Chapter Fifteen:

Here Comes The Sun

When May woke up this morning, she was surprised to discover that somehow, in the middle of the night, Jason had brought her closer to him, so now she was pressed right up against his chest and his arms were wrapped around her torso.

She knew that she had been somewhat okay with it when he had put his arm around her, because it had made her able to sleep, which she had trouble doing because of some jerk—Jason—showing her two horror movies right after each other. But now this, this was just ridiculous and definitely crossing the line. She didn't know if he had done it intentionally or not, but she didn't care. She just wanted out.

She tried to get out his grip, but he didn't have a personal trainer for nothing; Jason was muscular, and she was also pretty strong, but she wasn't nearly as muscular as he was.

She tried to pry his arms off of her, but that just made him hold her tighter. How in the world was he able to do that in his sleep?

Ugh. She was tired, she was grumpy, and now she had to deal with this too?

It was only about eight in the morning, so they were supposed to leave from the hotel in about an hour. She wasn't usually an 'early riser', since the only time she usually saw when it was eight in the morning was when she had to go to school. Other than that, she was usually sleeping at this time.

So why was she up now? It felt like he was freaking suffocating her, so she had woken up from her deep sleep, that's why!

She didn't really want to wake him up, because then she would have to hear his voice and he would undoubtedly say something to piss her off, but this was one of those 'desperate times call for desperate measures' situations.

She didn't want to have to do this.

"Jason?" She poked his shoulder gently. He didn't stir. "Jason?" She poked him harder. No response. "Jason!" Nothing. This time, she poked him repeatedly and yelled, "JASON! GET THE HELL OFF OF ME!"

One of his eyes opened this time when she poked him, and he began smirking. She rolled her eyes and tried to get out of his grip now. When he wouldn't release, she looked back at him. Both of his eyes were open now and his eyes were twinkling. "Aww, but why?" he whined. He held her closer to him, if that were even possible, and nuzzled into the space between her head and shoulders. "You're like my teddy bear."

"That's great. But the teddy bear is about to break your neck if you don't let go. Okay? And I mean right now!" she exclaimed. He chuckled, and finally let her go after he had hugged her one more time. Ugh. She immediately sprang out of bed, grabbed her dress and purse from the floor, and made a run for the bathroom. In there, she fixed her hair and make-up the best she could, and put her dress back on.

She took her cell phone out to check to see if she got any messages, but then she remembered there was no service . . .

Shit. She was going to call her Aunt and Uncle from the hotel phone last night, but she completely forgot, with Jason acting the way he did and all. She wouldn't have been shocked if they had already reported her missing.

Uh-oh.

It would be almost two hours until she was home, so she might as well call now, in case they were worried. She ran out of the bathroom, and saw there was a land-based phone on the nightstand next to their bed. Jason was half-asleep, but looked at her strangely, but she ignored him and began frantically dialing the number of Amy and Michael.

"Hell-o-o-o?" the person answered, making it almost seem like a song. It was a female, but it didn't sound like Amy. Did she get the wrong number?

"Hello. Wait—is that you, Allie?" Her little cousin. Now that she thought about it, not many adults would answer the phone in the strange way Allie did. "It's May."

"MAY!" Allie screamed. "You're alive! We thought the zombies came and found you! Mom's been freaking out over here. And so has Dad. Kinda. Oh, here comes Mom. She doesn't look too happy—yeah, she doesn't. Oooooh, you're in trouble." May rolled her eyes. Of course she was in trouble.

Suddenly, someone else picked up the phone.

"May!" Amy exclaimed. "You're okay. Thank God. I was about ready to report you missing, since I couldn't get through to your phone, and you've been gone for about twelve hours longer than when you said you'd be back. But then Allie had Jackie's number, so I called her, and she stayed at Jason's friend's house for the night—I forget the name—because of the rain, but she said you were with Jason, and the rain was really bad, so you probably had to stop somewhere.

"I took her word and waited—I'm so glad you're alright, though! You had me so worried! Please don't ever scare me like that again! Why weren't you answering your phone? Where are you? Are you okay? Are you safe? Have you eaten? Do you need me to pick you two up?"

Wow. She was freaking out. Not that she really blamed her, though. "Don't worry, I'm fine," she assured her. She noticed that Jason was staring at her, and she found that she had a bit of trouble speaking now. She didn't know why. "W-we're at a hotel in an area with no service, so I couldn't use my cell phone. We'll probably be home soon. Sorry for worrying you."

