FACE DOWN Ch11- The Talk

Kristen raised her fist and with a calming breath, pounded on the door. She rarely came to David's apartment, only once or twice since they had started dating, he usually came to pick her up or they just met up with each other somewhere, but after she had called him the day before, he had suggested they meet at his place.

After a few agonizing moments of waiting, she heard the door unlatch and it opened. There was something about him today. He normally was perfectly groomed and dressed, but now something about the way his shirt was unbuttoned nearly halfway down so his chest was just barely visible, and his uncombed hair hanging over his forehead, Kristen felt her stomach flip-flop. As usual, he was smiling down at her with his perfect pearly whites. She just took a moment to bask in his perfection. This was going to be harder than she thought.

"Hey," he greeted her.

"Hmm..." Kristen sighed, still staring, "Oh, hi!"

"Did you want to come in?" he asked.

"Yeah, uh, sure," Kristen said

He opened the door wider to admit her. She moved past him and inside. He had a pretty high class apartment, especially for a college student. She sometimes wondered if his family was rich. She knew his father was a foreign ambassador, but did that mean he was rich? She never asked, she felt like that was prying. She just waited until the subject came up, which it had not yet.

After she was inside, David closed the door behind her and moved around so he stood in front of her. "So what's up?" he asked, "You sounded pretty concerned on the phone yesterday. Is it serious?"

Kristen cleared her throat. Do it. Just do it. If he accepts you for it, great! If not then he's not worth your time... right? Ugh, she had forgotten how distracting those green eyes could be! Now with that open shirt and the hair, it was almost impossible to think. Just don't look directly at him... like the sun, or whatever!

"Look, David," she began. Okay, good start. Now keep going. "I came here to tell you..."

She looked into his face. Why did she have to do that? She couldn't go right to the point like she originally planned with him looking down at her like that. Now she had to start off on a more casual topic. "I was just over at Annalise's before I came here and..."

"Did you tell her you were coming over here?" he interrupted.

"No," Kristen replied, slightly taken aback by the abruptness of the question, "I just left my usual plate of cookies. I don't really do a lot of talking anymore."

"Why? You don't think she cares?"

Kristen sighed and nodded.

David nodded as well. "You're probably right," he said, "Anybody who refuses to even open a door for their own sister cannot be too good with the whole love thing."

Kristen felt her heart drop. "Well, I-I don't know," she said, "I mean, it seems a little harsh to say she doesn't love..."

"Look, Kristen, you've been trying for months to reach out to her. If she had any semblance of a heart, don't you think she would have acknowledged you by now?"

"She takes my cookies..."

"They're cookies. Who wouldn't take them?"

Kristen felt as though she had been slapped in the face. She felt her eyes begin to sting and she looked down at the ground. In a moment, she felt an arm around her shoulder.

"I'm sorry. I don't want to hurt you," David said, "But I just don't want to see you keep putting yourself out there like that, only to keep getting knocked down each time."

Kristen wiped away a tear that had forced its way out and down her cheek. "I know. You do care, don't you?" she asked hopefully.

"Of course," he answered.

Kristen sniffled slightly, pushing back her pain. "Okay," she said, "I came here... to tell you something."

"Alright," David said, pulling away from her and sticking his hands in his pockets, staring at her attentively.

"Now... we've been dating for a while," Kristen said.

"Yeah, couple months," David said.

"Yeah," Kristen said, "And it's been great. That's is uh... mostly."

"Mostly?"

"Yeah, er... well, you know, umm... I love kissing!” she said abruptly, “I mean, kissing's great, especially kissing you. It's like kissing a marshmallow. No! Not that you're fat, because you're not! You're by no means puffy in any way! Er, what I mean is... your lips! They're soft... like... a marshmallow. Ugh, that sounded better in my head. Anyways, what I'm trying to say is that I do like kissing... you. But it's just that... well, I don't really know how to say this."

David raised his eyebrows. "Just say it."

Kristen took a breath. "Well..."

Suddenly the sound of a phone ringing split the air. David looked down and pulled one of his hands out of his pockets, pulling his phone with it. It was buzzing and ringing in his hand. He looked at the ID, frowning. "It's my mom," he said, sounding confused, "She never calls unless it's urgent. I'm sorry, I need to take this."

"Oh yeah, sure," Kristen said, trying to mask her disappointment with nonchalance, "Take your time."

David answered the phone and stepped into the other room. "Hello?"

Kristen sighed. Fate was against her it seemed. She had been so close to finally telling him. And just when her courage was at its peak, his phone had to ring.

He was not gone long. However, he returned with his eyes downcast, looking almost on the verge of tears. Something was not right. Kristen moved closer to him. "David? Is everything alright?"

"That... that was my mom," he said heavily, "She told me that... my grandmother just passed on."

"What?" Kristen said.

"She's been in the hospital for five months with a brain tumor. We were surprised she even lasted this long," David said, sitting down on the sofa and putting a hand to his forehead. Was he... crying?

Kristen rushed to his side. She gingerly rested her hand on his. "Were you close to her?" she asked gently.

It took him a moment before he answered. "She was the best grandma anyone could ask for," he said, "You know, she did all the usual stuff like make you cookies and brownies and whatever when you visited. And she had the most awesome house with the best tire swing on this giant tree in the backyard. I always remember her sitting in her green rocking chair knitting hats and scarves and stuff. And whenever my brothers and I would stay over, she would always make up bedtime stories right there on the spot and they were the best stories I had ever heard in my life."

Kristen smiled. "That sounds nice," she said softly.

"It was," David said. He began to get choked up again slightly, but he fought it back. Kristen held his hand. "Now she's gone," he said through deep breaths, "Why does everyone always have to leave? First my grandpa, then Jamie... I never thought I'd ever get over her. I told you about her, right? In high school... my first girlfriend?"

