Teenage Dream

On the day I graduated high school, the mood in my household could have been described as the opposite of happy. In fact, it actually was.

Why? Well, I wasn’t honestly sure. I actually thought that my parents would be happy for me for once, seeing as I made it through all thirteen years of school (that including kindergarten), but no. They weren’t happy for me. But to be honest I wasn’t really sure why I expected them to be happy for me or joyful, seeing as they had never been like that before.

I made my way out of the house in an angry rage, pissed at what my parents kept saying to me.

“Katie, get back in the house this instant!” my mother exclaimed out the front door to me. “There is no way you’re going to be able to go to that ivy league college! What on earth were you thinking when you applied there?”

“Oh my God, Mom, are you serious?” I called back to her, from where I was about halfway across the front yard. “I just graduated, what... an hour ago, and you can’t even show any happiness to me just for that? Do you really have to lecture me about where I applied to college right now? I still have plenty of time to change my mind and go to another one!”

“Don’t you raise your voice at me! There is no way you’re going to Princeton! It’s not like we have gold bars piled high in the basement!” She exclaimed back to me. “Now get back in this house, young lady! We still have a lot to discuss!”

“Newsflash, Mom, I’m not a young lady anymore! I am officially eighteen, so you technically can’t tell me what to do anymore!” I shouted. By now, I noticed, we have gotten the attention of some of our neighbors. I rolled my eyes. This was not the attention I needed right now. “So whatever, Mom! I’m going to go enjoy the rest of what is my graduation, because I should be happy right now, not angry! So screw you!” Before I finally walked away, I flipped her off.

I fumed down the street, forgetting to grab my car keys on the way out of my house, so I was now stuck with walking. Where, I wasn’t exactly sure. But I would rather walk then attempt to go back to the house and face the wrath of my parents. Not really what I wanted to deal with right now.

Soon enough, I heard a car pull up next to me, and it slowly went along the street to match my pace. I ignored it, assuming it was my mom or dad, coming after me. I was surprised when I heard a different voice call out to me.

“Hey, are you okay?” the person asked. I turned toward them to see none-other than Nick Jonas; a guy in my graduating class. To say I had a crush on him was an understatement, but I kind of grew out of that as the school years went by because in seventh grade I had tried to ask him out, but he turned me down flat. I didn’t really hold a grudge against him for it, seeing as I couldn’t really blame him. I mean, who would want to date boring old me, anyhow? But I hadn’t really talked to him much since.

“Not really,” I said honestly, as I continued to walk. “But what should that matter to you, right? I’m sure you’ve had an awesome day today, since it’s graduation day and all.”

“Actually, I haven’t,” he said. I looked over a him. “My parents didn’t even go to the ceremony. They had... business calls to take care of.”

“I see,” I said, not really expecting that answer from him. “Well... that sucks. But it’s better than what I’ve dealt with. But I’m sure you don’t want to hear about that.”

“Try me,” he stated, as if challenging me. I raised an eyebrow as he leaned over and opened the passenger side door to his car. “I’m on my way to a class bonfire that’s at a beach, like, an hour away from here. It’s in celebration of graduation and everything. You can tell me what happened along the way.”

I was skeptic as I debated whether or not I should go with him, before I finally got in the car.

>>----------------------------------------------->>

After I told Nick my story, as well as a few other things about how my parents have acted with me throughout the years, he was silent for a few minutes. When I looked over at him, he had a look of concentration on his face; presumably analyzing everything I just said.

“Well?” I asked. We were about ten minutes away from the beach we were headed to. He glanced at me before quickly focusing back on the road.

“You win,” was all he said. I raised an eyebrow, and once he noticed, he further elaborated. “You’ve had a worse day than I have.”

“Yeah,” I said.

“I don’t see why your parents are making a big deal about it,” he said. “I mean, you just graduated today. You still have the whole summer before you even start college. Why not enjoy today why it lasts?”

“That’s what I tried to tell them,” I said, “but obviously, they wouldn’t listen. My parents are big worriers, especially when it comes to money. And if I do go to college, not only just Princeton, but any college... it’s going to cost them a big chunk of change.”

“My parents have the money, but they put the pressure on me when it comes to college,” Nick admitted. “I originally planned on taking a year off, to see what else was out there or what not, but by the way they’re talking... that doesn’t look like it’s happening.”

“Why not?” I asked him. “You should be able to do... what you want to do. It’s your life, not your parents’.”

