Metamorphosis

Disclaimer: I own nothing

A/N: Since it was written with chapter 9, but separated because it worked as a standalone, I give both to you together as a present of sorts.

Chapter 10 (Challenge)

Still needing time to think on Tori's letter before she wrote it, she made her way to the gym to do some exercise. There were some rooms that could be sectioned off for people wishing to work out in their own space, and as she walked by them, she was shocked to see Jason in one of them.

The door had a glass window large enough to peer through. Jason's back was turned as he approached a pull up bar that was beside a workout bench and dumbbells.

Trina leaned forward and pressed the palm of her hand against the door while focusing on his back. He appeared very muscular, which didn't come to a shock, and she wasn't focusing so much on them.

Rather, he had his shirt off and a towel around his neck, and on his body were numerous scars. Some were sickle-shaped while others were in the shape of gashes. They were gut-wrenching to see and Trina was struck by a great deal of concern for him.

"What happened?" She whispered to no one in particular. Jason turned around, peering up at the long iron bar. His chest also had some light scars made brighter by the glaze of sweat that covered him as a blanket.

He grabbed the bar with his palms inwards, tightened his lips together and lifted himself. When his chin touched the top of the bar, he bent his knees and spread his lips apart to reveal clenched and focused teeth.

Fearing that he might see her watching, she turned back and pushed her back against the metal part of the door. Her hand moved to her chest and she was overcome with grief and curiosity.

Eventually she built up the courage to knock on the door. When it opened, Jason had put a white t-shirt back on and greeted her with a smile. "Trina. Come to work out?"

"I did, and I saw you in here. I was surprised to see you." She wanted to ask about the scarring, but she didn't want to start a prying. It could be that he didn't want to talk about it, and she didn't want to come off trying to ask a million questions about his personal life.

While they did talk a few times over the last week, it wasn't much. He was busy a lot of times and truthfully couldn't help it. There was so much that he had to plan, and then there were problem students he had to deal with-versus those he just didn't want to have to deal with.

"Have you been to the gym here before?" Jason ran his towel across his neck, wiping away the sweat reflecting the light. "As you can see, private rooms for people who want to work out on their own."

"I guess I shouldn't be surprised you're in one of them."

"Yeah, it's quieter." He leaned his shoulders against the wall, crossed his legs and folded his forearms across his abs.

Having seen him without his shirt, she couldn't force the image out of his mind. He had a six-pack, had a powerful looking chest, and arms that she was beginning to imagine could wrap around her and hold her tight.

Trina moved her hand up to her right temple and closed her eyes while shaking her head.

Jason looked off at the large workout area at the other end of the gym and curled his eyebrows together. "There's usually a group of people at that area down there that spend their time laughing and carrying on. Rather than irritating people by asking them to keep it down, working out in these rooms tends to be a better alternative."

"I can understand that. I like the silence better myself."

"Yeah." He brought his arms up and crossed them over his chest. "Are you alright?" Her eyes flew open and her lips curved into a tiny smile.

"I guess. I'm just thinking about my sister's letter." She walked into the private room, preferring this conversation be between them and not potentially heard by others. Jason appeared to catch on and followed her in.

"Good that you've been writing to your family."

"Yeah…" She took a seat on the bench and let out a grunt. It was wet and smelled of cleaner, but that didn't help the moisture that was now sinking into her purple jogging pants. "She asked me something. I don't know the answer."

"Oh?" Jason moved onto the exercise bike across from her and sat down. He leaned forward, folding his arms on the top part of the handlebars. "Something I can help with?" Her lips pursed and she had to take a moment to question whether she really wanted to discuss this with him.

"I doubt it. It's a little personal, but…" Part of her felt she could confide in him, as nuts as it was, and of course she couldn't come off clingy. "My sister tries to be optimistic about a lot of things. She tries to help. She asked me what I wanted to do with my life, what did I want to be."

"And?"

"I don't know." She pat the back of her neck and rolled her head against it with a deep sigh. "I have…" Trina then dropped her head and shoulders, her hands firmly grasped the edge of the bench and she started chuckling. Her heart slammed into her chest and she lifted her head. "I've always tried to figure out who I was by being like other people or liking what they liked. Maybe people would pay attention to me if I were more like them."

