Chapter 29: I can't even recall her name...

Staring at the clock, I urged for the class to be over. We had three minutes left and the teacher was still going on and on about the review for our test coming up. I already studied this material last night, knowing that I'd be totally zoned out during the class. It seems as if I was right. Once the bell rang, I darted out of the door, my bag already in my hand. I practically sprinted to the car. Ms. Janie gave us permission to take the day off of work, claiming that she could handle the little devi- kids. I gratefully accepted, planning to hang out with my friends. I just hope they don't invite the guys last minute.

I got into my car and drove towards my house, planning on showering and getting ready alone. The girls were getting ready at their own houses, too; seeing as we were all meeting at one place in less than two hours, there wasn't enough time to go to my house or Sandra's, or Lola's. I slung open the doors of my closet, contemplating a possible outfit. If it were warmer, I would wear a short sleeved shirt, my vest, and a pair of shorts but because it was winter, and the weather was in the low forties- high thirties, I was forced to wear jeans and a long sleeve shirt, not that I was complaining.

I sighed, rubbing my tired eyes. My father came home last night and rather than turning to bed like I would on a normal Tuesday night, my father forced me to stay awake so he could tell me and my mother all about his adventures while on his mini vacation. He droned on for an hour, just talking about the car show while I dozed at the table. He finally let me go to my room at two o'clock, and I only got four hours of sleep- which obviously isn't enough.

I planned on going to sleep early today and sleeping in this Wednesday, which was a major staff meeting for all of Rodencia schools, but the moment it was announced in class that there wasn't any school on Wednesday, Grayson wriggled his eyes at me before texting me about Carson's plans to hang out as a group. I decided that going to sleep early wasn't as important as hanging out with my friends. At least I'll be able to sleep in! Plus I have no work tomorrow, thanks to the staff meeting!

Running a brush through my hair, I absentmindedly made faces in the mirror, nearly shrieking in surprise as a knock sounded against my door. Putting the brush down, I walked over towards the door, swinging it open. "You look nice, Audrey."

I smiled at my father, glancing down at my long sleeved red shirt and black jeans. I was going to wear white but it reminded me too much of Christmas, and we're not close enough to that holiday to dress in its colors. "Thanks, dad, what's up?"

I walked back over to my vanity, grabbing the brush and running it through my hair once again, hoping it'd dry in time. "Your mother told me that you and the Carter's boy have something going on, is that right?"

I tilted my head back and groaned, my hands going over my eyes. "Dad, we don't have anything going on." I know it's bad to lie, especially to a parent, but when it's my father- especially my father, it's better to lie. Plus, he knows Grayson- and his parents, and he won't hesitate to go over to Grayson's house and storm into his room, shouting at him to 'back off of his baby girl.'

"Your mother says differently." My father told me, picking up a small trinket off of my dresser before putting it back down. "You can tell me, I won't go over there and yell at him or anything."

I snorted. "For some odd reason, I don't believe you."

"I like that boy; I always knew he'd like you. For some reason, I had a feeling." Oh great, allow my father to explain how he was a psychic when he was my age and knew that his soon-to-be best friend's son would have feelings for his daughter. "Besides, I know you like him. Your mother told me."

I shrugged. "Well, it doesn't really matter. I'm over him." Maybe he'll believe me.

"Your mother told me about how you guys kissed... three times." My father explained and I nearly choked on my spit. Who told her about that?

"What?" I nearly shouted, turning to look at my father. He was grinning.

"So you do like him?" My father asked, nodding as he picked up a picture frame.

"How'd mom know?" I asked, wringing my hands together. What if my father already threatened Grayson? All of my chances would be gone!

"You talk very loud, or so she says." My father laughed. My father's face suddenly got serious. "So you guys are dating, I presume?"

I snorted, shaking my head as I leaned against my dresser. "No, we aren't."

My father furrowed his eyebrows. "You're letting guys that you're not even dating kiss you?"

I gaped at my father. Is that how he sees it? "No, dad, it just happened."

"Three times?" My father quirked an eyebrow.

I shrugged. "I guess, but that's beside the point. He's too much of a wimp to ask me out."

