Paging Payton(A Grey Anatomy/Jackson Avery Fanfic)

T W E N T Y

Jackson Avery

"The cake is... a long story. But we're here cause Payton needs stitches and we were out of supplies at the house." I told Meredith. She shook her head at me.

"Well this cut looks pretty bad, so looks like we're gonna have time for that long story. Start talking." Meredith pulled up a seat at the end of Payton's bed. She went to administer pain meds but Payton  put her hand out to stop Meredith, shaking her head.

"Are you sure? It's gonna hurt."

"I'm sure." Payton reassured her.

We both went to work telling Meredith the story of our cake fight, bursting out into laughter several times. By the end of the story Payton was practically crying, she had laughed so hard. 

"Your telling me that a tin can lid put you in the hospital?" Meredith asked. "That seems so un... you. When your in the hospital it's cause you punch walls and you punch DeLuca's. Not cause you stepped on a lid."

"What can I say? Tim cans are my secret enemy." She laughed.

"I'm gonna go check on Mrs. Timothys really quick and then we can go home." I excused myself from the room and slipped down the hallway out of the ER.

Payton Arizona 

"He is soo into you." Meredith told me as soo a as Jackson walked out.

"He is not into me. You and Alex are delusional." I told her.

"Alex agreed? See I am right."

"Meredith, Jackson and I are just friends. He doesn't like me like that."

"Do you like him like that?"

"I don't know. I mean he's hot, no doubt about that. And we do get along really well. He's funny and really nice. But then again every other straight female in this hospital thinks the same thing."

"But he doesn't want them, he wants you. Go for it. Ask him out or I will. For you, of course."

"But, Jacksons obviously well rounded in the topic of relationships and I-" I was cut off by Cristina quickly slipping into my room and closing the curtains.

"Cristina?" I asked.

"Sorry. I'm hiding. I went on a date and had somebody fake page me so I could get out of it. He was such a weirdo. But then he insisted on dropping me off here and now he's looking for me. Mer you have to help. Go out there and show him up to radiology, tell him I'm up there. Pleaseee." Cristina begged. 

"Ugh fine."  Meredith had finished my stitches by now and we had just been caught up in talking. She slipped out the curtains and approached Cristina's 'date.'

"So, what were you and Mer talking about?"

"She think that Jackson likes me."

"Ohh yeah. Definitely, 100 percent." She said nodding her head.

"Why does everyone think that? There is no way Jackson likes me."

"Oh please. Everybody saw you two at your birthday party last night. It's so obvious you guys are into each other. You are into him, right?"

"I don't know. I was telling Mer, he's super hot and really sweet and funny but.. I just don't know. Jackson obviously has had relationships before, it's not like he's any stranger to them but I- I've never even had a boyfriend."

"Wait, you've never gone out with anyone before?" Cristina sounded surprised.

"Nope. Which is exactly why I don't think Jackson likes me. Boys have never liked me, so why would someone like Jackson who could date anyone in this hospital, like me?"

"Because you're hot and you're sexy and your fun. Mer and I were saying just the other day that it's always just been the two of us because nobody else has ever really fit in. But you, you fit in. You've gotten closer to us than anyone else. People like you. You can be snarky and snide and downright rude. Your not afraid to yell at anyone or get in anyone's face. If you have an opinion you say it. But at the same time, you can be nice and you're hilarious and people like you. Jackson likes you. So do it. Ask him out and get yourself a boyfriend." Cristina finished her speech.

"As beautiful and heartwarming a speech that was, none of it was true. Except for the whole snarky and rude part. That was very accurate." I was going to say more but Jackson walked back into the room so I stayed quiet.

"Why do you have those?" I asked referring to the pair of crutches in his hand. He just smiled at me, knowing that I would hate them.

"Nope, I'm not using those." I crossed my arms and shook my head.

"Yes you are. You just got stitches in your foot. People with stitches feet use crutches." He thrust them at me.(hehe. Sorry, innuendo)

I stood up and grabbed each of the crutches. "Lets got home, I need to get this cake off of me." I told him.

"Oh yeah, you have to tell me that story later." Cristina told me. I smiled and shook my head at her. I liked Cristina. Most people thought she was rude but I just thought of her at straightforward, candid.

-

"I can't find my phone, have you seen it?" Jackson asked me, walking downstairs with a towel around his waist and no shirt.

"No, but apparently you couldn't find a pie of shorts either." I joked.

"Oh shut up." He told me as he continued to search for his phone. He pulled it out of the couch cushion and then walked back upstairs to take his shower.

When he walked back downstairs he was wearing just black basketball shorts.

"Oh look, he found shorts. I'm guessing the shirt is still lost though." I laughed. Jackson stuck his tongue out at me. He walked over to the couch and I immediately knew what was coming.

"Jackson.." I warned. "No, stop it. Jackson don't. I swear-" he picked me up off the couch and carried me around the house.

"No! Jackson put me down!" When he still hadn't put me down, I tried something else.

"Ow, ow!" I cried out.  He instantly set me down on the kitchen counter.

"What happened, what's the matter?" His voice was frantic.

"Nothing." I said in a fake cheery voice.

"You shouldn't scare people like that." He told me. I jut realized how close we were. He was standing between my legs and we were so close that I could feel his hot breath on me. I look from his eyes to his lips. He started leaning in. He was so close to my lips. But he wa s interrupted by the sound of Alex trying to unlock the door.

I slipped off the counter and hobbled over to the door, unlocking it for him.

"Hey Alex, how was work?"

"Good. How was your day off?" He said looking back and forth from Jackson to me. Thankfully Jackson didn't seem to notice.

"Fine. I got a new scar to add to my collection."

"What the hell did you do this time?" He asked. I pulled my foot up so he could see the stitches.

"Cut it on a tin can during a cake fight." Alex scoffed and shook his head and Jackson laughed. Alex walked upstairs and I hopped back onto the counter. It was probably my favorite place to sit. Jackson resumed his position between my knees.

"Payton don't freak out, but I'm gonna try something. If you don't like it, it never has to happen again. I just want to try it." He said staring at my lips. My hands were pressed against his bare chest.

"Jackson.."

"Hm?"

"Just kiss me already."