In the hotel room, Cody and D-Bry were destroying me. They had told me that "I should be really honest more often", which kinda maddened me because I was always honest, as far as I was concerned. They never really explained what they meant, but I could only suspect it had something to do with their little hangout with Jon earlier.

Each time I asked them about it, they ignored me playfully. But I didn't seriously have time to enjoy their little practical joke on me or whatever it was.

It did seem that they had no plans of sharing that little info to me.

Crossing my arms, I stood in front of the king-size bed where they lay. "Guys." My voice was thick with warning. I wanted to know it. It'd been a new itch I needed to deal with. Both men didn't even look at me, but the impish smiles on their faces that they tried to stifle were very visible.

What was more annoying was that they were using my stuff; Cody on my PSP, D-Bry reading my hardbound copy of Asylum by Madeleine Roux.

"You guys are killing me," I grumbled and stomped heavily, frustration beginning to set in. When all I heard was a page being flipped and Blink 182's "What's My Age Again" that Cody was playing on Rock Band: Unplugged and nothing else, I lost it. "That's it," I snarled before making my way to Cody's side.

I smashed a pillow in Cody's face.

Surprisingly, there didn't seem to be a violent reaction on Cody's face.

"Can you not?" Cody retorted coolly without meeting my gaze. "I have to beat your record," he added as he focused back on my PSP.

I shifted my attention to D-Bry, who silently enjoyed reading my Asylum.

"Bryan."

He flipped a page. That's it.

I had no choice but to toss the pillow in his face. He didn't freaking react.

I never saw someone no-sell a pillow smash. Bryan Danielson practically no-sold my pillow smash! How dare you, you goat-face.

They were freaking determined not to tell me!

I let out a frustrated growl, feeling defeat. I heard my phone's message alert tone. Irritated, I walked over to the couch where I'd put my phone.

As usual, every fiber of my being grew excited and my blood pumped louder in my veins as I saw that Jon had sent me a message. I opened it.

I frowned at the text.

'I thought we were friends. *sullen pouts*'

Instantly, I imagined Jon's adorable face contorted into such an irresistible pout. How can you not show your face and still be irresistible to me? I honestly found the text message really cute. Having a clue of what this was all about, I knew better than to just stay in my hotel room with these two fagmoes. I wasn't sure, but it seemed kinda urgent. Well, maybe not, but I just felt like I needed to see Jon. I'd already made a beeline to the door when D-Bry finally spoke.

"You've nothing to hide. Remember: Be honest."

I turned and saw him with his eyes still intent on the book, his thick and insane beard covering his neck.

Cody suddenly adjusted himself on the bed. "Nothing to hide, baby girl. Believe that," he said, his voice collected, his gaze on the handheld.

My face pulled into a puzzled expression as I scratched my head. Even so, I actually got what they meant. They're right. That's what I'm gonna do. It won't hurt to let Jon know. And the thought alone already made me feel nervous. Might as well follow my friends' bits of advice.

Even though they weren't looking at me, I gave them a playful but grateful smile. "I appreciate it, barf fags." I walked out the door and readied myself.

After walking for short minutes, I'd miraculously found my treasure… well not really, but I'd found Jon with Colby in the hallway. Without stepping into their view, I leaned against the wall and kinda decided to eavesdrop a little with nothing but the purest intentions of my heart. I wanted to make sure I wasn't going to interrupt any important conversation that might have been going on between him and Colby, and that it was all right to borrow Jon for a moment.

To my delight, it seemed like they were having a good time. Laughing and just pooping one another – nothing but sweet bromance, as some girls would call it. They sounded happy. And then I suddenly realized something – there was something about the cool nighttime and the position I was in now in this hotel, against a wall, hiding, eavesdropping or listening (depending on how one saw it) to Jon and Colby bromancin' each other… It all seemed very familiar. In an instant, the image of that one night in another hotel was vivid in my mind. This night was just very much like that one. The only difference was that they didn't sound drunk tonight. I felt quite sad about the fact that Joe wasn't in the picture. Why does he always happen to be somewhere else and not with the other two? I randomly thought. Nevertheless, I was pretty sure there wasn't any bromance jealousy going on, and I still believed in The Shield.

Glancing cautiously, I saw them sitting on a couch; Colby facing toward my direction and Jon with his back on me. They were both laughing heartily at this point and Jon had to bend over and bury his face into the cushion.

I had an idea.

I slowly stepped into Colby's view, taking advantage while Jon was still face-down to the cushion.

I looked at Colby and held my index finger over my lips, signaling him to keep quiet. He complied and pretended to continue laughing with Jon as I slowly walked over to the couch.

Careful not to make any distracting sound, I inched closer and closer until I was finally standing behind Jon, who now sat back up, his attention still on Colby; fully unaware of my presence.

"Man, that's such a fucking botchamania moment. Does he ever – " Jon trailed off as soon as he felt my tiny hands that I'd softly put over his eyes.

