Will You Be My Not-Girlfriend? (Genevieve)

[Deleted]

Jackson made a face into the bathroom mirror, pulling back his collar and a conveniently placed bandaid. It was still there....Weeeeh! Finn you liar! He said it would only be there for a week! Well, it was a week later and it was still there!

"It" being that big red and purple blotch that stupid Rue had left on his neck last time, when he almost literally ran into the older boy and his silly best friend, Finn. They'd used make-up to cover it up the first time, but Jackson didn't know how to use that stuff, and the next day, at a complete loss of what to do, Jackson had stuck a large bandaid over the welt and came out like that. Unfortunately, the bandaid drew too much attention from his Grams, who immediately demanded to see the injury so she could treat it. When the old lady finally saw it, however...well, it was about as bad as Jackson thought it would be.

He was only 16! He was too young to have a girlfriend! And what kind of girl was she, to be leaving such a hideous thing on her poor grandson's neck? After about an hour of lecturing about morals and God and purity and whatnot, Grams finally demanded to meet this girl of his. When asked for her name, Jackson spoke impulsively, the first name he could think of. Ginny. Genevieve. A sweet French girl. Ohh, so that explains it, she said. A French girl.

Jackson continued to hide the welt with the bandaid. Grams wouldn't let him go out with that thing visible. And now...now he had to go find Ginny and invite her for dinner. Ginny was nice...surely she would say yes?

Jackson recovered the remains of the hickey just as a couple of boys came into the restroom. He shuffled out into the hallways. What was he going to do? He couldn't ask Ginny to do this, and even if he could, she might not agree to it. No, she was nice and he helped her a lot so surely she would feel the need to repay his kindness, right? Jackson walked slowly down the halls, his shoulders slumped as he debated this conundrum. He wasn't looking up at where he was going, so it was by chance that he spotted the girl in question from the corner of his eye. Jackson swallowed. It was now or never, right?

"Ginny!" he called out, jogging slightly to catch up with her. He raised his hand to catch her attention. "Hey, wait up! I gotta talk to you about something." Hopefully not out here in front of everyone either.

[Genevieve Duval]

Genevieve was reading her book. Actually, it was the book Osiris had recommended for her and once she'd started she couldn't put it down! Okay! So it was a tad mushy and cheesy and the romance was a tad... intense, but it was also so mushy and cheesy and the romance! It was just SO intense! And the fantasy! And then- okay, maybe Osiris had known what he was talking about when he recommended this to her. Not that she'd ever admit it.

She continued walking down the hallway, letting people walking by either avoid her or bump her, she would just skip, get on her feet and keep walking, eyes still glued on the book. But then she heard someone call. Ginny? Not many people called her that. She blinked in surprise and turned over her shoulder to see just the boy who'd recommended the book waving at her. She stopped walking, waiting for him to catch up, smiling wearily as she found seeing him brought mixed emotions. On the one side, Osiris had helped her out before, even saved her life, to which she would always be thankful. Plus the book! On the other side... she'd been feeling he thought of her as someone less than... less. As if she was some kind of amusing, daft pet, who was too slow and dumb to know any better. An odd feeling, but there it was. And it was probably her own fault too, what with being so helpless all the time and all. He'd caught her, she had to admit, during her weakest moments, and the language barrier didn't help.

But he said he wanted to ask something and she suddenly felt her heart full, her smile turning more honest. Yes! "Anything!" She called back with a gentle smile, turning to be the one to catch up with him. If she could do something for him, maybe he would stop treating her like... like less. And she could start feeling less pathetic around him too. She hurried to go to him, carefully avoiding everyone in the hallway so not to bump and hurt anyone.

Genevieve smiled up at him as she caught up and nodded. "Hello Osiris." She said politely, still feeling giddy at the idea of helping out. "What you need?"

