"Jason--" His mom protested once more, a guilty yet pained expression settling on her face as she tried to explain to her son what happened.

"No." Jason growled, fuming with an indecipherable amount of anger as he continued. "Just explain to me why you guys have been arguing every single night."

His father sighed, feeling guilty as well for their actions. He knew that Jason had every right to know, but he didn't want to tell him this late, especially when he got home from work a couple hours before. 

"Not tonight Jason." His father stated, sighing once more as he saw the annoyed and irritated look on Jason's face. "It's late and you seem to have been drinking. We will have this conversation tomorrow."

And with that, both of them left the room, leaving Jason overflowing with confusion, hurt, and anger. Half of him agreed with his father, and the other half wanted answers right away. It was too late the make any rash decisions, especially when he was this emotional. Tomorrow would be best. He would be fully rested, and his emotions would be on a level where he could somewhat control them.

Scoffing, Jason tried to contain his indifference and slipped back onto his bed, having trouble falling asleep as the hours flew by.

---

The next morning, Jason was awakened with a small pounding headache. He was glad that he didn't drink that beer Becca had offered him, or else his headache would have been worse. Since it was his first time drinking, that small amount of vodka he consumed made him feel like puking and falling back asleep.

Jason squinted at the bright light illuminating outside and closed his curtains, slipping back into his bed. He remembered what happened last night and inwardly groaned. Today he would talk to his parents and demand a reason as to why they were faking their relationship in front of him and then argue when he wasn't around. Truthfully, it hurt him deep down to see and hear his parents fighting like this. He had always thought that they got along in a healthy relationship. I was wrong. Jason thought, half-amused and half-disappointed.

A part of him dreaded finding out the reason why. It might be beneficial to him or life-changing. Either one could change him either ways, which was the main reason why he was nervous, dreadful, and anxious.

He forced himself out of bed even though his body protested otherwise, and took a long, dragging shower, preparing himself for the morning. When he was all cleaned up, anxiety overcame his emotions. What could happen in a matter of minutes was frightening to him. Nothing this serious had ever disturbed his teenage years, or his childhood.

Jason literally forced himself down the steps, vaguely hearing the quiet bickering between his parents. When he walked into the kitchen, they both composed themselves and maintained eye contact with him, guilt seeping into their expressions almost automatically.

"Jason," His mother began softly, glancing at her husband with discreet eyes. "Your father and I have some bad news."

"What is it?" Jason asked, his voice coming out rough and careless. He didn't mean to, but the words came out before he could decipher or comprehend them.

"Your mother and I are getting a divorce." His father spoke up with absolutely no regret in his tone as he stared straight into Jason's eyes. Jason was shocked. No, shocked would be an understatement. He was appalled, even more so than that. No word in the existence of earth itself could describe what Jason was feeling in that moment. A whirlwind of feelings flew through his body, the most prominent one being anger. The same anger from last night reappeared, this time in full force.

"Is that the reason why you guys were arguing?" Jason asked through clenched teeth, his head pounding more than ever as he tried to comprehend what exactly was happening. He couldn't believe that this was happening. He expected something less. . . serious. They shook their heads, his mother having tears well up in her eyes as she spoke.

"Actually no," His mother said, guilt in her words as she avoided Jason's penetrating gaze. She had never felt this much guilt in the world, and even regretted keeping this from her only son. "We have been arguing because we both couldn't decide who you would live with. . ."

"So, we've given you the choice." Jason's dad finished, looking like he could care less about the situation whereas Jason wanted to punch him, or something else in the face.

Jason was silent for a couple minutes as a million thoughts coursed through his mind. "I'm moving to Florida, and your dad is moving to California." His mother informed softly, still looking at the ground.

"There is no way in hell I'm coming with either of you!" Jason snapped, once again the words flying out of his mouth like he couldn't control them. He felt something bubble within him, like molten hot lava as he thought about leaving his hometown, leaving all of his friends, although few, and even Eliza when he just met up with her after so long. 

