Metamorphosis

Disclaimer: I own nothing

A/N:

Chapter 20 (First Date)

The next morning after her shower, she let Lindsay do her hair and style her according to their chosen style the prior night. So little makeup had been applied, yet she saw herself as looking radiant. It boosted her confidence greatly and she was excited to head out to the group.

Trina wasn't different from her usual appearance. Lindsay fluffed her hair up a bit with a comb and brush, taking a long time to remove tangles and work up the natural shine. It now flowed like cotton around her neck, with the tips curling at her shoulders. Her hair was curled behind her hair and held down with a violet headband.

Her face had a light amount of powder and blush, and she wore very subtle mascara and light eye shadow that matched her outfit. Lindsay managed to get Trina's short eyelashes to curl, making her eyes pop out like flowers. Then her lips had a subtle gloss which reflected the light and helped erase the chapped markings.

Of course she normally used a simple non-scented shampoo and body wash, but Lindsay had her use a milk and honey body wash and then cleaned out her hair with Pantene conditioner and a lilac scented shampoo.

She also wore her dark red gi, with the V-shaped collar. Trina smiled at herself and peered down at her nails. They weren't acrylic or painted with any vibrant of flashy color, but they had a unique shine that might catch the eye of just about anyone she wanted.

"You were right," Trina whispered, "I feel great." She took a deep breath and looked back at her friend. "I don't feel like I'm overdoing it or anything." Lindsay clasped her hands together and flashed a toothy grin.

"I told you. All you have to do is go simple. You needed to accentuate your natural beauty, not overdo it with gobs of makeup, and now at least you look like you care about your appearance." Trina curled her hands at her hips and twisted her lips while raising an eyebrow. Lindsay laughed out. "I'm joking. Come on, we don't want to be late."

"Alright…"

Lindsay ran ahead of her when they reached their group meeting, and before even reaching the door, she could hear the girl making some sort of announcement. Her eyes widened and her cheeks burned furiously as Lindsay grabbed everyone's attention.

"Introducing the one and only, the beautiful Trina Vega."

"No, Lindsay, I don't want to draw attention to myself!" She hurried in and stopped in her tracks. All eyes fell on her and she held her breath. She could feel their inquisitive stares, examining her and studying this look.

Her lower lip tucked beneath her teeth and her eyes flew towards Jason. His eyebrows had risen, but his eyes were sharp and he was smirking at the display. "Trina actually let you give her a makeover?" It was something she joked about with him in the past, since Lindsay had brought up the idea of giving each other a makeover in the past few weeks, but she never wanted to go through with it.

"That's the point." Lindsay leaned into Trina and whispered. "Now. Go get him." She rolled her eyes and walked to the desk, wincing when her eyes met his.

"Jason…I, I really didn't want to draw attention to myself, I just-"

"You look beautiful." Her heart began to flutter, and her lips separated. Trina smiled at him and leaned up against the desk. A closer look revealed a very subtle redness on his cheeks. She was in shock; people called her pretty before but this was the first time she actually agreed with the compliment

"T-Thank you." She ran her hand over her neck and bowed her head. "I don't normally feel like it, and people don't usually put me with that. I mean…um…" She dropped her hand to her side and smiled at him. "I think I'm going to get lined up. We can talk after class, right?"

"Always." As she walked towards her spot next to Lindsay, she could feel Jason's watchful gaze. Beside her, Lindsay laughed triumphantly. She turned her eyes to Jason, and the minute their gazes connected, he cleared his throat and moved to the front of the room. "Right, let's get started."

Trina's eyes drifted to the man with the cowboy hat and she tilted her head, smirking more as she thought about Lindsay and Travis. "Oh Linds?" Lindsay replied with a curious hum. "You're next." Lindsay's eyes drifted over to Travis and she started to groom her hair.

"Oh. You want to fix me up for Travis or something?"

"Revenge. That, and it's nice to have someone to do this stuff with." She wasn't sure the martial arts class was the appropriate place to get all prettied up, but at least it was all light and wouldn't cause too much of an issue.

