This is How We Do

It turns out that the seemingly horrific incident that happened in the cafeteria was actually an extremely beneficial one. Georgia and Stella found themselves surrounded by new friends. It was pleasantly refreshing. Stella had grown tired of gossiping about celebrities and nail polish colors with same group of material obsessed girls. Georgia had grown tired of sitting around, not contributing to conversation at all. Now, the two of them both held intelligent conversations with intelligent people. Their new friends had good ideals and planned for their futures. They were funny and great to be around. Georgia was visited at work more frequently by more people. She started stepping out of her shell more, and for that, her mom was grateful.

A particularly close relationship was formed between Jack and Stella. The two got along icredibly well. They could talk endlessly and do anything together. It was the best kind of relationship, one Stella had always longed for. Georgia couldn't help but be insanely jealous. She enjoyed Jack's company as much as the next person. It always happened that Stella got the guy. This fact frustrated her, but Georgia was not going to interfere with her best friend's happiness. Jack would've never been interested in her to begin with. High school relationships were futile and pointless, anyway. Georgia needn't worry about them at this time.

It was now mid-October, about a month after they had all become acquainted. The air had a cool and crisp feeling. The trees were beginning to change color and some were already bare. Where ever you stepped, there was a satisfying crunch of darkened leaves under your foot. It was Stella's favorite time of the year. She the loved bonfires and Halloween. The color of the trees always amazed her and the crisp air energized her body. Currently, Stella sat in her room, painting her toenails and flipping through magazines. She was planning to host a Halloween party this year and was looking for good ideas. Perhaps she would enlist in help from Lisa. This party had to be superb, with only the cutest snacks and most creative costumes.

She was in the middle of contemplating her own costume when she got a phone call. "Hello?" she said into her pink, bedazzled phone.

"STELLA–"

"What the hell–?"

"–IT'S SATURDAY AND I'M BORED. LET'S GO SOMEWHERE."

"Jack, it's like nine-thirty in the morning. Why are you even up right now?" Stella let a giggle escape. He made her laugh no matter what he did.

"I don't know. I think I was probed by aliens last night. I can't remember if it was a dream or not... Come on, let's go! We can grab coffee and breakfast stuff from Georgia's Diner" –here, he laughed– "and then just go anywhere!"

Stella only pretended to contemplate. She knew what her answer was before he even proposed the idea. "Alright, fine. Give me a minute to–"

"I'll be at your house in ten!" Jack ended the call with some sort of noise that was between a gurgle and a yell.

Stella went into overdrive. She flew around her room, putting on clothes, taming her hair, and brushing her teeth all at the same time. Within eight minutes, her hair was its usual straight self and her breath was minty fresh. She had thrown on one of her track sweatshirts and her favorite pair of jeans, along with some cozy and warm moccasins on her feet.

In two more minutes, the doorbell rang. Stella raced to the door, kissing all of her family good-bye on the way. "When should we be expecting you home?" asked her mom.

"No idea! I'll be home before bed time, I promise." Stella let out a giggle.

"Your curfew is ten-thirty. Don't be late," reminded her father.

"See you guys!" With her final farewell, Stella swung open the door and greeted Jack with a hug. "Hey! Where are we going?"

"I have an idea. You'll see. First stop: Georgia's Diner!"

The two set off to visit Georgia and her parents at their diner. Georgia had decided to start working weekends, since she needed the money for two reasons. One of which was because she had become more socially active. The other was for college.

Georgia's Diner was expectedly busy for ten o'clock on a Saturday morning. It was filled with old couples, large families, and daddy-daughter breakfasts. Both Stella and Jack both knew they didn't have to wait to be seated, unlike every other customer, so they walked up to the counter. "WAITRESS!" said Jack in a loud, joking tone, "I WOULD LIKE TO PLACE MY ORDER."

Georgia walked over and was not surprised to see Jack and Stella together. It seemed that they were always together. In the pit of her stomach, Georgia felt a knot getting tighter and tighter. She tried her hardest to simply ignore it. Why couldn't she ever get the guy? Nevertheless, she just plastered a smile on to greet her best friend. "Hey Stella, hey Jack, what can I get you guys?" asked Georgia. She whipped out her sparkly pad and pen in a silly, dramatic fashion.

Laughing, Stella asked for a cup of coffee with extra cream, sugar, and whipped cream on top sprinkled with cinnamon. Jack ordered a whole entire breakfast. "Okay, I'll get your coffee out in a minute. The breakfast might be awhile." Georgia left them with a final smile and went to place the order.

"I love this place," said Stella, "I'd been coming here ever since Georgia and I were kids. This is actually how we became friends."

"Oh really?" asked Jack. He loved it when she told him about her childhood and whatnot.