Kristen nodded, then clung tightly to his hand and pulled it close to her. "Not everyone leaves," she said, "I'm right here and I'm not going anywhere."

David cracked a smile and he squeezed her hand. "I know. That's why I love you."

Kristen's eyes widened. "What?"

David's melancholy atmosphere disappeared slightly. "Oh..." he said, realizing, "I had planned on telling you under less gloomy circumstances."

"You... you love me?" Kristen repeated, shocked.

"Yeah," David answered, slightly sheepish.

Kristen processed this information for a moment. No one had ever loved her before, at least not romantically. There was always her parents's love, and she had once thought Annalise loved her, but who even knew about that anymore. But David loved her? It seemed too good to be true! She slowly smiled at him. "I love you too," she said.

He leaned closer to her. "Yeah?"

"Yeah," she said.

And he closed the gap between them. Plan? What plan?

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

"Do you think she actually went through with it?" Petey wondered.

"I certainly hope so, for her sake," Sam answered.

"Jonathan, you did say she was going to do it today, right?" Petey asked.

Jonathan just nodded, staring at his binder in his lap as the three of them sat on the steps in front of the Castle Building. He was still trying to process the feelings he had been experiencing ever since his tutoring session with Kristen the previous day.

"Hey, are you okay? You've been acting all weird since yesterday," Sam said.

"I'm fine," Jonathan said, "I've just have a bit of a headache, that's all."

"Alright, suit yourself," Sam said, shrugging, "But if you want to talk, I'm right here for you."

"I do not need to talk, Sam," Jonathan snapped, "It's a headache."

"Okay, fine," Sam said, holding up his hands in surrender.

"Hey look, Kristen's coming this way!" Petey announced, pointing.

Jonathan's head snapped up in the direction that Petey was pointing. Sure enough, Kristen's petite figure was moving towards them in the distance. Jonathan could feel his heart rate suddenly speed up and he could even feel a blush rise to his cheeks. What in the world? That was just not okay! He took long steady breaths in attempt to slow his racing heart and he prayed that his face was not too noticeably red.

Kristen approached. She was not smiling. Petey spoke up first. "So?"

"So what?" Kristen asked.

"So what happened?" Petey asked.

Kristen adjusted her collar. "I don't see why that's any of your business."

Petey's face dropped slightly. "Didn't you tell David about your problem?"

"I might have or maybe not," Kristen said, "I still don't see why it's any of your business."

"Kristen, are you okay?" Sam wondered, "You're acting a little strange."

"I'm fine!" Kristen said sharply, "And if you must know, I am still with David and everything's been resolved."

"So you told him?" Petey asked.

"No. But everything worked out for the best," Kristen said.

""Worked out for the best"?" Sam repeated, "Kristen, if you didn't tell him your problem, how can everything work out for the best?"

"You wouldn't understand," Kristen said, "None of you have been in a relationship, so how can you know what's best?"

Everyone just stared at her, dumbfounded. Kristen inhaled sharply. "Now excuse me, I have a class that starts in five minutes."

With that she marched up the steps and disappeared into the Castle Building.

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FACE DOWN Ch10- The Decision

Jonathan approached the small wooden door. It was now or never. He had spent all day pumping himself up for this moment. If he didn't face Kristen now, he probably wouldn't have the guts to do it ever again. He took a deep breath and pushed it open.

Kristen already sat inside with her math book and tests spread out in front of her. She was doodling away on the corner of her notepad and did not even notice him enter. He quietly crept up behind her in hopes of seeing what she was so concentrated on. It seemed to be some sort of animal, though her hand covered most of it and Jonathan could not make out what exactly it was.

"What'chya drawing?" he spoke up suddenly.

Kristen yelped in surprise. She spun around, wide eyed. "Jonathan! I didn't hear you come in!" she cried out.

He chuckled as she began dropping papers on the ground in an attempt to cover whatever she had been sketching in her notebook. "Clearly," he said, "You need some help there?"

"No, no! I got it!" she said, scooping up the papers in her arms.

However, with her arms full of loose papers, it conveniently left Jonathan an open opportunity to look at her notebook which was still laying open on the table. He picked it up and his eyes found her small drawing in the corner. It was a deer with someone standing next to it.

Kristen finally stood up straight and saw Jonathan holding her notebook. She gasped and dropped all her papers again. "That's mine!" she cried, lunging towards him.

Jonathan instinctively held the notebook up out of her reach, which wasn't hard considering he was over a head taller than she was. "What's the big deal?" he asked as she jumped up and down, grabbing at the notebook, "It's just your drawing of a deer and some guy. What? Are you embarrassed by your skill as an artist? Do you not want your work to be known?"

Kristen didn't say anything and merely continued to try and grab the book. She was making an awfully big deal about this. Maybe he had missed something on the picture. He looked back at it and began to scan it once more, which was rather difficult to do since Kristen had begun to try and climb up his back.

Oh wait, the deer and the guy were saying something, there was tiny writing. Jonathan squinted to read what was in the speech bubble.

""Deers are the best!"?" Jonathan read it out loud, "Are you embarrassed by your bad grammar?"

"They're bold and majestic animals!" Kristen said, still clinging to his back, "You said so yourself!"

"Yeah, but..." Jonathan stopped, "Did I say “deers”?"

"You always say “deers”!"

Jonathan looked at the drawing once more. Then it clicked. "Is my nose really that big?"

Kristen slid off his back, head hanging slightly. "You weren't supposed to see that," she said, "I was just bored waiting for you and I was thinking about how you liked deer and I thought I had never drawn a deer before then it turned into both you and a deer and then you just walked in and..."