"Where are you going to stay Jason?" His father snapped, getting fed up with his son's attitude. "You have no choice."

"I'll stay here!" Jason almost yelled, defending his decision. "In the house. I'm not living with either one of you." Jason retorted, feeling disappointed and hurt that his parents were doing this to him. Why did they have to do this now? He had always thought that his parents were going to be with each other for forever, so this was troubling him as much as this was to his parents. "I'll get a job and support myself,"

"Jason, no!" His mother protested. "Just choose to live with one of us."

He shook his head furiously, dead set on his decision. "I can't live with one of you without missing the other." Jason explained, running a hand through his hair as he paced throughout the kitchen. His headache from earlier was building into a migraine. "I'm staying here." Jason stated, with a tone of finality.

Both of his parents exchanged guilty looks and nodded nonetheless, knowing that they had to at least try to respect his son's opinion. "If that's what you wish." His father walked away, leaving only his mom and Jason in the kitchen.

"When are you guys leaving?" Jason murmured, feeling vulnerable; like a child. For some reason all he wanted was for his mom to hug him and tell him that everything was going to be fine. 

"In one week." His mom spoke up, one tear escaping from her eyes as she silently apologized to Jason. He sighed and walked out of the kitchen as well, not knowing how to deal with all of this all at once. Jason was absolutely terrible at dealing with situations like these. Most of the time he reacted with abrupt anger, which was why he was calm and collected most of the time. He kept in mind anything that irritated him and let it all out when it went overboard.

Looking at the time, Jason decided to call Eliza. He needed a distraction anyways, something that could take his mind off of what was happening. 

"Hello?" Her chirpy voice answered.

"Eliza?" Jason said, a half-smile forming on his face as he heard her sweet voice "It's me, Jason."

"Oh, hey Jason! What's up?" Eliza said, her voice making Jason forget about what was happening between his parents momentarily. 

"Nothing, I just woke up like thirty minutes ago. You wanna hang out?" Jason asked. Hanging out with Eliza would get his mind off of things, even if it was for a little while.

"Sure! Uh, pick me up at my place in an hour." Eliza told him her address and ended the call, saying that she was going to get ready. Jason changed himself into something more suitable and walked outside and into his car.

He had half of an hour until he was supposed to be at her house. not knowing what else to do, Jason occupied himself by playing a random game on his phone until he had to pick Eliza up. With his mind focused on the game, he successfully managed to avoid the topic of his parents while he drove to the address Eliza told him over the phone. Jason walked out of the car and knocked on the front door, hoping he had the right place. He didn't want to imagine the embarrassment that would come if that happened.

Seconds later the door opened, revealing a very excited Eliza. "You ready to go?" Jason asked her, noticing abrubtly how beautiful she looked without the makeup clouding her face. Eliza wore a simple red cardigan and a white shirt, with black jeans and flats. Even with something as simple as that, Jason honestly couldn't help but think she was really pretty, considering most of the girls in his school were not-so-pretty.  

"Yeah, where are we going?" Eliza asked him, curiosity lining her tone as she followed Jason to his car. 

"Its a secret." Jason opened the car door for Eliza and waited until she got in before shutting it, then getting onto his side. He turned on the car and pulled out of her driveway, driving towards the spot where he desperately needed to think, even if Eliza was with him.

"Come on," Eliza pouted, faking mock anger. "Tell me!"

"Nope," Jason insisted, smiling. "My lips are shut." Eliza huffed and stared out the window, looking oddly curious as she watched where he was driving. "The surprise will be worth it." Jason added after a minute passed, watching her reaction as she rolled her eyes.

Eliza turned on the radio to block out the silence. "What's your favourite song?" She suddenly asked.

"I don't have a favourite song," Jason admitted, glancing at Eliza who was looking at him with a crazed expression. "I only like the beats of the songs, so I guess dubstep?"

