J-Fred

Ch. 11: A Little Secret

Two days later, Alice gets a call from J-Fred in the afternoon. "Hey," he says, "Matthias invited all of us to have dinner at his house tonight. I was wondering if you wanted to come along?"

Alice can hear in his voice that he is hopeful she will come. "I'd love to come," she replies. 

"Okay, I'll pick you up around five tonight."

That night, after getting all dressed up, Alice gets into the car with J-Fred. "You know," she smirks, "this is kind of like our first date together."

He frowns. "I just realized that no one knows about us yet. They're never going to stop making fun of us..."

"Maybe we shouldn't tell them, then," Alice suggests. He looks over at her curiously. "Well, maybe we just make it our little secret for a while until they eventually figure it out. It will be a lot more fun, and that way we can save ourselves from the torment for a bit longer."

"Let's make it a challenge," J-Fred grins evilly at her. "If Amanda or Sarah discovers us first, then you lose. If Matthias or Bryan figures it out first, then I lose."

Alice likes the challenge. "Okay, so guys against girls. Then what's the punishment for when you lose?"

"How about the loser has to get their eyebrows waxed?"

"What? No!" Alice squeaks. 

"Dang it. I was wondering what you would look like without eyebrows. How about...the loser has to dance whenever the winner says to?"

Alice laughs and shakes her head. "You need to come up with some better punishment ideas." For most of the car ride, J-Fred keeps giving out bad ideas, such as the loser has to streak naked through a crowd, or the loser has to sleep in the pool for a night. Finally, Alice comes up with a good idea. "How about the loser has to do a whole punishment challenge on your channel?"

"Now we're talking," J-Fred smiles. "It's a deal. Whichever side discovers out relationship first loses, and they have to do a punishment video." They shake hands on it just as they pull into Matthias's driveway. 

"Oh good, you brought Alice!" Matthias smiles as they walk inside. 

As they enter the main room, J-Fred leans over and whispers to Alice, "You should sprain your ankle again so I can get to carry you." His lips brush against her cheek as he speaks. Alice just gives him a playful shove and keeps walking. 

"Alice, nice to see you again," J-Fred's dad calls out with a smile. 

As they all sit down to eat, J-Fred pulls sits down right beside Alice before anyone else can take the seat. Like last time, his dad sits on the other side. Before they eat, J-Fred says grace. Everyone bows their head, but Alice peeks up and watches J-Fred. She tries to pay attention to what he is saying, but all she can do is admire how handsome he is. After they all say "Amen" and raise their heads, he catches her staring at him. He smiles genuinely at her and then gives her a wink that is so fast, she wonders if he really did it. 

"What are you two grinning about over there?" Matthias asks, motioning towards Alice and J-Fred.

Both of them stare at him as they try to come up with an excuse. "He was just telling me some stupid joke," Alice lies. Matthias nods and moves along, because everyone knows how common J-Fred's stupid jokes are.

In the middle of dinner, as Alice rests her hand in her lap, J-Fred sneaks his hand over and grabs hers. She does not look over at him so that it is not obvious, but she intertwines her fingers with his. For the rest of dinner, they stay like that with locked hands. 

At one point, J-Fred's dad drops his napkin on the floor. When he leans down to pick it up, he notices their intertwines hands. When he sits back up, he looks over at Alice. She turns red in the face, worried that he will say something or that he will disapprove. After a moment, he just smiles at her and winks. He then turns back to his dinner as if nothing happened. Alice lets out a sigh of relief. At least she knows she has his father's approval.

The rest of the night goes smoothly. They all talk, joke, and laugh. Her relationship with J-Fred has changed. Before, she was nervous and awkward when talking to him, but now, she is calmer and just happier when she is with him. She never wants to let him out of her sight now that she has him.

After dinner, when they are all just sitting around, Alice excuses herself to go outside for some air. She walks out into the cold, dark night. She leans against the fence and just stares up at the stars in the sky. A minute later, she is startled when she feels two arms wrap around her waist from behind. She did not even hear J-Fred come outside. Neither of them says anything, but neither of them has to. Alice just enjoys the feel of his arms around her with his warm body pressed against hers.

Not long after, it is time to go. They say goodbye to everyone and get back into J-Fred's car. "Well, we made it one night without anyone questioning us," Alice sighs. 

"You wait and see," he smiles. "It won't be long before you lose."

Alice sticks her tongue out at him. After several minutes of driving, she realizes she misses holding his hand. She reaches over and places her hand on top of his as he drives. He does not look at her, but she can see the smile on his face even in the dark.

He drops her off, so she waves goodbye and starts towards her house. As she walks up to her door, J-Fred suddenly jumps out of his car and runs over to him. "That wasn't a proper goodbye," he says. He takes her head in both of his hands and kisses her. Alice's hands slide up to his chest. After several seconds, he releases her. "That was," he sighs. "Goodnight." And with that, he struts confidently back to his car. Alice stands frozen with a big smile plastered on her face. She wishes the kiss would never end.