"Hey, it's okay. I like it," Jonathan said, smiling.

Kristen smiled timidly. "Really?"

"Really," Jonathan said, "In fact, can I keep it? I've never had someone do a portrait of me before."

"Well, I wouldn't exactly call it a portrait..."

Jonathan tore the page from the notebook then held it out to her. "Every art piece must have the artist's signature, you know?"

Kristen giggled then quickly scribbled her name onto the paper and handed it back to him. He smiled and neatly stuck it into his backpack.

Kristen tucked a bit of hair that had fallen loose from her headband behind her ear. "So, um, down to business then?"

Jonathan suddenly remembered why he had been pacing outside the door a moment ago and his good spirits instantly evaporated. Kristen saw the smile drop from his face and grew concerned. "Is... everything alright?" she asked cautiously.

Jonathan looked up into her face. Why did it fall upon him to have this conversation? He felt like her father. Was it really his business? He didn't want to pry. But he did want to help. Maybe just a casual question to start?

"So... how are things going with David?" he asked lightly.

Kristen seemed taken aback by the question, but she answered. "Fine," she answered.

"Just "fine"?" Jonathan asked, "Not "perfectly perfect! We're floating on cloud nine in the highest regions of heaven!"?"

Kristen narrowed her eyes slightly. "Why are you asking?" she asked evenly.

"Well, it's just that I... that is to say Petey, Sam, and I have noticed, er... it's come to our attention that you have seemed a little unlike yourself these past couple weeks."

"In what way?"

Jonathan cleared his throat uncomfortably. "You're just not quite as... perky? It's kind of like you're... tired all the time? ...uh, maybe?"

Kristen pursed her lips. "And you think David has something to do with that?"

Jonathan shrugged. "Could be."

"What about my sister?"

Jonathan rubbed the back of his neck. "We thought about that, but then..."

Kristen folded her arms. "Then what?"

"Then we went to lunch the other day. And we were watching you and you seemed really uncomfortable."

Kristen suddenly looked down. Ah-ha! He had her. "It's not so bad," she said, "He usually isn't that bad. You saw him on one of his worse days."

"So he does that a lot then?" Jonathan asked.

"No! I told you that was one of his worse days," Kristen said.

Now it was Jonathan's turn to narrow his eyes. "But if you tell him to knock it off, he does, right?"

Kristen didn't answer. Jonathan leaned closer to her. She didn't look up at him. "Right!?" Jonathan repeated firmly.

"I haven't told him to stop!" Kristen finally said, exasperated.

"If it bothers you, why not?" Jonathan asked, frowning.

"You wouldn't understand."

"Try me."

"He's had a lot of girlfriends before me. He knows what he's doing," Kristen said, her voice cracking, "He's just my first boyfriend ever, so why should I not follow his lead?"

Jonathan nodded, understanding. "So what you're saying is... you're afraid he'll leave you if you don't bow to his wishes?"

Kristen looked at her hands and nodded slightly, tears forming in her eyes. Oh no. A crying girl, Jonathan could not handle. He scooted closer to her and wrapped an arm around her shoulder. "Hey, look," he said gently, "I don't know a lot about relationships and stuff, but I do know a that if someone doesn't respect you-- in a relationship or not-- they're not worth your time."

Kristen didn't say anything. Jonathan decided to continue. "So, if I were you. Um... I would tell David what's up and if he doesn't respect your feelings..."

"You're right," Kristen said.

Jonathan had not been expecting that. "What?"

"You're right," she said, "I should go talk to him. Tell him how I'm feeling. Stand up for myself."

"Oh. Yes, great!" Jonathan said, still slightly taken aback by her sudden acceptance.

"I'm meeting up with him tomorrow. I'll talk to him then," Kristen said.

Jonathan nodded. It was then that he realized he still had his arm wrapped around her shoulder and quickly removed it since she was no longer crying.

"In fact I'll call him tonight," Kristen continued, "I won't tell him over the phone though. That's just bad etiquette. I'll just tell him I have something important I want to talk to him about."

She tapped her chin for a moment. "Should I just come out and say it?" she wondered, "Or should I casually lead into it? I don't know how he'll take it. I don't want him to dump me, but..."

Jonathan just watched her as she sunk into deep thought. He suddenly felt a strange churning in his stomach as he watched her. Not exactly a sick feeling, but most definitely not pleasant. He suddenly felt very warm and his mouth went dry.

He cleared his throat. "I don't know," he said, rubbing his head, trying to erase the sudden throbbing.

"I'm sure I'll figure something out before tomorrow," Kristen said, sighing. She leaned forwards and wrapped her arms tightly around his middle in a bear hug. "Thank you, Jonathan," she said, "Tell the others too."

She released him and Jonathan felt like he was going to keel over with dizziness. "Um, yeah," he said.

"Now, let's get down to business," Kristen said, turning towards her math on the table.

Jonathan turned towards the table as well, but he could hardly focus. His stomach was still churning and his head was on fire. Did he have a fever? What was going on? He cleared his throat. "Um, Kristen, I'm not feeling too well. Maybe we should cancel tutoring for today?" he suggested.

"Oh. Sure," Kristen said, then she looked at with some concern, "Are you going to be okay?"

"Yeah, yeah," Jonathan said, standing up, "Just need to go lie down."

He stumbled towards the door. With a small wave to Kristen, he shut the door behind him. He leaned against the wall for a moment. What in the world just happened in there? One minute he's perfectly fine, then all of a sudden he's feeling the heat of a thousand suns.

He began walking, taking deep breaths. The discomfort and heat began to die down a bit as he moved and he began to feel normal once more. As he continued back to his apartment, he began to wrack his brain, trying to find out what had happened to him.

