4 XOX

Prolouge

"Thanks Mrs. Hammond!" I exclaim as I walk out of the classroom. Now it was time for my favorite part of the day, having lunch with Jase.

Jase is my best friend. Sure, I have a MAJOR crush on him, but I promised myself never to let that get between us. I walked down the hall, clutching my books tightly against my chest. Up ahead, I see Jase leaning against my locker, waiting for me.

"What took you so long?" Jase asks, moving away from my locker. "It's hard to explain. First, Mrs. Hammond wanted to talk to me about being in the math bee, then she asked me to be the team captain. It took forever to get done with," I sigh as I open my locker and shove my books in the top shelf.

"Eighth grade is hard," Jase says, shoving his hands in his pockets. "What happened now?" I ask. "I failed a geography test," Jase says. I look over at him in disbelief. "Are you serious?" I ask. Jase bites his lip and nods his head. "I got a B minus on the science quiz this morning," I say. Jase manages a chuckle. "That's not as bad as mine, I got a D," he says. I nudge him in the side.

"You know we live right next to each other. You could just come over and study with me," I say. Jase smiles. "I think I'm going to have to do that from now on," He says as we reach the lunch room. "Pancakes?" I ask. "Pancakes." Jase answers.

     I take a tray from the shelf and order my pancakes. They smelled freshly of butter and milk, the best combination ever created. I looked beside me as Jase  chatted with the lunch lady. He knew just how to get extra pancakes.

     I punch in my lunch number and walk over to Jase and I's normal table, the one in the corner. I sat down in my usual seat, the one that was closest to Jase. Soon after me, Jase sat down at our table. He set another pancake on my tray. "Did you get two or three today?" I ask. He grinned as he said "Four." I roll my eyes. "What could you possibly do to get four extra pancakes?" I ask.

     Jase pushed his mop of wavy brown hair out of his face and looked over at me. "I have no clue," he says. "You do too," I say as I put the syrup on my pancakes. "I just asked her about her day, then told her that her apron went nice with her freshly dyed hair," he says. "Don't flirt with the lunch ladies!" I scold him as I shove a forkful of pancakes into my mouth.

     "It's not flirting, it's just complimenting," he says as he takes a sip of orange juice. I roll my eyes as I tuck my hair behind my ear and start on my last pancake. "You know, Ali, I'm really glad that your in my life," he says. I smile and look over at him. "Why? Because you'd be friendless without me?" I ask, jokingly. "No," he says and laughs.

     "Why then?" I ask, finishing my last pancake. "There's many reasons," he says. "Like what?" I ask, wiping my mouth with a napkin. "First of all, you're really caring. Second of all, your really funny. Last of all, without you, I would've never experienced love," he says, his cheeks slightly pink. He looks up at me, his light blue eyes twinkling. "But you've never had a girlfriend before, how could've I helped you experience-" Then, before I could finish my sentence, he pulled me towards him and kissed me.

After a few minutes, he pulled away, his eyes wide. "Oh my God Ali, I'm-" Jase starts. I laugh and grab his hand. "I love you too," I say. A smile creeps across Jase's face. "For a second I thought you were going to slap me across the face and leave," he laughs. "I would never do that," I say, sarcastically.

     "You know you would," he says. "I probably would, but not to you," I say. I look straight into his eyes. "You know, you have really pretty eyes," he says. I laugh. "I'm serious! They're such a pretty shade of blue... Or are they gray?" he asks. I shrug. "Both, I guess," I say. "Ali, can I ask you an important question?" Jase asks. "I don't see why not," I answer, smiling.

"Will you go out with me?"

That was the one question I've been dreaming about all my life. I've imagined how this would go down so many times in my head, I've lost count. I always thought it'd be magical, which was exactly what it was. This was the one moment that would change my life forever, the one moment that would last forever.

"Yes."