After the class session was over, Trina happily joined Jason for a walk outside the campgrounds. This time they weren't simply hiking or going rock climbing, she had a few things that she wanted to discuss with him, as did she.

"So…what do we do now?" He locked his wrists behind his back and looked at her curiously. "I mean, this is kind of new territory for me." She took a deep breath and started to smile.

Considering he hadn't dated since Jenny, and Jenny didn't last much more than a couple weeks, it was amazing that he appeared so confident. "Me too. I guess we just learn as we go?" It was always possible that confidence was a façade, but there was no evidence of this. "That kiss, yesterday…"

"Um-" A red line appeared beneath his eyes, and he quickly cleared his throat. "Would you laugh if I said it was my first?" She brought her hand up to her chest and let her jaw hang for a second.

"I wouldn't have guessed that. It was mine too, actually." He turned to her and let out a nervous chuckle. Seeing him this way was as nice as it was cute, because for the first time she was seeing a softer side of him.

"I wouldn't have thought that."

"Well, I've dated a lot of guys, yeah, but none of them lasted long enough to where I felt like I could…be that close. The closest thing to a real kiss I've had was a stage kiss with some guy that thought there was something more."

"Ouch."

"Yeah, a real creep that guy." She swept her hair over her ear and turned her head down and away. "So, earlier when you said I was pretty…you meant that?"

"Of course. I thought you were beautiful before then. That's um, okay right?" Blood rushed to her cheeks and her heart jumped from her chest. Jason ran his hand over the back of his neck and looked away, scolding himself. "Sorry, I-"

She leaned forward and pushed herself up on her toes, kissing him on the cheek. His eyes widened momentarily and his lips curled up. "I didn't peg you to be the shy type."

"I'm not normally." He coughed into his hand and started to walk. She followed behind him and closed her hands behind her back. "It's like I said before, it's been a while since I've wanted to be involved with anyone."

"Same here." She looked off to the right and began thinking of those she'd dated in the past. A pang of fear struck her heart, and she slowly glanced at Jason. "I don't want to make you think I'm clingy and I don't want to do anything to run you off, so…if I do anything that maybe is a bit much or something, let me know. Okay?"

He raised an eyebrow and nodded. "I don't think you will."

"I just, if this can be something, I'd like to make it last."

"We'll take it slow, and we'll work on it." They approached a small pond where several ducks were swimming. Beside the pond were a few star shaped flowers. Jason reached down and picked one of the purple ones and looked to her with a bright, yet somewhat cheesy smile.

She took the flower graciously and carefully placed it between her head and the headband. "It's lovely." She wasn't really the type to like flowers, but she appreciated the sentiment. "I don't think anyone's ever quite done that before."

"Well then I'm glad to be the first." He swept his hand through his hair and started to chuckle. "I'm not one for sentimentality usually, but I could get used to that." As his shoulders fell, his nose scrunched up. "You would not believe the amount of romance stuff my mother has watched over the years…"

"You never thought they'd come in handy, I guess?"

His eyes widened. "Never." Jason looked at the pond with the ducks. His fingers connected with his chin, and his eyes focused on the animals aa though he were studying their every move. "You know, we could have snatched some bread from the cafeteria."

"Maybe next time we can." She reached for his hand, hesitating for a split second as if contemplating whether or not this course of action was appropriate. Jason's eyes darted towards her hand and he carefully placed her hand inside his. They wrapped their fingers together and Trina leaned against him. "The ducks are beautiful."

"Yeah, but they're not the most beautiful thing here that I see." He smiled at her, causing her heart to skip. "It doesn't bother you that I'm basically the guy in charge of the camp, does it?"

"Should it?"

"No." She knew people would talk. It was just the way things were, but she didn't care. "I don't want it to trouble you. People will notice we're together, I don't have a problem with it if you don't."

"People gossip all the time. I'm used to it. Lindsay told me I shouldn't let what other people say get to me, so I'm going to try not to."

