Note: Usually after I post a chapter, I can't work on that story for at least two days. But for some reason, this happened. I think I'm subconsciously trying to get these chapters out faster so that you guys won't lynch me for the 'slow build until it all explodes' game plan I've got going on.
Chapter Nineteen
She woke up with sunlight pouring in through her window and shifted groggily, lifting herself onto her elbows. Sprawled underneath her, looking as if he belonged right there, was Jason. His large frame took up most of the space on the couch despite the fact that he had thrown one long leg over the back of the sofa to afford them more room, and Elizabeth was nestled comfortably on top of him.
He always looked so peaceful when he slept, and he looked peaceful now even though he couldn't possibly be comfortable. Jason must have sensed her scrutiny because he gradually drifted awake, smiling slowly when he woke to her big blue eyes. It wasn't the first time he had awoken next to her and he was once again struck by how right it felt.
"You stayed," she smiled, her eyes glittering from under a curtain of chocolate silk.
Jason's eyes softened and he lifted one hand to brush her hair back, lingering on her petal-soft skin. "I told you I would."
She accepted that with a broad smile and a light blush. Neither made any move to get up despite the fact that it was late. Jason's large hand was splayed out low against her back and he rubbed broad circles across the thin sweater she still wore.
"How do you feel?"
The brunette lifted one shoulder lazily, kicking her feet in the air and showing no intention of moving off of him. "Not too bad."
Amusement kicked up the corner of his mouth. "No killer hangover?"
She rolled her eyes. "Jason, I wasn't that drunk – I was a little buzzed." Elizabeth stopped for a minute, then giggled.
"What's so funny?"
"I was just thinking – the only time I have a real, honest conversation with you is when there's alcohol is involved. That doesn't say very much for our friendship."
He chuckled and shifted underneath her. "Did you mean it?"
"Hm?"
Jason's finger tickled the underside of her jaw as he peered up at her, curious to see how much she remembered. "What you said last night."
The smile drifted off her face and she gazed down at him soberly. "I meant it."
"So did I."
"Oh, look, Stefan, it's the graduates." Bobbie Cassidine was all grins as Elizabeth, Lisa, Jen, and Penny came down the stairs to start their day. Jason followed close behind, pulling his keys out of his pocket and ready to spend another day working on getting the garage back up. He had furniture to buy and final electrical plans to look over, and with a little luck and elbow grease he'd be able to move into it in little more than a week. Luke had taken over permanently until Bobbie hired another cook, and things had been going very smoothly for a while. "Aren't they lovely, Stefan?"
The girls blushed and rolled their eyes as the Greek businessman laughed. "You ladies should be very proud of yourselves," he informed them seriously. "Graduating is no small feat, and I offer you heartfelt congratulations."
This only prompted more blushing, and the girls thanked him before quickly getting ready for another workday. Lisa and Jen started pouring coffee while Elizabeth absently took a seat at the counter, frowning as she checked her voicemail. Jason sidled up behind her and quickly snagged a cup for himself, glancing at his watch and then the petite brunette.
"What's wrong?"
She was staring at her phone with a troubled look on her face. "That was Emily."
"What happened?"
"Johnny's father got into an accident on the farm and they had to leave in the middle of the night to get down there to him." Her large eyes were sad and anxious. "Gosh, I hope he's okay."
"Did they say what kind of an accident?"
"Something about barbed wire," she replied, reaching for her hot chocolate. "I'm not sure, but Emily said he didn't break anything, he just lost some blood."
"He'll be fine," Jason assured her. "It'll be okay."
"I hope so," the brunette sighed. "Well, I guess they won't be back by the day after tomorrow. I had their tickets and everything." She shrugged and slid off the stool but not before giving him a questioning look. "Hey, what are you doing Saturday morning?"
"Nothing much."
Hope shined in those magical eyes. "Do you…gosh, I meant to ask you this a while ago but chickened out. Do you think maybe…you'd like to come to my graduation?"
The mechanic smiled easily and set his empty cup on the counter for Lisa to toss into the dishwasher. "I'll be there, Elizabeth."
A brilliant smile bloomed on her face and the petite brunette was throwing her arms around his neck before he could blink. "Oh, thank you, Jason! At first I didn't think you'd want to so I didn't ask, but thank you so much! I'm so glad!"
He wrapped an arm around her waist and buried his nose in her dark hair. "Wouldn't miss it."