My father laughed loudly. "How do you know he wants to ask you out?"

My mouth dropped open as I stared at my father. I reached out and punched his arm. "Dad! You can't just say things like that!"

My father shrugged. "What? I was just saying. But if he's too much of a wimp to ask you out, why don't you ask him out?"

My eyebrows furrowed. "No, I already asked him on a date."

My father chuckled. "You like a wimp."

"Dad!" I exclaimed as he continued laughing, exiting my room.

"Wimp lover!" I groaned before closing my door and locking it, so I could continue getting ready.

~~~

"Are you ready?" Sandra asked me once I picked up my phone.

"Yeah, Criss Angel, are you?" I replied, sad that she interrupted my intense game of Flappy Bird. I was about to beat my record of 9.

"Yeah, when do you plan on leaving?" She asked and I glanced at the clock on my wall.

"Uh, in about five minutes." I told her. My mother decided to take my father out to dinner for a 'welcome back' date. It's even better because I'm going to be gone, so I won't have to worry about being scared in my own house. The doorbell rang loudly and I groaned, getting up from my bed. "Can I call you back? You know what? I'll just see you in a little bit."

She agreed and hung up rather quickly, muttering something about having to call Carson. After stuffing my phone, keys, lip balm, and my money into my pocket, I grabbed my coat and walked downstairs, ready to leave. I'm already up, might as well leave now. After turning off all of the lights on the way downstairs, I opened the door. Grayson greeted me with a smile as he held his keys in front of my face. He motioned towards his car as if silently asking me if I want to drive with him. Or at least I hope he was, he could be asking me if I wanted to run him over- which I did (for being a wimp) but it'd be embarrassing to just assume.

"Come on, save gas! Keep the earth clean! Carpooling, the next big thing!" He persuaded, nudging me as I locked the door, stuffing my keys in my pocket. I began walking in the direction of our cars. His was parked right behind mine, which was in front of my house. I turned back to look at him, raising my arms.

"Are you coming or what?" His grin widened as he jogged ahead of me, opening the passenger's side door for me.

I smiled at him as I got into the car, buckling my seatbelt while he ran in front of the car. The engine roared to life as he buckled his seatbelt. I took the time to discreetly glance at him out of the corner of my eye. He had a red hoodie; it didn't have a zipper and lacked any words on the front of it. He had black jeans on, too, matched with red vans. His outfit sounds all too familiar. Glancing down at my black jeans, red sweater, and red vans- I gasped.

He looked over at me, his eyes scanning my outfit before he guffawed in laughter. "It's not funny! We're clashing, that's weird couple stuff!"

"You don't want to be that couple?" He asked as he stopped laughing and started driving us down the street.

"No! That couple is always laughed at!" I retorted.

"Then what kind of couple do you want to be?" He asked curiously. I shrugged, my face turning a light shade of red at the mention of being a couple. I hope he means me and him.

"I don't know. What kind of couple do you want to be?" I muttered in reply.

"It doesn't matter; a couple is a couple. You can't try and base a relationship off of your hopes and expectations because, usually, you'll be let down." He told me. I thought about his words after I nodded in acknowledgement. I internally groaned as I felt myself falling for him more and more.

~~~

The minute we stepped into the restaurant, we heard loud laughter. I knew the exact location of my friends thanks to their loud chortles. We turned to see our friends laughing at us, pointing to our outfits. "Do you see what happens to this type of couple?" I muttered, motioning to our clothing.

He laughed. "We can make it work." He told me, flinging his arm over my shoulder.

After nearly freezing up, I walked beside him towards the table, completely aware of his arm around my shoulder. If I stopped walking and concentrated hard enough, I could feel his pulse on my shoulder, but that's creepy. Sandra and Lola's eyes rose as they glanced at each other. I already knew the thoughts rolling through their heads.

"You guys made it official?" Kyle piped up, snorting in surprise as we sat down. I wriggled out from under his arm and scooted towards Sandra and Lola. I mentally pleaded with them not to say anything. Lola smirked and patted me on the back.

