Waking Up.

Chapter 27: Date One.

CRASH! The vase shattered into a million pieces as it made contact with the intruders head. I grabbed a jar of peanut butter and threw it at their head. I heard a thump sound, and a few groans escaped the mouth. I stopped immediately when I found out who it was. Alexander laid sprawled on the ground, gripping his head and groaning. Mom laid sprawled on the floor, bleeding a little bit with an empty cup in her hand.
"Uh, sorry mom! I didn't know it was you!" I helped her to her feet and she sat down tentivly on the stool, handing her a glass of water.
"I just wanted water." She stated. I cleaned up the vase and sat next to her. I gave her a ice pack.
"I'm so sorry."
"It's ok, Trish. What happened to you after the concert?" She asked, turning to me. I sighed and explained. I left out the part about Mr. Field, because I didn't wanna explain my situation with him. After I finished the story, she hugged me tight.
"Well, it was sweet of Aspen to find out who they were." She stated. I had told her that Aspen had found out who the boys were, and that he took care of it, but I didn't say how.
"Yeah."
"Well, what are you doing up so late?" She asked.
"Oh, Cory and Roxie are sleeping in my bed."
"Ok, well, better get to sleep. You've got a big day tomorrow." She smiled, kissed my forehead, and walked up the stairs with her cup of water. I sighed and tried to sleep, but all I could think about was Aspen. I was nervous that somehow, someway, I'd mess up and he wouldn't like me anymore. The thought of losing yet another friend was too depressing for me. I fell asleep eventually, but it wasn't until 4:45 in the morning. The dreams I had were meaningless, and left me feeling all woozy.
Roxie woke me up at 12:30 the next day. She had made me two pieces of toast with grape jelly and butter. I hugged her and sat up on my elbows. Cory sat on the floor I front of me, watching Blues Clues.
"It's over there, blue!" He yelled at the screen. Blue was trying to find a bone.
"Why does blue need a bone?" Roxie asked.
"Because he's a dog!" Cory replied as if she was the dumbest person on earth. I rolled my eyes and ate the toast slowly, savoring the gooey jelly. Naomi came in and plopped down on top of me.
"Hey, get off!"
"But your so comfy," she laughed, stretching out. I pushed her to the ground and went upstairs to change. I decided to wear sweatpants and a tank top until it was time to change for my date. My hair was put up in a bun and I ran down the stairs. Wendy was still sleeping, and she probably still would for a couple hours. Dad was in the backyard with mom, feeding the kitchens. My cell phone went buzzing off. I checked the caller ID. Samantha. I flipped it open and put my ear to the receiver.
"Articulate."
"I hate it when you say that!" She giggled into the phone. I sat up completely and asked,
"Whatcha want?"
"I'm coming to help you dress for your first ever official date."
"You weren't invited."
"Too bad, I'm coming." She laughed. I sighed and smiled.
"When'll you be here?"
"About ten minutes."
"Huh, ok, see ya soon." We hung up and I sat down at the kitchen counter. Naomi walked in, texting Alexander.
"Get me a cup of milk!" I commanded.
"Do I look like a maid?" She asked, putting her hands on her hips. I threw an orange at her.
"Yes, get me a cup."
"You didn't say the magic word."
"Please?" I stated, pouting. She smirked and got out a cup to pour the silky liquid. She slammed it on the counter in front of me and sat down across the counter from me.
"So, where's he taking you?" She inquired.
"Don't know, he's keeping it a Suprise." I replied. She shook her head and sighed.
"Aspen and his surprises."
"Yup," I laughed, drinking the glass of milk. She perked up a little.
"Trish?"
"Yeah?"
"Can I do your hair for your date today?" She asked. I rubbed my head and sighed.
"Ok, fine."
"Yay!"
"But wait until Samantha's done helping me pick out the clothes." I replied, glancing outside. She nodded and ate an apple with yellow skin. Samantha and Marleen pulled up about five later, both smiling ear to ear.
"I didn't know you were coming, Marleen." She scoffed and placed a hand on her chest.
