Sorry for the short chapter, but I'm trying to draw this story out because really, I only have two chapters left in this story.

I know. I don't want it to end, mainly because I love writing this, and also because I hate ending stories.

Skip the roof-top kiss, because we all know what happened there

Piper liked to think that she looked at life from a non-romantic, guarded view. In the short time she had spent trying to make friends, they had rejected her and tossed her aside because of a few small differences. Boys, she had come to realize, acted as they shot they should act— in a manner that would get them included in society. Girls were even worse, caking themselves in makeup, putting on tight-fitting tops and short pants just to catch some boys eye. In Piper's mind, love was dumb and didn't exist at all, because most couples only knew each other from how the other acted in public, which was nothing like what they actually were.

And so what if she was humming to herself as she spun down the hall at four in the morning, grinning widely and remembering the gentle, almost hesitant warmth of Jason's lips against hers?

So what if she was already planning out their conservation, just so that it wouldn't be awkward between them?

And so what if she was searching for the most obnoxious, best way to show her and Jason's relationship to Isabel?

As much as she didn't want to admit it, Piper had fallen in love, and as sixteen-year-old summer love went, she had fallen pretty hard.

Moving as silently as she could, she slipped into her room, dressed in the dark and climbed into her bed, but her mind was moving far too quickly for sleep. Jason, beautiful, wonderful, patient Jason, had gone and kissed her in what had to be the single most romantic setting of all time. Piper had never really thought of herself as pretty (same as most girls), but now she came to realize there must be some kind of attraction to her if Jason, who was handsome enough to have limitless options of girls, had kissed her, and her only.

There was no great moment of revelation, where Piper was hit by a warm golden glow and suddenly filled by self-confidence. Instead, it just brought a small smile to her face when she realized that she wasn't as ugly as earlier experiences had made her think.

It was to be said that Piper hadn't looked at herself as ugly; she was merely not aware that she was stunningly beautiful. Leo had noticed in on his first day here, although he had also noticed that if he went after Piper he would merely be adding another name to the 'out of my league' list.

Isabel, too saw it, although she refused to believe what her own mind was telling her. In her eyes, beauty was measured in self-confidence and fashion, which Piper had neither to her.

It was safe to say that Piper fell asleep with a smile on her face that night, and not even Isabel could bring her down the next morning. As her alarm clock awakened her Piper sat up, smiled slightly and stretched. Life just seemed so… good right now. The weather outside was sunny, the room was fresh and she felt surprisingly sharp compared to her normal morning self.

Isabel caught sight of the smile on her face. "What've you got to be happy about, native trash?" She sneered as she leaned closer to her makeup mirror. Another inch, Piper thought, and she would be touching the thing. She dearly wished it would smash on the ground.

Then she realized that if Isabel's snapped, she would merely take one of her friends and leave them helpless. No, she decided, better to stab Isabel's eyes out and leave her completely helpless.

With that cheerful thought, Piper got dressed and headed down to breakfast, running into the boys halfway down the stairs. Jason grinned widely at her and Piper felt herself blush deeply as she smiled back. She was glad to discover a touch of colour on Jason's cheeks, as well. If he didn't blush it would've just been unfair.

"Were you telling the truth about the banquet?" Piper asked as she fell in step with them. Jason answered eagerly.

"For once, he wasn't lying," he grinned again. "I'm not sure if all of us are going, or where it's going to be or how big it's going to be, but we are going to some celebrity environmental summit in three days."

"I don't have anything to wear," was the first thing out of Piper's mouth. Leo's head snapped up in surprise.

"Wait, you care about fashion?" he asked, glancing disbelievingly in Piper's direction. "You?"

"I am a girl, you know," Piper snapped.

"I would hope so," Leo responded, a smile breaking out on his features. Realization dawned on Piper.

"You told him!" she said accusingly to Jason, who grinned sheepishly.

"He knew sooner than I did, Pipes," he told her. "He was freaking waiting for me when I walked in, acting like a teenage girl all hyped up about the kiss."

"I was not," Leo stated indignantly, but neither of them were listening to his complaints. Only then did Leo realize that he was standing in between the two of them. Picking the first thing in his pocket— a metal nut— he pretended to fumble and watched as it bounced down the stairs.

Muttering under his breath, he went to pick it up, crossing across Piper and placing her next to her newfound boyfriend. The move didn't go unnoticed and she smiled gratefully, stepping a little bit closer to Jason.

"But really," Piper said. "What am I supposed to do?"

"We're not much better off, you know," Jason smiled. "The best I brought was jeans and a hoodie."

"You could borrow something from Isabel," Leo suggested, and Piper glared at him. She would rather die than do that.

"Or we could persuade Hedge to bring us in the day before and give us a hundred-dollar spending budget to rent something," Jason suggested, and Piper found herself nodding to that idea.

"Would he listen to us?" she wondered aloud, and Leo looked at her like she was insane.

"Of course he wouldn't listen to us," he said. "But he would sure listen to golden boy, Dylan."

Linebreak

"Sure!" Dylan's horribly white smile almost blinded Piper as he broke into a grin at the idea. "That's great!"

Leo blinked. "Well, that was surprisingly easy." Jason nodded in agreement.

"I expected him to at least wonder why we wanted to head into a clothes rental place with a hundred dollars." Jason shook his head. "Guess not." Dylan bound out of the room, set on his mission.

"Well, nothing to do here," Leo said, gazing around the room. "May as well go to the kitchen to see if there's something to eat."

"You know," Jason told him as they set off. "For a skinny kid, you eat way to much."

"Hey," Leo defended. "I've had to steal from McDonalds' to eat before. This is a luxury, man." Other people might get emotional about that, but Leo treated it like on big joke. That was one of the great things about Leo.

The two boys kept talking, but Piper tuned out as she saw Isabel heading up the stairs they were currently walking down. A sudden idea struck Piper. It would probably get her teased later, but right now it was completely worth it.

"Well, at least—" Jason started to say, but he was cut off when Piper grabbed his neck and kissed him. He made a muffled sound of shock, before responding eagerly. Piper could hear Isabel stop and drop her phone, an exclamation of surprise escaping her mouth.

To make it better, there was the click of a shutter as Leo took a picture from beside them. Piper and Jason stayed locked at the lips.

Didn't like the ending. Next one will be up in two weeks, and then two weeks after that the short-ish ending chapter will be up. Thank you guys all for supporting me.

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