Meeting the Teacher [CLOSED]

[Serenity Lane]

She shook her head. "No, I should of been louder when I came in." she muttered.

"Dont....Don't be sorry. It's your lip. Not mine." she laughed sofly, looking down. "You seem so upset, Jasper. Why?" she asked, her eyes looking up, into his.


"No, I'll be fine, I'll stay." she hesitated. "If you want, I can watch the last class, if you wanna go pick your daughter up or something, since the other schools get out earlier than this one." she said., looking down once more. "If you want that is." she said, "Unless you have your wife do it, or she rides the bus home." she muttered once more.

[Jasper Devine]

The small, petty argument was beginning to fluster poor Jasper, suddenly getting the feeling that she was trying to fight with him over such a stupid matter. But, because he was stubborn and eager to get the last word in, he continued it, hoping that she would, in turn, drop the subject. "Honestly, I probably wouldn't have heard you even if you rolled in here in a tank." A small laugh escaped his lips in an attempt to lighten the mood, "I was pretty... out of it." Jasper shrugged his shoulders nonchalantly, "So, don't worry about it." He tried to manage a small smile, though needless to say, it faded quickly. After all, it wasn't all too appropriate to be grinning from ear to ear at a time like this.

Jasper rested his cheek in his palm again, sighing heavily as he stared blankly at the desk. "But you brought it up." He mumbled under his breath, his voice barely audible. His eyes slid up to the clock, wishing so hard he could make time go faster so he could just go home and lay in bed for the rest of the afternoon. And for a while there, Jasper actually thought he could make things work. With Serenity's help, he thought everything actually had a chance of running smoothly. But, no -- that blew up in his face. He cut the red wire (so to speak) and set the whole thing up in flames.

It was the first time a long silence ever felt comforting to him, as well as the first time that hearing Serenity's voice didn't make him feel better -- in fact, it only made things worse. He sat up straight again, staring at her with disbelief and frustration in his eyes, "I look upset? Jesus Christ, Serenity, you ran out of here in tears, and I..." He immediately broke eye contact with her, feeling remorseful for snapping at her so suddenly. She didn't deserve it; she didn't do anything wrong. Poor Jasper was just being bitter about screwing everything up... again. He sighed quietly, looking at her with big, sorrowful eyes, "I feel terrible about it."

Well... great. Now if he had any chance of patching things up with her, he just blew it. Fan. Fucking. Tastic. Clearly, today was just not Jasper's day. He shook his head, mentally scolding himself for all the things he just fucked up in a matter of hours. No wonder he couldn't keep a job for more than a month; his people skills were really lacking. Plus, he needed to start thinking before he spoke, because that was one of the reasons he got himself into these situations. His eyes floated back toward Serenity, tilting his head to the side slightly, "Are you sure? I don't want to hold you up if you're not feeling well." At this point, it might be better if he was alone, anyway. At least then he couldn't upset her anymore.

He shook his head, smiling faintly at the thought. It would be nice to get out sooner and pick up Emma, since he was awfully anxious to know how her day went, but if Serenity was willing to stay, he would, too. "No, it's fine. It's all taken care of. I just told her to wait inside until I get there, since it shouldn't be that long. And the secretary that I talked to at her school said it would be fine." For once, Jasper was actually on top of things. But, any matter concerning his daughter he was pretty much on the ball with, which was surprising considering how disorganized he was with everything else.

The smile over his face quickly turned into a crooked smirk, his eyes narrowing slightly at the mention of a wife. He held out his left hand and wiggled his fingers around lightly before he spoke, "There's no ring on my finger." His tone suddenly sounded a little agitated, as if it was kind of a touchy subject for him. He got up and sat back down in his own chair, sighing heavily in annoyance. Not at all toward Serenity, of course, just at the thought of his ex-girlfriend, and Emma's mother, Juliet Williams. "And Emma's mother is practically out of the picture, so..." He finished his sentence with a simple shrug, avoiding any other details about her. The temptation to add what a fucking whore she was slipped into his mind, but for once, Jasper held his tongue. He already cursed around, what, three, four times that day, after he promised himself he'd keep his mouth clean. It probably wouldn't be best to rack up anymore, especially if someone overheard. Maybe that wouldn't be such a bad thing, though, since then he wouldn't have to suffer through another two-hundred some days like this one.

