Dance to This Beat

“What?” I asked. “It’s not funny.”

“No. It’s just hilarious.”

“Jonathan Jacob Walker,” I warned.

“Oh, now I’m scared.”

I sat up and pushed him down on the couch.

“Rape!” he screamed.

“You can’t rape the willing.”

“Oh, right. I ‘forgot’.”

“Ha-ha.”

“I thought it was funny.”

“You think Spongebob Squarepants is funny,” I said, still laying on him.

“It’s my inner-child.”

“You have no inner-child. That’s all you, baby.”

He laughed. “Yeah, so?”

“I dunno,” I said. “I still love you, though.”

“Good, ‘cause if you didn’t, I’d die.”

“Awe. I don’t want you to die.”

“Then love me forever.”

“And always?”

“Well, that’s just a given.”

“My bad.”

Right then he kissed me.

“Well, hiya.”

He laughed. “You’re so country.”

“And proud of it.”

“Of course.”

I nodded.

------

“I like big butts and I can not lie. You other brothers can’t deny, that when a girl walks in with an itty-bitty waist and a round thing in your face, you get sprung.”

“Shut up, Brendon!”

He gave us a sheepish grin. “What can I say?”

The song continued to play and Brendon hummed it instead.

“Hey Bren, this is totally your song,” I joked.

“Oh, yeah. You know it, baby.”

I burst out with contained laughter. “Oh my God.”

“My anaconda don’t want none unless you got them buns, hun.” Spencer joined in.

“Jeez, why did we have to move in next to you?” I jokingly asked Jon.

“I dunno. Ask your mom.”

“Yeah, maybe we can find a new house. Or school. Hey, even state.”

“How about a new country? But just me and you.”

I smiled to myself and barely suppressed my laughter. “Dude that could work. Let’s run off to Vatican City. That’s in Italy. I know Italian. I can teach ya.”

He laughed. “This could work.”

“Take me with you,” Ryan muttered.

“Orgy?”

They both turned to look at me.

“Heh, heh, heh,” I laughed awkwardly.

------

“Sweetie, are you home?!” mom called up the stairs, scaring me and making me fall off my bed.

Jon turned around in the computer chair and tried to contain his laughter. “Are you okay?”

“It’s all good.”

“Uh huh.”

“It is,” I argued than ran to the top of the stairs. “Yeah, mom, we’re up here.”

“We…?”

“Me and Jon. He was doing somethin’ for me on the computer and I was dozing off. You yelled up and scared me, leading me to fall off my bed.”

“Okay,” she replied.

“I’m gonna go back to my room, okay?”

“Yeah, I just wanted to see if you were home. Your car wasn’t in the driveway.”

“Yeah, about that....”

“What happened?”

“The engine died, so it’s at Jon’s mom’s friend’s auto shop. He said he could fix it for free.”

“That’s good then.... I guess.”

“Right.”

“Okay, as you were,” she laughed.

I walked back to my room and found Jon playing computer solitaire.

“Havin’ fun?”

“Yeah. Have a nice fall?”

“It was great. Better than last time.”

“That’s wonderful.”

I giggled and went back to my bed.

Grabbing my diary and a pen, I leaned back onto my headboard.

July 1, 2008
Dear Diary,
Today was great. Jon, the guys and I hung out. We organized a skating rally for the bowl. It’s on the fourth. That’s only three days! We’re gonna have fireworks and food and everything. God, it’s gonna jam. And I’m really hoping Jon will kiss me under the fireworks. How romantic would that be? Extremely. Then school starts up soon. We’ve got ‘til August twentieth. I’m kind of excited. New school. New people. New friends. I wonder how I’ll fit in. I’ll probably be the weird new kid for the first month. That’s gonna suck.

I placed the diary in my bedside drawer and sat up. Jon was talking on the phone to Ryan, and he was freaking out. When Jon finally hung up I asked him what was up.

“Ryan’s dad. He went to the hospital last night. This morning he…”

“Oh my God. Poor Ryan.”

I was cut off by the sound of my phone.

“Hey, Ry.”

“Hey, C-Claire.”

“I’m so sorry darlin’.”

“How do y-you already kn-know?”

“Jon’s over here.”

“Oh.”

The line was quiet.

“How ‘bout we come over there? Where are you?”

“The skate park.”

“Alright. We’ll be there in ten minutes.”

“Thanks.”

“No problem.”