This is dedicated to TimeLordAlex. Thanks to her I now have an amazing new cover.

It was different this time. Instead of it being a one-sided kiss, it was a "we're both kissing" kind of kiss. The kind that makes your legs feel like jello, and your heart beat a hundred times faster.

Maybe that was what she liked so much about Jason; the fact that he was unpredictable.

It had been almost a month since then, and Thanksgiving was right around the corner. She hadn't really seen much of Jason since the kiss. They really hadn't had a chance to discuss their feelings.

Since she was on Thanksgiving break, Diana was seated at the kitchen table, typing away on her laptop. Her current song obsession was stuck in her head, and she was quietly humming. A mug of once-warm apple cider sat next to her, forgotten. Her maroon sweater, gray sweatpants, and slippers were necessary to stay warm in the small apartment.

She shivered again, blowing on her hands and rubbing them together for warmth. "Perrin, I swear, if turn the heat down one more time..." She yelled from her seat. Her cast was finally off, but she had been advised to take it easy.

Perrin appeared in the doorway, clad in only a dark red bath robe, with a towel wrapped around her head. "You'll what?" She snarkily cut in.

Diana's eyes widened at the lack of clothing on her friend. "Would you please go put some clothes on?!" She shielded her eyes with her hands. "I think I'm going to go blind."

Perrin huffed and waltzed out of the room, holding up her middle finger in response.

Diana turned her attention back to her laptop, when a call from an unknown number popped up on her phone. Chewing on her lip, she tried to decide whether or not to answer.

"Hello?"

"Hey, is this Diana?" A masculine voice spoke.

"Uh, yeah. Who is this?" Diana laughed nervously.

"This is Matt. I got your number from someone at school. You haven't called or texted me yet, but I was just wondering...would you wanna go on a date with me?" His words came out a little fast and jumbled, but Diana had gotten the gist of them.

"Uhh...I..uhh.." She stuttered. This guy had stuttered a bit. But it had to have taken some sort of strange confidence in order to get the nerve up to call her. Especially since after giving her his number, she hadn't given any indication that she was interested.

Matt must have guessed that she was having second thoughts because he quickly cut back in. "I mean...as long as you don't..you don't have a boyfriend or anything, or aren't busy."

Diana smiled. She had to give this boy a chance. Right now Jason wasn't calling her or trying to see her. She wasn't sure if this was because he didn't have the time, or because the kiss hadn't meant anything to him. Maybe they'd both just been a little too hormonal.

"Sure, Matt. I'd love to go on a date with you."

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The date had been scheduled for the next day, and it was all that Perrin could talk about. "You want a drama-free relationship." She told Diana. "Matt could be giving you that chance."Diana wasn't so sure. Her feelings currently had been all over the place.

So there she was, at the restaurant, feeling slightly overdressed in her mint green skirt, flowered white blouse, and white pumps.

The building was overly warm, so she removed her thick fur-lined coat, as the hostess led her to an empty booth in the corner. Matt and her had agreed to meet there, instead of him picking her up. That way, if things didn't go well, they could each go their separate ways.

Tapping her foot impatiently, she sipped from her glass of ice water, while skimming through the menu. An awkward cough broke her train of thoughts, and she looked up.

"Hey." Matt mumbled, twisting his hands together nervously. His outfit consisted of jeans, and a dark blue sweater.

Diana just gave him a warm smile.

"Sorry I'm late." He continued, sitting down.

"It's no biggie." Diana added, suddenly starting to wonder if maybe this date hadn't been the best idea after all.

The waitress came up to take their orders. "I'll have the lemon chicken, mashed potatoes, and broccoli. And a root beer." Diana said.

"And I'll have the steak; rare, green beans, and mashed potatoes. Oh, and a coke." Matt decided.

So he's a meat and potatoes man. Diana thought.

A few minutes later, their drinks arrived and Diana and Matt made small talk.

First they talked about their interests and their goals in life, and their likes and dislikes. Although Diana thought that Matt was a great guy, him and her seemed so different. She liked chocolate, and he avoided it like the plague. He had a thing for pop punk music, while she was more of country and classical music girl. He also had this annoying habit of biting his nails, even while they were trying to eat. To say it effectively grossed her out, would be true.

At last they were done with their meal and had just ordered dessert. The hostess came down the aisle, leading a familiar person behind her. She seated said person at a table across from them. Diana prayed that he wouldn't notice her, but given their seating positions, it would only be a matter of time before he did.

She tried to hide the side of her face by rearranging her hair to cover it. But five minutes later, when dessert finally arrived, Diana forgot and moved her hair. Her eyes made contact with Jason's aqua-blue ones. They seemed to harden when they noticed her companion.