[Serenity Lane]

"Oh. I get like that too, sometimes." Serenity admitted, looking at him still. "I'm still sorry though." she teased softly.

She watched his eyes go to the clock and let out a silent sigh, did he really want to get away from her that bad?

"No... I wasn't..." she hesitated. "It wasn't your fault, Jasper..." she said, looking down. "So please, don't feel bad about anything..." she added, looking up at his large eyes. She weakly looked to the clock now. She saw the other student walk in then looked back to Jasper. "I'm sure, Jasper." she said.

She listened to him speak about his daughter, still a bit broken inside. She forced a smile, and nodded. "Oh." she said, watching him. "What grade is she in, if you don't mind me asking?" she asked.

She saw his smile turn to a smirk and shyly looked down, feeling stupid as he spoke. She glanced at his fingers. There was no ring. She knew the tone and winced slightly. "I'm sorry... I shouldn't of brought it up." she said, moving to stand up. "I will be back. I'm....going to go...redo my makeup." she said, grabbing her bag. She sighed, feeling stupid. She screwed everything up. It wasn't right, to fall for someone else like that, so easily. But it wasn't her fault. She never asked him to be so caring, and so sweet, so cute. She moved towards the door, half-hoping he'd follow again. Though she wasn't sure she could hold herself back, from doing what she really wanted.

[Jasper Devine]

A childish pout crossed his lips as he stared at her in disapproval, crossing his arms over his chest unhappily at her unnecessary apology. Jasper couldn't really talk, though, considering he said the words 'I'm sorry' to people a countless number of times in one day. Still, he pretended to be angered by it, imitating a two-year-old child who was denied candy at the store. It was a cute little act, brought to life even more by his child-like and effeminate features. "Don't be, though." He whined, an ingenuous sense of fury in his high-pitched voice. A small smile crossed over his face after a while, though, for Jasper was unable to hold up the charade for very long. After all, he wasn't a very good liar, so it was no wonder he had a hard time feigning enmity. His muscles relaxed as he laughed a little, glancing down at the ground then back toward Serenity. At this point he really didn't want to admit it, because there was no sense falling for someone who didn't love you back (Jasper found that out the hard way, and there was no way he was going to make the same mistake twice), but still, he thought her to be adorable.

Again, Jasper mentally reprimanded himself for thinking such a thing, refusing to let himself fall for someone who obviously wanted nothing to do with him anymore. This could not, and would not be a repeat of his relationship with Juliet. So, he had to keep his mind (and heart) away from little miss Serenity at all costs, and if that meant refraining from thoughts and compliments on how attractive she was, then so be it. His eyes jumped between the ground and her heavenly face, testing himself, trying to train his brain not to think about how beautiful she was. He bit down on his bottom lip gently, going against Serenity's warning only about two minutes after she had alerted him of the dangers such an action carried. She was attractive, though -- there was no denying that. Fuck. Jasper cursed himself silently, failing his little brain challenge only a few seconds after setting it up. Fuck. Fuck. Fuck. Apparently, this was going to be a little harder than he thought.

He, too, looked down as she tried in vain to convince him that he didn't do anything wrong, that it 'wasn't his fault.' Clearly, he wasn't the only one in the room who was terrible at lying, for her silly attempts to make him feel better only worsened his guilt. He sighed heavily, shaking his head in disbelief. Finally, his gaze rose to look at her, a sense of urgency in his eyes as he quickly shot back, "What did you run out on me for, then?" His hushed, yet hurried tone of voice made such a question sound a little demanding, but it was in no way meant to be taken as such. He was just a little anxious to find out what exactly he did, or said, that made her so upset, so he knew not to ever even think about repeating it.