[Deleted]

Ginny seemed preoccupied with something as she walked slowly down the hall. What was she doing with her head down like that, almost running into someone with every step she took? As Jackson got closer, he saw the reason why, and it made him smile. A book. She was reading a book while trying to walk from one class to the next. That was…pretty cute.

He called her name again as she stopped and turned to look up at him. If there was anything in her expression that gave away her unease at seeing the boy, then Jackson didn’t notice it. He was more concentrated on the fact that he’d actually found the exact person he’d been looking for so quickly. As if it were fate and God put her exactly where they could run into each other casually, just to make things easier on the desperate boy. He slowed as they grew nearer to each other, his smile growing broader to see Ginny close the distance herself with such a beautifully, feminine smile.

Anything? Oh, great! He knew he could count on her! Ginny was so nice, of course she’d be willing to help him. His cheeks turned red upon hearing his first name fall from her lips and he looked around warily, hoping nobody else had heard that. Jackson wasn’t about to tell her she wasn’t allowed to call him that anymore, not after it’d already been so long with her doing so. But he still didn’t want other people to start thinking they could do the same. Yeah, Ginny was special! That’s why he let her get away with it!

Still…well, he had other business to speak with her about, more important than the subject of his name. “Ginny…” He hesitated, trying to decide how to ask her. “Um….come with me! I don’t wanna talk about it here.” Not in front of so many people. They might get strange ideas if they were to overhear. Jackson grabbed Ginny’s hand to lead her around the corner and through the door to the janitor’s closet. The same one that Rue had pulled him into a few weeks ago, in fact. The memory made him blush again, especially considering that this whole affair of him going to the insect girl was because of Rue in the first place. If Ginny followed his lead and allowed Jackson to take her to the closet, then once inside, he would start searching for the overhead light to turn on. “Sorry,” he’d say. “It’s not a very swanky place, but I don’t want to do this with so many people around, y’know?”

[Genevieve Duval]

Genevieve blinked up at him, looking vacant, but she was actually curious as to why he looked so nervous. The mention of her nickname made her warm again and her smile turned shy. It was a reminder of their friendship, so she settled to be willing to do anything for her friends. Uh-"Oui?" She said as he pulled at her hand and she blinked in surprise, before almost tripping as he pulled her. "Je- ah, Osiris." She hurried so not to trip, trying to keep up with his steps as he pulled her around the corner. "Where we are going?" She wondered but they were close, apparently, because he opened a door and pulled her to what seemed to be a closet.

The French girl was confused, especially because she couldn't see anything once the door was closed. Still, she waited for him to find. As he spoke, she stood there with the same gentle smile, waiting for him to explain. "I can help." She assured him, whatever it is he needed. He'd saved her life! He'd leant her his clothes. He'd recommended an awesome book. Of course she would do anything for him, her dear friend.

Had it been any other person in this closet, they would start thinking of less than friendly thoughts. What? He was talking about doing something he didn't dare do in front of others! And they were in a closet, the ultimate public but not really make out spot in school! But this was Genevieve, innocent and pretty pure, so she just thought he needed a favour he was embarrassed to talk about in front of others. She didn't mind though. It actually made her feel special that he'd share something with her that he wouldn't with others.

"Is something bad?" She wondered, not wanting to do anything... illegal or something like that. Oh, she would too, if it was for a friend, she just didn't want to think of it. "I help. Tell me."

[Deleted]

Jackson was self-focused and oblivious once again to Ginny’s plight, that he was someone rushing the dainty girl along faster than she could walk to keep up. But since they weren’t going far, it wasn’t too much of a problem, right? But once they were in there, Jackson couldn’t help but let his face flare up again at the realization that he’d just pulled a girl into the notorious make-out closet. The make-out closet that Rue had pulled him into. Oh, god, oh, god…..okay breathe, breathe, in and out, this was no biggie, nope, Jackson just had to take it slow and smooooth.

Right, smooth.