As Matt dug into his piece of apple pie, it was obviously he was completely oblivious to the tension at the table. Two minutes passed and finally Jason got up, and made his way to the front of the restaurant. "Would you excuse me for a minute? I have to use the lady's room." Diana threw out the first excuse that came to her mind.

Her heels clicked against the tile floor as she neared the entrance. She ducked behind a stack of highchairs and made her way around a couple of waiters, before she slipped out the door, into the cold.

She could see her breath in front of her, and suddenly regretted the decision to leave her coat behind. Crossing her arms across her chest, she shivered violently, as she looked for Jason. He stood off in a corner under the edge of the roof, lifting a cigarette to his lips, and puffing out clouds of polluted air. Since when did he smoke?

"J-j-ja-jaso-on?" Her teeth chattered loudly, and she clenched her jaw in an effort to stop them.

He whirled around, eyebrow raised, tapping the ashes off the end of his cigarette. "What do you want?"

"You seem upset."

"And I shouldn't be?" He almost growled, his voice two octaves lower than it usually was.

"I don't see why..."

"You shouldn't keep your date waiting." He cut in, puffing his cigarette.

"That's not fair and you know it." Diana bit out. "You haven't called or come over in almost a month."

"Like I said." Jason smirked sadly at her. "You shouldn't keep the pretty boy waiting."

Diana huffed in annoyance and whirled around, stomping back into the building. She wasn't really going to listen to Jason, but she had been about to die of frost bite out there.

She walked slowly back to her table. Matt had finished his pie and was getting the check from the waitress. "Sorry it took me so long." She apologized, slipping back into her seat.

"It's fine. I actually have to go, I'm driving up to be with my family for the holidays, and I'm leaving tomorrow." He explained.

"Oh, I see." Diana mumbled, trying to sound disappointed.

They both got up and put on their coats. They had just stepped outside, when Matt took her hand and pulled her over to the side of the entrance. He pushed her up against the wall and she felt her heartbeat quicken. What was going on? Was Jason still out here?

Matt's hand came up to cup the side of her face, and Diana shivered. This felt so wrong. Slowly, he began leaning in. Diana shifted her head to the side. "No, Matt." She pushed against him lightly.

This didn't shatter his determination, he came swooping in again. "Matt. I said, NO." Diana's voice held a warning tone. With one hand, Matt pinned her hands behind her, and used the other to hold her face. "Matt! Stop! I said no!" Diana yelled.

She felt powerless.

A second later, he was knocked to the ground, and a scuffle ensued. Diana huddled against the wall. Then she saw him. It was Jason, pinning Matt to the ground. "Didn't she tell you no? Huh?" He roared.

Matt was squirming, but wasn't really putting up much of a fight. "You stay away from her. You here me?" He stood up and brushed off his jeans, coming to stand protectively next to Diana.

Matt made a sound that sounded like something between a whimper and a yelp, and ran off into the parking lot.

Jason turned to her. "Are you okay?" He asked her, his eyes boring into hers, and scanning her body for injuries.

Diana hadn't realized it til then, but she was shaking.

"Hey, hey, comere." Jason pulled her into a gentle hug and held her.

Tears began streaming down Diana's face, and she sobbed into his shoulder. Jason seemed unsure of what to do, so he just kept holding her close, and running a hand over her hair soothingly.

"Diana." Jason whispered, his voice getting raspy. "It's okay."

She pulled away and wiped the salty streaks from her cheeks with the sleeve of her coat. She sniffled, and suddenly felt embarrassed. She had had an argument with Jason not ten minutes before, and now he was protecting her, and lending her a shoulder to cry on.

"Jason?"

"Yeah?" He asked, taking her cold hands in his and lacing their fingers together.

"Can I come  home with you tonight?" She barely managed to get out, strongly fearing rejection at this point.

"Of course." He wrapped an arm around her shoulder and they walked off together into the night.

A/N:

Omigosh, this chapter ended way differently than I had originally planned, and I think it's one of my longest chapters yet! Anywayz, so first of all I have an announcement! I am going to start dedicating chapters to my reader/followers. So if you are reading this, please don't be a silent reader! The way I will determine who to dedicate a chapter to, is by (1) best comment (2) voting (3) just supporting my story in general. So please please please don't forget to comment when you get done reading this chapter (or any chapter) and let me know what you think of it!

Alright, now on to the normal questions. What do you think of Matt now? And Jason? This chapter had a lot of filler information at the beginning so I'm sorry if it was boring, but I gotta slip that info in somewhere!

It's already December, I can't believe it! Christmas is my favorite holiday ever! And I'm a sucker for anything holiday-ish. Did you know they make peppermint, mocha, and red velvet flavored peeps?! Egg nog (non alcoholic of course), candy canes, Christmas cookies, colorful lights, snow, holiday music, etc. I love it all! Tell me what your favorite thing about Christmas is. (if you celebrate)