A/N: Okay, so here it is, this is the story that has been taking up most of my free time and taking me away from 'Save you Later.' This story is a little different than most of my stories. First of all, I have to tell you it started off as a one shot Christmas Fic. It was going to be a Charah take on the story "The Gift of the Magi." (If you are unfamiliar with it Google it) Anyway as I began writing background for the story and setting it up it evolved into something much different. There is still a Christmas element in this but it is not the main focus of the story.

This story takes place with Chuck and Sarah meeting in high school. I have always wanted to do one of these fics where they meet as teenagers. Sarah is Jenny Burton in this story, (by the way I had a hard time writing her name as Jenny and kept writing Sarah, I think I caught them all but if you see a Sarah in here where it should be Jenny, just disregard it.) but she is not the Jenny Burton we have seen in flashbacks on the show. She is pretty much just a younger version of the Sarah Walker we all know and love. The only difference is the CIA hasn't gotten a hold of her just yet, so she's not the emotionless robot that Sarah was in the early days of the show. Not as bad anyway.

There is some dialogue near the end of the story that is directly from an episode of the show. I won't tell you which episode so that I spoil it for you, but any real Chuck fan will be able to pick it out.

Now as for the story, there will some drama, there will be fluff, there will be romance and there will be some heartache. That is my warning to you, read at your own risk.

Oh and I realize the title isn't very original, but my brain is fried, it's all I could come up with. Enjoy!

Disclaimer: I own nothing, so do not try to sue me.

Chuck vs. the New Girl

He sat discreetly in the back of the classroom. His focus on the girl in the front row. Her long blonde hair glistened in the light of the overhead projector. He found her absolutely fascinating. From the way she twirled her hair around her finger when she was disengaged in the teacher's lecture to the way she chewed on the top of her pencil out of frustration when they were surprised with a pop quiz. She was captivating and became the main focus of his life every day for 45 minutes in third period biology. Yes, one thing was certain; Chuck Bartowski was completely and utterly smitten by one Jenny Burton.

Jenny was a new student. She had just moved to town a mere two months ago with her father. No one was really sure what her story was. She kept to herself mostly. Sure she was a knock out; that was obvious. The guys all tried to get close to her, but there wasn't one that she had taken a liking to.

She often sat by herself, a bit of a loner, not much of a talker and a bit of hard ass. Just ask Billy Sampson. Jenny had brought the kid to his knees about two weeks ago, when she caught him stuffing Morgan Grimes into a locker. The kid never saw it coming. Needless to say Morgan hasn't had a problem with him since.

"Chuck?"

He was so lost in thought he didn't even hear his name being called.

"Chuck?" Morgan gave him a poke in the back, finally jostling him and shaking him from his thoughts.

Chuck looked over his shoulder behind him.

"Hey buddy, you got an extra pen?" Morgan asked.

Chuck sighed as he reached down for his backpack and rummaged through it looking for another pen. Eventually he found one and turned to hand it to Morgan.

"Here." He said placing on his desk.

Chuck went to turn back around to face the front of his class when Morgan stopped him. "Hey Chuck. You wanna come over after school, play some Mortal Kombat? My mom is making her famous Macaroni and cheese."

"Sorry Morgan, I can't. I promised Ellie I would get the place cleaned up today; she was kind of ticked about the mess we left last night. She has classes all day and has to work till 11:00 tonight. I promised her the place would be spotless when she got home."

"Mr. Bartowski. Is there something you would like to share with the rest of us?" Came the harsh voice of Mr. Rawlings from the front of the room. Chuck sighed heavily and rolled his eyes before turning around in his seat to face forward.

"No, sir. I was just…"

"You were just interrupting my entire lecture is what you were doing. Now please enlighten us all, what could possibly be more important that you had to disrupt my class?"

All eyes were on Chuck, including those of the object of his affection.

"Nothing." Chuck replied.

"Nothing? Well then Mr. Bartowski, since you couldn't possibly have anything more pressing than listening to me, then you won't mind staying after school for detention today and writing up a summary of my entire lecture. I want it on my desk first thing in the morning."

Chuck looked up at the man with venom. Mr. Rawlings had to be the biggest jerk he had ever met. And if Chuck didn't know any better, he could have sworn the man's goal in life was to make this year a living hell for him.

"Yes sir." Chuck replied coldly over the chuckles of several of his classmates.

Mr. Rawlings turned his attention back to the overhead projector and continued with his lesson. Chuck listened intently for the next ten minutes until the bell rang. The students gathered their belongings and poured out of the classroom and into the hall.

Chuck made a beeline for his locker, weaving in and out of the crowd, determined to make it there in record time.

"Chuck!" Morgan called out to him trying to keep up and keep from being trampled on. "Chuck!"

By the time Morgan caught up with him, Chuck was already closing up his locker and about to head off to his next class.

"Chuck!" Morgan said with labored breath as he came to a stop in front of Chuck's locker.

Chuck looked up at him.

"Hey buddy…listen; I'm sorry about that back there with Rawlings. The guy is a jerk."

"Yeah I know Morgan, but now, I'm stuck in detention this afternoon writing a paper for Rawlings when I have a History test to study for tonight, not to mention a ton of Calculus homework and I have to clean the apartment before Ellie gets home."

"Do you want me to come over and help you later?"

"What?...No…no, if Ellie gets home and you're there, that'll just upset her more than she already was this morning. Look, its fine. I have to get to class; I'll catch up with you at lunch."

"Sure thing buddy." Morgan replied as he watched his best friend make his way down the hall.

The incident in third period had pretty much set the tone for Chuck's day. Come fifth period English, he realized that he had left his essay on The Great Gatsby sitting on his computer desk in his bedroom. At lunch, he ended up spilling juice down the front of him, leaving a huge wet spot down the front of his pants which took two whole periods to dry enough where it wasn't completely obvious. And ninth period gym class ended with a brutal game of Dodge Ball where Chuck took quite a beating. He felt as if her were carrying the weight of the world on his shoulders as he strolled into detention.

The entire room looked up when he entered the room, watching him as he made his way to the nearest seat. He was clearly out of place he thought as he looked around the room at what he imagined was the usual crowd, who were all looking at him as if he had invaded their turf.

Ms. Kramer entered the room shortly after Chuck, already glancing at her watch. She was an older woman, with gray hair, pulled back tightly into a bun and she wore thick glasses that always rested on the tip of her nose.

"Quiet down." She instructed. "You all should have something to do, take it out quietly and get started."

Chuck rummaged through his backpack and pulled out his notebook and pen.

"Ah Miss Burton, nice of you to join us." Miss Kramer said eyeing the young girl walking in.

Chuck looked up and watched as Sarah quickly made her way into the room and took the nearest seat, which just happened to be the seat right next to him.

Miss Kramer made her way over to her desk and sat down behind it. She reached into the drawer and pulled out her latest Harlequin romance novel. It was one of those ones that had a muscular, half naked man with hair like Fabio on the cover, engaged in a lip lock with a long haired woman in a wispy white gown.

Miss Kramer leaned back in her chair, settling in and propped her feet up on the desk in front of her, causing Chuck to do a double take. Chuck gave his head a shake and tried to rid himself of the sight before him as he turned his attention back to the blank sheet of paper in front of him. This was going to be some summary he was writing, when the only thing he could recall from today's class was the number of times Jenny tapped her pencil against the desk, or the way she crossed her legs under the desk, her foot dangling mid-air. The way she looked in those jeans and the way her hair glistened under the glow of the projector light.

"Do you want to use my notes?" Jenny leaned over and whispered to him.

"Huh?" Chuck asked turning his attention to the girl sitting next to him. It was the first time she had ever spoken to him.

"It doesn't look like you have any. Do you want to use my notes? I actually took some today." Jenny said offering him her notebook.

Chuck stared at her dumbfounded for what seemed like forever. She gave him a questioning look with her eyes.

"Oh…um….yeah. That would be great." Chuck said taking the notebook from her.

As distracted as he had been, Chuck worked diligently over the next hour trying to get his paper finished before detention was over, so that he wouldn't have to work on it tonight at home in addition to what he already had on his agenda.

Come 4 o'clock, his fellow students began gathering their belongings and making a mad dash for the door. Chuck was so engrossed in his paper, by the time he finished his last sentence, the rest of the students were already out in the hall. Chuck tossed his belongings in his bag and zipped it up. He then noticed Jenny's notebook still on his desk.

He moved quickly towards the door in an attempt to catch her. By the time he had caught up with her she was already half way down the hall.

"Jenny! He called out to her. She turned at the sound of her name. "You forgot your notes." Chuck said offering her the notebook.

"Oh right." She said taking it from him. She turned and continued walking down the hall. Chuck walked alongside of her trying to keep up with her quick pace.

"So, thanks for letting me borrow them. I really appreciate it."

"It's no problem."

"So, that Ms. Kramer is a piece of work huh? Did you see that book she was gawking at for the past hour?"

"Yeah, She usually has a new one every week." Jenny replied.

"So…do you…get detention a lot? Kramer acted like you're there all the time."

Sarah smirked. "Yeah well let's just say I like to keep them on their toes here."

Chuck smirked. "So, what did you do? What were you in for?" he joked.

"What is this, 20 questions?" she asked.

"Oh…no, I was just…well you know why I was there. I guess I'm just trying to make conversation."

"Why?" She asked.

"Why? I…I don't know…I thought…I…don't know, I just thought maybe we could be…friends."

"Friends?" she asked almost confused by the concept.

"Yeah you know, friends, we could hang out, talk, that kind of thing..."

Jenny didn't have any friends. Not since she was very young and began the constant relocating with her father.

"Chuck, I'm sure you would be a great friend, but I…I don't… do friends."

"You what? Why not?"

"What's the point?" she asked.

Chuck was dumbfounded. Did she actually just ask him what the point was of having friends?

"Why wouldn't you want to have friends?" he asked.

"Because I have no use for them Chuck."

"Oh." Chuck's whole demeanor changed from upbeat to defeated.

"Look, I move around a lot. Why get close to someone only to have to leave them a few months later? It's just easier that way." She replied.

"That's…really…sad Jenny."

She was surprised by his response. It was unexpected and kind of eye opening. Maybe it was sad, but that's just how things were and there was nothing she could do about it.

"Alright, well I won't keep you any longer. Thanks again for the notes." Chuck turned and began to walk in the opposite direction. Jenny turned and watched him go. She felt bad. It wasn't something she felt often, but when she did, it tended to eat away at her.

"Chuck?" she called out to him. Chuck stopped and turned his attention back to her.

"You know that fire alarm incident we had 7th period?"

"Yeah." He replied.

Jenny pointed to herself.

"Seriously? That was you?" he was shocked.

Jenny nodded with a smirk.

"But why?" he asked moving towards her once again.

"I just couldn't handle the thought of sitting through Spanish class with Mr. Perez today. I was in no mood to deal with him leaning over my shoulder with his bad breath so close to my face. And do you know that man has dandruff in his mustache?"

Chuck laughed. "I thought I was the only one that noticed that. Good to know others have seen it too."

Jenny laughed. "Well it's pretty obvious, when he's right in your face all the time."

"Right. I've been thinking about bringing him in some head and shoulders for it. Leaving it on his desk with a note."

Jenny laughed again. The two spent the next few minutes joking around with one another before parting ways. Chuck watched Jenny disappear down the hallway. He headed in the opposite direction, to retrieve his belongings from his locker before rushing home to get started on the house work.

The next day…

Jenny was already sitting in her seat when Chuck walked into class.

"Ahh Mr. Bartowski. I believe you have something for me." Mr. Rawlings spoke as Chuck made his way into the classroom.

Chuck rolled his eyes as he reached into his notebook and removed the paper he had written and handed it to Rawlings. Chuck had to stifle his laughter when Rawlings' mouth just about hit his desk when Chuck produced the three page paper for him. Chuck turned to move towards his desk. He looked up to see Jenny watching him with a grin. He smiled at her as he walked past her to his seat in the back of the room. He sat down feeling quite satisfied with himself.

"Alright settle down." Rawlings spoke as he stood up from his desk to address the class. Before we get started, I'm assigning you all your lab partner for the remainder of the year."

The class groaned as Rawlings reached for his list. "For any of you wondering how I chose your partners, I simply went down the list in alphabetical order. After I read all the names. I want you next to your partner. These will be your seats for the rest of the year."

"Allen and Anderson…Archer and Baker…Bartowski and Burton…Dawson and"

Chuck had to do a double take; did he just say Bartowski and Burton? Chuck looked over to Jenny. She sat motionless; she seemed unaffected by Rawlings' announcement. Chuck turned to Morgan.

"Morgan, did I just get paired up with Jenny?"

"Shhh!" Morgan hushed him as he knew his name was about to be read.

Rawlings continued with his listing. "Evans and Franklin….Geller and Grimes."

