Author's Note: Ok I am glad you liked the last chapter cuz I spent lots of time on it. Well I hope you all like this chapter too, I am sorry i took so long. Please Read and Review.
PS: Thank you Cataclysmic.Devotion for helping me proofread this chapter and the chapters yet to come it really helps me out and I hope its not to much trouble.
PSS: I am going to use a song in this chapter. It is called "Just So You Know" by Jesse McCartney.
Lyrics.
Breaking Away
By
Shorty6692
Jenna pulled away from the blonde boy infront of her, wiping stray locks of hair from her face. Looking up at him, she saw how blue his eyes were; they were seemingly endless.
He had come here just to help her, and she was bewildered, it felt awkward talking to someone about it. She still didn't trust him completely. Her mind was telling her to pull back and shove him away, but her heart told her otherwise. Maybe sometime she might be able to trust again. But not today... not just yet.
"Are you ok?" Reid whispered, still gripping her shoulders.
Nodding, she slowly crawled up onto her cramped legs. She stumbled slightly and could feel him grasp her frame firmly to keep her from falling. He smelled of pine trees and wood smoke, and surprisingly enough, she liked that.
"Thanks..", she whispered, glancing up at his features.
Reid grinned as he released her from his grip, letting her stand by herself.
"Wouldn't be the first time I caught you when you were about to fall." he exclaimed, hoping to lift her spirits alittle bit.
She managed a weak smile, before stating, "I think you should go."
"Oh... OK if you want me too..." he answered, trying to hide his disappointment.
"No, its not that... It's just you probably have better things to do..." Jenna explained, seeing his expression.
"Well, it is Tyler's Birthday, so I was invited to go a party at his place." Reid, stated bringing his hand behind his head.
Jenna nodded, assuming that he had only come here out of sympathy before going a party. She felt her heart constrict painfully at the thought.
"Um Jenna..."
Looking up at him, she responded, "Yeah...?"
"Um I was wondering." he said, a small red tinge appearing in his cheeks, "Do you want come with me?"
Shocked at his question, she studied him to see if he was just asking out of pity. After of few minutes of silence she came to a conclusion.
"You don't have to be nice and bring me along. It's alright..." she explained softly, looking at her feet.
Reid was stunned, he wouldn't have asked if he didn't want her to come. Slowly he lifted her face up to look at him, and replied.
"But I do want you to come Jenna..."
She gazed at him, blushing a dark crimson. "Um OK." she responded, alittle reluctantly at the thought of another party.
He studied her expression, seeing the wariness in her eyes. "You don't have to come if you don't want too."
"No, no, its fine." Jenna responded, trying to reassure him... and herself.
"Alright..." he replied, still not convinced, "Did you want to get changed or something?"
"Sure..."
-------------RJ-------------
Reid took a seat on the edge of Jenna's mattress and waited patiently for her to come out of the bathroom. Looking around the room, he noticed it was bare excpet for the furniture and a few lonely suitcases located at the far corner of the room. He also thought about his discussion with Jenna.
She had told him about the crash, but he could tell that she hadn't taken away her defences entirely.
Slowly... Very slowly, he was chipping away at her grief stricken walls, helping her to break back into the Jenna before the crash.
Finally, the door to the bathroom opened, and out stepped a refreshed Jenna. Reid gazed at her, his mouth gaping.
She wore a jean skirt that went up to the knees, a maroon T-shirt with ribbons coming out both sides, and she also sported a red scarf, and brown boots. Her hair was up in a side ponytail, she wore absolutely no make-up except for a shimmery gloss that covered her rosy lips.
Jenna saw the look on his face, but was completely oblivious to what it meant. "Are you alright Reid?"
Shaking his head, he looked away slightly embarrased, "No..." he got to his feet and walked to her, taking her hands in his, "You look beautiful."
Blushing she looked away, uncomfortably taking her hands from his grip and nervously saying, "We... we should go.."
"Sure." he said, surprised at her reaction.
-------------RJ-------------
Jenna avoided walking to close to Reid, for fear that he might try to grab her hand again. It wasn't that she didn't want him to, it was just that she still had the picture of James in her head, and she was frightened.
Soon the two teens were driving past the landscape, Jenna watched as pine trees and houses zoomed past her window. The sky was ink-like in color, and little sparkling orbs were scattered throughout the sky. She felt the sudden urge to reach up and try to touch it.
"Diana is going to be there."
Jenna regarded him noiselessly, then nodded her head looking at the black dashboard infront of her.