There was only one possible subject in the world that could get Jasper to smile after such a serious conversation, and that was his daughter. Just talking about his little angel made his face light up and brightened his day, and therefore making a nice distraction from the situation between he and Serenity. "She just started kindergarten today." He stated, his voice sounding rather pleasant for once. Hopefully Emma's day was better than the one he was having, because then at least he might be able to end things with a smile.

Jasper sighed once again, feeling remorse beginning to grow in the pit of his stomach. He really needed to stop snapping at her. After all, she didn't really know any better. It was kind of hard to relax, though, knowing that the co-worker you're going to be spending the most time with throughout the year is the one who hates you the most. Still, though, it was no reason to be so rude to her. Of course, he didn't mean to sound so ill-tempered, it was simply that the subject of his ex-girlfriend tended to get him a little on edge, despite the fact he broke up with her over four years ago. He shook his head, disappointed in himself for acting like such a jerk, "No... it's alright... I'm sorry. It's just..." His eyes slid slowly up toward her, shrugging his shoulders apologetically, "It's been kind of hard, you know?"

His eyes followed her as she glided across the room, giving a stiff nod of his head as she retreated. As he watched her walk out again, Jasper couldn't help but think back to about an hour ago, the image of her red, tear-filled eyes burned in his memory. He sighed deeply before standing up, following her to the doorway where he politely and gently grabbed a hold of her wrist, a subtle attempt to grab her attention. "L-Listen... I'm sorry. I'm not normally this..." He paused, searching for the right word to describe his shitty attitude, "...uptight, but I tried so hard not to... completely fuck this up, a-and I guess it kind of backfired." His head hung shamefully once he finished speaking, looking up at her from beneath his eyelashes, regret showing in his wide, hazel eyes.

[Serenity Lane]

Serenity laughed lightly. "Fine." she said at his whine, looking down shyly. "I still am though..." she muttered, almost forgetting what they were talking about as she glanced into his amazing, hazel eyes.

She was falling for him, surely, but she felt he wasn't that all into her. Oh well, she had no chance with a guy like him. "Run out on you? I.....had to go change." she started, then looked down. She lied, she can't believe she just did that. To someone she barely knew. "Okay. Well... that isn't the total truth. But if you knew, you'd only think I was wierd..." she muttered.

She saw his smile, which made her fall only more for him. "Aww." she smiled back. "I kinda wish I had a kid. Though, Im sure it isn't as easy as the class I took here, having to take care of a mechanical baby... though all my partner did was throw it...." she added.

She didn't mind him snapping, she deserved it. She didn't need to pry, though it was what she was good at. "Don't be sorry, I understand..." she said, "I've been cheated on before. Sucks, but then again, it was just another highschool relationship." she muttered, looking down.

She was out the door almost until he took her wrist once more. She let a small smile escape her lips, the warmth of his hand comforting her somewhat. "Sorry, for what, Jasper?" she laughed. "You aren't....uptight, and as far as i've seen, you haven't screwed anything up.

Seeing his eyes, weakness filled her. She couldn't take it much longer, so she leaned in, kissing his lips lightly, for about a second, before pulling away. She looked down, blushing deeply. "Now... I really need to go..." she managed to cough out. His lips were amazing, soft. Somewhat addicting.

[Jasper Devine]

A deep sigh rolled off of Jasper's lips as he shook his head, displeased that, despite his best efforts, she got the last word in. Normally, he might continue such an argument just for the sake of doing so, but, for once, he let it go. There were more important things to worry about today than Jasper's jumpy personality. For example, the reason she had to practically give him a heart attack by rushing out of the room like someone just died. Apparently, though, he was going to have to wrestle an answer out of her, since she seemed a little less than eager to tell her side of the story.

