Different Sides To The Same Story

Chapter two - Jason Dalton

   When I exit the school, saying a quick goodbye to Callie who heads to the skatepark with the guys, my eyes are immediately drawn to a blue convertible. Some of Lilith's friends are sitting in the car, whereas she's leaning over the edge, I assume saying goodbye to them.

As the car pulls away, she waves for a second, before turning and scanning the parking lot. Her eyes land on me as she starts walking closer.

She's only a fraction of my height, letting me tower over her, with the few inches on her I have. She starts pulling her blonde hair away from her face. I'm a guy, I can tell when girls are hot. But for some reason that's not what this is. Her tanned face has freckles scattered on her cheeks and nose, selling the sun kissed look.

"So where's your car?" I ask, when she gets close enough for her to hear.

Her face drops, "I thought you had a car. What about that truck you and your friends always hang around."

I hide the smile her comment and reaction brings me. "Nah, that's my friend Seths." I lie, holding the car keys in my palm.

"For real?" she asks, a slight look of panic on her face.

My act breaks as I smile and hold up my keys, "No I'm just playing." I tell her. It takes a moment for her to register the joke but when she does light laughter falls from her mouth. It feels foren to me, having never actually heard her laugh before, but still it sounds strangely beautiful. Wait. Nope. Just strange, not beautiful.

"You seriously suck dude." She tells me, still laughing a bit, as we walk to my black pickup. When we reach the car I climb in, motioning her to get in too. When she does she gags, "Oh my god why does it smell like that?" She questions, putting her hand over her mouth.

"This is where I smoke, didn't realize it smelled that strong." I tell her, putting the car into reverse.

---

She gives me directions the whole way to her house until we pull up to a large, fancy looking house. "Woah, kinda forgot your Dad was the mayor." I comment, as we simultaneously exit my truck. Lilith surprises me, leaning forward and smelling the sleeve of my shirt, "The fuck are you doing?" I exclaim.

"You smell like smoke." She tells me, as she begins to walk up the concrete stairs, "My dad will be pissed, but you're probably used to pissing girl's dad's off by now." She says, turning and unlocking the door without any further adieu. This girl is something else.

I follow her into the large house, my backpack slung over my shoulder as she kicks off her shoes, motioning me to do the same.

"Sweetie what-" Her mother enters the front hall, cutting herself off when her eyes land on me, "I didn't realize you had a guest over Lilith." She comments.

I wake towards her, holding out my hand, "Hey I'm Jason, nice to meet you." I tell her, as she shakes my hand, liply.

"I'm Jennifer. Keep the door open." She says the last part to her daughter as she turns, exiting the room again.

Lilith looks at me blankly as we both shrug going up her stairs to her room. When we enter the room, it looks neat. Her bed is perfectly made, with many more pillows than anyone truly needs. She's got stacks of binders and cups of pens on her desk, as well as a sketchbook and some pencil crayons. "You draw?" I confirm, looking at her.

She nods, sitting down on my bed, "That weird?" She shoots back.

I smirk, turning to face her, "Not in the slightest, I like my girls to be a bit different." I tell her, a flirty tone present in my voice.

"Woah there, when did I become 'your girl'?" She asks, half sarcastically.

"I'm not saying you are...but you could be." I hint, winking in her direction. I'm not always this flirty, just when I wanna get in someone's pants, but then why am I acting this way around Lilith?

She rolls her eyes in return. When she looks deep in thought about something I speak up, "What you thinking about?" I coo, sitting in her desk chair.

"How much my parents would hate you." She says vaguely.

"Wow thanks." I tell her sarcastically, when she doesn't go on again I coutine, "What do you even mean?"

She smiles a bit, meeting my eyes, "With my dad's upcoming election he's put all this pressure on me and my brother Dillion. I was just looking for a way to piss him off."

I put my hand to my chest for dramatic effect, "You would just use me like that?" I say, sarcasm practically dripping from my sentence.

"Don't be all high and mighty, I've seen how fast you go through girls. And no, it was just a thought." She says, dismissively.

"I wouldn't hate it." I mutter, still loud enough for her head to snap up in surprise.

"Wha-what?" She stutters.

I roll my eyes, the corners of my lips tugging up at her reaction, "You know Emily Greenburg?" I question, gaining her attention again.

"I'm pretty sure everyone knows Emily Greenburg." She comments.

"Well she's been obsessed with me for like three months and it's really getting on my nerves, having a pretend girlfriend would probably scare her off." I say.

She raises her eyebrows in surprise, "Why don't you just get a real girlfriend, it's not like you're lacking for options."

I shrug, "I'm not big on relationships." I tell her. It's the truth, or at least a little bit. Ever since I dated Emily and our relationship crashed and burned, I haven't been keen on trying again.

"So what? You want to have a fake one with me?" She asks.

I ignore the joking and sarcastic tone, "Why not?" I counter, my smile growing as she avoids my eye contact.

"I've, uh, I've never had a boyfriend before." She confides in me, a light blush spreads across her cheeks as she looks a bit embarrassed.

"I wouldn't mind being your first." I tell her, immediately making her eyes widen and her cheeks darken.

"Not like that asshole." She mutters, tangling her hands together. "I don't know it seems a bit overboard." She says, looking unsure.

I shrug, "You said you wanted to piss off your parents, and yeah you were right, I've pissed off many parents before, so I know exactly what to do." I tell her. I don't know why I'm so persistent on this. I mean if anything this'll make Emily more obsessed with me. Maybe we should just drop-

"Okay." Lilith lets out in a small voice.

I raise my eyebrows at her, "Okay?" I confirm.

"Yeah, Okay. if the whole school thinks we're together you better make it worth it."

My smirk grows, "I can think of more than one way to do that." I flirt. She rolls her eyes, laughing a bit at my joke. "But yeah, I can piss off parents." Her lips tug up as our eyes meet, until she mirrors my genuine smile.