s t r a w b e r r y swing;;

[Gabriella Rivera]

now my feet won't touch the ground

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It was five minutes to noon and Gabby had been standing in front of the window for the past ten minutes, peering through it at the porch in order to catch sight of Jayden before he got the opportunity to ring the doorbell and alert her aunt that he was here. Of course, it wasn't like she didn't want him to meet her aunt or anything, it wasn't that at all...except, well, it sort of was. Or, to be more specific, she just didn't want him to meet her yet. She needed to talk to him first, see, and she couldn't do that if her aunt saw him before she did. Hence why she was guarding the door, so to speak. She wasn't quite sure where he would be appearing (because obviously he would have to choose a slightly secluded spot to apparate into since this was a sort of mixed community of wizards and muggles), but she was positive he would use the front door. Sighing quietly, she propped her elbow against the window sill and perched her chin in her hand, peering through the glass pane. It had snowed when she was away in New York, but this morning the sky was fairly clear; at least, you could just see the sunlight peeking between the clouds, and Gabby hoped that it would completely break through soon. She liked it better when it snowed, because you could usually see the sun afterwards; it was a lot better than the gloomy weather of England when it rained, even though she was used to it by now. Still, just because you were used to something didn't mean you had to like it, and Gabby definitely did not like the rain. It was cold and wet and it made her hair stringy and got into her shoes and socks and ugh! She just didn't like it one bit. Of course, snow had a tendency to get into your shoes and melt there, too, but at least it looked pretty, and it was fun to play with and what-not. It got boring eventually, though, and quite cold, too. But it was still pretty. Shaking herself from her redundant thoughts, Gabriella focused on the task at hand, glancing over her shoulder at the clock on the mantle that said it was exactly noon. Anxiety made her heart pound painfully in her chest and her hands begin to sweat as she realised that she was so unprepared to meet Jayden right now, because she honestly had no idea how to explain to him her current situation. She was positive he would be angry when he found out what she'd done. Well, perhaps not angry per se, because Jayden was a nice bloke and had a fairly even temper. But definitely exasperated. And annoyed, he'd surely be very annoyed with her. And maybe a bit of angry, too. She groaned a little under her breath, wishing she could turn back time and take it all back. But it was much too late for that. And, as punctual as always, Jayden appeared in front of the front door and started to reach for the doorbell. Gabby almost tripped over a rug in her haste to get to the door first, yanking it open before he could announce his presence. Grabbing her coat off the hanger, she called out "TIA INEZ, ESTOY DANDO UNA VUELTA!" over her shoulder, wedging herself between Jayden and the door so that she could close it behind her.

When she looked up at him, she seemed to suddenly remember that she hadn't seen him in almost two weeks and suddenly threw her arms around him in a hug, clinging onto his tightly and breathing in his warm, familiar scent. "I missed you!"

[/color] she mumbled through his layers of clothes. Pulling back, she gave him the warmest, most adorable smile she could muster (no she was not trying to butter him up of course she wasn't! - okay, maybe she was a little), and then grabbed his hand and proceeded to tug him down onto the street, just in case her aunt was looking out of the window. Not that she really knew what Jayden looked like (at least, not well enough to recognise him from afar), but she would easily put two and two together and...well, as aforementioned, she needed to talk to Jayden first. But first, she needed to get to the park, because he was going to have to sit down to hear this news. On the way, she made idle chatter, mostly about New York, but also about how his family was doing and such. When they finally reached the park (which wasn't much to look at, really, and she normally didn't visit except around this time, because otherwise it was scary and the people who tended to hang out there at night were sort-of creepy-looking), Gabby pulled him to the nearest bench and sat down, tugging on his hand so he'd do so as well (gosh, she sure was dragging him around a lot today). As soon as they were seated, Gabriella took in a deep breath, and her expression suddenly turned nervous. "So, about what I actually wanted to talk to you about..."[/color] she started, swinging her legs and wishing there was an easy way to tell him this. "I made a really, really, really big and stupid mistake, and I'm really sorry,"[/color] she continued, fiddling with a loose thread at the edge of her skirt.

And then it sort-of came bursting out after that...

