The Friendship of Love (nin bakamaru come here)

[Dante Rosaire]

As they stood there in their loving embrace, the world around them began to melt. They were suddenly transported to another world, a world where nothing bad ever happened. In this world, nothing mattered except for them. The kiss itself didn't last that long, but it seemed to go on forever. But it was because they wanted it to last forever. When they came back to the real world, Neil stepped back a little breaking the kiss. He still held on to her though. He stroked her hair and cleared it from her face.

"I love you." Was all he could manage.  

[elphy_and_fiyero]

She froze in place. To her this was a dream come true. She had been waiting years for him to say that. And never once did she want him to say in like a brother. She wanted him to say it and really mean it. At hte moment, he did. He had told her those words she had been waiting for and wanted. Her heart wanted to leap out of her chest and give him a hug or something. She wanted to jump for joy, run a mile anything. Instead, she said the one thing that felt would fit the mood. The only thing that she knew was right and true. Jessica smiled at him. "I love you too. Always have, always will."
 

[Dante Rosaire]

Suddenly the group of girls snatched Neil away. Despite his loud protesting, they dragged him to a corner to interrogate him.

"Ok, you guys make the sweetest couple and all, but we need to make sure that your intentions are pure." One of the girls said.

Neil was caught off guard, "Come on, we've known each other for years, you know i'll treat her right. I have no intentions of breaking her heart, ever."

He looked helplessly around the room.  

[elphy_and_fiyero]

"Hey!" Jessica said as they dragged Neil away. She went to stop them but their boyfriends held her back.

"Now, now Jessica. This is for your own good." Frank, Meghan's boyfriend said.

"My own good?" She asked curiously. "What exactly are the doing? If it ruins our relationship, I will never speak to any of them again." Dustin shook his head.

"No, nothing like that. They're just being protective." He told her. "So how long have you two been dating?" He asked.

"Today." The boys gasped at her.

"And you're already telling each other you love them?" Leon the other boyfriend said. Jessica nodded. She meant those words when she said them. And she would say it again if the girls didn't ruin it for her.
 

[Dante Rosaire]

The girls asked him the same question.

"We've been dating for about 9 hours." They gave him strange looks.

"I can't believe you kissed her like that." Erika said

"And you said the L word!" Meghan exclaimed.

"Guys, we've been in love for years but never had the courage to say it. I honestly don't think you guys will ever understand. I love her, and I mean it, with every bit of honesty I have."

The girls just stared at him, dumbfounded.  

[elphy_and_fiyero]

Jessica was about to have some attachment issues if she didn't feel his warmth again. Even as she looked over at him, she wanted to run to him and embrace him. Jessica folded her arms. "Guys can I get back to my boyfriend now?" She asked the boys. All three of them shook their heads.

"Number one we can't until they finish with sparky of there. Second, we still have some questions." Dustin said. The question they asked shocked her to the core.

"Do you kiss your momma with that mouth?" She asked. Dustin nodded. "You're so sick. Honestly, I don't see what Erika sees in you."

"It's my charm." He said. "Now, do you promise to take care of him?"

"Goodness, you make it sound like I'm adopting a puppy." The boys waited for her answer. "Of course I'll take care of him. Why wouldn't I?"
 

[Dante Rosaire]

Erika started firing questions again.

"Do you plan on waiting till marraige to sleep with her?" she asked

"Oh lovely, this ios the first time we're all together in years, and all u have to talk about is sex." he rolled his eyes and sighed. "To answer your question, yes, I plan on waiting."

"Do you promise to be loyal?" she asked again.

"Come on Erika, i've had the same group of friends since elementary school. o you honestly think loyalty will be a problem?"

"Well no, i'm just making sure." Erika repklied.

"I've got a question." Megan interrupted, "What about Alyssa? You know she has a huge crush on you."

"I'm not interested in her." he replied.

"I figured you weren't." she said

"Are we quite finished? I think my head is gonna explode from all these questions."

They nodded, with a sigh of relief, he went over to a bench and sat down, waiting for the guys to finish with his girlfriend.  

[elphy_and_fiyero]

"Look they're finished with him, can I go now?" Jessica whined. The boys shook their heads.

"We're not finished with you. Last question. Promise." Dustin said. Jessica sighed and waited. "Would you ever cheat on him?" She looked at him straight in the eye.

"Never." She told them.

"Ok, you can go." He said and they walked off to find their girlfriends. Jessica looked around until she saw Neil sitting down. His arms completely empty and waiting for her. She began to walk over but a familiar face stepped in front of her.