Jackson used the time he spent finding the light switch to pull from the ceiling to calm himself down and figure out exactly how he was supposed to word this. Ahh…times up! He found it. Jackson switched on the light, then turned around to face his friend Ginny. “You can? Ahh, that’s great, you have no idea,” he rambled. Though he hadn’t even told her what it was yet. Jackson planted his palm over one side of his face. “Right, uh….no, it’s not bad.” At least he didn’t think it was.

Another breath. This was tough to get out. It was almost as if he were asking her for the real thing. Actually, this might’ve been worse than the real thing….nope, no it wasn’t. Jackson closed his eyes then reached out and took both Ginny’s hands in his own. “Ginny…will you…” Out with it already! He opened his eyes and leaned down to match her with his. “….will you please be my fake-girlfriend?”

Well, that was easier to ask than he thought.

[Genevieve Duval]

No idea. Well, of course she had no idea. Still, Genevieve patiently waited for Osiris to explain himself, to gather his courage or whatever it was he needed to do whatever he needed to do. It was intriguing, and the French girl inwardly felt bad for thinking so, considering her friend seemed to be in trouble. "Is okay." She said with what she hoped was a reassuring smile as he turned on the light. "I will help." Of course she would, she would do anything for him considering how much he'd already done for her. Not bad. Okay, that was good. Then why was he so nervous.

Genevieve blinked in surprise as he took both her hands and looked up at him in wonder. What was going on? Ginny. She smiled as she heard the nickname. Wait. Will what? He was leaning closer and she felt her face suddenly turn red. This reminded her of a scene in a book... a scene where- Was he going to- But he was her friend! But so what? Did he think of her as-? She licked her lips nervously as her thoughts stopped when he spoke.

Ha?

"Ha?" She made a tiny confused noise, suddenly losing her blush. Oh! THAT'S what he'd wanted. A fake-girlfriend. Well... "Okay." She said lightly. "Anything that will help." She added, starting to smile and nodding along. Yes, she could see why he wouldn't want to ask her that in front of others. Then again...

"A question." She said, with the same light tone. "What is a fake-girlfriend?" Fake was faux, no? And she knew what girlfriend meant, so that meant he wanted he wanted her to... what? "You want me to lie?" She finally realised, pouting in confusion. But why? "No need." She added, "If you want a girlfriend you get one." She said with what she hoped was an encouraging tone. "Any girl will be happy to be." She added a slight pat on his arm, trying to still be encouraging. "I help! I know girls. Nice girls. I can find a real girlfriend."

Well, since Julien hadn't accepted her help, at least she hoped Osiris would, since she also cared greatly for him and wanted him to be happy. Her mind started running through the girls she knew from her class, thinking who would be better suited for him... Unless there was more to it than he was saying?

[Deleted]

Yes! She agreed! That was easier than he thought it was going to be. Oh, Jackson was so glad he had the courage to ask!

Wait…maybe not? Did she…not understand what he was asking…?

“A, uh….fake-girlfriend is…” But then she went ahead and said it with her own figurings and Jackson started to panic, thinking that she was going to reject the idea outright. “W-wait, no,” he tried to explain. “Not lie. Pretend. There’s a difference!” Sort of. “Like….it’d be like we’re putting on a play, right?” That ought to make it seem a little bit more…

Jackson blinked at her suggestion. Huh? No need? Just get one? “Ha ha…if it were that easy, I’d probably already have one…” he muttered, scratching the side of his face nervously. It was hard to admit, but no, he’d never had a girlfriend before. Though the way she was talking….ugh, his pride…Ginny hadn’t even considered herself to be that girlfriend, just her friends. Well, that sure told Jackson how she really thought of him. It was sort of depressing…

But that wasn’t the point! “No…no, it’s not that,” he tried to explain again. “I don’t need a real girlfriend.” Ouch, that hurt to say, yes he did. “I need a….like I said, a fake girlfriend. I want people to think I have a girlfriend…because….” He was going to have to explain it to her. Jackson’s face burned a bright red as he thought of how to put this. “I’m…I’m kinda already seeing somebody…sorta…and I kinda don’t want people to know about it…” That ought to bring her around, right?