She didn't want to tell her that she had completely forgotten about calling her even when she had intended on doing so, so she tried to avoid it. She said goodbye to her Aunt, hanging up the phone, and she resumed getting ready to go back home.

By the time she came out of the bathroom the second time, Jason was already dressed in the clothes that he had worn last night as well. She looked at the clock and noticed that it was already nine o'clock and someone would probably be coming soon to clean up the room.

"Tsk, tsk, Jason. You were in a hotel with a pretty girl for an entire night, and you've got nothing to show for it? I'm ashamed of you," Evan said, taking a sip of his drink.

Currently, they were at a night club. Of course, once they showed their faces, they were let into there even though they were both only eighteen and the place served alcohol. Evan was even having some of it; it's ridiculous how people will even break laws just to be able to see a celebrity up close. Jason didn't want to risk it and his reputation, and plus, he was driving anyway, so he just took a soda.

"I'm ashamed to say that I was the one who taught you how to pick up girls so you could pick up Lauren; remember that? Back in seventh grade?"

"I remember," Jason muttered. This talk about his previous girlfriends was kind of making him get annoyed, but he knew Evan wouldn't shut up about it.

"And then you went on and dated her for three years, Jason, three years. Then I introduced you to Sasha junior year, and, well, that went good for a while," Evan said, rolling his eyes. "But, of course, Mark had to waltz right in like he was the fucking King of England and fuck every female he sees."

Jason laughed. Mark had been one of his other best friends during childhood, next to Evan. Jason had been dating Sasha for a year at the time, but Sasha cheated on him with Mark, which was a pretty low-blow, even for her.

But now that he thought about it, Sasha had been always flirting with guys throughout their relationship. It made him wonder why he hadn't broke up with her sooner. Perhaps he really was as desperate as some people had said.

He hadn't seen Mark for a while, since that wasn't the type of thing you forgave people for that easily, but the last he heard of the situation was that he was still with Sasha. Good for them. He was glad that he got rid of that slut.

"So why don't you ask her out?" Evan finally asked.

"Who?"

Evan set his drink down a bit harder than necessary. "The chick you stayed with for the night; May, was it? The one who you act like a complete stalker with, and she still doesn't call the cops on you. That, that right there must be love or something. Hell, if I were her, no offense, I would've had you in fucking prison by now."

"I don't even like her," Jason said defensively.

"Riiiiiiiiiiiiiight. Okay." Evan didn't sound very convinced, and he basically drank the remainder of his drink, and ordered another. It was obvious the alcohol was beginning to have an effect on his friend. He wasn't usually this persistent and Evan wasn't used to consuming too much alcohol.

"Listen, Jason, I've been your friend for fifteen years. The way I see it, right now, you have about two choices. You can either use your hand for the rest of your life, or you can find a real girl, especially one who can stand you, like this girl. She's cute and she's nice. What else do you want?" Evan asked.

He didn't know what to say. He knew that if he ever asked May on a date, she would slap him at the very thought of it. Even she couldn't stand him. Of course, there were millions of girls screaming for him, even some in his age range.

He appreciated his fans and all, but those type of girls he wasn't interested in; they were too loud and too direct about their intentions without even knowing him. Some were even a bit creepy. "You know everything, do you? I don't see you with a girlfriend," Jason retorted.

"Hm." Evan held up a finger. "Now that's where you're wrong. I'm going on a date with your sister next Friday. Unlike you, I actually made some progress while spending an entire night with a pretty girl. I hope you don't have a problem with it. She's really changed in five years, damn; she's hot now."

Jason made a disgusted face. "Ew. You better not try anything with her, I'm telling you," he warned. He wasn't usually the type to protect Jackie, but she was his younger sister after all, and Evan, as much of a good friend he was, did have the reputation of being a bit of a womanizer. He probably couldn't even count the number of girlfriends he's had.

Evan waved his hand dismissively. "Yeah, yeah." He looked down at his cell phone momentarily, and then put it back in his pockets. "Jackie said hello to the both of us." He chuckled. "Anyway, just ask her out. Worst thing that could happen is she says no. Best thing is she says yes," he said, pointing his finger at Jason for emphasis, "and THERE! You've got a girl." He let that sink in, while Jason was carefully considering what Evan was saying. "So," Evan said slowly. "Will you do it?"