Morgan sighed in frustration as he looked over to Pete Geller. His attention then shifted to Julie Hanson, who was beaming from ear to ear as she was just paired up with Brad Hartley, who just happen to be the quarterback of the football team and every girl's dream.

"Sorry, what were you saying buddy?" he said turning his attention back to Chuck, who had already gathered his belongings in his hands and was ready to change seats as soon as Rawlings said the word.

Chuck leaned back in his seat to talk to Morgan, his eyes still facing forward. "I got paired with Jenny." He whispered.

"You what? Dude that's awesome!" Morgan gave him a congratulatory nudge from behind.

"I know."

Rawlings finished reading his list and instructed his students to move. Chuck took no time at all to rush to the front of the room and sit in the empty seat next to Jenny at the double seated desks.

"Hey." Chuck said sitting down in the chair.

"Hey." Jenny replied without looking up from her notebook that she was doodling on intensely.

Rawlings went on with his lecture for the day. Before class dismissed he assigned their next assignment. For every assignment, they were required to meet with their lab partner outside of class to complete two tutorials per week that were due every Friday. Rawlings also informed the class that they would be starting their new unit tomorrow, ending with a frog dissection this coming Friday, causing the majority of the girls to squeal. All except Jenny that is.

Rawlings excused the class and the students began gathering their belongings.

"So Jenny, when do you want to get together and work on these tutorials?" Chuck asked.

"I don't know." She replied. "I have a study hall fifth period."

"I can't I have English. How about 7th Period?" he asked.

"Spanish." She replied.

"Oh right." Chuck replied, remembering their conversation from yesterday. "How about after school?" he suggested.

"Detention." She replied.

"How about after that? You can come over to my place if you want."

Jenny was hesitant. Sure she kept to herself and maybe she was a bit of a bad seed every now and then, but she always did her school work and got good grades. She wasn't going to let some stupid assignment ruin that for her.

"Okay." She finally replied.

"Great." Chuck took out his pen and ripped a piece of paper from his notebook. He quickly scribbled a few things down and handed it to her. "Here is my address. And my phone number is on their too, just in case…you know…you might need it."

Sarah couldn't help but smirk at his uneasiness.

"Right, so I'll see you about 4:00?"

Jenny nodded. "Yeah 4:00 should be good."

"Great. So I'll see you later."

"See you later Chuck." She said grabbing her books and heading out the door. Chuck followed and watched as she made her way down the hall in the opposite direction. His smile began to fade when the realization finally set in. Jenny Burton was coming over to his place today.

Chuck rushed home right after school. He immediately went about straightening up the apartment. Not that it was messy after all the cleaning he had done yesterday but he wanted to make sure it was perfect.

Chuck was shocked to see Ellie there when he arrived.

"Ellie, what are you…what are you doing…here?" he asked coming through the door.

"I live here Chuck." She replied looking up from her textbook.

"I know, but I…I thought you had to work tonight?"

"I called in. I have to study for this Anatomy midterm. So if you could keep it down tonight that would be great."

Chuck looked uneasy about her request.

"What?" She asked giving him a knowing look.

"Nothing, it's just…I have my lab partner from Biology coming over today, we have to work on tutorials that are due Friday."

Ellie laughed. "Mr. Rawlings' class?" she asked.

"Yeah. Look, we can just do them in my room; it's not a big deal." Chuck tossed down his backpack and made his way to the fridge. He opened it and pulled out a can of Soda.

"Thank you." She replied burying her nose back into her book.

Chuck went to his room. He looked at his watch; he still had nearly an hour before Jenny showed up. He quickly went about making his bed that he didn't have time to make that morning. Chuck then picked up any dirty clothes that were on his floor and tossed them in his hamper. Grabbing his garbage can he scoured the room, discarding of a couple empty potato chip bags, some candy bar wrappers and empty soda cans that were left from this past weekend, when Chuck and Morgan had their Friday night 16 hour video game extravaganza. Chuck then straightened up his computer desk. He took a step back into his doorway and took a look around. Everything looked pretty good. He picked up his garbage and headed for the kitchen. Ellie didn't even look up from her books this time; she was so engrossed in what she was reading.

Chuck was about to head back to his room when there was a knock at the door, causing Ellie to look up from her book somewhat annoyed.

"I'll get it El; it's probably just Morgan or something."

"Ret rid of him Chuck."

Chuck gave her a nod as he made his way to the door. When he opened it he was surprised to see Jenny standing in front of him. Chuck quickly looked down at his watch. 3:25.

"Jenny. You're early."

"I hope that's okay." She replied.

"Of course it is. No detention today?" he asked.

"I was a good girl today."

Chuck smirked as he stepped aside, allowing her to step inside. "Come in."

"Ellie looked up from her book briefly. She did a double take when she saw the beautiful young blonde enter their apartment.

"Can I get you a drink or something?" Chuck asked.

"That would be great."

Jenny stepped further into the apartment.

Ellie set her book down on her lap. "Hi, I'm Ellie, Chuck's sister." She spoke up as Jenny continued further into the apartment.

"Hi. I'm Jenny, Chuck's lab partner."

Chuck emerged seconds later with his soda can in one hand and another one in his other hand. He handed it to Jenny.

"Thank you." She replied.

"Jenny, Ellie has to study for some midterms, so we are going to have to work in my room. Is that okay?"

"Sure, whatever."

Chuck led Jenny towards his room. He ushered her inside and closed the door behind them.

Jenny looked around taking in her surroundings. His room was fairly well kept. She took note of all of his gadgets, the computer, the TV, the video games. It didn't really surprise her to see the stacks of comic books or star wars figurines that graced his shelves.

"You can sit wherever." Chuck spoke up.

Jenny nodded in acknowledgement and took a seat on the edge of his bed. She opened up her backpack and pulled out her textbook and notebook. Chuck pulled up the chair from his computer desk so that he was closer to her. He grabbed his own textbook off his desk and opened up the unit they were currently studying.

"Tron?"

Chuck looked up from his book. She was looking up at his poster displayed on the wall with questioning eyes.

Chuck tried to hide his embarrassment. "Yeah…My dad gave that to me…he loved that movie…Made us watch it at least once a month when I was a kid. I haven't watched it forever though."

Jenny smiled. "Sounds like an interesting guy."

"Yeah he was."

"Was?" she asked.

"Yeah. He took off a couple of years ago. Right after Ellie graduated high school. He sends us cards every now and then, but other than that, we haven't seen him since."

"I'm sorry, that must have been difficult for you and you sister and your mom."

Chuck snickered at her comment.

"What? Did I say something funny?" She was clearly confused by his reaction.

"No, it's just…well…my mom left when I was 9."

"You mean…it's just you and your sister?"

Chuck nodded.

"So like…your sister takes care of you?"

"We take care of each other." He replied.

"I'm sorry…I didn't know."

"There's nothing to be sorry about. We're doing just fine. We have been for a long time now."

Jenny smiled at him. "Yeah, I can see that."

"What about you Jenny? Any brothers or sisters at home?"

"Oh, no...it's just me and my dad."

"Oh." Chuck couldn't help but hear the sadness she was trying very hard to mask. He decided not to push it any further.

Jenny changed the topic, suggesting that they get started on their tutorials and Chuck took that as confirmation that she definitely didn't want to talk about her family.

The two worked well together, splitting the work equally and both providing their own expertise to the assignment. Their work came to a sudden halt when a loud knock on the window behind her nearly caused Jenny to jump a mile. Chuck couldn't help but laugh at her and they both turned their attention to Morgan who was now crawling through the window.

"Morgan, what are you doing here?" Chuck asked, gesturing to him as discreetly as he could that he had company and was busy.

Once Morgan got through the window and on his feet, he took a look around. He was surprised to see the gorgeous Jenny Burton sitting on Chuck's bed.

"Oh, I didn't realize you had company. I thought maybe you wanted to head down to the echo, hit up the arcade or something."

"We're working on our tutorials for Bio Morgan."

"Oh right. Yeah I should probably do those at some point too. Alright, well I won't bother you. Call me later buddy." and just as quickly as he had entered, Morgan disappeared out the window.

"Sorry about that." Chuck apologized, turning his attention back to Jenny.

"Does he always just come through your window like that?" she asked.

"Oh, yeah. Or as I like to refer to it as the Morgan door."

"Why doesn't he just use your front door like any other normal human being?" She asked.

Chuck laughed. "Normal? You have met Morgan right?"

Jenny responded by raising her eyebrows.

"No, he's harmless really. Ellie is not a big fan of Morgan. He's had this huge crush on her since junior high. She tends to get mad when he's here all the time, so he usually just uses my window to avoid the awkwardness."

Jenny smiled and shook her head. "I can't imagine why his being here all the time would upset your sister so much." She joked.

Chuck laughed. "Right."

The two went back to work and worked diligently for the next hour until they were finished. Just as they were wrapping up. Ellie knocked on Chuck's door. Opening it she popped her head through.

"Hey Chuck. I ordered us a pizza tonight. Just got here, come and eat...You too Jenny."

"Oh, no that's okay. I was just about to head out." Jenny replied.

"Nonsense. You're staying." Ellie replied.

Jenny didn't know what it was, she normally had no problem telling someone no, but there was just something about Ellie, that she found it difficult to deny her.

Ellie disappeared down the hallway and Chuck and Jenny went about packing up their belongings.

"Sorry, she can be a bit overbearing at times. If you really don't want to stay you don't have to, I can talk to her."

"No, its fine I guess. Besides, who doesn't like pizza?" she replied.

"I've never met a pizza I didn't' like." he replied, eliciting a small laugh to escape her.

Chuck smiled as he led Jenny out to the kitchen. He handed her a plate. The two of them grabbed a slice of pizza and joined Ellie at the table.

"Did you guys get your assignment done?" Ellie asked.

"Yeah. We just finished it." Chuck replied.

"How was school today?" Ellie continued with the questions.

"Oh you know, the usual. Boring classes, crappy cafeteria food, the random jock pushing you into the lockers. All around another great day."

Chuck watched Jenny intently as she picked at the pizza on her plate until she had removed every last olive from her slice. She then picked it up and proceeded to eat it.

"You'll be out of there before you know it Chuck. Everything is different when you go to college, you'll see. Well maybe everything except the boring classes." Ellie continued.

"So you keep telling me."

"Have you heard anything back from Stanford yet?" she asked.

"Not yet."

"Well it's early. Don't worry; I know you'll get in."

"What about you Jenny?" Ellie said turning her attention to Chuck's blonde companion. "Any plans for college?"

"Oh. Well...I actually haven't really thought about it." Jenny replied having been caught off guard.

"Well it's early; you still have time to figure it out."

"Yeah I guess."

"So Jenny, I haven't seen you around before."

"She just moved here." Chuck chimed in.

"Oh, well how do you like it?"

"It's...alright." she replied.

"Where did you move from?"

"Oh. We came from Wisconsin."

"Really? What brought you and your family to Burbank?"

Talk about 20 questions. And here Jenny thought that Chuck was bad. He must have gotten it from his sister she thought.

"My dad's work keeps us moving around a lot." she finally replied.

"That must be hard." Chuck said joining in on the conversation.

Jenny turned her attention to the boy sitting next to her. His eyes full of compassion and warmth. It caught her off guard and she felt a strange fluttering in her stomach.

"It's fine. I'm used to moving a lot. It's really no big deal at all." she replied.

Truth be told it was hard, but dwelling on it only made it more difficult. She had convinced herself that it was no big deal, just an address, but she couldn't help but wonder what she was missing out on.

When they were done eating, Jenny thanked Ellie for dinner and told them she had to get going, that her father would be expecting her.

"Did you drive over or did you walk?" Chuck asked walking her to the door.

"I walked."

"It's dark out why don't you let me walk you home, I'd feel better knowing you made it home safely." He offered.

Jenny chuckled. "Chuck that's ridiculous, it's not a long walk. I will be fine, trust me I am perfectly capable of taking care of myself."

"Are you sure?" he asked.

"Definitely."

Chuck sighed in frustration. "Okay then."

"Bye Jenny. I hope we get to see you around here again." Ellie said coming up behind Chuck.

"Oh well we have tutorials all year, so it's definitely a possibility." Jenny replied.

"Good. It's nice having another girl around her to talk to." Ellie said with a smile. She then turned her attention to Chuck. "You're not going to let her walk home by herself are you?"

"What?...No...I just...Jenny said she would be fine." Chuck stumbled over his words.

Ellie looked at him in disbelief. "Charles Bartowski, I cannot believe I am hearing this. You were raised better than that; you don't let a girl walk home alone at night."

"I know, I just..."

"It's my fault, he offered, I just told him it wasn't necessary." Jenny said speaking up to defend him.

"Nonsense Jenny. Chuck you get her home safely." she said tossing him his coat.

"Yes Ellie." he replied leading Jenny out the door.