Finally Reid's truck pulled into a crowded driveway of a large house at the end of the block. Exiting the vehicle Jenna studied all the cars in the area.
'Some birthday party.' she thought following Reid into the front hall of the home.
Dozens of kids were crammed into the hallways and rooms of the building, all of them seemed to be holding drinks in their hands and talking or dancing with friends. It was stifling hot and the air was heavy with breath. Coughing softly she followed him into what must have been the living room of the house. He waved at a brown haired boy Jenna reconized as the one of the people who had been in the Reid's room when she passed out.
"Tyler!" he exclaimed, to the boy who was surrounded by a group of people, "How's the party so far?"
The young boy looked up and smiled at his best friend, breaking away from the crowd he walked up to the two teens; thats when he noticed Jenna standing not far behind Reid. A surprised expression appeared on his features then he smiled widely and strolled over to where she stood watching.
"Hi Jenna!" he stated, grinning at her, "How are you feeling?"
"Fine.." she answered shyly, not being able to prevent the smile that crept onto her features. Why was he being so nice to her when he had so many other people here. She barely knew him but something gave her the feeling that he was kind and caring.
"Do you want some punch or something?" he asked politely, gesturing to the kitchen.
"Um, no thanks." Jenna answered, and watched him nod and walk away, leaving her to stand by herself.
Looking around she saw Reid conversing with a group of friends not far away, and some other faces she reconized from her classes. Suddenly a very familiar voice rang out behind her.
"Jenna?"
Twirling on the spot, Jenna came face to face with Diana, who stood staring at her in shock. Her face turned from surprise to joy in less then six seconds and the next thing Jenna knew she was being embraced tightly in a huge bear hug.
"I missed you so much Jenna!" she stated, finally releasing her the embrace, "How did you get here?"
"Um... Reid brought me." she explained, still recovering from the sudden lack of oxygen.
"Really." she said, the corners of her mouth curving up into a sly smile, "Well, I am glad your here anyway."
Again she gave Jenna another smaller hug, before she grabbed both of her hands and led her toward the kitchen saying, "I have to introduce you to some people."
Eventually, after being pulled through huge crowds of people, Diana brought her face to face with a familiar group of teens; they had all been in the Reid's dorm with her.
"Jenna I would like you to meet, the Son's of Ipswich," she stated, pointing out the three men, looking curiously at her. "Well excluding Reid of course."
"What are you talking about cousin, I don't miss anything that involves being introduced to a pretty girl."
Jenna circled and was startled to come face to face with a certain blonde boy. Smirking he came up to her and put out his hand and exclaimed jokingly, "Hello my name is Reid Garwin, and you are?"
Blushing hard, she looked at him confused.
She could here the girls behind her giggling, and the boys chuckle softly at Reid's game.
"Reid stop it!" exclaimed Diana, swatting playfully at her cousin's shoulder.
Dropping his hand he grinned at her and went to stand by his friends.
"Well now that is over and done with, let me introduce you to the rest of the gang." Diana exclaimed clearing her throat to get Jenna's attention. "Well that's Caleb Danver, Tyler Simms, and Pogue Parry."
Jenna looked at the boys who were being addressed, they looked like nice enough people. But then she noticed the two girls that were in the group the blonde and the dark brunette.
"And that's Kate, Pogue's girlfriend and Sarah, Caleb's girlfriend." Diana explained, seeing Jenna glance at them.
"Hi Jenna, how are you feeling?" asked Sarah.
"Um... Fine I guess." she answered shyly.
The group then fell silent, not sure what to say next. Soon Sarah and Caleb left to dance followed quickly by Pogue and Kate.
Jenna watched as the couples on the dance floor swayed with beat with the song, all of them were smiling and laughing with their partner. Suddenly heard someone clear their throat behind her; turning she was surprised to find Tyler standing there.
"Do you want to dance?" he asked, smiling at her.
Registering his question, she was stunned as to why he would ask her to dance, there were tons of much prettier girls on the dance floor. But before she could answer a face popped into her mind.
Reid.
Why would she be thinking of him? Shoving the image out of her mind she answered. "Um... alright."
Gently, he reached for her hand and led her toward to where everyone was moving to the music. A soft song was playing and everyone was holding their partners close as they swayed in sync with the music.
Tyler led her to the middle of the dance floor and carefully pulled her against him, and placed his hands around her slim waist. Jenna didn't like the closeness of their bodies but thought it would be rude to pull away.