"I didn't think you'd be able to actually ask him out. You've been harboring this crush for a few months, right?" She asked, smiling at me. Her eyes were tinged with evil, though. Slaughter her, the first thought that came to my head; although I have the urge to slam her head against this very table we are seated at, I held back because it'd land me in jail, plus I'd have to pay for the damages. Of the table, not her face.

"I actually asked her out, didn't I?" Gracie played along from beside me. I wanted the floor to open up so I can dive into the never-ending parallel universe like Tom Daley. Tom Daley doesn't sound too bad now, but he's gay so he wouldn't be interested in me, even though I get most of my looks from my father.

"No, nobody asked anybody out because we aren't dating. We aren't a couple, okay? Now can we eat?" I snapped angrily as I lifted the menu up to cover my face. I made a point to sink lower in my seat in an attempt to fully disappear behind the laminated list of foods and drinks.

"Yet." Sandra whispered. I extended my leg and kicked her in the shin, earning a yelp from her. "Why would you do that?"

"Do what?" I asked, my eyes glued to the menu. I wasn't even reading anything; I was just trying to keep my gaze elsewhere. I'm pretty sure my face is bright red; I can feel the temperature rising every few seconds. "You know, I have to go to the ladies room. Care to come with me, Lola, Sandra?"

"Yeah, I think I should check out the bruise you inflicted upon me." Sandra muttered, standing up. Lola got up, too, looking behind her and smiling at the guys as I led us towards the bathroom. The moment I opened the door, I turned to glare at them.

"What was that, Lola?" I snapped. "And you, too, Sandra?"

"Well, you're not telling Grayson that you like him, so we took it upon ourselves to do it for you." Sandra told me.

"Without even asking me? And for your information, I am doing something about it! I plan on asking him out again soon. Next weekend." I told them.

"Why not this weekend?" Lola asked me, raising an eyebrow.

"Because if I do that, I'll seem clingy and desperate, even more than I already am. Plus, I don't want to occupy two of his weekends." I informed them, walking over towards the mirror. I put on a new layer of lip balm, making sure to take off the excess. "Now can you please stop dropping hints? I'm pretty sure he already knows; don't overwhelm him with my feelings."

The girls nodded and we exited the bathrooms, walking towards the table again. We saw a waiter leaving and I furrowed my eyebrows. Don't tell me that they ordered without us. As I sat down at the table, Grayson turned to me. "I hope you don't mind; I ordered you lasagna."

I couldn't help but smile. Lasagna is my favorite. "That's fine." He nodded, a grin taking over his face.

"Can you guys stop?" Carson groaned as I looked away from Grayson. I sent him a curious look. He just sighed, shaking his head. "Never mind."

Shrugging it off, I glanced around the table. "Where's Shane?"

Normally Shane would be talking about how hot a random waitress is, or even the owner of the store- even though she's in her late thirties. "He and Sebastian are hanging out. They're at Sebastian's house though, because he has more gaming stuff; but I personally think it's because he wants to try his luck with Sam, but he continuously denies it."

I stared at Kyle once he finished speaking. "That's the most I've ever heard you speak."

"Lucky you." Lola muttered, grabbing her glass of water and sipping it from the straw.

He nudged her. "Hey!"

She giggled, smiling up at him. I was surprised she didn't splutter water everywhere, if it were just the girls- she would have spat the water all over the table, creating a mini lake. "I'm sorry."

"Why don't I believe you?" He muttered. She leaned up and kissed him, earning a strand of groans and 'come on' from the five of us.

"Can you guys not?" I muttered as I looked around for our waitress.

"Don't act like you haven't kissed someone!" Lola replied.

I rolled my eyes. "I have, just not in front of people!"

"Yes you have." Carson and Sandra replied in unison, earning a confused look from me.

"I'm pretty sure I haven't." I replied.

"At Shane's party, remember? You kissed Grayson." Sandra reminded, causing my cheeks to go up in flames. I wanted to kick her under the table but she was too far, seeing as she switched places with Carson when we returned to the table. Smart girl.

"That didn't count; I was dared to do it." I replied.

