Whatsername

Even after my numerous complaints, threats with random kitchen utensils, clutching to doorways, car doors, and the occasional stranger, there I stood in the middle of Chuck E. Cheese's, holding three sodas, a pinwheel, and a whoopee cushion. All thanks to Tre, I might add.

"Hey, Kate, watch me!" Jakob yelled from behind me. I turned around.

"Watch you do what?" I asked, raising an eyebrow.

"Just watch me," he sighed, rolling his eyes as he stepped back.

"Okay, but don't do anything to hurt yourself. It's my turn to watch you, and I don't want to explain to your dad how you ended up in the hospital," I said as he finally stopped walking backwards. He looked at me to make sure I was still watching, and then ran straight towards the ball pit and dove into it head first, disappearing underneath the sea of colorful plastic spheres.

"Did you see me?!" he gasped after popping his head up from under the balls.

"Yeah," I laughed, shaking my head. "You know, you're almost as insane as your dad."

"I am?!" he asked, wide-eyed.

"Definitely."

"Yay!" he cheered, running off. "I'm gonna go tell him!"

"And I'm alone again," I sighed, looking around and groaning as the sound of bells, whistles, and other annoying noises continued. I truly hated this place. There were way too many children, and adults acting like children, for my liking. Speaking of adults acting like children...

"Kate, Kate! Look! My winning streak is paying off big time!" Tre screamed, running over to me with a huge grin on his face as he handed me another whoopee cushion, a Frisbee, and a handful of tickets.

"Yeah, Tre, that's great," I sighed.

"This is fun!" he squealed, jumping up and down excitedly.

"Mhmm... fun...," I mumbled, rolling my eyes. "Now will you please stop bouncing? You're starting to look like you represent the lollipop guild."

"Fine," he said, finally standing still for a few seconds. "Wait, why do you despise munchkins so much?"

"'Cause they greatly resemble children," I grumbled.

Tre giggled as I continued to glare at the floor. "You don't hate children. You just think you do."

I turned to look at him, and he grinned stupidly. I rolled my eyes. "What?"

"You don't really hate children," he said slowly.

"And what makes you think that?" I asked, confused. "I thought I made my opinion on kids very clear."

"Well, let's just say you actually do hate kids for a minute. Why do you act so nice to Jakob?" he asked, raising an eyebrow.

"I don't know." I shrugged. "I guess because he's tolerable, and I have to live with him, so hah," I said, sticking my tongue out. He sighed and rolled his eyes as I smirked.

"God, you're as stubborn as Billie Joe," he said, shaking his head.

"I am not!" I said, glaring at him. "I just don't like kids."

"Oh! I bet you'll love Ramona!" he beamed.

"Who?"

"My daughter!" he squeaked. "Oh! And Frankito! You'll love him too!"

"Frankito?" I asked, raising an eyebrow. "I'm guessing you named your children...."

"Mhmm," he said, grinning. "They're coming to visit me in a couple days."

"Great," I mumbled.

"Yep! I never get both of them at the same time, usually.... Now, anyway, which one is the orange soda?" he asked, pointing to the drinks.

"Um, this one, I think," I said, pointing to the middle one.

"No, that's the root beer! Are you trying to break my winning streak?!" he gasped. "I need the orange one, and then it's the lemon lime, and then it's the root beer!"

"Okay, okay. Sorry," I said, rolling my eyes as I handed him the correct drink.

"Thank you. Now I will be back for the lemon lime shortly, my love!" he squealed, running away again.

"My love," I laughed to myself as I sat down in a booth to count Tre's beloved tickets.

"Two hundred and thirty-four, two hundred and thirty-five, two hundred and thir--" I was interrupted by a group of girls over by the food counter, screaming as a guy in a Chuck E. Cheese costume snuck up behind them, causing me to loose count. "Fuck!"

"One, two, three, four, fi--"

"Hello!" Billie grinned, sitting down across from me.

"Hi," I said, looking up from what I was doing to smile at him.

"What are doing?" he asked, the grin still plastered on his face. I looked at him suspiciously for a moment and then shrugged.

"Not much, just counting these tickets to see if Tre has enough for that squirt gun up there," I said, pointing the prize wall. "He'd have plenty if he stopped taking side trips to the prize counter for these Frisbees and shit."

"Great, a squirt gun. That's all he needs," he groaned, turning around to face me again.

"Yeah, that's not the greatest idea.... Maybe I can change his mind." I smirked, wiggling my eyebrows jokingly. He frowned for a few seconds but then laughed as the stupid smirk on his face reappeared.

"Yeah, we need to think of something that's less likely to cause damage-- like a boomerang or a machete would be much better," he laughed.

"Mhmm."

"Anyway, why aren't you out there having fun like the rest of us?" he asked, frowning slightly.

"You call running around a children's arcade fun?" I asked, raising an eyebrow.

"Of course! Even Henderson's having fun, and she's scared shitless of that fucking mouse," he said, gesturing to the guy who was once again wandering around the place with the giant Chuck E. Cheese costume on. I glared at him. Stupid fucking mouse, making me loose count. I'd like to kick him in the--

"Kate?" Billie's hand waved in front of my face.

"Hm, what?" I asked.

"Nothing. It's just kinda lonely out there... with you over here counting tickets...." He pouted, trying to keep from smiling as he did so.

"Well, I would've been out there 'having fun' if you didn't leave me to watch Jakob," I said with air quotes. "Where is Jakob?"

"He's over there watching Mike and Joey. They're racing snowmobiles," he said, looking over my shoulder. "Joey's kicking Mike's ass, by the way."

"Ah, good for Joey. Why do you keep smirking at me?"

"Me? Smirking? No, I'm not," he scoffed.

"Yes, you are! You're doing it right now," I said, looking down. He was fidgeting with something in his lap. "Now what are you hiding from me?" I asked as he continued to grin.

"Nothing!"

"God, you're a bad liar," I sighed, shaking my head.

"I most definitely am not!" he gasped.

"You're also a drama queen," I laughed. "Now tell me what you're hiding from me!"

"Fine! I was gonna wait until we got home, but since you're so nosey-- here," he said, sliding something across the table.

"Is it your leftovers from lunch?" I asked as I grabbed the crinkled up napkin and unwrapped it to reveal what was inside of it; a lime green plastic watch with little cartoon monkeys all over it. It had a monkey holding a banana for the hour hand, and its tail was the minute hand. "Aw, how cute!" I squeaked.

He grinned. "Yay, she likes it."

"I love it!"

"Yeah, well, I distinctly remember coming home the other day and having you tell me about how SpongeBob was addictive and how you liked monkeys." he said, and I smiled. "And then I saw that watch and knew it would be perfect. So you better be grateful; I just spent an hour and a half playing air hockey for that thing."

"Thank you so much!" I squealed, quickly looking around the arcade to check no one was watching before leaning forward and kissing his cheek. He grabbed my chin, keeping me from sitting back and kissed my lips. A few seconds later, I was allowed to sit back down, a stupid grin stuck on my face that I couldn't have gotten rid of if I had tried to conceal it.

He smirked at me. "You are very welcome."