What had he done? He had just been talking to Kristen, that was it. Had something happened at that moment to bring it on? He thought for a moment. Right before it started... he had been watching Kristen think about her problem with David. That was it. He hadn't even said anything or moved or anything like that. He just sat there watching her while she thought about her problem. She wasn't even doing anything remarkable. She just sort of scrunched up her face in this kind of cute way that made her eyes sparkle in a way that made them just look so thoughtful. But then, her eyes always sparkled. And she was always so thoughtful. And then the way that... And there was that churning in his stomach again!

No. Oh no. No, no, no! It couldn't be! Yes, he liked Kristen, but that was it. He did not like Kristen. That was just ridiculous. And also out of the question. She had a boyfriend... who knew for how much longer, but still!

He finally reached his apartment, entered, and flopped down on the sofa. Every time Kristen came into his mind, the churning in his stomach and the heat returned. He covered his face, trying to erase the feeling. He did not like Kristen. He did not like Kristen. He did not like Kristen... Did he?

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FACE DOWN Ch9- Lunch

"Pete! Over here!"

Sam waved down the little round boy tottering around the front of the restaurant. He perked up at the sight of him and Jonathan sitting at the table across the room and quickly skipped over.

"Hi, guys!" he said, grinning.

They nodded in greeting. Petey took a seat beside them. "Is Kristen here yet?" he wondered.

"No, not yet," Jonathan answered.

"She did say to meet here for lunch though, right?" Petey asked.

"Yeah," Jonathan said.

"12:00 at The Steakhouse. And she's bringing David," Petey said.

"Yes. We were all there when she invited us yesterday," Jonathan said.

Petey smiled and leaned on the table. "So how's tutoring going?" he asked.

"Yes, I was wondering the same thing," Sam said, turning to Jonathan, "It's been, what? Almost two months now?"

"Two months next week," Jonathan said.

"Ah, keeping track, are we?" Sam said, raising his eyebrows teasingly.

Jonathan glared at him. "I keep track of everything," he retorted, "And it's going fine, thank you very much."

""Fine"?" Sam repeated.

"Yes. "Fine"," Jonathan said, "Her test scores are improving a little bit, which means I'm doing my job right. Therefore, going "fine"."

"So... that's all you do is study and homework?" Sam asked.

"Well yeah. What do you think goes on in tutoring?" Jonathan asked.

Sam shrugged. "I don't know. You and Kristen just seem to have gotten awfully... close over the past few weeks."

Jonathan just stared at him. Sam shrugged again. "Well you have! Anyone could see it," he said, "Petey, help me out."

"It's true," Petey said.

Jonathan crossed his arms. "Well what's wrong with making a friend?" he asked, "Are you jealous that you're not my one and only best bud and pal anymore?"

"No, no," Sam said, "What I'm saying is... you two are really close."

"Yes, you just said that."

"I mean like really close."

Jonathan saw the knowing expression on not only Sam's face, but Petey's as well. "Now hang on a minute," he said, holding up a hand, "I think she's a very nice girl and we get along great, which is rare for me, but that's it. So you can just wipe those stupid looks off your faces."

Sam held up his hands in defeat. "Okay, alright. Whatever you say, bud."

"Hey, you guys!"

Everyone turned and saw Kristen standing arm-in-arm with David beside their table, grinning down at them. They smiled back.

"Hi, Kristen!" Petey cried enthusiastically.

"Kristen!" Sam also cried out, equally enthused.

"Hey," Jonathan said, giving a slight wave.

"I'm so glad you could all come!" Kristen said.

The three sitting at the table glanced at each other then shifted around so that Kristen and David could scoot in and still sit beside one another. "Sorry we're a little late," Kristen said, "I had to stop by to see Annalise.”

"You're still doing that?" Jonathan asked, "After, you know..."

Kristen shrugged, biting her lip. "Well, I usually just leave her a plate of cookies or something," she said, "I don't really even talk to her anymore... Maybe once in a while, if there's something I really, really want her to know. But after a couple weeks ago, I know she doesn't really care."

"I'm sorry, Kristen," Petey said, resting a hand on her arm.

Kristen gave him a half smile. There was a pause. Suddenly David clapped his hands together. "Well, sisters can be twats, right?" he said, "Let's eat, I'm starving."

Jonathan and Sam frowned slightly as David grabbed a menu and began to look over its contents, but they soon picked up their own and began to look as well.

After they ordered, everyone sat in silence once again. David had his arm draped around Kristen's shoulder and began repeatedly kissing her neck. Kristen cleared her throat, looking at Jonathan and Sam. "So, I realized after all the time we've known each other, I've never asked," she said, "How did you two meet?"

Jonathan and Sam glanced at each other, then back at Kristen. "Ah well, it's been as long as I can remember," Jonathan answered.

"Yeah, like kindergarten I'm pretty sure it was," Sam said, "This guy wanted to steal the cookies my mom had packed in my lunch, but I wouldn't let him and so I tackled him to the ground and..."

"And I beat the crap out of him," Jonathan said through a tight mouth, eyeing David as he moved his way up Kristen's neck towards her mouth, eyes narrow.

"Ha! Did you really? That's- mmph!" David suddenly kissed her. After a long moment of lustfulness, he finally released her and continued on with her cheek and ear. "That's funny," Kristen finished, "I can just picture you two as little toddlers, beating each other up."

"No, no. I beat him up," Jonathan said, trying hard to ignore the leech sucking on Kristen's ear.

"But we were just little kids," Sam said, keeping his eyes averted, "I could whop him now if I wanted."

Jonathan snorted. "You wish."

"I could!" Sam insisted, "I'm just afraid of hurting you and your pretty face."

Jonathan raised an eyebrow. "I do not have a pretty face."

"Yeah ya do," Sam said.