"Miss the chance to give you expert advice on your first ever date? I'm offended Trish!" I giggled and punched her arm.
"C'mon, let's go upstairs."
"Ok," they replied in unison. We bounded up the stairs to my room so they could survey what was in my closet. I had them each pick out one outfit, and I'd try them on. Samantha took out her phone and played some song by 5 S.O.S. Marleen and her started singing it word for word. I personally was more into Bruno Mars, but I was criticized at school for it, so I pretended to at least tolerate crappy music. I mean, 5 S.O.S wasn't bad, but they weren't my favorite. Anyway, I sat on the bed while they went through my wardrobe.
"I remember my first date with Luke." Marleen sighed, cherishing the memory.
"I know, you still talk about it!" Samantha laughed. Marleen threw a random necklace at her. They giggled and continued searching.
"We went to the circus. It was so funny when that elephant took a shit on him!" We all broke out laughing. They eventually picked out the outfits and I left to try them on. Marleen had picked out a black and white graphic T-shirt with black leggings and a fedora. Samantha picked out a Batman T-shirt that came with a mask. She also got a pair of jeans and black tennis shoes. I decided to wear the Batman shirt with the leggings and the fedora. When I stepped out of the bathroom, they both stared at me for a few minutes. Finally, Samantha stated,
"You're a genius!" I laughed and told them to eat something while Naomi did my hair. I sat down at the ghetto counter and let Naomi work her magic. She first took about half an hour to straighten my hair. After she'd done that, she began to braid it to the side. Then she sprayed it with about 15 cans of hairspray and tied it off. She placed the hat carefully on my head and exclaimed,
"Voila!"
"It looks good," I laughed, hugging her. Then, Marleen stepped in and dragged me to my dresser mirror and made me sit down.
"I'm gonna give you a makeover!" She squealed.
"But I don't even know where we're going!"
"Just a little, pleasepleaseplease?!?" She begged. I grudgingly agreed. Samantha brought in Marleen's bag of no return and set on the dresser. She then stepped back and watched the master. She applied foundation first. Then, she gave me a little lip gloss and eye shadow. I didn't want any mascara, but Samantha held me down and made me do it. When Marleen was done, I felt like I just rubbed wet candy canes on my face. But, I have to admit, I looked pretty good. Hopefully we weren't going to a race track or something weird like that, but knowing Aspen, it was unpredictable. I checked the clock. 4:30.
"Well, what now?"
"Now, we watch something dramatic on TV!" Naomi called, pulling me down the steps. As we all sat down to watch, 'say yes to the dress,' I looked over at Samantha and asked,
"Do you think Aspen is as nervous as I am right now?"
"I bet he is, Trish. Just be yourself, you'll be fine, ok?" She comforted. I nodded and played with my hands. The clock was ticking painfully slow. I thought it'd never be 5:00, but sure enough, I heard a car honk outside at exactly 5:00. Aspen was sitting in the front with a smile on his face. He was wearing a purple sweatshirt with white words on it with jeans and Jordans. I grabbed my jacket, waved goodbye to my friends, and made my way outside. When I slide in the door, he smirked at me.
"Ready?"
"As I'll ever be." I replied, nervous. We started down the highway that led outside of town.
"Where are we going?" I asked, not really expecting an answer.
"You don't really get what a surprise means, do you Trish?"
"Oh, shut up!" I laughed, crossing my arms.
"You'll see in a little while."
"Fine!" I whined.
"What time do you wanna go home?" He asked, turning off exit 9. I shrugged.
"Eh, whenever I guess."
"Ok then." He answered. We drove for a few minutes before I asked,
"Aspen?"
"Yeth?" He asked in a lisp. I pushed him playfully and asked,
"Have you ever had another girlfriend?" Although I knew the answer from Rae. He nodded.
"Yeah."
"Where'd you two go on your first date?" I questioned. He smiled to himself and continued driving.
"We went sky diving."
"WHAT?!?" I asked, astonished. He giggled.
"Sky diving, it's where you jump out of a plane..."
"I know what it is, stupid!" I yelled, hitting him.
