The Other Sister

Sister-Chapter 7

The Other Sister

Chapter 7

Jase stood outside of Annaline's last hour class, waiting for the teacher to let her go. He knew that his comment earlier about asking their friends to stop teasing them bothered her. He hadn't meant it the way she took it. He liked her, but he wasn't one to let someone close. He hadn't been in a real relationship since the accident had happened; in fact, he hadn't hung out with anybody new since the accident. This was all new to him.

"Hey," She said when she saw him outside the class. "I didn't know you were out here."

"I figured I'd wait for you since I'm taking you out to eat." He explained. "Didn't want you to somehow get lost or something." He didn't know how to ease the tension between them, so he started to tease her. She smiled and shook her head.

"Well, thanks." She said. "Sorry it took so long."

"Yeah, what was all that about?"

"He was a teacher at my old school. He just wanted to know how everything's been since we left." She explained. "So, where are we going to eat?"

"I was thinking Lucille's. That sound okay?" He asked. He felt slightly nervous. He wasn't used to this. The girls he had been with before hadn't meant anything to him. They were a way of forgetting everything that was going on. Annaline was different. She was someone that he cared about; someone he wanted a relationship with. He had never had to explain how he felt, especially to someone he cared about. This was new to him.

"Yeah, that sounds good." She said. She was smiling softly.

He liked when she smiled. She was meant to smile and be happy. The sadness just didn't fit her. Knowing that he made her smile made him feel like he was worth something again. He hadn't really felt that way in a long time.

He put his arm around her shoulders and pulled her closer before he started walking to his truck. She didn't fight it and snuggled right in under his arm, where she fit perfectly. He couldn't help but smile at her.

The drive to the little diner was quiet, but not in an awkward way. The two of them just enjoyed the peace and the company.

"Well, aren't you two a cute little couple." An older lady, their waitress, said when she came over to get their drink orders. "It's nice seeing young adults like you two come in. Young love is such a sweet thing to see. What can I get you both to drink?"

Neither one disputed her claims that they were a couple. Instead, Jase just smiled and ordered them both a sweet tea, Annaline's with some peach and lemon.

"So you do remember?" She asked; there was a teasing look in her eyes. Jase just smiled and shook his head. For the first few times he tried ordering her drink for her, he kept getting it wrong. He didn't think she'd ever let him live it down.

"Hey, I tried my best then, okay. At least I know it now." He said. She just laughed. Hearing her laugh was like music to his ears. She was happy, which made him happy.

All of a sudden, she got a timid look on her face.

"What where you wanting to talk to me about?" She asked.

"I wanted to talk to you about us." He said. "I know that what I said bothered you earlier. I wanted to clear that up."

"Jase, I'm fine." She tried to tell him. Just then, their waitress came back with their drinks and took the rest of their order.

"I didn't mean it the way you thought I did Annaline." He told her after the waitress had left.

"What do you mean?" She asked. Jase took a deep breath before speaking.