Graduation gowns had always been notoriously ugly since the dawn of man and institutions of learning, which was why Jason could not for the life of him figure out why he thought Elizabeth looked gorgeous anyway.
She wore a brilliant smile as she got up from her seat and walked across the stage to accept her diploma, and Jason couldn't contain his own smile when she met his eyes directly and flashed him a gigantic grin. He clapped louder than he remembered clapping for anything before, and the little minx shot him a quick wink right before she claimed her seat.
He rose to his feet as the graduates tossed their caps and then the ceremony was over. All guests and students were ushered outside into the beautiful courtyard to meet up, and Jason absently popped the third button of his dress shirt as he stepped into the sunshine, looking for Elizabeth. He spotted Lisa and Jen with several members of their family, and quickly congratulated them before resuming his search.
He spotted her under a weeping willow tree a few yards away and managed to maneuver his way through the thick crowd. He was just about to call out to her when a young man with curly brown hair and a dark suit stepped in front of him and made a beeline for the little brunette. Jason watched, confused, as Elizabeth's eyes lit up and she launched herself into the man's arms. He picked her up and whirled her about, making her squeal, then gave her a big bear hug and a kiss.
His sandy brows furrowed and Jason pushed through the crowd. Elizabeth was in mid-sentence when she spotted him, and a beautiful smile bloomed on her face.
"Jason!" In an instant, she was out of the interloper's arms and in his own, pecking his cheek and wrapping her arms around his shoulders. He hugged her back while quirking a somewhat defiant brow at the curly-haired man, who stared back with confusion. "There you are! I'm so glad you came – thank you!"
"I told you I wouldn't miss it for anything," he replied in a tighter voice than usual. The brunette grinned brightly up at him, one arm around his waist and the other hand splayed across his chest, before she remembered that they had an audience.
"Oh, Jason, you have to meet someone," she said, turning her sparkling eyes on the other man but remaining in his arms. The mechanic tightened his hold on her waist, curious to know who the stranger was. "This is my brother, Steven Lars. Steven, this is Jason Morgan."
Relief flooded through him and Jason grasped the older man's extended hand. "Nice to meet you, Jason," Steven smiled, tipping his head. "I'm sorry; I guess I took both of you by surprise. You obviously have plans, so-"
"Don't be silly, Steven," Elizabeth admonished, smoothing her hand down Jason's arm and twining her fingers with his. "I never see you anyway, and I'm thrilled you could stop by." She turned her doe eyes on Jason, explaining, "Steven's a doctor downstate and he's on his way to Mercy – it's Mercy, right?"
Her brother nodded, stuffing his hands into his pockets. "Yup. I have to be there in a couple hours, so I figured I had time to see my baby sister graduate. I know I didn't call; I was planning on surprising you. But, please-" He gestured to the two of them and their linked hands. "-If you have plans, don't let me keep you."
"Steven, you just got here," Elizabeth frowned. "We haven't even had a chance to catch up."
Jason glanced down at the petite brunette. The disappointment in her voice was evident, and now it was his turn to step up to the plate. "Actually, I was going to take her out to lunch, and it'd be great if you came with us."
Elizabeth's eyes lit up and she squeezed his hand, looking up eagerly at her big brother. "Yeah, come with, Steven."
The doctor shrugged, smiling. "How can I resist that offer? Let's go."
The brunette was grinning broadly, and she quickly handed her cap and her diploma cover to Jason. Taking a step back, she pulled her blue gown over her head and stuffed that in his arms, too. "Great – Jason, can you hold these for a sec? I have to go get some stuff, and then we can go."
He nodded and watched her disappear into the throng of people to retrieve her purse and other effects from the student lounge. Steven watched, a hint of a smile curving his lips, as Jason folded up the robe and tucked it under his arm. He hadn't been around much while Elizabeth was growing up; he was too busy getting through college, studying for board exams, and then doing his residency. He missed out on getting to teach his sister how to drive, and he was unable to threaten to pound the crap out of her prom date. He didn't really know much about her love life or who her friends were, but Elizabeth was a good girl. Out of the three Webber children, she was probably the best. But just because she refused to aspire for that M.D. after her name, their parents seemed to have brushed her off in favor of him and Sarah. He admired his sister for not letting it get to her like it should; she was something special, Elizabeth was. And if she chose to spend time with this Jason Morgan fellow, then he must be worth it.
"So, Jason, what do you do?"
The man shifted his weight from one foot to the other. "I'm a mechanic."