Jasper's eyes narrowed unhappily at her terrible attempt to try to cover up the scene she had created not to long ago. If Serenity thought she could lie her way out of this, she definitely had another thing coming. There was no way she was going to get away without telling him the truth, because if he wasn't the one who made her so upset, Jasper wanted to know who (or what) did, so he could be sure it never happened again. Placing his elbows on the desk, Jasper rested his chin on top of the heel of his palms, staring at her impatiently as he waited for a more explanatory answer. "I already think you're weird." He stated teasingly, a small smile over his face to show that he was kidding, "So you have no excuse. Tell me." His grin brightened, anxiety glittering in his hazel eyes as he waited to hear what she had to say.

He couldn't help but laugh as she reminisced back to her high school days, finding her experiences with a mechanical child amusing. Boy, did that sound interesting. It was kind of creepy, too, but Jasper would've killed to have some sort of preparation on how, exactly, to raise a child, because at sixteen, he was quite clueless. Hell, he still really didn't have any idea what he was doing. Fortunately, though, he was a little more confident in his abilities than he was back then. "At least you got a little practice." He said, a bit of envy in his voice. Despite his young age and unplanned nature of the situation, Jasper couldn't say that he regretting anything regarding his daughter. Sure, getting involved in Juliet was a huge mistake, but at the same time, he couldn't really complain, for without her, he would've never had Emma.

Serenity's small flashback triggered his own mind to begin to wander over memories long gone, his smile faltering as he remembered how happy they were together -- and how heartbroken he was to find her with someone else. "We were together for five years -- give or take." Jasper spoke absent-mindedly, staring blankly past Serenity as if he didn't even realize his mouth was moving. "And I was naive enough to think that it'd last forever." Was it sad to say that despite all that she did to him, he still kind of missed her? It sounded pathetic, but after five years of completely devoting his life to her, Jasper was having a bit of a hard time letting go, both mentally and physically. For instance, she crossed his mind more often than should, especially four years after they broke up -- the many pictures dispersed throughout his apartment of the two of them really didn't help much, either. But, maybe he could have some sort of new beginning with Serenity. Maybe this was his chance to finally start moving on.

He shook his head in disagreement, looking at the ground as he fussed with the hem of his white shirt, doing his best to avoid any eye contact with her. "Y-Yeah I am, and you don't deserve it." Jasper stuttered, his mind running through ways he could possibly make up for his harsh and rude behavior toward her. "I feel like I should --" His voice got cut off as Serenity caught him mid-sentence, silencing him the instant her lips touched his. His heart began to beat erratically as his eyes fluttered to a close, both his body and mind completely immersed in their short yet wonderful kiss. He leaned in closer to kiss her back, only to find that she had already pulled away. Confusion struck him as he listened to her voice, still caught halfway between a dream and reality. He shook his head in response to her words, refusing to let her get away from him so quickly. She had just given him the greatest thrill he had felt in years -- there was no way it was going to end in a hurry.

"No, please..." Jasper begged earnestly, sounding breathless and overwhelmed. He didn't bother to wait for a response before he pulled her closer and passionately pressed his lips to hers, leaning back against the door frame as he kissed her. It probably wasn't the best place to start making out, considering it was the threshold between a hallway filled with people, and a classroom filled with teenagers. Obviously, though, Jasper wasn't phased much by it. He was the happiest he had been in a long time, and there was no way he was going to let a few wandering pairs of eyes stop him from expressing it.

[Serenity Lane]

Her jaw dropped some, "I am not wierd." she laughed, looking down slightly. She heard him, he'd probably think she was wierd for the whole mechanical baby thing. "Ah. Yeah..." she muttered. "Failed that accually."

She frowned some, and nodded, "You don't have to tell me all these things." she said, "I don't need to pry." she laughed slightly, kind of feeling sorry for him.