“Yeah, well... they don’t really see it that way,” he said quietly.

By then, we had made it to the beach. Nick parked in a small lot near by where people could park when they went here. I opened my door and closed it, slowly making my way toward the beginning of the bonfire just down the beach. The sun was just setting, ergo, why they were just now starting it.

Soon enough, though, it had gotten dark, and people were sitting or standing around it, some (including Nick and I) attempting to make smores while sipping on the beer that the kids hosting managed to get, while others just conversed. I looked over at Nick as he pealed his burnt marshmallow off the stick he was holding and threw it on the ground, soon enough reaching for a new one. When he noticed me looking at him, he smirked.

“What?” he asked.

“Nothing,” I said. “It’s just... why did you give me a ride here, today? I mean, what made you choose to stop and pick me up?”

“I don’t know,” he answered right away. I gave him a skeptical look. “You just looked like you needed someone to talk to, is all. So I decided to pull over.”

“Right,” I said, all of a sudden feeling brave now. I was on my third beer, and I was a lightweight, seeing as I didn’t drink too often. Seeing my parents do it countless times being the main reason. “Admit it... the reason you picked me up... is because you like me.” As soon as I said those words, I couldn’t believe I let them slip out of my mouth. I was about to apologize for saying that when Nick spoke for me. He had a look of shock on his face, but from it... I could tell that what I said was true.

He liked me.

“Wait... did someone tell you that? How do you know? It was Derek, wasn’t it? That ass, I told him not to say anything...” he started. I quickly shook my head.

“No, no one told me that. So wait... I’m right? You like me?” I asked, not believing this. He hesitated before answering.

“Yeah. I mean... I’ve liked you for a while now, Katie,” he said. I felt my heart skip a beat.

“But... when I asked you out in seventh grade... you rejected me,” I told him, stating fact. He nodded, before in the glow of the bonfire, I noticed him blush.

“That was because I was a pathetic thirteen year old boy,” he stated. “I was still trying to figure things out... you know, it’s quite the adjustment of going from elementary to middle school...” I laughed at that. “What? It’s not funny!”

“No,” I admitted, “but it is cute.” I grinned, before laughing again. “So if you would’ve had everything figured out... you would have agreed?”

“Yes, definitely,” he said, without hesitating. “I felt pretty bad when I didn’t agree after, Katie. Because when I looked back on it... I always regretted saying no.”

“That is possibly... the sweetest thing a guy’s ever said to me,” I admitted, before standing up. He stood up with me, and caught my arm when I stumbled, and laughed.

“You sure are a lightweight,” he said, as I leaned against him. “Do you want me to take you home?”

“No,” I said. “That’s the last place I want to go.”

“Where do you suppose I take you, then?” he asked. I thought for a moment, before finally remembering somewhere.

“I know a place,” I said, as I made my way away from the bonfire. I looked back at him. “It’s about ten minutes from here, and I wouldn’t want to go anywhere else.”

He nodded before quickly following me back up to his car.

>>------------------------------------>>

“A motel? Really?” He asked me, for possibly the hundredth time, as we made our way into the room I paid for. I had money, sure, but it was very little seeing as I had only worked a part time job all throughout high school. But I had enough to spare for a quaint little motel room for a night, at least.

“Not just any motel,” I said. I picked up a card that the maid service must have laid on the end table when they cleaned the room. “The Freedom Motel. One time, when I was fifteen, I was so pissed off at my parents that I decided to run away. I didn’t make it far, of course, seeing as I didn’t have a license then, but I made it here and stayed in a room here one night. My parents came to get me the next day when I called from the payphone in the parking lot. The name of the motel is just what it is... freedom.”

He smiled at that, before glancing around the room and backing toward the door. “So... I guess I should go now...” I grabbed his arm before he moved any farther, and he looked at me.

“What? No, you can’t leave. I wanted you to stay with me,” I said, frowning at his actions. I slowly let go of his arm. “Although, I can’t force you to. If you really don’t want to stay here, you can go.”

“Oh. Well then, okay, I’ll stay,” he said, smiling a little before standing up on the bed. I went to the one closet in the room to hang up my sweat shirt, and smiled, seeing there was something inside.

“Look!” I exclaimed, hanging the item around my neck. “Christmas lights!”

He laughed. “Now why are those in here?”

“I don’t know,” I said, but smiled upon thinking of an idea. “But I have an idea! Set those chairs about three feet apart, and I’ll get the sheets off of the bed.”

