{ N I N E T E E N }: M I X E D S I G N A L S.
Grey Anderson stood in the center of the room in all his physical glory.
"Spoiler alert! I'm not Jean."
"That's not how to pronounce his name." She bit back, knowing he was teasing her for thinking the new kid was her mystery Valentine.
She wasn't sure she could handle this so she decided to walk away.
"I LIKE YOU!"
The three words made Jazz pause abruptly in her tracks.
Turning to him, she decided to double check, "What did you just say?"
He gulped, uncertainty clear in his glossed eyes as he repeated his words somewhat shyly this time.
"The girl you kissed in the garden wasn't me." Jazz reminded him in case he was suddenly suffering from dementia.
"I wasn't trying to hurt you, Jazz. Shit happens you must understand. Keandra was a convenience, I wanted to understand what I was feeling–"
"You do realize you're admitting to taking advantage of another girl's feelings and using her."
Grey closed his eyes momentarily, "That's not– That's not what happened. She was in on it too. I always did feel something for you, always thought it was some deep gratitude for the favor you did me. Allen tried to make me see, but I was dogged and stubborn and I wasn't sure you felt the same way. You and I know you are rocket science and acting indifferent is your forte. Some days I thought you liked me, other days I wasn't so sure. Mixed signals made me upset and confused and I wasn't sure what exactly it was until you lef–"
"–Got suspended!" Jazz interjected, "For something you and I very much knew I didn't write."
"I knew you didn't write it, but I was confused and hurt, surely you can understand."
"Since when did apologizing and guilt tripping become synonyms?"
Silence hung in the air between the two.
"I think this is the realest thing I've ever had–"
"–Grey..."
"You are the realest–"
"Stop! You should have thought about that before humiliating me in the Refectory and adding insult to the injury. Bye Grey, and you can put your feelings in your pocket."
Jazz Brown wasn't playing the age long hard to get. She'd switched the game. She was playing the hard to forget.
"At least stay and be my Katherine for an hour?" Grey pressed.
The well broke and Jazz teared up. Grey wasn't giving up and that was enough to tear down all her walls.
"I liked you, Grey. Too much. I didn't really expect you to return my feelings but I'd hoped you wouldn't discount them. We had a good friendship and one sided or not, I cherished it. You were my only real friend and you made me feel like shit. Even my parents–"
Grey had crossed the room while her eyes blurred.
"Sshh..." He whispered soothingly, pulling her against himself.
Instead of protesting and pushing him away, Jazz held unto him, returning the comforting embrace. Had she almost vented to Grey about her emotional neglect?
"I'm really sorry Jackie, you must know that. I was confused and arrogant and I really should have handled things between us better. Please forgive me." He whispered as he stroked her soft hair.
