stars ; j.s.

8

J A C O B

I was thrilled when Bree told me she was staying longer. Without her, I'd be bored out of my mind now that Violet and I aren't friends. I hate that I can't talk to her anymore because there's just something about her that I can't stay away from. However, I'm not going to let her come between my relationship with Bree.

Bree came to the door at about 5:00 that night with a skimpy pink dress and her hair curled.

"Hey, babe. Get dressed in something nice and meet me at my house by 6. Okay?" She asked.

"Okay..." I responded hesitantly, but headed upstairs anyway to get dressed.

There wasn't really anything too dressy that I had in my closet except one button-down shirt and a pair of khakis. I wasn't really planning on going any dates when I got here, so I didn't pack anything really nice. I guess this would have to do.

At around 5:45, I thought I looked pretty decent so I headed downstairs to ask my grandparents if I could go. I wasn't sure why, but I was a little nervous. I walked into the kitchen and they were both reading newspapers at the table, their glasses pushed to the end of their noses to help them read better.

"Why are you so dressed up, love?" My grandma asked when she saw me.

"Actually that's something I need to ask you about. So, I was kind of asked on a date and I-"

My grandpa looked puzzled and interrupted me. "You were asked on a date? Isn't it supposed to be the other way around?"

"Bill, you know things are different now than in our day," Grandma told him sternly. "Anyways, I'm so excited you and Violet are going out."

Hearing her name immediately changed my mood from excited to guilty. I still couldn't believe I'd let myself lose her as a friend, but I really like Bree. Kind of the way I used to like Violet, and maybe I sort of still like Violet, but it's too late now. I've made my choice and I was happy with it. I had to be.

"Oh it's not with Violet..." I trailed off, still thinking about her.

My grandparents exchanged looks. "Then who?" Grandpa asked.

"Her stepsister Bree. And I need to meet her in a few minutes if you let me go."

"You can go, but make sure to be a gentleman." Grandma reminded me, making me roll my eyes. I said my goodbyes and I was out the door quick so I wasn't late.

When I got there it was 6:01, which I assumed wasn't a problem because it's basically 6:00. I knocked on the door and Bree opened it immediately. "Where have you been?" She asked with attitude.

"I was talking to my grandparents. I'm only one minute late, I promise it was an accident." I told her truthfully. It's not like I was purposely trying to upset her by being late.

"Whatever. Just meet me in the car." She pushed past me and walked angrily toward the car. I just stood in the doorway, too shocked to understand what was even happening.

Violet was laughing as she walked toward me. "You have fun tonight." She said sarcastically, poking fun at the fact that
it had been one minute into this date and Bree was already mad at me. Violet then slammed the door in my face because she was clearly still mad at me.

Eventually, I made it to the car and opened the door to the backseat. Then I noticed something quite odd. Bree was already in the driver's seat with her seatbelt on, all ready to leave.

"Oh, so now you don't even want to sit next to me?" She yelled.

"I-I didn't expect you to be driving..." I stuttered.

She then turned around in her seat to look at me. "I'm seventeen, of course I'm driving."

My eyes widened. "You're what?"

"Seventeen, duh. Now sit in the front seat with me."

"Okay..." So I unbuckled my seatbelt and sat in the front like she asked, still shocked by our four year age difference I wasn't aware of. I mean, I thought she looked older I guess, but not senior in high school old. It puzzled me completely why someone like her would want someone like me.

We drove for over a half hour in the black car we kissed in the backseat of only a few days ago. There wasn't much to talk about with her because there wasn't really much we had in common. Bree was a typical teenage girl that only seemed to talk about herself and Starbucks. I normally didn't go for girls like that, but there was something about her I liked. Or rather, something I was looking for to like about her because she was just about the only girl I had a chance with at this point.

Eventually, after what seemed like forever, we arrived at a restaurant that was extremely fancy. I kid you not it was the fanciest place I'dever seen in all my life. It looked like the type of place to charge a fortune for something like ketchup. Was there even ketchup here? There only seemed to be foods that didn't even look like real food, just some sort of vegan meal that all of the hipsters seemed to rave about.

We sat down at a table that a posh waiter in a tux had led us to. It was dimly lit, but I could still spy the slight scowl on Bree's face.

"We need to take a picture together. We're finally at a place that has phone service." She said, fixing her curled hair.

I agreed and pulled my phone from my pocket. We both posed for the camera with smiles, but I don't think either of us were really enjoying this. Once the photo was taken, Bree grabbed the phone from my hand and briefly looked at it.

"Perfect. Now, you should post that on Instagram and tag me." She suggested.

"Sure, what's your username?" I asked.

" @ breebabexo. I don't have a lot of followers." She made a frown and quickly pressed her frown to my lips.

I thought about it for a second, but then realized I should probably follow her because we're basically a couple now. "I can follow you if you want."

"Really? Thanks, babe." She smiled widely as if that was the only thing that genuinely made her happy out of this whole date.

I was a little irritated, but I didn't want to upset her again so I kept my cool. "So, what are you thinking about ordering? The steak looks pretty good, don't you think?"

"Um gross, I'm a vegan." She scoffed.

"Right," I sighed deeply. "How are you going to pay for this anyway? This seems really expensive."

She stared at me in disgust. "You're paying. You're the one that's rich and famous...for now."

"Do you think I just carry that money around? I didn't even bring money when I came here to visit because I shouldn't need to. Not to mention the fact that you invited me here and I had no idea where we were going, so how could I possibly have paid for all this?"

Bree got up from the table with obvious anger. "Then I guess we're leaving because I'm not paying." She said as she stormed off to the car.

I soon followed after I took a second to catch my breath. She was a piece of work, but deep down inside of her there had to be something great...I would just have to find it.

The car ride back was dead silent. No radio music, no talking. Nothing but the permanent scowl Bree had on her face. After what seemed like hours, she finally pulled up at my house.

"I'm giving you one last chance, Jacob. Meet me at my house at 5:00 am. I'll be waiting outside and don't be late." She ordered, before giving me a quick peck on the lips and saying her goodbyes.

I haven't been on very many dates, but this was by far the worst.