"Yeah, she was a stuck up snob, though."
"Rae told me about her," I let the words slip from my mouth. He wiggled his eyebrows and smiled wider.
"Why was she telling you about her?"
"Uh, no reason."
"Trish, she doesn't talk about her for, 'no reason,' tell me the real reason."
"It's a surprise!" I mimicked, earning a laugh.
"Touché. Fine, don't tell me. We're here." He pulled up to Awesome park. Awesome park is an outdoor amusement park we have in our area. I can't go that much, but it's a lot of fun. We got out of the car and bought our tickets.
"Ok, where to first?" He asked. I turned in a circle and replied,
"I can't decide!"
"Ok, close your eyes and twirl in a circle."
"What?"
"When I say stop, point at a ride and that's the one we'll go on." He stated. I shrugged and closed my eyes, hoping he wouldn't run off or anything. I twirled in a circle awkwardly, waiting for him to say stop. All I could hear was giggling.
"Aspen!"
"What? It's funny."
"I'm stopping."
"No, keep spinning!" He laughed. I sighed, but kept twirling. After about three minutes, he yelled.
"Stop!" I came to a halt, stumbling to keep myself upright.
"Ok, now point at something." He stated. My hand went in mini circles as I tried to point at something. It was the Tornado. Yippie, I get to die before the date actually begins! Aspen took my hand and we ran to the massive line. There were people of all ages standing in the line. When we got to go on, Aspen picked out a red swing thingy with four seats.
"But I want the blue one!" I shouted. He shook his head.
"No, reds the lucky color of the day!" I pouted out my lower lip and asked,
"Pewees?"
"Nope!" He picked me up and buckled me up in the seat. I crossed my arms and pouted more. He gave me a hug and stated,
"We can get a blue thing next ride, ok?"
"Promise?" I pouted in a little kid voice.
"Promise!" He mimicked in an equally childish voice. The man started the ride and we began slowly ascending upwards. Aspen was spinning the little wheel rapidly, making me scream out,
"Aspen, slow down!" He spun it even faster. I clutched the seatbelt thing I had and closed my eyes.
"Woo hoo!" He shouted, laughing. The scenery was blurring together as the ride took us even higher up. I screamed. Aspen spun as fast as the wheel would go, then he held onto his seatbelt restraints. I closed my eyes and waited for the ride to stop. It eventually began to shut down, but I kept my eyes closed until all was still. I got off the ride, but I almost fell like five times before we reached the exit door.
"What now?" He asked. I looked around and smirked at him.
"Your turn to spin."
"Aww, do I have to?" He asked, pouting. I nodded and crossed my arms. He sighed, shut his eyes, and spun rapidly. People all around us were cursing and giving us dirty looks. Just to make them mad, he started flailing his arms. I giggled a little, but eventually made him stop. He stopped, fell, got back up, and pointed to the bumper cars.
"Away we go!" He shouted, running to the surprisingly short line. I walked after him and we waited a while. He gave me three tickets for the ride and smiled.
"Ready to die?"
"In your dreams!" I laughed, crossing my arms. He smirked and we were let on the ride. He ran to a yellow car with black stripes and I sat in a blue car with white patterns. The ride started, and I drove over to where he was. He swerved through about three cars before we head butted each other with the cars. Mine bounced back and he began chasing me around the little rink. He rear ended my bumper car and drove off in the other direction.
"Get back here Aspen, you bitch!" A few mothers gave me disapproving looks. I looked away and slammed the bumper car into the side of Aspen's car. He laughed and we continued on like that until the ride was over. We both got off, laughing and giggling.
"What now?" I laughed, smiling at him. He looked around and pointed to the fun house.
"Let's go through that maze thingy!"
"But there's so many mirrors!" I complained. He took my hand and dragged me to the house maze. We stepped in and began going through the tangle of mirrors. All I could see was our reflections, and we were feeling around for a corridor to go through. We ran into several walls on the way.
"See, I new this was a bad idea!"