“Why?” he asked. I smiled.

“Because, my dear Nicholas, we are going to build a fort.”

>>---------------------------------->>

Once we finished building our ‘fort’, Nick laughed.

“That is some fort,” he complimented, smiling at me. I waved him off as I plugged the Christmas lights into an outlet on the wall.

“Oh, it’s not done yet,” I said. As soon as the lights lit up, I started putting them strategically around the fort. Once I was done, I smiled. “There. Now it’s done.” Once I said that, I quickly crawled into our masterpiece and peeked my head back out to Nick. “Care to join me?”

He didn’t even seem to hesitate as he crawled inside and joined me. I laid down on my back and gazed up at the lights; our own version of the stars hanging in the night sky. Soon enough, Nick joined me.

“Who, would you say, is your hero?” I asked him, as I continued to look at the lights. He glanced at me, before answering.

“My uncle Ben,” he answered. “Because he was there when I was first diagnosed with diabetes, and has been there for me most of the way. What about you?”

“I don’t really have any other family besides my parents,” I started, before I got to answering his question. “They were each a single child, and my grandparents have all passed away, along with the rest of my older relatives. So the only liable answer I would have would be to say my mom or dad, but I can’t even say that seeing as the way they’ve treated me. So I didn’t really have a hero growing up. But tonight, tonight... that changed. Because tonight, you, Nick, are my hero.”

He sat up suddenly, and then turned so he could look down at me. I looked back at him, hardly blinking, to show him that I was serious. When he realized that I was, he did something that I wasn’t expecting.

He leaned down... and kissed me.

And instead of it being one of those awkward first kisses, this one wasn’t. Nick’s lips molded with mine as if they belonged there; or should’ve been there the whole time. His lips tasted of marshmallow, because of the smores we had eaten earlier. It also wasn’t like a typical first kiss, because instead of it going away after a few seconds, it lasted. And lasted.

And I’ll have you know, it also got pretty heated.

I knew that I, at least, still wasn’t in there right mind because the drunkenness still hadn’t completely worn off. And I guess it hadn’t on Nick either, because when we finally pulled away from that first kiss, after what felt like hours later, he slowly whispered to me, “Do you want to?”

And even I wasn’t that stupid, and knew immediately what he meant. The ironic part was, I ended up surprising both of us by slowly nodding my head.

“Okay, hold on a minute,” he said. “I’ll be right back.” And just like that, his body heat was removed from mine, as he got up and out of the fort. Soon enough, I heard a door close, knowing that he went into the bathroom.

I was kind of glad he broke the moment, because it gave me time to think. Did I really want to? After a minute of thought, I was finally able to get my train of mind back together. The alcohol affects were finally wearing off, and I had a clear state of mind now. I didn’t want to do this with Nick, or well... not tonight anyhow. Neither of us were even in a clear functioning state of mind. We couldn’t do this. And I knew, whenever my first time was destined to be, I wanted to remember it, fully, not for it to be some drunken mess that I don’t remember.

When Nick came out of the bathroom and joined me back in the fort, I told him I changed my mind. And immediately, he understood.

“That’s actually kind of why I left you like that,” he said. “So that I could clear my head a little about what was going on. I think we should wait too.”

“I’m glad you agree,” I said to him, as I slowly laid back down, seeing as I had sat up to think about it. “I say... we call it a night. I’m surprised I’m still keeping my eyes open right now.”

He smiled, before laying down again next to me. When we were building the fort, we had put the pillows inside for comfort, so now... we grabbed the pillows and laid our heads on them. I scooted toward Nick, wanting to be held in his arms. He must have read my thoughts, because as soon as I scooted toward him, he wrapped his arms around me, and I moved my head from the pillow so that it was now laying on his chest. I could hear his heart beating steadily.

That rhythm his heart created is what put me to sleep, and I knew that every day from now on, as long as Nick was in most of them, I would continue having this teenage dream.

You make me,
Feel like I'm living a Teenage Dream,
The way you turn me on,
I can't sleep,
Let's runaway,
And don't ever look back,
Don't ever look back.... no...
My heart stops,
When you look at me,
Just one touch,
Now baby I believe,
This is real,
So take a chance,
And don't ever look back,
Don't ever look back,
I'm gonna get your heart racing,
In my skin-tight jeans,
Be a teenage dream tonight,
Let you put your hands on me,
In my skin-tight jeans,
Be a teenage dream tonight.