3:30pm

26: blue waters

                        <Fucking bad, but it's better now. Through the trials and tribulations, I found my way out . . . then I found her, my whole world turned upside down, but for the better>

•°•°•°•

Stephen and I were going on our first date in two years, and I was stoked! So much so that my heart did a leap every now and then just at the thought of it. And to make things even more exciting, it was on my birthday! The 23rd of December.

"Have fun, Cleo!" Mom called from the doorway as Stephen walked me to his car. His mom's car technically—Stephen rode a bike.

"I will!" I called back, turning briefly to give her a quick wave.

"She came back?" Stephen asked after we had settled into the car. "Your mom, I mean."

Strapping on my seat belt, I raised my head up to look at him. He had a hand on the steering wheel, brown eyes fixed on me.

"Yeah, she did," I nodded, brushing my hair behind my ear. "Remember when I told you she'd be coming back? But it's only for a short while. She's leaving at the start of January."

He looked away from me then and reached forward to slide the key into the keyhole. Twisting it, the car came to life and slowly he backed out from the driveway.

"So," he drawled, eyes on the road ahead, "does that mean you'll be going with her?"

"Yeah," I shrugged casually, deciding to tease him a little.  "Yeah, I guess it does. I'll be moving with her to LA by January,"

He whipped his gaze to me. "Are you for real?"

I chuckled. "Eyes on the road, Stephen."

"What about school?" He looked back at the road to take a turn. "I mean, you've already come a long way to leave now. And what about your friends? Mikayla . . . what about me?"

"Well," I raised my shoulders. "I could always make a new best friend. And Los Angeles is literally loaded with tons of hot guys to choose from so . . ."

"Wait a minute." He glanced at me with a mild frown. "Wait a minute, this is a joke, right? You're teasing me."

"Nope." I popped the 'p', observing my black nail polish.

"So, this is legit?"

I couldn't hold it in any longer. Shooting forward in my seat, I burst out laughing. Laughed so hard I snorted and regretted it immediately after.

"Right," Stephen sighed, a small smile spreading across his lips. "It was a joke."

"Of course it was a joke," I giggled, a hand to my mouth. "Seriously? Find a new best friend? Tons of hot guys to choose from? Does that sound like something I would say?"

His smile grew into a mild chuckle and, seconds later, a full-blown laughter.

"You are one crazy ass lady," he said in between laughs, earning a mild blush across my cheeks.

A little while after the laughter had died down, Stephen began, looking over at me, "So, yesterday I was thinking. Where would I take my girl for a first date that'd be nice, quiet and special?"

"The movies?" I cocked my eyebrows at him.

"Nothing special there. Plus it's overused and overrated."

"Well . . . a fancy restaurant?"

"Not for broke ass guys like me," he chortled.

"So, where are we going?" I asked slowly, looking out the window only to realize we were whizzing past the vast, placid countryside on the outskirts of Springfield, with acres and acres of cornfields, stretched on for miles. In the distance, I could make out a few cows grazing on the yellow, knife-edged grass.