"Fine," Jason said.

"What? Fine? You mean you will?" Evan said, quite surprised that his lecture had worked that easily. Jason usually said 'no' to whatever he suggested, but then a few days later, he would do what Evan said, things would turn out great, and Jason would take all the credit even though it was his idea. Oh well. That was just Jason's personality. He hated being wrong. "So you admit you like her?"

Jason looked to the side, and he could feel his face beginning to heat up. What the hell? Why was he blushing? "Of course not. I just need a girlfriend."

Evan laughed. "Okay, because that's believable. You're blushing, and she's not even here. Wow."

He ran his fingers through his hair. "Shut up."

Jason must have run his fingers through his hair at least fifty times by the time he got home. Damn nervous habits. Should he do it? Should he really ask her out? He had just agreed so Evan would stop pestering him, but now that he was thinking about it . . . he did kind of like her. At least a little bit.

The thought surprised even him. He'd never thought about a particular girl this much before.

More importantly, when did he start to like her?

He remembered the first day they met; he didn't think that he felt anything for her then. He wasn't the best conversationalist with people he just met; perhaps, even though he was a singer and actor, he was even a bit shy.

When he was singing and acting, he had what he had to say directly in front of him. He didn't have to think much. With acting, he was told what to do, and he did it.

However, on the day he met her, he wanted to know what the new girl living right next to him was like. He knew Allie had a crush on him, even though she was only around twelve, so he figured that any relative of Allie would have a crush on him as well. So he commented on May's pajamas, which were, if she wasn't lying, not even hers. She just didn't have anything else to wear to sleep.

She chose the wrong day, though, to wear those with the penguins on them. He found it humorous; the way she was so defensive about it. It was embarrassing enough for her, and he made it worse by commenting on them. He could almost relate to what she was feeling.

He had just expected her to blush and say thank you; not scream like a maniac and run back into the house.

Thus, that had sparked the suggestive relationship within them. She was different than any other girl he had ever met. She was probably the only girl in the world who didn't think he looked like a Greek god, didn't like his singing, and didn't like his acting.

And he had to like her, when there were millions of other girls in the world who would probably faint if he ever even said 'hello' to them.

Maybe that's why he liked her. He liked the way she didn't freak out from the very sight of him. She wasn't the most beautiful girl in the world; she didn't really try as much as other girls, though. She wore only a bit of mascara, and that was pretty much it. She looked pretty, though, or even cute.

The other day, at the restaurant, however, she looked beautiful and sexy at the same time. The red dress and the make-up was completely unlike her, which was why he commented on that as well.

He found it humorous to see her blush, but it made him wonder: was she blushing from embarrassment, or did she really like him?

That was the question.

Then, that, that Leon Price. When he came into the picture, Jason felt like hanging the guy from his lip piercing. Perhaps that was when he started to like her. He had been jealous, but he never admitted it. Though if he was jealous at that time, he must have liked her before that boy came into the picture.

Then, on the second 'friendly'—bullshit—date, when Leon had left her with a bunch of drunk men, he was pissed. He didn't think he'd ever been that pissed in his entire life.

He had to admit that, yes, he did follow her on the date. He wasn't stalking her, as Evan had suggested, but he had a bad feeling from Leon. He just couldn't stand the thought of Leon in the same car as her. It made him feel uneasy.

What exactly did he feel for her? Maybe he was just an overprotective friend?

No. It had to have been more than that.

He was beginning to get a headache.

"You're thinking, and it's really weird," a voice said from nearby. It was a female voice. He had been walking down the sidewalk near his house while he was thinking, so it wasn't surprising that he ran into her on his walk. He hadn't even noticed she was there. He hadn't seen her for almost two days.

He turned around, and smirked when he met May's eyes. "I was just thinking about you," he said teasingly. He really had been, but she didn't know that, and he didn't want her to.

She blushed a bit. "Shut up, jerk."

He chuckled. "Aww, I missed you too. It's been so long since we've last seen each other, and I'd love to share a bed with you again. Maybe this time we could—"

"I don't even want to hear it! Ew! You're disgusting," she muttered, beginning to walk past him. He had been walking that way too, so he continued walking with her.

"—Play monopoly, was all I was suggesting. I don't know what you were thinking, but perhaps you were thinking thoughts of you and I doing something else. What was it?"