[Genevieve Duval]

Pretend. Acting like in a play. Genevieve stared at him, nodding slowly, although she still didn't see the difference between that and lying. Watching a movie or a play was not a lie because she knew what she was seeing was fantasy, but it sounded like he wanted others to not know that it was pretend. "Is that still not dishonest?" She asked, still confused about it all. But if he needed it... She scratched her cheek nervously and felt Vivian travel down to her finger to be lightly patted. What should I do, Vivian?

"Is easy." She insisted, confused as to what was difficult about it. "You say 'I like you', yes? And ask out. Is simple. Then kiss, then girlfriend." Wasn't it simple? Genevieve had never been asked out before, not like a date at least. Well, Colton had asked her before to watch movies with him, but that had been just as friends, hadn't it? So maybe she just didn't know what she was talking about. She'd never even kissed anyone on the lips before. Huh, maybe she needed to do some learning before speaking her mind. More romance books! But that'd be later, now Osiris was trying to explain.

He didn't need a real girlfriend. "Oh." Said Genevieve, somewhat disappointed by that. Didn't everyone need love? Because... She stared at him, waiting patiently for him to say what he wanted. He blushed too and he looked so cute like that, though it wasn't like him to be that shy, she thought. Not as far as she'd seen at least. Oh. He was already seeing someone. "Oh." She repeated, feeling cold for a second. So he already had somebody... then... "Why not her?" She wondered, forcing an awkward smile, "Why you want it hidden? Is it not good?" It was so wrong, for him to hide someone he liked in such a way. "She knows you ask me this?" Genevieve didn't want to do anything that would end up hurting this other girl, even if it meant not helping Osiris.

[Deleted]

Did she get it? Please say she got it? It wasn’t as bad as she was probably thinking…and besides it was to save his skin, what could be wrong with that? This was just one. Well, Jackson lied a lot by himself, but he was sure that Ginny didn’t do it often, so it wasn’t nearly as bad for her, right? “It’s….just a white lie, really. You know, people lie all the time about things, so they don’t upset the other person.” And it really was for a good cause….so his Grams wouldn’t be upset.

That couldn’t be bad, right?

But Ginny was insistent that Jackson just get himself a girlfriend. “But…I can’t just say that to just anyone,” he said sheepishly. And there weren’t many girls he liked enough like that at the moment… She made it sound so easy. “It’s not that simple…and beside, I don’t…that’s not the reason why I need this!”

They were starting to get to the harder part of the conversation now. Ugh, why couldn’t Ginny have just said ‘yes’ from the beginning and now ask any questions…but he supposed that wouldn’t be fair to her, to be asked to do something and not be in the know as to why. When he finally got it out….it just hung in the air a moment, awkwardly. And then the assumption. “Why not….? Because….it’s…” Jackson just needed to get it out, quick and painless, like a bandaid. Speaking of bandaids….

Jackson fiddled with the bandaid on his neck with the tips of his fingers. He was going to have to show her, wasn’t he? “Because….because the person I’m seeing isn’t a “she”.” There, he said it. “It’s a guy….” His face must be the color of strawberries by now. “And…he likes to leave this kind of stuff on me…” Jackson pulled back the bandaid to reveal the purple welt. It had faded some, but it was still obviously there. “And I don’t want people to ask questions. Does that make sense?” Jackson was looking away from her for a moment, then slowly moved his eyes to gauge her reaction. She wouldn’t hate him, right?

[Genevieve Duval]

Just a white lie. Genevieve nodded, although she disagreed. Lies were never good and more often than not, the truth ended up coming out. "I understand." She said, and she truly did, she just didn't think the same way. "For you." She added with a small smile, still nodding, "I will do."