"Don't act like you didn't like it." Grayson muttered from beside me, earning a snort from Kyle. I nudged him in the side, gritting my teeth as I focused on Lola's words.

"You weren't dared to kiss Grayson." Lola added. "You were dared to kiss the first person to walk in the room."

"And Grayson was the first person to walk in; I didn't want to kiss him. It was either him or that beady eyed guy." I replied.

"Oh, Grayson, your face is gorgeous. Kiss me right now before I die!" Grayson exclaimed in a falsetto voice. I punched his arm but he didn't stop. "Kiss me like you want to be loved."

"Did you just quote Ed Sheeran?" I asked.

"Maybe." He replied in the falsetto voice. I groaned while everyone else cackled in my face.

"You're so annoying." I murmured, a sigh falling from my lips.

"But you can't help but like me." He muttered and I glared at him, punching his arm again.

He lightly pushed me, earning two raised eyebrows from me. I pushed him harder and his chair tipped lightly. "You wanna go?"

I laughed. "Yeah, I do."

"On a date with me?" He replied, and my eyebrows rose even higher while the guys high fived. I wanted to groan aloud. He didn't mean it. Of course he didn't mean it. I wished he had meant it.

I really do.

~~~

"Where to now?" I asked as Grayson and I got into his car. I managed to push my thoughts of earlier to the back of my mind, trying to keep them back there.

He shrugged. "I don't know, someplace fun. Shane suggested it."

"Shane suggested it? How do you know we're not going to go to some—?" He cut me off quickly.

"He grew up there; his aunt and uncle own the place. They're staying open late, just for us. And because they need to refill some of their bouncy supplies." He replied, smirking knowingly as if he already knew what I was wondering. "Besides, Trampoline Land isn't exactly a rated r location."

"Trampoline Land?!" I exclaimed, my eyes widening. This caught Grayson off guard and he gave me a sideways glance as I grinned. "Shane's family owns it?! I've always wanted to go there as a kid!"

"Yeah, he was even that awkward kind in the commercials." I let out a wild laugh as I remembered the commercials. I even thought Shane was cute back then, as a preteen standing behind a random family- pretending to talk.

"I remember. Trampoline Land always seemed fun, judging by the commercials." I replied.

"Well, it's going to be even better than it would've been if you would've gone as a child." He convinced. I gave him a curious look.

"Why?"

"Because I'm going to be there." He smirked, earning a snort from me.

"If anything, that'll make it worse." He frowned at me, looking genuinely offended. "I was kidding."

"You're going to pay for it." He told me and I snorted.

"What are you going to do? Lightly push me?" I cackled.

He chuckled evilly. "No, something worse than that, much worse."

I rolled my eyes. "Try me."

We were silent in the car, the sound of the heater of the car greeting us. About ten minutes into the silence, Grayson looked over at me. "Hey, can I ask you a question?"

"Shoot." I replied with a western accent and he rolled his eyes at my antics.

"Who was the last person you kissed and when was it?" He asked.

Well, his question was stupid. "You and it was on Saturday."

He scowled. "Before me?" He asked. As if catching onto my thought process, he sighed. "Exclude me from the question."

I sighed, squinting slightly as I struggled to remember. "It was in eighth grade, some boy named Jericho Downey or whatever."

He nodded and I pursed my lips, still unsure about whether or not to ask him. His answer could hurt my feelings but it could also make me feel special. Sighing, I allowed myself to ask him. "Who was the last person you kissed and when? And don't say me."

"Oh the answer wasn't going to be you. I kissed some chick yesterday. I can't even recall her name." He told me, causing my heart to explode into a million pieces. I gaped at him, my mind racing at an insane speed. He's been stringing me along all this time? In the middle of my thoughts, he began laughing loudly.

"What? What's so funny?" I snapped. So, he's laughing at me now? I'd get out of the car if we weren't going sixty on the highway.

"I was kidding! You were the last person I kissed. And before that, it was some girl from a few months ago!" He chuckled. "I didn't even kiss that college girl."

"You're not funny." I retorted, turning to face the window. How could he play with my feelings like that? I just experienced heartbrokenness in about three seconds and it was the worst thing ever. Even though it's a relief that he didn't kiss another girl, I was still angry that he'd play such a cruel joke on me.

It was silent for a few moments. "Darling?" I continued to give him the silent treatment. "Darling?" I didn't even look at him as he poked my arm. "Darling, come on, I was only joking."

I didn't bother to reply to his constant name stating. As much as I wanted to lean over and punch him in the face for pulling such a cruel joke, I knew that it wouldn't end well and we'd probably be tipped over in a ditch somewhere. I counted the amount of times he'd said 'Darling' or 'Audrey' in my head and I got up to 78 times before we parked in front of Trampoline Land. I quickly got out of the car before he could stop me and ran ahead towards Carson and Sandra, who were the only ones out of their cars.