"Oh, so you own your own place, or-"
Steven watched the younger man shake his head. "I used to," he replied gruffly. "But there was an accident and I lost it."
"What kind of accident?"
"Electrical fire," he replied without skipping a beat. "I've been working at my aunt's diner for a while now in order to open it up again – that's how Elizabeth and I met. It should be ready in about a week or so."
"Ah, so lots of stuff to do," Steven smiled knowingly. "Me and a friend of mine opened our own practice a few years ago. If I had known just how much work actually went into it, I might have reconsidered." Jason nodded once and the doctor scratched his chin. "So, if you don't mind my asking…how long have you and my sister been together?"
Jason's eyes widened and for a moment, he was at a loss for words. "Oh, Elizabeth and I, we're- we're not…togeth-"
"Really?" Steven drawled, rather amused by how flustered the younger man suddenly was. "You're not dating or-"
"No," Jason answered, awkwardly shifting his weight once more. "We're just…friends."
"Aha." The framed certificate on the wall of his office proved to the world that he was no idiot, and therefore Steven Lars highly doubted Jason's explanation. "So I don't get to tell you that if you hurt my sister, I get to put you six feet under?"
Jason quirked a brow at the slender doctor. "No."
"I see," Steven smirked, stuffing his hands into the pockets of his dark trousers once more. "I guess I'll have to save that schpiel for later, then," he added with a knowing glimmer in his eyes.
"What schpiel?" Elizabeth asked, appearing between them just then with her purse and a small tote bag. "What are you talking about?"
"Nothing," Steven replied, grinning broadly at his confused sister and the uncomfortable mechanic. He looped his arm through Elizabeth's, smirking once more when she immediately looped hers through Jason's. "I believe you promised me lunch, Lizbits."
"Whoot! Kegger!"
Elizabeth turned around laughing as Tom and a couple of their friends burst into her studio with a few kegs and tons of ice. "And who's supposed to drink all that, Tommy Boy?"
The dark haired waiter winked at her as he lugged the metal container over to the benches she had cleaned off for the impromptu party. "You just leave that to us, Web."
Her spacious studio was slowly but steadily filling up with her fellow graduates, and Elizabeth ushered them all in. Lunch with Jason and her brother had been wonderful, and Steven had departed shortly after, but not before whispering in her ear that he thought Jason was a good guy. After that, she had come home to the studio to take a nap and waking up, decided she was bored. A few phone calls later, she and her friends had managed to arrange an impromptu party – Tommy and the boys brought drinks, Penny and her favorite twins brought food from Kelly's, and everyone brought music.
Drew and a couple of his friends were clearing her easels away and folding them up in the corner of the rooms before rolling up the blue mats that lined her dancing studio. Those went into the closet with everything else and the studio was officially party-ready.
Guests kept on streaming in and before long, a certain very confused mechanic hesitantly rapped on the frame of her door.
"Jason!" Elizabeth's eyes lit up with joy and several of her friends looked up to see just who it was that made her so happy. "I'm so glad you came!"
"What's going on?" he asked, seeing the kegs in the corner and the abundance of graduates. "Graduation party?"
She shrugged. "Sure, why not?"
"An excuse to get drunk and play music really loud?"
The brunette tipped her head. "That sounds more like it."
The mechanic chuckled despite himself. "And why did you think you had to call me?"
"Because you don't party nearly enough," she scolded, grabbing his hand and pulling him into the room. Spinning around, she maintained her grip on his hands behind her back and continued to lead him through the veritable throng of new graduates. Their trek gave Jason ample time to examine the lovely view of her backside; the brunette wore a soft pink baby tee over a pink seamless bra that he could only barely make out, paired with her favorite denim miniskirt. On her feet were a pair of baby pink ballet flats and an anklet made of white seashells. "So today, Morgan, you party like it's 1999."
"What?"
"Work with me here, Jason."
He shrugged and tipped his head at Penny and Seth as he passed them. Lisa and Jen could be heard squealing somewhere, and he finally saw them gathered in a tight cluster of their friends around Elizabeth's precious stereo system. They were both clearly surprised to see him, and promised to turn the music up extra loud just for him, giggling at the less-than-thrilled look on his face.
"You hungry?" Elizabeth asked, steering him toward the odds-and-ends food spread they had going on. "We've got things here that are so chocolaty and sugary and disgustingly awesome that they'll make you want to commit Hara-Kiri on the spot."
He grimaced and shook his head. "I think I'm gonna be sick."
