If I Said Your Smile's All That Mattered, Would You Save My Life?

Alex was right. Jody did ask me out, which I graciously agreed on. When he asked me out, it wasn’t as romantic as I had hopped or wish it would be, but it was a date proposal nonetheless. Now all I had to do was wait for it to come.

Thankfully the week went by fast. Between Alex talking about Laura, Jack talking about Courtney, Rian being a bit distant and slightly jerk-like, and then Zack being over protective and making sure that I didn’t faint again, it went by faster than expected. If I told Zack that I was feeling a bit dizzy, we should pick me up and carry me around. It was so sweet. And cute. And slightly odd.

And so Monday became Friday in what felt like the blink of an eye. I begged Lauren to come over – she being one of the very few girls that I had any contact with that wasn’t Courtney – and help me decide on what clothes to wear. It might not seem like it to some people, but the clothing was more important than almost anything.

She wasn’t what one would call girly, but she was definitely more than I was. Everyone was. She was doing everything herself except actually putting the clothes on. That was my job.

"So, Laura, what do you think about Alex?" I found myself asking, having wondered from the first time I saw her with him. She stood a bit farther away from him that a normal couple would. From what I saw, she never kissed him, only hugged him goodbye when she parted. But she was always, always, smiling when she was around him.

"He's nice enough," she said. "And definitely gorgeous, no denying that." I nodded, agreeing. Her mouth hung slightly open, obviously wanting to say more. One hand was running threw her blond hair, the other holding onto the edge of a shirt, fingers running along the hem. "It's just, ya know, he's a bit of slut."

I nodded, not able to disagree. "Well, if this helps, he really likes you. He hates shutting up about you, even when we all want him to. You're the first girl – or guy, for that matter – that he's ever been like this with."

She smiled. "And now all we have to do is hope it lasts."

I smiled back, nodding – again. There was something that I really liked about Laura. It might have been that I agreed with her on basically every front, or maybe it was that she was willing to come over and help me even though we had barely talked.

Either way, it was nice to have a girl friend that I actually felt like I could trust. Not yet another Courtney that would lie and use people. No. I was finally starting to realize that not everyone was like her. Finally.

&&

Jody picked me up five minutes later than he said he would, but it was still five minutes before I was actually ready.

He was obviously nervous, but he smiled wide at me and we headed out. My mum was asleep. She had become some type of insomniac and so she would sleep whenever she was able to. I couldn’t help but wonder what the world was like from the dream filled eyes, as she slept at odd hours and was always awake as the night drifted away.

Soon we left and drove over to his house. Music filled the car, neither one of us trying to talk. The music spoke those words that we just could never get out ourselves.

Once we got there, I noticed how large it was. It must have been four stories – with a likelihood of a basement, too – on a lot that seemed to go on for ages. He just smiled at me as we got out of the car. He grabbed my hand and began skipping happily with me towards his house. He was one odd kid. Or maybe this is what most people did on dates, I really didn’t know.

"So I hope you don’t mind it being at my house. I just thought we could do some billiards or DDR. Or air hockey or something bomb like that."

I smiled at him, holding back a laugh. I mean, who says billiards anyways? But I didn’t say that, I just replied, saying, "What, do you have an arcade or something like that in your house?" Right after I said that, we stepped into the house and the door closed loudly behind us.

"Something like that," he said with a smile.

He pulled me towards a set of stairs leading down to the basement. I couldn’t help but smile really wide, although I wasn’t sure why. Maybe it was because he did, in fact, have a basement and I loved basement for some random reason, or maybe it was because I just liked Jody. I don’t know, but all I did know was that I loved always smiling.

We walked down, his hand still holding mine, which I was so sure must have been sweaty. But he still wanted to hold my hand regardless. The fact just made me smile more.

We reached the bottom of the stairs and Jody switched the light on. I blinked a few times, making sure I was seeing correctly. There was a pool table, foosball table, air hokey table, Dance Dance Revolution and Packman machines, and then a whole home theater system with the biggest TV I have ever seen.

I was at a loss of words, so I just smile as wide as I could at him. It must have looked odd for it seemed as if he was holding back a laugh. But then Jody smiled back and said, "I invited Jack and Courtney and Alex and Laura, I hope you don’t mind."

My smile faltered, but I quickly forced it back on. "Of course I don’t mind," I said. But I did. Way more than I ever should.