"You should probably get going soon. My parents are due back any minute now."
Jackson grumbled at his girlfriend's words, not wanting to get up from the comfortable position he was lying in under the bed covers. April's head was resting on his chest as he traced circles on the bare skin of her arm, "Five more minutes. Please?"
She adjusted her head to look down at him, rolling her eyes, but finding it hard to stop a slight smile from forming, "We both know that'll turned into like, an hour."
"Well I can't help it that my girlfriend is hot," He grinned, his hand moving to the back of her head so that he could pull her in for a soft, sweet kiss.
April blushed, allowing herself to get lost in the moment and kissing him back for a minute, until she finally managed to pull herself away. "Mhm, you're really sweet when you want to be, but I'm serious. You've gotta go."
"Fine," He agreed reluctantly, but not before letting out a huff and pouting at her, causing her to giggle. They both got up and quickly worked on redressing themselves, before Jackson walked his way back over to her and gently placed his hands on her waist. He took a moment to look down at her, eyes swimming with adoration, before finally bringing up what he'd been wanting to talk about all evening. "You know...the charity kissing booth is tomorrow. You sure you're okay with me doing this?"
The truth was, he wanted her to say no. He'd signed up for it before they'd even started dating (in secret, at her request), and he didn't want to make her uncomfortable by going through with it. The only girl he wanted to be kissing was her. His was fairly certain that he was in love with her, but he hadn't plucked up the courage to tell her yet. The last thing he wanted to do was freak her out.
April's face dropped slightly. The last thing she wanted to do was ask him to pull out, because then people would start asking questions about why, and she wasn't sure that she was ready to go public. He was...well, him: gorgeous, talented, star of the football team, popular and adored by pretty much the entire school, whilst she was dorky, mostly invisible and didn't exactly have guys lining up to date her. People would just make fun of him if they knew, and she didn't want to drag him down.
"Uhm, yeah, of course. I mean, it is for charity...can't be letting those sick kids down, right?" She forced a smile, hoping it wasn't too obvious, before adding, "It's fine, really. I'll see you tomorrow?"
He nodded, leaning down to kiss her once more and nuzzling his nose against hers, "Yeah, tomorrow."
As he made his way out of her bedroom, he couldn't help the mixture of anxiety and butterflies he felt, and he knew that he had to do something about it.
"Whats up with you?" Arizona asked, noticing the glum look on her friend April's face as she grabbed a couple of books from her locker. It wasn't like her to be so down in the mornings - she was so enthusiastic about school and had always been an early riser. Sometimes, the blonde felt as though April had even more energy and positivity than her, which was saying something.
April sighed, her voice barely above a whisper when she responded, "Jackson's working the kissing booth today. I said it was okay, but...I don't know. It's upsetting, but I can't exactly tell him not to when everyone still thinks he's single...plus it's for charity. That would just make me a jerk."
Arizona offered a sympathetic look. She still didn't understand why April wouldn't go public with Jackson. She knew that her best friend was insecure and worried about what people might think - especially as Jackson had his fair share of admirers across the school, but he also clearly adored her and they had been friends for years, despite their differences in popularity. "April, if it makes you uncomfortable, then you should just be honest with him. He'll understand. I doubt he even wants to be doing it at this point." He had confided in the blonde a few times since he'd started dating April two months ago, trying to gauge if she'd said anything about whether or not she was ready to go public yet, without trying to come across as too impatient. Of course, Arizona couldn't offer much advice, and didn't want to break girl code by divulging too much, so all she could do was just tell him to give her some time.
The redhead bit her lip softly, hearing the sound of the class bell go off. "I'll think about it..." She stated, "We should get going. We don't want to be late."
Arizona nodded in agreement, feeling the vibration of her cell phone in her pocket and taking a moment to check it quickly.
Hey. Can you make sure April comes to the break room at lunch? There's something I want to do and its kinda important. -J
She raised an eyebrow, but sent a quick text message back before catching up to April down the hall.
The sound of the bell ringing after a few long periods of Biology, English and History had April once again feeling on edge. It was lunch time, which meant that soon, her (secret) boyfriend, that she'd lost her virginity to, would be getting paid to kiss other women, and there was nothing she could do about it. She felt sick. So sick that she wasn't even sure if she wanted to eat lunch.
After packing up her stuff, she was greeted by an only energetic Arizona in the hallway, who immediately grabbed a hold of her arm and started dragging her towards the break room without much of an explanation.
"What are you doing? I'm not going in there! Arizona!"
"Just trust me, okay? You're gonna wanna see this."
The redhead frowned, because no, she definitely did not want to see her boyfriend making out with other women. What she didn't know, however, was that Jackson and Arizona had texted a few more times and he'd let her in on his plan to not go through with the whole kissing booth situation. Instead, he was going to publicly tell her how he felt. He was done waiting for April to be ready, and he thought that showing her how proud he was to be with her would show her that.
They eventually came to a halt, and April could feel her eyes watering at the long line of girls she saw lining up to kiss Jackson and his best friend, Alex Karev. Why was Arizona forcing her to witness this?!
"I'm going to the cafeteria-"
"No! Just wait for it!" She retorted, gripping her friends arm tighter so that she couldn't leave. All April could do was frown and pout - even when Jackson spotted them and she managed to lock eyes with him for a split second.
The booth had yet to officially start, and he could see from April's expression that she was upset. He just hoped that she would appreciate his grand gesture. Surely if it was a bad idea, then Arizona would've talked him out of it and wouldn't be looking so enthusiastic.
Jackson turned to his friend for a moment, "Hey man...I'm really sorry for what I'm about to do, but you're kind of on your own here."
"What're you talking about? but whatever, if you're dropping out on me, then more hotties for me to kiss." Alex shrugged.
Taking a deep breath, he rose from his chair before standing on it, using the extra height to climb onto the table. "Uh, hi. Can I have everyone's attention please? I know you all came here for this kissing booth thing, and to raise money for charity, but I have to drop out. You can still kiss my man Karev here, but uh...I have to drop out...because...because I have a girlfriend. Not just a girlfriend but...a girl that I love." He paused for a moment, eyes wide at the fact that he'd actually managed to say it as he locked eyes with April from across the room, "Yeah...I love you, April. I always have. Even the things I don't like, I love. And I think that you love me, too. Do you?"
April felt as though she'd had the wind knocked out of her, mouth hanging open slightly as her best friend squealed beside her. Her mind felt like a jumbled mess - like time had stopped for a moment, and she could barely put her thoughts into sentences. All she could focus on were the mumbled comments from other people that filled the rooms - a mixture of awws from other girls, a few guys snickering and laughing at his public display of affection, and Alex Karev very loudly questioning, "You're seeing Kepner?!"
When it finally sunk in that things were real - that he had actually just said that, April swallowed her nerves and slowly made her way towards him. He loved her, and he wasn't embarrassed by that fact. He never had been, and if he could be brave, then she could, too.
His hand extended out to her, and she used his chair to join him in standing on the table. "This is crazy. You're crazy," She whispered, finding it hard to hold back the smile on her face.
"Is that a no?" He chuckled, holding his hand on her waist to steady her.
"Yes, I love you, too."
With that, they both beamed at one another, before finally allowing their lips to meet and getting lost in one another.
"Ugh, you guys are freaking lame," Karev grumbled, watching as some of the people in the room decided to leave, "Hey, ladies, I'm still available! It's for a worthy cause!"
April giggled, her face still close to his before jokingly asking, "You're not expecting me to pay you for this, right?"
"Mhm, this ones on the house," He replied, before pulling her in for another kiss.