Sebastian dropped the box he was carrying onto the bed.  "Well, that's the last of it, I think," he said to Jessica.  Jessica turned around when he spoke to her, for she had been trying to open the window to let in the unusually warm fall air.  She grinned and swiped back the hair that had fallen out of her ponytail.  "And I thought that I had a ton of stuff when I moved in here!" she exclaimed once she glanced at all the boxes and suitcases that laid about in the room.  "Well, some of this will go down in the Cave next to T' stuff," he told her.  Jessica just nodded and turned back to the stubborn window.  She gave a grunt as the wood and glass wouldn't budge.  "Here, let me help you," Sebastian told her.  He walked over to where Jessica was.  He put his arms around her and his hands on the window.  He lifted the window with ease and the breeze came in all of a sudden, blowing the wisps of Jessica's hair all around.  Giggling, Jessica turned around.  "Are you going to let me move over or do I have to force my way out?" she said since she still stood between Sebastians arms.  Grinning mischievously, Sebastian dropped his arms, only to place them around Jessica's waist.  "Weelll he said, looking as though he were actually pondering her question.  With that, Jessica took her fingers and placed them directly in Sebastian's ribs, tickling him.  "AUUUGH!  HAHAHA!" Sebastian cried out, laughing as his arms released Jessica.  As soon as she was free, Jessica ran out of the room and down the hallway.  She heard his footsteps following her own.  Laughing, Jessica ran down the stairs next.  All of a sudden, she hit something hard and heard glass shattering.

     Jessica's eyes had closed right after she crashed into...whatever she had crashed into.  Carefully, she opened them and looked at what lay before her.  Much to her dismay, Techno stood there.  He was fuming, looking down at the computer monitor that had crashed to the floor, its glass screen shattered into hundreds of shards.  At this moment, Sebastian had reached the bottom of the stairs and looked at Techno then Jessica.  Sebastian took a step back when Techno glared at Jessica.  "Look what you have done!!!" he started to scream at her.  "That was a $1500 monitor!"  "I'm sorry, Techno...Really, I am," Jessica tried to apologize.  Walking to the nearby broom closet, Techno told her, "Just go away.  Don't talk to me, don't bother me.  Leave me alone and let me clean up this mess that YOU made."  With that, he began to sweep up the glass shards.  Jessica just sighed and climbed back up the staircase.  Sebastian wasn't far behind her.

     Sebastian followed Jessica into her room and shut the door.  "He's going to kill me," Jessica said quietly, sitting down on the couch by the bay window.  Sebastian sat beside her and reached for her hand.  "It was an accident, Jess.  And I'm sure that T knows it was.  Just give him some time to cool off."  "Yeah, I suppose," Jessica said.  She then leaned into Sebastians shoulder and sighed.  I will find a way to fix this...somehow, she told herself silently.

     A couple days later after her run-in with Techno, Jessica was driving home from school when she saw a sign saying "Help Wanted" in the window of her favorite pizza joint.  Slowing down, she pulled into the parking lot.  Grabbing her purse, Jessica stepped out of her car, locked the door, and shut it.  Walking inside the building, Jessica was greeted with the fine aroma of pizzas baking.  Walking up to the counter, she rang the bell that sat there.  In a few moments, a young man walked up to the front.  "How may I help you?" he asked her.  "I saw your "Help Wanted" sign in the window and would like to inquire about it," she told him.  The man nodded and pulled out an application from behind the counter.  He handed it to her and said, "The position is for a waitress and sometimes cook.  The hours are 11:00-2:00 Monday, Tuesday, Thursday, and Friday.  And from 10:00-4:30 on the weekends, Sunday included."  Jessica smiled at him and nodded a thank you.  Walking over to a booth, she sat down and filled out the application. 

