WHITNEY'S HOUSE
Where are they?
The panicked whisper in Jason's mind
has escalated to a full-blown scream. Which room did Alex and Lauren duck
into? It took him enough time to break away from Courtney and get up the
stairs -- hopefully it hasn't gone too far yet.
He jerks open yet another door and
is greeted by the bathroom. Pulling the door closed quickly, he rushes
to the next one.
Immediately relief floods his system.
But the dams go up as soon as he has a chance to take a look at the situation.
This is the right room. But Alex
is nowhere to be found, and Lauren is sitting on the bed, alone, her face
stained with tears.
"Lauren?" Jason says quietly.
She looks up, startled, at him in
the doorway. An uncertain moment passes between them before Jason shuts
the door and makes his way over to the bed.
"Are you okay?" he asks.
"Yeah," she manages, choking back
a sob. "I ... I just feel like an idiot."
"Don't," he says, sitting down beside
her. Now relief and horror are dueling inside him. Is it really over
... ?
"I guess it's better that I know,"
she says. "That I know for sure that nothing's gonna happen."
"You know that? How?"
"I was a fool downstairs." Her voice
is ragged through the tears, and Jason slips an arm around her shoulders.
"I kissed him -- again. I thought maybe something would happen tonight.
But I was just being stupid. Desperate."
"But he came upstairs with you ..."
"Yeah, he told me to come with him.
So of course, being the retard I am, I thought that meant it was really
gonna happen."
He rubs her far shoulder softly,
perhaps trying to soothe some of his own nervousness now. "But?"
"He--he set the record straight.
Nothing's happening between us -- believe me, I get that message now, loud
and clear."
"Hey, at least you can start to move
on now, right?" he offers, hoping it's the right thing to say.
"I guess." Another heavy sob rattles
her body and he pulls her closer.
"I'm really sorry this had to happen,
Lauren."
"So am I ... but I guess it's better
that I know. So at least it really is over."
"Yeah." He cracks an uncomfortable
smile. "And besides, at least you can't blame yourself, right?"
"What do you mean?"
"It's not your fault that he's gay."
He feels Lauren pushing out of his
embrace, turning to look him straight in the face, her body suddenly very
still. And as the signs of shock slowly start to pour over her face, Jason
knows that the same is happening to him. Only much, much worse.
Her eyes wide, her throat suddenly
dry as the desert, Lauren manages only barely to speak. "Gay?"
END OF EPISODE #226
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