She's All That

No more than three minutes later, Abagail had shown up and collected Isabella to go to the park. The car ride wasn't that long. The park was on the other side of town but it wasn't a large community.

Isabella pulled the visor down, checking herself in the mirror. She let her hair down, pulling half of it over her shoulders before sighing in frustration and pulling it all back up again.

"Relax," Abagail laughed. "You look fine. We're just going to the park."

"I know, I just can't manage my hair."

"It looks fine, trust me. But, if I hear you complain one more time about how your hair looks like shit, I'll pull this car over, got it?" Agagail smirked, knocking her elbow into Bella's. "Kidding, doll. Why are you so worried about how you look anyway? Could it have something to do with a certain someone, hm?"

"No," Isabella grinned, rolling her eyes. "Is it a crime to want to look nice?"

Abagail smiled, pulling into one of the empty parking spaces across from the park. They got out of the car and began crossing the street. Abagail caught sight of the boys and waved, pulling Bella along with her. "Look at that, will ya?" She snickered, pointing at Gerard. "He dressed up."

"He did?" Bella furrowed her eyebrows, taking in his appearance. He didn't look 'dressed up'. He had on a simple plain white t-shirt and rather tight-fitting black pants. Although, he did look nice with his hair all pushed back and out of his face.

"Sweetheart, for him, that is dressed up."

"Abby," Frank cheered, smiling brightly. Running over, he tripped over his feet but caught his balance, and smashed into the redhead, causing her to stumble. "You made it! And, you brought Bella."

Abby patted him on the back, gently, and laughed. "Yes, I did. Now, come on, we need to socialize."

They walked over to one of the benches that the rest of the boys were sat at and occupied the empty seats. Ray, Bob and Mikey sat one one side while Gerard, Bella and Abagail sat on the other with Frank sitting on the tabletop; Legs crossed.

Mikey smiled warmly at Bella, nodding his head shyly. "Hey, Bella."

"Hi guys," She waved, glancing quickly to her left at Gerard. He had his head down, twiddling his fingers.

"So," Ray piped up. "What are we doing today?"

"I know!" Frank beamed.

"No, Frank." Bob shook his head. "We are not doing whatever it is that you want to do. It's always something dumb."

"We could play Truth or Dare," Abby smiled deviously at Bella. "It could be fun."

"No," Bella spoke up quickly, "Let's not do that."

Gerard nodded, opening his mouth for the first time. A faint red tinge to his cheeks. "I second that."

Abby folded her arms over her chest, nibbling her bottom lip. "Fine,"

"Then, let's do what I wanna do." Frank suggested. "Let's play Hide and Seek."

"Franklin," Abby sighed. "We aren't ten years old."

"Oh, come on, Abby. There's a million places to hide."

"I said no, Frank."

And, just like that, five minutes later, they were all scrambling from the table, dashing off in different directions while Frank was left alone to be the seeker. Bella didn't see where everyone ran off to, so she chose to hide behind some shrubbery. There seemed to be enough space for someone to fit between the bushes.

Ducking down, she crawled through the small opening and fitted herself in. She was more concerned with the dirt all over her pants than she was with checking her surroundings. If she had, she'd have noticed that it was already occupied.

"This is a nice spot, huh?"

Bella jumped, glancing up with wide eyes. Gerard sat across from her, hugging his knees to his chest. "I'm sorry. I didn't know you were here." She scrambled around to begin crawling through the bushes again before someone grabbed her arm, pulling her back to sit down.

"It's fine," He smiled, crookedly. "We can share. Besides, if you leave now, you'll give me away."

"Right," Bella nodded.

"So,"

"So?"

"I was wondering,"

Isabella felt her heartbeat quicken and the familiar feeling of being sick crept it's way into her abdomen. Was she nervous? Why was she nervous?

Bella grinned, encouraging him. "Wondering what?"

"Well," Gerard closed his eyes. "I was just wondering if you would let me look at some of your drawings? You don't have to. I mean, I hate when people look through mine, so, I'll understand if you say no."

"Sure," Bella nodded. "Uh, I can bring them to school Monday or you could drop by my house tonight and I'll show you then?"

"Would your mom mind?"

"Don't worry about it. She won't be home until late."

"Oh, well, thanks. Is it cool if I ride back to your house with you and Abby later?"

"Yeah," Bella smiled, admiring the way he picked at the hem of his pants when he got nervous. It was sweet, in a way. "That'd be nice."

"It's a date, then." Gerard's throat closed up as the heat rose to his face. He began mumbling incoherently. "I-I didn't mean it as, you know, an actual date. I was j-just saying... I'm a moron."

Isabella laughed, nudging his shoulder. "Relax, Gee. I know what you meant."

Gerard bit his bottom lip, shyly smiling at the dark haired girl in front of him. Her bright blue eyes seemed so welcoming and warm. Despite how beautiful he found her, what she said still sounded in his ears.

She had called him Gee.

And, it sounded so sweet coming from her mouth.