Well,
that certainly didn't take long! Jason was a little disappointed that it wasn't more difficult, but he decided the positives outweighed the negatives. The truth of the matter is, Grace was spectacularly easy to woo because she'd never been complimented before, never been flirted with--never had a conversation with someone, even. All Jason had to do was break the ice.
However, Jason did have his expectations. Sure, he liked the girl, but he needed to make her a little more not-prison-wardrobe if he wanted to stay interested.
"Where did this come from?" She asked, puzzled.
"Sweetheart, I'm an Imaginary Friend. It has its perks."
Jason was taken aback by what a little hair-growing and a cute wardrobe could do to his new love interest. Grace was almost a clone of her mother, with her grandmother's taste in clothing.
Even as they kissed, Grace couldn't forget that Jason was with Treasure, and that the world was starting to feel like an immense soap opera. She'd never had anything that Treasure did, and now that she had a small taste of her sister's life she wanted more. Grace didn't want to
share Jason.
"Will you break up with her?" Grace finally asked, long past midnight.
Jason had thought this through over the past few days, and decided that breaking up with Treasure was not part of the equation. "No," he answered. "Treasure is the heir, and that makes her more important. If I break it off with her, your mom will kill me, and if she somehow forgets to kill me--you and I will be living in some dump in the city for the rest of our lives."
"Trust me--if I had a choice in this, I would choose you. But this is the best way for both of us." The truth was, Jason didn't know who he would choose. Treasure was his best friend, his confidant, and they could spend their lives together, but Grace was something else--someone exciting and new and beautiful.
Besides, she was a lot more liberal when it came to the Woohooer mod.
From that moment on, Jason was the center of Grace's world. She'd never loved anyone before, and to her love was addicting. Jason gave her flowers, flattery, and when she mentioned an interest in music--a guitar.
She couldn't stand to see him and Treasure together, so happy and carefree. Some people might have predicted that Treasure would become greedy and paranoid after so many years of getting whatever she wanted, but the golden girl was so happy-go-lucky that she was never in a bad mood.
It was Grace who watched and waited, becoming more jealous every day. For the first sixteen years of life she had nothing, and now that she owned something--someone--she didn't want to share. Not with anyone, and certainly not with Treasure.
Every night, when Treasure left to go to bed, Grace had Jason all to herself, but it just didn't stop eating away at her. Treasure had everything, just because she was the heir. It wasn't fair. Grace
should have been heir! She deserved it!
At school, it was the same: Grace and Jason waited outside while Treasure was in Debate Club. They flirted and kissed, and everything felt right in the world.
Then the
heir came out, and Grace was shoved to one side while the boyfriend and girlfriend were together.
And, one day, she snapped.
"Hi, I'm Grace Moonstone. You're Melody, right?"
"I read Grandma Cassandra's books, and--you used to be ineligible for heir, then she wrote that you underwent an operation to make your skin blue. I want to know how."