"Guess who," I tried to sound as manly as Andre the Giant. I bit my lower lip to keep myself from laughing. Meanwhile, I was enjoying the sensation that the skin contact was bringing. Jon's eyebrows felt tickly beneath my palms.

"What the…" Jon muttered.

Colby cleared his throat. "Um, hey Jon, I think I heard Joe call me. I'll just go check on him." Ladies and gentlemen, Colby Lopez – Mr. In the Right Place, At the Right Time. I didn't really ask him to leave, but for some reason he just always knew what 'perfect timing' meant. He got up and walked over to me while I still held Jon. Colby ruffled my hair and bent over to playfully smooch Jon on the cheek, which Jon quickly wiped and as he laughingly said "eew". "Don't stay up too late," he said to Jon before finally walking away.

"Guess who," I prompted as soon as Colby disappeared, this time playfully applying a little bit of the late great Paul Bearer's voice.

"Hmm," Jon breathed. "Is this Hornswoggle?"

My mouth fell open upon his lighthearted mockery. "How dare you," I said in my normal voice.

He shrugged. "Oh, sorry. Your hands are the same size as his." His tone was filled with pleasurable sarcasm.

"Guess it right or your sight will forever be obstructed," I challenged him good-naturedly, my hands applying a bit of pressure as I held him.

Jon chuckled brashly. "Impossible."

One minute I was standing behind a seated Jon whose eyes I covered, the next I was being grabbed by the wrist and taken down to the couch by him.

Nevertheless, I landed on my butt safely and I was fine. But as I lay on my back, my eyes meeting with those steel blue ones of his, I had a feeling something was about to go crazy… and even a little fun. There was no missing the mischievousness in that stare.

"All right…" Sensing danger, I held my hands in a time-out sign. "Back off."

Disregarding my plea, Jon grabbed my waist, briskly pulling me closer and attacking my ribs with bone-chilling, skin-crawling, and heart-fattening tickles. Unforgiving tickles that sent me laughing, bringing tears to my eyes all at once.

My cries of playful protest and my efforts to push his hands away were useless. When he probably felt that I'd cried and laughed enough, he finally let me go.

Weak and heartened from Jon's tickles, I sat back up, still laughing. "How dare you do that," I panted. "And how dare you call me Hornswoggle. I'm offended, you know?" I laughed, realizing how messed up I looked.

He curled his lip into a silly smile. And then his expression quickly changed into that jokey, frowning face. "Hey, if there's anyone that should be offended here, it's me." He tried his best to roll his eyes and I don't know why it didn't annoy me at all. Seriously, what girl would hate that face?

"Oh, come on!" I exclaimed with wide eyes, knowing exactly what this was all about.

Teasing me, he looked up to the ceiling in a way a Kardashian girl would and said, "You're not fair. Keeping something from me when I've just shared my problems with you. Thought we were friends."

"Hey now, you see, that's why I'm here, okay?" Come on now, handsome man. Don't make this hard for me and stop being irresistible. "And you think it's fair that you kidnapped Cody and D-Bry to know about that story?"

He pursed his lips, eyes not taking off of the ceiling. "Still. Not fair." He crossed his arms as he made a "hmph" sound.

"All right. Look." Hanging my head low, I sighed. "I'm sorry that I didn't tell you about it. I couldn't seem to do it. And I'm sorry that it offended you, that you think it ain't fair. It's just that… it's really hard for me to talk about it to some people."

I felt him look at me. "I understand." His voice suddenly sounded like a source of comfort. I raised my head back up and looked at him; Jon's dimply, tight-lipped smile was there again all of a sudden, melting my heart like popsicles.

"Do you, really?"

He nodded. Not convinced despite that charming smile, I elected to explain more.

"You know how there are some things in the world that kinda traumatize you, right? That's how it's like with me, honestly. And I hate admitting this to anyone, but I really consider it a more horrifying picture than American Horror Story." Had no freaking clue why I had to sound corny; but then again, it always happened when I was being honest with my feelings. "I seriously can't… Uh… It's just really, such an ugly picture. The way it happened. The way everything felt. It's so painful, that I feel like broadcasting it is like degrading myself." I explained. I was completely embarrassed at this point. I couldn't look him in the eye. I kept my gaze on my lap, fiddling my fingers.

Jon's hand softly clasped my forearm and tugged it lightly. "Come here." I felt my hairs raise and dance. He had me scoot closer to him so that the space between us was gone. Lifting my chin, he began brushing my hair smoothly, as though to fix it in place (since it must've looked like a mess after his little tickle-attack on me). "You don't have to tell me the whole story if you can't," he said, tucking a few strands behind my ear. "Your friends have told me, and I really understand. Seriously." I looked at him and his eyes held concern… it touched me.

I looked away and buried my face in my hands. "This is embarrassing. It's… it's something other people shouldn't know about." I felt uncomfortable.