The two were silent as they made their way out into the courtyard. Chuck stopped as soon as they got to the fountain. "I'm sorry about that Jenny. I know you didn't want me to walk you home."

"It's fine Chuck, it's just...well it's not necessary is all. I'm not some delicate little flower. I'm used to taking care of myself and it's weird for me when someone tries to step in and do that."

"Oh, I hope you don't think that that's how I see you, as fragile. It's clear to me that you are very strong, I should probably be having you walk me home."

Jenny couldn't help but laugh at his last comment. "Come on." she said. "Let's go."

Chuck tried to make small talk with Jenny on the walk to her place. The short walk that turned out to take nearly half an hour.

"I thought you said that you didn't live far?" Chuck asked.

"Well maybe my definition of far is different than yours." She simply stated.

"Maybe." He replied.

"This is my street." She said as they turned the corner. It wasn't exactly the most pleasant of neighborhoods; however, she certainly didn't seem bothered by any of the riff raff hanging out on the corner, despite the unsavory remarks he heard the one make as they passed by.

"This is me." She announced coming up on a small blue house. It wasn't much, but it wasn't horrible either he thought to himself.

"Well I'm glad you let me walk with you. I feel better knowing you are home safe and sound."

Sarah tried to hide her smile. He was sweet, not like the guys that had been coming onto her since she moved to town. The other guys at school, sure they had good looks, they were athletic, but Chuck was different. He was sincere, he was honest, he was kind and she just happened to think he was kind of adorable with those curls of his and that goofy smile.

"Thanks Chuck I appreciate it."

Chuck stood before her with both hands in his pockets staring down at the ground.

"So, I guess….I'll see you at school tomorrow."

"I'll be there. See ya." She said making her way to her front door.

Chuck waited until she disappeared inside before turning to leave.

Anyone who might have seen him would probably have noticed he had an extra skip to his step as he headed back to his apartment.

The next few weeks seemed to fly by. The more time Chuck had spent with Jenny the more he liked her. She had impressed him with her fierce frog dissecting skills. When Chuck was a little too squeamish, she gladly stepped up to the plate. She was a whiz with a knife and Chuck couldn't help but think she would make a great surgeon someday or maybe a chef.

Chuck had even managed to get her to eat lunch with him and Morgan on a few occasions, despite her desire to sit alone with a book.

Jenny had actually surprised Chuck today by sitting down at his table without him even asking.

"Come on Chuck how can you say that you prefer Val Kilmer's Batman over Michael Keaton? That is ludicrous. Can you believe this guy?" Morgan said turning to Jenny to get her input.

"Does it really matter Morgan? I mean it's just a movie." She replied.

"Just a movie? Just a movie? Wow! You are just as bad as he is." With that Morgan stood up and grabbed his tray. He turned to Chuck before walking away. "And to think I call you my best friend." Without another word Morgan stormed off.

Chuck turned his attention to Jenny and the two of them erupted into a fit of laughter.

Chuck loved it when she smiled. There was nothing more beautiful to him than her smile and it was something she had been showing more and more lately. Chuck was somewhat embarrassed when she caught him staring at her. The laughter died down and they became serious once again.

"So Jenny, are you going to the senior bonfire at the beach next Friday night?"

Next Friday was the day after Thanksgiving. It was a senior class tradition to have a huge bonfire that night at the beach. It was the kick off for senior festivities for the school year and every senior attended.

Jenny nearly spit out her juice. "Umm no! Why would I?" she asked.

"Because it's supposed to be fun. Besides everyone will be there."

"All the more reason not to go." She replied.

"Well I'll be there. It'd be really cool if you came and hung out."

"It's just not my thing Chuck. Sorry."

Chuck couldn't help but be disappointed. "Well if you change your mind."

"Hey Jenny." Jenny's attention shifted to the approaching jock.

"Brad." She replied.

"So." His attention shifted to Chuck looking him up and down disapprovingly. "You're sitting at the wrong table aren't you? I have a seat saved for you over at my table."

"I'm doing just fine right here thanks." She replied coldly.

Jenny couldn't help but notice Chuck's uneasiness around him.

Brad grunted his dissatisfaction with her answer. "You know, you keep hanging out with these losers, no one's going to give you the time of day. You ever decide you want to hang out with a real man, you come and find me. But I'm not going to wait around forever."

She turned to look him straight in the eyes. "Promise?" she asked.

Brad turned and stormed off to his table of waiting minions who were laughing over his public rejection.

Jenny turned back to Chuck. "Sorry about that. He's a jerk."

"You can go sit with him you know. You don't have to sit here." Chuck said.

"Well I don't want to." She replied.

"I'm just saying. You don't have to sit here with me, I'm a big boy I can take care of myself. You can go over there if you want." His words were cold and unfeeling.

"I told you I don't want to." She snapped back at him.

"Suit yourself." He replied looking away from her.

The two finished their lunch in silence. Once the bell rang Jenny gathered her belongings and darted out of the cafeteria without saying a word to Chuck.

Chuck felt bad about what had happened in the lunch room with Jenny all day. He felt even worse about things when she didn't show up to school the next two days and he hoped it didn't have anything to do with what had happened.

Chuck had debated calling her, but in the long run he opted to go see her face to face. As soon as school let out he rushed over to her house. Mustering up as much courage as he could, he walked up her front steps until he came face to face with her door. Chuck knocked three times and waited. There was no answer. He knocked again and took a few steps back. Out of the corner of his eye he saw the blonde hair disappear from the window. She was definitely home. He stepped up and knocked again.

"Jenny? I know you're in there."

There was no answer.

"Look I just want to talk to you. I want to apologize for the other day."

She still didn't answer.

"I'm not leaving until you talk to me."

The door finally opened and she peeked her head out. "Chuck what are you doing here?"

He took a couple steps towards her. "Look Jenny, I just feel terrible about the other day in the cafeteria. I was a jerk and I hope you can forgive me."

"What?"

"I just feel horrible Jenny and then you haven't been to school for two days now since it happened."

"You think I haven't been to school because I'm mad at you?" she asked.

"Well, yeah. The thought did cross my mind."

Jenny stepped out on to the porch closing the door behind her.

"Chuck, I haven't been to school because I've been busy helping my dad."

"Really?"

"Yeah really?"

"So you're not mad at me then?"

"No, I'm not mad at you. Why would I be mad at you?" She asked.

"Well you didn't seem very happy when you stormed off the other day. I was kind of acting like a jerk."

"Well admitting it is the first step." She said with a smile, eliciting a smile from Chuck as well.

"Look Chuck, joking aside, I'm not mad at you. I admit I was the other day. But just so you're clear on something, I never do something I don't want to do. If I didn't want to sit with you I wouldn't have."

Chuck smiled. "So we're good then?"

Jenny nodded.

"So will you be at school tomorrow?" he asked.

She seemed hesitant to answer as she looked back at the house. "Most likely."

"Okay then. So I should probably be going. I'll see you tomorrow."

"Bye Chuck."

"Bye." He said walking backwards off the porch. He stumbled down the step and almost fell flat on his face but recovered.

"Chuck are you okay?" she asked with concern as she came rushing to his side.

Chuck tried his best to play it cool. "Yeah. I'm fine. I'll see you tomorrow." He said before rushing off.

Jenny couldn't help but laugh. He always made her laugh. Jenny sighed with frustration before stepping back into the house.

"Who was that?" her father asked when she reentered the house.

"It was no one dad. Just some kid from school."

"What did he want?"

"He was just asking about a homework assignment."

"You know you can't be bringing people around the house."

"Dad I'm not. I'm sure he won't stop by again."

"He better not. The last thing we need is people snooping around here."

"Don't worry about him." She replied. "Look I need to go back to school tomorrow. Are you going to be able to handle all this on your own?" She asked gesturing to all the boxes that filled their living room.

"I'll manage. But tell me, what's the sudden interest in going to school all of a sudden? You never cared before."

"I'm just concerned that if I miss too many days, someone from school is going to come snooping around and we know how much you don't want that." She replied.

"Fine. Just make sure you come home right after. I really need your help with this one."

"Don't worry, I'll be here."

Jenny kept to herself mostly for the next few days at school. She even refrained from getting in trouble and keeping out of detention so she could get home to help her father with his latest con.

Today though she had promised Chuck that they could work on their Bio tutorials. She walked home him. The two made small talk along the way. Chuck couldn't help but notice that Jenny seemed to be in her own little world today. She didn't really have much to say.

On the way to Chuck's they had passed Sanderson's Pawn shop. Jenny had stopped mid stride when something in the window had caught her eye. Chuck watched her intently. He couldn't help but notice that she looked as though it almost pained her to look inside. He focus remained on the silver chain with the heart pendant.

"What's the matter?" he asked.

"Nothing. I just…"

"What?" he followed her gaze. "The necklace?" he asked.

Jenny just nodded.

"It's pretty." He said.

"It's my mother's."

"What?"

"When we moved here, my dad had to pawn it. We needed the money. He promised he would get it back someday. I still have the matching earrings. They're nice and all, but…well I loved the necklace. It was the only thing I had left of her. She never took it off. It's the one true thing I can really remember about her."

"Jenny, I'm so sorry."

She shrugged it off and started walking again. "It's just a necklace Chuck."

He knew she was hurting whether she wanted to show it or not.

Chuck and Jenny made it back to his place where they worked on their tutorial. It took a little longer than expected because Jenny seemed more distracted today than usual.

"Where's Ellie tonight?" Jenny asked as they were packing up their books.

"Oh, she's working. I'm on my own tonight. Are you hungry? I think we have some hot pockets in the freezer. Or we have a pretty big selection of cereal."

"That's what you're going to have for dinner?"

"Sure. I'm not much of a cook."

"Well maybe I could make you something." She suggested as they headed for the kitchen.

"You don't have to do that." He said.

"It's no trouble." Jenny looked through the kitchen cupboards to see what they had. "How about Spaghetti?" she asked.

"Sure. That sounds great."

Chuck was captivated by her. He watched her intently as she whipped them up some dinner. They each filled a plate and sat down at the table to eat.

"Wow." Chuck managed to get out with a mouth full of food. "This is a lot better than cereal." He said.

Jenny laughed.

"Seriously. I mean Ellie is a fantastic cook, but she's not here a lot. Usually I just have spaghetti-so. This is really good."

"Thanks."

"So Jenny, what are you doing over Thanksgiving break?" Chuck asked.

"Why?"

"Well, I was just hoping that maybe you had changed your mind about the bonfire Friday night."

Jenny sighed. "Chuck, it's just not my thing."

"I know, but how about this. I'll make you a deal. If you go with me, and you're not having a good time, or you just want to leave, I'll bring you home. Come on, Ellie even said I could use the car that night."

She could feel her defenses crumbling with him.

"Come on… you know you want to."

"Okay." She finally caved.

"Okay?"

"Yes, but if I want to leave…"

"Of course! This is going to be fun. I promise you. You will have a great time."

Jenny offered him a smile as she rolled her eyes.

After dinner, Chuck walked Jenny home. They discussed their plans for Friday night. Chuck would pick her up around 7:00. They would meet up with Morgan and a few of their other friends at the beach where they would roast hotdogs and Marshmallows before everyone got there for the bonfire. Chuck had instructed Jenny to bring a swimsuit and a towel.

Chuck bid Jenny goodnight at her door and headed back home. He was too caught up in thoughts of Jenny to even worry about his surroundings tonight.

Friday night…

Chuck was so distracted that he didn't even hear Ellie knocking on his bedroom door. When he didn't answer she opened it and poked her head in.

"Chuck? Oh my God!" she said stepping all the way into his room.

Chuck had clothes strewn about everywhere. His closet and drawers where in shambles. He shed himself of the latest shirt and tossed it to the accumulating pile on the floor. He looked up at his sister in frustration.

"Chuck what is going on?" she asked.

"I have nothing to wear tonight!"

"What? Chuck, you have tons of clothes to wear. It's just a bonfire."

"It's not just a bonfire Ellie. Not to me anyway." Chuck plopped down on his bed.

"You really like her don't you?" Ellie asked taking a seat next to him on the bed.

Chuck sighed in frustration. "I've never felt like this before, about anyone. I just want her to like me."

"Chuck, how could she not like you? You are an incredible catch. Any girl would be lucky to be with you."

"You're just saying that because you're my sister."

"Charles Bartowski have I ever lied to you before?"

"No."

"And I'm not about to start now. Look if she didn't at least like you, she wouldn't be going with you tonight."

"Yeah, I know but, I mean it's not like this is a date or anything. I mean we're just going as friends."

"Well that's the first step." She said.

A small smile began to form on his face.

"Thanks Ellie. Now I just need to decide on something to wear."

Ellie reached down and grabbed a shirt from his discarded pile. "Here. You look nice in this one."

"Thanks."

"You're welcome. So, I came in to tell you Mark is here to get me. I left the keys to the car on the table; make sure you lock up when you leave."

