One and Only

Jesi and Justin strutted onto the stony sidewalk of Cheshire Street. Either one hadn't said a thing since the departure from Jesi's house. The only sounds were the light thuds of the pair's shoes against the ground, the buzzing of cicadas, and a dog barking at it's shadow every now and then. The normal Georgia neighborhood music.

At the end of the road, Jesi was getting very curious about where Justin was taking her. She was sure it couldn't be far because they only had until nine o'clock, and it was already quarter 'til six now.

Abruptly, Justin quit moving and turned to Jesi. She stopped, too, and stared at the boy.

From his jacket pocket, Justin pulled out a long, maroon tie. He played with it for a few seconds, then wrapped it around his knuckles and pointed his vision in Jesi's driection. "Okay, um, this next part is going to be a surprise," he said. "I think it woud be more fun that way."

With that said, he trotted behind the girl and laced the tie in front of her eyes, blocking all sight except slightly around the edges. Carefully, Justin put his hand on Jesi's side and her opposite elbow and began walking to the right.

"Where are we going?," Jesi wondered out loud.

Justin let out a quiet chuckle and led them to the left. "Like I said, it's a surprise."

Jesi knew she wasn't getting any clues, so she decided to shut her mouth until the rest of the journey was over. When the sound of concrete taps went to the crunch and swish of grass and leaves, though, her curiosity started getting the best of her. She let out an annoyed sigh, which caused Justin to laugh once more.

"You aren't that patient are you?"

Shaking her head and giggling a bit, Jesi responded. "Not really."

Suddenly, many twists and turns later, Justin cascaded into a stop and let go of Jesi. On the back of her head, the girl felt a mixture of light tugging and pulling. In a few seconds, once again, she could see. Blinking to adjust to the new amount of light available, she realized that the sun was almost set, the sky a colorful painting of the warmest colors.

Around the two was one of the most beautiful things Jesi had ever seen. Just a few yards ahead, a meadow inhabited most of the area. Daisies of all kinds, dandelions, primroses, gardenias, and any other bright and flowering plant imaginable filled the space just beyond the grove of trees leading to it. Absolutely, positively breathtaking.

Justin took Jesi's hand and led her out of the wooded area. In the middle of the meadow is where he took her, and was where a large comforter laid. On top of the blanket, a small picnic basket sat along with a short stack of paper plates and plasticware. One small kerosene lamp also stood just off the blanket. Safety precaution, quite typical.

Jesi was completely awestruck while taking all this in. Never had anyone before done something like this for her. The closest thing this.. romantic that ever happened to her was in seventh grade and her boyfriend, Cody, got her a white plush bear for Valentine's Day. Which, in her opinion, smelled like his Cocker spaniel.

Justin walked on top of the blanket and positioned himself Indian-style. With his right hand, he motioned for Jesi to do the same. She did, and he then opened the woven basket to reveal about three containers sitting nicely on top of blue gingham lining.

"You like strawberries, right?," Justin questioned while taking a Tupperware bowl and placing it on the top half of the basket that wasn't opened.

Jesi replied,"Yes, they're the best." She adjusted her shirt, smoothing it out and pulling it down a bit before she continued. "My dad would wash them for my sisters and I when we were little and we'd dip them in sugar."

Justin grinned, before taking a tiny canister from the compartment and setting it next to the Tupperware. "Perfect. I love them that way. Except, they taste way better with melted peanut butter dipped on them, though." Just then, he popped off all the lids of the Tupperware and Jesi peeked inside.

The first bowl he pulled out was filled with many large, deep red fruits with dainty leaves of green spurring out from the top. Strawberries, Jesi assumed. The canister was split down the middle, a fine white substance inhabited one side, a tan crystalline on the other. The third was a heated Thermos that held what just had to be peanut butter, Jesi's long time favorite. The creamy topping seemed thick and delicous.

Jesi couldn't help but smile, this was absolutely adorable. "Wow, Justin."

He slightly tossed a plate to her after setting one down in front of him and the food between them. He then looked up at her, worried.c "Is it too much?"

"Oh, no no no. Its fine, I just meant that it was.."

He looked relieved and finished her sentence. "Amazing?"

"Yes, definitely."

Taking one of the transparent forks from the tiny pile, Justin carefully stabbed a strawberry and dabbed it in the peanut butter then sat it on the dish in front of him. He then took a teaspoon from the canister and dipped it in the sand colored chrystals, then shook the spoon lightly to let them sprinkle onto the fruit.

