Rebel.

Jess releases the curling iron from my hair, and a long ringlet falls by my shoulder.
She repeats this thirteen times, then sprays a light mist of hairspray over my hair.
"There. Finished," she spins the chair around, and I look in the mirror.
My chestnut brown hair is spilling over my shoulders, in loose ringlets. My side-bang is pinned back by a sweet flower pin, and my makeup is done perfectly, with a light dusting of eyeshadow and soft eyeliner.
Wow, I actually look . . pretty?
"You look amazing!" Jess says, and gives me a hug. "You smell great too, new perfume?"
"Maybe?" I wince, embarrassed.
"No-no-no, it's great. You're perfect!"
I stand up and smooth my dress. It's a casual one, I'd picked it out for school last year. Surprisingly, it still fit. I was also wearing black leggings, with lace at the bottom. I look pretty decent, I think. I smile, and put on my black flats.
There is a knock at the door, and Jess runs to open it.
"Oh, hey, Sarah." Jason says, and Jess motions him in.
"You look great. ready? They're waiting for us now."
"Thanks, and sure."
"I'll see you later, Sar," Jess calls, and Jason and I head out the door. "Be back around nine!"
"You sound like my mother," I say to her, and then I realize.
My mother. My father. My family. I feel a sinking in my stomach, and I freeze.
"What's wrong?" Jason asks, noticing my expression.
"Oh, nothing. Let's go."
Jess watches us leave, then closes the door.

Jason has a car.
And no, not an old '98.
I mean a car.
A real one. Like, I think it's a Honda Civic.
After all those things I kept telling myself, 'you can't like him, you don't know him, don't like him', I think I just may like him.

The radio's on, just the usual hit station. A Lady Gaga song comes on, and I hum to myself.
"What, you like her?" Jason asks, one hand on the steering wheel.
"Yeah, I think she's the new Madonna," I say, waiting for his response. I half-hope he doesn't like her, so it would spark a 'heated discussion'.
"The new Madonna? I think so too, actually."
Darn. Oh well, I'm here with him, so why does it matter?
The chorus kicks in, and I start to sing. I know. Embarrassing, but I couldn't resist.
Stop calling, stop calling, I don't wanna think anymore!
Jason looks at me, surprised, but then he joins in. We both sing the whole way through, giggling and laughing every few seconds at ourselves.
The last few notes of the song end, and we both crack up.
"Wow, you have a great voice," he blurts, and I smile.
"Suure, and I have a pet unicorn."
"Funny, funny. You really do though."
"Thanks."

We make a left, then turn into the parking lot of a mid-size mall with at least ninety stores.
"They're waiting in the Food Court, so we'll have to go there first," Jason explains.
"Okay,"
We walk through the mall, until we reach a group of 3 guys.
"Hey," a shorter guy with blond hair says.
"Hi," I say, glancing at Jason.
"This is David," he explains.
He points to a taller, thin guy with reddish-blond hair. "This is Alex,"
"Hey there," Alex says.
Finally, Jason points to another guy with brown hair in a leather jacket.
"And last but not least, this is Jeremy,"
Jeremy waves, and turns toward me.
"You better watch it, Jason's one hyper guy. You'll need to tame him!"
I giggle.
"I heard that," Jason chuckles.
"Alrighty, so where are we going now?" Alex asks.
"Natasha's gonna be here in five," David says, glancing around.
Another girl? Well, that's a relief. It was getting a little awkward with 4 guys.
"You might make a new friend," Jason says to me.
"Aha," I smile.

About an hour later, I'm glad I came. Natasha's actually a really friendly girl, and I like her.
At the moment, Alex is chugging a huge glass of root beer.
"He's such a goof," Natasha says to me, laughing. "Daniel's got a bunch of weird friends."
"Yeah," I giggle.
A loud ringer blares from Natasha's side, and she reaches into her pocket.
"Damn phone," she grumbles. "It's probably my parents,"
"Oh," I say, uneasy.
"I'll be back in a second," she announces, then leaves the table.
The guys are quiet now, and watch her walk away.
"David?", Jeremy says quietly.
"I know. I'm seeing now," David excuses himself, and quickly jogs away, in the direction that Natasha left.
"Family problems," Jason explains blandly.
"Hmm," I say slowly.
Suddenly, Natasha flashes by, her heels clicking against the tile floor. She's running fast, tears falling from her face.
"Natasha, wait, what's wrong?!" David calls, running behind her. He finally catches up, and she sinks into his arms. Her cell phone hits the floor, and the battery falls out.
David hushes her for a few seconds, and they both walk through the main door, and outside.
An awkward silence falls over us, although the mall is playing soft music. It's almost empty, the few people still here are just leaving.

"This happens alot," Jeremy says.
"Yeah," I say, trying not to make the situation any more awkward.
"I think it's time to go," Jason announces, standing from the table. He takes my hand - which tingles nervously - and I fix my skirt with the other.
"Nice to meet you," Jeremy says.
"Yeah. It was fun," Alex smiles.
"I'll see you guys tomorrow," Jason tells them, and pats Alex on the back.
We make our way from the table, toward the other mall entrance.
"There's no point in walking near David and Natasha. Something probably happened." Jason explains quietly, my hand still in his.
"Yeah," I murmur.
We walk toward the car, the air crisp and cool. I shiver, and Jason puts his arm around me.
"Here," he says, taking off his jacket and wrapping it around me.
Wait, what?!
I reach for my elbow, and pinch just a bit, subtly.
"Thanks," I respond, and the smell of his jacket surrounds me. It smells like cinnamon and peaches. Weird combination, but it's actually really nice. I inhale deeply, and smile.
We get into his car, and I buckle in.

The ride home is relaxed and easy, and Jess is already in bed. I tip-toe in, and sit on the couch. Today was amazing.