"I will."

"Oh and Chuck…"

"Yeah?"

"Be careful with the car."

"I will. I promise."

"And Chuck." She continued.

He looked up at her with questioning eyes.

"No drinking."

"El, you know that's not my thing." He replied.

"I know." Ellie offered him a smile. "Oh and Chuck."

"Yes."

"Have fun tonight." She said.

He smiled at her last remark. "You too." He replied.

Ellie closed the door behind her, leaving Chuck to change his shirt once again. He gave himself one last once over in the mirror before deciding Ellie was right. He did look good in that shirt. He smiled as he made his way to the bathroom to put the finishing touches on his hair.

It had taken Jenny nearly an hour to figure out what she was wearing tonight. She finally decided on a pair of jeans and cute light blue top that Chuck hadn't seen her in yet. She had thrown them on over her swim suit and tossed a towel in her bag. Sarah took one last look in the mirror taking in her appearance when she heard a car pull up front. She looked out her window to see Chuck getting out of a car and making his way up her front steps.

"Dammitt!" she grabbed her bag and made a mad dash down the stairs getting to the bottom just in time to hear Chuck's first knock. She was desperate to get to the door before her father could.

"Dad. I'm going out!" she yelled to him and didn't wait for an answer.

"Hi." She said greeting Chuck at her doorstep. She quickly pulled the door shut behind her.

"Hi. You ready to go?" he asked.

"Yup." She replied.

"Great."

The two walked to the car and Chuck was quick to open the door for her.

"Chuck you don't have to open my door for me, I am perfectly capable."

"I know you are. Why do you have to fight everything Jenny? Why can't you just let a guy do something nice for you once in a while?"

"I'm sorry." She didn't mean to hurt his feelings; she just wasn't used to any of this chivalry stuff. "What I meant to say was thank you Chuck." She jumped inside the car.

Jenny's father peered out the window just in time to see Chuck closing the door and rounding the driver's side of the car. He got in and the car sped away disappearing from his sight.

"Hmm. What exactly are you up to young lady?"

Chuck and Jenny were having a nice time hanging out at the beach with Chuck's friends. Chuck showed Jenny how to roast a hotdog on a stick properly and taught her the art of toasting near perfect marshmallows over a campfire.

Once all of their fellow classmates began showing up and the bon fire was getting underway, Morgan and the rest of their group had dispersed leaving Chuck and Jenny alone at the campfire. Chuck couldn't help but notice how quiet she was. She seemed to be deep in thought as she stared intently at the flames of the campfire.

"Penny for your thoughts." Chuck said leaning in and giving her shoulder a nudge with his.

Jenny forced a smile. "Is that all they're worth?" she asked.

"You seem like you have the weight of the world on your shoulders tonight."

"I feel like I do." She admitted.

He didn't want to push her but he wanted her to know he was there for her. "Sometimes it helps to talk about it. I'm a great listener."

Jenny turned to face him. "I can see that about you, but I'm not that great of a talker Chuck."

He smiled back. "I get it. But if you ever change your mind."

She smiled back. "How about that night swimming you promised me?"

"Are you sure? Most girls get freaked out by it."

"Chuck in case you haven't noticed. I'm not like most girls."

Chuck laughed. "Oh, I've definitely noticed." He stood up and began unbuttoning his shirt. Jenny stood up and began shedding herself of her clothes as well. Chuck was too busy stripping himself of his pants to notice at first. His eyes nearly popped right out of his head when he looked up to see Jenny in her red bikini. She was incredibly well endowed for a girl of 17 and had a body the other girls would kill for. He couldn't help but notice their classmates giving her a once over from a distance. The girls looked at her with jealousy in their eyes and the guys looked at her with desire in theirs, which Chuck imagined that was probably how he was looking at her right now. He gave his head a shake trying to rid himself of the impure thoughts he was having. It wasn't like him. He was always incredibly respectful of women, but there was just something about Jenny. He was so drawn to her and she did things to his body that no other girl ever had. It went well beyond the typical hormones associated with a young man of his age.

"Come on, I'll race you." He announced and sprinted down the beach towards the water. Jenny was quick to follow and ultimately ended up beating him. Chuck felt a bit of relief when his body hit the icy cold water. Jenny surprised him once again when she dove right in, submerging herself in the cool water without hesitation.

Chuck was only waist deep in the water when Jenny surfaced behind him. She surprised him with a splash of water so big it completely drenched him. He froze as if in shock and Jenny erupted in laughter.

Chuck brushed the wet curls away from his face. The cold water had been a shock to his system. His focus shifted to Jenny who was swimming laps around him. Chuck took a deep breath and dove in completely. Jenny stopped swimming when she didn't see him anymore.

"Chuck?" She called out to him, looking all around her. She called out to him again when he didn't surface right away. "Chuck?"

The next thing she knew a huge tidal wave of water came at her from behind, much like the one that hit Chuck moments ago. She shrieked out of surprise and turned to see Chuck in hysterics. Jenny joined him and the two spent the next 20 minutes splashing around in the water, playing like children.

Eventually the two decided they had enough of the ocean and decided to head in to the shore. Once back on the beach they made their way over to their small campfire that had been abandoned by the rest of their party. Chuck reached for his towel and quickly dried off. He tossed the towel over his shoulder and reached for Jenny's towel. After she had finished ringing out her hair, he moved in and wrapped the towel around her shoulders. Instinctively he rubbed her arms through the towel, trying to warm her up. It was incredibly cold coming out of the water and into the cool night air.

"You okay?" he asked, watching her lips quiver.

"Yeah. Just a little chilly." She replied.

He stepped in closer to her trying to block the cool air that was blowing in her direction. They were standing mere inches apart. Jenny didn't even notice the towel slip from her shoulder she was too caught up in the person standing in front of her.

Chuck reached out with his hand and pulled the towel back up to cover her shoulder. His hand lingered and Jenny's focus fell to Chuck's hand. He seemed to be frozen once again. He knew he should move it, but was having an extremely difficult time executing that.

She looked from his hand to his eyes. Chuck swallowed the lump in his throat when her eyes met his. He could feel himself leaning in closer. What the hell was he doing? Wait a minute was she leaning in too? He felt as if time was standing still. It was like an out of body experience for him. Like he was watching everything unfold before him but had no control over it. Just as his lips were about to touch hers. He felt Morgan's hand on his back.

"There you are buddy. You're missing everything. Come on over to bonfire!"

Chuck was jolted back to reality. He quickly pulled away and turned to Morgan. "Hey. Yeah, let us just get dried off and changed."

"Alright hurry up." Morgan replied before darting off towards a group of their fellow classmates.

Chuck turned back to face Sarah. She had created some more distance between them. She was quickly drying her legs and searching for her jeans, acting as if nothing had just happened, or almost happened he should say. Technically nothing did happen.

Chuck grabbed his towel and toweled off some more. "Do you want to head up to the Promenade? There's a bathroom up there for us to change in."

"Sure." She replied, quickly gathering her clothes, not bothering to look up at him.

'Great.' Chuck thought, 'I really blew it with her now. Just play it cool' he kept telling himself, maybe it's not as big a deal as you're making it out to be.

Once they had their belongings the two of them headed up the beach towards the Promenade in silence.

It didn't take them long to change. By the time they had finished and were heading back to the beach, they had yet to speak to one another. Jenny was acting like nothing had happened, like he didn't just almost kiss her. He wanted to say something to her but he didn't know how to start the conversation.

Once they were back to the beach, Morgan dragged the two of them over to the bonfire. The music was blasting, kids were dancing, horse playing and just having a good time. Chuck tried to make small talk with her, but she wouldn't even look at him. Finally Chuck mustered up the courage to talk to her.

"Jenny…are we okay?" he asked.

She turned to look at him. "What do you mean?"

"Well…it's just that…ever since Morgan interrupted us…well you've been really quiet."

"Chuck, we're fine."

He responded with a questioning look.

"Really." She tried to reassure him.

"Okay…So, do you want a drink of something?"

She shook her head no. "No. I'm too cold for a drink."

"Oh, do you want my sweatshirt? I'm not using it." He moved over the where their belongings were sitting in the sand and grabbed the shirt for her. "Here." He said offering it to her.

Jenny took it from him and slipped it on over her head. It was big on her but warm and cozy, so she didn't mind one bit. If anything she thought it was incredibly sweet of him to offer it to her.

Chuck smiled at the sight of her wearing his sweatshirt. It was huge on her, but she still made it look good.

Taking a look around, Chuck noticed many of his classmates dancing. He decided to be brave and ask Jenny if she would like to dance. She hesitated for a while, claiming it wasn't really her thing, but she found it hard to refuse him and eventually she gave in. The two of them moved to the side away from the fire to a less populated area. He grabbed her by the arm and gave her an unexpected twirl. Jenny laughed. There was just something about him. He always seemed to put her in a good mood.

Just as they were getting into the music, the song ended and a soft, slow song began to play. His eyes locked with hers and he held his hand out to her. She accepted it and he pulled her in closer. Chuck rested his hands on her waist and she awkwardly placed hers on his shoulders. Jenny had never danced with a boy before, not like this. She wasn't really sure what to do. Chuck totally picked up on this right away. She seemed uncomfortable. It was clear to him that she was telling the truth when she told him dancing wasn't really her thing.

"Are you okay?" he asked.

"I'm just not very good at this Chuck." She replied.

He gave her a reassuring smile. "You're doing fine. Just relax. Just move with the music."

Jenny relaxed a little in his arms. This was the first time she had ever really danced with a boy, unless you counted the times she spent as a child twirling around the living room standing on her father's feet. But this was different. She was beginning to get those jittery feelings in her stomach again.

"So." Chuck started. "Are you having a good time tonight?"

Jenny looked up at him. She was definitely feeling more at ease. There was something about Chuck that just made her feel comfortable, made her feel safe."

"I am." She replied.

"See, I told you you'd have a good time."

"You did." She agreed.

"Chuck Bartowski never goes back on his word."

Jenny responded with a smile.

"I like seeing you smile. I wish you did it more often." He said.

"I don't usually have much to smile about Chuck." She replied, turning her head to avert his gaze.

"Maybe we could change that."

She turned to meet his eyes again. "And how would we do that?" she asked.

"Easy. You just need to spend more time with me."

Jenny's smile grew.

"So maybe we can catch a movie or something sometime…If you want." He suggested.

"Maybe." She replied.

Chuck and Jenny enjoyed the rest of their dance. They spent the rest of the evening talking by the fire and hanging out with some of Chuck's friends who for the most part were extremely nervous around the gorgeous blonde. Jenny even helped Chuck and Morgan beat several of their classmates in a friendly little game of night volleyball, mostly because of Jenny's help.

The evening eventually came to an end and Chuck drove Jenny home. Despite her objections, he insisted on walking her to her door.

"I had a really great time tonight Jenny." He said as they reached the door.

"I did too. Thanks for inviting me. I never would have gone had you not been so… persistent."

Chuck smiled. "Well, I'm nothing if not persistent."

Jenny laughed as the two of them stood in front of her door. The laughter faded and the two of them stood there in an uncomfortable silence.

Chuck could feel his palms getting sweaty. He felt weak in the knees but tried his best not to let it show. 'Lean in and kiss her.' He told himself. 'It's now or never. Just do it.'

The jittery feelings returned to her stomach once again. Was she supposed to kiss him? This wasn't even a real date or anything was it? It was just hanging out with some friends. 'Why isn't he saying anything?' she thought to herself. 'Oh my God! Is he leaning in? Is he going to kiss me? I can't do this. I can't lead him on.' Her heart was beating unusually fast and she had felt as though time was standing still. What was taking him so long?

"Alright, so I'll see you at school on Monday." He said taking a step back.

'Huh? What just happened? Was he leaving? "Yeah…I'll see you on Monday." She said watching him high tail it back to the car. She turned and entered her house closing the door behind her. She leaned against it in relief, or was it defeat. All of a sudden she had an overwhelming feeling of disappointment wash over her. Could it be that she actually wanted him to kiss her?

Once Chuck was in the car he immediately began berating himself. He rested his head against the steering wheel in defeat.

"What the hell is the matter with you? You totally blew it."

He leaned back in his seat and started the engine. "See you at school on Monday. Real smooth Chuck, real smooth."

He put the car in drive and sped off.

For the next couple of weeks, Chuck and Jenny both felt a little weird around one another. Their interactions with one another bordered on awkward to say the least, both of them hung up on what had transpired between them the night of the bonfire.

Jenny managed to work her schedule so that they could work on their Bio tutorials during school hours. She would never admit it, but she was nervous about being alone with him. Truth was she hadn't been able to stop thinking about him since that night.

"Jenny can we talk?" Chuck finally spoke up after eyeing for a good 10 minutes across the table where they sat in the library.