Jonathan crossed his arms. "I can't trust your judgement. You think the witch on Bugs Bunny has a pretty face."

"Fine. We'll ask Kristen," Sam said, turning, "Kristen, you're a woman. Does Jonathan have a pretty face?"

David momentarily stopped kissing her neck while Kristen dropped the dessert menu she had been holding. "Um, well..." she gave a slight cough, "I can't answer that in front of my boyfriend!"

"So that's a yes," Sam said, turning back to Jonathan.

"What? I never said that," Kristen protested.

"If it was a no, you would have been comfortable saying so in front of your boyfriend," Sam said. Kristen blushed slightly while Sam looked back at Jonathan, and David picked up where he left off.

"Anyways," Sam said, "I could beat you up, I just choose not to."

"Please," Jonathan scoffed.

"I could!" Sam said.

"In your dreams."

"In real life!"

"I'd squash you like a pea."

"You would not," Sam insisted, he turned to Petey, "Pete, what do you think?"

"I'm with Jonathan," Petey answered.

"What? Oh come on," Sam whined.

"Look how huge he is!" Petey said.

Just then, the waitress approached with their food. Finally, David stopped sucking on Kristen's face and neck. Jonathan couldn't be sure, but she almost looked... relieved when he did? It was such a quick expression he was sure if he imagined it. He probably did because he knew that he was certainly relieved so it was probably resonating out onto everything else. Seriously, there was a thing called common decency while out in public with people. And doing... that was certainly not appropriate. But whatever. If they wanted to go slobber over each other's faces, they could go right ahead and do that... Just, did they have to do it out in the open right in front of everybody?

After everybody finished, the waitress came around again with everybody's checks. David went for his pocket, then his face dropped and he turned to Kristen. "Ooh... I forgot my wallet," he said, scrunching up his face into the most pitiful expression.

"Oh! Oh no, how will we pay?" Kristen asked, looking at the check.

David inhaled slowly. "Did you bring your wallet?" he asked.

"Yeah," she said, pulling it out.

David smiled sweetly. Kristen sighed. "Alright, I'll pay," she said.

"You're a doll," David said, kissing her cheek.

Kristen smiled slightly as she wrote out a check. Then she and David stood up. "Well, we're going to take off," David said.

"It was great to see you guys," Kristen said, "Bye!"

Everyone waved as Kristen and David made their way to the door. They watched as David walked out, letting it slam right in Kristen's face. She turned around and waved at the table one last time before opening the door and following after David.

Once they were gone, Jonathan turned back to the table. "Okay, didn't Kristen say that David was always a perfect gentleman to her?" he asked, "Like doesn't that include opening doors and stuff?"

Sam nodded. "She does say that at every chance she gets," he answered, "Actually, I believe her direct quote is either "the perfect man" or "prince charming", so I would assume that would include gentlemanly behavior."

"So what was up with that?" Jonathan asked, pointing to the door.

Sam shrugged. "I don't know. Maybe he just forgot this time or something."

Jonathan sighed. "I don't know," he said, "I would be willing to give him the benefit of the doubt on that, but it's just... Was it just me or did Kristen seem really uncomfortable while he was kissing her?"

"Oh! No! It wasn't just you!" Petey said, "I saw it too."

"I guess now that you mention it..." Sam said, "I know I was uncomfortable. Like seriously, get a room."

"And the way he insulted her sister and just brushed it aside like it was nothing," Jonathan added, "He must know what a tender subject her sister is to her, right?"

"If he does, he certainly doesn't give a care," Sam said.

"Have you noticed she's been a little less... bubbly than she used to be lately?" Jonathan asked.

"She still seems bubbly to me," Sam replied.

"Yeah, I know, but less bubbly," Jonathan said.

"I always just thought it was because of what happened with her sister," Petey said.

"Maybe," Jonathan said, nodding, "Or... or it could be because of... a certain "prince charming" that has been becoming a little more prominent in her life lately?"

Petey and Sam nodded. "It has been a while since that event with her sister," Sam said, "But what do I really know about getting brutally scorned?"

"She did say she still visits her though," Petey pointed out, "So she can't be too upset over it."

They both looked at Jonathan once again. "You might be right," Sam said, "Somebody's got to talk to her."

"Yeah," Jonathan agreed.

"And the first one to speak goes," Sam said, pointing to Jonathan.

Jonathan frowned. "What? Me? I'm no good with talking to people."

"This isn't people, this is Kristen," Sam said.

"Still," Jonathan said, "I can't be giving intimate advice. Especially to a girl and especially about dating."

"What? You think either of us are any better?" Sam asked, gesturing to himself and Petey.

"Well... you can speak for yourself," Petey said.

"But," Sam cut him off, "You are the perfect candidate because you already have set alone time. Once a week. Besides... she likes you."

"She likes all three of us," Jonathan pointed out.

"Yeah, but like I said before, you two have gotten really close over the past couple months. And if she's going to listen to any of us, my bets are set on you."

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FACE DOWN Ch8- The Assignment

"Off to Friedman's again!" Petey sang, skipping along at Kristen's side.

"And you're happy about this?" Kristen asked.

"Well, we're all finished with Thoreau," Petey said the name dramatically, "So no matter what the next topic is, it's bound to be less dull than 'Walden'. It's a call for celebration in my book!"

Kristen smiled. "Alright, whatever you say."

"That's the spirit!"

They entered the classroom, or lecture hall. Kristen still was not used to the enormous size of it. Kids were filing in and finding their seats from both sides. Kristen looked around and spotted Jonathan sitting near the back beside a boy with shaggy brown hair that hung over his eyes. He was not looking in her direction, so she was not able to wave like she had hoped to. She turned to Petey.

"Hey, why don't we sit back there?" she said, pointing.