*~*~*~*~*~*

It had been twelve hours since Gabby had passed out on her bed shortly after returning home from the airport. Her aunt, out of a surprising out of domesticity, had made them blueberry pancakes (vegan, for Gabby, of course). Her father was still sleeping in, however, so the two females of the household ate alone. Between bites, Gabriella babbled on and on about New York, telling her everything she'd experienced and everything she'd seen. She was taking a break from talking to sip at her orange juice when her aunt dropped the bomb - "Gabriella, when are you going to get a boyfriend?" she asked, seemingly innocent. Gabby was so caught off guard, she almost spat her orange juice in her aunt's face, but managed to swallow it painfully at the last moment. Coughing into her hand, Gabriella tried to pass off the sudden flush in her cheeks as a side-effect of almost choking rather than a cause of her aunt's question. In reality, she was embarrassed, because she had no idea what to tell her aunt. How could she say that no one had ever expressed a romantic interest in her? That she'd never had a first date because no one had ever asked her before, that she was positive no one had a crush on her, and that she was hopelessly in love with who wouldn't look twice at her unless she was blocking his way or she'd messed up a potion so much it had melted her cauldron? It was simply too mortifying to even begin to verbalise, but that was the truth, and she just had to say it. She knew her aunt would be disappointed; even worse, Tia Inez might try to play match maker and Dios it was bad enough that no one wanted her, but to be forced into a blind date set up by her aunt? Gabriella didn't think she would survive it. But what choice did she have? Trying to ready herself for what was to come, Gabriella opened her mouth, fully prepared to tell the truth - but what came out was exactly the opposite. "But Tia, I have a boyfriend!"[/color] What?! her mind screamed. What are you saying?! Gabby! You don't have a boyfriend! Ay Dios mio, why did I just say that?! Eyes widening slightly, Gabby barely managed to hold back from smacking herself across the forehead. Luckily, Aunt Inez was so taken aback by this news that she hardly noticed that anything was amiss with her niece. "You do? Oh, reina, that is wonderful news! But why did you not tell me before?! What's his name? Is he from school as well? How did you two meet? Is he romantic? Charming? He better be treating our Princesa right!"

Now quite panicked, Gabby found her mind working in overdrive - and, unfortunately, her mouth followed. "He's wonderful! Truly! He's sweet and kind and adorable and he's very, very good to me. We met at the Yule ball! His name is...is..."[/color] Oh my Dios, I am about to do something very, very stupid, "Jayden. Jayden Flynn. Yes, we...well, not met at the Yule ball. We got together at the Yule ball. Because of a kiss! We kissed and...and then at the train, we...he wrote me a song and it was a very, very sweet song, Tia. And it just...happened."[/color] She was such a bad liar, and she was surprised her aunt didn't see right through her, but apparently she was too over the moon over the fact that her niece finally had a boyfriend that she didn't notice. Gabby tried to comfort herself with the knowledge that it wasn't all a lie, because Jayden and her had kissed at the Yule ball, and they had gotten back together (as friends) in the train, where he had written her a song. It was just the boyfriend part that was a lie. Which, admittedly, was pretty much the whole thing and Oh Dios what had she just done?! She wanted to take it back, immediately and, as a matter of fact, she opened her mouth to do just that when Tia Inez suddenly brightened even more as she looked over Gabby's shoulder, her grin somehow increasing ten fold. "Cesar! Have you heard the wonderful news? Our little Gabriella has a boyfriend!"

And then Gabby just wanted to die on the spot.

*~*~*~*~*~*

"...so now my papi knows too, and Jayden I'm honestly so sorry, I didn't mean to...it just sort of happened and now because my papi knows, too, it's too late to take it back, and I'll have to tell Gideon and Fabian, too, because I know for a fact Papi will want to grill Gideon about you and stuff and I don't know how it happened, honestly, it just sort of came out and you were the first name that popped into my head and I hate lying, but if Aunt Inez finds out that I lied she'll be so disappointed because she really does want me to have a boyfriend, oh and she'll be so angry I lied in the first place, and so will my Papi and it's all just a big mess and I'm honestly very sorry for dragging you into my mess, I just...it just sort of happened."[/color] Burying her face into her hands, Gabby tried her best to hold back a sob. "I hope you don't completely hate me now,"[/color] she wailed, her voice muffled through her fingers. Gingerly, she lifted her head to look at him, wincing at his shell-shocked expression. "I know how much you hate lying, and...and you probably don't want to be my pretend boyfriend, but...but please do this? For me? I just...it doesn't have to be very long. Just a month or so, and then we can...pretend to break up or whatever. And we don't have to do couple-y stuff or anything, I don't expect anything from you at all, we can just go on being friends, we'll just...be called boyfriend and girlfriend in front of other people, and I know it sounds horrible, but it's just...it'll just be for a little while. I promise I'll be the best pretend girlfriend ever!"[/color] Shivering at the a suddenly cold breeze, Gabby thrust her hands into the depth of her coat pockets and then looked at him earnestly, her eyes filled with hope, and whispered her final plea. "Please?"[/color]

tagged;; jayden flynn

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[Jayden Flynn]