"Jessica?" The guy asked. Again, she sighed.

"Hi, Matt." She rolled her eyes. Matt was a big jock. So big, in fact, he was captain of the football team since his freshman year.

"Wow, you look hot." He smirked and looked her up and down. "Dance with me."

"No thank you. I actually have to get back to my boyfriend." She fake smiled and then tried to walk away but a hand grabbed her arm.

"That wasn't a question." He glared. Matt dragged her onto the dance floor and gripped her arms. The grip was so tight, Jessica could feel it bruising. She looked around until she finally found that one face again.

"Neil!" She shouted over the music. Praying with all her might he would hear or see her. Matt began to laugh.

"That's you're boyfriend. Ha! I eat nerds like him for breakfast."
 

[Dante Rosaire]

Neil heard the faint sound of Jessica screaming. He looked over to where the sound was and saw Matt, the football team captain, harassing her. The look on his their faces was enough to set him off the deep end. He got up and practically flew over to them.

"I'll ask you once Matt. You either let go of my girl, or i'll snap your neck!"

Matt just laughed arrogantly and threw a punch at him. Matt was strong, but slow. Neil had another advantage, years of judo training. He easily blocked Matt's punch and grabbed his arm. He twisted it hard and he could hear it begin to crack. He let go and delivered a swift kick to his chest which temporarily knocked the wind out of him.

"You little s**t! How do you know all those moves?! You can't beat me! I'm captain of the football team!"

"You're nothing but an arrogant pig!" Neil yelled back.

Matt charged him again, but this time, Neil attacked first. He put all og his power into right hook. It caught him right in the face. Matt recoiled to check the damage. He had a decent sized bruise and his nose was bleeding.

"I'm done with you." Neil said coldly as he went to rejoin his friends.

But as he turned around, Matt ran full speed at him. Neil was caught off guard. Matt threw all his weight on him as he tackled him to the ground. His momentum was immense, Neil hit the ground hard. Matt got up and stomped on his right arm, as it broke, Neil fought the urge to scream. Matt spat on him and began to walk away.  

[elphy_and_fiyero]

Jessica gasped at everything that was happening. She was about to kick him in the groined but Dustin, Frank and Leon all finished him off. But she didn't care about that. All she cared about was Neil. Jessica ran to him. "Come on. Let's go home. I think I've hand enough fun for one night." He was about to say something but she covered his mouth. "And I will be driving. Thank you very much." She helped him up carefully and the two of them said goodbye to the others before leaving. "That stupid jerk! I can't believe he never changed." Jessica said as she drove to the hospital. "He's so......arrogant."
 

[Dante Rosaire]

Neil wouldn't look at her or talk to her. He was beyond humiliation, all he wanted to do was crawl in a hole and never be seen again. Jessica kept trying to get him to talk, but he just kept staring out the window.  

[elphy_and_fiyero]

Jessica was getting angry. Why wouldn't he talk to her? Was it a macho thing? They drove to the hospital and Neil ended up getting a cast on his arm. The whole time, Neil never said a word to her. As she parked the car in his driveway she didn't get out of the car. "Neil, the silence is killing me." He said nothing. "Say something."
 

[Dante Rosaire]

"Something" he replied plainly. He felt horrible that he was completely ignoring Jessica.

"Look, i'm sorry about the cold shoulder, it's just that I feel so embarassed. I couldn't believe that I was unable to take him down. I wanted so badly to protect you on my own and I failed. I've never been humiliated this badly before."

As he finished talking, tears began to well up in his eyes.  

[elphy_and_fiyero]

Jessica nearly slapped him. "Are you kidding? Did you see his face? It was broken into a million pieces. At least you were brave enough to take him down. I would have been disappointed in you if you didn't. But you did and I love you for that." She took his good hand and started to play with his fingers.

"You shouldn't be embarrassed. That guy was huge. It took three guys just to take him down. In away, you did save me." She paused and smiled. "You did protect me." He didn't look at her. "Hey, you were the one who got the girl." She smiled at him.
 

[Dante Rosaire]

Neil sighed and started to relax a little. Jessica always knew what to say when he was feeling sad. He rested his head on her shoulder and relaxed even more.

"I just couldn't stand the idea of him getting his hands on you. The thought of what he might do to you drove me insane. I don't want to lose you, I don't care what it takes, i'll never let you get in harm's way again."