Ocean Eyes . Jonathan Brandis

Eleven

After long conversations and more planning to hangout, we finally called it a day. I had been unusually quiet but I hoped they didn't notice.

Sam and Sarah lived in the same neighborhood around the corner from Phillie's so they walked home. Connie's brother didn't mind dropping me off at my house. Jared was with him when they pulled up to pick us up. He smiles, opening the door for us. I realized he was only moving so we could get in the back. "What a gentleman," Connie retorts sarcastically. "It's safer to ride back there," Jared flashes his million dollar smile once more. It couldn't compare to Jonathan's ocean blue eyes, though.

Once we arrived to my house, I notice Jonathan was outside throwing the football with his brother, Thomas. He noticed the bright red truck dropping me off. "See ya tomorrow, Grace," Connie says to me, staying in the back seat. I exit the vehicle with Jared waiting for me. "It was nice meeting you. Maybe I'll see you around, Grace Buchanan," Jared says my full name causing me to blush once more. "If you're lucky," I try to ease the romantic tension jokingly. His smile grows wider, meaning he was amused at my sassy reply. As I made my way towards my house, my vision made its way over to Jonathan. We locked eyes for a short moment, causing me to look away quickly.

Jonathan
"Who's that?" My brother asks after tossing me the football. I look back and see a truck pull into Grace's driveway.
"You've got to be kidding me," I say to myself. I watch as Jared O'brian opened the door and exited with Grace right behind him. "Earth to Jonathan," my brother snaps me out of my trance. "It's just Grace," I answer his question. "That doesn't look like 'just Grace' to me," he states the obvious. "She's not just gonna wait around for you, Jon." My brother adds as I looked back over to Grace. I watch her say goodbye to Jared. She catches me staring, causing me to look away quickly. "Shut up," I play it off as I threw the ball back to Thomas. "Whatever man," My brother laughs at my embarrassment.

Grace
My dad wasn't home, so neither was Lily. I see a note on the fridge and read it aloud. "Went to the hospital. Lily is at the Brandis'. Mary and Greg invited you over for dinner, xoxo -Dad" I sigh. I guess it would be impolite to decline and stay home when I have nothing else to do or eat.

I rush up to my room and make sure I looked decent. After fixing my hair, I head outside to find Thomas and Jonathan still tossing the ball around. Jonathan had his back to me but Thomas noticed me. "Grace!" He said over enthusiastically. "Thomas!" I copy his tone and laugh. "Here, catch," he warns me before throwing the ball to me. There was no way I'd successfully catch that. "What the heck," I shield myself and it falls beside me. "You're supposed to catch it," Thomas jokes, knowing I've never played a single sport in my life besides ballet when I was six. "Very funny," I pick up the ball and throw it back to him, failing miserably at that also. It ends up going to Jonathan instead, since I couldn't throw that far. He tries to hide his amusement after catching it in instinct. "Shut up, Jonathan," I laugh also, as I walked passed him and push him. He laughs at the gesture, instead of getting mad. We lock eyes as we both enjoyed this rare moment of shared admiration for each other.

"Boys! Dinner is ready," Mrs. Brandis interrupts us, coming to the door. "Oh hi Grace! I'm so glad you came," she notices me. "You're staying for dinner right?" She questions. "If that's alright with you," I smile. "Of course it is, you're welcome anytime," she smiles too, assuringly. "Thank you so much, Mrs. Brandis," she was always so nice. I go inside with the boys following behind me. I take a seat at an empty place beside Jonathan.

After a short prayer, everyone began digging into the whole roasted chicken on the table. Mrs. Brandis began asking Thomas questions about college which lead to a very in depth lecture on drinking. I glance at Jonathan beside me and we exchange an inside joke, hiding our amusement. "Grace, so how's your mom doing?" Mr. Greg asks out of nowhere, probably hoping to change the subject. I was caught off guard so I swallow my food quickly, trying to think of an answer. She wasn't doing any better but I didn't know whether to lie about it or kill the mood at the table. All eyes were on me, even Lily's. She could tell I was struggling to find the right words but I knew she couldn't help me find them. To my surprise, I feel Jonathan grab my hand under the table and interlock our fingers. I look over at him. He gave me an assuring smile, sensing that I was a little overwhelmed. I take a short moment before answering the question. "She's doing as well as she can. She's made it this long, so I guess you can say she's doing good," I add a smile to show that I wasn't too upset by the question. "Your family is in our thoughts and prayers always," He tells me. I could tell that he was about to give a speech on how the grace of God would do what was best and how everything happens for a reason. I've always actively listened, but disagreed many times.

After dinner, the Brandis' offered me an invitation to spend the night since Lily was, but I politely declined due to me not being so little anymore and Jonathan being a guy. It would've been weird. I say good bye to everyone, except Jonathan. He was going to walk me home since it was late. I didn't know whether or not he was doing it because his mom made him or if he actually cared that I made it home safely. "You didn't have to do this," I was about to find out which it was. "I wanted to make sure you got in safely, besides, it's not that far," he smiles putting his hands in his pockets. "Thanks for earlier," I speak up due to it being silent for a moment. He looks over at me. "I honestly couldn't think of what to say because it caught me off guard. You managed to calm me down, somehow," he smiles proudly. "No problem, sometimes my dad goes a little too far unknowingly," he excuses his dad. "So what happened earlier at school? The busted lip? Your eyebrow?" I just had to ask. It had been on my mind all day. "Oh," he laughs at himself. "I got into it with Richie and David. They really know how to push my buttons," he looks up from the ground to me. "This doesn't have anything to do with what happened at the diner does it?" I felt almost guilty. "No, of course not," I could tell he was lying. I give him a questioning look. He sighs, giving up the lie. "He wouldn't stop making up lies about you so I took care of it," it seemed like he wanted to leave it at that so I didn't bother pressing him for more details.

We finally reached my front porch. Before going inside, I stopped to thank Jonathan once more for calming me down earlier, it meant a lot. "I guess I'll see you tomorrow then," Jonathan says standing there awkwardly, waiting for me to go inside. Not knowing what else to do, I do just that. After shutting the door, a huge feeling of regret comes over me. I should've kissed him. I was tired of regrets. In that moment, I don't know what came over me. I open the door immediately and was lucky to see he hadn't left yet. He turns around, hearing me. Without a word, I kiss him for the first time in my life. Luckily, he kissed me back. I was worried he didn't feel the same way. After pulling away, I didn't know what to say. Neither did he. "Goodnight, Jonathan," I say quickly before shutting the door again. I take a deep breath, realizing what just happened. After calming down, I realize it wasn't so bad. A small smile escaped from me. I can't believe that just happened.

An update finally, sorry for the ridiculous wait. I've had writers block with this book badly, lately. I hope you enjoy this chapter.<3