Heart Means Everything

Jeremy woke up to his phone blaring "All the Small Things" by Blink-182. He looked at his clock to see it was only nine a.m.

"Hello?" Jeremy answered, knowing exactly whose voice he'd hear.

"Happy birthday to you, happy birthday to you! Happy birthday dear Jeremyyyyyyy, happy birthday to you! Yay, now that I've got that out of my system, hi!"

"Dear lord, Alix. Do you know what time it is?" Jeremy grumbled, throwing his arm over his eyes.

"I'm totally aware. You can't sleep forver, though, 'cause you'll waste precious birthday hours. Plus, you're getting your tattoo in a couple hours."

Jeremy smiled. He couldn't be mad at Alix for waking him up so early. She was just so cute when she was hyper.

"Alix... You give me so much hope in this world. You're too cute." The last part slipped out, but Jeremy wasn't bothered by it. He was feeling extremely confident.

"Aww, well thank you kind sir! You're rather cute yourself. Now get up and get ready! I'll see you sooooon."
The line went dead.

Jeremy broke into a fit of laughter. "Damn, that girl knows how to start a day off right," he said to himself.

He got up and took a quick shower, then went back to his room to get dressed. He decided on wearing his Blink-182 tee just because his ringtone put him in a good mood for the day. Jeremy put on a nice pair of jeans and his Vans, then grabbed his keys, wallet, and jacket, and headed downstairs. Surprisingly, his mom was awake. She sat on the couch drinking coffee and watching tv. She looked up when she saw Jeremy on the last stair.

"Happy birthday, Jeremy," his mother said with a smile. She got up and gave him a hug. "I can't believe you're eighteen already. My baby's growing up!"

Jeremy thought his mom's behavior was strange, but he couldn't complain. "Yeah, it's crazy. I've gotta go get breakfast, then I'm going to get my first tattoo."

"Well have fun, and you'll have to show me it later."

"Will do Mom."

Jeremy went to his car and drove the short distance to Alix's house. He was going to go to her door and get her, but she burst out of the house before he had reached the sidewalk.

Alix ran to Jeremy and attacked him with a hug. Jeremy staggered backwards slightly, but regained his balance quickly. He took in her smell, warmth, and energy. Jeremy instantly felt even happier than he already was.

"Well hey to you, too, Alix," Jeremy said once she finally pulled away.

"Hey, hi, hello, hola!"

"Holy shit, what has gotten into you this morning?"

Alix giggled. "A cup of coffee and two Red Bulls."

Jeremy laughed and shook his head. "Can you control yourself for breakfast?"

She smiled sweetly and nodded.

They went to IHOP and stuffed themselves with pancakes, eggs, and bacon. The two felt like they couldn't move afterwards, so they stayed awhile before deciding they should leave to make it in time to Jeremy's tattoo appointment.

Once they arrived, Jeremy was the one with all the energy.

"I'm so excited!" Jeremy yelled, bouncing up and down in the driver's seat.

"I'm so excited for you!" Alix yelled in return.

The two spent a few more moments bouncing around before getting out of the car and racing each other to the door.

"Yay, I won!" Alix cheered as she opened the door to the tattoo parlor.

"Hey, Jeremy!" his cousin, Dakota, greeted him.

"Hey D!"

"Who's your friend?" Dakota asked, walking around the counter to give Jeremy a bro hug.

"This is my friend, Alix."

"Nice to meet you, Alix. I'm Dakota, and I'm Jeremy's cousin." Dakota extended his hand towards Alix.

Alix shook his hand firmly. "Nice to meet you, too."

Dakota smiled kindly then turned back to Jeremy.

"I've got your tattoo sketched out, so let's go get that put on. Oh, and happy birthday, man."

"Thanks, bro."

The three went back to the studio area where Jeremy sat down in the tattoo chair and Alix sat on a stool beside him. Dakota put on latex gloves and sterilized Jeremy's arm and shaved the area clear of hair. He then put the transfer paper on, then a few seconds later removed it, and what was left was an outline of an angel.

"Go check it out," Dakota told Jeremy.

Jeremy stood from the chair and went over to a mirror across the room.

"This is really nice, D," Jeremy said, walking back to the chair. "I'm even more excited now."

For the next two hours, Dakota worked dilegently on the tattoo while Jeremy told him about his senior year, and all the things ahead of him. Jeremy spoke excitedly about the upcoming band competition and Dakota seemed to be genuinely interested.