"Where's Grayson?" Carson asked as he looked at me. He caught onto my foul mood and I could tell he was treading lightly.

I motioned back towards the car with an annoyed eye roll and Carson nodded, glancing back. "You girls go inside, I'll catch up. Kyle and Lola have the tickets."

I scowled as I thought of Grayson. "What happened?"

I looked up at Sandra. "He played a really mean trick on me."

"What was it?" She asked.

"He asked me who I kissed last and when, so at first, I said him. He then told me that he meant the person before him so I told him some kid from eighth grade. I asked him and reminded him that I didn't count, seeing as we kissed on Saturday but he told me that he wasn't going to say me because he kissed a girl yesterday." I explained in one breath, taking another one before continuing. "He laughed at me...just like you're doing now."

I frowned while she was laughing hysterically, placing her hands on her knees in order to hold herself up. "I can picture your reaction!" She managed to respond before falling into hysterics again.

I rolled my eyes as I swung open the door, watching as she walked right into it. I snorted as she opened her eyes and saw the door in front of her. Blushing profusely, she entered the lobby where a middle aged attendant was sitting in a swivel chair, twirling occasionally. Once she caught my gaze, she stood up. "Welcome to Trampoline Land, are you Audrey?"

I nodded, smiling. "Yeah, your Shane's aunt right?"

She nodded, holding her hand out for me to shake. "That's me, you can call me Carla." I nodded, shaking her hand. "Do you have the tickets?"

I nodded, seeing as Sandra was barely capable of breathing. "Yeah, Lola is coming with the tickets." As if on cue, Lola jogged into the lobby a moment later, waving the tickets in her hands.

"Here are the tickets." She told me before handing them to Carla who scanned them. I glanced around, searching for Kyle while she introduced herself to Carla. Once their short conversation ended, I giggled.

"Where's your boyfriend?" I asked her teasingly.

"Giving advice to yours." She muttered, rolling her eyes as Carla gave us six key chains that opened the lockers. While Sandra was in a deep conversation with Shane's aunt about the process of refilling bouncy houses, I handed her four of the key chains, telling her to give the guy's theirs when they finally came inside. Lola and I walked towards the lockers, using our key chains to unlock them. I took off my shoes and placed them into the locker. She did the same, stuffing her purse and phone into the small blue cubby. I followed suit, putting my jacket into the small compartment.

Lola requested I tell her why Grayson needed advice, so I told her. She told me that I was overreacting to which I rolled my eyes and scowled. "In case you haven't realized, I'm not good at purposefully displaying my feelings and to have someone throw them back in my face for their own amusement isn't really helping me to open up."

She sighed. "Those weren't his intentions. I may not know Grayson as well as you do, but I know that he wouldn't do something like that. I think it was more for laughs than for your eternal embarrassment, you're reading too into it."

I sighed but realized that she was right. I went about putting away all my loose items, waiting for a chance to think about what I'd done. I may have overreacted just a bit but it's not like I was in the wrong for doing so. I mean, he set himself up for it. All I did was take action the way I should have been anticipated to. Instead, he had different expectations that I unfortunately didn't reach and to his dismay, it ended badly.

Once I was stripped of any items that I could lose, I sat down on a bench. The guys walked in, doing what Lola and I did only seconds ago. Upon their arrival, I quickly walked out of the small locker room- trying not to look at Grayson. I felt bad, to be honest. The more I think about it, the worse I feel.

Lola was beside me until Kyle called her back. I groaned at being alone again and walked to the trampoline area, swinging open the door. Once my eyes laid on the setting, I grinned and ran over to the first bouncy ground and jumped around. I wasn't taking my chances at doing a flip because jumping was enough. The door opened again and Sandra came hurdling towards me, shouting loudly before tackling me to the bouncy floor. I groaned in pain, fixing my shirt before sitting up. Sandra was laughing loudly at her indiscreet sneak attack. She tossed her Scooby Doo sock covered feet into the air, laughing loudly.

Lola and Kyle walked in, Kyle stealing a kiss from her before she burst into giggles. Scowling, Sandra and I looked away- obviously bothered by the sight of our best friend openly flirting with her boyfriend. She's lucky it's too late for any six year olds to be outside, never mind here at Trampoline Land. Unless they're a rebellious six year old, but I doubt that. But if they were here, she'd get a few dirty looks from parents.

Sandra and I stood up, jumping around together while Kyle and Lola flirted. I was curious as to where Carson and Grayson were but Sandra didn't seem to worry as she was trying to build up the nerve to do a flip. I was leaning against the trampoline wall, watching as she wimped out seconds before she was nearly prepared. I turned to Kyle, slightly confused. "Hey, Kyle!"