Apparently, her advice wasn't well received because he suddenly exclaimed that wasn't it. Genevieve looked down, wincing a little and nodded. "Forgive me." She muttered, "I do not know what I speak of." That bit was true at least. She'd never been liked by anyone, nor had she ever liked someone like that either. But still, she figured, if she ever did, she would just face it straight ahead. Wasn't that always better? Be clear, be honest, be open with your feelings. Well... now that she thought about it, she wasn't that clear, was she? When Osiris had hurt her feelings she hadn't said anything, and now that he was asking her to lie, she wasn't saying anything either. Maybe he was right. Maybe people just lied to keep others from getting upset.

Genevieve blinked up at him. Oh, it wasn't a she. "Oh sorry." She said with the same smile, "Why not him then?" She wondered, repeating the same questions with the proper gender, "He knows you ask this?" Wait. He liked leaving what? "Bug bite?" She wondered as she looked up at Osiris's neck. It took her an extra moment for her to realise what it was and when she did, she flushed into a deep pink. "Oh! Love bite!" She exclaimed, looking at his neck. So... he'd done that with this person he was talking about. Genevieve sighed, feeling slightly jealous. It just wasn't fair. It seemed her friends were already having love lives of their own and she was- oh wait, focus on Osiris. She rose a hand curiously and gently graces the spot on his neck. Curious. It made her wonder what one would have to do to leave such a mark, and if something like that could ever feel good.

The French girl nodded, dropping her hand once more and smiled gently. "Makes sense." She agreed, "But people will still ask questions, no?" Didn't that happened when anyone went into a relationship? But maybe he didn't want to make it awkward for the boy! Take things slow? Well, from his neck, it was obvious they weren't taking it any slow. It wasn't her place to judge though, but help a friend. "I help." She added, still nodding, "You want slow, yes?" Her sentence didn't make much sense, but she understood it enough, "I help while you sort things."

Pretending to be his girlfriend... well, that didn't sound so hard, except- "What I am to do?" She truly didn't know. What did girlfriends do? He wasn't expecting her to kiss and do stuff, right? He already had someone to do that with, and it would be cheating! No. She would never allow it. But since it was all pretend, then maybe she didn't need to do that. Up to him to say it though.

[Deleted]

Lies….secrets, actually, only got out when they were told, specifically to people who didn’t know how to keep them. People who didn’t know how to tell lies. It wasn’t that hard, honestly, just say something opposite of what is true and don’t act weird about it. Ginny was…well, she was sweet, and no doubt honest, but Jackson was sure that even she knew how to keep a secret. And that’s what this was. This was just a…a way to keep a secret from people whom it would hurt.

This time, though, Jackson did notice when she shirked back at his elevated voice. “Oh…no, no…I’m sorry, Ginny, I don’t mean to make you feel bad, and I appreciate you trying to help,” he said, softening his tone. “ I’m just….It’s just a lot more complicated than that.” She's know just how much in a minute. Though honestly….admitting to her that he was ‘seeing’ a guy was not something he wanted to do either. But Ginny…she was nice…if he asked her to, she wouldn’t tell anyone. Ginny could keep a secret.

Now, if only she could learn to lie like a boss.

“Why not him….?” Did he really have to explain it? Wasn’t it obvious? “Well…if I did that, then people would know that he and I are….and I don’t want them to.” Now he was talking like he would to a child or someone who was just a little bit slow of understanding. Wait, did Rue….whoops, Jackson had made this whole plan without talking to Rue about it either. Oh, well, if Ginny agreed, then he’d tell Rue…Rue understood Jackson’s home circumstances(right, if he did, he wouldn’t have left that ‘bug bite’ there in the first place). So he’d probably be fine with it. Jackson nodded, his face changing to a shade similar to the one coloring Ginny’s face. “Y-yeah…..l-love bite….” Just hearing it made him blush, so saying it made him positively heated.

