Hello guys, today's the last day of my MYAs and now that the oh-so-terrible Math paper is OVER, I am finally free to do ANYTHING I like! YES! This rocks! Of course, my Geog marks don't rock, (got them back today and seriously spoiled my mood; I missed 4.0 GPA by 1.4 marks!!) it can't dampen my holiday spirit for long, and here I am!
Disclaimer: I do not claim to own At the Beginning, it was sung by Richard Marx and Donna Lewis and it was with the album of Anastasia (I think).
Chapter 8
"Theresa, what's taking you?" Jay called awkwardly at Theresa's door, hoping she would hear him. She had been spending more than an hour in her room, probably getting ready, and now the prom would be starting in about half an hour's time, and Jay never liked to be late. "Could you hurry a little? Herry and the others have already left!"
"Coming!" Theresa yelled, hurriedly snapping the pin atop her hair. She picked up her handbag, catching a glimpse of herself in the mirror and smiled with satisfaction. Swinging the door open with a flushed face, she grinned at him and said, "Sorry to keep you waiting..."
Her words fell on deaf ears as Jay's jaws dropped and he looked, goggled-eyed at her. She was wearing a glamourous purple gown with intricate patterns at the bottom and she had let her hair down, allowing it to flow down her shoulders in a way that made his dreams come alive. The dress accentuated every curve in her body, and she was just the most beautiful girl he had ever seen. Gosh, if Olympia High had election for Prom Queen, she would have easily taken the title. He was seriously one lucky guy.
Seeing his wide-eyed stare, she laughed, causing him to blush and look away for a second. "You... You look great," he murmured, feeling embarrassed to be caught ogling again.
"You don't look too bad yourself!" she replied with an award-winning grin, taking his arm. He was wearing a creaseless tuxedo, black bow neatly tied, and he looked absolutely perfect, the handsomest guy on Earth, possibly. Suddenly she knew why she had been attracted to him in the first place when they'd first met. Forget the polo shirt and ragged jeans, he looked like the cutest guy on the planet.
Carefully making her way down to the living room while holding the banister, she slipped into her white, high-heeled slippers as she watched Jay dazedly put on his shoes.
Oh, this was going to be a wonderful night.
--
There had been only one thing on his mind that night, and it was the most important of them all. He wasn't worrying about Cronus for once, but he was nervous about something else.
This was his big chance, his big chance to tell her. Tell her that he loved her. And it would be one of his last, too - they were going to be leaving for home soon, and it would be over. No more Theresa, no more chances to tell her, and he didn't want them to drift apart or her to starting dating another guy and worse of all, forgetting him.
Yet then when Cronus had still been around, it had seemed so easy and so simple - defeat Cronus and spill the beans. But now that they've come to that stage, he wondered what was he thinking then - it was nowhere near as easy as he had pictured it to be. In fact, this was worse than asking her out to the prom. Suddenly, fears of rejection were oh-so-evident, and they were stood in his way like a huge boulder in the middle of the road obstructing traffic.
But he had to.
He couldn't let it end this way. Not again. Not where he just merely said, "Hey, Theresa, I'm going to miss you, you've been a great friend, someone I'll never forget." That would be so impossibly fake; it was definitely more than that. He didn't want it as friends, he wanted something more, because he knew he didn't think her as just merely a friend anymore. He loved her...
"Hey, can we dance?" Theresa pulled his arm slightly. They had been standing by the punch bowl for almost ten minutes, and she didn't want to let this enjoyable time slip away.
"Huh? Oh, oh yeah, sure," he replied, smiling back at her, his mind still deciding on a time when he should tell her.
As they took to the dance floor, a new song started playing.
We were strangers, starting out on a journey
Never dreaming, what we'd have to go through
Now here we are, I'm suddenly standing
At the beginning with you
He smiled inwardly, feeling a little nolstagic. It sounded a lot like them - all the Cronus-customed dangers that had lurked at every corner, all those monsters and giants they'd battled and defeated... They had once been strangers who knew nothing about each other, and now, they were the best of friends, dancing together on the dance floor... Who was he kidding? He really did love her.
