I wasn't really sure if I wanted to continue with this, but I found some inspiration to write for it again.

Enjoy!

Since her dinner "date" with Jackson, April couldn't stop thinking about the gorgeous plastic surgeon. She had fully expected him to gloat about his accomplishments and rarely give her the time to speak about herself, but instead he initially acted like a worried teenager who didn't want to miss curfew. It was adorable to see him rattled because he always appeared calm, collected and overly confident about himself at work. It was clear to her that he wanted to impress her without flaunting his arrogance.

The Carlton Dance won him points for sure, but a goofy dance wouldn't completely win her over. Sometimes Jackson was hard to read during dinner. She had difficulty figuring out if he was genuinely interested in what she had to say. She blamed his perfect white teeth and charming smile for distracting her. The man was one of the most attractive men she had ever seen. She found it hard to believe he was once the lanky nerd who stole her heart at Camp Waziyatah.

But constantly having Jackson in her thoughts made her feel guilty. Up until a month ago, April was married to a wonderful guy. At times, she felt as if she were cheating on Matthew emotionally because she was already thinking about another man. She didn't quite feel ready to date anybody seriously. A part of her wasn't willing to move on from her late husband just yet.

She ordered herself a cup of coffee at the stand in the main lobby. Just as she was about to pay, an olive-skinned hand intervened and slapped a few dollars on the counter. Standing beside her was Jackson, who greeted her with his irresistible smile. "You don't have to do that," she immediately said.

"No worries. This one's on me," he insisted before facing the vendor across from them. "Cappuccino, please."

"Really, Jackson. It's not necessary," she shyly argued, brushing back strands of her red hair behind her ear. April had decided to wear her hair down that morning. She normally pulled it up in a ponytail, so it wouldn't get in the way while she treated patients, but she changed her mind at the last minute. Of course, she refused to admit exactly why she chose to keep it down. "I can pay for my own coffee, thank you."

"Just this once, alright?" Jackson leaned sideways against the counter, smirking at the peds surgeon. "And you don't have to pay me back. You already do enough by being so beautiful."

April scoffed, "Oh, c'mon. Do you always sweet talk your way through everything?" She folded her arms as she grinned back at him. "And how many times have you used that line on other women?"

He pointed at himself. "I'm not trying to play smooth operator right now. I'm being honest. Last Friday was nice. I liked having dinner with you – except for the part when Mark interrupted us."

"About that, I am so sorry. I wasn't expecting him to act that way," she apologetically replied and gently bit down on her lower lip. "But for the record, I liked having dinner with you too. However-"

"Hold up. Usually when a woman starts off with however, it's bad news," he fearfully said. "How about you just agree to have dinner with me again first? You know, without your brother planning everything for us? I promise it'll be much better than last Friday."

"Well, I just wanted to say that I'm not looking to date anybody. I mean, date-date. Dinner with friends is okay, but I'm not ready for actual dating right now," April nervously admitted. Jackson pursed his lips in response, which made her slightly grimace. "I-I I still don't mind having dinner with you, though."

Jackson couldn't help but feel disappointed that he was being friend zoned. Women typically threw themselves at him, but April was the opposite. She was purposefully restraining herself from doing anything past friendly dinners with him.

And it was killing him.

George arrived, cutting in front of Jackson, who appeared peeved to see him. "Hey, April. What are you doing this Friday night?" he inquired, ignoring the annoyed plastic surgeon behind him.

"Umm… I don't know yet. Why?" she answered.

"There's an outdoor movie showing at Green Lake Park at seven. Do you want to go with me?" he asked, sounding hopeful. He sheepishly grinned at his best friend. "It's Ferris Bueller's Day Off, your favorite. Remember we used to watch it every weekend in eighth grade?"

April nodded and smiled. "I do. I can't believe we never got sick of that movie," she chuckled. "Alright. That sounds fun. Thanks, Georgie." She retrieved her coffee order, then she glanced back at Jackson as she walked away. "Thanks for the coffee, Jackson."

George proudly smiled to himself. He landed his first date with April, though he wasn't sure if she considered it a date. Looking back at Jackson, the taller man scowled at him like he was ready to kick his ass in front of everyone around them. "And that's how you earn points from her, Avery. Your sweet talk has nothing on my history with April."

The pretty eyed man wanted nothing more than to punch the smug grin off of the trauma surgeon's face. George O'Malley hated him since the day he found out they had been crushing on the same girl at summer camp. However, Jackson came out triumphant as April's first boyfriend. That was a memory George would never have.