"None of that, now, Morgan," she scolded, grabbing a brownie and stuffing half of it into her mouth as he pretended to gag. "Want a beer?"
"Yeah," he replied, taking off his jacket and looking for somewhere to toss it. Elizabeth took it from him and led him over to one of her small individual couches that was miraculously unoccupied. She quickly spread the jacket over the back of the sofa chair and then placed both her hands flat on Jason's chest, shoving him back so that he fell into it. Shooting him a wink, she moved away to grab a drink for them.
He watched her walk right past the kegs – or attempt to, rather. Drew, who as of yet hadn't seen him arrive, grabbed her waist and practically scooped Elizabeth up off the ground. The brunette squealed and kicked at him, laughing as he tickled at her. Jason gritted his teeth together and would have gotten up to show the little punk what was what when Drew gestured to the unopened keg. Turned out, all he needed was a tap. Jason's eyes widened when Elizabeth pulled open one of her drawers and grabbed the needed accessory. The girl owned a tap. Unbelievable.
Drew and a kid that the others called Tom – the waiter from the Grille, most likely – began to pour drinks for everyone. But instead of grabbing two for herself and him, Elizabeth squeezed over to her own refrigerator and snagged two frosty bottles. Jason grinned his appreciation when she handed him one, and twisted it open to take a long pull.
The brunette stood next to him, lacking a chair, and then thinking better of it, took Jason's beer from his hand. The mechanic frowned but didn't have time to voice his disapproval before the young woman nimbly climbed into his lap. It was a tight fit; he took up most of the sofa chair on his own, and she delicately arranged herself across his lap before handing him back his drink. Not one to complain in a situation such as this, Jason just took another long pull from his bottle.
Tom happened to pass them on his way across the room when he noticed Elizabeth and smiled. "Hey, you holdin' out on us, Webber?"
She tipped her bottle at him and took a small sip. "Yup."
"What's the big idea?" he teased, shaking his ice cubes in his cup.
"Because it's my party," she replied primly, making a face at him.
"And what about him?" Tom asked, jerking his chin at a silent Jason. "Tom McCaine, by the way."
"Jason Morgan."
"Nice to meet you." Again, the dark haired boy tipped his head in Jason's direction, a teasing glimmer in his eyes. "What's his story?"
"Well, I happen to like Jason a whole lot better than I like you," she replied with a haughty grin.
"So that's how it is," her friend replied, shaking his head. "I'd get a class-action suit going here, but if I don't get some booze in me, stat, it's not going to be pretty."
Elizabeth giggled and watched him walk away, settling back comfortably against Jason's chest. "That's Tom from the Grille."
"I figured."
"Liz, can we crank it up?"
"Go for it!" She yelled back to her friends before quickly turning back to Jason. "Brace yourself."
He had no idea what she meant until it started – that earth-shattering, piercing, Richter-tipping noise masquerading as music. "What the f-"
"I warned you."
"You should have warned me to leave the biosphere instead of just saying 'brace yourself'," he groused, still cringing.
"Oh, hush," she scolded, smacking him playfully on the chest. "That's Eliot's band right there, so don't you dare say anything mean."
"Who's Eliot?"
"A friend of mine – we worked together at the Community Center," she explained, her eyes catching a young man with scruffy brown hair. "Hold on – there he is. Eliot! Get over here!"
The rocker looked over and spotted her. He threw his head back, whisking the long brown locks away, and calmly ambled over. Jason raised a brow at his baggy pants that were practically hanging down to his knees and the silver dog tag around his neck. "What's going on?"
"Eliot, this is Jason," Elizabeth introduced them. "He's been dying to meet you."
Both men looked at her strangely and the brunette giggled at them before she noticed his shirt. "Oh, hey – the band shirt! It came out great!"
"Didn't it?" Eliot asked, proudly stretching the shirt out for them to get a good luck at. "Only because we had a great designer, though."
"Oh, you – stop that," Elizabeth replied cattily, batting her lashes at her friend.
"You made that?" Jason wanted to know, cocking his head at the image on Eliot's shirt. The shirt was entirely black with white tombstones and the white silhouette of a couple kissing behind them. Smudges and specks peppered the background and it had a very grunge look to it. Under the image in simple typewriter text, he saw what he assumed to be the name of the band: Too Much Sweet Revenge. "It's good."
"It was fun," Elizabeth admitted. "I never get a chance to do anything like that. Plus, it's great publicity, I guess."
