Young Love Was Such Dumb Love

"Moooooom," Benny called out, she was sitting on the floor with her the majority of her clothes thrown around her. She sighed, feeling completely exhausted and stressed for the simple task of getting dressed. She fell back roughly expecting it to hurt, but was caught by clothes. Her mother poked her door in letting out a condescending chuckle, remember the days of her youth when a boy could make you feel like the world was ending.

"Yeah honey?" Mrs. Fallon asked, entering the door and shutting it behind her, Benny let out another dramatic sigh before hoisting herself up. Mrs. Fallon wiped her hands on a dish towel before tucking it into her house. Max had already said that Benny had a date tonight and now she was doing her maternal investigative work to find out who.

"Do you know where my red dress is?" Benny asked, looking up at her adorning mother with huge, pleading eyes. John was going to be here in fifteen minutes and she knew she had to wear that dress. She had already done her makeup, blending black eyeliner into a smokey eye look and peach lipgloss on her frowning lips.

"Uh, laundry room, I'll go get it for you," Her mother made a quick exit to get the dress and immediately a weight was lifted from her shoulders, but it didn't end the relieve the nervousness in her stomach, she popped up grabbing some brown gladiator sandals and slipped them on. She grabbed her necklace with her father's patron saint, a small heart charm her grandmother gave to her when she left for Arizona so many years ago. "Here you go sweetie," her mother said coming with a small dress under her arm.

"Thank you, thank you, thank you," Benny gushed hugging her mother tightly for helping her with her plight and slipped it on, her mother smiled brightly, remembering the days Benny would fight her mother for trying to dress her in dresses. Her mother's eyes were now lined with tears, nostalgia getting the best of her. "Mom? Don't cry," Benny laughed, examing her mother wondering what had happened to upset her. Mrs. Fallon's big brown eyes flew to the ceiling as she tried to fan away the emotions letting loose right now.

"Aw Ben, I just remember when you were a baby learning how to say your first words and now you're such a beautiful young lady going on a date," Mrs. Fallon said letting her voice strain as the tears came despite her resistance. Benny felt awkward, she didn't feel grown up at all. Just the fact she needed her mother's help to get dressed seemed like proof enough.

"Mom, I'm not that grown up," Benny said trying to comfort her mother while still very conscious of the time and the fact John would be here-. Mid-thought the doorbell rang and Mrs. Fallon sprung up regaining composure, wiping her eyes with the dish cloth and pretending the moment never happened.

"You look beautiful Benny, oh, goodness," Mrs. Fallon gushed, her southern twang coming out slightly as she made her way down the stairs to receive Benny's mystery date. To her surprise she saw John standing there looking miserable, his mother right behind him.

"Suzanne! It's finally happening," Mrs. O'Callaghan brushed past her son to hug Mrs. Fallon, who seemed completely confused, tightly. As soon as Mrs. Fallon began to function again she hugged Mrs. O'Callaghan back.

"I had no idea Benny was going out with little John, good lord. Leanne, this is exactly what I was talking about I knew ever since their first play date they would have to go out someday," Mrs. Fallon said, Benny came down the stairs at that exact moment and rolled her eyes, never hearing so much bullshit coming from her mother before. Both of their mothers excitedly clasping hands and acting like teenage girls gossiping over a trivial thing.

"Oh Benny Marie Fallon, you just look so beautiful," Mrs. O'Callaghan gushed, hugging her tightly. She looked over Mrs. O'Callaghan's shoulder to see John looking embarrassed and miserable, his coolness completely ruined for the night. He had a permanent flush on his cheeks and his smile seemed to squiggle in morbid embarrassment. Benny thanked him quietly before they stood awkwardly and Mr. Fallon came out, towering over all the women there and having a good three inches on John seemed taken back.

"John? Are you taking Benny Boo out tonight?" Mr. Fallon asked, his voice booming for being so large. Benny met John's embarrassment level from her accursed nickname that she despised so much. John nodded meekly remembering when the summer before school started Mr. Fallon picked John and Max up completely wasted at a party and apparently John was apologizing profusely begging her father not to hate him. There are certain reasons your best friend's family and your girlfriend's family shouldn't be one in the same. Was she his girlfriend, he wondered looking at her, her eyes filled with desperation to just get out. Mr. Fallon cleared his throat and straightened his back getting into the role of protective father. "Alright, no alcohol, no drugs, no inappropriate touching, have her home by midnight-"

"Dad!" Benny begged, opening her eyes wide and twisting ever so slightly. Mr. Fallon sighed, smiling at his only daughter and youngest child and shook his head. This girl had him wrapped around his finger and he knew it.

"Alright, one-" He began to concede before Benny brought her bottom lip out, letting out the tiniest whimper that seemed so cute and pitiful. She was good, Mr. Fallon sighed again and rolled his eyes. "Thirty." Benny opened her lips to protest for a later time until his eyebrows raised, this was enough for Benny to know that's as far as she could press tonight.

"Yes sir, I'll have her back before then," John said extending his hand, Mr. Fallon simply let out a big laugh and shook it. John was trying to act like this was just another date, but the fact of it was they had known John since he was six, how could they take him seriously as her date, boyfriend thing?

"Alright, Love you Daddy, love you Mama, love you Mama Oh," She smiled giving each of them a kiss on the cheek before grabbing John's hand and pulling him out of the house behind her, so he only had time to manage one big goodbye. Once the light brown sturdy wooden door closed they all looked around at each other the mood light. They all had the commonality of wondering when their kids had grown up to date, and date each other at that.