No one told me I was going to find you
Unexpected, what you did to my heart
When I lost hope, you were there to remind me
This is the start
He had been completely contented with his life before the Cronus saga had begun. He had friends, he had family, he had good grades - what more could he want? He never knew until he met her. He had been attracted to her at first, and surprised to see such a more... feminine girl join the gang. Wasn't this battle against Cronus, a god of time and brutality? His reasoning was not justified, for when he saw her first flying punch, he knew she was more than just a kid with tons of money on her hands to play around with.
When he had lost hope in himself, she had always been there to poke him and encourage him, with all her handy advice and what not. Although he hadn't taken all of it (her advice, he meant), it was still comforting to have someone reassure you that the others were all behind him and that she was, too. She had always been his energy, his strength, his hope, the one who sustained him, and he couldn't deny that.
For all his non-interest in girls, she had definitely sparked something in his heart that had been lying dormant for a while since his painful last break-up with a girl a few years back... And now perhaps he was willing to give love another shot again.
And life is a road that I wanna keep going
Love is a river, I wanna keep flowing
Life is a road, now and forever, wonderful journey
I'll be there when the world stops turning
I'll be there when the storm is through
In the end I wanna be standing
At the beginning with you
She was all he wanted now.
We were strangers on a crazy adventure
Never dreaming, how our dreams would come true
Now here we stand, unafraid of the future
At the beginning with you
She was almost part of his life.
And life is a road that I wanna keep going
Love is a river, I wanna keep flowing
Life is a road, now and forever, wonderful journey
I'll be there when the world stops turning
I'll be there when the storm is through
In the end I wanna be standing
At the beginning with you
A part of his life, a chapter that he never wanted to end.
Knew there was somebody, somewhere
Like me alone in the dark
Now I know my dream will live on
I've been waiting so long
Nothing's gonna tear us apart
If he didn't tell her soon, something would tear them apart. Could he really bear knowing he never tried, never attempted, to tell her - tell her anything at all?
What if she felt the same way? Then they would be missing out on a lot...
But, what if she didn't?
And life is a road that I wanna keep going
Love is a river, I wanna keep flowing
Life is a road, now and forever, wonderful journey
I'll be there when the world stops turning
I'll be there when the storm is through
In the end I wanna be standing
At the beginning with you
"Jay? Jay-ay, are you there? Earth to Jay!" Jay blinked and snapped back to reality. A rather crossed Theresa stood there in the middle of the dance floor, her hands on her hips, and they had stopped dancing. "Would you just stop thinking of Cronus already? I know he's escaped the last time he got in, but then, this is for real now!" Her big deep green eyes filled with hurt for a second as she continued, murmuring lowly, "And I thought this would be one of our last, nice moments. What wishful thinking."
Jay winced, replying instantly. "No, no, I wasn't thinking of Cronus, I was thinking of something else. I... I'm sorry." Oh no, now she had gotten the wrong idea.
But Theresa's eyes still welled up with tears as she looked down. "It's always like this. Cronus this, Cronus that. You know what? I should have known that this would be another one of those times." She bit her lip and whispered, "I'm sick of it." Turning on her heel abruptly and brushing away her tears, she walked right out of the school hall without looking back.
Jay's eyes widened as he watched her walk out of the school hall. Oh gosh. She had gotten the wrong idea totally. He didn't know whether he should go and apologise or if he should actually just leave her be to cool down. He didn't want to face her wrath, for he knew that once she got angry, her rage was pretty terrifying, just like all girls' tempers were. Frowning and stopping to think, he stood right in the middle of the dance floor, not aware that he was looking like a complete and utter idiot.
Life is a road that I wanna keep going on
Love is a river, I wanna keep going
Starting out on a journey
Life is a road that I wanna keep going
Love is a river, I wanna keep flowing
In the end I wanna be standing
At the beginning with you
Jay looked around and suddenly noticed the song had already ended. Had it been that fast? And now it was over.
He didn't think he wanted to go after Theresa. Maybe he should just sit here and wait, wait for her to come back like she always did. Make her suffer and wait for him again... He was such a coward. Standing here, thinking then running away.