"Yeah," answered Stella. She flipped her hair over her one shoulder and continued, "My dad and I came here together for breakfast all the time. Georgia would always be here, and I finally just spoke to her. I told her that we were in the same first grade class together, except she sat in the back and I sat in the front. I suggested that the next time we had story time, we should read together. And that's how we became best friends."

"That's adorable. I wish we were in the same first grade class!"

Stella laughed a little. "Thanks, I guess."

Within forty-five minutes, Jack and Stella had eaten, paid, and hit the road again. Stella kept bugging Jack about where they were going, but he wanted to keep the surprise. He was shockingly adamant about it. So for the time being, Stella gave up. She loved spending time with Jack. He made her happy. The way he looked at her sometimes really made her feel good. She felt like she was worth something for once.

Jack started shifting through radio stations, finding nothing good. "You don't have any CD's or anything?" asked Stella. This slightly shocked her. "I wouldn't mind listening to them, if you did."

"SWEET," shouted Jack. He reached into the compartment below the radio and shifted through a bunch of CDs. They were all disorganized and disheveled; some were in their cases, others were protected by pieces of paper, and the rest were just bare. He finally found one with Mix Tape #21 scrawled in his own chicken scratch on the front. "My favorite," stated Jack.

When the first song came on, the two immediately recognized it and started singing along. Debbie just hit the wall, she never had it all...



At one-thirty in the afternoon on that same day, Alex Gaskarth strolled into Georgia's Diner. He was a man with a plan, right now, and wanted to put it in action. The first thing is first, though, and he needed to find Georgia. She was no where to be seen. She was not behind the hostess stand nor the counter. He checked the time on his phone and then the clock on the wall. Georgia normally worked from 7:30am to 7:30pm. It was unusual for her to not be here.

"Can I help you, honey?" asked Mrs. Ross, immediately recognizing Alex. She smiled to herself, because she had always noticed Alex's partiality to her daughter.

"Do you happen to know where I might find Georgia?" asked Alex, putting on his best impress-the-parents charm.

Still smiling, Mrs. Ross answered, "Of course I do. She's in the kitchen, sweetie. Take a seat at the counter, I'll go get her for ya." As she walked away, Alex took a moment to study her appearance. She resembled Georgia in a lot of ways. Same hair, body shape, and eyes. Mrs. Ross' hair was a bit grayer than Georgia's, but still a beautiful brown color and sleek; it was worn in a high ponytail. The two also had the same short, thin body, though Mrs. Ross had a little extra weight. And those eyes... The Rosses seemed to have the most beautiful brown eyes Alex had ever seen.

He walked over to the counter and sat next to an elderly man. As he sat down, he gave a polite nod.

"Oh, to be young again," said the old man. "When I was your age, it was the best time of my life."

'"What? Are you telling me you're much older than me?" Alex always had a way with people. "Man, I coulda sworn you were at most twenty-eight!"

The elderly man laughed. "Don't push it, boy. And don't waste your time. There are a lot of things I wish I had done when I was your age. Don't make the same mistake."

This sparked Alex's curiousity. "What kind of mistakes are we talking about, here?"

"I took advantage of the people around me. I didn't appreciate the ones who really cared about me. All I knew was that I couldn't wait to grow up. You hear this many times, but believe me. Life flies by. Don't blink, 'cause you'll miss it." Without giving Alex a chance to reply, the man pulled out his wallet and started sifting through it. "I never followed my dream. I wanted to be an actor, but my parents told me that it didn't pay the bills. I didn't marry the girl I loved. Instead, I married for vanity. Just be careful and make wise decisions." He placed his money on the counter with the bill, got up, and left.

Alex didn't know what to think. As of now, he had no regrets. He didn't really know what to do with the advice he was just given. Luckily, there wasn't much time to ponder. Georgia came walking over. She looked cute, as always. Her hair was in a loose, messy bun and there was a pen tucked behind her ear. She looked tired and worn down. "Hey Alex, what can I get you?" she asked.

"A girlfriend," he stated simply.

"Excuse me?"

"Be my girlfriend."

Georgia was taken aback. She looked around, hoping no one she knew in the restaurant had heard. Thankfully, no one had. "What on earth are you saying? What about Lisa?"

"I broke up with Lisa. It was nice in the beginning, but something changed. She became this really whiny, jealousy-driven girl. Somewhere along the way I fell out of love with her. So, as of now, I'm a single, free man!"

"And you don't want to stay that way? If you tell me you broke up with her because of me..."

"Relax, Georgia. I broke up with her because of Stella." The look that crossed Georgia's face was a mixture of anger, disappointment, pain, and resentment. "No, I mean like I have a plan. I see the way you look at Jack. You wish he was yours. And, I wish Stella was mine. So I've devised a plan to help us."