"No it wasn't!" He giggled, leading me down another hallway. We finally made it out of the maze and came to a giant tilting room with buttons all over the walls. I pushed one, and it made the sound of a belting goat. I flinched, but laughed. The room kept tilting, and I was swirling everywhere. He pushed another button, it sounded like an opera singer. He smiled at me and yelled,
"Keep pushing the buttons!" We ran up and down the room, sliding our hands over the buttons to our hearts content. The room suddenly stopped moving. A door slid open, revealing one of those big turning circles. Aspen stood on it and walked for a few minutes. I've never been good at balance, so as soon as I was on, I got to all fours and just tried not to be pulled to far up the circle. Aspen giggled, helped me to my feet, and we got off it. We then slid down a slide and picked out our next ride. He wanted to go on the zipper, but there was not a snowballs chance in hell I was gonna do that, so we waited in line for the parks newest roller coaster, The Speedway. It didn't go upside down at all, but the seats were spinning the whole ride. Once we got to the front of the line, he hooked us up with about ten other people and the cart pulled off. We started going up very, very slowly. I held Aspen's hand while we waited to reach the top. When we got there, the cart teetered for a moment. We took a deep breath, and I got a bad feeling in my stomach. Not from the ride, though. I took a second to mentally slap myself with a crowbar. It was the 17th of the month, and as god would have it, I felt something between my legs.
My damn period. Why, oh why, had I not thought of this?!? My mind rushed with a million thoughts of what the hell I was gonna do when the ride stopped. What if it was leaking through and Aspen laughed at me? What then?! Aspen must've felt something was wrong when my grip on his hand tightened, and he looked a question at me. I just closed my eyes and screamed as the ride started off. I squeezed my legs together as hard as I could, and prayed for the best. Everyone was screaming, including Aspen. I screamed too, but it was hard to really enjoy the ride. I hoped it wouldn't end for a while, but like all roller coasters, it was over way too fast. As soon as the car pulled to a stop, I took something random to cover up with and started running in the direction of the bathrooms. Aspen followed me, completely clueless.
"Trish, you ok?"
"Yeah, just have to pee."
"Ok, meet me at the cotton candy stand, k?"
"K!" I yelled back, still running to the bathrooms. I sighed in relief that he didn't come with. But it was quickly replaced with panic as I entered the port-a-potty. Not only were they out of lady stuff, there weren't any napkins or toilet paper either. I leaned against the doorway and cried a little. Then, there was a nock at the door.
"I'll be out in a minute," I stated. I heard a familiar voice say,
"Sweetheart, open the door." I straightened up a little, then opened the door.
"Mom?"
"Hi, I saw you running, here," she handed me a pad and smiled. I frowned and asked,
"Did you follow me?"
"Yes."
"Why?" I asked.
"Well, I just wanted to know where you were going."
"Are you going to leave?"
"Well, yes, I suppose. I love you, sweetheart." She hugged me and waved goodbye. I sighed and thanked god she decided to be a stalker. I did my thing and walked over to the cotton candy stand, where a trio of girls were flocking Aspen. One of them twirled her hair and smiled. One played with the buttons of her blouse, and the other one flirted with Aspen. He made an effort not talk to them, and looked overjoyed to see me. He took my hand and pulled me closer to him.
"I'm here with my date," he stated, smiling. I waved meekly at them, unsure of what else to do. They all scowled at me, and walked off down to the rides. Aspen sighed and handed me a big ball of blue on a stick.
"There ya go."
"You know, you could be a little nicer to those girls who flirt with you."
"Why? They're all the same. Just bimbos with no brain in their head who'll hump anything that moves."
"You're so positive, you know that?"
"Oh, haha." He stated sarcastically. I stuck some cotton candy in his hair and ran off into the miniature petting zoo. Having longer and more athletic legs, he caught up quickly.
"Good thing you don't run track," he laughed. I pouted and looked down. He hugged me and we went to pet a llama. It was nice to me, but it took pretty much all of Aspen's cotton candy.
"Hey, that's mine!" He laughed at the llama. It spit at Aspen, but he dodged it and we left to look at the horse barn.