But little did she know that someone was watching.
-------------RJ-------------
Reid watched as his best friend led Jenna onto the dance floor, and placed his hands on her hips. A unexepected hurt feeling coursed through his body when he witnessed the scene in front of him.
He felt... well... he didn't know the right word. But he had the feeling that he should be the one who Jenna leaned against.
I shouldn't love you but I want to
I just can't turn away
I shouldn't see you but I can't move
I can't look away
Reid was standing against the wall of the kitchen, hands behind his head watching as his friend danced with Jenna. He tried to push that nagging thought aside but it kept returning, popping into his mind like a boomerang. No matter how many times you throw it, it will always come back.
And I don't know how to be fine when I'm not
'Cause I don't know how to make a feeling stop.
'Why did it have to a soft song anyways?' he thought angrily, seeing how close the two bodies were. Involuntarily he imagined what it would be like to be that close to her. The smell of vanilla and lavender entered his mind, and the way her body felt against his. But then he shook his head and wondered what was wrong with him, she was just a girl, he had spent so much time with tons of others, why did this one make him feel this way?
Just so you know
This feelings taken control of me
And I can't help it.
I won't sit around, I can't let him win now
Thought you should know
I've tried my best to let go of you
But I don't want to
I just gotta say it all
Before I go
Just so you know
He was supposed to help her live, nothing more, nothing less. Part of him wanted to just get the job over with and then go on with life, but a bigger part wanted to be with her all the time, and never let her go. Reid felt a tug at his heart, and it caused tears to sting at his eyes.
Its geting hard to be arond you
There's so much I can't say
Do you want me to hide my feelings
And look the other way
And I don't know how to be fine when I'm not
Cause I don't know how to make the feeling stop.
He couldn't take his eyes off her, she looked so... different... But he also noticed how her body would suddenly tense up, like she wasn't sure of something.
'Maybe she just doesn't like the song?' he thought, as he saw Tyler lift his hand to her cheek and wipe a few stray locks of hair away. He felt angry at his friend, though he was doing nothing wrong.
Just so you know
This feelings taken control of me
And I can't help it.
I won't sit around, I can't let him win now
Thought you should know
I've tried my best to let go of you
But I don't want to
I just gotta say it all
Before I go
Just so you know
This emptiness is killing me
And I'm wondering why I've waited so long
Looking back I realize
It was always there, just never spoken
I'm waiting here...been waiting here.
Pushing himself off the wall, he walked onto the dance floor toward the couple, the song was finally ending and the dancers were beginning to disperse. He had decided instead of moping around and waiting for life to get better he would put fate into his own hands and do something about it.
Just so you know
This feelings taken control of me
And I can't help it.
I won't sit around, I can't let him win now
Thought you should know
I've tried my best to let go og you
But I don't want to
I just gotta say it all
Before I go
Just so you know (Wo-o-o-o)
Just so you know (Wo-o-o-o)
I thought you should know
I've tried my best to let go of you
But I don't want to
I just got to say it all
Before I go
Just so you know
Just so you know
-------------RJ-------------
During the entire dance, Jenna was startled to find herself comparing almost everything about Tyler to Reid. He wasn't quite as tall as Reid, and Tyler's body felt foreign compared to Reid's. But the last thing she thought was that he smelled different, like men's cologne and new clothing. She didn't like it very much, she found that it wasn't... natural.
Eventually the song came to an end, and the two broke apart.
"Did you want to dance with me for the next song?" he asked, looking at her expectantly.
"Um, I..." she stuttered, again the image of Reid entered her mind. But then she noticed that Tyler was no longer looking at her but at something behind her, and before she could turn to look a familiar voice stated:
"I think its time for Jenna and me to leave."
Reid had appeared out of nowhere and didn't exactly look happy, he was scowling at Tyler.
"But you just got here." Tyler exclaimed, confusion appearing on his features.
Gripping Jenna's hand tightly Reid escorted her away from Tyler and toward the exit, shouting back to his friend.
"Tell the others goodbye for us!"
The door slammed shut behind them and he trudged across the yard, dragging a confused Jenna behind him.
"Reid what is wrong?" she questioned, pulling her wrist out of his hold, and forcing him to halt to look back at her.
"Nothing, can you just please get into the truck." he explained, through clenched teeth.
Still not convinced, she reluctantly obeyed, opened the passenger door and climbed inside. Reid hopped inside and slammed the door shut with such force that it shook the entire vehicle. The truck roared to life and he hastily pressed on the gas, pulling quickly out of the drive.
