1961 // louis dimucci

Chapter 16

A piece of paper hits me in the back of the head and I spin around to see Louis with his arm around Sharon, crumbling up pieces of paper to throw.

"So, Michael," Paulette bends over Michael's desk, "I heard you and Chloe went on a little date the other day?"

He knits his eyebrows together, obviously confused.

Shit.

"N-"

I slam my book onto my desk and his attention turns to me. I nod my head furiously, mouthing, "Go with it!"

He does a slow nod and then, "Umm, yes?" He looks back at Paulette, "We definitely went on a date. A nice... date. Together."

"Hey, Paulette, don'tcha ya wanna go find a seat near Johnny?" I give her a glare and she smiles, walking away.

"So did you have fun on our date?" Michael leans forward, raising his eyebrows.

"Look, I'm sorry," I glance around, "But I had to tell them something, or else they'll find out what I was really doing!"

"Ahh... and what was that?"

"None of your business, Shakespeare," I smile at him and face forward.

After the bell rings to leave for lunch, Michael appears behind me, "So, how about we get together for lunch? Like a real date," He grins at me, "But just as friends."

Wow. I seem to have a lot of "just friends" lately.

"Yeah, sure," I smile back, "What's the special occasion? Finally over Steph?"

"Well... not exactly," He says, walking with me to my locker, "I was maybe hoping for your advice?"

"As long as you pay," I wink at him and turn to put my books into my locker.

"Okay," He smiles again. He really is a smiley kid, "Meet you outside the doors in about," He checks his watch, "Mmm, five minutes?"

"Sounds like a plan," I tell him, pulling out my Pink Ladies jacket. If we're going somewhere, I'll be sure to bring a jacket. It's almost the end of October and it's starting to get chilly out.

"You ready?" He asks, holding his arm out for me once I step outside.

"Aw, a true gentleman," I giggle and loop my arm with his.

"Where are we going anyways?" I ask, climbing into his car.

"To the Frosty Palace," Michael smiles, "My cousin told me that it was one of the best places to eat around here."

"Well, whoever your cousin is, they are absolutely right," I say.

"Here we are," He pulls into the parking lot.

Before I can even go for the car door, he opens it for me.

"You don't really have to be so nice to me, you know."

"Yeah, well, maybe I want to," He shuts the door and proceeds to hold the Frosty Palace door open, "Where do you want to sit?" 

"The booths," I say, dropping my jacket on the booth closest to the door.

"So," I begin once we've ordered, "What advice are you talking about here?"

"Well... say there's this guy... and he really likes this girl who has this ideal of a -"

"Michael. I know who you're talking about, so just use names," I laugh.

"Okay, remember after you auditioned, I tried to get Stephanie to go out on a date with me?" I nod, "Well, she told me, after you guys left, that she wants a 'cool rider'."

"That's Steph for ya," I say as Vi comes over with a tray of two hamburgers, a plate of fries, and two cans of soda. I thank her.

"Anyways," He takes a bite of a fry, "I realized that to get the girl, I needed to get the cycle! And luckily for me, DiMucci came up to me right after and asked if he could pay me in exchange for a couple essays."

I fake cough, "My idea."

"Really?" He asks, "Thanks for that, I guess, because now I have almost enough money to buy an old bike to fix up. Somehow, Goose and Johnny found out and have asked me to write them essays, too!"

"Good for you," I take a sip of my drink.

"But I wanted to ask you, after I learn how to ride, how am I supposed to get Stephanie's attention?"

"Oh, that's easy," I tell him, "All you gotta do is make a scene."

"A scene?"

"Yeah, I don't know, you gotta be somewhere public, and you gotta be mysterious."

"Mysterious? How do I do that?"

"For starters, you need to get rid'a this whole sweater and khaki pants thing," I make hand gestures to his outfit, "I mean, it's okay for the day, but at night, when you're a cool rider, you gotta be hot. And the best way to do that is to wear leather."

"Really?"

"Trust me when I say you'd look really hot in leather," I say, getting flashbacks from the first day of school, "Then, you need to get something to cover your face, goggles or something. I've known Steph for a while now, and she's the type of girl who gets all hot and bothered over some guy with a hidden identity."

"Gotcha," He says, and I realize that he still has an accent.

"Oh!" I exclaim, "You gotta fake an American accent, because if you don't, she'll know who you are."

"Thanks, Chloe. I'm glad we had this little 'date'." He grins. Here we go with the smiling again. It's kind of cute though, "Care to share about why we had a fake date in the first place?"

"Long story short, I was with a boy who I wasn't supposed to be."

"Hey, you told me to use names, you should, too!" He exclaims, eating a piece of his hamburger.

"Um... well, I guess Louis and I have been friends for a while now... But recently, things have gone from friends to a little-bit-slightly-more than friends... and I'm not really too sure how I feel about this."

"I think it all depends on if you like him or not."

"I've thought about that and I think part of me wants to give it a chance... but that other part of me wants to forget all about it and not hurt Sharon. But the way he looks at me when we're alone, or his big strong hands... I don't know, maybe I'm just making something out of nothing!"

"I don't know what to tell you, Chloe, but if you need anyone to talk to, I'll be here and sworn to secrecy."

"Thanks, Michael," I smile, "Gee, I think we should be getting back, don'tcha think?" I say, leaning over the table to peek at his watch. 12:58. We only have two minutes to get back to the school and it's a fifteen minute drive to get there. Oops.

"I think we might be a little late," He laughs, pulling out his wallet and placing some dollar bills on the table, making sure to leave a generous tip.

"I don't think they'll even notice."