He turned to look at me, his eyebrows furrowed. "Yes?"

"What time are we leaving?" I asked him.

He shrugged. "Shane's aunt said that because they're refilling the air in all of the bouncy houses, they won't be closing until around midnight."

I groaned. "I have to go call my parents or else they'll be freaking out."

I tried to run along the bouncy floor but nearly fell twice so resorted to walking slowly. Once I arrived on solid ground, I hurried towards the locker room area, passing Carson on the way back. "Is Sandra in there?"

"Yeah, and she's trying to do a flip." I nodded, pointing towards the entrance. He laughed before jogging over. I couldn't help but notice his Spongebob socks. They truly are meant to be, aren't they?

I entered the locker room, freaking out slightly as I yanked the keycard from my pocket, dragging the chain out with it. My eyes met Grayson's before I quickly averted them and opened the locker. I hope they don't demand I come home for suggesting such a late curfew. They should still be on their date, from what they told me. The phone rang twice before my father's voice answered. "Hey, honey." Why did I call my father? A simple ring to my mother and a polite voice would have gotten me a 6 AM curfew.

"Dad... do I have a curfew?" I nervously sat on the bench in the middle of the large locker filled room.

"Yes, ten o'clock." I wanted to groan aloud as I bit my lip, staring at my red socks.

"Do you think you can extend it until, maybe one?" I asked pleadingly.

My father's laughter filled the phone. "One o'clock?!" He continued to laugh while I crossed my legs criss cross apple sauce.

"We're at Trampoline Land dad, come on. Please?" I begged, frowning. It'd be a lot easier to plead and beg if Grayson wasn't in the room. I could also do a little bit of blackmailing.

"And it closes at 1?" He asked.

"It's a far drive back. We're leaving at twelve." I replied, pursing my lips as I crossed my fingers hopefully.

"It closes at 12?" He retorted. "Isn't that a child's play area?"

"It is but they're staying open later than usual because they have to refill their bouncy houses. Besides, it's Shane's aunt's place so we're allowed to be here." I told him.

"Shane?" He asked. I knew I shouldn't have said it. Why didn't I say Shaniqua or Shania? Anything but a male's name.

"Yeah, dad, he's a friend of mine." I replied, biting down on my lip hard, internally cursing myself.

"What happened to Grayson?" I was nervous that Grayson could hear the conversation, so I quickly lowered the volume, not bothering to glance at him. Why is he still here anyway?

"He's still around. Now can I stay or not?" I asked.

"I'll ask your mother." He replied, sighing loudly before I heard my mother's voice on the other end along with my father's.

Suddenly, my mother's voice was the only voice I heard. "You promise you'll be back at one?" She asked me.

I nodded, despite the fact that she couldn't see me. "Yeah, I promise."

"If you're not, I'm going to ground you for a month. That includes no dates with-." I quickly cut her off, laughing awkwardly as I glanced at Grayson. His eyebrows were furrowed as he bit his lower lip, probably because of my sudden increase of volume.

"Okay, mom!" I told her, causing her to cackle evilly. She knew what she was doing.

"I love you." She cooed.

"Yeah, you too." I muttered, preparing to hang up.

"No, say it." She told me. "Are you around your friends? Are you embarrassed to say that you love your mother?"

"No, mom, I'm not embarrassed." I replied, my cheeks tingeing pink.

"Then say it!" She told me, well, demanded.

I sighed. "I love you." I whispered.

"What was that? Were you telling me a secret or telling me that you love me?" She asked.

I groaned, growing frustrated, before I spoke louder. "I love you."

"I still can't hear you!" I wonder if she's embarrassing my father and herself at the restaurant.

"I love you!" I shouted. "Are you happy now?!"

"Yes, very happy. I love you, see you at one." She told me before hanging up in my face. I grumbled as I stuffed the phone in the locker, slamming it shut.

"I love you mommy." Grayson mocked in a falsetto tone as I shot him a glare. I exited the locker room and walked towards the entrance of the bouncy area. "Wait up!"

His words made me jog quicker and I ran towards the entrance, looking back occasionally. Once I entered the bouncy area, I hid beside the entrance, motioning for everyone to shush. Grayson entered a few minutes later, a sour look on his face. He walked over towards the foam square pit once his eyes scanned the area. He looked towards Carson before pointing down, as if asking if I was in there. Carson shrugged while I ran behind Grayson and shoved him into the pit. He let out a girly scream as he fell face first, into the pit of foam squares.

I grinned triumphantly as he struggled to make an appearance in the foam squares. Once he did, he had a glare on his face before his eyes landed on me. "Does this mean you forgive me?"

I snorted. He was already forgiven but I might as well take advantage of being let off the hook for cruel acts. "You don't have it that easy. You embarrassed me!"