"I like horses, they're pretty," I stated. He walked up to a horse named Dash and whistled. It walked over and sniffed Aspen's hand. I smiled and pet it's head gently. It neighed and walked away.
"I can't whistle," I stated as we walked out. Aspen frowned at me and said,
"You don't?"
"No."
"I'll teach you then!" He laughed, leading me to a bench that sat on a hill that overlooked the park. It was about 6:55, and the sun was beginning to set. He sat up straight and whistled.
"Ok, now try it!" He stated, helping me sit up straight. I blew out air, but no sound. He giggled and told me to fold my tongue. I did it, but still couldn't do it. We practiced until around 7:20, then, we watched the sunset. I sighed and smiled.
"Sunsets are beautiful no matter where you are." I stated. Aspen nodded and we watched in silence.
"Are you hungry?" He asked, smiling.
"I'm always hungry!" I laughed, getting up. We walked to the food stands and got chili cheese fries with a bucket, literally a bucket, of mini doughnuts. We sat down in the stands of the truck derby and watched as they smashed into each other. A little kid sat down next to his father, and he looked really bored. I handed him a few doughnuts, and he smiled at me and mouthed, 'thank you.' Aspen smiled at me.
"Your really good with little kids."
"Only the cute ones," I stated.
"Seriously, you should be a teacher when you grow up."
"No, I don't have the patience for that."
"Well, I guess you don't," he laughed, agreeing. I punched him and we continued watching the derby. A man wearing a wife beater tank top and jeans passed us, spilling some beer on me in the process. Great, now I was gonna smell like beer for the rest of the date. Great! I started wiping myself off, trying not to get upset. Aspen stood up and lightly pushed the mans shoulder.
"Hey! You spilled beer on my girlfriend!" He yelled. My heart seized up at the word girlfriend, but I thought he was just using it instead of date because it sounded better. The man spun around, clearly a little tipsy, and smirked at him.
"Yeah? Whatcha gonna do about it?" He pushed Aspen back a little. People cleared out of the seats, sensing a fight was gonna happen. I crawled up a few of the seats myself, but I stated,
"Aspen, don't do anything rash."
"Yeah, listen to your bitch," the man stated. Apparently, that was the one thing that made Aspen's temper run extremely short.
"Say that again?" He stated, his fists balling up.
"I said..."
"Aspen!" I shouted, but it was too late. Aspen had taken his hands and pressed his fingers together tightly. He moved in and spiked both sides of the mans windpipe. Then, while the guy was dazed, he swept his feet underneath him, making him fall three rows down the stands. I watched in a trance as Aspen flew down the bleachers to where the guy was lying on his side and straddled his chest. He threw punch after punch into the mans side. Everyone who was close was watching with enthusiasm. The guy screamed in agony and began to cry and plead for mercy. Aspen took the man by his hair and dragged him up to where I was standing in a surprised state. He propped the man up on his knees, pulled back his head, and whispered in his ear,
"You owe her an apology, now."
"I-I'm s-sorry!" He sniffled, face now disfigured. Aspen put his foot on the mans back and pushed him forward, releasing him from his grip. The man spit out a little bit of blood.
"Leave." Aspen commanded. The man was out of sight in about 5 seconds. Aspen sighed, and we sat down together, me still in a trance.
"Huh, you ok?" He asked, setting a hand on my shoulder. I snapped back to myself and nodded.
"Yeah, I'm fine."
"Good." He smiled. Everyone else returned to their seats, murmuring about the recent event. I turned to Aspen and said,
"You didn't need to do that."
"Yes I did," he replied,eating some cotton candy.
"Why?"
"He called you by something that wasn't your name. You deserve better than that."
"Aspen, that's very sweet, but holy shit, that was too much!"
"He's lucky we were in public." Aspen replied, eating some more food. I shook my head and we watched some more of the derby.
"Wanna go play a game?" Aspen asked, gesturing to the game stands. I nodded and we walked to a random game. The first one was one of those ballon games where they give you four darts and you try to pop the balloons. If you pop one, you get a mini prize, two, a normal prize, three, a big prize, and four, a jumbo prize. I shot down two and picked out a blue unicorn with a sparkly horn.