Petey looked. "Okay!" he said happily, following after her as she began to make her way towards the back, "Why?"

"You can meet my tutor," Kristen said.

Petey gasped in excitement. "Your tutor!?"

They reached the back. The boy beside Jonathan noticed them first and stared, confused, prompting Jonathan to finally look up. "Kri--what? Er..." he stammered, surprised.

"Hi!" Kristen said, smiling.

"Uh, hi," he said back, "What are you doing here?"

"I have class here," Kristen answered.

"I know that. I mean, why are you back here?" Jonathan asked.

"Oh, well I thought maybe I... we," she gestured to Petey, "Could come join you."

Jonathan raised an eyebrow, but after a second, he moved his books, vacating the seat beside him. "Sure, I guess," he said.

Kristen grinned and sat beside him. Petey took the seat next to her. "Oh, this is my friend, Petey," Kristen said, gesturing, "Petey, this is Jonathan. He's my tutor."

"Hi!" Petey said, grinning, "I love to hug! So look out in the future!"

Jonathan gave a partial wave, taken aback slightly by Petey's enthusiasm. He turned to the boy on his other side. "Um, this is Sam... my roommate," he said to Kristen.

Sam leaned forward over the table so he could get a better look at Kristen. "Hi," he said.

"Hi," she said back.

He smiled. "So you're Kristen, huh?" he said, nodding slightly.

"Um, yes. Wait, how did you know my...?" Kristen began.

"Oh, this guy here only talks about you all the time," Sam said, elbowing Jonathan, "He blabs for hours at a time."

Jonathan's face reddened and he scowled at him. "That's not entirely true," he said, "I've mentioned you a couple times, but I certainly do not "blab for hours at a time"."

Kristen smiled at Sam. "I see. Anything else I should know?"

"What?" Jonathan said, looking back at her.

"Well I need to have confidence in my tutor," Kristen replied, shrugging, "And Sam here seems to be willing to give me information."

Sam grinned mischievously. "Oh, if you insist," he said, "I've got the low down on Jonathan... Well first off, he sleeps with a stuffed moose..."

"It's deer," Jonathan interrupted.

"Ah-ha! See?" Sam said, pointing accusingly.

Jonathan crossed his arms. "What? Deers are very bold and majestic animals."

"Yeah, sure," Sam said, smirking, "Anyways, he also eats radishes. Raw, whole. Like just takes a bite right out of it!"

Jonathan frowned. "You do that too."

"Oh yeah. Not the point... Anyways, he also has no concept of personal hygiene."

"I don't think that's any secret, bud," Jonathan retorted.

Kristen watched the two banter, amused, while Petey just watched, confused.

"Seems, you've got nothing really dirty on me after all, Sam," Jonathan said, smiling cockily.

"Jonathan is afraid of the dark!" Sam suddenly said quickly.

"What? I am not!" Jonathan cried, "If you've got nothing substantial, don't make stuff up."

"He still wets the bed!" Sam added.

"Now you're just being desperate."

"He has a phobia of cars!"

Jonathan opened his mouth to reply, but froze. Instead, he threw Sam a dirty look and then stared ahead, stone-faced. Sam bit his lip, looking almost sorry he had said anything. Actually, he looked more like he wanted to disappear into the walls.

The sudden tension was killing Kristen. She leaned forward towards Jonathan. "That's okay," she said gently, "I have a phobia of spiders."

Jonathan glanced at her. "Isn't that kind of typical for most girls?" he asked.

Kristen narrowed her eyes. "No, you don't understand. I see a spider on my bed, I will run out of the room screaming and have someone else kill it," she said.

"Well that's not so..."

"And then promptly have the mattress burned."

Jonathan snorted. "What if you just see a spider say... on your kitchen floor? Then what?"

"Then I destroy the kitchen!"

Everyone laughed, Jonathan's sullen mood suddenly forgotten. Sam gave Kristen a grateful glance and she smiled.

At that moment, the door opened and Friedman stepped in. "Good morning, class!" he greeted everyone.

"Morning," everyone chorused.

"Do I have some news for you!" Friedman said, "As you know, we have finished with Thoreau's Walden, which I hope you've all completed your essays for?"

There were murmurs of confirmation all around the room. "Good, good. If you would just stack them neatly on my desk before you go, that would be excellent," Friedman said, "Now, since we're finished with Thoreau, I suppose you're wondering what our next topic will be?"

There were a few grunts from the students, agreeing. Friedman rubbed his hands together. "Well, I wasn't going to do this quite yet, but I decided to bump it up sooner. Our next topic is going to be... fairytales!"

Some of the students began to mumble with one another at this announcement. "What? That's all I'm getting? No enthusiasm? No "hoorays"? No grumbles about "stupid fairytales"?" Everyone looked back at Jonathan. He held up his hands innocuously.

"Before we begin, I want to you to already begin thinking of which fairytale you will want to write your essay on," Friedman continued, "It will be due at the end of the section."

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

"So what fairytale are you going to write your essay on?" Kristen asked as she, Petey, Jonathan, and Sam all walked out of Friedman's classroom together.

"We're deciding already?" Jonathan asked, shifting his backpack on his shoulder, "It's three weeks away."

"I know, but Friedman did say to start thinking about it," Kristen said.

"Ooh! How about Rapunzel? Petey said, "With the long golden hair and the prince and stuff. Or Snow White! With the poison apple and the seven dwarves."

"Maybe something not with a princess," Sam said, "Like... Puss in Boots or Hansel and Gretel. Hey, Jonathan might like Hansel and Gretel. It's got a giant candy house."

"Just what are you implying?" Jonathan asked.

"Well, you're a big guy and all..." Sam said.

"It's true," Petey piped up.

