Enthused

That morning I got up and got dressed quickly. My dream really put me in a great mood. My curtains were closed so I really couldn't see what the weather was like outside. I got up to go open them. It was so bright and sunny. It made me in an even better mood. I scanned the front lawn to see if Garrett's van was parked in the driveway. My eyes stopped on Tom. He was talking to Jen just like he promised to. His back was to me so I could only see her face.

Jen was just nodding and looking down. She didn't look that upset. I couldn't really tell though because she was too far away for me to be able to get a good look. At the end, they hugged, which looked awkward. Hugs are always messy in situations like that. I turned around and went out into the living room. Tom and Jen were just walking in. "Hey, Dahl," Tom said walking over and hugging me. He quickly kissed me, I guess he didn't want to make Jen upset or anything. Jen didn't seem that upset or anything though. I guess she was taking it pretty well.

"Where is Scott?" Jen asked.

"I don't know... I forgot to get him something. We gotta do something I guess," Tom said.

"It's his birthday?" I asked.

"Yep, May 23. He's 14 today." Tom told me.

"I'm older than him!?" I asked shocked. I had just turned 14 April 29th.

"How old are you?" Tom asked.

"I turned 14 April 29th," I replied, "How old are you?"

"I'm 16. I'm going to turn 17 in December," He said.

"Oh... I assumed you were 16. I still can't believe I'm the same age as Scott now..." I said in disbelief. Jen just chuckled. She probably felt a bit left out.

"Who cares? You're mine," Tom said and pulled me closer to him. I smiled and hugged him.

"Whoa, am I interrupting something?" Mark joked as he walked in, "Where is Scottie boy?"

"He isn't here yet..." Tom said, "But, it's only twelve."

"Is Anne or Garrett here?" Mark asked.

"No," Tom said.

"They are probably out picking him up, or something," Mark muttered as he made his way over to the couch and sat down. We waited for about an hour watching TV. Scott, Anne, and Garrett finally came in.

"Happy birthday, dude!" Mark exclaimed giving him a high five.

"Oh, uh, I kind forgot to get you something, but..." Tom started, "I do have a little something we could do later tonight... If you know what I mean."

"Shoot Dahl in some porn?" Scott asked.

"What! No, fuck you," Tom said, "I meant we could go get high later... And, I might be able to get some whiskey too."

"Yeah, bro!" Scott shouted.

"Okay, let's go," Garrett said.

"Go where?" I asked.

"Skate park," Jen answered, "Usually when someone who goes there often has a birthday, we party down there." It made me feel out of the loop that she knew this and I didn't.

"Oh," I just mumbled. Tom grabbed my hand and we walked to Garrett's van.

We arrived at the same skate park I met Tom at. There were a few balloons and a long table with snacks and soda. There were a lot of skate punks there. I'm sure half of them didn't even know who Scott was. They were just there for the free beer that Garrett was secretly going to fill the soda cups with. The owner could not find out though.

Tom introduced me to a lot of people as his girlfriend. I was so happy. I mean, look who I was with. I recognized that guy Dylan from the night Tom and I kissed. "Oh hey, guys!" He said. "It worked out between you two!" Dylan gave Tom a high five.

"Yeah, dude, I told you I'd get her," Tom said while putting his arm around me. I blushed.

"Yo, Tom!" I heard some guy yell.

"Oh my God!" Tom yelled, "Dude! Hold on Dahl, I'll be right back. You know Dylan," He said before running up to the guy and giving him a man hug.

"Well, Dahl," Dylan said, "This is my girlfriend, Erica."

A very pretty girl looked up at me. She had curly blond hair, green eyes, and freckles, "Hey Dahl," said Erica.

"Hi," I said shyly.

"I don't know if I should say this or not, but I will anyway. Most girls here are gonna be hella jealous of you," she told me. Dylan nodded his head.

"Why?" I asked.

"Well, most girls here are like in love with Thomas Matthew DeLonge," Erica replied smiling.

"I can see why," I said looking down blushing and smiling.

"And... then, well look at you. You are much prettier than any girl here," She complimented me.

"You are saying that to me? Look at you," I said.

She laughed and said, "That is probably why most girls here don't talk to me. How old are you Dahl?"

