizzy as the blood rushed away from her face when she finally realized what Jason was holding in his hand.

Thinking her reaction was exaggerated and a joke, Jason proceeded to jokingly read a snippet from her poem about Trevor in a mock-romantic way.

"Oh Trevor, my heart stops whenever I see you walk down the hallway...I stop to catch my breath, for it is you and your presence which has ever so stealthily claimed it...", Jason read through stifled laughter.

Crystal couldn't believe what she was seeing and hearing. Filled with rage and utter embarrassment, Crystal lunges forward at Jason and tries to snatch the notebook out of Jason's hands. She was so close to snatching it out of his hands until he playfully moved it away from her grasp.

"JASON! Give it to me! Give it back", she demands.

Jason laughs and tauntingly moves it in and out of her grasp. Crystal is furious and can't believe what is going on. She is completely mortified. Suddenly, she lunges forward again and manages to finally grab it out of Jason's hands. It is then that Jason realizes that Crystal is not laughing.

He could tell by the look on her face that she was upset and that perhaps his actions weren't as funny to her as he previously thought they would be.

"I don't believe you", Crystal said in disbelief.

"Oh...I'm sorry Krista...I thought you would find it funny", Jason says hesitantly.

"Find what funny?, she snapped. "Those were my PRIVATE thoughts Jason. They weren't meant for your eyes, or anybody's eyes for that matter!", Crystal says with a knitted brow. She could hear her voice raising, and could feel herself becoming more and more irritated and annoyed.

"Oh...I just figured that since you knew that I already know about Trevor that it would..."

"That it would what?" she interrupted. "That it would be okay to go snooping around in my stuff?" Her face looked hurt and stern. "Well it's not," She added softly, while putting the remainder of her belongings back into her book bag forcefully.

Jason didn't know what to say. He had messed up badly. Yet he still didn't quite get the answer he had been wanting to know in the first place before he picked up her journal notebook. What WAS it about Trevor?

"Why do you like him so much?" Jason then bluntly asks her seriously.

"What?" Crystal replies, confused as to why he would be asking such a question at a time like this.

"I'm just curious...why do you like Trevor so much?", he asks again. As crazy as it sounded, he just had to know.

"Why not? He's a nice guy..." Crystal responds matter-of-factly.

"Is that it? He's nice?", he probes further, his curiosity deepening.

"I mean, he's not just nice, but he's also popular...and...he's...hot", Crystal looked down as she added the last word with a slight smile.

Jason looks down, and surprisingly for the first time he actually started to feel a little weird sensation in the pit of his stomach when Crystal described Trevor as being "hot". It wasn't quite a feeling of annoyance per se, but for some reason he knew in his gut that he felt the need warn Crystal about Mr. Trevor Davis.

"Yeah, but...ALL the girls like him. He seems to have a LOT of options. Don't you want a guy who likes only YOU? I mean, don't get me wrong, but he just doesn't seem like he's putting forth much of an effort to show YOU exclusive attention, that's all."

"What do you mean by that? Are you trying to say he's a player or something?" she inquired.

"No...not really. I'm just saying that he seems like he has a LOT of options. There's nothing wrong with that I guess...", his voice trailed off, hoping Crystal would get the hint of what he was trying to say.

"Then what exactly ARE you saying Jason?", Crystal snaps, getting increasingly upset.

Perhaps this 'warning' thing wasn't such a good idea after all, Jason thought as he tried to figure a way he could break it to her gently, without hurting her feelings.

"Look", Jason says with a sigh, "I guess all I'm saying is, I think you can do much better than him that's all", he says finally while looking her in the eye.

"Oh..." Crystal says softly, wishing the conversation would just end completely.

"I mean, I'm not trying to ruffle any feathers or anything like that. I'm just being honest", Jason urged. "I'm on the football team with him so I know how he's like. I know what he talks about in the locker room Krista."

"Ugh...okay. You've made your point perfectly clear thank you." Crystal anxiously grabs her bags and her cell phone and eagerly starts looking for her coat. She could feel anger and hurt feelings starting to well up stronger inside of her. I have to get out of here, before I say something that I will regret, she thought to herself.

