When I Was Fifteen

Chapter 36- You Got That From Your Mother

The whole time we're driving there I just keep asking him where we're going. Of course, he never does tell me. After about fifteen minutes, he drives into a parking lot and parks his car. We're at a strip mall and everything looks like a restaurant.

"Which one are we going to?" I ask as he unlocks the car and hops out. He still doesn't tell me. All he does is grab my hand and walk next to me. We end up stopping at this subway. Not to sound rude, but all this for Subway?

We walk inside and walk over to where you pick your meat, bread, cheese, and all that stuff. Then I look in, and realize it's not the normal subway stuff.

"Pasta or sandwich?" The worker asks.

"What kind of Subway is this?" I question.

"We're having an hour special called Kelsey's favorites. I'm Mikey, by the way, James is my cousin," Mikey states.

"Oh my God," I mutter.

"So what will it be?" He asks.

"Pasta," I reply.

"Penne with marinara and veggies okay?" Mikey questions.

"Yes, of course," I answer. He scoops some out into a bowl and puts it on a tray.

"What do you want as your second course? Grilled cheese, mac n' cheese, or egg salad?" Mikey asks.

"Grilled cheese," I reply. Mikey pulls out two pieces of bread, puts a couple pieces of American cheese in the middle, and then puts it in the toaster.

"What kind of fruit do you want as your side? We have two kinds of fruit salad. One has strawberries and blueberries. The other has apple, pineapple, pear, and grapes," Mikey states.

"The second one," I reply. The toaster beeps and Mikey pulls out my perfectly cooked grilled cheese, puts it on a plate, then puts it on a tray. After, he scoops some of the second fruit salad into a bowl and puts it on my tray, he moves onto dessert.

"Brownies with chocolate chips or ice cream sundae?" He asks.

"Sundae please," I answer. He takes vanilla and chocolate ice cream out of the freezer, scoops it into the bowl, and adds some toppings. He puts it on the tray then has me walk over to grab it.

"How about you, James? Is the same good?" He asks.

"Yes, the same but berry fruit salad instead of the other one please," he replies.

"Why berry?" I question.

"Because I'm berry into you," he says and winks at me. I want to scream and just lay on the floor, but instead, I start eating my grilled cheese.

James grabs his food and walks over to me. He sits directly in front of me and starts eating.

"How did you do this?" I ask.

"That's a secret," he answers and then stuffs half of a grilled cheese into his mouth.

"Ew!" I shriek and squeeze my eyes shut. James starts laughing and then I open my eyes. We finish the rest of our lunch in silence.

Once we're done with lunch, he grabs my hand, waves goodbye to Mikey, and has me follow him out the door.

"Where to now?" I ask.

"Another surprise," he answers and then starts running. I try to keep up with him but I'm slow so it's hard. We get to his car and he starts driving. We finally stop and the place looks familiar. It's a woods area and I realize this is where his special place is. We get out and walk to his tree house. As soon as we get to it, we climb up.

Once we get to the top, he tells me to sit down and I do. He sits down in front of me and grabs my hands.

"Kelsey, ever since I met you I knew there was something about you that just intrigued me. Months later, and I can't make it go away, but I still don't know what it is. Your smile, your laugh, your eyes, just everything about you makes me feel safe, wanted, and comfortable. I never want to lose you, I don't care how young you are. I always want to be with you. I love you," James says. He pulls his hands away, stands up, and pulls something out of his pocket. I can't tell what it is, but it sounds like he's opening a bag of chips or something.

He gets down on one knee and in front of me has a ring pop.

"Kelsey, will you be my girlfriend, officially?" He asks and I nod my head so fast I think I get light headed. I pull his face towards mine and kiss him. He puts on the ring pop and I giggle.

I don't know what is going to happen, but this feels right.

~~~~~

We just talk for the next couple hours and then he drives me home. As soon as he drops me off and I walk inside, I scream.

"Kelsey, what's wrong? Are you okay?" Tommy asks as he and Penny run to the door.

"I'm BEYOND okay. I am HAPPY," I scream and laugh. They have really creeped out looks on their faces and probably think I'm high.

"Okay then," Tommy states and they walk away. I run upstairs and turn on some music. I have an one person dance party and just smile and giggle and jump up and down. I haven't been this happy in a very long time and it feels so good.

~~~~~

The next day, my happiness still has not worn off. When I wake up, I start singing about the birds and how great things are and my dad comes running in.

"Kelsey? You okay? What did you take?" He asks. He grabs my face and stares into my eyes.

"Nothing! I'm just so happy!" I scream and sigh.

"You're weird, you got that from your mother," he replies and walks out. I run downstairs and start making myself chocolate chip waffles. After they're done and I devour them, I head upstairs to check my phone and get dressed.

Kyle- want to hang out today? I need to talk to you

James<3- hey babe, how do you feel about seeing Nerve tonight at 7? We could get dinner beforehand.

Mom- hi sweetie, I know tomorrow is Friday but I would love to see you. We could head to the mall and do some retail therapy. I have work off so we can go during the day if you have plans tomorrow night. Let me know!

I deleted Kyle's text because I didn't want to think about him right now. He probably knows James and I are together since I put it in my bio on instagram. Man, social media is just a reason to get into everyone's business.

Anyways, I decide to make plans with James for tonight and for tomorrow, I want to spend the whole day with my mom. I have missed her so much and I need to fill her in on everything.

My life kind of seems like it's coming together. Maybe that is why we feel like our life is just going to shreds sometimes, so that way we can glue it back together.