AN: I wasn't going to write this section, but after a few people expressed an interest I decided I'd toss it in for two reasons. First, it's a bit fluffy and pointless and Jason needed a break from all the angst. The crap is really going to hit the fan in the next few chapters, so I figured he deserved something nice for once. Second of all, the time Jason spends with Meredith (as well as one other girl) really is a set up to his relationship with Kate.

Thanks to the few of you who are still sticking with me and were kind enough to review the last chapter ! BabyKay47, Lisa, katbaby, Louise, heartnut, Rachel657062, cb, AgiVega, starbuckx, and elliania. And to my ever wonderful beta readers hellish and htbthomas. You both rox!

Age 15– Slow and Steady

"Who are you daydreaming about?"

"Shh."

"Same person as always."

"Do we have eye contact today?"

"Sort of."

"Should we move?"

"That would draw attention."

"You guys, shh!"

"Oh, come on, it's not like he can hear us."

"You never know."

"You think Jason White can hear the three of us talking about him clear across the lunchroom?"

"Someone could tell him we were talking about him."

"Did you see his t-shirt today? Oh, my gosh. So fine!"

"Will you please stop that?"

"Stop what? Like you weren't ogling him all through Algebra II, Meredith."

"Tina has a point. The boy is hot."

"He's handsome," Meredith corrected. "Stop talking about him like he's a piece of meat!"

A male voice broke through the female babble. "Earth to Jason! Come in, Jason!"

"Well, he's not athletic, but he's certainly swoon-worthy," Amanda added.

"That's why I like him," Meredith agreed. "He's not some dumb jock."

"Hello? Jason?"

I was torn away from the conversation taking place a mere few tables away by a hard shove.

"Snap out of it!" Marcus ordered. "You're about to start drooling."

"Sorry," I apologized.

My ears had become especially tuned into Meredith Madison's voice. Ever since school started up again a few weeks ago, I'd been noticing that there was a lot of conversation coming from her group of friends about… me. At first, I tried not to listen in, but after a while I just couldn't resist. I could find her voice pretty much anywhere in the school now, even through the general noise and clatter of a busy lunchroom.

Marcus was looking at me strangely. "Are you feeling all right?"

"What's swoon-worthy?" I asked, ignoring his question.

"Swoon-worthy?"

"Yeah, I heard some girls say it."

"About you?" he said a bit harshly.

"No," I covered. "Just… about someone."

"You're a terrible liar, Jason." He huffed and picked at his food. "Swoon-worthy means you're hot." Under his breath he added, "Must be nice."

I could sense his frustration and I didn't like what it implied. It was only a few weeks into the new school year and already it was obvious to me that things were going to be different from last year. It was just bizarre, really. I'd always been someone who kind of blended into the background and was generally overlooked by most of the students. I was used to being that "smart, awkward kid." I wasn't used to girls giggling and blushing as I walked by or the popular guys thumping me on the back as if we were good friends. Most people would see this as a good thing, but considering the comment Marcus just made, he obviously felt differently.

"I don't get it," I shrugged, trying to act casual about it. "What did I do?"

Marcus gaped at me. "Have you looked in the mirror lately?"

I frowned at him. "What do you mean?"

"I mean that growing six inches and having perfect skin goes a long way on the road to popularity."

I rolled my eyes. "Oh, come on."

"I mean it," Marcus said, taking a bite of his lunch.

I frowned at him. "Well, that's stupid. It can't be that I'm… well…"

"That you're tall and good-looking?"

"No."

"Jason, look at me." And I did. He was the same Marcus who'd been my best friend for years now. "I'm barely two inches taller than I was in eighth grade."

"So?"

"And I've got zits."

"Everyone has zits."

"Except you."

"Not true," I countered. "I had a zit a few weeks ago, just before school started."

Marcus made a face. "Oh, you poor, deformed guy. My point is that you haven't done anything different than what I've done except completely change the way you look over the summer. Your parents have always been a bit rich. They're practically famous. So, it was only a matter of time that you started hanging out with the 'in' crowd."

"Marcus, that's crazy. I'm the same guy I've always been."