Jenny looked up at him. "What's up?" She asked.

"Is everything okay between us?" he spoke the words so fast they literally came out of his mouth in one breath.

"Yeah. I mean why wouldn't it be?" she replied. "We got A's on the last two tutorials."

"No, that's…that's not what I mean." He sighed heavily.

"SSHHHH!" the two of them looked up to see the librarian standing at the head of their table. Her pointer finger was pressed firmly against her lips as she glared at the two of them.

"Sorry." Chuck replied. The librarian walked away, looking back one last time as if to warn them not to let it happen again. Jenny rolled her eyes.

"Maybe this isn't the right place to talk. Do you want to come over after school?" he asked.

"I can't I have to get home, my father is expecting me." It was a lie; truth was her father hadn't been home much lately as he was finalizing plans for his upcoming annual Salvation Army heist.

"Well, maybe I can walk you home then?" He suggested.

Jenny could tell he wasn't going to let this go. After all, he was nothing if not persistent.

"Okay." She conceded.

"Great. I'll meet you out front by the bike racks." Chuck said standing up and gathering his things.

Jenny nodded in agreement. She turned to watch him leave, and as he was exiting the door of the library, she had a sudden urge to call out to him. To stop him from leaving. Jenny was shaken from her thoughts when the bell rang. Two more classes she thought. How would she ever get through them now, when the only thing she could think about was her walk home with Chuck.

By the time school had let out and Jenny had headed for the door, she was shocked to see Chuck already outside waiting for her by the bikes.

He stood out to her among the crowd. When he was around, she saw no one else. It was like he was the only person who existed.

Chuck turned just in time to see Jenny appear at the top of the front steps of the school. Her golden tresses shimmered brightly in the sun. She was exquisite. Chuck swallowed the large lump that had just formed in his throat as he moved towards her in what seemed like slow motion.

She descended the steps and began walking towards him. A vision like none he had ever seen before.

"Hey you ready?" she asked as she came to stand in front of him, but he didn't respond.

"Chuck?" She waved her hand in front of his face trying to get his attention.

Chuck blinked and gave his head a shake. "Uhh, sorry, what were you saying?" he asked trying to recover.

"I just asked if you were ready." She replied.

"Oh, right…Yeah… let's go."

The two of them headed off in the direction of Jenny's house. Chuck was making small talk with her along the way, but for the most part was pretty quiet.

"For someone who wanted to talk, you're pretty quiet." She said breaking the silence between them.

Chuck stopped walking, Jenny followed suit.

"Jenny do you like me?" he asked quickly, turning to look her in the eyes. He was really putting himself out there. It wasn't something he did often but he needed to know.

"What?"

"Do you like me?" he repeated. His eyes locked with hers.

"Of course Chuck. You're a nice guy. You've been a good friend to me."

"I'm not talking about friendship Jenny." He swallowed the lump that had formed in his throat as he reached for her hand. "Look Jenny, I really like you. I like spending time with you, even when we're just doing homework. I'd really like to take you on a date."

"Chuck." Her eyes fell to the ground momentarily. When she looked back up she took note of his nervous demeanor. The look of disappointment and hurt on his face as he prepared himself for her rejection. "Okay." She said.

"It's alright, I…I didn't mean to put you on the spot like that… I…wait….what?" he rambled on.

Jenny smiled. "I said okay Chuck. I'll go on a date with you."

He was dumbfounded. Did the most gorgeous girl he had ever laid eyes on, the girl he considered to be far out of his league just say she would go on a date with him? No he had to be dreaming.

"You will?" he asked.

Jenny chuckled. "Yes."

A huge smile formed on his face. Jenny's smile grew in response.

"Umm okay. So, I was actually thinking about the Christmas Ball on Saturday."

"The Christmas Ball? Like at the school?"

Chuck laughed. "Well yeah, that's usually where they hold school dances."

"Well you've seen me; I'm not much of a dancer." She replied.

Chuck took a step towards her and reached for her other hand so he was no holding both of them. "You're a great dancer." He replied as he gazed into her eyes.

Jenny's breath caught in her throat and cue the butterflies she thought to herself. She could feel her cheeks turning a shade of red they weren't used to. "Okay, but you've been warned." She said.

"Really?" he asked waiting for confirmation.

"Really Chuck."

His smile returned. He released one of her hands and the two started walking again. He didn't even realize he was still holding her one hand until they had nearly walked another block. He slowly moved to retrieve it, not wanting to make her uncomfortable.

"Sorry." He said as he pulled away slowly. "I didn't realize I was still holding your hand.

"It's okay." She said shyly.

The two walked for about another 5 minutes and then they found themselves walking up Jenny's front steps.

"Thanks for letting me walk with you." Chuck said as they came to her door. "I'm glad we got to talk." He said with a smile.

Jenny smiled back at him as the two stood facing one another in front of her door. "Me too." She said.

The two were about to say their goodbyes when the door to Jenny's house opened. Her father stood in the frame eyeing the two in front of him.

"Dad!" Jenny exclaimed. "You're home early." She said.

"Slow day." He replied. His attention shifted to Chuck. He eyed him up and down.

"You must be Mr. Burton?" Chuck said extending his hand to the man.

"Who wants to know?" he asked.

"Dad!" Jenny chimed in. "This is Chuck. He's my lab partner in Biology."

"Yeah. The one you went out with a few weeks ago."

Jenny's dad turned and gave Chuck another once over. Chuck withdrew his hand realizing that he wasn't going to shake it.

"Chuck, I'll see you at school tomorrow." Jenny said ushering her dad back into the house.

"Yeah. I'll see you tomorrow. Nice meeting you sir." Chuck said before stepping off the porch. Jenny offered Chuck and apologetic look as she closed the door.

Chuck just shrugged it off. Obviously her dad wasn't the friendliest of guys, but Jenny Burton just agreed to go on a date with him. Nothing could bring him down right now.

"Dad, what was that all about?" Jenny asked.

"What?"

"You were so mean to him."

"Who is this kid anyway?" Her father asked.

"He's a friend from school.

"A friend? Since when do you have friends at school?"

"Since now." She replied.

Jack gave her a questioning look and then a smile formed on his face. "I get it."

"What?" she asked.

"You're working an angle." His face lit up as he spoke. "I should have known."

Jenny shook her head no. "No dad. I'm not working an angle."

"Oh come on. What does he come from money? What's his last name?"

"No dad, he doesn't come from money. His parents aren't rich and he's not an heir to a throne. He's just a regular guy. He lives with his sister and they are just getting by. He's a nice guy, so just leave him alone."

"He's a schnook."

"Dad he's my friend."

Jack looked at his daughter. She had never brought home a friend before. She had known better. Hell as far as he knew she never had a friend before. It had always just been the two of them. That was all they ever needed. Jack wasn't stupid. He saw how the boys looked at his daughter. He had to admit though; this Chuck kid seemed different from them. He wasn't ogling his daughter like he had seen the others do every time they came in contact with her. But the one thing that was really standing out to him was the interest his daughter seemed to take in him. He had never seen her like this before.

"You like this boy?" he asked.

"I just told you, he's my friend."

"No, I mean you like him. Is he your boyfriend?"

"What? No! I don't have a boyfriend."

"Well not that you've ever introduced me to."

"Dad. He's a good guy and he's my friend. Please, just be nice to him."

"I can't have you bringing 'friends' around the house Jenny. You know I work out of the house and I've been working hard on the annual Salvation Army heist. I'm just working out some of the fine details. I could use your help."

"Dad, I can't. Not this year. I just…I'm really busy with school."

Jack looked at her confused. She had never refused him before, so he had to wonder why the sudden change of heart. He decided he would give her the benefit of the doubt and not press the issue with her. He could pull this off on his own easily; it was just the idea of doing something with his daughter. It was their thing. It's what their whole relationship was based on.

Jack sighed. "Well maybe next year huh?"

Jenny gave him a nod and forced a smile. "Sure dad. Next year.

The next few days seemed to fly by. Chuck was absolutely giddy about his pending date with Jenny. They didn't really talk much about what had happened with her father the other day. Jenny wouldn't admit it out loud, but she was just excited, maybe even more than he was about her upcoming date with Chuck. She wasn't too keen on the idea of the Christmas Ball though and had yet to even get a dress.

Chuck and Jenny were spending even more time with one another at school. They were eating lunch together every day, going to the library together, even walking the halls together. When they were with one another it was like no one else existed. They were in their own little worlds.

Today the senior class was volunteering during their lunch periods at the local Salvation Army soup kitchen, serving food to the homeless and less fortunate. Chuck and Jenny were fortunate enough to be working side by side through the whole thing.

Before the class was ready to depart and head back to the school. The man who ran the soup kitchen came out to express his thanks and gratitude to them. He had informed them that the night before they had suffered a great loss. Their collection of Christmas funds had been lifted and they were out thousands of dollars.

Jenny felt sick to her stomach thinking about all the people that money could have helped. Chuck who was standing next to her couldn't help but notice her discomfort.

"Are you okay?" he whispered in her ear.

"I'm not feeling well." She replied.

Chuck sat with Jenny on the bus as they headed back to the school. "I hope you're not coming down with the flu or something." He said.

She shook her head. "It's not that." She leaned her head against the window as the bus pulled away from the curb. She was pretty quiet the rest of the way back to the school.

They arrived back to the school about 15 minutes later and departed the bus.

"Are you feeling any better?" Chuck asked as they walked up the steps to the school.

She shook her head no.

"Do you want me to bring you home?" he asked.

"No. I have a test in Calculus I can't miss it."

"You sure?" he asked.

She nodded her head yes.

Chuck draped his arm over her shoulder. "Come on. I'll walk you to class." He said.

Jenny was pretty down in the dumps for the rest of the day. She had left school right after her test. Chuck had called her later that night to see if she was feeling any better. She had told him she was, but how could she be? She knew her father was responsible for the stolen Salvation Army funds. She thought about all the previous years when she had been a part of it all. She had never seen the kind of effects their actions had on the people the money was supposed to help. It was heartbreaking.

Jenny was feeling a little better the next day. Chuck had made every attempt possible to get some smiles and even a laugh out of her.

"Do you want to come over and work on our tutorial today after school, he asked sitting across from her at lunch.

"I can't. I have to go find a dress for Saturday."

Chuck displayed a huge grin. "Oh right. You want me to come with you?" he asked.

"No." she replied.

"Why not?"

"Because, first of all I hate dress shopping, second of all I don't want you to see it."

"You don't want me to see it? Why not? I'm going to see it when I pick you up for the dance."

"Well I don't want you to see it before then."

"Jenny it's not like it's a wedding dress."

She glared at him.

"I just mean it doesn't need to be a secret." He tried to recover.

Jenny turned and continued down the hall towards her locker.

"Jenny?" Chuck called after her. He moved quickly to keep up with her. "Jen?...Jennifer?"

To most teenage girls, a trip to the mall was a novelty. To Jenny it was a nightmare. She never was much for shopping. Sure she dressed nicely and liked to look good, but that was really a recent development. At her last school she had suffered from so much bullying from the other students that she vowed to make some serious changes before starting another school. Her braces had come off; she underwent a complete makeover; hair and clothes and most importantly attitude. Sure she came off as a tough girl, a loner, someone not to be reckoned with, but inside she was still that shy, self-conscious, vulnerable little girl.

Jenny was on to her third store. She was not having any luck finding a suitable dress. She wasn't even really sure what she should be looking for. This would be her first school dance ever.

"Jenny?"

She was shaken from her thoughts by the sound of her name. She turned to see who it was.

"Jenny, I thought that was you."

"Ellie!" Great Jenny thought, as if it wasn't hard enough getting the thought of Chuck out of her head, now, she had to run into his sister.

"Are you shopping for your dress for the Christmas Ball?" Ellie asked.

Jenny turned back to look at the rack in front of her, a frown on her face as she gave the dresses a once over. "Umm…yeah, I'm trying. I guess I'm just not having much luck." She replied.

Ellie glanced over Jenny's shoulders to see what had her so discouraged. It was self-explanatory when she saw the dresses she had been looking at.

Ellie grabbed her by the hand. "Come with me."

Ellie guided her to a different store. Jenny was a bit overwhelmed with the new selection of dresses. How would she ever find the right one? Ellie helped Jenny rifle through the racks. She pulled out several different ones for Jenny to try and she even stood with her to try them on and give an honest girl's opinion.

Jenny looked great in every one that she tried on, but as she stared at herself in the mirror of the dressing room at the long, pale blue gown she began to feel the butterflies again. It was a strapless number with a plummeting neckline. It hugged all her curves perfectly, yet was elegant and classy.

"Jenny how are you doing in there?" Ellie called from outside the dressing room.

Jenny released a deep breath and opened the door. She took a few steps out and Ellie's mouth dropped to the floor.

"Oh my God! Jenny, it's….it's just….perfect."