He groaned as he yanked himself out of the ball pit, his arms flexing as he did so. He disregarded the ladder altogether. I was surprised that he could lift himself up, but I realized that I shouldn't be. He plays football for Pete's sake. "It was a joke!"

"You laughed at me." I replied, crossing my arms over my chest.

"You would have laughed if you would have done the same thing to me." He replied.

I shrugged. "But I didn't do it to you."

I turned and began walking towards the bouncy area where everyone was, staring at us. "Where are you going?"

"To Italy, fancy some Italian food, don't you?" I retorted sarcastically, coming close to the edge of the solid floor.

"Aren't you going to listen to what I have to say?" He asked.

"Nope." I told him, a few feet away from the bouncy floor.

I felt two hands come in contact with my back as I landed on the bouncy ground, recoiling slightly. I gasped as I sat up, frowning up at a laughing Grayson. He smirked. "Are you going to listen now?"

Glaring at him, I shook my head. "Nope."

I decided that getting up would be too hard so I crawled over towards my friends. Plopping down onto the squishy floor, I sat cross legged, listening to Carson and Sandra's conversation. Sandra was scowling. "But they can't do that, it's illegal."

"I do a lot of illegal things." Carson shrugged.

"Like what?" She snorted. "Are you sure they aren't just bad?"

"Pooping in the tub is illegal." Enough of that conversation. I tuned into Kyle and Lola's conversation.

"You're cute." Kyle insisted.

"You're cute." Lola responded. This repeated about four times before I had enough. Times like these, I wish Sebastian and Shane were here.

"You don't seem to be having much fun." I turned away from Grayson as he sat beside me. "Seriously? You're still angry?"

I crossed my arms and stifled a laugh. Even though I wasn't angry anymore, it was still fun to see him flustered. He groaned loudly. "This isn't going to be fun if you're ignoring me. You're the whole reason why I came here." I stood up and dusted the invisible dirt off of the back of my pants.

I wanted to coo in awe but I knew that'd be a wrong move. He's just saying it so he can charm me. I continued to look at my nails, not bothering to pay him any attention. I walked around aimlessly, listening as he followed behind me. "Come on, I didn't mean it like that. I-in fact, I think it's cute that you were jealous of the nonexistent girl."

I continued to laugh inside my head. "I know it was a mean thing to do, I wasn't thinking, okay?"

I just walked towards the actual trampoline portion of the floor. "I'm sorry."

I grinned as I stared ahead of me. Quickly wiping the grin off of my face, I turned to face him with furrowed eyebrows. "I wasn't that angry. I mean, I was upset that you played with my feelings like that but I wasn't angry, more like annoyed."

He looked at me in shock, his mouth slightly open. "You know, you look funny when you're flustered." Regaining his composure, he looked at me before leaning forward and kissing my nose.

"You look funny when you're flustered, too." He told me as my face turned pink and my eyes widened slightly. My lips were parted as I stared at him in shock. He turned away, his hands tucked in his sweater's pockets. I quickly ran towards him before jumping on the trampoline and kicking him in the back. He let out a distressed 'oomph' before he collided with the floor.

Smirking, I walked away. I heard his footsteps behind me so I quickly turned around. "Why the aggression?"

I smirked. "I don't kiss boys who I'm not dating."

He shrugged. "Well, you didn't kiss me. I kissed you."

"Who said something about kissing?" Carson piped.

"No on-." I went to reply but Grayson cut me off.

"Audrey doesn't want to kiss me because I haven't asked her out yet." Grayson explained as he walked in front of me, towards Carson and Sandra. My eyes widened as I stared at his back. Yet. Victory screech!

Kyle snorted when he saw my expression and Lola hit him in the arm while I grinned. When Grayson looked at me, I tried to wipe the look off of my face but ended up looking a bit constipated, I'm guessing. "Do you, you know, have to go to the bathroom?"

I punched his arm while he threw his head back and laughed. "No, you idiot, I don't have to go the bathroom."

"You guys have a weird way of flirting." Carson noted. "She hits you and you laugh. You insult her and she hits you. It's a never-ending cycle; it's a bit nauseating, to be honest."

"Well puke all you want." Grayson replied, lightly punching my arm before wrapping me in a bear hug. I glared at him while he grinned cheekily at me. Despite the controversy of bear hugs, I personally think they're comfortable. That's if you like the person, and I happen to like Grayson. But if it were my aunt Berta, then I'd be very uncomfortable because not only does she smell like barbeque sauce but she doesn't know when to let go. But like the crazy person I am, I pretended to hate it and shoved him away, scowling heavily when on the inside- I was grinning. I tuned into the conversation just in time to hear Grayson's idiotic remark. "Because she can't help but flirt with me."

I exhaled heavily before cracking my knuckles. This is going to be a long few hours.