"Here, for you," I handed it to Aspen. He smiled and stated,
"Oh, aren't you sweet?"
"Yup." I giggled. He threw his and got a jumbo size monkey that was zebra striped.
"Here, for you," he stated, handing me the prize. I kissed his cheek and we went to the shooting target game. After that, we went to a baseball throwing target game. Aspen excused himself to the bathroom while I threw mine. I had won a snickers, and I ate it while patiently waiting for Aspen. I felt a tap on my shoulder, and turned around to Danny's smiling face. I wanted to punch it in, but I backed off a little instead.
"Go away."
"It's a public park, Trish."
"Get away from me!" I stated, throwing the candy bar at him. He just smiled and shook his head.
"I didn't make them throw the fish, ya know."
"You told them I rejected you."
"You kinda did, but I see you're alone." He smirked. I thought about saying Aspen's name, but I thought it'd be better if Aspen caught him with me, so I replied,
"Yeah, so?"
"So, I'd like to buy you a game," he stated, gesturing to the shooting game. I crossed my arms and looked.
"No."
"Do it or you'll be sorry," he stated, grabbing my arm and dragging me to the game. He bought a round and held the gun in my arms.
"So you hold it like this.." He showed me how to aim while letting one hand trail down my waist.
"I know how to shoot," I yelled, shooting the target until I was out of bullets. He smiled and brought me to the side.
"Here, take a picture with me."
"I don't wanna," I said, trying to walk away. He took my hand and pulled me in, holding the camera up. He smiled as the flash happened, but then began to squirm widely.
"What the hell?!?" He shouted, jumping around. Aspen took my hand and pulled me out of sight so we could watch him. Aspen had snuck up behind us and slipped a frog into Danny's pants. It was jumping everywhere, and Danny was taking off his pants to get rid of it. People were laughing like crazy, and I was rolling on the ground. Aspen and I snuck away to the car and drove off.
"Oh my god, I can't believe you did that!" I giggled. Aspen laughed and smiled wide.
"That was fun."
"Yes it was," I agreed. We started driving home. It was around 9:00, and my parents were probably getting suspicious. Centuries came on, and we both sang along. When it was over, Aspen turned to me.
"We only have a week until the talent show!"
"Yeah, are you nervous?" I asked. He flipped his hair and smiled.
"Moi? Nervous? Ha! Fearless is my middle name!"
"Oh yeah, sure." I laughed. We kept driving down the road, discussing the talent show.
"Wanna practice?" I asked. He shrugged and we practiced.
"Take me to church, I'll worship like a..." But we were cut off by a CRASH from my side of the car. Aspen slammed on the emergency breaks, and I almost went flying though the window.
"What was that?!?" I yelled, afraid. Aspen frowned and got out, me following reluctantly. The headlight was out, but I guess we were lucky that that was it. I looked around the general area of the car. Nothing. Aspen looked under the car, still nothing. I went to the ditch and almost jumped back in surprise.
We had run into an 8 point buck. It was still moving, and it was trying to get up. I called to Aspen, but the buck had got up and was angrily making its way to us. I pushed Aspen into the car and he sped off down the highway.
"What was it?!?" He asked, concerned.
"It was a deer!" I yelled, my heart still thumping. He laughed and we talked about it the rest of the way to the house. When we pulled in the driveway, he got out of the car and we walked to the front door.
"Thanks for taking me Aspen, it was fun."
"Yeah," he laughed,"see ya tomorrow?"
"See ya tomorrow." I laughed. He kissed my cheek just as dad opened the door. Dad looked at him, then at me, then at him and ushered me inside. I waved goodbye and he walked away. Dad asked me a whole array of questions, but eventually left me alone. After the little kids were tucked in bed, I fell asleep. Despite a few mishaps, today was incredibly beautiful. Not bad for a first date.

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Hope you guys liked it! The next chapter might be a little short, but I hope you'll like it! Thanks, bye! :3