     She was almost done when the man who had helped her sat down across from her.  "Almost done?" he asked her.  Jessica looked up into his coffee brown eyes.  "Yeah, I just got to sign it here" she said, then signed it.  Putting the cap back on her pen, she passed the application over to the man.  He studied it and nodded.  "It looks like you have some good experience in the pizza business."  Jessica smiled.  "Yes, I worked at Big Cheese in Salina for a while.  I really enjoyed it there."  The man just nodded as he continued to go through the application.  "Well," he began, "I really don't see any reason as to why you shouldn't be working here, so you're hired."  He looked up and flashed a smile of pearly white teeth.  Extending his hand, he said, "My name is Jacob Denning.  I'm the manager here."  Jessica took his hand and shook it.  "My name is Jessica, but people call me Jess."  "Ok, then, Jess," said Jacob, shaking her hand.  Letting her hand go, he stood up.  "Follow me here to the back."  Jessica stood up and followed him around the counter and into the dry storage area.  Reaching up to a top shelf, he pulled down three shirts.  Jacob handed them to her.  "These are what you need to wear when you're working," he told her.  Then he grabbed a waitress apron from a lower shelf and handed it to her also.  "Always bring this, even though you won't always be working out front.  Most of the time you will, but that won't be determined until shift change."  Jessica nodded at everything he told her.  Turning towards her, he smiled again.  "Be here tomorrow at 11:00 since it'll be Thursday.  I'll help you get started then."  Jessica smiled.  "Alright, that'll work.  Thanks for hiring me!" she said as they headed back towards the lobby.  "Not a problem.  I'll see you at 11:00 tomorrow then," he told her as she walked out the door.  Climbing back into her car, Jessica grinned.  She finally had a job!

     The next day, Jessica was up bright and early in order to shower and get around in plenty of time before she went to work.  Right as soon as she got up, Jessica headed down to the kitchen to find something to eat.  Sally was sitting at the table, eating a bowl of Lucky Charms and reading the UTH newspaper.  When Jessica walked in and to the fridge, Sally looked at her watch.  "What are you doing up so early?" Sally asked Jessica.  Jessica just plopped herself down on a chair, a couple of oranges, a knife, and a paper towel in her hands.  "I have stuff to do today," Jessica replied as she began to peel one of the oranges.  "What kind of stuff?" Sally continued to probe at her.  "Just stuff," Jessica replied.  "Oookay.  Whatever," Sally said before going back to her bowl of Lucky Charms.  Once Jessica had finished peeling and then eating her oranges, she headed upstairs for a shower. 

     For her first day on the job, Jessica threw on a faded pair of boot-cut jeans and the t-shirt that had been supplied to her by Jacob.  Combing her hair carefully, Jessica braided it into two pigtail braids.  Looking at her clock, she saw that it was already 10:30.  Hurrying, she grabbed her jacket and buttoned it up all the way so as that none of her friends would see what she was about to do.  Quietly, Jessica walked down the hallway and down the stairs to the foray.  She opened the door, only to find Sebastian standing there, about to open the door himself.  Grinning, he stepped in.  "Morning, Jess," he said, giving her a good morning kiss.  "Hi, Sebastian," she said.  She began to walk out the open door when he stopped her.  "Where are you going this early?" he asked her, a smile teasing his lips.  "In fact, why are you up so early? Youre NEVER up this early."  With that, he chuckled.  "Um, I just have to be somewhere by 11:00," she told him, once again trying to leave.  "Well, wait a second...I'll drive you to wherever you need to go," Sebastian said, walking outside with her.  "NO!" she exclaimed.  "Er, I mean...No...Thank you!  I'm going to need my car to get to school anyhow, so I'll just drive this morning."  "Hmm..." Sebastian thought out loud.  "That's true."  Jessica silently sighed with relief.  Leaning down, he kissed her again.  This time, Jessica kissed him back.  "Alright, then.  I'll see you tonight?" he asked her.  Jessica just grinned and rolled her eyes.  "DUH, you goober!  You live here now, remember?"  Sebastian just laughed and said, "Of course. How could I forget that I live in the same residence with such a beautiful lady like yourself?"  Jessica felt her cheeks grow warm when he said this.  Standing on her tiptoes, she gave him a kiss on the cheek.  "See you later," she said. 

