𝐁𝐨𝐨𝐤 𝐈𝐭, 𝐁𝐢𝐫𝐝𝐢𝐞 | 𝐓𝐡𝐞 𝐌𝐢𝐠𝐡𝐭𝐲 𝐃𝐮𝐜𝐤𝐬 (ON HOLD!)

9. Confident

"Hans, have you ever been to this fall festival I keep hearing about?"

"Why yes, many times."

"What's it like?"

Hans was glad to hear that the girl was open to attending Minnesota's community festivals. In all honesty, the older man thought Jamie would take her parent's death differently, in a more depressing way. Surprisingly, Hans has yet to see the girl cry over the loss of her two biggest supporters, which concerned him deeply. She was using distractions to help her, but in the wise man's mind, Hans knew a good talk about the situation was what would help best.

"The community sets up shops to sell their handmade items. There are usually live bands too, and fireworks. You know, I used to take your father with me all of the time."

"What else do they have?" Jamie says, totally ignoring Hans' statement about her father.

"Sometimes there are rides, mainly a Ferris wheel. Other than that, I can't imagine what else they may have."

Before either of the two could open their mouths, Jamie's phone rang from off the counter. She looked at Hans, then back at the phone, picking it up to answer the call in her room. Hans smiled to himself as he watched her walk away, knowing he needed to call somebody too.

"Hello?"

"Jamie? This is Fulton." the boy's voice muttered over Jamie's phone.

"Oh, hey Fulton! What's up?"

"I, I wanted to ask you for some help."

"Help with what?"

"Well, I'd like to go to the fall festival with someone, but I'm not sure how to ask them?"

"Who may we be talking about?" Jamie says with an eyebrow raised.

"...Libby."

"Oh my gosh, I can totally help you!" the girl exclaims. Prior to their conversation, Jamie had already caught the two staring at each other in admiration. If anything, she'd love to help her two friends get together. "Should we meet up?"

"If you'd like to right now, maybe we can meet at the Diner Charlie's mom works at."

"Sounds good to me, see you there," Jamie says, ending the phone call with a smile. Letting Hans know where she is going, Jamie exits the household from the backdoor, running to her destination. Fulton was already sitting down next to Charlie once Jamie had entered the diner's door, taking her own seat next to the boy she would be helping.

Charlie looked at the girl with the same expression she last saw him wearing. Jamie didn't know why his mood had changed all of a sudden, especially since she couldn't recall doing anything to offend him. The girl ignored his unexplainable reaction, though, talking to his mother instead.

"Jamie, so good to see you again!" Casey says, wearing a smile.

"Would you like any food?"

"Not today, thank you."

Casey walks away in acceptance, looking at her son stare into the eyes of his female friend. Charlie wanted to find the right words to say to Jamie, something not too harsh but not too easygoing either. Hearing that she was going on a date with Desmond made the boy jealous. His feelings for Jamie were still confusing, but it was enough for him to get angry over a choice she can make.

"I'm going to the fall festival with Linda." the boy says to Fulton, hoping Jamie had heard him. She did, in fact, but she took it in the opposite way which Charlie wanted. Rather than her saying, "Who's Linda?" she went for a much more friendly comeback.

"That's cool! Maybe we can all hang out together."

Yes, totally what Charlie wanted to hear. Now, he wasn't using Linda to make Jamie jealous, as he genuinely liked Linda in that way. That's where his mixed feelings fall into play. He liked both girls but didn't know who he liked more, that's all. "Yeah, sure, that would be nice. I'll let Linda know."

"Well, it was nice chatting with you Conway, but Jamie has to go teach me something," Fulton utters. Charlie, glancing at his friend, gets up to walk away from his stool without a verbal goodbye. Fulton knew why, but Jamie was left in total resentment.

"What was that about? Did I do something?"

"No, no. He's just...in a mood. Nothing you did." Fulton patted the girl's shoulder. Jamie shrugged in belief, grabbing Fulton's arm to lead him outside. Rather than sit inside and learn everything, both teenagers agreed it would feel more refreshing to walk and talk at the same time.

"All you gotta do is go up to her as if it were Charlie, or Adam, or anyone else you're friends with. Obviously, you see her more than a friend right?" Jamie explained, watching Fulton's facial expression change from engaged to flushed. "Libby isn't the type to reject anyone forcefully, not that she will reject you. Just say, 'Libby, would you want to spend the day with me at the fall festival?' Simple as that! Here, pretend I'm Libby."

Jamie stops in her tracks to face Fulton, pretending to mimic her friend. The boy stands there awkwardly, unable to speak a word. Jamie raises an eyebrow awaiting Fulton to begin the conversation, but when he still didn't speak, the girl knew she needed another idea. "Okay, pretend I'm Charlie."

Fulton squints his eyes in confusion before going along with Jamie's plan. "Uh, Charlie, do you want to come to the fall festival with me?"

"See! Perfect! Now, pretend I'm Libby again." Jamie exclaims. Fulton, once again, stares in awkwardness, but this time, he says something.

"Libby, would you like to hang out at the fall festival?"

"You got it, dude!" Jamie states with a smile, playfully punching the tall boy in the shoulder. "That's all you gotta do. If you want, I can help you walk up to her and then leave you guys alone so you can ask"

Fulton nods vigorously, "Yes, please. Thanks for helping me, Jamie. I've been nervous about this for a short time. I've never....had a crush on someone before."

"I'm glad to be here for you." the girl says.

And just like she had said before, the girl was indeed there for Fulton in school the next day, where he would make his move. As planned, Jamie and Libby made their way to the lunchroom when Fulton would soon stop them outside the entrance.

"Hey, Fulton!" Jamie says with a wink.

"Hi, um," the boy says shyly. Jamie sent him a nod of encouragement, looking back at Libby, who was staring into Fulton's eyes. "Can I talk to you?" he finally says towards Libby.

With that, Jamie let them be.

"Libby, I heard you wanted to go to the fall festival." Fulton starts to say. Libby nodded in assurance, waiting for the boy to continue his thought. "Well, um, I don't think you'd want to go alone, right?"

"Are you asking me to go with you?" Libby voices with a smile slowly forming across her face. Fulton nods in embarrassment, only to be hugged by the girl of his dreams. His face, red as a tomato, hugged the girl back with full confidence there was nothing he could lose.

Seeing the whole thing happen from a distance, Jamie sent the boy a thumbs up just before getting into a conversation of her own.

"Hi, Charlie told me about this double date you were talking about? I just thought I'd introduce myself beforehand." Charlie's girl says, taking Jamie's hand to shake it. Jamie admired the beauty within Linda, inside and outside, seeing why Charlie would go for her over anyone else.

"It's good to meet you, Linda," Jamie replies, forcing a smile. Smiling back, Linda turns around to sit back down at her lunch table. Jamie couldn't understand why she was suddenly in the dumps from meeting Linda, but once she reminded herself of Desmond, her head perked up with joy.

It was only a matter of time before the four teenagers would get together for the Fall Festival, but first, Eden Hall's JV Hockey team had a game to play.