Summer 1993 – Day 18

Peering up at the giant rock climbing wall towering over him, Jackson gulped as one of the staff members strapped him into his safety harnesses. He feared the rocking climbing wall the most because it required upper body strength, which he lacked. His arms were like spaghetti, ridiculously gangly without much muscle. The nerd considered himself lucky if he could reach the halfway point of the wall.

And he felt even more pressure not to humiliate himself because April had chosen the activity for them. Lexie and George tagged along and he hardly wanted to look like a fool in front of them too. The latter had already done it at the dance with the punch incident. Jackson desperately wanted to show him up for that.

"Okay, who would like to climb alongside Jackson?" the counselor asked.

"George does!" Lexie excitedly volunteered her friend, who quickly glared back at her. He didn't have an athletic bone in his body, so she knew she was in for some instant entertainment.

"Yeah, George. Do it," April encouraged him. "I bet Jackson wouldn't mind having a buddy climbing with him."

The other nerd set his book on the ground before he walked towards the rock climbing wall. He always found a way to talk himself out of the sporting activities. Allergies was his usual excuse. He actually did have allergies, but this time, he wanted to show April he wasn't always the wuss he appeared to be.

After both boys were set up in front of the wall, the counselor held up a stop watch. "I'm going to time you both. Now, this isn't a race, but consider this your starting mark, so you can aim to improve your time before the end of the summer. And go!"

Jackson and George began climbing up the wall, albeit at a snail pace. They each struggled reaching the quarter mark. Their arms just weren't built to last long, but neither of them wanted to give up first.

"Wow. They both suck," Lexie bluntly said, softly giggling at George as his legs flailed back and forth while he hung onto a molded rock with two hands. "Poor Georgie."

"Jackson's not doing that bad," April pointed out her boyfriend, who had climbed slightly higher than their best friend. She laughed at how his tongue stuck out as he reached for the next rock. "He is so cute. I wish he knew how cute he actually is."

"Have you two kissed yet?" the brunette asked eagerly. She didn't receive a reply from her friend, who pretended not to hear her question. "I'm taking that as a no. Why not? Is it because you haven't kissed a boy yet?"

April sighed. It was easier for Lexie to talk about the topic because she had kissed a boy once. Not on purpose, Quincy Mitchell in fifth grade pounced on her when she least expected it. She sent a right hook to his face in response. The redhead wanted her first kiss to be special and romantic. It needed to be memorable.

"I think he's afraid to kiss me," she murmured. "I don't think he's kissed anybody either."

"So, just kiss him already! One of you has to make the first move."

"But what if it's totally awful? Like, my mouth hits his nose instead?" she worriedly asked. "Or… or he wants to kiss me with tongue?! Eww! All of that slobber. I don't get how Mark finds that sexy."

Lexie rolled her eyes and laughed. "You watch Mark makeout with his girlfriends? Pervert."

"No! It's not like that," April groaned, folding her arms. "I was just curious one time and umm… spied a little. You better not tell anybody, Lex!"

"I won't, I won't. Chill out," she promised. Gazing back at the rock climbing wall, Lexie shook her head at the sight of George swaying back and forth and yelling for help, occasionally ramming into the wall after losing his grip. Jackson, on the other hand, was halfway up the wall. "At least one of them is still alive."

April grinned at her boyfriend and clapped her hands. "You're doing a good job, Jackson!" she called out to him.

His back was facing her, but Jackson smiled to himself. She was impressed by his pathetic athleticism, which was enough to make him happy. He wasn't embarrassing himself like he had expected. It probably took him five minutes to reach the halfway mark, but at least he hadn't screwed up in front of the other campers like George had. His arch rival barely made it to the quarter mark of the wall.

Although his puny arms were burning from the lactic acid building up in his poor excuse for muscles, Jackson wanted to reach the top. It didn't matter if he took ten or twenty minutes to finish the upper half of the wall. Only a broken arm or a shoulder dislocation could stop him now. But his hopes of impressing April and everyone else even more were dashed when the counselor told him to discontinue.

"It's time to let go, Jackson. Don't hurt yourself, buddy," he advised.

"Dammit," the Boston native muttered before he released his grip. He frowned as he was slowly brought down from the wall. Next time, he was determined to reach the top.

At least he beat George.

"O'Malley completely cockblocked me downstairs!" Jackson angrily said, pacing back and forth in front of Alex, who was seated on the couch in the attendings lounge. His wingman stretched out his legs on top of the coffee table as the plastic surgeon ranted to him. "I was actually getting somewhere with April. Of course, that was before she told me she wasn't ready to date, but still – that little shit ruined everything even more."