This did not sound good, not at all. Manipulating people was not the way to go, ever. It could lead to broken hearts and ruined friendships. "No way. Are you crazy? Alex, you can't just manipulate people like that," said Georgia. She was wanted to stay adamant about her point.

"It'll work. Don't you want to have some fun before you've graduated? The point of high school relationships is to just fuck around. Come on."

"I don't know..." Georgia was breaking. The idea of making Jack jealous over her somehow was incredibly appealing. However, it's not a safe idea, simply because the feelings of her best friend would become involved. "Personally, I think that's a really stupid plan."

Alex clutched his heart and put a look of mock pain on his face. "You wound me, Georgia. Just think about it."

"No way–"

Georgia was interrupted by someone calling for her. She was needed to serve the tables in the back room. "Listen, Alex, it's a sweet gesture. But I can't. I'm not going to risk hurting my best friend."

Alex pursed his lips and nodded. "Okay," he said. He gestured for her to move her head closer to his, so she did.

"I really have to go."

"I know." Then, he cupped the nape of her neck with his hand and pulled her close. He placed a quick, persuading, and passionate kiss on her lips. Georgia felt her knees go weak and her entire body flush. She didn't think Alex knew about her sparse and dry romantic life. "Just think about it, for me. Please. You know what? Maybe I just want to date you."

With those as his final words, he stood up and left. How was Georgia supposed to complete the rest of her shift after that? What was she supposed to be thinking right now?



"Ah, here we are!" smiled Jack, pulling onto the side of the street next to a metered parking spot.

"Where is 'here'?" asked Stella. Jack just got out of the car, opened her door, and took her hand. He then proceeded to lead her away. He led her to a populated area that resembled a strip mall. There were people walking all around. Most looked very tourist-y. There were a few who looked like locals, perusing around with shopping bags and sunglasses. There were families with cameras, couples holding hands, and children walking in clusters wearing day care shirts. It was a bit of a balmy day and the sun peeked through the clouds every now and then. The riverfront had paddle boats shaped like ducks and dinosaurs. "The Baltimore Aquarium?" she inquired, a bit shocked.

"Where else!? Come on, it'll be fun!" Still holding her hand, Jack led her to the ticket sales window. Instead of butterflies, it felt like there was a volcano in his stomach and it was ready to explode at any minute. His head was fuzzy and all he felt was happy. Stella had this incredible effect on people, whether she realized it or not. He felt lucky that he was the one she had chosen to focus her affections on.

When they finally got past the lines and entered the building, Jack still held Stella's hand in his. "Now what?" she giggled.

"Well, which exhibit do you wanna see first?" asked Jack.

"Ooh! Let's go look at the sharks!" Stella started jumping up and down, becoming extremely excited.

And so the pair headed to the shark exhibit. They laughed and talked as they moved from floor to floor and exhibit to exhibit. The sharks fascinated Stella. They were graceful and powerful at the same time. She loved how they swam through the water, completely at ease. They reached the great white shark tank just in time to see a diver swimming with it. This made Stella incredibly nervous. As much as she loved them, she would never swim with a shark. Not unless she was prepared to die. And with Jack by her side, she definitely wasn't.

Jack wanted to go to the jelly fish showcase. Reluctantly, Stella sighed and allowed herself to be dragged along. Jelly fish creeped her out. There was that, and the fact that she thought their defense mechanisms and way of eating were, for lack of a better word, stupid.

They ended the day by getting coffee outside of the aquarium and sitting at a table by the window in a little café. Jack scooted his seat close to Stella as they talked. It was nearly two o'clock in the afternoon. The café was cozy, with soothing, quiet music playing from speakers near the ceiling. There seemed to be a poetry reading happening on the stage near the waterfront. It was bright and Stella loved the feeling of the sun hitting her face through the large window. "I had a nice day," she remarked. "Thank you for taking me here."

"It was my pleasure," replied Jack. After a moment of silence, he said, "I really like you, Stella. Like, a lot."

"I think I like you more," said Stella with a smirk on her face. It took Jack a moment to register what she meant. Then, he started laughing at the fact his brain moved so slowly. Stella joined with him. Nobody could resist laughing with Jack, for his laughter was remarkably contagious.

As they calmed down, there was a shift in the air. Stella sighed and looked at Jack. He smiled at her and leaned closer. Stella's heart started beating faster. She had been thinking about this moment for a few weeks. Then her thoughts became tangible and Jack kissed her. There was an explosion of butterflies in her stomach. The volcano in Jack's stomach finally errupted. He placed his hand on the side of her face and moved his lips against hers in a gentle, heart-warming matter. His tongue glided along her bottom lip and finally pulled away. Stella's brain went fuzzy. She was so happy.