"I figured you should probably know the truth instead of sugar-coating it. He just doesn't seem like the type of guy you would want for a serious boyfriend, that's all I'm saying", Jason added.

That was it. That was the last straw.

"Hold up...", Crystal snaps and turns around to look at him dead in the eye. "You've only known me for a few months though, so how would you know for SURE what it is I want and DON'T want in a guy?"

How DARE he! Who does he think he is?, she thought angrily to herself.

"I'm just saying you just don't seem like his type...", Jason then stops mid-sentence. He could now see the look of hurt and pain in her eyes. "Look forget I brought it up...okay? I wasn't trying to start anything."

Crystal could now feel hot burning tears starting to form in her eyes.

"Why don't you just say it Jason? You've already alluded to it. You don't think I'm good enough for him do you? You think he'd rather want one of those cheerleaders that always seem to flock and crowd around him like bees to honey I'm sure." Crystal fights back a single tear that has come dangerously close to falling from her eye. She couldn't allow him to see a tear come down her cheek. No, she had to fight it.

Oh boy...what did I get myself into?, Jason thinks to himself; regretting the fact that he even brought up the subject.

"Look I'm sorry...don't cry. Actually I was thinking that you're TOO good for him", Jason reaches out to rub her shoulder.

Crystal slowly pulls away and feels embarrassed that she is letting herself get so emotional in front of Jason.

I must be PMSing! Oh gosh, how embarrassing, Crystal mutters internally.

"Where's my coat?" Crystal asks while lightly wiping tears from her eyes.

"I put it in the coat closet", Jason says while biting his lip and looking at her with concern. Deep in his gut he felt awful. He didn't mean to make Crystal sad. He had never seen Crystal cry before. She was always so happy and care-free. Now, she looked sad and dejected, and he felt partly to blame. An overwhelming urge to make her feel better came over him.

Concerned by her hurt feelings, Jason comes closer to Crystal and tries to give her a hug.

"Look, don't leave like this. Please, let's not leave like this", Jason pleads softly.

Crystal slowly walks away from his grasp and reaches up in the coat closet to get her coat.

"Goodbye Jason", She says sternly.

Jason let out a deep sigh. "Kristaaaa..." Jason says with a groan. He certainly didn't want to hurt her feelings, and he hated to see her so upset.

Crystal puts on her pea coat and heads for the front door to leave.

"Look, let me at least walk you out. I can stay out here with you while you wait for your mom to come pick you up", Jason begs.

"That won't be necessary, thank you" she replies dryly as she makes her way out the door and heads to the driveway to wait for her mom.

Fortunately for her, her mother Lorraine arrived two minutes later and relieved her from such an awkward situation.

On the drive home back to her house, Crystal couldn't fully allow her sadness to show. Her mom had asked her how the studying session had gone, and she had just simply replied: "Fine". She didn't want to go into any other further details about what took place that afternoon. She tried to appear normal, but she knew that deep down her mom was probably wondering what was wrong.

As soon as her mother parked the car in the driveway, she got out of the car, went in the house, and ran straight upstairs to her room. She couldn't contain her tears any longer. It was like a floodgate had been opened and the tears she had been trying to hold back for so long suddenly came rushing through. It was as if the privacy of her room gave her the permission to unleash all of the pent up feelings she had been feeling that afternoon.

The nerve of Jason! How could he be so insensitive? It will be a LONG time before I speak to him again, she thought to herself.

She was mad and frustrated because he had not even taken into consideration her feelings and how she felt about Trevor before exposing his "theories" about him and his "personality". His comments about Trevor came back to her memory like a pack of wild dogs let out on the loose, ready to hunt for the kill. And to think, he had actually insinuated that she and Trevor would NOT be a good match at all! But perhaps what was MOST frustrating of all was the fact that deep down in her heart of hearts, she secretly knew that Jason was probably right. And that little fact in itself annoyed the crap out of her.

Deep down she knew that Trevor was a hot commodity, and she also knew that he DID have a lot of "options". She tried to keep that little tidbit out of her mind whenever she would see him in class, or in the off chance that she would interact with him. She wanted so badly to get to know Trevor more, but how could she if they didn't even run in the same social circles?