     Several minutes later, Jessica walked through the back door of Paul's Perfect Pizza.  She walked around, looking for Jacob.  She saw him walk out of the office on her left.  He looked around and saw her.  "Jess, you're here!  Good, and on time!"  he said, smiling.  Jessica smiled back, however, it was a nervous smile.  Jacob must have sensed something because he asked her, "You ok?"  Jessica just nodded.  "Yeah, just a little nervous," she told him.  Jessica watched as Jacob sighed with relief.  "You have nothing to be nervous about.  We'll go over the abbreviations right now and then I'll let you have free rein in waiting on tables, ok?"  Jessica just nodded.  She followed Jacob to the counter.  He handed her a list of the abbreviations.  "Do any of these look familiar?" he asked her.  Jessica glanced over the list and smiled.  "Yeah, most of them do.  The specialty pizzas, appetizers, and desserts I'll have to get used to yet, but the rest is pretty familiar."  "Good," Jacob said, nodding.  "I'm going to let you take that out there with you on a tray when you take orders.  That way, if you get confused, you will have that list right in front of you."  As soon as he said that, the door rang as an elderly couple came in.  "I'll seat them, and then you can go ahead and take their order," Jacob told her.  Grinning, Jessica began to feel ready to handle this job.

     For the next couple of weeks, Jessica left the mansion at 10:30 each morning, except for Wednesday mornings and weekends.  She always left at 9:30 on weekends.  In fact, she was gone so much that Sebastian began to worry.  One morning, after Jessica had left, he went into the kitchen, where Techno, Zarbon, and the rest of the girls were eating breakfast.  "I'm worried about Jess," he said before sitting down in a chair at the table.  "She's a big girl, Sebastian.  I think that she can handle herself," Dee told him.  "Yeah, but why has she been gone like this the past couple of weeks?"  Tonya shrugged.  "Who knows?"  Sally giggled and said, "Maybe she has a secret lover, Sebastian."  Sebastian just rolled his eyes and smiled.  He wasn't getting anywhere with this bunch.

     Jessica stepped out the back door and took in a deep breath of the cool night air.  Jacob had asked her to work till close that night.  Jessica had hated having to call back to the mansion and try to come up with an excuse.  At least it wasn't rounds night for her.  "Tired?" she heard someone say.  Looking over at the door, she saw Jacob standing there with a platter in his hands.  "Yeah, a little bit," she said, leaning against a light pole that stood near the doorway.  "Here...Have a slice of pizza," he said, holding out the platter to her.  "I made it since I was hungry...And I figured that you would be too."  Grinning, Jessica took a slice of pizza and began to eat it.  Swallowing, a piece became lodged in her throat.  Gagging, Jessica clutched her hands to her throat.  Jacob walked back outside from having put the pizza on a table in the back.  "Jess?  You alright?" he asked her, a frown crossing his face.  Jessica just shook her head and continued to clutch at her throat.  "Oh God...Youre choking!" Jacob exclaimed.  Stepping over by her, he began to perform the Heimlich maneuver on her.  Finally, a piece of pizza flew out from her mouth and Jessica took in a breath of much needed air.  Sputtering, she whispered hoarsely, "Thank you."  Taking her by the arm, Jacob began to lead her inside.  "Let's go get you some water to drink and a chair to sit down in."  Jessica could do nothing but merely let him lead her inside.

     Sebastian had been sitting in his car in a parking lot across the street from the back of Paul's Perfect Pizza.  He had seen Jessica step outside.  He had then seen a man go outside and then inside.  And what he saw next made him clench his jaw tight.  He watched as the man went around and hugged Jessica from behind.  After a few minutes, he watched as Jessica was lead inside the building by the man.  After they were gone, he turned the ignition on and sped out of the parking lot, straight to the mansion.

     Jessica sat down at a table in the dining room as Jacob brought her a glass of water.  He sat it down in front of her before sitting in a chair next to her.  Taking a gulp of the water, Jessica smiled at him.  "Thank you."  Jacob just grinned and said, "Don't mention it.  I'm just glad that you're okay now."  I AM better," Jessica said, taking another sip of her water.  "Hey, Jess?" Jacob asked her after a few minutes of silence.  "Hmm?" she replied, finishing off the glass of water.  "I've been meaning to ask you," he began, "if you'd go to a movie with me sometime."  Jessica sat the glass down on the table. "You mean, as a date?" she asked him, looking him in the eyes.  "Yeah...As a date," he told her, smiling.  Looking down, she sighed.  She looked up again at Jacob and said, "I can't do that, Jacob.  I'm dating someone."  "Ah!" Jacob exclaimed.  He blushed and kind of chuckled.  "Well, now I feel like an idiot."  "No, no!  Don't feel like that," Jessica reassured him.  Grinning, she said, "You know...whoever ends up with you is going to be one very lucky woman.  Jacob ran his fingers through his sandy-blonde hair and smiled.  Looking up at Jessica, he said, "And your boyfriend is one lucky guy."  "Thank you," Jessica said smiling, it being her turn to blush.  "We're still friends though, right?" she asked Jacob.  Jacob smiled that toothy smile again and replied, "You bet."  "Good," Jessica said, standing up.  "Goodnight, Jacob."  Still sitting, Jacob said, "Good night, Jess."