"It really is," Eliot agreed. "I always make sure everyone who asks knows where I got it from. You'll be getting a lot more requests for stuff like this soon, Liz, I bet."
She smiled and blushed slightly, nodding when Eliot excused himself to grab some food and a drink. "Ah, art – yet another thing I won't be able to parlay into a successful career."
"Stop," Jason murmured, wrapping his arm around her waist and bringing her crashing against him. "You're not going to do that to yourself today. Just sit back, relax, drink your beer, and try not to jump out of your skin at this god-forsaken excuse for music."
The brunette rolled her eyes but didn't bother scolding him. The party raged on around them as her former classmates ate, danced, and cranked the music up even louder until Jason looked like he was going to have a heart attack. Across the room, Drew was standing around with Penny and a couple of their friends from school, and the little group happened to look over just when Elizabeth, having finished her own beer, took a gulp of Jason's.
"They're such a cute couple," one blonde in their company noted with a smile. "Don't you think?"
Penny bit her tongue and just smiled. "They really are." Or at least, they would be, sooner or later depending on when they decided to wise up.
"Liz sure knows how to pick 'em," their red-headed friend spoke up. "That guy's freaking gorgeous. If I didn't like her so much, I'd have to hate her."
Penny laughed at that as Drew took another gulp of his drink, smiling broadly at the couple as they sat tangled up together in the little chair, looking perfectly aloof as chaos reigned around them. "I helped get them together, you know," he boasted, smiling proudly at Elizabeth until Jason noticed his stare and glared darkly at him.
Elizabeth didn't notice how Drew almost dropped his cup or how Jason's lips curved into a wicked half-smirk. She was busy trying to shuck her shoes and convince Tom to run to her fridge and get her a bottle of something fruity. Her friend finally obliged and handed her a bottle of sparkling fruit punch, even staying around for a few minutes to chat with her and Jason. He excused himself to fill up his cup again when something occurred to him and he motioned for the gang to turn the music down.
Jason breathed a sigh of relief as Tom rapped on the workbench to get everyone's attention. "Hey, guys! We forgot something!"
The gang eventually quieted down long enough to hear what he had to say. "We completely forgot – Liz has to make a toast."
Elizabeth rolled her eyes with a laugh and just cuddled up against Jason, throwing her arm around his neck. "You stopped the music for that? Forget it, Tommy Boy."
"Toast!"
"Speech, speech!" a couple of her girlfriends echoed.
"Come on, Liz, you have to say a little something."
"Fine, fine," she relented, cracking open her sparkling fruit punch once more and lifting it. Her friends followed suit and raised their brightly colored cups. "All right, what are we going to toast… Oh, okay. First, to me, for being fabulous."
A few people scoffed with laughter and Jason couldn't help but chuckle as a chorus of "here, here!"s rang out.
"Second, to everyone who managed to survive the year in Cavenaugh's class," the brunette continued, her eyes sparkling. "You are truly great of heart and mighty of spirit and strong of soul…oh, wait, we had to sell that to get those grades, didn't we? Okay, nix the soul part."
This time, the agreement was much stronger than before. "To selling our souls!"
"Third, to all the lucky bastards that weren't in Cavenaugh's class."
"To the lucky bastards!"
"Heck," she added, "to everyone who managed to get through four years at PCU – we totally earned our right to get rip-roaring drunk today, god damn it."
The statement was met with a chorus of laughter and hearty agreement, and Elizabeth lifted her bottle for the last time.
"And also, to Jason." A confused silence fell over the room and even the man in question looked up at her, confused. "To Jason who in two weeks will finally be able to open up Morgan's Garage after one hell of a setback – he's going to be great. So if you ever need your, um, oil fixed or those sparky things changed…yeah, go to him, because I clearly don't have a clue of what I'm talking about."
Her friends laughed and she lifted her bottle to her lips. "Go nuts, folks."
The music was instantly cranked up to extra loud once more and the revelry continued. Elizabeth stretched back languidly into Jason's arms, and the mechanic could only watch her. She was carrying on a long-distance conversation with Lisa across the room, and had to shout out every word to be heard over the music, and didn't notice the way his eyes lingered on her face. The girl really was something else – she had confided to him about her darkest fears about not being able to make anything of herself, she had invited him to her graduation and introduced him to her brother, and then her little announcement…
A peculiar feeling that he had been fighting off for weeks slammed into him all at once, and Jason had to blink a couple times before he fully comprehended what was going on in his head.
Aw, hell – he'd gone and fallen in love with the girl.