So many thoughts were running through her mind as she eventually settled in her room and laid on her bed later that evening after dinner. She felt a little bad for being a drag during dinner earlier, but Jason's comments about Trevor really bugged her that entire afternoon. After dinner, she had gone back upstairs to her room. She didn't really feel like talking to anyone that evening. She knew it wasn't like her, but she felt like it was probably better if she were left alone in her thoughts right about now. Feeling emotional, bloated, and angry while PMSing was NOT a good look at all. It was probably best that she didn't unleash any emotional baggage on anyone at home. No. Right now, she needed to be by herself and with her thoughts.

Perhaps the most saddening part of all was that it finally dawned on her that she and Jason had actually had their first argument with each other that day. She had not expected to get so mad and angry at him. She didn't know what had come over her. The words had just come pouring out!

Ugh...I REALLY have to work on my temper, she thought to herself. She knew that she had the tendency to be a drama queen at times. It was something she always tried to work on. Many times, to no avail.

After contemplating more honestly about the conversation a little more on her bed, she had to admit that deep down, she knew that at the crux of everything, Jason was only thinking about what was best for her. He didn't intend to hurt her feelings, did he? No, Jason wasn't like that. But why would he read her poem about Trevor? What did he find so intriguing about it that he would pick it up and actually read it...out loud? How embarrassing!

The sound from her cell phone ringing soon jarred her out of her thoughts. She looked down at her cell.

Great...it's Jason, she said sarcastically to herself. Although he was the last person she really wanted to talk to right about now, she knew that she had to answer the phone. It was only the right thing to do.

"Hello?" She answered, softly.

"Oh! Hey...Krista...I'm so glad you picked up the phone and didn't just let me go to voicemail", he said sheepishly.

Very funny. Crystal had to smile slightly to herself. Even when she was mad at him, he had a way of being so openly friendly and accepting that she couldn't help but chuckle to herself. She couldn't stay mad at him for too long.

"What do you want Jason?", she asked dryly.

"Look Krista, I just wanted to apologize and let you know that I'm so sorry for looking in your notebook of poetry okay? I shouldn't have done it, and...it was stupid of me, and I really hope you forgive me. I just...I was just curious as to what you had written, especially when I saw Trevor's name on it...I guess I just wanted to know what it was that you liked about him so much..."

He's rambling, but this is kind of fun, she thought to herself. She allowed him to continue on.

"Look, I hope this doesn't ruin your view of me. It was really foolish of me. I'm sorry I even asked you about him, and you're right...I overstepped my boundaries completely when I told you about what I've observed about Trevor. It's really none of my business, and so I just hope you can find it in your heart to forgive me."

Crystal could scarcely believe what she was hearing on the other side of the phone. As much as she had really wanted to rip one into him, she just couldn't possibly do that at this moment. His apology was one of the most sincere and heart-felt verbal apologies she had ever heard from a guy before, and she could tell by the slightly nervous tone in his voice that he was not joking or making a mock apology at all.

Ugh...I can't even pretend to be mad at him for long! What is wrong with me?,
she thought to herself. She was so bewildered.

"Jason..." she began, "It's okay", she said with a sigh. "I mean, it's NOT okay, but you know what I mean. I just...I don't know, I guess I was just a little embarrassed by the whole thing."

"And you had a right to be embarrassed", Jason interrupted. "You were right. I should have never gone snooping around."

"Yeaaahhh..." she uttered slowly in disbelief. She couldn't believe it. Here she was actually agreeing with him, and she was the one who was supposed to be mad at HIM!

"I know it may take some time before you probably feel comfortable talking to me again, but I just hope it won't be too long", he adds gently.

Feeling a little empathetic, she calmly responds, "No..no of course not. I just need some time to get over it I guess. But it's cool."

She couldn't believe she was letting him off the hook so easily! There was just something so genuine and endearing about his voice and about him in general that prevented her from holding a grudge over him forever.

"Whew...okay good", a sense of relief could be heard through Jason's voice. "Still friends?", he asks.

"Still friends", Crystal responds with a light chuckle.