"No. I said you weren't. So you're not." she laughed slightly, looking down after kissing him. She heard his voice and smiled, knowing he wasn't totally freaked out. "Why?" she asked, then closed her eyes, kissing him back. She blushed deeply, her lips parting from his. "Oh. Wow...." she said, her eyes going down, hiding her smile. She glanced at the kids walked past the two, her arms gently on his sides. "That...was amazing." she muttered, still looking away.

[Jasper Devine]

Jasper laughed along with her, finding amusement in her response. Though it kind of frustrated him that Serenity was still mute on the subject at hand, she just looked so cute that it was hard to stay made at her for long. "You are very weird." He said matter-of-factly, though the smile over his face made it apparently he was kidding. However, his tone became a little more serious as he spoke again, gritting his teeth slightly in determination, "... especially since you won't tell me what got you so upset." He was concerned about her, probably more so than he should be considering they only met a few hours ago. Plus, it was hard for Jasper to just let something like this go. If he didn't find out now, there was no doubt that it was just going to sit in the back of his head and bother him, at least for the rest of the night. He might even end up losing sleep over it, and if there was one vital aspect in keeping Jasper as calm and collected the next morning, it was his rest. So, if he ended up coming in cranky and unhappy the next morning, he knew where to place the blame.

Luckily, his unpleasant thoughts got cut off as Serenity spoke, his eyes wandering back up to look at her. Oh, right. He just met her -- it was probably strange to just start dropping sad stories about previous love affairs so early on in their acquaintanceship. "I'm sorry, I didn't mean to just start dumping shit on you. I was just... thinking, I guess." Jasper shrugged his shoulders apologetically, a small sigh escaping his lips. Well, that probably made things a little awkward for her. Whoops. Oh well -- it must not have been too bad, considering she didn't run out on him again.

Again, Jasper laughed, a little quieter and more thoughtful than previously. "Well, I guess it must be true, then." He said softly, smiling warmly in her direction. It was kind of weird to think, but considering their young age and tiny stature, it was probably easy for people passing by to mistake them for students. This wasn't really a bad thing, though, since the only kids he'd have to worry about giving an explanation to were the ones in his classroom. They'd probably all run out and tell their friends everything immediately after class and have some big, crazy rumor about the two of them within the next hour, but until then, Jasper figured it was best to just enjoy the moment. "I'm glad you enjoyed it." He said with a smile, letting his hands rest gently at her hips.

Honestly, the temptation was there to kiss her again, to just continue until things turned into a full-blown makeout session. But, considering they were in a school and meant to be "working," two was probably best for now. Plus, Jasper didn't want to rush things. It felt like he actually had some sort of chance with Serenity, and he didn't want to screw it up by taking things too fast.

[Serenity Lane]

Serenity smiled slightly, "I like being wierd, accually. People don't expect you to do the normal things in life." she shrugged, her eyes wandering over his face. "Just. Please... forget that." she forced another smile. "I promise, I'll tell you later, if and when I am ready." she said, looking down away from him. She heard his apology, sighing. "Don't apologise to me. Really, I like hearing about people's life. Why they are, the way they are. What made their life better, or worse. In your case, I'm sure its better. I'm sure your child is adorable." she laughed softly, "And I know.... you don't regret one moment." she added, staying close to the male.

Looking down still, she laughed. "Yeah." she said, "I'm kinda glad all of this happened, you know? I've never met anyone like you. You accually talk, other guys.... just want to get into your pants." she said, glancing up at him. She managed to smile again and nodded, "I'm glad I did too. My heart is still racing." she said, "And I haven't smiled so much in...well forever." she added.

Temptation also filled her, wanting to kiss him more, and more. His lips were like a drug to her now, she needed him. "Maybe we should go in there, before all of them kill each other." she said, hearing it starting to get loud inside. The door was closed, she could hear them perfectly. She took his hand, opening the door, pulling him inside gently. She let go though, once they were in. She was sure if any of his students saw them, they'd start something up. They probably thought they were both in school still, since Jasper still looked about eighteen.

