Spinelli tried to play it cool. The Pretty One--or Georgie as she gently insisted on being called--was sitting across from him with a textbook and a big cuppa joe in hand. She had tests coming up and she was as nervous as he’d ever seen anyone. Of course she managed to be exceptionally lovely while doing it. He was still mesmerized by her, even when he didn’t have all of her attention.

“I’m not ready for this exam. In fact, I’m not ready for anything. I need a vacation.”

He grinned, images of sandy beaches and bikini bottoms floating through his head. “Vacations are good. Where do ya wanna go? I bet I can get Stone Cold to pull some strings.”

Georgie pulled her eyes away from the unbearably small historical text to look at him. “I’d love that. But I doubt Jason would go out of his way for me. He and my dad don’t exactly have the best of relationships,” she emphasized with the arc of her eyebrow. Ah, Stone Cold and Mac Daddy were sort of on differing sides of the law.

Spinelli shrugged, feeling very proud of himself. “Yeah, but me and Stone Cold are kind of a team. I go to bat for him, he does it for me. So…if I ask, it’s pretty much a done deal.” He would love to be able do something like this for her. So far, she’d been great to him; he wanted to return the favor.

Georgie rested her head on her hands, getting a content if far away look in her eye. “I’d love to go somewhere. I haven’t been out of Port Charles since I was a little girl. Maybe a change of scenery will get me through the rest of the school year.” She looked both hopeful and skeptical. “If you could make it happen, I would adore you forever.” She fluttered her eyelashes at him, making him melt.

He loved that she could do that to him without his feeling like an idiot. It was as though she could read his mind, like she knew exactly what to say and how to push just the right button to get her way. The difference between how she did it and how Lulu had done it was that he wasn’t hurt when she was done. He was still himself, still the same with no more scars, maybe even fewer ones. For once, he didn’t feel the fool for adoring her.

“Then prepare for an eternity of adoring me, because I will make it happen. Just tell me where you wanna go.” He laid his hand next to her book, palm up. Without hesitation she put her hand in his and squeezed.

She gave it some thought, drumming the fingers of her free hand on the table. “I was thinking…Australia.”

He blinked, surprised. Of all the wonderful places he’d envisioned her wanting to see, Australia hadn’t crossed his mind. There was always the Sydney Opera House, he supposed. Whatever she wants, he told himself, and was content with that.

“Any particular reason?”

Seeing that he wasn’t about to openly ridicule her choice, she beamed. “That’s where Mac is from and I’ve never been. I know it’s weird and you probably wonder why I care, but I do. I can’t give you a reason other than it might be the only place in the world where I really fit in.”

He played with her fingers, secretly loving how she laughed when he did. She was Georgie, the Pretty One, his muse; he couldn’t imagine her not fitting in.

“What about here? You have your sister, your step dad, your…friends.” As he started to think about it, he realized that he didn’t know any of Georgie’s friends. He’d visited her at PCU a bunch of times already and had yet to see her really hanging out with anyone. He didn’t like the idea that she was always alone when they weren’t together.

Georgie sighed. “I’ve never been the popular girl. That was Maxie. I’m just the sister she’s nice enough to hang out with sometimes. Otherwise, it’s just me. It’s not that I can’t make friends--I can. I never really tried when I was younger and I don’t try now. The friends I do manage to make either die or betray me, so, I spend a lot of my time alone. You are actually my only friend right now.”

Spinelli brought her hand to his lips and kissed it lightly. He wasn’t usually the guy for that kind of thing, but he was determined to show her how great he thought she was, even if he was too afraid to ask her out on a real date.

“Then, the Jackal will be the best friend you’ve ever had.” His words seemed to sadden her and rushed to backtrack. “I’m not promising you, Prett--Georgie, I mean it. I’m telling you that I’ll be there for you when you need someone to talk to or someone to study with or someone to take you on a trip to keep you from losing it. That’s why I’m here. Maybe that was the reason all along.”

She sucked on her lips, nodding. He knew she trusted him; she’d shown him that from the night they met on the docks. They’d gone to one of the last outdoor theatres left in the state and sat on the prickly, green grass. The movie ran long and late, transporting them both back to a time that was about as simple as two people meeting and connecting for the first time. She fell asleep against his shoulder and by the time he walked her to her door, she was wearing his jacket. The weight of her kiss warmed the corner of his lips as he slept contently through the late night and early morning.

“You would come with me, right?” She appeared somewhat anxious at the idea of leaving her hometown alone in search of an entirely new place, an entirely new country.

“If you want.” He was hoping she’d say yes. He needed her to say yes.

“Oh, I want. If you can’t go there’s no reason for me to.”

“Then, it’s a go. We’ll go to Australia and find a place for us. I know what it’s like to be a misfit. If you think that’s the place, then we have to go. You never know, there might even be a spot for me.”

“There’s always a place for you, Spin. At least with me.”

Spinelli blushed. He was dreaming, had to be. Georgie could not have just said that. She had, he knew she had. There was no stopping it, he was already in love.

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