Once finished, the boy pulled the it off the fork and held it by the leaves. Beginning to push it towards Jesi's face, the girl moved her head back and placed one of her hands behind her neck.

"Um, what did you just put on it?," she asked quite wearily. Not implying anything bad towards Justin, but she just met him. Some girl she threw a couples punches at back home could have payed him to poison her or something. Not that she believed that, though.

Playfully shaking his head, Bieber answered. "Brown sugar. Just taste it, it'll make your tastebuds go wild. Trust me."

Feeling content, Jesi allowed the boy to put the fruit in front of her face. She bit it, embarrassment filling her but not showing. Of course, Justin was correct. The mixture of peanut-y goodness with the tang of juice and sweetness of the sugar cane absolutely made her mouth go nuts. This guy had great taste.. literally.

"Told you," he reminded and handed her the strawberry.

Jesi chewed the "phenomenon", enjoying each bite.

Justin began creating another, except with the bleached sugar this time. After he shook the strawberry a few times to keep the peanut butter from dripping, he cleared his throat. "Um, wanna play a game?"

Jesi sat the snack down on the Chinet by her leg, and quickly ran her tongue over the tip of her teeth, coming over a bump caused by a side of a tooth every now and then. "What kind of game?" She'd play, of course, but if it was something like Hide-and-Seek, she might have to back out. She didn't want to get lost trying to find the best hiding spot in these foreign woods. Even though that made Jesi seem like a wimp, it was true. Having that happen would be the last thing she needed.

Justin lifted his creation up to his mouth. "Twenty Questions?," he replied and tore a piece of it with his teeth. A droplet of juice landed on the corner of his smile, but he was quick to wipe it away.

"Yeah, sure. You first," Jesi stated.

Justin bit his lip, and tap his fingers neatly on the picnic basket. "What's your favorite color?"

Dipping another strawberry into her mouth, Jesi thought about it. After finishing, she answered. "Purple and black. And, probably grey and blue, too. I can't really choose just one."

"Nice," he retorted.

Jesi tilted her head to the side, thinking of what she should ask the boy. "Anything you like doing in your free time?" Dumb question, she just had to admit. But, she was wondering that earlier.

"Um, a little bit of everything. Basketball, hanging out with friends.. making YouTube vids with my friend, Christian.."

"YouTube videos?"

Slightly embarrassed, Justin narrowed it down. "Yeah, we just goof around. Nothing special. Lip syncing and stuff." He picked at a stray thread at the hem of his jeans for a second. "What do YOU do in your free time?"

Jesi's cheeks became a rosy pink. No way she was going to complete this game without laughing nervously or blushing. "Uh, I like to dance and listen to music. Big part of my life. I write and am on the internet a lot, too." Taking a pause to try to not sound like a motor-mouth, she continued,"Who was your first, true best friend?"

The male of the two jutted the left corner of his lip down for a second. "Oh, boy. I think I'd have to say Ryan, you know the guy you met at lunch. We grew up together, and met when we were two and three. I met Chaz in third grade and Christian when I moved down here, but Ryan and I are bonded closer."

Deep. Very deep. "Awh," Jesi tilted her head and reacted. "When did you move here? Why?"

"That's two questions, you know," Justin laughed.

Jesi put on an embarrassed face. "Never mind, don't answer those."

The boy shrugged a shoulder. "They won't count, I'll be nice." Jesi blushed in return. "I moved here a little less than a year ago with my mom, Patty, and the Somers and Ryan's family. I came down here to make work a little easier for my mom and me. And, I didnt want to lose my friends behind in Canada, so I persuaded their parents to come with us."

"I see. That was nice of Chaz and Ryan's mom and dads to do that. I wish mine would have done that for Jami and me." A smile erupted on both of the teens' faces.

Justin asked,"What's your favorite subject?" Another strawberry was covered in the peanut butter and sat on the paper plate present in front of him.

Jesi didn't have to think hard about the answer to that one. Anyone who truthfully knew her already would know what she would say. "Really, Im not a big fan of school. I do my best, though. I'd have to say my favorite is regular math, in general. Not algebra and geometry, they give me headaches."

Justin released a light, meaningful chuckle. "You're funny."

"Why, thank you," Jesi replied. This Bieber kid was pretty easy to be around. "What do you want to be after high school and college and all that?"