"Really? You like it?"

"You look gorgeous."

Jenny blushed. No girl had ever paid her a genuine compliment like that before. In fact no person had ever paid her a compliment like that before. Jenny smiled.

"You have to get this one. It's the one Jenny." Ellie admired her with a smile.

Jenny smiled. She really did like the dress; she just hoped Chuck would find it as exquisite as his sister did.

After purchasing the dress Ellie went on to ask her about shoes. Jenny of course didn't have anything to go with the dress, so Ellie dragged her off to a shoe store where they picked out a nice set of silver heels. Jenny was so grateful that Ellie had come along when she did. Had she not, she was pretty sure she would still be staring at those same racks with the unfortunate looking dresses.

Ellie then treated Jenny to a slice of pizza and a soda in the food court.

"Are you excited about the dance?" Ellie asked.

"Umm, I don't know."

"What do you mean you don't know? Chuck is over the moon about it. This date is all he can talk about."

"Well, I'm looking forward to the date, I just…I don' know, I'm just not really into attending school functions like this. This is actually my first school dance." Jenny replied.

"Are you serious?" Ellie asked.

"Yeah. I just never really had many opportunities to go to these things. I mean, my dad and I move around a lot." Jenny couldn't believe what she was saying. Was she actually telling Ellie all of this? It was like once she started talking she couldn't turn it off. She had never shared such thoughts with anyone before, but there was something about Chuck's sister that just made her feel comfortable, kind of like the way Chuck did when she was around him.

"Well, I think you and Chuck are going to have a great time. He will go out of his way to make sure that you do."

Jenny smiled. "I know he will. He always does."

The night of the ball….

The night had finally come. It had taken Chuck nearly two hours to get ready. He nervously pulled up to Jenny's house. He sat there in the car momentarily. He took a deep breath.

"Just breathe Chuck." He had to tell himself. He grabbed the corsage off the passenger seat and got out of the car. He slowly made his way up her front steps until he came to the door. He knocked three times and waited patiently.

Jack Burton answered the door with a scowl on his face.

"Can I help you?" he asked.

"Uh…yes sir…I…I'm….here to pick up Jenny."

Jack eyed him from head to toe. "Hhmmm." He replied.

"Dad!" Jenny exclaimed, approaching from behind.

Chuck peered around her father to get a glimpse of her. His breath caught in his throat as his mouth just about hit the floor. He stood frozen before her.

"Hi Chuck." She greeted him, coming into full view.

Chuck swallowed hard. "Jenny. Wow…I mean…You…you look…incredible."

Jenny blushed. "You don't look so bad yourself." She replied taking in his appearance. He sure did look sharp in a tux. It was Chuck's turn to blush. It wasn't everyday such a beautiful girl paid him such compliments.

"I uh…I got this…for you." He said holding out the wrist corsage.

Jenny smiled. "It's beautiful."

"Here." Chuck fumbled with the box and eventually removed it. "May I?" he asked gesturing towards her wrist.

Jenny gave a slight nod and held her hand out to him. Chuck moved in and slowly slid the flower over her wrist with shaky hands. "There." He said once it was secure around her wrist.

"Thank you." She replied. He stood motionless for a bit, just taking everything in. Mr. Burton cleared his throat, getting Chuck's attention.

"I expect my daughter home at a descent hour." He spoke up.

"Yes sir." Chuck replied.

Jack leaned in draping his arm over Chuck's shoulder pulling him in close to speak in his ear. "I expect you to be a perfect gentleman. Understand?"

"Yes! Of course sir." Chuck was quick to reply."

"Chuck we should go." Jenny announced, noticing his uneasiness.

"Right." He replied.

"Goodbye dad." She said turning her attention to her father.

"Have fun." He said with a forced smile.

Jenny grabbed Chuck's hand and pulled him out the door. They made their way to the car. Chuck was quick to get the door for her. He helped her into the car with her long gown and closed the door for her.

During the drive to the school, Chuck went on to tell Jenny how beautiful she looked and he promised her an incredible evening.

"Please thank Ellie again for me. She was a huge help with picking out the dress."

Ellie had told Chuck that she had run into Jenny at the mall and she helped her shop for the dress. Chuck had already thanked her numerous times for taking the pressure of Jenny. He knew how she had been stressing out over the dress.

"Sure." He replied with a smile.

Once at the school the two of them had made quite the entrance. The room just about came to a standstill when they entered. Nervous as she was, Jenny gripped his hand tightly. "What is everyone looking at?" she whispered in his ear.

"You." He replied.

She turned to meet his gaze; a nervous questioning look adorned her face.

"I think Cinderella just made her entrance." He said with a smile.

Her nerves were beginning to get the best of her and she subconsciously squeezed his hand a little tighter.

"Relax." He said trying to reassure her. The two made their way into the gymnasium, turning heads every step they took.

As the night progressed Jenny became more and more at ease. She was having a nice time with Chuck. She was even finding Morgan entertaining and she had lost count of all the girls who had come up to her to compliment her on her dress and to tell her how nice she looked.

Halfway through the ball, Chuck had guided Jenny out of the gym into a vacant hallway of the school.

"Are you having a good time?" he asked.

She smiled up at him. "I am. I wasn't too sure about this whole dance thing, but I'm glad you asked me to go Chuck."

"Well I'm just glad you said yes."

Their eyes locked with one another and they shared another smile.

"I have something for you." Chuck reached into his back pocket and removed the exquisitely wrapped package.

Jenny smiled. "I have something for you too." She reached into her clutch and removed the package that was taking up nearly the whole thing. She handed it to him and they traded packages with one another.

"Do you want to go first?" he asked.

"Let's go at the same time." She suggested.

"Okay." He said with a smirk.

Jenny lifted the lid on the small box while chuck tore at the paper on his gift.

"Oh my God, you didn't?" Chuck's face lit up. "Seriously? You got me the new Tomb Raider? How did you know I wanted this?"

"Chuck, it's all you talk about."

Jenny looked down at the box in her hand. Her breath caught in her throat as she stood there speechless.

"Do you like it?" he asked.

"Chuck?...Is this…"

"Your mother's necklace." He finished for her.

She looked up at him with tears of joy in her eyes. "You deserved to have it back, it belongs to you Jenny. Now you have the whole set."

Jenny's hand moved to cover her mouth. "I can't believe this." A small chuckle escaped her.

"What is it?"

Jenny wiped at the single tear that had made its way down her cheek.

"Chuck, I sold the earrings to buy you the game."

"What? Are you serious?"

Jenny nodded.

He took her by surprise when he burst out laughing.

"What's so funny?" she questioned.

Chuck held up the game in his hand. "I sold my PlayStation so I could buy you that necklace."

Jenny stood there in shock for a moment and the next thing she knew they were both laughing over the whole thing. Eventually the laughter subsided and they found themselves staring into one another's eyes.

"I can't believe you sold your mother's earrings. I thought it was important to you to have the whole set?" he asked.

"It was. But it was more important to me to do something nice for you. You've been a real friend to me Chuck since I moved here. It's not easy being the new girl all the time. Never really having the chance to make any real friends. You have been a Godsend to me and I wanted to do this for you. I just can't believe you sold your PlayStation. Video games are your life!"

"Well, maybe I found something that interests me more." He said shyly. Jenny blushed in response.

She held the necklace up to him. "Will you help me put it on?" she asked.

"Oh course." He said taking it from her. She turned so her back was to him. He wrapped the necklace around her and carefully clasped it behind her neck.

She turned to face him, her fingers toying with the silver chain. "How does it look?" she asked.

"It's beautiful. You're beautiful."

His words caused her to blush again.

"How about a dance?" he asked extending his hand to her.

Jenny nodded and gave him her hand. Chuck led her back to the gym where they found a not so crowded area of the dance floor. He pulled her into his arms and the two of them began swaying to the music. His hand slid from her waist up her back, while with his other hand he laced his fingers with hers. Their eyes remained fixated on one another, finding it impossible to look away.

His eyes eventually fell to her lips. He looked at her with longing in his eyes. How he longed to taste them, to kiss her passionately. Jenny felt the same way. She never wanted anything more than to feel his lips pressed against hers. Her first real kiss. She had been dreaming about it for some time now and at that moment would have done just about anything to make it a reality.

The two of them found themselves being pulled in towards one another. Their faces mere inches away as they slowly moved in closer and closer. It was like everything was moving in slow motion. And when their lips finally came into contact with one another Chuck could have sworn he saw fireworks.

The kiss was incredible. It was passionate and tender, sweet yet incredibly sexy. Words could not express what either of them were feeling the moment their lips touched. When they parted, he pulled her against him. She rested her head against his chest as he held her tightly in his arms. She closed her eyes and allowed him to hold her. She wasn't even sure if there was still music playing because the only sound she could hear was the pounding of their hearts as if in synch with one another. She wrapped her arms around him and nuzzled her face into his neck.

To say that Chuck and Jenny had a great time at the Ball would have been the understatement of the year. It was a night that neither of them wanted to end. A night neither of them would soon forget. And that kiss. It was the most amazing kiss imaginable. It was like a dream come true.

The two of them were pretty quiet on the drive back to Jenny's. Once they arrived at her house. Chuck immediately jumped out of the car to open her door for her. He held his hand out for her and helped her out of the car. He continued to hold her hand all the way up her front steps and up to the door.

"Jenny tonight was the most amazing night ever." He reached for her other hand and held them both in his.

"I had a really great time tonight Chuck."

"I hope that means that we can go out again?" he asked.

Jenny nodded in response. "I'm sure we could work something out." She teased.

He smiled as he slowly leaned in and gave her a quick peck on the lips.

"I'm going to hold you to that." He said.

"Promise?"

His smile grew more by the second with her. "I promise." He leaned back in and kissed her one last time. A proper, honest to goodness goodnight kiss.

"Goodnight Jenny." He said finally pulling away.

"Goodnight Chuck." She watched as he made his way back to the car. Once he was inside the car, Sarah went into her house. She found her father sitting in the living room pretending like he wasn't waiting up for her.

"How was your date?" he asked.

Jenny was absolutely giddy. She was just beaming from ear to ear. "Incredible." She replied. "It was incredible.

Ellie was still up studying on the couch when Chuck came strolling in. The biggest grin she had ever seen plastered on his face. She smiled, "Looks like someone had a good time tonight."

She didn't even think it was possible, but his smile grew even bigger.

"Uhh, sit little brother. I want to hear everything." Ellie closed her book and set it down on the coffee table in front of her. Chuck joined her on the couch.

"It was great." He said. "The best."

Ellie was happy for him, she couldn't even remember the last time she had seen Chuck half as happy as he had been since Jenny came along. "What did you think of the dress?" she asked.

"Oh my God. El she looked like a princess. She was absolutely breathtaking. You should have seen all the guys drooling over her.

"Did you get her dance?"

His face lit up thinking about her. "Of course." He replied.

Ellie couldn't help but notice the twinkle in his eye. "And?" she prodded.

"And what?" he asked.

"There's something you're not telling me."

"Ellie. A gentleman does not kiss and tell."

Ellie bolted upright on the couch. The excitement just as evident on her face as it was on his. "You Kissed her?"

"Mmm Hmm." He was giddy with excitement once again.

"So are you guys like an item now or what?" she asked.

"I'm not really sure. But she did say she would like to go out again."

Ellie leaned over and pulled her brother into a celebratory embrace. "I'm so happy for you. I know how much you like her. And I really like her too."

"Thanks Ellie. Oh and she asked me to thank you again for helping her out with the dress."

Chuck stood up. "Where you going? That's all the details I get?"

"Ellie, you're my sister, we have to have some secrets when it comes to our romantic relationships. I won't ask the details about you and Mark, so please don't ask about me and Jenny."

Ellie sighed. "You're right. I just, I was excited. I am so happy for you Chuck."

"Thanks." He said starting towards his room. "I'm going to call it a night. I'll see you tomorrow."

"Goodnight." She called after him. She heard his bedroom door close. With a huge grin on her face she picked her book back up and opened up to where she had left off.

When they returned to school following their Christmas break, things we a little different for Chuck and Jenny. They still hung out and did all the normal stuff they were used to doing together, but it was hard to hide their smiles and happiness from one another.

In Biology, Chuck would occasionally reach under the table and graze her hand with his, which always elicited a smile from her. She even allowed him to hold her hand once in the hall. Yes according to their peers and the rest of the school, Chuck and Jenny had definitely reached couple status.

After lunch, Chuck had walked Jenny to her locker. Both of them moving rather slow anticipating their separation from each other for their next classes.

"Do you want to come over after school and finish up that tutorial for the week? Maybe we can have some dinner or watch a movie afterwards?"

"Sure." She looked up at him with a smile.

"Great." He smiled back. "Do you have to stay after today or do you want to walk home with me?"

"I'll walk with you." She said gathering her books from her locker. Once she had them in hand she closed her locker and turned to face him.