"I'm fourteen," I admitted.

"Oh, I'm fifteen," Erica told me, "Mark, the guy who jumped off the lamppost, is your brother?"

I laughed, "Yeah."

"Oh! So you are Anne's little sister. Wow, you guys don't look very a like. I can see a little bit of Mark in you, but not much of Anne," Erica said.

"Yeah, she is much prettier," I admitted.

"No! You are both pretty!" Erica said, "Speaking of siblings, I'm Garrett's little sister."

"Whoa, I knew you looked familiar! You guys are like twins!" I told her.

She laughed, "I know. Everyone thinks that. I look much older than I am."

"You do," I agreed, "I was embarrassed to say I was fourteen."

"You shouldn't be! I think Scott started coming here when he was like twelve! He was proud of it!" She informed me. My face fell when she said Scott, "You don't like him?" She asked.

"He's kind of a dick..." I said.

"Oh, yeah, he definitely is!" Erica agreed, "Don't worry, you are not the only one who thinks so!"

"Hey, Dahl," Dylan said interrupting, "What ever happened with Jen?" He asked kind of shyly. Erica suddenly looked curious.

"Um... Tom talked to her. I think she took it well. I wasn't there, you'd have to ask him," I told Dylan.

"Oh yeah. Jen really liked him..." Erica said looking down.

"She probably hates me," I said guiltily.

"Oh, no. It wasn't your fault!" Erica tired to make me feel better.

"Yeah, besides, who cares... If Jen really wanted him, she could of asked him out," Dylan said.

"So is Tom a good kisser?" Erica said happily trying to change the subject.

I smiled and blushed, "Yeah."

After a while of talking to Erica and Dylan, Tom came back. "Sorry about that!" Tom said and he wrapped his arms around me . "Oh, here," He said handing me a red cup.

"What is it?" I asked.

"Beer. Is that okay?" He asked. I wanted to look cool so I nodded. I drank it and it tasted horrible! This was my first beer. After I finished drinking Tom started making out with me. I didn't know if we should make out right in front of Erica and Dylan, but they were making out too. But, of course Scott had to interrupt us. In probably the weirdest way possible too. He tackled Tom causing him to fall into Erica causing her to spill her beer. That caused Dylan to flip out because the owner could easily see the beer.

"Scott! What the hell dude!" Dylan shouted.

"Oh fuck!" Scott yelled and ran away.

"Dylan, calm down," Erica said soothingly.

"Calm down! If the owner catches us he will be so pissed! Your own brother could be arrested for giving beer to minors!" Dylan said.

"Okay, okay," Erica said and put her purse over the spill and sprayed the area with perfume to take the smell away. "Relax, he will never know," She said rubbing Dylan's back.

"Oh dude!" Dylan said to Tom, "That's a pretty gnarly scrape!" I looked at Tom's arm and he had a bloody scrape from his elbow to his wrist.

"I had to stop myself from crushing Erica," Tom explained. I looked at the scrape again. I did not deal with blood well. I started to grow faint.

"Dahl, you're as white as a ghost. Are you okay?" Erica asked. I didn't answer though. I lost my balance and fell backwards.

"Shit, go get Anne!" Dylan commanded Erica.

Tom knelt down besides me, "Dahl?" He asked. He pulled me onto his lap. I barely opened my eyes.

"Dahl?" I heard Anne ask. "What happened?"

"No clue," Dylan said.

"Tom! Your arm!" Anne exclaimed, "Okay, go get that wrapped up. Dahl isn't always great with fresh blood. She will be fine." I felt Tom hand me over to Erica.

"She hit her head pretty hard," Tom said as he got up. Then I blanked out.

_

I woke up in my bed. It was dark out. I had ice on my head, but I heard crying. It was coming from the living room. I got out of bed despite the throbbing pain in my head. The clock read 12 am. I walked into the living room and found Scott there crying with my mom comforting him. Anne brought him a glass of water.

"Dahlia, you need to go lie down," Anne told me when she saw me.

"But what happened?" I asked.

"Scott got kicked out of his house," Anne said.

"Why?" I asked

"Go rest, I'll tell you in the morning. You have a slight concussion," She walked me to my room and put me to bed. I fell right asleep.