Heart Means Everything

Alix and Jeremy decided to go out for ice cream after dinner, then meet up with Josh, Neil, Kevin, and Alex for a movie at nine-thirty.

The two got to know each other a little better over banana splits. Jeremy found out that Alix moved to Fort Lauterdale from a small town called North Manchester in Indiana. After her mom passed in November 1993, Alix's family took a winter vacation in Fort Lauterdale in December to escape the frigid Indiana weather. They loved Florida so much that they decided to stay, but only recently moved to Ocala to take a break from the city. They would stay so Alix could finish her senior year, then she would move to Orlando over the summer to study music at Full Sail University in the fall.

Jeremy had a gut feeling that they wouldn't lose contact after high school.

He looked into her eyes as she spoke to him about her favorite band, Blink-18. He smiled at the thought that this girl, so little and cute, loved a band like Blink.

"What?" she stopped mid-sentence, laughing at the fact that Jeremy was smiling to himself for no apparent reason.

"Nothing. I just like that you love Blink so much." Jeremy smiled, flashing his perfect white teeth.

"So you're a fellow fan?"

He nodded. "Yep. I have shirts and cds, and I've been to quite a few of their concerts. Love them!"

Alix smiled. "I have all their albums. No shirts though." She looked at her dress, indicating the fact that she probably didn't own very many tees, especially not any band tees.

Jeremy made a mental note to break her into band tees, whether she liked it or not. Yeah, it was adorable that she liked to dress up and look as girly as possible, but he also like a girl that would be comfortable letting him see her in sweats and a tee.

"You know we're going to have to fix that, right?" he asked with a devious grin.

"Noo, we're not."

"If you say so..."

"I do!" Alix yelled playfully. The few people in the ice cream shop turned to stare. The two bursted out into laughter.

They both finished their ice cream and left. Jeremy drove her to the nearest out of town theater where the guys were already waiting for them in the parking lot. They had all gotten their own tickets to the newest horror movie. It was just a matter of Jeremy buying his and Alix's tickets before they went into their designated cinema.

Alix had a nervous look on her face as Jeremy purchased their tickets.

"You okay?" Jeremy asked as he put his wallet in his back pocket.

She nodded to him and eased the look on her face. It wasn't that she didn't like horror movies-she loved them and was the one who decided to see this particular movie, she just wasn't sure how she'd react to what happened in the story of the movie. All Alix wanted was for this night to go smoothly and not make a fool of herself if she got freaked out.

Jeremy got the tickets and grabbed Alix's hand.

"Do you want popcorn?" he asked her.

"No, I'm fine."

Josh came up behind Alix and put his hands on her shoulders to try to get her to relax.

"Calm down, we've got you," he said in her right ear. Jeremy was to her left, still holding onto her hand.

Alix gave Josh a warm smile to reassure him that she was okay.

Jeremy gave them a confused look but he didn't say anything.

The group of six went to their theater and got seats at the very top row. They all settled down a bit and got comfortable. Neil tried scaring Alix, but she just looked at him like he was an idiot. This caused everyone in the group to laugh at Neil's failed attempt.

The six of them talked quietly, except Josh, who tried his hardest to be the loudest, amongst themselves during the commercials. They all tried guessing the 'What Is It?' picture, all of them with different answers, and none of them were right.

When the movie started, Jeremy felt Alix lean in closer to him. He released her hand and put his arm around her.

The movie was terrifying but Alix felt safe with Jeremy, and the other guys as well. They all let their guard down and showed that even seventeen year old boys get scared.
Jeremy jumped at all the right times, which made Alix smile. He didn't understand why she found it to be so amusing. Alix loved tough guys who weren't afraid to show their emotions and weakness. Alix felt that Jeremy could possibly be the best and most perfect thing that happened to her. And right then, in that moment, something clicked inside both Jeremy and Alix. They didn't know what it was, but they would soon figure it out.