"You must have gotten that way somehow," Sam said.

"Are you saying I'm fat?" Jonathan asked, raising his eyebrows.

"No, no. Just... big," Sam said.

Jonathan rolled his eyes. "Whatever," he said, smirking.

"I think I might like to do the Snow Queen," Kristen said.

"Ooh! Doesn't that one have a reindeer in it?" Sam asked eagerly.

"Ah-ha! See, I'm not the only one who likes deers!" Jonathan pointed out.

"You two!" Kristen reprimanded in good nature. She turned to Sam, "Yeah, it takes the main character to the Snow Queen's fortress to save her friend."

"Cool!" Sam said, grinning, "Be careful. I might steal that from you."

"Steal what?"

Everyone turned towards the new voice. David stood behind them, hands in his pockets. Kristen's eyes brightened at the sight of him. "David!" she cried.

"Hey," he said.

He walked over to her and planted a big, passionate kiss right on her mouth. Jonathan and Sam looked away uncomfortably while Petey just stared wide-eyed and slack-jawed as if he had never seen anything quite like it before.

Finally David pulled back, arm draped around Kristen's shoulder. "So what's going on?" he asked.

Kristen swallowed, catching her breath. "We were just talking about our new english assignment."

"Ah english. Nasty stuff. What is it? An essay?" David asked.

"Yeah. On a fairytale," Kristen answered.

"Ohh, I remember that assignment," David said, nodding, "How many pages was it again?"

"It's fif--" Kristen began.

"Fifteen, right," David said, "I hate english class. Always have, actually. I remember taking your class a couple years back and just sulking the whole way through it."

"A couple years back? So you’re a...?" Jonathan asked.

"Senior," David answered.

Jonathan nodded, crossing his arms. There was something about this guy that was rubbing him the wrong way, and by the way that Sam was looking at him, it seemed he was thinking the same.

"And you are?" David asked, still looking at Jonathan.

"Oh, I'm sorry," Kristen finally spoke up again, "David, these are my friends, Jonathan, Sam, and Petey... Guys, this is my boyfriend, David."

Everyone mumbled their hellos. David nodded at them, then turned back to Kristen. "So anyways, I need to get going," he said, "I'll pick you up at 6:00?"

"Oh um... actually I have this Economic test I should probably study for..." Kristen said.

"An Economics test? Really? You'd rather study for some dumb test rather than go out to the pier with moi?" David said putting on his biggest grin.

Kristen gave a half smile. Then she closed her eyes and scrunched her face. "Okay, fine!" she said, opening her eyes.

"Great! I'll see you at six!" David said. He gave her another sloppy kiss, then turned and left.

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FACE DOWN Ch7- Monsters and Milkshakes

"This is where she lives?" David asked, eyeing the apartment complex as he and Kristen approached, hand in hand.

"Yep. 53, The North Ridge Apartments," Kristen replied, "She's been living here all by herself since her sophomore year."

"Does she ever leave?" David asked.

"I have no idea," Kristen replied, "Not that I've seen. She must if she wants food... Unless she has it delivered or something."

They walked around the peeling white gate and towards the complex. Kristen squeezed his hand. "Thank you for doing this," she said, "Hopefully it'll bring Annalise out. I'm sure she'll be very happy."

"Hey, no problem," David said, "I'm looking forward to meeting her."

They approached the door. "Here it is," Kristen said, gesturing to the large silver "53" on the teal door.

David stood back. "Well, have at it," he said.

Kristen took a breath and knocked three times. "Annalise?" she called out, "It's me! I'm just here to to tell you that I got a B- on that Economics paper I was talking about before. I guess Pooperston doesn't hate me as much as I thought. Although he was pretty harsh on a lot of other kids in there. And I've got another math test tomorrow. So far there hasn't been any improvement in my past two tests, but I guess I'll just have to keep going to tutoring... even if that guy is a bit of a grump. Petey says I should just stick it out because at least I haven't got an F on my tests since I started. I still get D's though!"

She sighed. She suddenly noticed David standing behind her and remembered. "Oh, Anna, there's something else," she said, "You remember I've been telling you that I started dating this guy about two weeks ago? And how he's wonderful and amazing and everything? Well... he's here! I brought him here. To meet you."

Kristen stared at the door expectantly. Nothing happened. She sighed and glanced back at David. "I told you she wouldn't come out," she said, down-trodden, "It was worth a shot though, right?"

She began to turn away, but then heard the door handle jiggling. Kristen immediately turned back and rushed to the door. She saw Annalise's eye peek out. "You brought your boyfriend?" Annalise's voice floated out of the crack.

"Yes. Yes, I did!" Kristen said, ecstatic that Annalise was interested. Maybe she would come out after all. Kristen reached back, grabbed David's arm and pulled him forward. "Anna, this is David Leskov... my boyfriend. David, this is Annalise my--"

"No!"

Kristen and David both looked at the blue eye peering out of the dark crack, confused. "What?" Kristen asked.

"No. No! You can't! How could you!?" Annalise cried, "Just... just... stay away. STAY AWAY! I've told you! You... you MONSTER!"

"Anna, but..." Kristen began.

"No! Don't. Just... don't," Annalise said, and she slammed the door in their faces.

Kristen and David stared at the door, shocked. "She... she called me a monster," Kristen said quietly.

"I'm sure she didn't mean that," David said.

"Why would she get so upset like that?" Kristen asked, barely registering his words.

"I don't know. Maybe she was just having a bad day," David suggested.

"I mean, she hasn't always been super receptive to me, but she's never been so..." she felt her eyes begin to sting and suddenly felt a bit nauseous, "I have to go."

Kristen turned and ran, hot tears burning in her eyes, ignoring David's calls after her.