After several mintues of silence, Jenna saw Reid's expression slowly relaxed and he calmed down immensely. She was still shocked by his actions, but was happy to be away from the crowds and loud noises.
The only sound to be heard was the roar of the engine and the slow steady breathing of the occupants. Jenna listened to Reid exhale loudly, and saw him glance in her direction out of the corner of her eye. Fiddling with the hem of her T-shirt, she didn't notice him turn onto a dirt road that led into the Dells, when she finally looked up they were half way into the forest and it was almost pitch black from the crowns of the elm trees that hid the light of the full moon.
"Where are we going Reid?" she asked, looking at him curiously.
"You'll see." he answered, grinning at her.
She felt alittle uneasy, but something inside told her that she shouldn't be.
Finally, after driving much farther into the trees, Reid stopped the truck and opened his door, gesturing for her to follow him. Stepping out Jenna gasped as she viewed the landscape before her.
They stood in a forest clearing, soft emerald grass covered the forest floor like a blanket, lush elm and blackwood trees seemed to be guarding the landscape, It was a truly magnificent place. But what was really wonderful was how the moon light broke through the leaves in the trees, sending beams of moon light into the clearing. It cast a luminous glow around the entire area.
"Do you like it?" Reid asked, seeing the amazed look on her face.
"It's beautiful..." she answered in awe. "But why did you bring me here?"
"I have never brought anybody here to be honest." he replied, opening the truck door and leaning inside, "I thought you might like it."
Walking further into the lucious grass, she held out her hand, watching as the moonlight reflected off of her ivory skin. Jenna half expected to feel something when she put it into the beam of light.
Suddenly she heard soft music playing from the truck speakers, turning she saw Reid emerge from the vehicle and saunter toward her.
"Ms. Duursma would you give me the pleasure of having this dance?" he asked extending his hand out to her.
"Um..." she stuttered, the effect of the landscape wearing off to be replaced with confusion and wariness, but then she thought that it was only a dance, "OK."
Reid pulled her close to him, and wrapped his strong arms gently around her waist. Nervously she brought her hands on his shoulders, trying to ignore the fact that their was little space between them.
His arms wrapped around her body, his warmth pressing up against her like a security blanket. Jenna felt strangely safe and secure, something she hadn't felt for a long time. But still a strong thread of doubt and uneasiness tugged at her body.
Reid felt his heart beat faster in chest, and hoped she couldn't feel it. He layed his lips onto the top of her head and pulled her as close to him as he could. Her body seemed to fit perfectly with his, as if they were two pieces of a puzzle.
Beams of light shone down on the teens, on their clothing and skin. Jenna looked up and noticed how Reid's blue eyes reflected the moonlight, she could see different emotions swimming in his cerulean irises. Concern, confusion, gentleness, happiness and many more she couldn't name.
He felt her shift slightly in his hold, looking down at her he noticed she was gazing at him. But surprisingly her eyes weren't sad or angry, but frightened and confused.
Slowly she pulled away from Reid, turning her back to him, and crossing her arms over her chest protectively.
"Reid..." she whispered, still not looking at him.
"Yeah?" he asked, confused by her sudden withdrawal.
"I'm scared.."
"Of what?"
He heard a small sob emit from her frame, though he saw no tears. After several minutes of silence, finally she answered.
"I... I'm scared...to feel."
"What does that have to do with anything Jenna?"
"Everything!" she exclaimed, turning to face him.
He stared at her in astonishment. What was she talking about.
"I don't know what to do Reid..." she continued, looking at her feet, "I am feeling things that I haven't felt in a long time, and it hurts."
"I'm sorry Jenna." he replied, not sure what else to say. He wasn't used to having to help people with their problems, he was barely sure of coming to her room earlier that day. He was not good with emotions.
"No... I'm sorry..."
The two stood in silence, the only sound was the slow steady rythm of the slow song, what was a beautiful, lush landscape was now tainted with fear and sdaness.
"Can we go back to the school." Jenna asked, looking away from him.
"Sure, come on."
Slowly, Jenna and Reid walked to the truck, talking or even glancing at eachother; Spending the remainder of the trip in complete silence.
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Author's Note: Oh I hope you all like this chapter, I had gotten some reviews telling me that Jenna and Reid's relationship was rushed so i hope this is better. But that is for you to say, so tell me what you think by Reviewing. By the way if you would like to see what the forest clearing looks like check out my profile.