Jackson nodded. “Yeah…I suspect they will….that’s why I need someone to…” Blame it on? No, that was terrible. “That’s why I need a “girlfriend”, so that when people ask questions, I can give them an answer that makes sense! If it got out that I was seeing a guy, then….” He looked a little guilty…because if he really didn’t want to disappoint his family, then he should just end things with Rue already. But…he didn’t want to. “I don’t want my family to find out. They’re not…the most open-minded people,” he explained.

When she said she’d help, Jackson’s smile grew wide and excited. “Ginny! Oh, thank you so much!” On an impulse, Jackson wrapped his arms around her torso, and spun her around, lifting her from the ground slightly. When he set her down, Jackson took a step back, wholly embarrassed by his action. “Sorry, I shouldn’t have done that.” Why not thought? They were “boyfriend” and “girlfriend”, now. It shouldn’t be strange for something like that to happen between them. “But, uh…thank you. So much.”

What to do? What did boyfriends and girlfriends do anyway? “Um….I don’t know…I guess…” He tried to think. “Wait for each other after class…sit with each other at lunch…I guess just hang out a lot with each other.” Then there was kissing, but Jackson didn’t know if he had the guts to ask her to do that, but…it would make the who façade more believable if they did. And besides….they needed people to think they were kissing to explain the hickeys….but if only Jackson had them, then that might be suspicious too! Maybe he should ask Ginny if he could put one on her for effect?

Now he was getting ahead of himself. They didn’t need to think about that just yet, but… “Kissing….maybe….if you’re okay with that. It’s kinda an important factor if we’re gonna make this work.” Hopefully, she would say yes.

[Genevieve Duval]

He didn't want people to know he was dating him? "Then what?" She asked, still confused. Why would people care he was dating someone? It just didn't make sense. Oh, his family. Genevieve sighed, understanding now. She didn't get the hows or whys, but she got the what. She'd heard americans were a tad touchy about such subjects, like love and expressions of it, or nudity for some crazy reason, so this was a bit of that, right? "I understand." She said with a nod, taking a step closer and grabbing his hand, squeezing it gently. "You are alright?" She asked softly, "I can listen, if you need talking." They were friends after all, and she'd read once a book about people dealing with their sexuality and how hard it could be, particularly with difficult parents. This was the case, right?

When she agreed to help she yelped in surprise as she was suddenly picked up. She laughed in delight as the shock faded away, glad that he seemed happy for the first time she'd seen him that day. This was more like him, smiling and happy. She liked seeing him like this, especially so because his eyes curved so cutely when he smiled like that. "Is alright." She said with a wide smile, "I am glad you are happy." She truly was, especially because she knew this was her doing. Except... she didn't even know what she was supposed to do.

He tried explaining and she nodded. Okay, spending time with him didn't sound like a bad task. In fact, it sounded really nice. She'd always wanted to be close to her friends and doing this for him meant she would get to do just that. Was that what a girlfriend really did? She still nodded, smiling gently. "Does not sound bad." She admitted, still smiling, but then... Her face turned into a deep red.

"Kiss?" She repeated in a chirp, shaking her head. "I- I do not- I have never-" She pursed her lips and looked down at the floor, nervously scratching her cheek. He'd said it was important in order to help but, honestly, she actually didn't want to. Not at all. It seemed almost cruel, to have to kiss him because of a lie. The idea suddenly left her stomach feeling empty, suddenly feeling heavy and sad. And he'd said it so nonchalantly too, as if it meant nothing to him. And why would it? She was supposed to be a fake girlfriend, there were no feelings involved what so ever. So why did it feel so hurtful?

"I have never kissed." She admitted in a soft whisper, still blushing and looking down at the floor. Maybe it was something embarrassing to admit, considering she was already fifteen. How old did people usually get their first kisses anyway? "I- do not- I mean, I want-" She sighed. He'd been right. Telling the truth meant disappointing those you loved. It was so hard, but she still took a deep breath and looked up at him with as much determination she could muster. "I do not want my first kiss to be lies." She said, her shaking hands turning into tiny fists. "Forgive me."