Jason slid his right hand up and out into the air. "What do you like? I mean, just focus on what you like and people who have common interests will take notice."

"Yeah. The thing is, I don't know if there's really any point anymore. If maybe it's too late." She stood up and walked to the dumbbells. "I love exercise, working out and playing sports. I don't mind getting a little bit dirty."

Trina's hand hovered over the dumbbells and she squinted her eyes as the number on them. "At the same time, yes I enjoy looking nice, dressing up and having fun with the 'girly girls' as they're called." It was a label she never truly understood, she couldn't see why a 'tomboyish' girl couldn't enjoy heels and dresses.

"Can you tell me what's wrong with that?" She grabbed the fifteen pound weights and walked over to the bench. Jason raised an eyebrow and pushed himself into an upright position, watching as she started to position herself on the bench. "What's wrong with a girl that likes to wear heels and looking nice working out and playing sports?"

"Nothing." Her heart skipped a beat and she practically dropped the dumbbell. Jason stood from the bike and began walking over. "I actually respect a girl like that a little more. Liking to play sports, get yourself a little dirty, and work out doesn't mean you can't also enjoy dressing up nice, wearing makeup, or trying on heels."

"I, um, I take a lot after my dad." She bent over the side of the bench, put her knee upon it and placed her right palm flat on the head portion. Her left hand clutched the dumbbell and she began to bring it up behind her. "It's been a little time since I've used dumbbells though."

"I see."

When she wasn't feeling like she was doing something right, she turned her head to Jason and her eyes slid up to the man. "I'm not sure if I'm in the right position." He was smirking and rubbing his chin.

"No. No you're not." She tucked a portion of her lower lip beneath her teeth and peered down at the palm of her hand, closing her eyes and sucking in a heavy breath of air as she felt his hand grace the small of her back.

He applied a small amount of pressure, enabling her to lower herself. "Your back is bent, you need to keep it perfectly straight or you'll injure yourself." His hand exuded heat, which radiated into her spine and sent a shiver into her heart. "Now your arm…"

Jason's free hand moved around her elbow and pulled it parallel with her side. "Bend it at a right angle, make it parallel with your body." The hand on her back slid down her body, leaving a trail of goosebumps behind. "Straighten your leg a little bit also."

"Like this?" She followed his directions and looked towards the dumbbell. She knew at this point how to do the routine, but feeling his hands on her body created such a sensation that made her want to feel more.

"Now slowly." He moved his two forefingers onto her wrist and guided it up. She pulled it into a straight and parallel position, then slowly brought it back into the angel he placed it in. "And you do that a certain amount, then switch arms."

"Okay." When they were done with this, she moved over to the pull up bars. She intentionally made the first one sloppy, which she felt a bit of guilt over, but it enabled Jason to 'show' her how it was done.

"Again, back straight." His hands caressed her waist and her body began to shiver at the touch. When she looked over her shoulder, she saw him smirking-as if he already knew what she was doing. "It must remain straight as you pull yourself up. There's no need to swing your body or do any fancy tricks…"

She then performed a pullup, curling her arms at a ninety-degree angle. She tilted her head back and moved it forward to touch her chin to the bar, then smirked with pride as Jason's hands left her waist.

"Yes. Just like that." She ran through twenty, then dropped to the ground with a grunt. Her eyes flew to his handsome smirk, then she smirked back at him. "So you didn't need any help with that."

"Is that so?" Trina flipped her hair over her shoulder and raised her right eyebrow at him. "Well. Have you ever met a woman that could do more pushups than you?" He let out a scoffing laugh and waved his hand dismissively before his chest. "What?"

"I've been working out nearly all my life."

"So? Get down on the ground and show me what you can do."

"A challenge?" He swept his finger across his nose and gave her a smug grin. "I'll say the same." He moved around her like a lion studying its prey. His gaze was sharp and his smirk was confident, but Trina felt certain she could get him for one reason: He'd already been working out longer than she had today. "Do you care to make any wager?"