"At least you like something," Eliza breathed a sigh of relief, although it was quickly replaced with a determined expression. "We need to find you a favourite song that you like not because of the beats."

"Alright," Jason finally smirked, the tension in his body slowly easing away as Eliza distracted him. "It's going to be hard, because I'm very picky with songs."

"Are you doubting my song skills?" Eliza accused, narrowing her eyes.

"Maybe." He avoided her stare, trying not to think how adorably cute she looked by doing that.

"Twenty dollars says I can find you a song sometime today." She bargained, smirking as well.

"A kiss says that you can't." Jason replied swiftly, not realizing what he had said until the last moment. He felt his face heat up.

"Okay," She said, surprising Jason and herself after a moment passed. "Let's do it."

They stayed in silence until Jason stopped in front of a dead end, where the tree's occupied it. "Uh, this is the surprise?" Eliza asked, trying not to sound disappointed, or scared.

"No," Jason responded, getting out the car. Eliza followed. "We need to walk for a little bit."

"Oh, okay." Eliza said. They walked inside the forest in silence, both of them observing the wonders of nature until Jason stopped at a ledge. They both sat down at the edge of it and looked at the breathtaking view. Their small town was right in front of them, showing every single building, tree, and park that was in it. "I guess it was worth it," Eliza said, awestruck.

After a moment of silence, Jason spoke up. "This is where I go whenever I don't know how to handle things."

"What can't you handle, Jason?" Eliza asked, her eyes twinkling in curiosity. Jason sighed, his parents faces appearing in his mind, the most prominent one being his mother. The look of overwhelming guilt, regret, and sadness on her face made Jason's heart twinge with his own sadness.

". . .That my parents are getting a divorce." Jason said quietly, almost inaudibly. Eliza, shocked, tackled him in a tight embrace, burying her head in his shoulder.

"I'm sorry, Jason." Eliza whispered, separating after she saw Jason's eyes fill with such sadness it made her want to crawl into a ball and cry her heart out. 

"They've been arguing every night and then when I'm around, they act as if everything is perfect." Jason almost snapped at Eliza, desperately trying not to get agitated. "They were arguing on who I would go with, because they're moving across the state."

"So you're not going to live here anymore?" Eliza said, her voice filling with her own sadness. Jason shook his head, laughing dryly.

"I told my parents that I was going to stay here, and support myself." Jason said, feeling somewhat proud of his decision, yet the sadness was still lurking.

"Good," Eliza found herself saying. "I-I mean, it's good because you won't leave all of your friends."

"Yeah," Jason said, not listening that much. His mind was thinking about what was going to happen to him next week, when his parents were gone and he was by himself. What would he do? How would he get a job, and support himself?

"Okay!" Eliza said excitedly, snapping Jason out of his deep thought. "It's time to figure out your favourite song." Jason rolled his eyes, pretending to be uninterested when he was curious if she would be able to do so. She took out her iPod and scrolled through her songs and stopped at one of them. "Listen to this."

Jason shook his head as the melody reached his ears. "Nope, that one's too light and soft." For an hour straight, Eliza took his mind off of everything and played hundreds of different songs, none of them interesting Jason that much. Most of the songs she played weren't to his preference, but two or three of them actually interested him. But, Jason wanted his kiss, so he said no to all of the songs and mentally kept note of the ones he did like.

Eliza let out a frustrated sigh. "Your impossible, Jason."

"Are you giving up?" Jason said teasingly, his mood lightening a long time ago.

"Yes!" She rolled her eyes, pushing his shoulder. "You don't like anything!"

He laughed, a rare dimple appearing in his cheek. "I won, so that means I get a kiss." Eliza's eyes widened at the thought of it.

"Uh, no!" She claimed, her face slowly reddening. "I'm just joking! Of course I didn't give up. . ."

"Too late, Eliza!" Jason grinned, leaning in and kissing her softly as his heart thundered loudly.