"You know what? I think I'll go and find her," Jay thought aloud to himself and turning to go to the door, he noticed Atlanta in her short, green dress and Archie dancing away happily, having a time of their lives. He couldn't help but grin.
Okay, so if Archie could do something like that, then he should have nothing to fear. After all, this was Archie the dork - ahem, the shy friend - he was talking about.
He hurried through the door this time, willing himself not to back away from this.
--
A tiny sob escaped Theresa's lips as she put her head in her arms. She was sitting in the school garden, on that little bench. History had repeated itself, shown to her that she wasn't destined to be with Jay. In fact, just a few days ago she had given up on him, but then he had surprisingly asked her out, and she decided to give him a chance to redeem himself, but... It was all hopeless. His mind would always be on Cronus, even when the latter was locked away, and he would never give her the attention she had come to hope for. And to think she had dreamily spent the whole night before awake and excitedly awaiting for this day to come, and to think that she had specially dressed herself nicely up for him. Because it was never enough.
Ignoring the fact that the hem of her dress was brushing against the light grass below her feet, she leaned back and sighed. Maybe she should just go home. This day had been an utter disappointment, and she didn't want to sit here and wallow in self-pity for the whole night... Knowing Jay, he wouldn't come for her, and she'd just be sitting here like an idiot if she waited for him. Empty hope was something that had already disappeared over the long, endless period of waiting for him, and she knew she couldn't wait any longer. She should just move on and get on with it, and accept the fact that he would never love her...
Shoulders drooping a little, she blinked back the tears that threatened to spill. Thankfully, this night she had opted for the natural look, if not her mascara would have smudged and her entire face would be swimming with the inky blackness of it.
She had just started to stand when Jay came rushing into the garden unexpectedly, making her blink in surprise and raise an eyebrow.
Okay, so maybe she was wrong. So what if she was wrong? Psychics weren't always right, and this mistake of hers was warmly welcomed.
"Look, Theresa, about just now, I'm really sorry, I didn't mean to just drift away like that, it isn't that you don't mean a lot to me, I was just thinking of something important, I'm sorry..." Jay immediately blurted out the moment he rushed to her, a look of panic on his face, as though he was afraid she would eat him up. Seriously, she didn't know that was a good thing or a bad thing, but she decided to take it as good that he had actually showed up and smiled.
"Never mind, it's alright," she said, patting the seat beside her. He sat down, looking rather relieved.
There was silence for a while, and all they did was relish in the peaceful atmosphere and in each other's company. Finally, Theresa asked, breaking the silence, "So then, what were you daydreaming about just now?"
Jay almost fell off the little bench. His head swimming with thousands of possible excuses but not grasping any, he was stunned, shocked and totally unprepared for a question like that. He hadn't even seen it coming. Now what? Stammering, he decided to stall for time. "Um... What daydream?"
He saw Theresa pout and cross her arms. "You know, just now on the dance floor. You spaced out on me. Remember? Hello? We were just talking about that."
Jay gulped, looking away for a second. Should he tell her what had really been on his mind? That would be insane, not to mention embarrassing! Was he sure he wanted to tell her now?
A realisation struck him. I'm trying to escape telling her again. I'm trying to deny my feelings for her again. Jay closed his eyes, breathing in deeply. He should tell her now. Anyway, he had been planning to this night, and after this, they might never see each other again. It was now or never.
"I... I was thinking about how beautiful you look tonight," he started honestly, for once not stammering and making himself look like a fool. "And I was thinking about how much you mean to me, and... And about us."
He could see Theresa's eyes widen and she looked at him hopefully, awaiting those words. Those words that should come next. Suddenly, he knew that she had still waited for him and that maybe, this really could just work out.
And also suddenly, he felt his mouth turn dry and as though his throat was blocked. Trying to get words out, he finally said, "And... And... I... I... I'll really miss you, you've been the greatest friend to me ever."
Wait a minute, what did he just say? Oh great, he had said all the totally wrong words!
Seeing the hope on Theresa's face diminish and her face fall, he winced inwardly and quickly stepped in to say more, "And, I'll never forget a friend like you."