The Christmas holidays at the Flynn household were always quite the experience. Jayden’s family was as large as anything, and for the holliers, especially, grandparents and cousins from everywhere gathered round to celebrate it. So, this year, they had all gotten on a plane and gone to Gammy and Grandpa’s house north of Dublin. To say that Jayden was a little saturated with food and hugs and kisses and exclamations from elderly aunts about how tall he was, or how long his hair had gotten or how much his voice had deepened since he was twelve was an understatement. Oh, and of course, the occasional ‘Do you have a girlfriend, yet?’ which always ended up annoying him more often than not. But he liked it, anyway, saturated or not, it was his family, and from time to time him and James would hide behind door and snicker about what craziness another uncle had done lately, or how their cousins were weirder every year. But it had been a wonderful Christmas, and Jayden was back in England with a couple of presents for his closest friends. New Year’s had been pretty calm this year, actually, and he couldn’t help but wonder what on earth Gabby had been doing in New York during then. He wasn’t jealous, per say. Jayden wasn’t a naturally jealous person; but yeah, he really did wish he could live that someday. If her postcard had been anything to judge by, she was having an amazing time. And, finally, she’d written to say she was home and they needed to see each other to exchange presents and tell him something important. And yeah, Jayden was extremely curious as to what that ‘something important’ was. Gabby wasn’t usually secretive like this, and it amused him a little. So he’d asked his parents if he could go to London to visit her, remembering at the last minute that he could actually Apparate now, and agreed to meet with her that coming Thursday.

Jayden had been particularly excited about Apparition, like every other sixth year when they’d started being taught at the start of the year. Come on, finally having the power to flit from one place to another? It was as awesome as things got, especially in a Muggle family where things like that were all but unheard of. Thing was, Jayden wasn’t particularly smooth in his moves, and mastering the art had been nothing short of extremely difficult. Him and Luke had had quite a few laughs about what failures they were sometimes, knocking into other people, tripping over the rings on the floor… but he was seventeen already, a month into seventeen, actually, and he’d been working his butt off during the holidays trying to get it to work right so he could manage it to London. Somehow, Jayden had grabbed the little box with Gabby’s present, gotten into white skinny jeans and a striped shirt with a cardigan over it, glasses in place, and Apparated his way over to Gabby’s house. Popping a couple of yards away, between a clump of trees that he knew in case there were muggles around, Jayden peered around the bushes and came out, dusting himself off from where he’d Apparated into a rather twiggy bush and hopped over to her front porch, starting to climb the stairs when the door opened to reveal Gabby in a multicolored coat that instantly made him smile, and he opened his mouth to greet her properly when she yelled something in Spanish to someone inside the house and closed the door behind her. Well, then. He didn’t know they’d be going anywhere. Anyway. Gabby lunged into his arms almost instantly after the door had been closed, and he let out a laugh, immediately wrapping his arms around her back, holding her up to him. “I was beginning to think you’d mistaken me for someone else!” he teased her, pulling back to kiss the top of her head. “Missed you more.

[/color]” Shifting a little so he could get her present, Jayden couldn’t even wedge a hand into his pocket before Gabby was taking it and tugging him along, falling into easy conversation, telling him all about New York, things she’d mentioned in her letter and things Lyle had said and what she and Stefan had done and how well her dad had gotten along with Lyle’s mum and he listened curiously, smile still in place as he followed her blindly over to the park he’d just emerged out of, wondering why she was taking him there, but deciding not to ask until they were seated at a bench. But again, before he could say anything further, though he was raising an eyebrow at her now, intrigued at this strange behavior, Gabby had turned to him again and he frowned somewhat, licking his lips. “Yeah, go ahead,[/color]” he urged her to tell him whatever it was she’d needed to say before pausing. Mistake? A little bit wary now, Jayden fixed his eyes on her, watching her fiddle with her clothes and swing her legs and his stomach did a little twist with nerves, wondering if something was wrong as he listened to her start her story.

And whoa.

He’d blanked out somewhere between ‘boyfriend’ and ‘please’. Staring at her, not really moving at all and mouth hanging open halfway, Jayden sat there. It was as if his brain had short-circuited and he could do nothing but stare at her, wondering what on earth had just happened. Something hot was prickling at the back of his neck and his stomach was in knots again, twisting at him and his cheeks were flushed, he could feel them, and he was still staring, starting, not really processing anything for a moment before he snapped out of it with a hard blink. “Oh.” He pressed his lips together again, turning his eyes off to the side, still wide behind his glasses, and cleared his throat. Okay. Okay, so Gabby… she’d told her aunt (and father) that he was her boyfriend. Her boyfriend. Okay. Jayden swallowed and licked his lips. And that…and she wanted a pretend-relationship? Was that what she’d said? He couldn’t be sure right now. He hadn’t really heard, he’d been…shocked. Looking back at her, he tried to take in her worried face, eyes shining a little in her lovely colored coat and his shock faded away for a moment before he remembered what was happening. “U-um…[/color]” he stuttered, reaching up to rub the back of his neck with his hand hard, coming over to push his glasses further up the bridge of his nose and shifted on the bench, tapping his foot on the floor and rubbing his thighs, then stood up. He began pacing a little, bringing his hand back up to rub at his chin a little, the side of his jaw, and press his fingertips over his mouth as he stared back at Gabby, letting out a sort of disbelieving laugh. Okay, no, he told himself, trying to remember what her exact words had been. What she wanted from him. He was pretty sure she’d said ‘pretend boyfriend’ at some point or another, and for a moment he stayed silent before he cleared his throat again and sat down next to her, licking his lips once more. “Okay,[/color]” he said slowly, frowning at the floor before looking back up at her, trying to make sense of the situation. “So, you want to…to pretend I’m your boyfriend?[/color]” he asked her quietly, looking at her in the eye and feeling himself flush at that for some reason. No, not for some reason, because this was Gabby and they weren’t…they’d never been romantic with each other and now—now they were going to pretend to be together in school? Was that what she meant? Oh, Christ. Jayden pressed his lips together again.