"Hey," he whispered. "Come on, I'm not other people now, am I?" He gently pulled my wrists so he could see my face.

I gave him a weak smile.

"Listen to me," Jon said, his voice mellow and consoling. "What happened to you – that's all done. And yes, the past is an asshole most of the time. It doesn't die easily and it always reminds you that it once ruined you. But trust me, that's all it can ever do to you, nothing more."

I couldn't bring myself to react. I was being completely enthralled by him.

"Let me ask you this," he said, licking his lips before continuing, "do you still have feelings for him? After three years?"

I paused for a second and let my eyes wander. "I… Um, well. It still hurts when I think of what he'd done." He scowled at me and that certainly told me that he wasn't taking that as an answer to his question. I sighed. "I don't, anymore. I guess I'm just afraid now."

"Let me guess, that's what Cody and Bryan have always been telling you, too?"

I nodded. "But can you blame me? After that, I felt like nobody cared about me. Exaggerated, yes. But that was just how it felt like."

"Jill, that was just a chapter in your life. It doesn't have the power to degrade you or anything. I don't think you have a clue of how strong you are. Seriously. You got screwed, and you didn't deserve that, Jill. And he sure didn't, and never ever will, deserve you." He began brushing my hair again. "That pain needs to go. You need to overcome that fear. Give chances to things and people that just might be able to really help you."

I had never heard him speak like this, ever. The sincerity flowing out of his words was enough to pinch my heart, and when I felt my eyes starting to get warm and watery, I blinked a few times. "I don't think I can properly react." I laughed. "You've no idea how you're making me feel so much better now."

He laughed softly. "Hmm. Why do I feel like this has already happened before?" He grinned impishly, and I knew right then what he was talking about.

"You're kinda right." I chuckled. "Same hotel ambiance. Same time. Yeap, this is deja vu."

"The only difference is that you're the who's opening up now." He rubbed his eyes.

"And you're not drunk." I grinned.

He laughed heartily at this. "Well, yeah. No booze this time."

For a few moments we were both silent...

Until Jon cupped my chin in his hand, making me look at him. His actions were quite surprising me. "I want you to trust me, all right? Trust me like how I've learned to trust you. I want us to trust each other. Because we can."

And just what kind of electric waves had been surging through my heart upon hearing him say that? Without breaking eye contact, I said, "I couldn't agree with you more. Thank you." I smiled.

He softly released my chin. "It's gonna be a long, long journey for the two of us now, I'd like to think."

I furrowed my brow. "What do you mean?"

He leaned back against the couch and stared at the wall across. "Since we met, I just realized… we never really stopped encountering each other. Strange." He was smiling, teeth showing. Oh my gosh, you're right. "And now we'll be working more closely with each other. Remember what Stephanie told us? We're gonna have to stay close to each other from this point on?"

I chuckled. "Yeah. She's right. You're right."

"So yeah, we, trust each other. Okay?" He looked at me. I nodded and smiled reassuringly. "And one more thing." He blinked a few times. "Don't ever think that nobody cares about you. Because I do."

My heart soared. I felt my lungs go Fandangoing.

"Thank you," I replied sincerely. I was hesitant at first, but I managed to lightly caress his knee. "I do, too. I care about you."

Surprisingly, he put his hand over mine. Oh, the magical waves crashing inside my body…

"Glad to hear that." He ran his thumb smoothly across my knuckles. "Trust me when I tell you, history will not repeat itself. And you won't have to cry to Stephanie like she tells you to." I was overwhelmed by how much promising Jon sounded.

After a few moments, I said, "I trust you. I know I can trust you, and I will."

And feeling the heat in my face get more unbearable with every stroke of his finger, I shyly, slowly pulled my hand back and smiled at him.

That night, I didn't expect to experience a heck of a hard time sleeping. I couldn't make the very vivid image of my conversation with Jon disappear in my head. The thought had kept me up and more than awake.

That conversation was something I had to ponder. When I'd gotten that text message from him and decided that I needed to go talk to him, I never really expected it would turn out the way it had. I mean, if there was one thing I was sure of, it was the fact that our conversation comforted me and lifted my spirits, gave me a fresher, positive vibe, even.

But what I couldn't stop thinking about were his few final words. He wanted me to trust him. He'd said he cared about me. These were pure music to my ears. I never meant to assume things, but I couldn't help... thinking that... maybe ... maybe Jon...

Stop.

Dang conflicting thoughts. Then again, maybe Jon was just really a concerned friend. Yeap, that's it. That's all.

But there was still one thing I couldn't stop thinking about. His other statement.

I couldn't quite fully comprehend why he'd told me to trust him when he told me that "history will not repeat itself". I couldn't... even... explain.

By the way, I think I'm falling. Hard. I just think so.

That last thought of mine strangely scared me, to the point that it powerfully sent me to sleep. Oh gosh.

A/N: What the heck is Jon's deal leaving all those mysterious hints and stuff? Jill's head won't stop working overnight! Poor brain. XD