     Jessica got back to the mansion around 1:00 a.m.  Quietly, she climbed up the stairs and went into her room.  As she softly shut the door, a light flipped on from behind her.  Turning around, she saw Sebastian sitting on the couch.  "Hi, Sebastian!"  she said.  She walked over to kiss him, but just as she leaned down, he abruptly stood up.  "Whats wrong?" she asked him.  "Don't play innocent with me, Jessica," he said, turning around to face her.  "What are you talking about?"  she said, going into her closet to change, partially shutting the door for privacy.  "I saw you tonight at Paul's."  Jessica stuck her head out of the closet door.  "You WHAT?"  "You heard me, Jess...I saw you and that...LOVER of yours tonight in the back of Pauls."  Sighing, Jessica ducked back into the closet.  In a few moments, she opened the door, wearing a t-shirt and a pair of sweat pants, which were her pajamas.  "You've got it all wrong, Sebastian," she said, climbing onto her bed.  "Oh, really?" he asked her, raising an eyebrow.  "Why don't you just tell me then what's been going on these past few weeks?"  Jessica leaned back against the headboard of her bed and closed her eyes.  "I can't tell you, Sebastian," she told him.  "Why not?" he demanded.  "Because...Well, I just can't.  You'll find out when it's time for you to find out," she told him, her eyes now having opened.  She glared at him.  "When was I going to know, then, Jessica?  When you broke up with me?"  Sebastian's voice began to get louder.  Climbing down off her bed, Jessica told him, "You're making a big deal of out nothing, Sebastian Lewis."  Now her voice, too, was beginning to raise.  "Making a big deal out of NOTHING?  Don't you think that CHEATING on me is a big deal?"  "Cheating on you?!?!  I thought you knew me better than that, Sebastian," Jessica yelled at him.  "Know you better?" Sebastians voice bellowed out.  "I thought that I knew you well enough not to cheat on me.  Guess I should have never trusted a pot-smoking hippie!!!"  Jessica gasped.  "Well, for your information, I guess I should have never trusted a sneaky COP!"  Jessica fumed and walked over to the door leading out to the hallway.  "In FACT, if you can't trust me, you can just get the hell out of my room and out of my life!!!"  Jessica opened the door.  "Fine," Sebastian said, walking past her.  However, he stopped in the doorway, saying to her, "I'll be moving out just as soon as I can find a place to live."  "Fine!  Go ahead!  See if I care!" Jessica threw at him.  "Fine!" Sebastian said, walking out of the room.  "FINE!" Jessica yelled at him.  Sebastian walked past the girls, Zarbon, and Techno, who, having been wakened from the loud voices, were standing out in the hallway by Jessica's room.  As they all watched Sebastian go down to his room and slam the door shut, Jessica slammed her's shut too.

     Four days passed and Sebastian and Jessica continued to feud.  Whenever their paths crossed, they did nothing but glare at each other.  One night at dinner, since Sebastian was out for that evening, the feud was brought up amongst the girls with Jessica.  "When are you guys going to stop fighting?" Dee asked her.  Jessica just twirled her fork in her spaghetti and said, "You'll have to ask him that."  "I already did," Dee told her.  "And he said the same thing that you did.  Why dont you two just make up, have sex, and get it over with?  I swear...This whole fight is a result of sexual frustration."  With that, Jessica stood up and scraped off her plate of food into the trash.  "I didn't ask to be grilled about this.  And that man and I have nothing to talk about, so butt out."  As soon as she said that, Jessica headed upstairs to get ready for an evening shift that she had agreed to work.