…what would it hurt? Sure, it wasn’t like he liked Gabby like that, nor did she like him like that but when she put it that way. Just pretend to be together for a while—it wouldn’t even be that hard. They spent a lot of time together in school anyway. They’d just have to… to hold hands and stuff. And he’d get to be someone’s boyfriend again—or well, pretend boyfriend, anyway. But he’d still be able to get her flowers and chocolates and stuff, at least in public, if what she wanted was for other people to think they were together, right? But he’d have to lie… “Can I tell Ryanne?[/color]” he blurted out before thinking it through properly, not having realized he’d decided until he’d asked the question. “I can’t keep things from her.[/color]” So that meant that… okay. It was almost—well, if you took away the part of lying to everybody, basically living an entire lie, which made him jittery if he was being honest, it sounded almost…well, fun. What would Luke think, he wondered. If he suddenly came back from the holidays as Gabby Rivera’s girlfriend. They’d kissed at the ball and now she was his girlfriend. At least it seemed rather believable, he thought, amused. Whoa. Girlfriend. Jayden cleared his throat again, shifting. “Okay,[/color] he finally said, taking a deep breath and smiling a little over at her. “You’re absolutely insane, Gabriella Rivera, but okay, I’ll do it.[/color]” Because, really, being her pretend-boyfriend wouldn’t be the worst thing ever by far, and it wasn’t like he had any other girl he’d rather be a boyfriend to. And it was Gabby. There probably wasn’t a girl he trusted most in the world that wasn’t his direct family. Smiling a little more honestly, Jayden reached over to poke her in the nose playfully.“This isn’t an excuse to get me to kiss you again, is it?[/color]” he teased her with a smirk. Yeah, it’d be okay.
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[Gabriella Rivera]

now my feet won't touch the ground

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He was going to say no. Gabriella could completely tell that he was going to say no. She could see it in his face. The absolute shock that came before the rejection. And she couldn't blame him! She was asking him to basically lie to everyone, and Jayden was pretty much one of the most moral people she had ever met, so expecting him to lie for her, and for something as trivial as this, was pretty huge, and she knew that he'd feel terrible about it, and she felt terrible for even asking him, but she figured it wouldn't hurt to try. Worst that would happen? He'd scold her for lying in the first place. She didn't think he would get too upset with her, especially since this was Jayden and he was much too sweet and easy going. Now, if she'd say Gideon's name, then for one thing it would be a lot less of a convincing lie because everyone knew that they were best friends and nothing more, and secondly it was a lot more likely for Gideon to tell her off for doing something so stupid. Drawing in deep breaths, Gabriella tried to prepare herself for what was coming, watching him anxiously. He didn't look like he was accepting of the idea at all. In fact, he looked downright nervous, what with the way he kept rubbing the back of his neck, and his pale cheeks were slightly red. She wondered if he was trying to figure out the best way to let her down easily; seemed like something he would do, being so sweet and thoughtful. When he started pacing, she looked down at the grass and skimmed the tips with her toes, wishing she hadn't brought it up in the first place. That she'd immediately told her Aunt that she was "just joking", that she didn't have a boyfriend, had never had a boyfriend, and probably will never have one (at least, not in the near future), and that that was totally fine because she was only fifteen and it wasn't like every girl in her year group had had a proper boyfriend by now. Except that a lot of them had. And it didn't help that her best friend, Emmeline, had had about nine boyfriends already (not that Gabby was counting or anything, of course!) and, well, that sort of thing didn't exactly help a girl's self-esteem. Of course, she'd never say any of that out loud, because it seemed rather stupid, to compare herself to Emmeline like that when they were two completely different people. Emmeline had boyfriends because she was more popular, she knew how to flirt and grab a guy's attention, and she was simply more attractive. Gabby was hardly noticeable, and not just because of her height. Before she could depress herself like the last time her mind had gone down that road, Jayden spoke again and she focused her gaze on him, breathing out slowly when she realised he wasn't' saying no. At least, not yet.