"Sure. I win, you spar with me outside class." This was a grand opportunity to get to know each other a little more, and maybe develop some kind of friendship. "Practice makes perfect, right?" Jason swayed to the right and his eyebrow drifted up. Trina smiled innocently. "Plus, you're always working. Take a break. The world won't crumble without you."

"I don't know. Normally I don't think I'd mind spending a little bit of time, but sparring?"

Trina took her turn to circle him, sliding her index finger across his upper chest as she walked. "Certainly you don't think I'm out of practice." His chest was like a great valley with an indent in the middle, and smooth to the touch. She started to laugh, and felt herself shudder when she started to remove her hand.

He caught her hand in his and she flicked her gaze to his while letting her palm press down onto his chest. "I don't know." Jason tilted his head and let his eyelids fall halfway. "You've got a lot of confidence, but I'm a third degree black belt."

"What does that mean? I mean, I understand there's more than just a simple blackbelt, but-"

"It just means we're progressing into further stages and becoming more proficient and more eligible to teach. Eighth Dan or perhaps degree would imply grandmaster, fifth is master and so on. Essentially over a course of more years we still advance further."

"Oh. Well then." Her lips slid into a circle and silence felt as a cloak that surrounded them. The longer their eyes connected, the more she could feel a trembling from within, but she did what she could to push it down. "I'm fairly certain you can teach me, and I can more than handle a whatever degree black belt."

"Alright then." When the lines around the raised corner of his lip deepened and intensified, she felt a powerful heat strike her and in an instant, draw the sweat from her pores. "Still have to best me at pushups, you actress and singer, you."

She stood on toes, trying to stand level with him, and leaned forward. Her eyes narrowed and her lips spread into a wide and toothy grin. "You're on."

Within an hour, Trina was back at her room and happily writing Tori back her thoughts. She'd come back from taking a friendly jog around camp with Jason. Over time the thought of what to say to Tori came to mind.

I'm still uncertain how to answer you regarding your statement. I mean, I guess you're right. I'm no actress, and maybe I'm no singer either. I'm still trying to figure myself out, but yeah I'd like to have friends and people that care about me like everyone else.

I guess I am making friends. Do you remember Lindsay Peters? She found me here at camp when she signed up, she's my roommate. Also, I met Jason, and well-

Trina swept her hair over her ear and looked sideways at her window. Blood rose to her cheeks as she visualized him working out, with his back muscles and chest tightening on every contraction. Then when they did the pushups, his shirt was clinging tightly to his body, and sweat was dripping from his nose and his parted lips.

She started to smile, then brought her pen back to continue writing. Tori would likely ask her about him in her next letter, but that was fine.

He is a good man, and I think I told you about my running into him already. We had a couple conversations since being here, and then tonight I challenged him to outdo me at pushups. Guess what? I won! He tired out and I kept going for another ten, so he's going to train and practice with me outside of class. I hope his ex-girlfriend won't be a problem, but she's like Jade, mean and obsessive, only way worse. There's more to it, but I won't say.

Still, there's nothing between the two of us, he's just some guy who happens to be really attractive.

She took a pause, and remembering her sister's account of her father's reactions as of late, she could feel her heart begin to flicker. Her dad wouldn't be the protective type-not of her. The only time he ever displayed anything was when it involved Tori. Yet she was fairly certain when she was a kid, he treated her like she was his favorite daughter. Things truly did change when Hollywood Arts came into light.

Tori, do mom and dad read these? It really doesn't matter, because Jason is just my group leader and someone I've been spending a little bit of time with this last week.

Trina went on to talk about the flag football game they had the other day. It was a fun time, and Tori would like to hear it. Hopefully. At least this time there was no real need for her to rant about anything negative, and out of respect for Jason, she didn't want to reveal personal information.

I'm fairly certain mom and dad do read the letters, haha. Well, I hope you enjoyed this chapter. What are your thoughts? Those scars on Jason's body do mean something, but of course we'll get to his past later on down the road once something may hopefully develop between the two. I hope you enjoyed their moment in that workout room. At this point neither of the two are actively seeking a relationship with anybody, but I want to impress upon the reader that attraction still exists between two people, it just takes time for it to build and a desire for someone to act on it. Perhaps that shall happen? They seem on a road to friendship, and isn't that how it all begins? Enjoy.