Metamorphosis

Disclaimer: I own nothing

A/N: I trust you will enjoy this chapter, please read and enjoy a milestone chapter.

Chapter 12 (A New Friend)

It was her turn now, and Lindsay wasn't here, but she didn't want her friend to be here. She couldn't be strong for Lindsay if she herself were weak, and right now, that was exactly how she felt.

Occasionally she'd glance to the clock on the desk, but it was hard to see with the hazy and blurred vision that her tears gave her. They were like bubbles in her puffy eyes. Her nose had been running with her tears for the past several hours, and every once in a while she had to wipe the mucus from her upper lip and nostrils.

Trina buried her face into her pillow and screamed in an attempt to alleviate the pain in her chest. The memories that haunted her were made fresh again and she didn't know how to combat them.

It wasn't just Ross, or Mitchell-the stalker-nor was she focusing solely on the people who stood her up throughout her life. They were all just a part of a problem, just as much as Jade was for all of her statements regarding her worthlessness.

The men that hurt her were only tools to confirm and prove that Tori's friends were right. Further proof that even Jenny had a point: nobody would ever care about her. "I deserve to be alone," she cried, "That's who I am."

She thought she heard a footstep and lifted her head an inch from her pillow. "Trina?" Jason's compassionate and strong voice touched her eardrums like a melody and caused her heart to skip. Her breath caught in her throat and she clenched her eyes shut.

Had he heard her?

"Go away," she stammered. She didn't want him seeing her in this state either. "Leave me alone. Just everyone leave me alone, everyone does." Her mattress bounced beneath her and she gripped the edges and let out a startled gasp. His gentle hand ran over her upper back, rubbing it. The sensation comforted her tense muscles and she let herself collapse once more into the mattress. "Jason." She moaned into the pillow and her body shook like an earthquake was ravaging her. "Why are you here?"

"You didn't show up for group activity and you didn't go to lunch. I stayed a little after the class for you as well, in case you wanted to come back and train."

Her face burrowed further into the pillow and shrugged. She was sorry to miss it all, but she couldn't deal with it in the shape she was in. "Am I in trouble for skipping group activity?" He pulled his hand away and she turned her head slightly to see his hands firmly placed on the top of his legs.

"No." She released her grip on the edge of her bed and pushed down on the mattress to lift her upper body up slightly. "I'm putting in a transfer request for Jenny. One of the other group counselors will have to take her, but that means I have to bring someone in."

"Won't that be a hassle?"

"It's a lot of work, yes, but it might be for the best." Jenny would only stress out whatever group leader had her, and there was still a chance she would try to bother Jason.

Jason looked off to the door and Trina looked down at her pillow. There was a darker, wet circle that framed where her face had been. "I…" Her arms struggled to keep her body up and her hair collapsed around her faced. "I know you didn't want to put that stress on any of the other group leaders."

"Yeah, I said I could deal with that burden." He ran his hand over his neck and closed his eyes. "They don't need to deal with her, because she will cause problems for them."

"You're not switching her out because of me."

"Some of the others in the group have asked for a transfer." She still didn't approve, since Jenny was attacking her and no one else. "She is also a distraction for the group. I cannot simply send her home either, as much as I would like to."

"Why?"

"So far she hasn't broken any of the camp's rules. Even if she did, she would have to receive warnings first." Her eyes dipped towards the floor and her hands slid beneath the pillow.

"If she's causing you too much stress, and you think putting her in another group would better for you, then you should do that. What do you want?" Jason sighed and smiled at her. "You shouldn't have to force yourself to deal with her for the entire camp."

"You're right." He crossed his arms and closed his eyes. "She and I didn't date very long at all, she showed her possessiveness quickly and I was able to break it off with her. She latched on like a leech."

She wiped her eyes and sat up beside him. Her eyes rolled up towards the door. "Can I ask? Just out of curiosity." He glanced over and she met his eyes with a sad smile. "Do you, or did you have anyone special back home? I mean…"

"No. I haven't had the urge to date anyone for a while. I put my focus in other things, more important avenues." His hands pat his knees a couple times and his shoulders rose slowly. "You?"

She shook her head. "I haven't thought about it in a long time. Even making friends is difficult for me." Her chest pain grew worse and she clenched her teeth tightly. "People don't usually want to get to know me that much, so I come off strong when I show an interest in someone."

"Ah."

"I don't mean to, it just translates into that. I don't think I'm forceful, I don't want to come off that way." She swept a tear from her eyes and scoffed loudly. "If I don't try to do that, people don't take an interest in me, so I end up fighting just to get someone to even look my way."

"If it means anything, I think you're worth knowing." Her heart jumped to her throat and her eyes shot up at him as her lips fell apart. Fresh tears erupted like lava from her eyes. Jason smiled into her eyes and reached over, patting her knees. "Come on, I want to show you something."