[Jasper Devine]

Her answer was far from what Jasper was expecting, suddenly beginning to feel disgruntled by Serenity's reluctance to give him a straight answer. He rested his face in his palm, shaking his head in defeat as she spoke, taking note of only two words: if and when. "You're killing me." He whined, roughly slicking his fingers back through his thick hair, "I really think you might be the death of me." Basically, she was trying to gently tell him he was never going to find out, so to just chill the fuck out about it and let it go. But, that was the problem; Jasper had issues letting go of things, especially something like this. She ran out of the room crying for Christ's sake -- there must've been something he did to upset her, and there must be something he could do to make up for it. But, it was had to try to repay her if she kept beating around the bush when he asked her what exactly it was that he did to make her so distressed. She claimed it wasn't his fault, that it was something else entirely, but what else could it be? It wasn't like she was talking on her cell phone, or on a computer or something. No, she was talking to him. So, it only made sense that something he did was the reason for her sadness, right? Jasper sighed heavily, feeling a slight headache coming on.

Closing his eyes, he let his mind went back and forth on the subject, still trying to decipher Serenity's cryptic response. In fact, he was so deep in thought over the situation that he barely heard anything else she was saying. He nodded a few times subconsciously, and though he picked up a few of her words here and there, it was probably very obvious Jasper heard little to none of what she was talking about. Oh, whoops. He smiled and laughed a little, hearing the words 'child' and 'adorable' drip off of her lips. "Yeah..." Jasper began, his voice sounding dreamily and a little spacey, "... she is... kind of adorable." He didn't want to go ahead and start bragging or anything, but he was blessed with a pretty good-looking kid. It sounded cliché coming from a parent, but it was the truth; Emma was a very pretty girl. Jasper couldn't really take much credit for his daughter's looks, though, since, as much as he hated to admit it, radiant beauty was Juliet's department, not his.

He let his hands fall at his sides once again, finally opening his eyes in order to give her the attention she deserved. His cheeks flushed a light red as she spoke so sweetly about him, a sheepish grin crossing over his face. "Well, I-I don't want to rush things, you know? Last time I did, it all fell apart on me, a-and..." Jasper hung his head, the volume of his voice lowering, "I don't want that to happen again. I want to get it right this time, with you." Boy, did that sound schmaltzy, or what? He looked up at her from under his eyelashes, suddenly beginning to feel a little stupid. God, did he sound like such a sap. She probably thought he was some sort of tool, for though he meant it to sound as sincere as possible, his word choice probably made it sound cheesy and moronic. Jasper looked down at the ground again, a sense of embarrassment showing though his pale face.

A nervous laugh of agreement rolled off of his lips at Serenity's next comment, finally working up the courage to look at her again. "Yeah... it's been a while for me, too." Well, that was kind of a lie. Jasper couldn't help but smile at least once a day, simply because he had Emma to brighten up his life. But, it had been quite a long time since a woman around his own age made him smile as much as Serenity had that day. Jasper probably wouldn't admit it, but it was the first time in a few years that he felt genuinely happy around another adult. So... his statement was partially true, in a twisted kind of way.

He sighed heavily, frowning as he glanced into the room through the thick window on the door. "Would that be a problem?" He mumbled under his breath, his reluctant voice almost inaudible. Honestly, Jasper kind of forgot he had a class to teach. The thought crossed his mind to just grab her and pull her in the opposite direction, to just run away with her to a nice coffee shop and just talk, or go take a walk through a park or beach or... something. He was down for anything, just as long as she was next to him. But, unfortunately, he spent a little more time thinking on the idea than he should, because she pulled him back into the classroom before he could put his somewhat romantic plan into action. Shit. He frowned, looking down at her with dissatisfaction in his child-like, hazel eyes that made it obvious to anyone that he really didn't want to be there.

