Louise

I tried not to watch as Jason nervously walked over to Caitlin but I couldn't help it. Between those two and then Mason and Lily, I felt kind of left out and lonely but I knew that I was doing the right thing. Just because I couldn't have Jason, didn't mean that no one else could. I didn't want to be one of those crazy girls that sabotaged anything to do with him just because I was jealous. Believe me, I was tempted to but I knew I couldn't go through with it.

When I'd gone over to talk to Caitlin it began as if we were just having a catch up.

"I haven't seen you in years! You look so grown up!" She'd told me, just like many others had done that night.

Eventually though, I brought up my neighbour.

"So, I saw you checking out Jason over there" I pointed over to the bar where he was ordering drinks and talking to Mason.

"What? No I wasn't!" She said in a flustered state.

"Relax, I don't blame you. He's cute, right?"

"Is he your boyfriend? God, Louise I'm so sorry. If I knew I wouldn't have been staring" She sighed.

"Yes you would. It's a biological impossibility not to" I laughed. "But he's not my boyfriend. We're just friends so you should go over and talk to him". She seemed to scoff at my suggestion.

"I doubt it. I don't know what he'd see in someone like me" She said with her head bowed.

"Caitlin, are you crazy? You're beautiful! I'm amazed you don't have a boyfriend already!" I laughed.

"I did not long ago. He broke up with me a couple of months ago though" She mumbled.

"Oh, I'm sorry to hear that. What happened?"

"Who knows? I guess I just wasn't the girl for him" Caitlin shrugged. Figuring that getting her down wasn't the best course of action, I brought back the reason for our conversation.

"Well, I really think that you and Jason would just be perfect together. He wouldn't hurt you"

"How do you know he'd even like me? He could probably have anyone he wanted" She shrugged.

"Trust me, I know him. He totally would" I smiled. "If you want, I can find out for you?" I suggested. She thought for a moment before nodding her answer.

"Only if you want to, but don't make it obvious I'm asking about him" She pleaded, even though her expression told me that she was excited at the prospect. "That would be totally embarrassing" She laughed.

So after consulting with Jason and successfully convincing him to go over, here I was watching intently as he sat down and introduced himself and began talking to her. I knew from the look on his face as soon as he saw her that he liked her. I couldn't put my finger on it but something in his eyes told me that if he didn't go over and speak to her now, he'd regret it in the future. It was one of those now or never moments, and I would've hated it if he didn't take his chance.

"You ok?" A voice behind me asked.

I turned round to find the sympathetic face of my sister looking down at me quizzically.

"Of course, this party is awesome" I said, bolting out of my chair for reasons unknown to me.

"I mean about that" She nodded towards Jason and Caitlin, knowing full well that I was stalling.

"Sure" I shrugged, trying to mask any disappointment.

"Are you sure? I thought you loved him?" Anna asked.

"Who knows if I really did" I laughed. The fact that I could laugh at the situation felt like a good sign to me. "Either way, they say that if you love something you have to let it go right?"

"Wow. That's pretty cliché, Louise. I thought you hated all that stuff" Anna laughed.

And that's when it dawned on me.

I didn't hate clichés as much as I thought. Because in the end, who decides what's cliché and what isn't? If something that was considered cliché happened to you, would you ignore it and let it pass you by because that particular story had already been told?

In the end, everything is a cliché when you think about it. I was just using it as a cover. I pretended I hated the idea of people letting opportunities slip away from them by holding out for what the modern world told them they could have. But by ignoring real life clichés, I was virtually doing the exact same thing. I was avoiding life too, just in a different way.

As far as epiphanies go, this was the greatest I'd ever experienced.

"I guess I don't" I shrugged, not wanting to give her the details. "I hope you don't mind them talking? She is your friend after all"

"Not at all!" Anna replied, "They do look good huh?"

I looked on once again at my handiwork and saw that they were both smiling and laughing.

"Yeah. They do" I ruefully smiled.

Jason

"Hi there, I hope you don't mind me sitting down?" I said as I approached Caitlin. She swung round and said that she didn't, her eyes widening in surprise as she did so. "I'm Jason" I said as I took the vacant seat next to her.

"Caitlin" She smiled nervously as we shook hands. I hate to sound cheesy but I got a crazy feeling in my gut at the touch of her hand. The way she was looking at me told me that she liked me straight away. It rarely happens but sometimes you can just tell.

"Have you enjoyed the wedding?" I asked.

"It's been amazing! I love weddings. And Anna looks so happy. She deserves this"

"Clark seems like a nice guy too"

"He is! He's a little nerdy but he's really nice" She smiled.

"Hey there's nothing wrong with nerdy!" I laughed, as did she. Then we fell into a similar awkward silence as Louise and I had so often shared. Only this time, I quickly managed to restart the conversation. "So I hear you work in an aquarium? That must be amazing!"

"Did Louise tell you that?"

"Yeah?"

"Well if the gifts shop counts then yeah I work in the aquarium" She giggled as she covered her mouth, presumably to stop me seeing her laughing. I'd never noticed anyone do that before, or if I had then I hadn't picked up on it before.

I spoke to her for the rest of the night and found myself noticing several other nuances about her. Like the way her hair seemed to bounce when she laughed, or how she mouthed the words to songs instead of singing them and most notably how animated her arms became when she told a story. She was absolutely captivating and everything with her seemed to flow naturally. I bought her a drink and thanked Louise on my way back to her.

"It's no trouble. Really" She smiled.

"If it does get a bit much for you, just let me know and I'll stop" I told her, hoping to god that it didn't come to that. "I promise"

"Relax Jason, I'm fine" She smiled. "I think its Lily you need to worry about most"

"What do you mean?"

"Well she came over to tell me how overjoyed she was that she and Mace are finally hooking up and then she caught me staring at you two – not that I was watching or anything! Anyway, she went crazy at first but when I told her that I told you to go for it she calmed down a bit" Lou explained.

"And she's cool with you doing that?" I asked sceptically.

"She is now. To quote her directly, "Fine! I guess I can get down with "Jaitlin" instead" " She sniggered.

"Oh dear Jesus" I laughed at the thought.

"You should go back to her. She'll be getting thirsty" Louise nodded towards the two drinks I was carrying.

"Are you sure?" I asked. I hated that I was constantly bringing it up but I still felt bad about talking to Caitlin in front of Louise. Even if it was her  idea.

"Go! Or do you want me to formally escort you over there?"

"Alright! I'm going!" I laughed before turning away and walking towards Caitlin. However, I quickly stopped and turned again. "Thank you. Seriously" I said in the most sincere way that I could. I truly was grateful to Louise for this. I knew it wasn't easy for her but I couldn't even begin to explain how much I appreciated it.

Louise nodded her response to me and I went back to Caitlin.

We continued talking about both of our jobs, her university course in biology and how jealous she was of my apartment. She still lived with her parents whilst she juggled college and her part time job but she was saving for her own place too.

"I just kind of suck at not buying stuff" She sighed.

"You definitely aren't the only one! I bought a beanbag!" I laughed.

"Just what every bachelor pad needs right?"

"Exactly!" I yelled triumphantly.

By the end of the night, we'd exchanged phone numbers and arranged to meet up one night through the next week.

Unlike many first dates I'd had in the past, I wasn't nervous at all about this one. I was excited. Because even though I obviously couldn't see the future, I somehow knew that it was going to be the first of many.

And it was all thanks to Louise Lane.