He stood up and waved her to the door. "What?" She mustered the strength to get up and felt as though she were watching herself move towards him. "What is it?"

"Something I think will help you relax."

She followed him without question, uncertain what she was getting herself into. It felt a lot like when she would follow Lindsay around during their childhood adventures.

They ended up leaving the campgrounds and hiked through the wooded area until they found a wall of large rocks to grip on. When Jason started to climb, so did she.

"I can't believe you're making me climb rocks," she laughed-for once today she felt less like jumping off a cliff. Her fingers grasped at the jagged corners of the rocks and she placed her shoes in manmade holes in the wall. Jason peered down at her with a smirk and wagged his eyebrows at her.

"Someone said a while back that you enjoyed rock climbing."

She reached up for the edge of a rock above her and pulled herself up with a grunt. "How the hell do you remember this stuff?" She looked up at him and heard another laugh. "You climb out here rather frequently?"

"All the time." It wasn't a large rock, and certainly not one that needed a lot of safety equipment. However it was tall, and very wide. Whatever was at the top was enough to warrant Jason wanting her to see, so she was looking forward to it.

The thrill that her adrenaline was feeding her was enormous and pushing her onward. "You know something?" She thought about what Tori would say to this, or more the reaction that her mother would have had so long ago, then laughed. "If my family knew I did this kind of stuff, they'd throw a shit fit."

"You think?"

"Well. They would have when I was younger, and mainly my mom. Dad was a thrill seeker when he was young, and Tori? I think she probably would be just as annoyed as mom." She pulled herself up once more and looked at what was above her.

To her right, smaller rocks were tumbling from where Jason was. There was a rock within arm's reach that could serve as a good opportunity to pull herself up, but she was going to have to be quick about grabbing the rock directly above that.

No sudden movements

A crucial rule in climbing things like this was not to be hasty and to take things slow, but sometimes swiftness was needed. The only footing she could gain was in a slot just beneath the first rock.

"Alright." She sucked in a deep breath and gripped the corner of the rock, then pulled herself up. In an instant she reached up with her left hand and lurched her body upwards to grab the rock.

She hoisted herself up, reaching ahead with her right hand and slamming her right foot into the foot hold. She grabbed a rock above her, but was left with no hole for her left foot. Instead, she had to press her shoe against it. "Shit." Her eyes scanned the area above her and her face turned to a sour grimace. "There's nowhere to grab onto."

Some feet above her was the edge of this rock structure. It was probable that she could jump and grab the edge, but with no support on her left foot, it was unlikely. "Jason!" He poked his head over the edge and reached down with his hand.

"Grab my hand, I'll pull you up the rest of the way."

She grabbed his hand and held her breath and felt herself being jolted up. His left hand swung around to the small of her back and guided her along. Her left knee pushed against the top of the mountain and she swung her right foot up to the top.

"Thanks." She exhaled and looked back as Jason helped her to stand. It wasn't a long drop, though they still stood above many trees. "Damn." She put her hand to her neck and stretched herself. "God what a climb."

When she saw him smirk, her heart both dropped and grew in excitement. Jason pointed to another wall nearby and she looked up with a sigh. "Just a little higher, if you feel up to it."

"Should I even ask what you're getting me into?"

"You'll see."

"Seriously? You do remember I don't like heights."

Jason flashed a smile and brought his hand up to her right upper arm. The warmth of his touch penetrated her skin and caused her to draw in a sharp breath. "Trust me. I won't let you fall." Her shoulders peaked and she leaned forward, dropping her gaze.

"Better not." Her lips curled up and she glanced at the rock wall with excitement. "I think if you did, my sister might hunt you down."

"Lindsay seems scarier."

Trina smirked and approached the wall. Her fingertips brushed against the sediment and her eyes drifted over to the man. "She is."

They reached the top after several more minutes of climbing, and Trina dared herself to try and look down. "I can't believe you actually took a break to come out here." Her legs shook as she stood up and watched Jason approach the edge of the structure. Her heart stopped and her nerves shot up to strangle her. "Careful!"

"I'm fine." He motioned her over and opened his mouth in a laugh. "I come out here all the time. It's true, I do take breaks." Trina approached the edge and grabbed his arm so she wouldn't stumble and fall.

When she looked out and saw all the trees below them, she gasped and buried her head into his arm for a split second. "How the hell are we going to get down?"

"Same way we got up, descend slowly. Now, just take a deep breath and look out, you'll be fine. Nothing can happen." She moved her head from his arm and looked out at her surroundings. Her body began to tremble and she didn't feel very secure with simply holding onto his arm.

