A pair of emotional conversations.

Chapter 4 – Finally Making some Progress.

When Jason walked in the front door, Heather was there on the couch, watching a movie. “Hello, Heather.” He said, looking away. “Chloe sent half a pizza, if you want any.” He held up the box. “I’ll set it on the table and head to my room, so as not to bug you.”

“Jason, wait.” Heather said, pausing her movie and getting to her feet.

Jason took two more steps to get in reach of the dining room table and set the pizza down, and then dropped his backpack next to a chair before turning to face Heather again. He really didn’t want to have this conversation now.

But Heather didn’t look angry at him for once. She actually looked nervous. “Kate and I had a long talk after you left.” She said after a moment, so far refusing to meet his eyes. “She… she made me promise to apologize…”

Jason’s eyebrows went up at that one, and Heather looked up in time to see the impression, “Don’t get any wrong ideas, perv, this doesn’t mean… fuck! No, I’m sorry for calling you a perv…”

“I know smack-talking is kind of your thing, I know you don’t usually mean anything by it.”

She offered him a grateful smile, “Yeah, but I know it bothers you when I call you that.”

“So just call me dick-head or something a little less on-the-nose.” He suggested, and Heather chuckled, her smile growing more genuine.

“I sometimes forget how alright you can be when you’re not… well you know.”

He shrugged, and waved her off, “Most the time it doesn’t bother me. I just wish you and I could get along more, even if you insult me.”

Heather nodded, “Yeah, I’d like that too. So uh…”

“Apology accepted.” Jason acknowledged, when she trailed off.

“No, stop that! I haven’t even apologized properly yet, idiot.”

Jason blinked a few times at her, “Alright then, go ahead.”

Heather took a deep breath and took a few steps towards him, “Kate said your penalty for losing the bet gets transferred to me, because I was such a bitch to you.” She got out quickly.

“Wait, what?” Jason actually took a step back.

“Well don’t look so happy about it.” Heather said, scowling at him.

“So you mean, you have to…”

“Kiss your ass, yeah. Now turn around and stand there, and no funny business okay? Let’s get this shit over with.”

“Define ‘funny business’?” Jason asked, still wary.

“Like, no popping a boner, dick-face, and keep your hands to yourself.” She glared at him, but also looked extremely embarrassed.

“You know I can’t control that first one…” Jason protested.

“Ugh! Just turn around, and let me do this before I chicken the fuck out.”

“No, Heather. I’m not some **** teen. If you’re sincere about doing this to make it up to me and Kate, you don’t get to put stupid stipulations on it.” Jason said forcefully, taking a step towards the blonde girl, and forcing her to take a step back.

Her lip trembled, and Jason was worried that he might have gone too far, but he was sick and tired of letting her get away with mistreating him, especially now that she was actively acknowledging it. But finally she nodded, “Okay fine. But if you do get hard, please just keep it to yourself. This is embarrassing enough for me as it is, even with no one here watching.”

“Why?” Jason asked, his annoyance abating, and his mood changing to curiosity. “Surely, you’ve seen a guy get horny before…”

“I’m not a slut!” Heather growled.

“I didn’t say you were.”

“Yeah, but that’s what everyone thinks of me.”

“Even if you were, I wouldn’t judge you for it. What you do and who you do it with isn’t my business. It’s not like we’re dating or anything.”

“What is this; twenty shitty questions now?”

Jason growled, “I didn’t even ask a question.”

Heather covered her face, “God! Why am I such a bitch? I’m so fucking terrible at this.”

Jason sighed, “Maybe you just don’t have enough practice at being nice.”

“Are we gonna do this?” Heather asked, meeting his gaze once more.

“Heather. We don’t have to do this tonight. Maybe it would be better to wait a little, if you’re really sure you want to go through with this.”

She looked grateful, but then sighed, “I promised Kate I would apologize.”

“Then do that and we’ll leave the penalty for later.”

She nodded, then turned to face him fully, took a deep breath, and gave a Japanese style bow, her hair falling forward to conceal her face. “I’m really sorry Jason. I’m sorry for being such a bitch, and for always calling you a perv, and for throwing shit at you, and for being such a bad friend and roommate, and… and…”

“Apology accepted.” Jason said.

“But, I wasn’t finished yet.”

“It’s okay; I think you covered the most important parts.” He told her.

She stood back up, and looked at him, finally smiling again. “Thank you, for not making this too difficult.”

“You’re welcome.” He replied, smiling back. Then opened his arms.

She stared at him for a moment, then her eyes went wide, “What?”

“No hug?” He asked, smirking to let her know he was teasing.

Heather chuckled, and surprised him by stepping forward and wrapping her arms around him, squeezing him tight and pressing her nose into his chest, and mumbling something against his shirt that he couldn’t quite make out.

“What was that?”

“I said, you’re an ass.” She repeated, pulling back slightly to look at him.

“I’m not going to refute that, but mine’s nowhere near as nice as yours.”

“Damn straight!” Heather agreed with a giggle. “Now let me go before you poke me with your dick.”

