After All These Years

All for Show

As the days went on from their first intentional physical interactions, Jason and Elizabeth were puzzled when no one seemed to acknowledge there was anything different between them.    Elizabeth was frustrated, here she was making an effort to openly flirt with him, holding his hand, leaning into him, resting her head on his shoulder, and no one, not even Brittany so much batted a fake eyelash. 

They met up at their normal after school spot, the children's playground, and he approached her sitting at their picnic table next to the splashpad that was vacant due to the florida winter.  Jason had barely sat down when Elizabeth's tone of frustration rang out.  "I don't get it.   What's it going to take for these people to take us seriously?"

"Well it's not like we're acting like we're head over heels in love with each other, Lizzie.  All we've done is the bare minimum."

"Which apparently is so normal for us that no one has even noticed any different.  Maybe it's that no one can believe someone like you would actually have feelings for me so no one is taking it seriously." She sighed.

"I don't think it's that.  I just think we've naturally been more physical than either of us realised." She looked at him oddly as he continued.  "Devin's the only one that even asked me if anything changed recently.  When I asked him why he thought that, he couldn't even give me a reason, just that it seemed we had been spending more one on one time together away from the larger group."

"So what you are saying is we are going to have to up our game if anyone is going to believe us."

"I was also thinking about something earlier and I'm concerned that once people have found out we went through all these lengths just to teach Brittany a lesson, it would leave people looking at us like we are malicious and deceptive."

"Well I don't really care what people think about me." 

"Well I care, both what they think about me, and what they think about you.  As much as you don't want to believe it, anything that can be determined as a character flaw is a cause for large universities to pick someone else for scholarships, so if we are discovered that we are faking this relationship, we need a reason that doesn't paint us in a bad light." 

"It sounds like you actually have something in mind."

"Well I talked it out with Mr. Burns regarding our final for our psychology class and we agreed that our final can be based on a social experiment.  I gave him the background that we wanted to test based on our friendship if anyone would believe us if we were dating, who wouldn't, who would, and what kind of affect it would have on us as individuals with the people around us.  Since we would be both giving him our individualized perspectives, he wouldn't have to worry about us copying the other's work.  If and when people figure out that this is all for show, then we have the excuse we needed an topic for our psychology class final and it's not that we were trying to get back at Brittany, even though if her feeling were hurt because of it, that would just be an added bonus."

"Your approach to things sometimes Jason, is an entirely different level.  Most boys can barely string two intelligent sentences together, and here you are trying to solve actual problems that won't ruin either of our reputations."

He shrugged. "I can't let you be the only mastermind in the group, after all."

"So what's the next step? We've obvious need to move things along, but how?"

"I'm going to have to put in more effort in general, and I'm not going to tell you exactly how that's going to happen because I need you have authentic reactions."

"Your scaring me here, Jason."

He laughed. "It's my fault really, all the years I spent convincing these people I'm not interested in dating anyone, and now here I have to prove to people that not only has something changed, but that you are the one that has caused me to change my position.   I need to act like i'm actively pursing you, and to do that, means I'm going to have to start showing you with attention that might make you uncomfortable."