~ * Small Beginnings * ~

Late into the evening, a knock sounds at his door, causing him to wipe the grime from his hands and toss the stained rag onto his toolbox. Glancing at the clock, Jason Morgan wonders who could be knocking at his door this late in the night. With a heavy sigh, he waits a moment to see if they'll leave but ventures to the door when they knock once again. Pulling it open, he was a little surprised to see his sister holding quite a few bags, instinctively taking them from her to lighten her load. With a glance at its contents, he almost groaned out loud, if not for her interruption with an explanation.

"Grandmother had sent Reginald out to get your things," his sister, Emily Quartermaine, explained carefully. "Mother and Father had no hand in it, promise."

"Right," he replies, though he isn't certain they hadn't suggested their grandmother be the one to do it. "It's late."

"I know," she says with a shrug. "Wasn't tired."

"I'm okay."

"I know that, too...but I still worry." she smiles softly. "I'm your sister, I get to worry."

"True," he accepts, taking the rest of the bags from her to store it in the closet for him to situate later. "But you don't have to."

"Eh, to each their own," she replies simply. "I know it's late, so, I won't stay, but tomorrow..."

"I won't mind the company," he says before holding up his hand when she tries to speak. "As long as it's only you."

"Fair enough," she smiles brightly. "Tomorrow then."

"Tomorrow."

Though the distance between the gatehouse, where he's staying, and the main house isn't quite that far, Jason still insists on accompanying her back. Making sure she's okay, accepting the hug goodbye when they reach the door, Jason waits long enough for her to walk inside before he makes his way back to his place. Though he has been emancipated for over a year now, he still obliged his grandmother's request to remain on the premises until after graduation. Less than a year left to go and he'll be out of that place on his own. He couldn't wait.

Dropping down onto the floor, he goes through the bags of supplies, finding everything he needed. Making a mental note to pay back his grandmother for the money she spent on the items, Jason gets back to fixing up his motorcycle. With school just around the corner, he needs it to be up and running before the first day or he'll be stuck accepting a ride from the family. Something he wasn't about to do. He's already changed the oil and replaced the parts that needed replacing. A few more tweaks and it'll be ready to go.

"What now?" he grumbles to himself as a knock sounds at the door, swearing it couldn't be possible for him to have so many visitors on the same day. "Seriously?"

"Table the I told you so, will ya," Johnny O'Brien replies as he trudges into the gatehouse, dropping his bags just by the door before plopping down onto the couch. "Really thought this time would work out."

"Right," he replies plainly, shutting the door before grabbing them a couple of drinks from the minifridge. "Need anything?"

"Just a place to crash," Johnny admits. "Till I get back on my feet."

"Sure," he says with a shrug. "Pullout's in the closet."

"Thanks, man."

"Sure," Jason nods slightly. "Night."

"Night."

Leaving his friend to his own devices, Jason heads up to bed to call it a night, knowing that his friend needed time alone more than anything. This wasn't the first time that he has needed an escape from his family and he knows it wouldn't be the last, but he still holds out some hope for his friend. Regardless of the hope, he still leaves room for his friend in his place and he'll continue to do so even after graduation. After all that he and their friend, Francis Corelli, have done for him since things got rocky with his family, Jason doesn't see himself turning his back on either of them and vice versa.

"Breakfast?" Emily offers as she pushes a cart of food into the house, surprising him when he sees more food than she usually brings over. "I noticed Johnny's truck when I got up this morning."

"Right," he replies, situating the food onto the dining table. "Thanks."

"Of course," Emily smiles slightly. "Anyway, I was thinking we could spend time at the lake today, what do you say? It's a nice day out and a day at the lake seems like a great way to spend the last weekend of summer."

"Sure," Jason shrugs. "Just us, right?"

"Yeah," Emily assures. "Johnny's welcome, of course."

"Welcome to what?" Johnny questions as he walks into the dining area, plopping down onto one of the chairs as Jason pushes over a plate.

"A day at the lake," Emily explains. "Maybe we can even barbecue...what do you say?"

"Sure," Johnny shrugs, downing some orange juice. "A day at the lake sounds good."

"Great," Emily jumps up from her seat. "I'll get things together for a barbecue. You guys can handle beverages."

"Thanks for the grub," Johnny comments as she gets ready to leave. "It's a great spread."

"You're welcome," Emily smiles softly, a blush creeping at her cheeks before she makes a hasty exit from the gatehouse.