Hesitantly, she nodded at his question, and then hastily added, "It'll just be for a little while. We can pretend for a few weeks, a month maximum, and then "break up". We'll just tell everyone we figured out that we're better off staying best friends or something and then everything will go back to normal," she told him, her nerves causing her to speak faster than normal. She then quieted when she realised he was deep in thought again, chewing on her bottom lip and watching him closely, trying to decipher his expression. He didn't look like he was completely repulsed by the idea. If anything, he looked like he was seriously considering it, and she could feel the bubble of hope start to swell up in her. Maybe she really wouldn't have to tell her family about her lie. When he asked if he could tell his sister, she felt the bubble expand further and she sat up straighter, a small smile starting to tug at her lips as she nodded enthusiastically, not trusting herself to speak just yet. She hadn't realised that she was holding her breath until he finally said okay and the air came out in a rush, her shoulders slumping with relief. Gripping the bench beneath her, Gabriella grinned at him widely and hardly acknowledged his teasing jab, letting the fact that he was actually agreeing to do this completely sink in. As soon as it had, she pushed herself off the bench and leaped into his arms for the second time that day, reaching up on her tip-toes so that she could properly wrap her arms around his neck. "Thank you, thank you, thank you!"

[/color] she squealed into his ear. She was bouncing on her feet when she pulled away, her grin threatening to split her face in half. "Of course you can tell Ryanne, I was going to tell Gideon anyway because I don't want to keep things from him anymore. Besides, I don't think keeping it a secret from everyone is that great of an idea. We can't tell anyone else, though."[/color] She stopped bouncing all of a sudden, a frown forming as she peered up at him seriously. "You're okay with this, right? Because I don't want you to do this just as a favour to me if it makes you totally uncomfortable, then I'd feel horrible. And you don't...was there anyone else? That you wanted to ask to be your girlfriend, I mean? Like Ambrosia or something? You went with her to the Yule ball, and I know you said you didn't like her that way, but you really never know and I wouldn't want to stand in the way of that or something,"[/color] she tilted her head and her expression became even firmer. "I really don't want you to do this unless you're completely, one hundred percent sure about it, okay?"[/color]

When Jayden assured her that he was fine with it, Gabriella relaxed again and smiled, tugging him back to the bench so that they could sit down. It was then that she noticed the small box wrapped with fancy paper that he was holding and a light bulb went off in her head when she remembered he'd mentioned something about getting her a present. "Oooh, is that for me?"[/color] she asked, her eyes bright with curiosity. "Wait, wait, actually don't give it to me, I want to give you yours at the same time! I left it at home, though, and we'd have to meet my family..."[/color] She trailed off thoughtfully and then shrugged. "Well, it's bound to happen. Okay, so like I said, we haven't been dating long - kissed at the Yule ball, you wrote me a song on the train and we got together. I didn't want to lie too much, so I kind-of...blemished what actually happened. Namely, the us getting together part. And the rest is true! So...yeah,"[/color] Dios, I'm all over the place. Flushing guiltily, Gabby scratched the end of her nose. "Hopefully, they don't ask too many questions, but I apologise in advance if they put you on the spot, or my papi tries to threaten you or something. I'm sure they'll adore you. They've already met you, like two summers ago when you came over, right? And they loved you back then! It won't be so different this time!"[/color] By this point, Gabby honestly had no idea what she was saying; it felt like a bunch of words that had no place in her mouth and thus were simply tumbling out in a constant stream of nonsense. Breathing deeply, she tried to smile and push her nerves down. Considering it was Jayden who was "meeting the parents", so to speak, she was supposed to be the one calming him down, not making him nervous. "Come on, let's go. They'll love you, I know it."[/color] She grabbed his hand and stood up, already starting to lead the way back to the house, feeling quite bossy since this was the second time she'd started dragging him along, but she knew he didn't mind. Besides, she, technically, wouldn't have been able to succeed if he wasn't willing. He was so much larger and stronger than her that trying to pull him along anywhere would be a difficult feat indeed if he were to put up even the smallest amount of resistance. When they were in front of her house, she turned to him and smiled encouragingly, giving his hand a squeeze when she realised she was still holding it. "Okay, don't let anything Papi says freak you out, and just a word of warning: Tia Inez can get very excitable, especially about this topic."[/color] Figuring she'd sufficiently warned him without having to worry about him apparating away, Gabby unlocked the front door and walked in, ushering him inside after her. After slipping off her coat, taking Jayden's and hanging them both, Gabby led the way into the living room where, sure enough, the other two members of the household were waiting. "Tia Inez, Papi...this is Jayden Flynn. My boyfriend."[/color] Oh Dios, please let this pass without any disasters, she mentally prayed. That wasn't too much to hope for, right?