"Maybe to you, but not to everyone else."

We were quiet for a moment. I couldn't deny that I understood what Marcus was talking about. I had grown taller – quite a bit taller. And I wasn't complexly clueless to the fact that I wasn't exactly the ugliest guy in school. But I certainly didn't think of myself as the most handsome guy, or even as "swoon-worthy." I was still on the skinny side, because I didn't really see the point in building up muscles if I couldn't ever use them to play sports. And I didn't think I'd ever figure out what to do with this mop of hair on my head. I usually just ran a comb through it and then mussed it up a bit so it wouldn't look like I'd tried to comb it.

"I need to run to the library," Marcus announced, standing up and pulling his bag over his shoulder. "I'll talk to you later." His tone was not the easygoing tone it normally was, and I was left to think about what he said.

I suddenly remembered that I had promised my counselor I'd check in with him sometime today. The school's tutoring program had scouted me to join them in helping out students during study hall and I had to get a permission slip in order to go. I hated study hall, and with our school on block scheduling, we had a mandatory study hall twice a week where students could meet with teachers who might be getting ready for a test, or finish up projects in shop class, or go to the library to do research. I normally spent my study halls in the piano lab working on music. But being part of the tutoring program would give me another option.

I left the lunchroom and headed down the hall to Student Services, where the counseling offices were located. Not really looking where I was going, I pushed open the door and came face-to-face with Meredith Madison. She gasped and jumped back away from me, blinking in surprise.

"Jason!"

"Meredith!"

We had spoken almost simultaneously, and now just stood there, staring at each other in surprised wonder. I slipped my hands in my pockets just as her eyes darted away from mine.

"Sorry," she apologized. "I was just about to leave."

"Oh, well… I was just… coming in." Good grief. Could I be a bigger dork?

"What are you here for?" she asked.

"Tu – tu - um… Tutoring." Seriously. I was the biggest dork on the planet.

"What subject?"

"Algebra."

Her eyes went wide. "Really? Me too!"

"Really?"

"Yeah."

"Oh."

"I know."

"Wow."

"Yeah."

"That's cool."

Our monosyllabic conversation ended with her looking at me in confusion. "No, it's not cool. I'm lucky my parents haven't grounded me."

I frowned at her. "Why would they ground you for becoming a tutor?"

Her eyes went wide again. "Me? No. You don't get it. I'm not going to be a tutor. I am in need of tutoring."

"Oh."

"Yeah."

I was really surprised. Meredith was in my Algebra class and she never seemed to struggle. It was an advanced class though, so maybe she was having problems.

"It's all those letters," she explained. "I understood math really well when it was numbers. I got by in Algebra because my friend Tanya was in class with me and she is super smart. And Geometry last year was okay because I could visualize what we were working with. But this year," she sighed and rolled her eyes. "I just don't get it. Math is about numbers, not letters. I'm pulling mostly C's right now and I got a D on our quiz the other day. If I don't get my grades up, I'll have to quit choir. That was the deal – as long as my grades are good, I can be in choir. But if my grades slip, I have to quit the group."

It was the most she had ever said to me in one instance and for the life of me, I had hardly heard a word she said. All I caught was that she needed a tutor in the very subject I had come to sign up to be a tutor in. It was the most fortuitous event that had ever happened to me. Now, if only I could gather up the nerve to actually respond to her without sounding like a complete and total idiot.

"Well… I could help you," I blurted out. "I mean, if you want help. I'm not the smartest guy… er… tutor you could get, but I know math pretty well." I shrugged. "But if you'd rather work with someone else, then I—"

"No! I would love to have your help!" She blushed, and looked at me from under her long lashes. "I mean, I need all the help I can get. If you wouldn't mind taking on someone as hopeless as me…"

"I wouldn't mind at all," I said in a gentle voice that surprised even myself at how it sounded.

"Really?"

"Yeah."

"Okay," she said with a bright smile. "Well, when can we start?"

I fidgeted with the lint in my pockets. The very prospect of setting up a time and place to meet with Meredith one-on-one had me feeling a bit lightheaded. "Um… the next study hall, I guess, would be the first time we could meet."