~~~

I was right, like always. As Grayson and I exited the building with our friends slightly behind us, I let out a sigh. It was fun, although I was stepped on a few times- purposely, most likely. We were silent as Grayson gentlemanly opened the door for me. He jogged to the other side, opening the door for himself. We drove in silence, allowing the day's events to settle on us.

"You know I was serious, right?" He asked, breaking the silence- something he does often. I furrowed my eyebrows before glancing at him.

"About me being a welcome mat?" I questioned, my eyebrow rising slightly. He'd said that when Carson accidentally stepped on me twice.

He laughed, shaking his head. "No, about what I said in the restaurant."

"About meatloaf being good?" I asked, my other eyebrow rising. Both of my eyebrows were lifted up as I stared at him, waiting for an explanation. Why should I care about whether meatloaf is good or not?

He sighed. "No, I meant what I said about going on a date. The whole 'you wanna go' thing, yeah, I meant that."

I nodded, sitting back in my seat. What's that supposed to mean? Is he asking me on a date? Or what? "So?"

He sighed again. "Would you like to go on a date with me? The right way?"

"What are you trying to say?" I sat up immediately in my seat. He gave me a worried side glance. "Was my way the wrong way?"

I laughed at the nervous look in his eyes. "Sure, I'll go. I have nothing better to do. So when is this date?"

"Saturday; every Saturday with you is a good Saturday." He replied. "Or is it a good Saturday because I'm there? You know, it's probably the latter because you're very uncool."