Hope everybody had a nice Thanksgiving :)

Disclaimer: I do not own Forbidden Game or any of its characters.

OoO

Julian looked quite out of place in Jenny's room, with its pastel colors and floral theme, but he felt completely comfortable there. The boy had never given up his penchant for all black ensembles, and he'd started wearing his clothes skintight with a punk flair. Jenny knew that most of the girls in school had major crushes on Julian; they went crazy for his mysterious ways, wicked grin, and breathtaking blue eyes. He was, Jenny thought, the perfect combination of heavenly beauty and bad-boy appeal; and he was her best friend.

Right now, Julian was flopped belly-down on her bed, chin resting on a flower-shaped pillow. He looked like a young demon lost in the Graden of Eden

"How do you put up with my girliness?" Jenny asked, only half joking.

Julian beamed at her, "It's hardly my style, but I like your room."

It was true; Julian liked this room because it was so very Jenny—infused with her essence. He liked that it was pretty and feminine without being teeny-bopperish, and that it was filled with flowers—both real and fake—and that it smelled like vanilla; he even liked the cutesy posters of cats and dogs, and the way Jenny's parents stopped in "just to check on them," regarding Julian with polite smiles and wary eyes.

Now Jenny smiled at him, confused but grateful, and darted into the bathroom adjoining her room to try on yet another outfit. Jenny had never been the fashion-obsessed sort, but she was going out to a restaurant with Tom and his parents, which was, she told Julian solemnly, "almost like a real date." Julian had been grinding his teeth for the past half hour, but he was careful to conceal any signs of irritation from Jenny. While his friend was busy changing, Julian played idly with a little teddy bear Tom had won Jenny at a carnival this past summer. In a moment of casual cruelty, Julian ripped the bear's fluffy brown head off. "Oops," he muttered without a hint of real remorse. Julian considered fixing the toy, but he wasn't in a generous mood, so he waved his hand over the torn plush, making it disappear.

"So, um, what do you think?" Jenny's voice startled Julian as she emerged from the bathroom. Julian looked up and couldn't stop staring. His friend was wearing a sky blue camisole with a modest sprinkling of sequins on its hem, a light gray pencil skirt that came just above the knee, a little white jacket, and white flats with blue bones on their tops. It was a nice outfit, very much befitting Jenny's personality. Julian was amazed by the way it accentuated her slender form and revealed her slim, tanned calves.

"You look...very pretty," Julian said and immediately cringed. He should have acted less affected, or at the very least tried to sound smoother. Besides, "pretty" was not the word at all to describe Jenny; she was nothing if not beautiful.

At Julian's words, Jenny's face went scarlet. Julian silently celebrated her reaction, all the while feigning perplexity. "Um, well...uh, I don't think...I mean, I've got another outfit." Jenny darted back inside the bathroom, and Julian grinned. Jenny might come around yet. When she stepped back out, however, Julian's smile disappeared.

"Um Jen?" Julian raised a quizzical brow.

"What?" Jenny asked defensively, "I like these clothes."

"B.S." Julian said, emphasizing each letter, "you never dress like that, and you told me yourself that you think long skirts are sweaty and hard to move in."

Jenny shook her head vehemently. "I just don't like clothes that are too revealing, okay?"

Julian gave her an "Uh-huh, sure" look. He was most used to seeing Jenny in shorts, tank-tops, and one-piece bathing suits.

"Fine," Jenny said, giving up all her flimsy pretenses, "These are the kind of clothes Tom thinks I look good in. So what? He's my boyfriend."

As always, the "b-word" was like a little stab in Julian's gut, but he kept his face blank. "You shouldn't let him change you, Jenny. You're too wonderful the way you are," Julian said, than made a face. "That sounded terribly Hallmark."

Jenny was clearly affected by Julian's words. "Well," she said, considering, "I do really like that other outfit..."

She went to change one last time, and Julian was happy; he felt like he'd finally won a battle in a very long war.