"You want to date Kepner?" Alex replied skeptically. He rested his hands behind the back of his head and chuckled. "Dude, you don't date chicks for more than two weeks. Maybe a month if she's freaking incredible in bed. Have you been holding out hope that she'll screw you?"

He stopped walking, facing Alex with his hands on his hips. "She's different, but Jesus Christ, she's playing hard to get with me. It's driving me insane," he complained. "I can tell she's into me. She just doesn't want to admit it."

"Whatever," the peds surgeon scoffed, adding an eye roll. "You're pretty damn pathetic if you're letting a twerp like O'Malley get in the way. You've never let him 1-up you before, so why are you starting now? Is it because he's got this geeky friendship thing going on with April?"

Jackson opened his mouth to speak, then he quickly changed his mind. Alex would certainly give him crap about his nerdy past if he told him about it. His friend was the type of guy who beat up on nerds in junior high and high school. He probably wouldn't believe him anyway.

Their conversation was interrupted by Izzie Stevens after she entered the attendings lounge. She was an OB/GYN, sporting the unpopular pink scrubs – at least by surgeons' standards, but she did specialize in neo-natal surgery, so she also wore navy blue scrubs occasionally. A Tacoma native, she instantly had an unpleasant history with Jackson and Alex. Neither men realized they were both sleeping with the blonde doctor until the plastic surgeon walked in on her and his best friend in an on-call room. After he threatened to have his sloppy friend fired, she opted to stop seeing both of them to save herself from a bad reputation.

Izzie and Jackson had an unusual friendship. Not exactly close, but she was his confidant when he became desperate for anything. She refused to put out for him, though the kind hearted person inside listened to his constant rants about his life problems, which usually involved sex and women in general. They had a mutual attraction to each other and eventually started having sex. At the time, she couldn't resist Alex's bad boy side either, so she eventually played them both until she got caught.

Her coworkers liked her because she was friendly and cared about all of her patients. Her personality was the polar opposite of Jackson and Alex's, so nobody understood why she involved herself with them given their reputation around the hospital. She promised herself not to repeat that mistake.

Seeing Izzie gave the womanizing surgeon an idea. Jackson approached her with a smirk on his face. "Hey, Iz," he greeted her casually.

"Still not sleeping with you," she replied in a singing tone as she made herself some tea. The OB avoided eye contact with him, afraid she would fall into his pretty eyed trap. Every time they spoke to each other, she hardly made direct eye contact with him. He was so handsome, but she refused to fall for him again.

"I need a favor," he requested. "What are you doing Friday night?"

"More like who are you doing?" Alex teased from the couch.

Izzie turned around, scowling at the obnoxious peds surgeon. "Oh, you're so clever, aren't you? I'm still wondering whose brain you stole to become a doctor in the first place because you have the maturity level of a 12-year old," she sneered. "And I'm not a whore like you two. Sleeping with two different guys only happened one time."

Jackson held his hands up in front of his chest. "Hey, now. No need to get feisty with us. As a matter of fact, I haven't slept with anybody in about a week," he admitted.

"Oh, wow. That must be a world record for you, Avery," she quipped.

"He's saving himself for Kepner," Alex noted and snickered. "Dude's got this lame hard on for her. I bet she's got a secured chastity belt underneath those scrubs, so he's killing his game by going after a woman who won't open her legs for him."

Izzie glanced back at Jackson suspiciously. "April Kepner? She's a sweet person. Why are you trying to corrupt her?"

"I am not trying to corrupt her," the plastics attending insisted. "Anyway, can we go back to the original topic of discussion? As I was saying, I need a favor from you. You're an outdoor movie type, right?"

"Uhh, I guess-"

"So be my fake date on Friday. They're showing a movie at Green Lake Park and April's going to be there," Jackson explained before he mumbled, "And with freaking O'Malley."

"Avery feels threatened by little George O'Malley," Alex added, smugly grinning at the twosome. "Hilarious, right?"

Jackson groaned as he looked at his wingman. "Can you please shut up for just one minute? Thank you." He placed his hands on his hips and returned his attention back to Izzie. "Will you do it?"

Izzie sipped her tea before she responded, "What's in it for me?"

"Umm… my full respect towards you from now on?" he sheepishly answered. "Look, I just want to make April a little jealous, that's all. She's forcing herself to resist me and I want her to see what she's missing out on."

"Well, it's possible she's resisting you because you're so full of yourself," Izzie bluntly said. "You gotta stop acting so pompous like you're better than everyone else. And wait a minute. Didn't her husband just die a month ago? It sounds to me you're courting her while she's at her most vulnerable."