He was staring at her, well more like admiring her.

"What?" she asked becoming self-conscious. Do I have something on my face or something?" she asked wiping at her face.

Chuck laughed. "No, I just…You're so beautiful. I wish I could just look at you all day long." He took her hand into his.

"Chuck, stop." She turned her head, her cheeks turning a bright red color.

He stepped in closer. "Don't be embarrassed Jenny. It's true, I just want you to know how I feel."

She looked back towards him, her eyes locked with his. "You're incredibly sweet Chuck."

"Sweet? What am I eight?" he asked with a smile.

Jenny smiled back. Her eyes shifted to his lips as she took a step closer to him so that their bodies were touching. "You're definitely not eight Chuck."

He took that as the cue he had been waiting for. With a huge smile plastered on his face, he leaned in and captured her lips with his. His hands circled her waist as hers locked behind his neck. Jenny's back pressed up against her locker. The kiss was sweet and sensual and relatively tame, considering they were in school and neither of them were too keen on public displays of affection.

The school bell rang signaling them to get to class. Chuck and Jenny reluctantly pulled apart. He momentarily caressed her cheek with his thumb and she felt chills up her spine.

"We're going to be late." She managed to say.

Chuck gave her a nod and took a step back.

"I'll meet you out front after school." He said.

"Okay." Jenny headed off down the hall towards her next class. She turned back to look at him, offering him one last smile before she rounded the corner.

Chuck couldn't contain his excitement. He turned to go in the opposite direction towards his own class. Making his way down the hall, he got several pats on the back, high fives and way to go's from fellow students who had witnessed his kiss, but Chuck was too happy to even be embarrassed about it.

Jenny had let him hold her hand as they walked back to his place. They worked quickly to finish their tutorial despite their lack of interest.

"You want to watch a movie or something?" Chuck asked.

"Sure, why not."

Chuck stood up and went over to his video collection. "Any requests?" he asked.

"You pick." She replied.

"Are you sure about that?"

She replied with a nod. She smiled when Chuck held up the Tron video. "What am I getting into here?" she asked.

Chuck laughed. "You told me to pick." He said popping the video into the VCR. He laid down on the bed, with his head at the bottom of the bed, propped up on his elbows. He gestured for her to join him. She laid down next to him in the same position. The two laid shoulder to shoulder.

Throughout the movie Chuck explained to her what was happening and why, she found it a little confusing, but she enjoyed seeing his excitement about it.

"Are you bored out of your mind?" he asked turning to look at her.

"No." she replied. She turned to face him. "This is fun." She said with a smile.

Once again Chuck found himself captivated by her beauty and the overwhelming urge to kiss her. He slowly leaned in and gently brushed his lips against hers, giving her a small kiss on the lips. When it was over they both found themselves leaning back in for another. This one a little more heated.

Jenny rolled back onto her back with Chuck leaning over her. She reached up and stroked his cheek with her hand. Chuck used his own hand to brush a few strands of hair behind her ear. He brushed his thumb over her lip. Her hand clasped behind his neck and she pulled him back down towards her. Their lips came crashing together in a very heated, passionate kiss. Chuck's hand slid down and caressed her thigh. Jenny's hand slid down his back as their lips continued their assault on one another. The two of them were so completely caught up with one another that neither of them heard the knocking on Chuck's bedroom door.

"Chuck?" Ellie called out as she finally just opened the door, getting tired of waiting.

Chuck and Jenny quickly pulled apart.

"Ellie, what are you doing?" Chuck jumped up from the bed.

Jenny followed suit, quickly readjusting her clothing. She turned, so her back was to them.

"I'm sorry I didn't realize…."

"I have to go." Jenny grabbed her backpack and rushed out the door.

"Jenny wait!" Chuck ran after her as she made her way through the apartment. He finally caught up with her at the front door. "Jen wait." He grabbed hold of her hand stopping her in her tracks.

"Chuck my dad's going to be wondering where I am." She said turning to face him.

"Look I'm sorry about all that. I should have locked the door; I didn't think Ellie would be home until later."

"Chuck its fine. I'm just…well, it's a little embarrassing."

"I know, I'm sorry. Can I at least walk you home?"

She shook her head no. "No, you need to deal with that." She gestured back to the apartment refereeing to Ellie.

Chuck frowned. "Well can I at least call you later?"

Jenny smiled. "You better." She replied. Leaning in she gave him a quick kiss on the lips. "Bye."

"Bye. I'll call you."

Chuck waited until she was out of sight then closed the door. He walked back into the apartment where Ellie was waiting for him. Chuck just glared at her as he tried to walk past her and back to his room.

Ellie reached out grabbing him by the arm. "Not so fast little brother. We need to talk."

"Ellie, I'm not in the mood okay."

"I don't care. We need to talk about what just happened."

"Ellie it's none of your business, you're not my mother."

"You're right Chuck. I'm not your mother, but I'm the closest thing you've got. And I've always looked out for you, I'm not about to stop now."

Chuck sighed heavily. "I know. Look I'm sorry, I'm just…its embarrassing okay. Not just for me but for Jenny."

"I did knock Chuck. Several times in fact. I don't want you to think I just barged into your room like that. You're a teenage boy, I know you need your privacy, we all do."

"It's okay, just please don't make it weird for Jenny when she's here."

"Chuck I would never do anything to make her uncomfortable here. She is welcome here anytime, you know that. There is something we have to talk about though."

Chuck looked up with questioning eyes. Ellie walked into her bedroom and quickly returned with something in her hand. She handed him the small box.

Chuck looked down at the item she just placed into his hand. "Condoms? Ellie…I…we were just making out that's all."

"Chuck making out leads to other things. Just be careful okay, you need to protect yourself and if you care about her like I know you do, then you protect her. Always."

Chuck was at a loss for words. How did he ever get so blessed to have such an incredible sister? She could have berated him, yelled at him, embarrassed him and made him feel like a jerk, but no, she consoled him and looked out for him.

"How would you feel about a brother/sister hug session right about now?" he asked.

"I'm open to it." She replied.

Chuck smiled as he leaned in gave his sister a hug. "Thanks Ellie."

Three weeks later….

Everything had been going great between Chuck and Jenny. They had been on some great dates with one another. They had shared some great kisses and make out sessions with one another, but most importantly they just really enjoyed being together.

Jenny had found something in Chuck that she had never had before. Not only was he her best friend, her only friend, but the two of them had a connection that was unlike anything she had ever known. It was as if they were meant to be together. He completed her and he felt the same way.

"Do you want to come over?" Chuck asked as the two of them stood in front of her locker.

"Yes. But I can't."

Chuck gave her his sad puppy dog face.

Jenny laughed. "Ahh don't do that to me. I have a huge Calculus test to study for."

"Well I can help you study." He replied.

"Chuck, you know if I come over there will be very little studying getting done. This test is important."

Chuck sighed. "Okay, okay, but I have big plans for us this weekend."

"Really? And what would they be?"

"It's a surprise." He said with a mischievous grin.

"Well if you don't tell me, how do I know if my dad will let me go out? Maybe he wants me home this weekend."

"Then, I'll be forced to sneak you out of the house." He whispered seductively into her ear.

Jenny swatted at him. "Okay, okay, I really need to go."

"If you need a study break later, call me." He said leaning in with a kiss.

"Bye Chuck." She walked away leaving him standing alone. She looked back over her shoulder and he sported his sad puppy dog face once again, making her laugh.

Jenny had just rounded the corner and started down her street. She was enjoying the sun beating down on her in her new beat up old Volkswagen that her father had given her as a Christmas gift last5 month. It wasn't much but he had insisted. 'You earned it.' He had told her.

The tunes were spilling out of her speakers as she closed in on their house. As she got closer she noticed all of the police cars. She slowed the vehicle down and watched as several local law enforcement officers and ATF officers spilled out of her house. Two leading away a handcuffed Jack Burton.

Jenny's heart just about stopped as her breath caught in her throat in a moment of panic. Snapping back, she stepped on the gas pedal and sped off. She made her way to a little pull off from the highway. It was a wooded area that her father and her had designated as their secret meeting point should anything ever go down. He had also instructed her to go here in the event of an emergency, telling her that he had left something important there that she would need.

Jenny darted through the woods until she came to the big Oak tree. Dropping to her knees she dug at the freshly overturned earth. She didn't have to dig far before she came in contact with the package. She removed it from its shallow grave. Jenny opened the bag; she pulled out an old metal box, with tape wrapped all the way around it, holding it closed. She pulled a knife from her pocket and cut away the confines of the tape. She opened the box to find a hand written note from her father.

In case of an emergency.

I love you,

Daddy.

Jenny removed the note. Underneath it were several large stacks of money. She couldn't believe it had come to this. She closed her eyes and took a deep breath before she went into a panic attack. 'Just breathe.' She had to tell herself.

Jenny heard some light rustling in the bushes behind her. Without hesitation she grabbed the knife and without so much as a glance she threw it hard. It landed in the tree bark mere inches away from where the man in the suit stood.

He examined the knife closely. "Nice toss." He said pulling the knife from the tree.

"Who are you?" she asked jumping to her feet.

"I'm the man who put your father in prison."

Jenny bent down and closed up the box, and began gathering her belongings.

"The question is, who are you?" he continued as he moved in closer to her. "In California you go by Jenny Burton, Wisconsin its Katie O'Connell, Cleveland its Rebecca Franco. The funny thing is when I looked at your birth certificate it says…"

"I get your point." She interrupted him. "What do you want?"

"Your father scammed some pretty dangerous people. I saved his life by putting him in jail."

"Well don't expect a thank you note." Her words were harsh and full of venom.

"I can save your life too." He continued.

Jenny stood there defeated; this is what it had all come down too. She had nowhere else to turn. She held her arms out to him, ready for him to slap the handcuffs on her.

The man shook his head. "No. Not like that...Your dad trained you pretty well. The CIA can do even better. You like names so much, what do you think about Sarah Walker?" he reached out to her and offered her the knife back. She grabbed it from him and the rest was history.

The next 6 hours had been life altering for Jenny or was is it Sarah now? She was worried about her father but this Director Graham had promised her that he was safe now. She would be leaving soon. Everyone would know about her father, about her. It didn't matter anymore. She didn't care what people thought. There was only one person whose opinion mattered to her. It made her sick to think about what this would do to him. How it would change his opinion of her, how it would hurt him. She never wanted any of that. She just wanted to belong to something, to have a friend. She thought that keeping this secret from him was the only way to keep him safe. To protect him. She had to see him; she needed to try to explain.

Jenny looked out her window. The rain pounded down on the earth, the sky lit up and the thunder roared loudly outside. She looked at the clock, it was late, he would be in bed, but she couldn't put it off any longer. She didn't know how much time she would have; she had to see him now.

Jenny tossed on her shoes and darted out of the house.

Chuck groggily glanced at the clock on his nightstand. It was just after midnight. He had been laying there for about an hour now, thinking about her. He had hoped she would have called him tonight, but she didn't. He had this feeling in the pit of his stomach that something was not right. He had tried calling the house a couple of times earlier but there was no answer. He kept telling himself he was being ridiculous. He would see her tomorrow at school and she would pick on him for over reacting over nothing.

Chuck yawned heavily. He was just about to doze off when he heard the tapping on his window. He glanced at the time on the clock once more. "Are you kidding me? Dammitt Morgan, this better be important." He said throwing the covers off. He turned on the bedside lamp. He glanced at the window and was shocked when he saw Jenny peering in.

"He quickly moved to open it. "Jenny? What are you doing here? Why didn't you use the door?" he asked handing her his hand to help her through the window.

"I didn't want to wake Ellie. I didn't want her to know I was here."

He could tell she seemed distraught. She looked as though she had been crying but it was hard to tell because she was completely drenched.

"What's wrong?" he asked.

Jenny couldn't find the words. She took one look at him and collapsed into his arms. He wrapped his arms around her securely and held her tight, whispering soothing words in her ear.

"It's okay Jenny, everything will be okay." He said as her tears fell.

He held her for a long time until she had finally composed herself enough to look at him.

"I'm sorry about that… I just….I didn't know where else to go…."

"What happened?" he asked the concern more than evident now.

She couldn't speak.

"Jenny I just want to help you." He reached for her hands.

She looked up to him with tears in her eyes.

"Can I just stay with you tonight?"

"Of course you can. Anything, you know that." He pulled her back into his arms. "You're shivering. Let me find you something dry to change into."

Chuck walked over to his dresser and rummaged through the drawers, while Jenny wiped at the tears that were still falling from her eyes.

He handed her a t-shirt and a pair of his boxer shorts and guided her to the bathroom. While she was changing, Chuck took the opportunity to change his own t-shirt, since the one he had on was now soaking wet.

Jenny returned just as Chuck was pulling the shirt down over his head.