Her face was as red as a tomato and he had to resist the urge to laugh again. "N-nothing," she mumbled.

"Are you sure? If you had something else in mind, we could do that too." Maybe he could try asking her out now . . . if she said no, he could just act as if it were a joke, right? She wouldn't know the difference. He took a deep breath.

"Perhaps we could go to the movie theater as well and see another movie. It doesn't have to be horror this time, unless you'd like to basically cling onto my arm the entire time. How does that sound?" Would she get the hint that he just asked her out? He hoped she would, because he was serious this time. He didn't even say something too perverted when he asked her. Would she notice that?

There was a pause as she registered what he just said and then she exclaimed, "Hell no! I wouldn't ever go out with you!"

Even though she probably thought he was joking, he didn't want to let on how much those words felt like a knife going through his chest. Instead of crying like a lot of guys would've—he never cried—he just smirked. "Why not? We could have so much fun. Just you and I."

"You're impossible," she mumbled, and she continued walking on ahead of him, though eventually, he caught up with her.

This conversation wasn't going too well.

"May Sullivan! There you are!"

They both looked up at the same time in the direction that the voice was coming from, and Jason saw a tan guy, probably around sixteen, running towards them. He looked weird, though, because he had obviously unnatural blue-gray hair that was spiked up.

May gasped and her eyes widened. "Isaac! What are you doing here?"

Jason wasn't sure who Isaac was, but as soon as the new boy had caught up to them, he brought May in for a huge hug, even lifting her up in the air a bit.

She laughed. "Don't do that!" she exclaimed, and he put her down, but she didn't seem too serious about it. "What are you doing here in LA?"

He smiled at her. "I missed you! Lisa's here, too."

"Really?" May was smiling widely. "She is? Oh my God! Why didn't you guys tell me you were coming?"

Isaac held a finger to his lips. "We wanted it to be a surprise."

May playfully slapped him. "Ugh! You guys. Oh well. At least you're here. How long are you going to stay?"

"A week. We're skipping school." He chuckled. "My parents were coming to LA for some business meetings anyway, so I asked if I could go, so we could have a reunion, and then I told Lisa, and she wanted to go, too. The others weren't allowed, but they said they miss you. But here we are. We told the school it's an 'educational' trip. They believe anything. It's so good to see you, May."

"Yeah!" May exclaimed. "It's great to see you, too."

Jason was feeling quite awkward standing there, and Isaac seemed to notice. He looked Jason up and down, and had a scowl on his face while he was doing so. Jason scowled back. "Who's the guy? He's not your boyfriend, is he?"

"Nah," May said. "He's just my neighbor."

Jason walked up to Isaac and looked at his blue hair, all spiked up, obviously with loads of gel. "Who's the anime character?"

"Jason! Be nice," May pleaded.

"I am! I'm just saying that the blue hair reminds me of an anime character," Jason said. It did, actually. Isaac was about six inches shorter than him—though that wasn't shocking, since Jason was at around six feet, three inches—so he had to look up at Jason. Jason messed up the boy's hair, since he could tell Isaac spent a lot of time on it. Isaac looked kind of pissed from that, but Jason just smiled from his reaction.

Isaac grinned; it was obviously a very fake smile. "Well, anyway, to answer your question about who I am," Isaac said, placing his arm around May's shoulder. Jason felt like pushing him away, but May didn't seem to mind Isaac's hand that had, by this time, wrapped around her waist.

"I'm her best friend."

A/N: OHSHIT. Haha. We've got guests to Love Thy Neighbor: Lisa and Isaac. This should be interesting. :) Jason's jealousy is about to return, for those who missed it. I know I did.

Now we've got meddling from Lizzie, Jackie, and now Evan. This chapter has mostly Jason's point of view, which is different from other chapters. At least Jason admits he likes her now. We just need May to admit it, too, and we need to get rid of Isaac now.

NOTE: I AM NOT PROMOTING UNDERAGE DRINKING. I don't really feel like I need to say this, but I will, just in case. I just wanted Evan to be a bit rebellious. ¿Comprende? ¡Muy bien!

Comments? Suggestions? Characters you want to see again? Situations you want to happen? Just press that pretty little button below and type it. If you have reviewaphobia (fear of reviewing), just send me a PM! I don't bite. :) Most of the time, anyway.

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