[Serenity Lane]

"I'd do nothing to hurt you, Jasper." Serenity replied, smiling up at him. "Like I said, I'll tell you later, when the time comes." she said. "I just thought you were married, and...it kind of upset me. It's all stupid, really." she said, her eyes moving from his hand going through his hair, to the ground.

She didn't mind him not listening, knowing he was probably thinking about what she had said not long ago. "I bet." she smiled, listening to his voice. It was dreamy sounding, and adorable. "Maybe one day I'll get to meet her." she said quietly, looking down.

"Yeah." she said, "Rushing works for some people but not others." she shrugged. "Things happen." she added. Another smile came to her face, a surprised one. I want to get it right this time, with you.

[/u] Did that mean he wanted to be with her, that he was interested? "What do you mean?" she asked, her cheeks going almost red. She liked how he spoke, how sweet he was.

She laughed slightly, "Well that's aweful. You have a very stunning smile." she said, looking down again with a smile.

She ignored how unsatisfied he seemed. "Sorry if I ruined any of your plans. We can go after this class." she teased, pulling him over to his chair. She let him sit in hers, and spoke to the class. "Okay guys. Do whatever.... as long as it's legal." she said, walking back over to Jasper, sitting in her seat, smiling at him. [/blockquote]

[Jasper Devine]

Jasper started to let out another heavy sigh of disappointment as she spoke, but stopped short as she finally gave a straightforward answer. His eyes looked like they were about to pop right out of his skull as she explained, his jaw dropping to the floor in shock. That was it? She got all upset over whether or not he was married? And he thought he actually did something to hurt her. Jesus Christ, she got him all worked up for something. "Wait -- t-t-that's it? Really? Are you kidding?" He scrambled for words, unable to really grasp the fact that that's all there was. Boy, did he feel kind of stupid -- and gypped. Here Jasper was, freaking out over whether he said or did something wrong, only to find that the real concern was his nonexistent marital status."Dear God, I thought I said something, or did -- something --" He couldn't help but laugh at the prospect of being married to Juliet. Yeah, it was something he considered... once upon a time. Things have definitely changed since then. "Oh my God, no. That's -- I mean, I thought about it, but now -- Jesus, no." Shaking his head, Jasper smiled a little, feeling relieved that that's all it was. At least now he could go home and sleep peacefully, without having to worry about how he screwed up his friendship with Serenity.

Jasper's smile widened as she mentioned meeting his daughter. It might be nice to take Serenity to meet her, or vice versa. Emma really didn't get to spend a lot of time with her mother. In fact, Juliet really only dropped by his apartment for one reason: money. If she wasn't paying the child support she owed him every month, she was feeding him some cock-and-bull story about why she didn't have it, and why he should lend her a couple bucks. So, maybe hanging around with Serenity would be good for her. "Yeah, that might be nice." He said, his voice equally as soft as he gave a small nod of his head.

However, his delight faded as she began to speak again, his discomfort becoming enhanced by her question. Oh, great. Maybe he spoke too soon -- if he didn't ruin their friendship before, he sure as hell did now, with a stupid, soppy comment like that. "What... what do you mean, what do I mean?" Jasper shot back nervously, trying in vain to figure out whether she was happy or creeped out with his remark. However, much to his dismay, she appeared to be the latter of the two. He bit his lip, hanging his head as she waited to hear her response.

He looked up again once Serenity grabbed his arm, dragging him over to her chair and sitting him down like some sort of child in timeout. Well, now what was she doing? However, his confusion disappeared quickly, a grin forming once again over his pale face. "My, what a wonderful teacher you are." Jasper complimented teasingly, laughing a little at her carefree tactics. Not that he was complaining, of course -- after all, he was quite glad to be rid of the responsibilities of teaching, even if it was only for one day.

