The Friendship of Love (nin bakamaru come here)

[elphy_and_fiyero]

Jessica hugged him tight. Being in his arms made her feel so safe. She looked up and him and kissed him. "I love you too." She sighed. "I know you never would. That's why we've been best friends since birth practically. Just the guys I met at boarding school we're not like the guys out here. And it took me awhile to realize it but they were never you. And that's what I wanted."

 

[Dante Rosaire]

"Awwww, I fell special." was all he could think of to say. Neil was sometimes lovestruck to the point where he started speaking gibberish. He pushed Jerry to the back of his mind and tried to not let it bother him.

"So did you like your smoothie?" He changed the subject.  

[elphy_and_fiyero]

Jessie laughed. "As you should." His gibberish always made her smile. The way he talked just made him seem even more adorable. She picked up her drink again and took some more sips. "I love my smoothie. It's perfect and it hit the spot."

 

[Dante Rosaire]

"I'm glad to hear it, I haven't made them in a while so I was afraid I was out of practice." He said sheepishly.

All of a sudden, Neil's mother called from the kitchen.

"Remember to pack your bags, we're leaving for Europe in a few days."

"I forgot all about that."

"Jessica, you're welcome to come with us. Your mother just called and she's going to visit her sister."  

[elphy_and_fiyero]

Jessica sat up and looked at Neil. "Europe. With you?" She sighed. "Sounds like heaven. Then again, nothing is more heavenly compared to our meadow." She smiled. "I would love to go but I" She wasn't able to finish that thought because her phone rang. This time it was a different ring tone which meant only one person was calling. "Hi, mom." She said into the receiver.

"Hi sweetie. I'm going to you're" Her mother started to say but Jess interrupted her with a smile.

"Going to aunt Linda's house. I heard. Mrs. Martin told me. So is it ok?" Jessica asked.

"Well, you did visit your Aunt Linda a few weeks ago." Her mother sighed. "I guess you can go." She laughed and Jessica thanked her mom before hanging up.

"She says it's ok." Jess smiled at Neil.

 

[Dante Rosaire]

It was so random yet so delightful, now Jessica would be going with him to Europe for a few weeks. Far away from all their problems, and far away from that ill-mannered boy who kept hitting on her.

"AWESOME!" Neil said almost too loudly, he lowered his voice, "We're gonna see everything, the french rivierra, la costa del sol, anything you can think of."  

[elphy_and_fiyero]

Jessica smiled at his excitement. "I'll go anywhere as long as I'm with you." She said. In the back of her mind, Jessie hoped that Jerry would not call again. She pushed that thought aside and looked at Neil. "So, now that our fantastic trip is set and your dishes are done, what shall we do?" She asked.

 

[Dante Rosaire]

"Well, a bunch of graduating seniors are getting together for a party downtown, it's supposed to have a band and everything. Megan, Stacy and Erika have been dying to see you again."  

[elphy_and_fiyero]

"And I've missed them too. No doubt they're going to ask me about everything that went on. But I promise, they are not allowed to steal me away from you." She looked into his eyes. "I want to spend every minute with you. The time that we are allowed to, I mean. But those minutes that we can are ours. We'll do whatever you want." Jessica cuddled close to him as she started to become cold. The thought of the three of them asking her about all her boyfriends came to her mind. At school she had several boyfriends but none of them were Neil. She dated them to try and ease the pain of not having Neil around her. But none of them would do. None of them helped with it. Because they weren't him.

 

[Dante Rosaire]

For the next few hours before the party, they snuggled on the couch and talked about anything they could think of. They talked about what happened in school while she was gone, they talked about boarding school, senior pranks and other teenage babble. When it came time to leave, they walked out with a quick goodbye to Neil's mother. In his usual style, he drove downtown like a madman, he didn't think it was a problem, but he was always criticized for it. They found the address and made their way in. Other than them, there was Megan, Stacy, Erika and their boyfriends. The eight of them had been close friends for years.

They all attacked Jessica at once, hugging her and gawking at her new found beauty. When they saw her arm in arm with Neil though, they went nuts.

"I knew it!" Erika squealed

"Awww come on, you can't say that you're suprised." Dustin, one of the boys joked.  

[elphy_and_fiyero]

Jessica blushed. "Yes ok! You were right. You win." She laughed. The three girls looked at Neil.

"We'll be back with her." Stacy smiled as they dragged her a few feet away. Even though she could still see Neil, she still missed him. She missed his warmth and protection. As they dragged her a few feet away, Jessie gave him an apologetic look. "So," Stacy said first. "How was school?" Jessica gave her a look.

"Now I know you did not just drag me away from my boyfriend just to ask me that. Spit out." The girls bit their lips and looked at each other. "Somebody better tell me before I walk back over there."

"We just wanted to know how many boyfriends have you had?" Erika asked. "You know with this new look and all."

"Oh come on!" Jessie laughed. The three girls folded their arms. Meghan actually smirked. "A few. But"

"But there's a but?" Stacy asked.

"They were never him." Jessica smiled.

"Awwww." They said at the same time. Jessica rolled her eyes and then looked at Neil. She couldn't help but smile.

 

[Dante Rosaire]

Neil smiled back lovingly only to inspire another round of awwwwwws from the group. The guys swarmed around Neil, asking him every question under the sun about him and Jessica.

"No, we haven't had our first kiss yet, no we're not engaged."

He slugged Dustin in the arm, "No we haven't you sick freak!"

The gang was all back together, and things were looking up. The music was great, everything was upbeat. The band didn't show, but they managed to get a DJ who had a great taste in music. Unbeknownst to Neil and Jess, they snuck up to the DJ and requested a sappy slow song. They were shocked when the song began to play.  

[elphy_and_fiyero]

Jessica gasped and looked at the girls. Each one of them shrugged. The song that was playing was their favorite song. "I haven't heard this song in years." She smiled at him. The whole gang couldn't help but watch the two of them. She moved closer to Neil and smiled up at him. The words of the song seemed to say everything she wanted to say to him.
 

[Dante Rosaire]

Neil couldn't help but feel fuzzy inside. He put his arms around Jessie's waist and she put her hands on his shoulders. They swayed back in forth and held each other closely. Neil was lovestruck, it was almost like a dream that he never wanted to come out of. As the song continued, they could feel the love between them. Eventually their eyes met and it seemed like life was finally what it was supposed to be, meaningful. Neil moved slowly towards her and his lips caressed hers softly.  

[elphy_and_fiyero]

Jessica was in heaven. The room was spinning until he fully disappeared. If Neil wasn't holding her up, she would have melted in the floor. Her lips moved with his and her heart was racing. "Aww" Jessica heard beside her. Without breaking the kiss, Jessica began to swat at Erika and Dustin. "Ok, we get it." Erika and Dustin continued to dance away from the two of them. Jessica couldn't help but smile in the kiss. Butterflies were flying in her stomach. Jessica was in air. Everything was perfect.