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

Jonathan sat at the desk, drumming his fingers and staring at the clock. Late again as usual. Would this be a common habit of hers?

The door suddenly burst open, making Jonathan jump slightly and Kristen ran inside. Jonathan could clearly see her eyes were red and puffy as though she had been crying. Uh-oh. She sat down beside him and began to fumble with her backpack.

"Sorry I'm late," she said quickly as she began pulling things out of her backpack, setting up for tutoring "I had a little trouble this morning and I lost track of time."

"Are... you alright?" Jonathan asked.

"Yes! Of course I'm alright! Why wouldn't I be alright?" Kristen asked.

"Well you did just hand me a tube of lipstick, and pulled out your Economics book instead of your math book," Jonathan responded.

Kristen grabbed the lipstick and swapped it for a pencil, then began digging in her backpack once more.

"Did... something happen with David?" Jonathan wondered cautiously.

"No. No, everything's fine with David," Kristen said. Then she threw her backpack down and buried her face in her hands, "I didn't bring my math book!"

She looked close to crying once more. Clearly she was not alright and Jonathan did not think it was over a math book.

He picked up her Economics book and stuck it back into her backpack. "Kristen, come on. I know just the thing to cheer you up."

Kristen looked through her hands. "What?" she asked, "But what about the math?"

"Forget about your math right now," Jonathan said, standing up, "The way you're acting right now, I don't even think you'd hear a word I'd try and teach you. Now come on."

Kristen wiped the back of her hand under her nose, sniffling. "O-okay," she said.

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

"Here you go. Chocolate milkshake with extra whipped cream," Jonathan said, pushing a large cup towards Kristen.

Kristen took it as Jonathan sat down on the other side of the booth from her, holding his own cup. "Thanks," she said.

"I promise. The milkshakes here are guaranteed to put a smile on anyone's face," Jonathan said, "Go on. Try it."

Kristen took a long sip from her straw. As she swallowed the cold chocolatey goodness, she felt a small smile creep over her lips. She looked at Jonathan who was watching her expectantly.

"Well?" he asked.

"This is probably the best milkshake I've ever had in my life," Kristen declared, and she went for another sip.

Jonathan grinned. "Didn't I say so?"

Kristen nodded, still drinking her milkshake. She finished off half the glass before she finally looked at Jonathan again. He was casually drinking his own, watching her.

She wiped her mouth. "Thank you again," she said, "I feel a lot better. Chocolate always helps."

He nodded. "No problem," he replied. He was silent for a moment. "So... you didn't have a fight with David or anything?" he asked hesitantly.

Kristen bit her lip. "No. Nothing with David. We're fine," she said, sighing, "It's my sister.

"Your sister?"

"Yeah. See, she lives all alone and I haven't seen her in over a year and a half and everyday I go and try to talk to her, but she hardly ever even opens the door, let alone acknowledges me. Anyways, I brought David with me today, hoping maybe she'd be happy for us and want to meet him. But she yelled at us and slammed the door in our faces."

Jonathan saw the sadness and hurt returning to Kristen's eyes and feared she might begin crying once more. He pushed her cup towards her, "Milkshake, milkshake."

She took another long drink and stared at the table. "She... she called me a monster," she said, going for another sip.

"You're not a monster," Jonathan told her.

Kristen looked up at him. "You know, that is probably the nicest thing you've ever said about me?"

The corner of Jonathan's mouth tweaked up. "Well I may be impossible, but I'm not stupid."

Kristen felt a blush coming on. She fought it back and quickly said, "Well obviously not. You're a tutor."

"Being a tutor doesn't mean you're smart," Jonathan said.

Kristen furrowed her brow. "Sure it does. You'd have to be in order to teach someone how to do something."

"Okay, it might mean you're like book-smart, " Jonathan said, "But are you life-smart?"

"Life-smart? Is that even a word?" Kristen asked, smiling slightly.

"It is now. Don't mock me while I'm trying to be deep," Jonathan retorted, holding back his own smile, "There are lots of different types of smart. Smart with books, smart in life, smart with people. You're lucky if you find someone who is smart in all areas. No one is. If you find someone who is, they're probably a fake."

Kristen nodded, her mind trailing off to David momentarily. He was smart with people for sure, and in life. Was he with books? She remembered him saying something about barely being able to pass his classes, but he could have been exaggerating. Hmm... he must not be because otherwise he's have to be a fake like Jonathan said, right? Or else she was just lucky and actually did find the perfect guy.

She turned her focus back to Jonathan. "Well books are definitely my weakness, as you well know. Although I'm not sure if I'm all that smart in life either... or people... I'm a three package weakness!" she said, smiling, "What about you?"

Jonathan's face dropped slightly and he suddenly found an immense interest in staring at his milkshake. Kristen leaned forward on her elbows. "Come on, I know you're book-smart. You got a scholarship in math for crying out loud," she encouraged, "So it can't be that."

Jonathan finally looked up at her. "People," he mumbled.

"What?" Kristen asked.

"People," he said again, "I've never been good with people."

Kristen saw genuine hurt in his face. "That's okay," she said, "Lots of people aren't good with other people."

"No, when I say I'm not good with people, I mean people can barely stand to be in my presence for very long. I don't know what it is. They just avoid me, and I don't know... I guess it's just sort of turned me into, well... this," Jonathan said, gesturing to himself, "Only my roommate, Sam, has stuck with me through the years."

"He can't be the only friend you have," Kristen said.

"Yeah, actually," Jonathan said, staring coldly at his cup, "People don't like me."

"I like you."

Jonathan looked up at her and saw her smiling warmly at him. There was something about that smile, he could tell she meant it. She pushed his cup towards him. "Milkshake?"

He gave a half smile and took the cup. "Thanks," he said, and took a sip.

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