"I usually go to choir during study hall," she frowned.

"Oh," I frowned, too.

"But I could change that," she said quickly. "I have to get my grades up or else no more choir."

"Yeah, I got that."

"Unless," she popped her hip and bit at her bottom lip, "you have some time after school."

I nearly drooled all over her, but somehow I held my composure. "Um, sure. Yeah. I do. I – I usually don't have anything after school except on Wednesdays."

She squinted at me. "What's on Wednesdays?"

"I go to piano lessons," I explained, a blush regrettably rising to my cheeks.

"Oh," she smiled at me. "But today's Tuesday, so you'd be free tonight?"

"Uh huh," I mumbled almost incoherently.

"Okay, well, I have choir practice after school, but after that I'm free. So I could come over to your house around five or so. Would that be all right?"

I blinked and my brain froze for a moment. Meredith Madison wanted to come to my house. And Mom and Dad wouldn't even be home until after six. They were never home until after six. That would mean at least an hour alone with her. I momentarily wondered if I'd be able to concentrate on numbers at all if she were sitting next to me, but I couldn't turn down the opportunity. I'd never forgive myself if I didn't at least try.

"That would be great."

She smiled at me again and asked for my address and phone number. Never in a million years did I think I'd ever be giving out my number to her, and yet here I was. She thanked me, which made my face grow even hotter than it already was, and with a flick of her long, red hair, she was gone.

I walked through the rest of the day in a dreamy daze with a look plastered on my face that I'm sure made me appear like a silly fool, but I didn't care. When I got home I ignored the note on the fridge to put some chicken out to thaw and instead went to work cleaning up my room… just in case, which only took me about fifteen minutes. That was one of the few benefits of having alien abilities such as inhuman speed. I made sure the dining room table was cleared off and got out my own Algebra book and notes. I checked my face in the mirror to make sure I didn't look as idiotic as I felt. My hair was a mess, but there wasn't much I could do with it. And then I waited.

Time never moves more slowly than when you are waiting for something really great to happen and it just can't get there fast enough. By quarter 'til, I had nearly worn out the carpet in the living room from my pacing. I had been excited when I first got home, but now I had this incredibly huge nervous knot in my stomach.

When the doorbell rang at five after five, it took all my willpower not to run to the door and swing it open. I didn't want Meredith thinking I had nothing to do in life but wait for her to come over to my house… even if that was exactly what my life had been like today. So instead of opening the door right away, I decided to take a peek at her… through the door.

She was fidgeting with her hair, brushing it with her fingers and placing it just so around her shoulders. Then she smoothed out the blouse she was wearing and tugged on her jeans, slipping them down her hips a fraction of an inch more. She took a deep breath and exhaled slowly, muttering, "Just act normal. He's just helping you out. This isn't' a date."

I blinked and registered the fact that my mouth was hanging open in wonder. She seemed just as nervous as I was. Like she really wanted this to go well. Like she wanted to impress me. As if I wasn't already impressed.

Wanting to put us both out of our misery, I bravely opened the door and smiled at her, which earned me a smile in return.

"Sorry I'm late," she said as she brushed past me into the foyer.

"No, it's fine."

She glanced around her. "Wow, your house is amazing! And is that your plane outside?"

"Um… my dad's plane. Yeah."

"That's so awesome that your dad knows how to fly! Do you think you'll learn someday?"

I gulped at the irony of her question. "I dunno," I said honestly, because I really didn't know. Ever since I'd had my fifteenth birthday, I'd been waiting for something to happen – for some sign that I was about to defy gravity. After all, he had first flown when he was fifteen. "I want to, but we'll have to see."

She gasped and darted across the room to the bookcase that held my mom's writing awards. "Oh, my gosh, is that the Pulitzer?"

"Uh huh," I nodded.

"Your parents are so cool, Jason." She looked over her shoulder at me. "Of course, it does seem strange that she won for an article that doesn't even apply anymore."

I frowned at her. "What do you mean?"

She gaped at me. "Oh, come on, you have to understand that the world really does need Superman."