Wrong, wrong, wrong! What was he saying?! Not only had he sounded lame, he had said everything that he hadn't wanted to say! Argh, his mouth - and mind - was betraying him!
Theresa looked up, a sad smile on her face. "Yeah, you've... You've been a great friend too, Jay, I'll really miss you too." Her soft, almost-a-whisper words almost drove him crazy.
Jay almost groaned out loud, but he had to settle for groaning inwardly. He was messing this up again!
Willing himself to set this right, he finally said, "You are a great friend, Theresa, but... But... But..." He knew his face was turning red, but he couldn't help it. He had to say this before she left him without ever knowing that he had loved her. And that would be the worst of them all.
"You're mean much more than that to me."
Her surprised look and blush made him blush harder, but he continued, sighing first to calm himself down and prepare himself for what he would say next.
"Theresa, I love you."
It was quiet for a while, and time seemed to pass so slowly then; a second like an hour. He was frozen, anticipating her possible rejection or some response. He was sure his heart had actually skipped a beat.
Then, he saw a smile spread over her face and she gushed, "Jay, oh, I love you too!"
Heaving a sigh of relief before taking on a grin of joy, he replied with a raised eyebrow, "You... You do?"
Theresa gave him a pointed look that made him cringe and answer his own question. "Okay, you do."
Smiling like an idiot, he thought to himself, now what? He couldn't stop grinning, but he didn't know what to say next. Isn't this the classic, get-together confession scene were a kiss would be needed? Yet he was a bit too embarrassed at this moment to do anything near that. Anyway, he didn't know if she would oblige, but well, he did know he wanted to...
He decided to put the classic kiss idea aside for a while and relaxed, back fully on the bench, as he turned to her. "You know, I was thinking, do you want to stay here at New Olympia for our last year here? I was thinking, maybe, the both of us could remain here for our last year of high school study before leaving for college... Even if Cronus is behind bars and he's going to be staying that way for a long time to come, I... I'll miss you. A lot."
Theresa hesitated. "I don't know, my daddy might want me to come back. Well, but then again, he's too wrapped up in his work to care about anything else at the moment." She looked downcast for a second, then she brightened. "But, well, I've got you!"
Jay smiled back at her gently, his eyes on hers and hers on his. "Yeah, you do."
And they held that same electrifying gaze, neither breaking it. Her face was just inches apart and so near that he would have blushed... But he didn't. Before he knew it, he felt his hand go up to cup her chin gently and his face moved closer to hers, his eyes closing at the exact same time as hers. And then...
His PMR rang, jolting the two of them apart and ruining the moment. He sighed, a little annoyed, as he took out his PMR and flipped it open rather grumpily with an irritated Theresa looking over his shoulder to see who it was.
Odie's face came onto the screen, and he looked worried. "Jay, we've got something big again."
"What is it?! Don't tell me that Archie's kissing Atlanta or something!" Jay snapped irrately. About a few seconds later he felt a little guilty for taking his anger out on Odie and sort-of ridiculing Archie and Atlanta; he had been mean even though it wasn't their fault. He was about to apologize when a peeved Odie continued speaking.
"Well, no, although that would be pretty big too, we have something bigger on our sleeves. Hermes just called, he recieved news from Persephone that Cronus has just mysteriously disappeared from prison!"
"What?!" the couple cried, looking at each other.
Oh, prom was just about the most exciting event in the world, what with confessions, dancing, kisses, and... The god of time.
--
How was that? I was pretty pleased with it because they have finally gotten together. I think this is the one chapter that I made Jay seem OC enough! Hopefully, this will keep you in suspense. Please read and review, I would love that! I will post the next chapter tomorrow, and I have already gotten the last chapter written, strangely so. I wrote the last chapter after I had finished up Chapter 6 before I wrote 7, 8 and 9. There should be two more chapters to go, and then this fic is officially over. That would be kinda sad, I know - this is the first long-story fic I've written, and this one beats all of my records of longest story so far - it has a whooping 3,692 words, which is a lot for one chapter since I usually keep them slightly more condensed. But anyway, hope you enjoyed this!