[/blockquote][/color]

[Jayden Flynn]

Before Jayden had time to properly process any of this, or what he’d just agreed to do, he had an armful of Gabby Rivera, and she was thanking him profusely in the ear, bouncing a little and so visibly relieved and excited about it that he couldn’t help the grin that spread across his face as he held her in return. Pretending to be Gabby’s boyfriend wasn’t going to be that hard, after all. If he was being honest with himself, he hadn’t ever really considered the possibility of thinking about Gabby in anything less than friendly terms, let alone think about being her boyfriend, but now that he found himself obliged to thinking about it…it didn’t seem like such a bad idea. Not that he fancied her, but she was very attractive, and funny, and his best girl friend. Who could be better for a relationship, right? Perhaps if he’d been tied into being somebody else’s pretend-boyfriend (he wasn’t going to think of examples, really, but a few girls came to mind) he might have properly gone bonkers. But it was Gabby. He trusted Gabby. A few weeks, or a month, she’d said, maximum, and then they’d pretend-break up and go back to normal, and it would simply be somewhat of an inside joke between them, a secret, if you could. Jayden watched her openly as she kept blabbing about Ryanne and Gideon and how they’d both tell them, but nobody else, and then she started freaking out about whether he wanted to do it or not, and Jayden found himself shushing her gently and assuring her that, “No, Gabs. I promise you. Cross my heart and hope to die, that there’s no other girl for me right now. Not Ambrosia or anybody else,” until she calmed down enough to sit back down on the bench with him, and finally noticed the box he’d been holding—and had rather hoped to surprise her with but had, admittedly, forgotten about in the flurry of everything that she’d sprung up on him from out of nowhere.

“It is,

[/color]” he replied, in answer to her inquiry as to whether it was a present for her, and laughed when she said she wanted to give him his present at the same time. The one she’d gotten him in New York. Jayden bit his lip through an amused smile and quirked an eyebrow at her as she freaked out again. “Gabby, it’s fine, really,[/color]” he assured her, appearing much more certain of himself than he felt at the moment at the thought of meeting her father again as her boyfriend. But he swallowed down his jitters and paid close attention to her words; the last thing they needed was for him to bollocks something up by stating a wrong fact. It’d be best to let her lead, he figured. Nod to whatever she said and just pretend he was very romantically attracted to her. Sheesh, this was going to be weird, he thought. “Alright,[/color]” Jayden muttered, nodding to himself and turning over the small box in his hands, frowning a little as he concentrated. “So, first kiss at the ball, and then I serenaded you with a particularly romantic song that you loved, we probably snogged again,[/color]” he winked up at her and sighed, running a hand through his hair and straightened up against the bench. “I’m good. Totally. Not freaking out over your pop threatening me at all. He doesn’t own a gun, does he?[/color]” It didn’t matter if her father had liked him last time he was over two years ago because this was now and now he was pretend-dating his only daughter and God knew what his father was like when Ry’s first boyfriend had come over for dinner. He shuddered at the memory of his dad’s death glare and took a deep breath. He could do this. Nodding up at Gabby, he reached out at the same time and took her hand, following her easily back over to her front door. His hands were sweating and he was going to die. Jayden cleared his throat awkwardly and dropped her hand for a moment, wiping it on the back of his trousers and biting the inside of his cheek before he took her hand again. “Okay,[/color]” he whispered, to himself more than anything.

Bloody hell.

Gabby unlocked the front door and led him inside. It wasn’t the first time Jayden had been in her house, but it was the first time he was here to be presented as her boyfriend. What if her dad didn’t like him? Or if he’d been expecting somebody else? Or what if he started questioning him in detail and he said something Gabby didn’t want him to say? He felt his heart racing a little and his stomach jump around like it did when he was particularly nervous about something. It didn’t matter that he wasn’t actually her boyfriend—it didn’t matter at all. For all purposes, it was the same situation he’d be in otherwise. He clutched onto her present as they took their coats off, and for what was probably the first time in his life, he let Gabby take his coat instead of rushing to get hers first, something which would have bothered him thoroughly had he not been hyperventilating internally on the spot. He watched as she hung them on a coat rack by the door and followed her, by the hand, again, towards the living room, where they stumbled upon her father and her aunt Inez. Oh, good God. ‘Tia Inez, Papi...this is Jayden Flynn. My boyfriend.’ No pressure, he thought, swallowing, and took a deep breath as subtly as he could through his nose. Snapping back into character, Jayden pushed his glasses further up his nose and immediately stepped forward with a bright smile on his face, reaching towards Gabby’s aunt to shake her hand. “Hello.[/color]” Oh, shit, what if they didn’t like his accent? Gabby was always teasing him about his accent; what if they didn’t like it? What if—“It’s wonderful to meet you again,[/color]” he stammered out, smiling and turning to Gabby’s dad, looking at him in the eye despite wanting to kneel on the floor and beg for him to like him, shaking his hand firmly. “Happy Christmas and New Year’s, I guess. Late, but…yeah.[/color]” Jayden licked his lips, falling back to Gabby’s side and seeking out her hand again to squeeze it for reassurance. He was going to die.