"What? That's not true," Jackson retorted. "And who the hell uses the term courting these days?"

She shook her head as she rolled her eyes. "Oh, right. For you it's referred to as seducing and fu-"

"So are you helping me or not?" he asked impatiently. "I promise I won't make any moves on you, alright? We'll just be there to distract April a bit – and to get back at O'Malley for making me look pathetic in front of her."

"Fine, fine. Whatever. I'll do it," Izzie unenthusiastically agreed. She pointed her finger at him. "And after this, from now on you are going to be nice to me and you will never say a disrespectful thing to or about me ever again. Understood?"

Jackson nodded. "Pick you up at 6:15?"

"Deal," the blonde attending answered as she walked towards the exit, but not without one last scowl at the peds surgeon. "And bite me, Alex."

Alex chuckled after Izzie left the lounge. "She totally wants me back," he confidently said. "Playing hard to get."

"Yes, that's why she ignores you 75% of the time," Jackson sarcastically replied.

"Dude, she's totally right about you. I may not be the sharpest tool in the shed, but even I know when your cockiness goes overboard. As your best friend here, listen to me when I tell you that you'll go nowhere with Kepner if you think she'll fall for you because of your looks and money," he informed him. "And she's sort of on the dorky side. No wonder she and George are such good friends."

Dating advice from Alex Karev? He surprisingly made sense for once. If only he knew how much of a dork Jackson used to be.

The Seattle skies were fairly clear on Friday night, though that didn't stop guests attending the outdoor viewing of Ferris Bueller's Day Off at Green Lake Park from bringing umbrellas just to be on the safe side. There was a decent crowd, perhaps a little under 300 people that mostly consisted of adults and teenagers filling up the baseball and soccer fields by the lake. A giant white screen where the movie would be projected stood in front of the lake.

George carried two small lawn chairs, while April held a couple of blankets as they found an empty spot in the middle of the wide, grassy area. He wanted their date – maybe a date – to go well. And it had been three months since the trauma surgeon last went out on a date with a woman. Had he known how to speak to women better without sweating profusely and stuttering, he probably would score more dates. However, his social anxiety always defeated him.

"Is this spot okay? Or do you want to move closer?" he inquired.

"This is fine, Georgie." April waited for her best friend to set up the lawn chairs, then she sat down and covered her lap with a blanket. "I hope it doesn't rain. Forecast said it won't until later tonight, but having lived here for most of my life I stopped believing in what the weatherman says."

"Even if it does, we brought umbrellas. I will even give you my jacket if a torrential downpour suddenly occurs," he offered with a smile. George pulled out a candy box out of his jacket pocket. "I bought some Goobers before I picked you up. It was a tradition to eat these whenever we watched this movie, remember?"

"I do. I love how you remember every single detail. It's adorable," she complimented.

George scrunched his nose when April looked away. He didn't want to be adorable. He wanted to be desirable and so far, the redhead only saw him as her best friend who remembered everything about their childhood. "Uhh, how's Maddy?" he changed the subject. "You think she'd have fun visiting the Tropical Butterfly House at the Pacific Science Center?"

"I think she would. Oh! Lexie and I should totally plan a little day trip for her and Kylie," April suggested. "And then maybe also go to the Seattle Children's Museum. You and Mark can come too."

"Sure. That would be great," he happily agreed. His delight took a sudden dip when he noticed Jackson and Izzie approaching them. "What the hell is he doing here?"

April glanced up at the two doctors and cleared her throat. "Hi, Jackson… and Dr. Stevens," she reluctantly greeted them with a half-smile. "I didn't know you would be here too."

Seeing Jackson would have been better if Izzie wasn't with him. After learning about their brief history together, she was slightly jealous of the OB. She was gorgeous with her blonde hair and long legs. If they were to procreate, their children would already have modeling contracts before they were born. Definitely the type of woman she pictured him dating. No wonder the plastic surgeon once had a thing for her. Maybe he reignited that fling after she told him she wasn't ready to date, April thought.

And for once, Jackson wasn't dressed in a suit. All she had ever seen him wearing were suits and dress shirts. Instead, he was wearing a light gray t-shirt underneath a maroon hooded jacket and dark blue jeans, along with black and gold Nike basketball shoes. Very casual.

"Heard the weather was cooperating and why not enjoy the outdoors while we can?" Jackson answered, grinning widely at April. He pointed at the space a couple of feet away from them. "Mind if we sit here?"

"No, it's okay with me," she softly replied. "Are you two on a date?"