Jason did as she asked, but added, “You’re hot, but I’ve got a little more control than that.”

“Good to know.” Heather said, turning and walking back to the couch. “Now get the fuck out of here before I vomit from all this sweetness.”

“Have a good night, Heather.” He said as he picked up his backpack and went towards his bedroom.

“Night, Dick-for-brains.” She called back, her tone affectionate.

Jason knocked lightly on the door as he opened it. “Come in.” Alex called to him, and he entered, coming past the entryway far enough to see her sitting up in her bed. Though this time, her school books were nowhere to be seen. It looked like she’d actually been laying down before he’d come in, and she was already wearing her pajamas; another of his old shirts and a pair of loose shorts that covered her to about mid-thigh.

“Hey, Alex. How you feeling?” He asked.

“Better. I’ve been kind of moping all day, trying to figure everything out. But… I started feeling a lot better about an hour ago.” She explained, offering him a smile.

He smiled back, “That’s great. I’m really sorry for springing this on you. I feel like I could have handled that whole thing better.”

“Probably, but we can just do better moving forward.” She told him then reached a hand toward him, “Come here, Bear.”

Jason moved to the side of her bed and took her outstretched hand in his, “I really need a hug.” She said softly, and so he sat down next to her on the bed, and leaned in to wrap his arms around her.

She held him tightly, and he returned the fierceness of her grip, rocking her gently as she sniffled against his shirt, turning her face sideways as they just held each other for a long moment. “Are you ready to talk about us now?” He asked after several minutes had passed in silence.

“I guess.” She didn’t sound very enthusiastic, but Jason was just glad she was willing to try.

“So, what do you want to do about this moving forward? Should we hang around each other naked when it’s just us in our room together?” He asked her, trying to keep his tone playful.

She chuckled, but didn’t look up at him, or relax her embrace. “Might be a bit risky, unless we start locking the door more often.”

“Want me to lock the door right now?” He asked.

“What?!” She pulled back to look at his face, “We’re not gonna… no. Not right now, ass.” She swatted his chest but without any real ****.

“Okay, but I should probably at least go put my backpack away, and set my phone charging. And even if we’re not planning anything specific, I’ll still lock the door so our conversation will be ensured to be private, okay?”

Alex let go of him, and nodded, “Alright.” She agreed.

So he did as he’d said, first locking the door to their bedroom, putting his backpack next to his closet, and then quickly changing out of the clothes he’d worn to class and into sweat pants and a t-shirt comfortable enough to sleep in.

But while he was behind the privacy screen out of sight of his sister he checked his phone, noting that he had new messages on Skype before checking a few profiles.

Alexandra Kelly

Relationship: Brother, Confidant

Prominent Attitudes (out of 100): Affection 92 (+1), Friendship 71, Love 71, Playfulness 68, Loyalty 60 (+1), Protectiveness 49, Admiration 38, Trust 37, Worry 31, Lust 18 (+3), Submissiveness 13

Special Traits: Fantasy Crush, **** Kink, Taboo Kink

Suppressed Traits: Secret Shame*

Temporary Traits: Cautious Lust, Lesser Protective Ward

Active Effects: Suppress special trait (Secret Shame).

So, a new temporary trait, and some positive progress including lust.

Heather Chase

Relationship: Rival, Roommate

Prominent Attitudes (out of 100): Affection 21, Hostility 19 (-2), Resentment 17 (-2), Loyalty 13 (+3), Dominance 11, Beholden 6 (+4), Playfulness 4, Lust 4*

Special Traits: Cocktease, Drama Queen

Active Effects: Awaken Attitude (Lust)

Temporary Traits: Lesser Protective Ward, Peacemaker

Jason was momentarily stunned. He hadn’t expected most of these changes, and certainly hadn’t expected such dramatic changes to Heather of all people. He guessed her fight with Kate had really made her take a look at her behavior even more than since the last time he’d checked her profile. He would have to remember to thank Kate later, he supposed.

“Jason?” His sister called, and while he might have liked to check a few more things, he had more important places to be at present, so he left his phone charging on his nightstand and returned to his sister’s bed where she made room for him to lay down next to her and wrap her in a comfortable embrace once more.

“I see you got changed.” She observed, settling down in his arms. “Should I read anything into that?”

“I wanted to be comfortable while we’re cuddling.” He said simply, and relaxed his grip slightly while his sister shifted onto her side facing away from him, then pushed back a little so he was spooning her.

“So, uh. I guess we should discuss details; rules?”

“Sure. Got any ideas?” Jason closed his eyes and breathed in his sister’s scent.

“Well, how far do we want to go with this? Are we just looking, and I guess cuddling and stuff? Or would you want to go further than that?” She asked.

“I’m okay with going further, if you are.”

Alex stiffened, but didn’t pull away, seeming to consider his suggestion for a long moment, “How much further?” She asked at last.

“We can take it a little at a time.” He responded.

Alex nodded, her hair moving against his chin. “I’m not sure how much further I’d be willing to go, at least while you’re dating Stephani.”