[/color][/blockquote]

[Gabriella Rivera]

now my feet won't touch the ground

[/color][/font][/center]

When he reassured her that it was completely fine, Gabby couldn't hold in the sigh of relief and she gave him a quick side-hug because she was so pleased by the news. To be quite honest, she hadn't expected Jayden to say no. He was a good friend, and she knew he'd do anything that she asked because he was so giving, and he liked to help out his friends as much as she did. But the fact that she was making him lie for her, something she knew he hated with a passion. But, technically, they wouldn't be lying. Not about everything. Just, you know, about the part where they were together. But they could maybe go out on a date or two, so that it kind of was like they were dating. So they would be dating, they just wouldn't have the feelings for each other that was associated with that. Because, really, she didn't know if she could ever see him that way. It was Jayden. She'd known him almost as long as she'd known Lyle, and he was like Lyle to her, basically. Or, okay, maybe not exactly like Lyle because maybe if she really tried she could have feelings for him, but she wasn't sure that she wanted to. Look at what had happened with Emmeline and Gideon! Even though they were friends-ish now, it wasn't the same. It was too risky to get involved with one of your best friends, because if it turned badly, then they would end up like Gideon and Emmeline, or even worse, maybe. Perhaps they'd never talk to each other again. Ever. And, honestly, Gabby couldn't imagine never speaking to Jayden Flynn ever again. So, they would pretend to date for a few weeks, break up and then go back to being just friends. Probably they shouldn't kiss (again) in that case, since that would make things complicated, like kissing often does. Look what happened the last time they did it!

His comment about a second snog made her inadvertently blush, mostly because it felt like he'd been reading her mind or something. The colour quickly abated, though, when he spoke again. Did her Papi have a gun? The question gave her pause and Gabby hesitated for a moment, biting her lip in thought. "I don't think so," she said uncertainly, and then realised that saying she wasn't sure if her very overprotective father owned a dangerous firearm while he was about to meet him for the first time probably wouldn't do anything to ease Jayden's fear and she hastily added, "I mean, of course he doesn't. Don't be silly, Jayden."

[/color] She laughed nervously, looking at her feet as she spoke while her mind raced. She honestly didn't know if her father had one or not. Probably he didn't, but then they'd lived in a terrible neighborhood back in Mexico, but then he wouldn't be allowed to bring it to England even if he had one, right? Then again, the neighborhood they were living in right now wasn't the safest around. But didn't you need a license for that? And it was probably very expensive to get one, too! In that case, he couldn't have one! Except maybe he had something else to protect them with. Like a bat or something. Either way, she highly doubted - er, she was sure! - that he wouldn't try to threaten Jayden with anything. Seriously, Jayden looked like he wouldn't even harm a fly! She petted his hand comfortingly and smiled reassuringly. "Don't worry, you'll be fine, I promise!"[/color] And she didn't even cross her fingers behind her back when she said that, so she meant it. Shivering, Gabby buttoned her coat all the way to the top and wished it was thicker. She knew Elisabeta had meant it to for Autumn and Spring, when the cold wasn't as bad, but it was just so pretty that Gabby couldn't help but wear it all the time. She wished she'd at least brought along her mittens so that her hand wouldn't be so cold in Jayden's, but it was too late to worry about that now because he'd already taken it. Oh well, the walk back home wasn't going to take too long, and her Papi had fixed the radiator so it'd be nice and toasty.

Once they were in the house and she'd introduced Jayden, Gabby gave her father the sweetest smile she could muster, hoping it would butter him up. Unfortunately, Cesar only had eyes for Jayden, and she could tell that he was seriously sizing him up. When he stood up and Jayden grabbed her hand again, Gabby gave it another encouraging squeeze. But then when she saw her dad's eyes narrow on their clasped hands, she hastily disentangled her fingers from his and blushed guiltily beneath his stare. She'd never thought her dad could actually be scary, but apparently he could be. Very much so. "You look old," was the first thing her dad said, his eyes narrowed suspiciously.

"Papi, he's only seventeen. And he's a year older than me in Hogwarts,"[/color] she interjected hastily.

"Isn't seventeen the legal adult age in the wizarding world? My daughter is only fifteen, you know." Oh, out of all the things he chose to remember from her world, this would be it!

"Papi!"[/color] she whined, looking at Tia Inez for help, who graciously stepped in - quite literally, too. She brushed past her brother and hugged Jayden tightly, mouthing "he's cute!" over his shoulder at Gabby, who blushed again. "I think you're lovely, Jayden. Gabby has told me so many great things about you," her aunt stated once she'd released him. "Happy Christmas and New Year's to you, too, my dear! It's very nice to meet you. Is it not, Cesar?" She looked over her shoulder pointedly and Cesar made a noise that Gabriella hoped meant agreement. She swallowed slowly and then smiled at Jayden.

"Papi, Jayden is a photographer for the Hogwarts Herald, that's the school newspaper. He takes amazing photographs. And he plays the guitar and sings most wonderfully, too! Right, Jayden? He's very talented."[/color]

"Right. So, Jason-" "Jayden, Papi-[/color] "-what are your intentions towards my daughter?"

Well. This was going swell.