Alix made mental nots of the things Jeremy seemed to enjoy to talk about. She could talk so easily to him, the way the two boys were doing now, but she sometimes felt like she didn't know what to say. She thought that she could sometimes be too boring for Jeremy. However, he never seemed bored with her. Maybe he was just a good actor...

Maybe he really does like me, just as Josh had said, Alix thought to herself.

Jeremy smiled at her, and Alix realized that she had been staring. She returned the smile, now feeling rather awkward.

"How are you holding up?" Alix asked Jeremy, to make conversation out of the awkwardness she felt.

"Not bad. It really doesn't hurt. I'm actually surprised it doesn't."

"Okay tough guy. Just wait 'til tomorrow, then you'll really feel it," Dakota teased.

"Shit," Jeremy groaned with a laugh.

"You'll be alright, just take care of it, and it'll be fine. And we're done here."

Jeremy went back over to the mirror to check out the artwork on his arm. His jaw dropped when he saw it.

"D, this is so fucking cool. It's perfect." Jeremy turned around to face Dakota. "Thank you, so much."

"No problem," Dakota nodded and added a smile.

Jeremy paid for the work, then he and Alix went back to the car. Their next stop was Alix's house, where she'd get Jeremy's gifts, then they would go to Josh's house for the party.

On their way over, Alix's dad texted her to say that he wanted to meet Jeremy. She had no choice but to take him inside once they arrived.

Alix turned down the radio to talk. "Uh, my dad wants to meet you."

"Today?" Jeremy sounded slightly nervous.

"Yes, today."

"Okay, well that's not a problem, is it?"

"No, of course not. I just don't know why he chose today to do this. We gots stuff to do!"

"Don't worry, it'll be fine," Jeremy reassured her, putting a hand on her thigh.

She smiled warmly. "I know."

Jeremy was so nervous, even though he tried not to show it. He'd never had to meet a girl's father before. All he could think was "what if he doesn't like me?" and "what if he doesn't want me around Alix?"

"Can I ask you a question?" Jeremy said quietly.

Alix nodded and Jeremy continued. "What did your dad want to talk to you about the other day, after we took that walk?"

"This. Meeting you, and the guys. He wants to at least have an idea of who I'm hanging out with. He's worried that something's going to happen to me."

"Like?" Jeremy pressed, knowing that it probably wasn't the smartest idea to ask, but he deserved to know.

"Rape, pregnancy, drugs, alcohol. Typical parental worries." Alix sounded somewhat pissed off because she had to admit these things. She knew that none of the guys would do anything bad to her or around her.

Jeremy's face scrunched up as he listened to what Alix was telling him. He smoothed his expression so he wouldn't worry her. He couldn't believe that a parent would be so quick to think something like that, but then again, he could see why a father would think that.

"Well, don't worry. You know that the guys and I wouldn't do that, right?"

"Of course!" Alix nearly cut him off. "I trust you guys, a lot. It doesn't matter what my dad thinks though. I'm almost eighteen myself, and there's no way he'll keep me away from you guys."

"That's really all I need to hear."



"Dad, this is Jeremy," Alix said as she sat down at the kitchen table.

"Eric," her dad said, extending his hand.

Jeremy took his hand and shook it firmly. "Jeremy. It's nice to finally meet you."

"You too. I hear a lot about you. And um... How old are you?"

"Eighteen, today."

Eric looked at Jeremy in disbelief. "Happy birthday."

Jeremy smiled at him, then added, "Don't let the beard fool you. I really am only eighteen."

Alix cracked up. Jeremy and Eric turned to give her a confused look. "Sorry, that was just really funny."

Eric shook his head at his daughter. "So what are your plans for today?"

"We're going out to my best friend, Josh's house, for my party."

"Was he the one you were with earlier this week?" Eric asked Alix, refering to Josh.

"Yeah," she nodded.

"When do I get to meet the rest of your group?" Eric asked, turning back to Jeremy.

"Whenever is convienent for you. There's five of us total, so..." Jeremy trailed off.

Eric's eyes bulged. He never realized that Alix had befriended five teenage boys.

"Alright... Um, how about this Friday night, you all can come over, I'll order a couple pizzas and rent a movie or two?"

"That sounds great."

"Good. Take care of my daughter, okay?"

"No worries, she's in good hands." Jeremy turned to Alix, who stood and was walking towards the door. "You ready?"

Alix nodded and grabbed onto Jeremy's arm. They headed ouside towards the car.

"That wasn't too bad," Jeremy said, opening the passenger door.

"Not at all," Alix agreed, getting inside.