➳
thursday morning
she could feel her heart beating in her throat, looking out the window of jason's car. maisey had no idea why she'd even decided to skip town with jason in the first place, as if something good would have come out of it. she thought of what her mom would say, to her and to jason, and what he would think of her afterwards. it was always what he would think of her that filled her head with worry, because she keeps thinking that after he finds out about everything, he would never look at her the same way.
"i should never have gone to philly with you," she muttered, fidgeting with the hem of the hoodie she stole from jason's closet.
"don't say that," he put his hand above her knee, speaking in such a sweet and caring tone that maisey couldn't bare to hear. she was dragging him into her mess, and for some reason, she just wanted him to get pissed at her, to stop babying her. there would be less guilt weighing her down if he did.
"drop me off at my apartment please," she asked as they drove past the welcome to rosewood sign.
"i can drop you off at school."
"no, i have to get changed."
"i'll wait in here while you get changed. we can go and face your mom together."
"no," she insisted. "no one can know about us."
"why not?" jason asked, glancing at her with a confused look.
"because it's not right."
she was getting tired of this, and he was just losing enthusiasm by the second. he pulled over, again.
"why are you pulling over again?" she snapped. "we have to get to school!"
"maisey," he said softly, taking her hands on his. "look me in the eyes and tell me that being with me doesn't feel right."
there was silence, maisey staring at him with her mouth open, trying to find the right words to say, but she couldn't.
"see," he started the car again. "if it were so wrong, we wouldn't have held onto something for two years, something that only lasted a few months."
"jason, it may feel right but it's wrong to everyone else. i'm sixteen. you're, what? like, twenty two? you could go to jail."
"we never had sex?"
"you're still part of the rosewood high faculty!"
"i'll quit."
"what?"
"i'll resign."
"jason."
"maisey, i'm serious," he said, stopping the car in front of her apartment. jason looked at her with complete sincerity, putting his hand on her knee. "i'd do anything to make things easier for you, for us."
"this is the most unrealistic thing ever," she mumbled, moving her knee away. "i'm literally sixteen, and i ran off to philly with a guy that's like, six years older, who i've only been around for less than a week since i left for two years." maisey looked up at the roof of the car, holding back tears. "and now he's telling me he'd quit his job for me, while i'm just counting the seconds til my mom busts into my highschool and finds out about everything."
"well, that's exactly what's happening," he said. "believe it or not."
"i hate you," she joked, looking out the window to avoid eye contact, as she knew her eyes were glassy already.
"right back at you, donnie darko."
"shut up."
➳
thursday noon
maisey sat in the courtyard with the rest of her friends, talking about how the last twenty four hours went down. telling them all about it sounded like she was reading straight out of some fanfiction written by an inexperienced teen, but it was the reality. she told then about the text from a when jason pulled over on the way there, about the phone call from her mom, and about how she'd called them from the shower, explicitly stating that they were not in the shower together, and that he was sitting on the edge of the bathtub. she also mentioned how jason had said he would quit his job for her.
"that sounds familiar," hanna commented, eyeing aria, who only rolled her eyes. the girls began to laugh, except for maisey, who still felt anxious about her mom.
"girls," a lady interrupted, that lady being dianne fitzgerald, standing by the table, dressed in gingham and pearls.
"speak of the devil," maisey muttered under her breath as she stabbed at her salad.
"what?" mrs. fitzgerald snapped.
"nothing, mom," she answered, smiling up at the lady. "why are you here?"
"i wanted to check on you," she smiled, lacing her fingers together. "i actually wanted to talk to your guidance counsellor, but according to the secretary, he's been on leave since yesterday."
"oh, do you know why?" spencer questioned, making the girls shoot her a look. "sorry, curious."
"family emergency, they said."
emily choked on her drink, some family emergency that is.
"well, i'm doing alright, mom," maisey nodded. "you've checked on me. you should get going. i'm sure you're very busy with the functional members of our family."
dianne gave maisey a look, one meaning that the words she would have answered weren't words she could say in a public setting. "bye, maisey. bye, girls." she bid, instead. the woman turned around, beginning to walk, until she stopped and turned around to look back at the group. "i'll see you around, aria."
"see you, mrs. fitzgerald," aria said, voice cracking. the pearl clad lady smiled once more before walking out the courtyard, heels clacking against the concrete.
➳
thursday evening
she sat in ezra's apartment, watching a movie alongside her brother and aria. it was one she picked out herself, some indie coming of age movie, which was different from the black and white films ezra usually put on. the couple watched intently, but maisey scrolled away at her phone, having already watched the movie.
where are you? jason messaged, the notification popping up at the top of her screen.
ezra's. why? she replied.
i miss you.
she smiled at the screen, typing out her reply.
and waiting outside your building. he texted, before she had the chance to hit send.
what? she typed out, hitting send this time. im omw.
"um, i have, uh," maisey said to ezra and aria. she stood up, flattening her clothes. "company waiting outside."
"alright," ezra nodded, maisey returning the nod before making her way out the door. he turned to aria, trying to find the right words to say.