[Deleted]

It wasn’t really and American thing….maybe it was? Or maybe it was just his family who were uptight about sexuality and gender roles. “I…I don’t know…” Did Jackson want to talk about it? He’d be talking against his family and that…that wasn’t good. “My family….they’re really…traditional, I guess you could say? I don’t get a lot of approval from them already, because I’m half-korean, y’know? And being with a guy, that’s not very…they wouldn’t like it.” He could hear the slanderous words now. “I have a couple of cousins here at Hammel, so it’s not like I can keep it secret just because I’m away from home…” Well, that place wasn’t really his home….his place was here with Grams, but even she was a very Christian woman. Ginny seemed to understand…at least he hoped she did.

Regardless, Jackson was definitely happy that Ginny agreed to help him out and go along with this plan. He was smiling from ear to ear, and had to keep himself from bouncing off the walls in his excitement. “Ha ha, it’s because of you so…” He didn’t finish that sentence, but instead tried to compose himself again. He didn’t want to cause too much of a ruckus such that someone might hear them and investigate.

Which honestly, would only work in his favor in regards to this plan.

Jackson tried to think of other things that couples did that they could do to play this up. Holding hands was another one. But it was the kissing that would really sell it…but he understood where Ginny was coming from with that one. He had to ask, but… “Yeah, okay, we don’t have to, I was just checking,” he said hurriedly. It reminded him that his first kiss had only been a few weeks ago…in this very closet. The memory refused to let his face return to a normal shade. But then she apologized for it and Jackson was left feeling guilty for even asking. “No…Ginny, it’s okay, I’m the one who should be sorry, I shouldn’t have asked you for that in the first place.”

He wanted to console her as least a little, so made the bold move of brushing a thin lock of her hair from her face and curling it behind her ear. Jackson smiled awkwardly. “Just agreeing to help me at all…well, that’s enough, okay?” He’ll just figure something else out that they could do to improve the act. “Now….I’m going to hug you,” he warned. “Hugging’s okay, right?” He was just making sure, and in the event that it was, Jackson would pull her into his arms and gently press her head against his collar. “Thank you….so much, Ginny. You have no idea what this means to me…”

[Genevieve Duval]

Genevieve nodded shyly, understanding it only slightly. She wondered if her parents would ever react poorly to her dating another girl, or even if Julien would be okay with it. She thought they would, considering how much they loved her, but it was still something to wonder. She'd never actually dated anyone so she didn't even know how they would react to her dating just any person, no matter the gender. Oh no. What would Julien say? Should she tell him about Osiris? But he wasn't her real boyfriend, right? So it didn't count. But... if he heard of it, especially now that he entered Hammel as her brother, he would get upset that she didn't share it.

When he mentioned she was the one making him happy she grinned at him, feeling proud of herself to finally be of use to someone who'd already helped her so much. Only, "But you tell him." She added her condition, looking up at him with determination. "You tell your boyfriend! I do not want to make anyone hurt." Of course she'd assumed they were a couple, why wouldn't she?

The way he'd hurriedly accepted the no kissing left her slightly disappointed, but she still nodded and smiled, sad as it was. "Thank you." She said, although she wasn't all that sure. It was tempting to experience all that she'd only read about. Well, not ALL of it, but some of the things that made her sigh whenever she read a good moment in a book. But accepting meant it wouldn't be real, his feelings wouldn't be there, he would be thinking of someone else with every touch and every kiss. And he was going to, wasn't he? Even if she sort of hoped- No. She shook her head. She didn't matter, this was for him, for her friend and she had already accepted. He said he shouldn't have asked and she shook her head in disagreement. "No, I understand." She sent him a small, sad smile. "You must think it dumb, no? But to me..." She trailed off, looking away, still smiling sadly. "I am sorry." She couldn't really explain it, not in english at least, how her feelings were tied to every action. She wasn't like him, just acting because he had to. Everything she did was because she truly believed in it. Now it was because he needed her and she could believe in helping out.