"I'm sorry; did I get you all wet?"

"It's no big deal." He replied, taking in her appearance. He tried his best to hide it, but he had to admit, she looked incredibly hot in his underwear. He swallowed the lump that had formed in his throat. "Do you want to talk?"

Jenny shrugged her shoulders.

Chuck made his way over to the bed and opened the covers for her. "Come on." He said.

Jenny jumped in and Chuck got in beside her. He sat with his back against the headboard of the bed and he held his arms open for her. She moved in closer to him and he held her tightly."

"Talk to me Jenny. I want to help."

"You can't…No one can."

"It can't be that bad."

She looked up at him with tears in her eyes.

"I never wanted to get close to you. I don't want to hurt you."

"What?"

"There are things about me that you don't know. Things you wouldn't like."

"Why don't you let me be the judge of that?"

She closed her eyes and rested her head against his chest. "I just want you to know how important you have been to me. You're my best friend Chuck. My only friend."

He soothingly stroked her arm. "Jenny you're talking like you're saying goodbye or something. You're scaring me."

She sat upright to face him. "I'm sorry. I don't mean to scare you or to sound so morbid. I just…I'm not doing so good tonight."

He wiped at a single tear that was making its way down her cheek. He leaned in and left a kiss in its place. She moved in closer and grazed her lips against his. This led to yet another kiss, much more intense than the first. She needed to feel close to him tonight. She wanted to remember everything about him. The feel of his arms wrapped around her, their bodies pressed tightly up against one another, the taste of his lips on hers. After tonight she may never experience that again.

She reached out to caress his cheek. He turned his head ever so slightly and placed a kiss on the palm of her hand. He began leaving a trail of kisses from her wrist up her arm. She watched him with desire in her eyes. She leaned back in and kissed him fervently on the mouth. Chuck laid her back down on his bed and hovered above her.

"Chuck. I want to be with you tonight. Like…really be with you."

His lips curled up into a smile. "Jenny, we don't have to….If you're not ready." He knew she had never done this before. They had talked briefly about their past relationships. He was her first real boyfriend, in every sense of the word.

"Please Chuck." She pleaded not only with her eyes, but with her body. "I need you tonight."

An hour later Chuck found himself in his dark room curled up in bed with the love of his life asleep in his arms. Or at least he thought she was asleep. He brushed the hair away from her forehead and grazed it with his lips. "I love you Jenny Burton." He whispered just before closing his eyes and falling into one of the best sleeps he ever had.

Six hours later chuck woke up to a blaring alarm clock and an empty bed. He reached over and shut the alarm. Sitting upright he rubbed the sleep from his eyes. His attention shifted to the empty side of the bed. Had it all been a dream?

Chuck flung his legs over the side of the bed. He stood up and grabbed his clothes and headed towards the shower. The piece of paper on his desk caught his attention. It was definitely her hand writing. He picked up the piece of paper and read.

I love you too. Always remember that.

Jenny

Chuck smiled. It wasn't a dream, she was there. And she had heard him tell her that he loved her. But why did she leave? Why didn't she stay and wake up with him? Chuck tried to brush it off, to rationalize it. She probably had to go home and get ready for school; she had that big test today after all.

While in the shower, Chuck couldn't get her off his mind. He couldn't wait to see her at school. He still wanted to talk to her about what was bothering her last night since they never really got into it.

Chuck grabbed a quick bowl of cereal and darted off to school. He was hoping to catch Jenny at her locker before first period but no such luck. He would have to wait until Biology to see her.

Third period couldn't come soon enough. Chuck arrived early, eagerly awaiting her arrival. He watched as student after student piled into class. Many of them giving him weird looks and whispering.

Morgan was one of the last to arrive to class; he immediately made his way over to Chuck.

"Hey buddy, there you are. Are you okay?" he asked.

"What? Of course, why wouldn't I be okay?" Chuck questioned.

"Well I just thought, with everything that is happening with Jenny and her dad that…"

"What?" Chuck stopped him. He looked around the classroom; everyone seemed to have their attention focused on him as they whispered to the people sitting around them.

"Morgan what the hell are you talking about?"

"You don't know?" Morgan asked.

"Don't know what?" Chuck was getting angry.

"Dude, it's all over the news. Her dad got busted yesterday. Looks like he's going to be doing some hard time in the big house."

Chuck was speechless. He didn't even know how to respond. This is why she was so upset last night. He needed to see her. To see if she was okay.

Mr. Rawlings stood up in front of the classroom. "Alright, everyone take your seats." He instructed.

Morgan darted to the back of the classroom and sat in his seat, leaving Chuck to contemplate what he was just told.

"Alright class. I have a nice surprise for you today."

The class gave him their undivided attention, well everyone except Chuck that is.

"It's pop quiz time."

The class groaned.

"Take out a pen and put your books away." Rawlings instructed.

Chuck was completely oblivious to what was happening around him. All he could think about was Jenny. He had to go to her. He had to go to her now.

Snapping out of it, Chuck quickly grabbed his belongings and stood up.

"Mr. Bartowski, take your seat." Rawlings instructed.

Chuck ignored him and bolted for the door.

"Mr. Bartowski?" Rawlings called after him. He looked outside the classroom door and down the hall, but Chuck was already gone.

Chuck made it to Jenny's house in record time. He ran up her front steps and pounded frantically on the door. He waited but there was no answer. He pounded again. "Jenny!" he called out to her, trying to catch his breath.

Finally the door opened and she stood before him with tear stained cheeks. He released a deep breath when he saw her. He pulled her into his arms and held her tightly.

"Why didn't you say something?" he asked.

She could feel the tears starting up again.

"I didn't know how to tell you. I didn't want you to look at me differently."

He pulled away to look at her, he cupped her face with his hand. "I wouldn't…I couldn't."

Chuck moved further into the house and closed the door behind him.

"Chuck, my dad has conned a lot of people. I knew about it, I've even helped him in the past. I've been helping him since I was 8 years old. I'm not the person you thought I was."

"You're exactly the person I thought you were. That I know you are. You are the most amazing person I have ever known. Jenny we can't help who our parents are or the choices they make. I know that better than anyone. We're not our parents."

Chuck looked around Jenny's house. The police really seemed to trash it when they busted her father. His focus shifted to the two suitcases by the door.

"What's that?" he asked pointing to them.

Jenny turned her back to him; she couldn't face him right now.

"Jenny?" he came up behind her and placed his hands on her shoulders. "Are you going somewhere?"

"Chuck, I'm seventeen. My father is going to be in jail for a long time. You think Social Services are going to allow me to stay here on my own?"

Chuck turned her around in his arms. "Where are you going?" he could feel the tears welling in his own eyes.

"I'm not sure." She hated lying to him, but Graham made it very clear to her that this needed to be kept top secret. They didn't usually recruit minors.

Chuck shook his head. "No. Jenny you can't just let them take you. You can stay with me. Ellie won't mind. Heck she'd probably really like having another girl around the place."

"Chuck stop." She pulled away from him. "You're making this harder than it already is."

He wiped at the tears that were now making their way down his face. "You weren't even going to say goodbye to me?" he asked.

She turned to him. "I tried to. I wanted to, last night." She tried to hold them back but there was no use. He hated seeing her cry more than anything. He pulled her into his arms and held her. "But then…with everything that happened…I wanted to leave with good memories. Happy ones. Not sad ones."

"I love you Jenny Burton. I will always love you."

"I love you Chuck."

He kissed her sweetly on the lips.

"Tell me this isn't over. That I'm going to see you again."

"I can't promise that Chuck."

"Jenny, don't you want to stay? I mean we can hide you. They can't take you if they can't find you. I mean you're going to be eighteen soon, so what does it matter."

"I don't want to leave you Chuck but I have no choice in the matter. I'm so sorry." She ran her hands thought his unruly curls.

Chuck didn't know what else to say. There was nothing that was going to change the situation. He just pulled her into his arms and held her tightly.

"When do you leave?" he asked.

"This afternoon."

"I'm staying with you…until it's time…I'm not leaving you…I won't"

"I don't want you to." She replied. Her lips grazed his neck. He caressed her back soothingly. Their lips found one another and they shared a tender kiss with one another. Jenny took hold of his hand and led him up the stairs to her room. This was the first time Chuck had ever been past the front door of her house.

"I want to give you something." She said escorting him into her room. "Sit down."

Chuck took a seat on her bed. Jenny went to her dresser and opened the top drawer and removed the envelope.

Jenny joined him on the bed and handed it to him.

"What's this?" he asked.

"Open it." She instructed him.

Chuck opened the envelope and removed its contents. His face lit up with a smile when she saw the picture of them from the Christmas Ball.

"They came in the mail yesterday. I kept one. I wanted you to have one too."

He turned to face her. "Thank you." He said. He reached out for her and began caressing her cheek. Jenny's gaze fell to the ground. He leaned in and placed a kiss on the top of her head as he laced his fingers with hers.

"We never got to talk about last night." He finally said breaking the silence between them.

She looked up at him and met his eyes with hers. "It was amazing Chuck."

"I wish you hadn't left before I woke up. After what we shared, I really wanted to wake up next to you."

"I'm sorry, I just…I was afraid. I didn't want to leave you… I don't want to leave you."

He lifted her chin with his thumb and kissed her softly on the lips. The kiss picked up momentum as their desire for one another grew. His hand made its way up the back of her shirt to caress her bare skin. Jenny tugged at the bottom of his shirt until it was up and over his head. He pulled her onto his lap so that she was straddling him. She ran her hands over his bare chest as her lips trailed kisses along his shoulder. Her mouth moved to his lips as she pushed him down to the mattress. He looked up at her with desire as he reached for the buttons on her shirt.

"Is this okay?" she asked. He looked up at her with questioning eyes.

"With me leaving and all? Is this okay that we're doing this?" she asked.

"Do you want to do this?" he asked.

Jenny nodded. "I want to be close to you today. I want to be with you."

"Then it's okay." He smiled up at her.

She returned the smile before seeking out his lips again.

The next few hours seemed to fly by and before they knew it was going on 3:00 o'clock. Jenny had just emerged from the bathroom freshly showered and changed. Chuck was dressing I her bedroom when she entered. They shared a knowing look with one another, neither wanting to say what they were thinking.

"Do you want something to eat?" she asked breaking their silence.

He shook his head no. "I couldn't eat if I wanted to." He said with his back to her.

"Are you ever going to forgive me for this?" she asked.

He turned to face her. "You think I'm mad at you?"

"Aren't you?" she asked.

Chuck moved in closer and took her hands into his. "Why would I be mad at you? This isn't your fault Jenny. I'm just…I'm upset with the situation. It's not fair. I feel like we just got started here. I don't want to lose you. I'm not ready to lose you."

"If there was any way I could stay, you know that I would right?"

He nodded. He took a few steps towards her and was about to say something when he was interrupted by the pounding on the front door.

They stared motionless at one another. The pounding came again. "It's time." She managed to get out.

Graham stood at her front door waiting. He was a little surprised when it opened and he saw Jenny standing there with the young man.

"It's time." He said.

Graham stepped aside and allowed Jenny and Chuck to come out of the house. Chuck carried her suitcases to the waiting car where Graham placed them in the trunk. Graham opened the backseat door of the car and held it open for Jenny.

She turned to Chuck one last time. He tried to be strong standing there before, tears threatening to make their way down his face.

"Don't forget me." She said stroking his cheek with the palm of her hand.

Chuck pulled her into his arms one last time. "Never." He whispered into her ear. "I could never forget you Jenny Burton."

The tears welled in her eyes as they reluctantly pulled apart. Chuck leaned in and gave her one last kiss on the lips.

"I love you." He said as she made her way towards the car.

"I love you too." She said before hopping in the back seat of the car. The tears began to fall freely now. Graham jumped in after her and closed the door.

Chuck stood there and just watched as the car disappeared down the street. It was hard to believe that all this was even happening. A mere 24 hours ago, everything was perfect. They were in love, they were together and they were happy. How was he ever going to get over this?

Jenny choked back the tears and fought the urge to look back at him one last time as the car sped away. She had never known pain like this before and she prayed that it would end soon. Jenny toyed with the necklace around her neck. Her mother's necklace. It was even more special, more meaningful to her now, because of him.

Graham could see this was really eating away at her. "I know this may seem difficult right now, but you will see Sarah. This really is for the best. You are going to be a great CIA operative."

Alright, well there you have it. I have a feeling many of you will not be happy with the ending on this one, but we all know that Jenny was recruited to join the CIA, she had to leave. Now it is left open for us to think about what happens next. Will Chuck and Jenny meet up again? I think we all know the answer to that. However their meeting may just be a little different than the one we as viewers of the show are familiar with.

Anyway, I hope you enjoyed the story and I was able to do the young Chuck and young Sarah (Jenny) characters justice. I look forward to your reviews. Thanks for reading, it was a long one.