[/blockquote][/color]

[Jayden Flynn]

Jayden stared at Gabby for a while when she said she didn’t think her father owned a gun, and widened his eyes at her, not saying anything for a moment, just giving her a look at the same time as his mind raced with a thousand possibilities of things he could say wrong and held his breath while Gabby reassured him he didn’t and led him inside the house. Gabby’s aunt was smiling, and welcoming, and he liked her immediately, recalling from the last time he’d been there how nice she was, and was secretly thankful she was there to ease things between Gabby’s father and himself. This whole girlfriend thing was really nerve wrecking, let alone meeting the girlfriend’s parents. Or, pretend-girlfriend, anyway. It was the same thing, as far as Mr. Rivera was concerned, he thought nervously, then paused. No, actually, if he found out he was only pretend-dating his daughter, he was sure he would manage to find a gun somewhere in the near vicinity of his neighborhood and shoot his head off. He tried to keep the smile on his face as Gabby’s father sized him down, raking his eyes over him in a way that wasn’t doing anything to ease his nerves, and he wondered for a second if maybe he didn’t celebrate Christmas and his comment had offended him before he realized he’d known Gabby for five years and yes, of course they celebrated Christmas. His palms were starting to get sweaty. The encouraging squeeze Gabby gave his hand did little to calm him, and instead only caused her father to narrow his eyes at their held hands and—bollocks, that was rather awkward, wasn’t it? Jayden felt his throat bob a little as he swallowed and let go off Gabby’s hand as soon as she did, resisting the urge to wipe it on his trousers. Jayden opened and closed his mouth at the man’s words, and would have reached up to rub the back of his neck nervously, like he usually did when he found himself in an uncomfortable situation, but forced it to remain beside him. He opened his mouth again to tell him he was seventeen, and really not that old, and only almost two years older than Gabby, and that was normal to be friends with, and pretend-date with, and they were only a year apart in school!—but she beat him to it, and thank God he hadn’t said anything because he had quickly found a way to counter that. Jayden felt his entire neck flush hotly up to his ears, which started burning with guilt simply by the fact that he was seventeen, and he pressed his lips together for a moment, frantically trying to figure out what he was expected to even say to that, before Gabby’s aunt thankfully stepped in to hug him, and he didn’t think he’d ever been more grateful for a hug in his life—he could see where Gabby got her affectionate side from.

“Thank you, ma’am,” he said, pulling back, the flush still high on his cheeks as he glanced at Gabby and wondered if he should try to hold his hand again or not. One look from her dad, however, quickly helped him made up his resolve, and he kept smiling at her aunt instead. Gabby glanced at him, and Jayden met her eye, trying not to look too panicky when she quickly came up with something to say, and started telling her dad about how he was the photographer for the Herald, and guitar, and he opened and closed his mouth, not wanting to agree with her that he was talented, but not knowing what else to say, and he managed a quiet splutter before Gabby’s father turned to him again to ask—calling him Jason—what his intentions were. Deep breath. No intentions. Angel. He was an angel. Gabby was just…oh god, she was just a friend, what was he even doing? Jayden straightened up as well as he could and fixed her dad with a small smile before glancing at Gabby, figuring it was a safer bet. “My only real intention is to make her as happy as she makes me,

[/color]” he replied, as honestly as he could, and looked back to him, nodding a little, and held his breath as he reached down to hold her hand again and squeezed it. “I—I like Gabby a whole lot,[/color]” he added, still honestly, maybe not in that way, but her dad would hear what he wanted to hear, right? “I’m just happy she wants to be with me, and I will never hurt her.[/color]” Was that what he was supposed to say? Jayden had never actually done the whole ‘meeting the parents’ thing. None of his previous girlfriends had gone as serious as to introduce him to her parents, and he was freaking out a little in his mind right now. He licked his lips and flicked his eyes over to Gabby as well, wondering if he was about to get his bum kicked.

[/color][/blockquote]

[Gabriella Rivera]

now my feet won't touch the ground

[/color][/font][/center]

All things considered, it went pretty well. After the initial introduction, her father stopped glowering so much and even gave Jayden a smile and called him by his proper name and didn't mention anything about a gun (that Gabby was still pretty positive he didn't have!) before he retired to his bedroom, although not before issuing a warning that Gabriella's room was off limits (Gabby blushed all the way down to her toes at that). Still slightly flustered, the young girl only nodded when her aunt said she'd be leaving the two love birds alone, her blush deepening when the older woman told her not to "do anything she wouldn't do" and accompanied the comment with a playful wink. Palming her face, Gabriella raised her eyes to Jayden's, still embarrassed by her family's behaviour. "I'm so sorry about that. They're...they...they're just very over-protective. And strange. I hope my papi didn't scare you or anything." She drew in a deep breath and then smiled at him before realising she was still holding his hand and dropping it quickly with a blush, moving to sit on one of the couches and petting the empty spot next to her, beckoning him to come sit. "Okay, now tell me all about your summer, and don't leave anything out!"

[/color] she added, easily falling back into their friendship dynamic, because she'd always, first and foremost, be Jayden's best friend.

the end

[/blockquote][/color]