Just helping was enough he said and she nodded, smiling gently. He could be kind too, she figured. It was odd because just moments ago she felt he was a tad... pushy? Impulsive? And the feeling that he thought her dumb still made her uneasy. But now that she was helping him it was changing, right? How he saw her. She hoped so at least.

He warned her about a hug and she giggled, nodding. "Yes, you can hug." She said, still smiling gently, "Anything. Just no... um. No kissing lips, yes?" Just saying it made her blush again and she suddenly realised they were in a closet. And now he was hugging her. It didn't help her blush and she let out a hot breath as he pressed her against his collar. "You... you are very welcome." She muttered against him, closing her eyes tightly. This was going to be a tad harder than she first thought...

[Deleted]

Jackson had no reason to think that Ginny had a family that would oppose her to doing what she wanted.  After all, Ginny was such a good girl, what would be the point of keeping such a watch over her?  Besides, she was French, as his Grams had put it.  They probably were a lot less strict about gender roles and who could be your partner versus who couldn’t, being the people of love and whatnot.  It was no wonder that Ginny didn’t understand how troubling it could be for him if they found out about his sexual preferences, or worse, his sexual practices…
 
Sexual…..just thinking about that made him go completely red in the face again.  He’d never  even had his first kiss up until a few weeks ago and now he was already thinking about….?  Ahh! What kind of person had he become since meeting Rue that he would even casually think about that, ahh!  Jackson wanted to slap himself. No, nope, nope, no, too fast.  That was just…way too fast for him to consider at the present moment. 
 
Especially since Rue wasn’t even his boyfriend!  When Ginny mentioned the word, Jackson tried to keep down another blush. “Ahh, no, he’s no—“  Jackson stopped himself from completing that sentence.  No, Rue wasn’t his boyfriend.  But then what was he? What did that make their relationship?  They were just…fooling around, he supposed.  Friends with benefits? Ahh, putting it either of those ways made Jackson feel about as dirty as they implied.  And it sounded horrible to boot!  No, Jackson wasn’t going to tell Ginny that either.  She’d probably be terribly disappointed in him.  She already was for asking him to lie, even though it was to help save his skin and that was the only reason she agreed to it.  Jackson didn’t want to make her think less of him than she likely already did…  “Okay, yeah….I’ll tell him next I see him,” Jackson said with a nod.  Then his eyes perked up as an idea hit him.  “Hey…um, do you wanna meet him?” he asked with hopeful eyes.  That would be ten times better than just telling them the other existed and expecting it to work out. Yes, it was much better if they met.  Jackson was sure they’d get along too, Rue was so nice!

Jackson shook his head. “No, I understand,” he said. “It’s…it’s not the same, right? And it’d be…” It’d be unfair to her, for Jackson to use the ‘fake-girlfriend’ thing as an excuse to kiss a girl in the process. And Ginny of all girls he could choose from. But he wasn’t going to force something like that on her. “It’s okay,” he said again. Jackson had already gotten her involved more than she ought to be, so really….he should be happy with what he got. He could to that, right?

Sigh….

When she gave her permissions, Jackson reached forward and pulled her into a hug, resting his head beside hers. He became somewhat self-conscious again, realizing just how close they were in height…it highlighted the fact that he wasn’t exactly a tall man, but a short boy instead. Jackson really hoped he wouldn’t stay that way for long. Boys grew around his age, right? He wanted to be able to hold a small girl in his arms, just like this. Right now, he felt like his arms just weren’t big enough to do that. “Yeah, right….no lip kissing,” he agreed. No lips…did that mean….? “I-is….is the cheek…okay?” he stammered out nervously. Why did that seem to trip him up more than normal kissing, he wondered?