Sweet Like Honey

21.

"Can we go somewhere to talk?" Jonas had been waiting for Lennen at her locker, hoping that she would get here early enough to give them time to talk. Jonas didn't like Duke and he wanted to let Lennen know that. Their relationship hasn't been as smooth as he had hoped, and he thinks Duke is one reason for that. 

"We only have ten minutes before class, Jonas," Lennen tells him. She had purposely ignored Jonas yesterday because she didn't know what to say to him. They weren't on the same page about how they felt about each other, and that's something that could take hours to talk and work out, which they didn't have. 

"Well, we'll fit in as much as we can in ten minutes." Lennen sighed, knowing that Jonas wasn't going to let this go. She put her things in her locker, then followed Jonas to a bench outside, in an area that was almost always deserted. 

Lennen was dreading this conversation, knowing that things could end badly between the two, which she didn't want. She figured it would be easier to just continue and act like nothing had happened. 

"So, I stopped by last night," Jonas tells her, and Lennen looks at him, shocked. Why would he go to her house last night? She thought he would get the message that she really didn't want to talk. Jonas looks at the shocked expression now resting on her face, confused. "Did your mom not tell you?"

"No. When I got home, she was getting ready for bed because she had to be at work early today. I went straight to my room and finished the rest of my homework," Lennen tells him. Why would her mom not tell her that he stopped by? She said she was going to. 

"You were with Duke." Jonas said, which Lennen already knew. 

"And Oliver," Lennen states the obvious. She doesn't understand why Jonas is blowing this whole Duke thing way out of porportion. 

"Lennen, we've only been dating a little more than a month and we're already having so many problems! I think one reason why is because of Duke." Lennen was taken back. Duke had nothing to do with the problems in their relationship. "You shouldn't hang out with him so much. You're mine!"

"Duke is not the problem here, you are! You're ego is too big to handle the fact that I'm friends with my ex-boyfriend. Well, news flash, Duke and I were friends way before you came around and that isn't going to change. And you have no right telling me who I can and can't hang out with. I am my own person, not your property." Lennen was furious that Jonas would be saying this stuff to her, this wasn't him. "I have told you that you have no reason to be jealous of Duke because I don't have feelings for him; I only have feelings for you."

"You don't feel the same way I do!" Jonas didn't think that her not loving him would effect him as much as it actually was. He was scared that Lennen would realize that Duke was actually the right choice for her all along. 

"I'm sorry that I'm not in love with you, Jonas, but I've only known you properly for four months. I'm not one of those girls who is instantly going to fall for your good looks and charm. If that's what you want, then go ask out any other girl at our school. I'm sure they'd be happy to tell you how happy they are you chose them, and how they've been in love with you since they first saw you." She knew that having this conversation was going to explode into something bigger, and she really didn't want to have this weight on her shoulders all day. 

"I don't care about the other girls, Lennen! The only girl I care about is you! I have waited so long to be with you, and I don't want to throw it away. I want us to be happy. This, right here, is not what I want. I want to be the reason you're happy, not angry. I want us to work out these problems because I am tired of fighting with you." 

"Jonas, I want us to be happy, too. You need to stop being so jealous because I promise you, that Duke and I are only friends. Nothing is going to happen between he and I. You need to trust me." 

"I'm sorry, but seeing how close you two are just makes it hard." Jonas knew jealously was going to be something he really needed to work hard on to change, but he was willing to work as hard as he needed, if it made Lennen happy.

"You'll have to get used to it, Jonas. We're good friends, our families are good friends. Honestly, our two families have pretty much turned into one big family. With me, you get everything that comes with me. That won't change."

"I'll work on it, Lennen. I promise." Jonas had absolutely hated the last few weeks because he and Lennen would always end up arguing. He always pictured their relationship going much smoother, wanting it to be picture perfect. He should've known that being with someone as perfect as Lennen, would have to come with some sort of cost.