“I’m not.” Jason told her, sighing.

“Not what?”

“I’m not dating Stephani. Do you know what a catfish is?”

“A what?!” Alex turned to try and look up at him.

“You know those stories about people meeting someone online who pretends to be someone else to extort money or gifts from someone?”

Alex eyes widened, “That bitch!” She said, angrily, turning to face Jason a bit more, and putting a little distance between them in the process.

“Yeah, I’m trying to figure out how to get a confession, maybe a little retribution in the process, but nothing malicious. Just feel like I deserve some recompense.”

Alex cuddled into him a little more, this time with her face against his shoulder. “I’m really sorry; I know you cared a lot about her. Well, I guess if you and I do stuff, I’ll say it has to end if one of us gets into a real relationship with anyone else.”

Jason sighed again, “Yeah, that may have already happened too.”

“What do you mean?” She pulled back and looked into his eyes once more.

“Well, when I hung out with Chloe last night, I told her what I just told you about Stephani, and we talked about dating a bit the two of us.”

“That’s fast.”

“Or slow, considering how long we’ve known each other, and how close we’ve gotten over the years. Anyways, she helped me decide to end the relationship with Stephani, though I’m still going to pretend to be dating her as I said.”

“So, I’m what, someone for you to toy with behind Chloe’s back?” She asked, her tone and her expression accusatory.

“No!” Jason said quickly, “No, Chloe knows about you, sort of.”

“What do you mean, sort of?! You and I couldn’t have known we were going to admit all this to each other.”

“Chloe is… she’s dealing with some issues; something that happened to her when she was younger, but I don’t know the details, and it’s not really my place to share them if I did, but the short of it is that she can’t be in a physical relationship right now. I’m trying to help her work through her issues, as much as I can, and she likes the idea of sharing me, and it seems to help her to know that she’s not my only option. It probably wouldn’t have been my first choice, even though I know it must sound like most guys’ secret dream, but if it helps her, I’m willing to at least explore the idea, and see if anyone else I care about is willing, and so long as no one gets hurt. She doesn’t want my first time to be with her. She suggested that I date other people in addition to her, and even suspected you might be open to getting physical with me. So, I guess if you’re okay with sharing me, she seems to want that. And it’s not like you and I could have a typical relationship anyways, so something like this seems like it could be a good fit. I’m not just trying to be a player, you can ask Chloe about this yourself if you don’t believe me. To be honest, I’m still getting used to the idea, I never expected I’d be in a situation like this. She also said I shouldn’t lie to you about our relationship. She wants to keep it a secret from people in general, but she said I should tell you if it looked like you might want to get intimate. But first and foremost, I want you to feel comfortable, so if this is too much, we don’t have to do anything more than we’re doing now.”

“This is a lot to take in.”

“I hope you’re not mad at me, or Chloe.” Jason whispered. “You know we both love you, right?”

“Yeah, I do.” Alex murmured then chuckled softly, “Usually I’m the one saying stuff like that to you.”

“And, you’ve said it often enough, I think I’m even starting to believe it.” Jason assured her.

“Well that’s good.” She turned again to lay on her back, staring up at the ceiling now. “Well, outside of Chloe, I guess, we have to be really careful. No one else can know if we decide to do things that siblings generally should never do.”

“I won’t tell anyone, unless we discuss it first and both agree that someone specific, like say Heather, can know.”

“And we can’t make a baby. And I’m not just talking about using protection, but multiple forms of protection, anything we can do to reduce the odds to statistical zero.”

“You might be getting a little ahead of yourself with that one. So far we’re just cuddling.”

“I’m serious.” Alex hissed, “I’m not even going to discuss it without that ground rule, even if we never get that far.”

“Okay fine.” Jason held up his free hand, “I can agree to that. Anything else?”

Alex gave it about half a minute of thought, “No… but if I think of anything else, I’ll let you know.” She finally shifted back around to face away from him and let him pull her back against him, spooning her once more.

“I have an idea.” Jason said after a moment, smiling against his sister’s hair in the darkness.

“Hmm?” Alex asked, sounding a bit sleepy.

“I want to try some things, and if anything makes you uncomfortable, or you want me to stop for any reason at all, just say ‘apricots’. Okay?”

“Like a safe word?” She asked, turning her head a little toward him.

“Exactly!” Jason grinned then lifted his hand that was wrapped around her, that had been resting on one of her arms, but before he could touch her anywhere more intimate, his sister interrupted.

“Apricots.” She said sharply.

“But… I hadn’t even started anything…”

“I know.” Alex sounded apologetic. “But it’s late, and we just got done clearing things up and getting started, and I’d rather just cuddle till we both fall asleep than try to push for anything new right now. Besides, I still have school in the morning, and you’ve already kept me up. So just hold me, okay?”

Jason nodded, knowing she could feel the movement. “Alright. Maybe tomorrow night.”

“We’ll see.” She promised.

Jason settled back down against her, wrapping his arms back around her and holding her tightly, and despite how alert he felt, he fell asleep before he knew it.