I shrugged, doubting that I would ever be comfortable talking about him to my friends.

"Have you ever met him? Superman, I mean," she asked openly.

"Um... yeah," I hesitated.

Her eyes danced in delight. "Oh, wow, I would probably faint if I ever met him. What was he like?"

I thought for a moment on just how to respond. "He's… tall." She laughed at me and I took that as a good sign that I could change the topic. "So, um… I was thinking we could sit at the dining room table. There's more room there than in the kitchen."

She agreed and for the next thirty to forty minutes, we kept our comments to math as we went over and over the formulas that were giving her the most trouble. I was sure she caught me staring at her a few times, but it couldn't be helped. She was just so pretty. And when she was thinking really hard about something, she chewed on the end of her pencil in a very seductive way, but I'm certain she had no idea I was even thinking such things.

"So you see," I tried to explain, ignoring how simply gorgeous her eyes were, "when you've got two systems to work out, you have to solve for x in the first system and let your answer contain a variable. Like x equals eleven minus y. And then plug in that answer for x in the next system, which will get rid of all the x variables and allow you to solve for y. Once you have an actual integer for y, you can go back and plug it into the first system and solve for x."

She blinked back at me. "You are super smart, Jason."

I blushed and tried to be casual about it. "Nah, math is just regurgitating information. It's not very creative or even much of a challenge once you see the process."

"Well, I don't understand the process." She sighed and flopped back in her chair. "This is hopeless. I should just give up now."

"No, you can do this," I encouraged. "We've only met one time. You've got to give me at least one more chance to help you out."

She kept her eyes focused on her hands, her face falling into a real frown. "You know what really stinks about this? I don't need Algebra II to graduate. I have two math credits as it is, but my father thinks it will help me get into a better college. He wants me to be a doctor or something important like that, when I have no interest in it."

"Well, what do you have an interest in?" I said, even though I already knew the answer.

"Music," she said without so much as a pause. "But my father thinks that's stupid. He says it's a foolish dream and that I'm deluding myself if I think I can earn a living signing. He says I can sing all I want to for fun but that I need a real career to support myself."

"Has your father ever heard you sing?" I asked, because in my opinion, biased as it was, if anyone could make a living as a singer, it was Meredith.

"Yeah, but he's more impressed by an A in math rather than a solo at a concert. So when I bring home a C and he looks at me with such disappointment, I feel like a total failure. Like I'm not good enough."

She felt like a failure? And it was because her father didn't think she was good enough? I had no words to describe how connected I felt to her in that instant. More than just being attracted to her. More than just thinking she was a sweet girl that was never rude or conceited like some of the girls she ran around with. More than admiring her ability to sing. We had something in common; we were both afraid of our fathers thinking we were failures. She was amazing and yet her father couldn't see it.

"For what it's worth," I said quietly, "I think you're brilliant."

"Thanks," she said with a halfhearted smile.

"I'm not just saying that," I pressed. "I really do think you are brilliant. And talented. And your father's nuts if he thinks you can't make a living with your music."

Her cheeks turned the most delightful color of pink I think I'd ever seen. "I appreciate that, Jason."

My heart was beating rapidly in my chest at the knowledge that I could tell her exactly how much I understood what she was going through. It wasn't something I talked about to anyone, not even Mom, but I felt since she had shared something so personal with me, I should at least reciprocate.

"I kind of know what you're going through," I said shyly. "My father—" The word got caught in my throat because I was talking about him, not Richard.

She looked over at me with wide, hope-filled eyes. "Your father doesn't support you in wanting to play the piano?"

I sighed. "I don't really know what he thinks about that, but I do know that he wants more from me than I think I can give. He wants me to follow in his footsteps or something like that. I don't know if that's what I want – I don't even know if I can. So, most of the time I feel like I'm letting him down." As hard as it was to voice the things that I had been feeling lately, surprisingly it was also a relief to get them out into the open. My voice was very soft as I added, "It terrifies me sometimes… that I might be a disappointment… that I'm not good enough, like you said."

"But you're amazing!" she declared, and my heart melted upon hearing it. "You're so smart. You get straight A's – and the way you play the piano is just wonderful. How could he be disappointed in you?"