The exchange between his friend and sister left Jason with an odd curiosity settling over him. Though the gears have clearly begun to turn with the two of them, he isn't quite certain either of them knows just what's going on between them. Being the listener, however, and not the busy body, he has chosen to let things play out as they will. Scarfing down breakfast and clearing the dishes, Jason gets back to work on his bike, accepting the help from his friend when offered.

"Carly," Jason says plainly when he pulls open his front door to find her on the other side of it.

"Don't act like you're not absolutely thrilled to see me," Carly says matter-of-factly. "I mean, I am your best friend, after all."

"That job's been filled, actually," Johnny points out. "By me."

"God, I can't believe they even let you past the front gate," Carly scoffs, clearly annoyed with him. "Do they no longer have any standards in this place?"

"I wouldn't say that so loudly," Johnny counters. "If the gate started having standards, you'd never get in to see your precious Jason."

"Enough," Jason states, growing tired with their back and forth. "Why are you here?"

"To celebrate the last weekend of summer, of course," she says as if it were the most obvious thing in the world. "It's our friend-a-versary, silly."

"In other words, a psycho wannabe special occasion cooked up by the town crazy," Johnny counters with a scoff. "You really expect Jason to celebrate a day you made up?"

"No one asked you, leech!" Carly snaps, growing irritable. "This is between me and Jason. So, Jason...what do you say?"

"Can't," Jason replies as he grabs his jacket. "Already made plans."

"Plans? What plans?" Carly questions him as he basically brushes past her, Johnny following after once he locks up the gatehouse. "I've had this day planned for weeks. I told you that. How can you make plans on our day?"

"It's just a day," Jason sighs, stopping to turn to her. "We're leaving."

"And by we, he means us...not you," Johnny voices when Jason climbs into the truck and Carly tries to follow suit. "Better luck next time."

"Jason! Seriously?" Carly shouts out to him as Johnny starts up the truck. "Are you seriously going to leave me hanging?"

Deciding not to fall into that never-ending conversation, Jason gestures for Johnny to take off, knowing he'll most likely hear all about it at school where he has no choice but to listen to her. To keep up their appearances, he has no escape from Carly and he knows she'll use that to her advantage. Leaving that for another day, they head off to the store to pick up the drinks before heading to the lake to hang out with his sister. For most of the day, he leaves the two to their own devices, taking out the jet ski and racing around the lake for hours on end. The only thing he loved as much as his bike was his jet ski. Never gets old.

"Still don't get why Hurricane Carly is still an issue," Emily comments as they sit down for lunch. "I mean, seriously, what do you get out of keeping her around?"

"We all run the same circles," Johnny concedes as he makes a plate. "It may surprise you to know, but some people actually like her."

"That is seriously hard to believe," Emily admits with a sigh before sitting down. "One of the many reasons I'm glad I'm not part of your circle of friends."

"We're an acquired taste," Johnny agrees with a chuckle. "Though we aren't all that bad."

"You and Jason are the only redeeming qualities of that group," Emily counters seriously. "And Francis, of course...other than that...they're hopeless."

"I'll take that as a compliment," Johnny replies simply. "So...it's a no to a group thing, but what would you say to a little one on one..."

"You and me?"

"Yeah," Johnny confirms. "Is that equally as hard to believe?"

"Not at all," Emily says quickly, shaking her head. "I mean...I wouldn't be opposed to such a thing."

"Good to know," Johnny smiles softly. "I'll get back to you on that."

"Okay," Emily says as she prays that her blush isn't too visible upon her cheeks. "Should we call him in to eat?"

"He'll come in when his stomach demands it," Johnny assures her. "Till then, I'm good with it just being us."

"Yeah...me, too."

After a long day on the water, Jason spends some time with them on the shore before heading back to his place to call it a night, needing some time to himself while Emily and Johnny remain by the lake. Getting into the gatehouse, he starts packing his bag with his supplies before tossing it into the closet and heading up to bed. Lowering himself down onto the bed, he pulls out his memory box from where he has stashed it beneath his bed, letting out a deep breath as he lifts the cover.

He doesn't have that many items inside, but the few that reside within it are the things he holds close. Lifting a picture out of the box, he finds himself staring at it for a moment longer than he intended, eliciting a sigh to escape his lips as he places the image back into the box. Seems like a lifetime ago. It was an image taken just before his accident. Back when he had been a different person. A better person by many's standards. By her standards. Shaking his head, he places the image back into the box before closing it back up and storing it back where it belongs.

Less than one year and he'll be out of that place. And maybe, just maybe, out of that town completely. He truly couldn't wait for that to happen.