"Good." Jason took a deep breath. "I don't know how, but last night, Travis seemed to already know what happened." She closed her eyes and smiled. Best friends were funny in that way. "He said I seemed 'different'. I don't know how I seemed any different than usual, but that's what he said. He asked about you and I said I was talking to you-he put two and two together and started asking all these questions."

"So he knows now? I'm not surprised. Lindsay would have told him, anyway. She was waiting for me to get back."

"Oh?"

"Yeah, she was the one that encouraged me to talk to you." He chuckled. "I've felt an attraction to you for…a while now. I was so scared you wouldn't feel the same way. Then that kiss…" She turned to him and met his warm gaze. "How long have you wanted to do that?"

Jason cleared his throat and scratched the bridge of his nose with his free hand. "A bit longer than I should probably admit to." Her heart swelled some more and a peculiar giddy sensation swept through her.

"Oh?"

"Let's just say you're not the only one with a best friend bugging you to talk to someone." Her body leaned towards him and stopped an inch from him. "I'm glad they did."

"So am I." She probably would never have dared herself to tell Jason how she felt had Lindsay not encouraged her to do so, and since the feelings had been mutual, she was more than happy she listened. "I guess we'll see if this is a good thing."

Jason's body leaned towards her a bit. His breath countered the cold wind that was spinning around her. "Well." He flashed a smirk and she started to swoon. Her knees buckled and a shiver shot down her spine like lightning. "You don't think they followed us?"

"I hope not, but I wouldn't be surprised. They got what they wanted, we're dating."

"It's what you want, right?"

"Yeah…and you?"

Jason's hand rose and cupped her cheek. His face softened and his eyelids slid down partially. "Yes." Her breath swept away from her and she pressed herself against him, moving her arms carefully around his body. "Cheesy as this sounds, but, I'd like to kiss you…is it stupid to ask?"

She smirked back at him. "Maybe just a little, but I think it's nice." He chuckled at her and she pushed herself up on her toes, making an effort to reach him. "You wouldn't hurt me, would you? If I trusted you…it's really difficult for me to trust someone, so if you were to hurt me-"

"No." His hand slid beneath her chin, and his thumb gently swept across her lower lip, caressing it. She closed her eyes, whimpering as his touch sent a spark into her. "I know those trust issues, and I know how it feels to be hurt by someone, so no….I wouldn't do anything to hurt you. Not intentionally." Her pulse quickened and for the moment, she could feel her hot blood gushing through her veins.

She opened her eyes partially and swallowed heavily when she glanced back into his eyes. "You'll have to show me that. I'm not an easy girl to know."

"I could say the same about myself."

"Our friends really picked a hell of a person to match us up with." She began to tremble and drew out a breathless sigh as his free arm wrapped around her waist and pulled her close. "God. Jason, if you're going to kiss me, then-"

He cut her off with a warm and loving kiss. Her eyes shot open, then fluttered shut as his tender kiss grew deeper. His right hand fell down to her waist and locked with his left behind her back.

Trina let out a soft moan as his powerful arms pulled her body up slightly. With the rush of excitement bursting from her heart, she tightened her embrace around him and unconsciously let her left foot drift from the ground.

She let her upper body lean back, and Jason forward, dipping so much that she was almost afraid to fall over. When Jason lifted his lips up from hers, a startled gasp shot from her lips, and her hands moved up to his chest.

"How…how is it you've never kissed anyone before?" She asked. "You kiss like that…" A heated smirk appeared on his face, and his eyebrows rose.

"Like I said, my mother watches a lot of romance." Trina opened her mouth to speak, but was caught up in a breathless pant and could think of nothing to counter his statement with. When she finally thought of something to say, Jason surprised her with a second powerful kiss.

Her body fell limp in his arms, and her hands dropped off his chest and hung beneath her. The bursting sensation with in her, and the pleasure she felt was something she was certain to get used to.

"God," she thought to herself, "Please let this be the one that lasts." She brought her arms back up and slid them carefully around his neck.

Well I'd say the date went well, how about you? Haha. What are your thoughts through the chapter?