"For the same reason that your father is disappointed with you. He doesn't feel I'm living my life the way he thinks I should be living it."

"Oh, Jason," she mumbled, unknowingly taking my hand in hers.

I looked down at our hands and then back up into her eyes. They were bright and full of expectation. I didn't think I'd ever seen a more beautiful set of eyes than the pair looking back at me right now. I suddenly noticed how close we had shifted in our seats. In fact, our faces were so close that I could feel her warm breath on my skin.

"I have to tell you the truth, Jason. I haven't really understood any of the Algebra you've tried to explain to me today," she confessed. "I've been too… distracted."

"Distracted by what?"

She gave a small laugh. "By you."

I could only stare back at her in wonder.

She looked away in embarrassment and let it all spill out. "I know this is completely against the rules and you're probably going to think I'm a total wacko for saying this to you, but oh well. Life's about taking chances, right? See, the thing is, as much as I really do need a tutor, I came over here today because it gave me the perfect excuse to see you outside of school. Now, I know that you probably weren't thinking of it that way, and that's okay, but I wanted you to know anyway… just in case you might… want… you know…"

I swallowed back the nervousness I felt and dug deep for any and all courage I could muster. "In all honesty, I had difficulty explaining anything to you because I was distracted by you."

Her eyes sparkled in delight. "Really?"

I nearly laughed out loud. "Oh, yeah. Really."

She blinked and a smile lit up her whole face.

"I really like you a lot, Meredith," I admitted boldly.

"I really like you, too, Jason."

Her eyes held fast to mine and I felt her leaning in towards me. It was like I was being pulled forward by a magnet, unable to resist the temptation right in front of me. I glanced down at her mouth to see her lips part ever so slightly. And then… contact.

Her lips brushed against mine so gently it felt like a whisper. I closed my eyes and breathed in the fragrance of her perfume. Not fully satisfied with such a hesitant kiss, I pressed my mouth against hers more firmly, delighting in the feel of how soft and delicate her lips were. I wanted to try and deepen the kiss, but I didn't think that was exactly what she wanted right now. Shouldn't I take her out on a date before I kissed her like that? And if she would let me kiss her like that, would I even be able to stop once I got started? I doubted it… considering the current state of my body.

We broke apart, and she had such a dreamy expression on her face that I felt as if I might turn into a puddle of mush just seeing her like that. And then I realized that she was looking at me like that. I had brought on that expression, and I wanted more than anything to kiss her again and again if she would let me.

The sound of a car pulling up to the house broke into my thoughts.

"Do you think he's started dinner?" Dom asked.

"Are you kidding?" Mom laughed. "Knowing Jason, he purposefully forgot so that we will be forced to order a pizza."

I gulped and straightened up, knowing that my time alone with her would soon be up. "My parents are home," I announced.

Meredith blinked in surprise. "Oh, does that mean I should go?"

"That's up to you. But listen, before they come in here and make a scene or tease us mercilessly, as I'm sure they will, I wanted to ask you something." I took a deep breath and pressed on. "Would you like to go out to the movies sometime? Maybe get something to eat… with me?"

"I would love to!" she beamed back at me.

"Yeah?"

She nodded. "I've been wanting you to ask me out for the longest time."

Relief settled in my chest. "Okay. So… how does Friday sound?"

"Friday sounds perfect."

"Great."

"Yeah."

"That's cool."

She giggled.

"What?"

"Nothing," she laughed. "You're just cute when you're flustered."

My face felt so hot that I was sure I was bright red. Meredith Madison thought I was cute. She liked me. She had kissed me. And I had actually worked up the nerve to ask her out on a real, honest-to-God date. Who cared if Mom and Dad teased me about it all night long? Who cared if I was forced to sit though a very uncomfortable lecture from Dad about the rules of dating? Who cared if everyone at school was talking about it the next day? I certainly didn't. Even Marcus, who I worried about taking it badly, congratulated me - wished me luck even. For once in my life, everything seemed to be going my way. Everything was right. I only hoped it would last for a good long while.