"So that wasn't as bad as I thought it would be," John laughed opening the door of his pickup for her and she climbed in, adrenaline pumping for a multitude of reasons, mostly the fact that John looked really handsome in a button down white shirt and some denim skinny jeans.

"Really? I thought it was pretty fucking awkward," Benny said, her voice raised with surprise. She checked her appearance to make sure she looked presentable and saw their parents waving obnoxious from her porch. Her cheeks flushed bright pink and wondered what they were thinking.

"Yeah, I mean your dad knows a lot about the stupid shit me and Max got into," John chuckled to himself, mostly the fact that when Max was drunk he liked to randomly dial people and hand the phone off. Lucky for John, Max had dialed his father's cell phone one night and passed the phone to John, which resulted in an awkward drunkenly sung My Heart Will Go On, to be left on Mr. Fallon's voicemail.

"Oh, well y'all do tend to do retarded shit when y'all are drunk," Benny smiled over at him as he turned on the car and they drove off to wherever he was taking her. John laughed in agreement until they both stopped, and only silence lingered. They remained silent except for the radio playing softly so she couldn't even tell what song was playing, she played with the edge of her dress until John cleared his throat.

"You look really pretty tonight, by the way," he let out shyly, causing them both to blush. She thanked him quietly and was shocked to see John running around the front of the car to open her door for her.

"Thank you," She said hopping down and staying close to him looking up into his eyes, which looked down at her with a nervous hunger. "And they say chivalry is dead," She slapped his chest lightly grinning brightly. John let out a warm chuckle and guided her into the tiny local diner. She was surprised because they were both dressed semi-formally.

"I hope you don't mind, I would take you somewhere fancy, but I kind of figured you weren't that kind of girl," John said rubbing the back of his head nervously as the hostess grabbed two menus and guided them to a corner booth. This took Benny back and a pleasantly surprised smile spread across her lips.

"You figured right," Benny smiled, she had been taken out to fancy restaurants before, but the fact was she was fifteen and loved to laugh as loud as she pleased without a room full of glares being shot back at her. She slid into the booth as the hostess put the menus down and excused herself, John did the same into the opposite side and they looked at each other smiling amazed that this was even happening.

"And you know I'm broke so," He laughed, she laughed too because it was fine. She was really happy to be out. He rolled up his sleeves of the shirt his mother made him wear, normally he would've been fine in a t-shirt and shorts, but his mother insisted that he dress fancier if he was taking out Benny.

"Yeah, you know for future reference the next time you take me out, just leave it at the cute 'figured-you-out' line. Besides now I'm tempted to order the most expensive thing on the menu," She said, her smile laced with sarcasm and John couldn't help but laugh. He was growing more and more confident around her, but with the nervous tumbling of his internal organs still strong he knew it was a good thing.

"So I am taking you out again?" John smiled, taking full advantage of her Freudian slip. She looked up slightly shocked before her smile returned to her face, John felt the familiar speeding of his heart rate and tried his best to maintain the casual crooked smile on his face.

"If you don't fuck this up," She shrugged before opening her menu up, hiding her face. John did the same until he felt someone staring at his still exposed forehead, he lowered the menu to see Benny smirking at him, "please don't fuck this up," She smiled. John laughed and promised not to. They spent hours sitting and talking, the two of them barely touching their food when it came, but none of them caring since they were absorbed in each other.

"I had a really good time tonight," Benny smiled mysteriously at him on her doorstep. She played with her necklace and John felt the familiar nervous urge to puke. He reminded himself over and over not to do so, she'd already seen him puke once and that was enough.

"Yeah, me too," John said, swallowing even though he had nothing to swallow and he remembered to speak. Benny looked down at her feet, biting her lip, it was obvious she was loosing patience. John was alarmed when he saw her foot turn to go inside. QUICK! ACT NOW IDIOT! The voice in his head screamed at him and in one swift move, John grabbed her wrist and leaned forward to kiss her. A smile spread across her lips and they both closed their eyes until they felt their foreheads collide.

"Oh shit!" Benny swore clutching the spot where John's head butted into hers. John's hand was on his soon-to-be bruise as well until he realized what he had done and attended to Benny.

"Oh, fuck! Benny I'm so, so sorry. I really didn't mean to!" John stumbled over his words trying to apologize as profusely as he could, coming up with as many synonyms for sorry as he could come up with. "Fuck." John swore at himself, I am such an idiot he thought, turning around and trying to hide his shame.

"John," She said his name quietly, he turned around to see her waiting expectantly, her hands on her hips and a red mark on her forehead. John shook his head laughing as he walked over to her, cupped her face delicately in his hands and pressed his lips to hers, sending voltage through their veins. How could he not love her, he had just head butted her and she still wanted a kiss.

They pressed their lips lightly together, keeping it relatively PG until the porch light flipped on three seconds later. She smiled pulling apart and turned to the door and looked over her shoulder, "Goodnight, John. Call me," She said, however cliche sounding completely original in his ears. John walked across their yards with a smitten smile on his face and walked up the stairs to his room ignore his brothers having a nerf battle all over the house. John closed his door and collapsed onto his bed, the smile still on his lips and happiness radiating from his very core.

Meanwhile, Benny closed the door behind her. She saw her mother wrapped in her fathers arms looking on as if they were remembering their first date fondly. Benny kissed them both goodnight on the cheek and ran up to her room, her dress swishing behind her. She changed into boxers and a tank top smiling at nothing at all until she felt the urge to start dancing. She jumped up and down lightly and squealed, knowing how stupid she looked and not really caring. She was suddenly dead tired and crawled into her bed, her heart still beating as fast as the second John's lips and hers collided. Both of them drifted off to sleep knowing that they were undeniably, over-their-heads in love with the other.