"This is going to sound weird." He raised an eyebrow and she turned her gaze up as the wind rattled across her face to give her the sensation of trying to force her off the edge. "Please don't make anything of this, just-hold on to me? I don't feel secure."

"Sure." He moved his arm around her waist and she did the same. "Let's take a step away from the edge too, if it makes you feel any better." She nodded and stepped back slowly. "Now, deep breath, and take it all in."

As she took a breath, her chest began to extend. All around them were trees that looked like a green sea. The sea led to the castle that fortified their campground, then spread around it, creating an island that reached into the skies.

She blew out as her hair and clothes flapped like a flag in the wind. "It's…so beautiful." She couldn't think about how far up she was, nor could she think about the troubles that had been plaguing her earlier in the day. "I-" Her voice shook and a fresh tear hung from her eyelash.

"Have you ever seen anything so amazing?"

"No. I mean, I've been high up and never bothered to look around." She always felt like the sky might open up and swallow her whole, or something would cause her to fall. "There's nothing to be afraid of up here, is there?"

"There isn't." She felt his arm fall from her waist, but didn't care. "It's something to respect as a danger, but it's not something to fear. If you trust your surroundings and trust yourself, you won't fall."

"Yeah, and I imagine you're not going to push me off or anything."

"Of course not." She turned to him and watched his hand rise to his chin. "Did you bring a camera with you, by any chance?" She had a camera in her pack back in her room but not here.

"Not on me."

Jason then removed the pack on his back and chuckled at her. "Fortunately I brought mine along." She rolled her eyes and smiled. Jason pulled a digital camera from the bag, moved backwards to the center of the rock and held it up. "Let me take a picture?"

Blood rushed to her cheeks and she lifted her hand to hold onto her hair so that the wind would not blow in front of her face. "Sure." She posed for the photo and smiled as he steadied the camera. Her hair spun around her index finger as she twirled it. "Why am I acting like a schoolgirl? Stop it, Trina!"

The camera made a clicking noise and she dropped her hand. She saw Jason lower the camera and study the photograph for several seconds. His mouth curved a bit and she leaned forward like she was trying to see the photo from where she was standing.

"What are you staring at over there?"

"The picture." He brought his hand to his chin and the left corner of his mouth fell, leaving a deep smirk on his face. "The way you look in here. It's nice." Her heart skipped a beat and the blush on her face intensified.

"Nice?"

"Different than you usually do." He brought his head up and handed her the camera. When she looked, she was astonished. She came across as relaxed, and maybe a little on the shy side, but it was a cute photograph. She walked around camp, mostly tense and ready to flip on anyone that said anything to her, primarily as a defense mechanism. In this, it was as though her guard was down.

"Wow I…" She stuttered and brought her hand to her chest. "I'm speechless, actually. I wasn't even trying to look like this. What do you do with these photographs? Do you have some place to develop them?"

"Dr. Wyatt has a computer in his office, we can print any and all photographs on it. Even burn photos on a CD."

"Could you do that?" She looked up at him and gave a smile. "I'd like a copy of this." He took the camera and nodded at her.

"Sure. Let's just take a few more and head down. Is that alright?"

"Yeah." As Jason started to fidget with the camera, Trina began to contemplate what good could come from a friendship with this man. She hoped they could be friends, because she didn't really any others besides Lindsay, and he was at least in California right now. "Hey um…" She bit her lower lip and twiddled her thumbs together.

"'Sup?"

"Do you think maybe…" He looked away from the camera and made eye contact as she approached him. This felt weird, as she never knew if she should or could even ask such a question. "I don't want to impose, I know it feels like I impose a lot on my sister's friends and they push me away, so maybe I should ask first but-" She stopped talking for a second to collect her thoughts as she didn't want to ramble on and annoy him. "I could use some more friends."

His right eyebrow rose, then he smiled at her. "You know." He reached out to her shoulder and she held her breath as a spark of electricity shot down her arm. "I would hope that I could call you a friend of mine." Her heart leapt and a state of bliss swept over her, crushing any lingering concerns that the day had brought.

"Sorry about your sister's friends. You know, you're a good person whether or not anyone realizes that. If they can't see that, then they don't deserve you in their lives."

"I…" When he turned back to work on the camera, she brought her hands to her face in an attempt to cool down the heat burning on her cheeks. Her eyes closed and her chest felt as though her heart were going to burst from it. "Thank you."

What better way to feel better than to experience the adrenaline rush of the great outdoors? Seems like Jason did well to comfort her, though it can't be easy with all that she's dealing with. I felt it would be a good idea for Jason not to try and pry and get her to talk about things, but rather comfort her and get her out of that room. What are your thoughts on all that happened in this chapter? Did you enjoy it, what parts did you like?