     Jessica was a couple of hours into her shift that evening when she heard the door ring.  The register girl seated the people that had just come in.  "Hey, Jess!  You got people out there!" the girl hollered to the back.  Grabbing a pen and a tray, Jessica walked out into the dining room.  Not looking up, she said, "Hi, my name is Jessica and I'll be your server.  Can I start you off with something to drink?"  "Hi, JED! she heard a familiar voice say.  Looking up, she stared into the eyes of her friend and roommate, Tonya.  "Oh no," Jessica heard escape from her own lips.  The group of girls giggled.  "So THIS is what you have been up to lately!" Sally said, grinning.  "Yeah, it is," Jessica said, sighing, yet smiling too.  Suddenly, she heard a voice ask her, "Here to see your lover, Jess?"  "Wuuh-oh," Sally said.  Jessica turned around, only to see Sebastian standing there.  Professionally, yet cool, Jessica asked him, "What can I get you to drink?"  "JED works here!" Tonya yelled out, smiling.  "Really?" Sebastian asked, his eyes narrowing.  "So what you were doing here last week was work, Jessica?"  Glaring at him, Jessica said, "I told you that there was nothing you needed to worry about and there still isn't!  Now, if you'll excuse me...I'll get someone new to serve you."  Jessica began to walk away. 

     However, when she got to the counter, Sebastian was right behind her.  Whirling around, Jessica glared at him again.  "Why are you following me?  I have a job to do," she said.  She turned back around to head into the back, but not before she heard Sebastian say, "Yeah, I bet it's work that you're going to be doing.  Real physical work."  Jessica growled and turned back around to face him.  "How dare you even suggest such a thing, Sebastian Lewis?"  Right before Sebastian could say anything, Jacob walked up to the counter.  Frowning, he asked Jessica, "Is everything okay here?"  Sebastian's eyes grew wide as he said, "It's YOU, you son-of-a-bitch!"  With that, Sebastian flew over the counter, tackling Jacob to the ground.  He hit Jacob once with a punch and then picked Jessica's boss up off the floor and shoved him against a wall.  "How dare you help her cheat on me!" Sebastian yelled at Jacob.  "What is he talking about?" Jacob asked Jessica, stretching his head to see her.  "He thinks that you and I are cheating!" she told him.  "Cheating?  NO!  Why...Why would you think that?" Jacob asked Sebastian, shivering as Sebastian still held him up against the wall.  "I saw you two making out at the back of this place a few nights ago!"  Sebastian said, giving Jacob another shove.  "I was CHOKING on a piece of PIZZA, Sebastian!" Jessica said, shoving herself between Sebastian and Jacob.  "I knew it, yo---What?" Sebastian asked Jessica.  "I was choking on a piece of late-night pizza and Jacob gave me the HEIMLICH MANEUVER so I could breathe!"  Jessica was glaring up at Sebastian at this time.  Sebastian looked at Jacob and watched Jacob nod at what Jessica was saying.  Leaning back against a wall, Sebastian sighed.  "Ohhhh, man...I've screwed up."  Jessica, however, wasn't finished with Sebastian.  "I can't BEIEVE that you would ever think that, Sebastian Lewis. How could I do that to you since I love you?"  Hearing that, Sebastian looked up at Jessica.  A big smile crossed his face.  "Did you just say that you love me?" he asked her.  Jessica looked back at him and sighed.  "Yeah, I did.  I love you, Sebastian."  With that, Sebastian pulled Jessica into his arms and held her tightly.  Jessica also wrapped her arms around Sebastian tightly.  With tears running down his face, Sebastian whispered into her hair, "I love you too, Jessica.  So very, very much."

     About an hour later, Jessica and Sebastian were about to leave the restaurant.  The rest of the group had already gone home.  Sebastian and Jacob shook hands.  "I'm really sorry about the black eye, man," Sebastian told Jacob.  "Don't worry about it," Jacob replied. "You were only a guy in love with a great woman."  With that, Jessica smiled at both Sebastian and Jacob.  "I'll see you at 11:00 tomorrow, Jess," Jacob told her, smiling.  "You got it.  Goodnight, Jacob," Jessica told him, walking outside with Sebastian.  Once they got to their cars, Sebastian said, "So, honestly?  The only reason you took this job was to pay for that monitor of T's that you broke?"  "Yes," Jessica said, as she felt Sebastian's arms slip around her waist.  "I'm so sorry, Jessica.  Will you forgive me?" he asked her, looking straight into her hazel eyes with his emerald green ones.  "Of course I forgive you, Sebastian!" Jessica exclaimed, smiling.  "How could I not?  I love you."  Sebastian's eyes sparked in love as he lowered his face so that his lips nearly touched hers.  "I love you too," he said right before he kissed her.