Izzie appeared to be shaking her head, but Jackson intervened. "Yeah, we are," he said, throwing his arm around his friend's shoulder. "This movie thing sounded like a good idea. Thanks for that, O'Malley."

George pursed his lips after Jackson winked at him. He knew exactly what the pretty man was doing, but he preferred not to make a scene out of it. He quickly waved at Izzie and bashfully smiled. "Hi, Izzie."

"Hey, George. You two on a date too?" she playfully asked.

"Yes."

"No."

George and April looked at each other after simultaneously giving different answers. He hoped they would be on the same page, but unfortunately, it wasn't a date to her. "We're… we're just friends," he murmured, visibly upset.

Izzie set a wool blanket on the grass before she sat down. Jackson sat close her, putting his arm around her shoulders again as he pulled her against his side. He hoped their closeness would spark a reaction from April, who he could barely see out of the corner of his eye.

"You are trying way too hard now," Izzie muttered and fought back a laugh. It was the first time she watched Jackson actually work hard to get a woman to notice him. "But I think you caught her attention."

April's eyes continuously drifted towards them, despite trying not to make a big deal out of the situation. People cuddled in front of her all the time, but seeing Jackson and Izzie only brought back memories of Matthew. She loved snuggling against him with his long arms wrapped around her. Now, she was missing her husband all over again. Being the sensitive type, it never took long for her to become emotional. And while she seemed to be coping just fine to her peers, she was very much still fragile deep inside.

She could feel the tears burning her eyes, so she stood up from her seat. "I-I I'm gonna buy some water at that stand over there," she hesitantly said and pointed at a concessions stand near the entrance.

George instantly grew concerned. "Is everything okay?" he asked, noticing the frown on her face.

"Yeah. Yeah, I'm fine. I'll… be right back," she tearfully responded and quickly bolted for the concessions stand.

Jackson turned his head, watching April briefly leave. He casually excused himself, then he followed her feeling confident in his plan. She bought herself a water bottle and stepped aside with her back facing him. He lightly tapped her shoulder and smiled. "Still not ready to date yet?" he arrogantly questioned. His face dropped when she slowly spun around with a tear rolling down her cheek. "Uhh… I didn't mean to upset you. April, I'm sorry."

"No, it's not your fault," the peds surgeon insisted, quickly drying her eyes with her jacket sleeve. "I was thinking about Matthew and I don't know. It happens sometimes. I'll randomly think about him and start crying. You didn't do anything."

"Actually, I uhh… I was trying to make you jealous," he confessed, scratching the back of his head and forcing himself to laugh. She, on the other hand, wasn't in the laughing mood. "Izzie's just a friend helping me out."

"She's pretty," April softly said before she bit down on her lower lip. "I-I can see why you two were together in the past."

"But that was the past. We're just friends… or more like she's an acquaintance who tolerates me a lot," he quipped, trying to ease away the tension. However, she sighed as her eyes gazed down at her shoes. Another light bulb turned on in his head. "Wait here. I will be right back."

April was left confused when Jackson walked away from her. He returned a few minutes later with his hands behind his back and a proud smile on his face. "What are you so happy about?"

He moved his hands from his back and revealed two wrapped Fudgesicles. "Maybe I can cheer you up with this. We had this on our first date at camp," he recalled. "And you have to take it because nobody should ever let these babies go to waste."

She finally smiled as she took one of the Fudgesicles from him. "That's true. Thank you." Opening the wrapper, she smirked at Jackson. "So, you were trying to make me jealous?"

"Did it work?" he chuckled.

"Well, you definitely brought back terrible memories of high school when I loathed all of the popular girls who had boyfriends," she uncomfortably admitted. "And Izzie, sh-she's a beautiful woman-"

"So are you," Jackson interrupted. He stepped closer to April and placed his hands behind his back again, trying his hardest not to touch her at all. Staring at her lips, he desperately wanted to kiss them. "Even when we were thirteen I thought you were beautiful. That single dimple continues to drive me nuts."

They were merely inches apart and she felt the unbearable tension as well. "I… I should go back to my seat. I don't want George to think I abandoned him. He is one of my best friends. I can't just leave him hanging." She walked around him, to his disappointment. "Thanks again for the Fudgesicle, Jackson. I appreciate it."

"What else do I need to freaking do?" he mumbled to himself after she walked away, feeling even more dejected than ever.

A part of him knew he was being selfish because April obviously wasn't ready to let go of Matthew yet, but she was interested in him. There was no doubt about that. Jackson decided he would have to work even harder now. He wasn't willing to throw in the towel anytime soon.

Any feedback would be much appreciated :)