[Serenity Lane]

Watching his jaw drop, she looked down some, listening to him speak. He made her feel kind of stupid now. "I'm sorry." she said, glancing up to him again. "I told you not to worry about it." she said, looking to the class. She knew a few were probably listening in.

Serenity looked up. "Yeah. I really love kids. Expecially little kids." she smiled, leaning forward, her knees resting on her thin legs. "I meant. What do you mean, you want to get it right with me?" she asked, smiling still. "I certainly hope everything between us will be good." she added, looking to the ground again. She felt embarassed, and her stomach was filled with butterflies.

"I know, right? I'm amazing," she said, laughing lightly. "So um... do you wanna go get coffee, or something after school?" she asked. "Oh wait. You have to pick up your kid." she said, feeling stupid she forgot. "How about...some other time, we can go out, get something to eat?" she asked. She didn't feel odd that she was the one asking him out.

[Jasper Devine]

Jasper laughed again, reached his hand up, and ruffled her soft, dark hair, similiar to what an older brother might do to a sibling. "Don't be, though." He insisted, his tone of voice turning into a child-like whine. Hearing her apologize every five minutes made him feel bad, especially since she didn't need to. Plus, he said 'I'm sorry' enough on his own -- he didn't need to hear it from her, too. "Yeah... I guess you were right." Jasper said with a smile in an attempt to make her feel better. He shoved his hands in his pockets and leaned back against the wall, shaking his head a little. "... can't believe you thought I was married." Again, he laughed, unable to help from teasing her a little bit more. Well, so much for making her feel a little better.

His laughter subsided once she began to talk about kids, thinking of his own in particular. Yeah, maybe it would be a nice idea for Emma to meet Serenity. After all, every little girl needed some kind of motherly figure in their life, right? And as effeminate as Jasper was most of the time, he really couldn't give her advice on boys, or... well, other feminine issues that girls suffered from, at least without making it awkward. And since Emelia's own mother was pretty much nonexistent, it might be since for her to have Serenity around, at least as a friend or confidant.

However, before Jasper could respond out loud, she again continued to question what he meant by his sad, pathetic attempt at speaking romantically. "W-Well..." He began, unable to come up with an explanation. What did she think he meant? Last time he checked, his words were pretty straightforward. "So do I," Jasper replied quickly, "I just, I don't... want to screw this up, you know?" He shrugged his shoulders, trying to make it seem like it wasn't a big deal, as his eyes dropped toward the ground.

A smile returned to his face as he heard her laugh, listening intently at her proposal to go do something. Like a date? A mixture of excitement and nervousness washed over him suddenly, though he did his best to appear calm, not wanting to worry her or anything. Again, Jasper shrugged his shoulders, "Well, we could still go today, if you don't mind her tagging along." He suggested softly, "And then maybe we can set aside a different day for the two of us to have dinner, or see a movie, or... something. Whatever you want to do."

[Serenity Lane]

Serenity smiled slightly as he said she shouldn't, though she still did. She ignored her now messy hair, and looked to him. She nodded slightly, he did make her feel a little bit better, until he laughed again. Her lips went into a small frown, looking down to the floor again.

She really did want to meet Emma. She loved kids, and girls were easier to control, and talk to, than boys. Maybe the girl would be even easier to talk to than Jasper.

"Screw what up Jasper? So far, you haven't said one wrong thing." she said, watching him. She got up, walking over to him. Looking at his eyes drop down, she leaned in, kissing his lips softly, it was more of a peck though. "I'm sorry. Couldn't help it. You look so... well... attractive." she said, her arms going around him softly.

"I don't mind her coming. That only means I get to meet her." she stated, moving her arms away from him. "Both of those ideas work." she said, glancing up to him, still close to him though. She really did forget the highschoolers were there, until the bell rang. Soon, they were all out, off to gossip about the two adults. "Oh god..." she said, looking down, "I'm so sorry... I forgot they were here." she wimpered.