"what is it?" she asked, looking up at him.
"um," he said, shifting in his seat. "does she have a boyfriend?"
aria looked at him, mouth agape, before smiling and giggling a bit.
"what's funny?" ezra asked, turning his eyebrows up.
"nothing," aria giggled as she took some popcorn from the bowl in ezra's lap.
meanwhile, maisey got down the stairs as fast as she could, looking through the peephole to see the tall blond boy that stood waiting. she couldn't help but smile, seeing him. "hey, ttdh," she grinned, crossing her arms.
"hey," he greeted, leaning in and briefly planting his lips on hers. "you could have just buzzed me in."
"you look cute while you're waiting, off guard and all," she explained, stepping aside to let him in. "what'd you swing by for?"
"just wanted to spend some time with you," he smiled at her before making his way up the stairs. jason couldn't help but glance back at her occasionally, making her giggle and nudge him when they were outside her apartment. she unlocked the door and pushed it open, allowing him in first.
"i brought us some chinese," he said as he leaned aginst the kitchen counter, dropping a paperbag atop it. "is the orange chicken still your favorite?"
"you bet," she nodded, sitting on a stool next to him. hungry, she began to take the styrofoam boxes out of the paperbag.
"i resigned already," he blurted, and she looked up at him, frozen in the middle of her actions.
she was unsure of what to think, her elated mood making a wave of relief wash over her. no more sneaking around, no more lying, they could go out in public and act the same way they would behind closed doors. but that was just her knee-jerk reaction. once it all sunk in, she realized that he was now jobless, ditching his source of income just to be around a mentally unstable sixteen year old girl, whose nature of their relationship wasn't even certain.
he waited for her reaction, stuck still and silent as well. to him, it didn't even matter that quitting was probably compulsive and impractical, as long as he gets to be around the girl that he tried to forget for two years, and even then, at the news that she was back, he'd run over to her apartment just to see her and kiss the lips he'd missed more than anything. nevermind that he'd be back to relying on his parents and his inheritance, nevermind that they didn't have a label, nevermind that even now there would still be restrictions– this is what he wanted most. but the radio silence from the girl he'd give the world to threw him off, deflating his enthusiasm.
"say something, please," he pleaded.
"you didn't have to do that," she said, speaking cautiously. "you shouldn't have to be without a source of income just to be around a mediocre girl."
"you're not mediocre," he instantly replied. "and i wanted to."
"but how are you gonna stay afloat?"
"maisey," he chuckled, taking her hands in his, rubbing his thumbs against the back of her hand. "you don't have to worry, okay?"
she just nodded, a response jason wasn't satisfied with.
"please try to look on the bright side of this? we can be together in public, and hold hands, and not have to hide and go all the way down to philly. this is good for us, maise."
she wanted to ask him what us even is in their situation, but instead she just nodded and smiled in agreement, getting back to her styrofoam container.
➳
friday morning
the pair laid next to each other in bed, the blond boy still dressed in jeans and a raglan shirt, while the small girl had her head rested on his chest, clad in sweats and an oversized t-shirt. her eyes fluttered open, blinking for a bit before looking up to see a very unconscious jason dilaurentis. even from this angle, where all she could see was double chin, he was her own adonis.
maisey suddenly scolded herself for thinking that he was hers, but after he'd taken her to his apartment out in the city, resigned for her, fell asleep cuddled together in her apartment, it was pretty difficult for her to not think they were an item.
his eyes blinked open, as if he knew she was staring. the older boy smiled at the sight of her, and she smiled back, before shifting around til she was on her pillow and not on his chest. "goodmorning," he greeted, placing a kiss on her forehead.
"did you really fall asleep here?" she asked, voice dry and throaty.
"yep, after holding a conversation with you for a couple hours and seeing you drift off."
she smiled at him, the adoration in his eyes making her insides warm and all lit up. "what are we?" she spurted out, possibly ruining the moment, but the question had been fatiguing her for a while now, she couldn't hold it back.
"maisey and jason," he said, shrugging. "an amazing girl and a very lucky boy."
"but are we together?"
"maise," he chuckled, propping himself up on his elbows. "if we weren't, we wouldn't be in this situation."
"but i've only been around you for, like, less than a week since you left."
"and?" he questioned, shaking his head as he chuckled again. "maisey, that doesn't matter. what matters is you want to be here, i want to be here, and we're both mutually happy about the situation we're in."
"so we are together?"
"yeah. yes. we are. okay," he answered, rolling his eyes. "there isn't another maisey fitzgerald in this whole world that i would do anything for." he ran his hand through her hair, making her smile. "it's just you."
➳
word count: 2055
hi !! this is the last chapter to keep me counting 💖
at first i intended for it to be a full 20+ part book but idk how )): i feel like maisey's mental illness (bipolar depression) is a lot, and something i haven't experienced myself, making it something i can't give justice to/write about without feeling like a mental-illness-romanticizing-douchebag. also things are getting to be super unrealistic and i feel silly af writing thisss.