with a smile like that

Chapter 2

I woke up to the feeling of falling. My eyes shot open quickly and I realized I fell off the bed. I heard laughing, so I wiped the sleep out of my eyes and looked on top of the bed. It was a little boy, who looked similar to Jade, with a brown bowl cut, fair skin, blue eyes, and two little dimples. He looked like he could be about four or five. He kept giggling, but immediately stopped as I began to speak. "And what's your name?" I asked the little boy. "I'm Max," he spoke. "Well I'm Alex, nice to meet you Max," I told him with a smile as I got up off the floor. He climbed off the bed and stood in front of it while I made the bed. He was still giggling and I was wondering what was so funny so I finally asked. "What's so funny Max?" He covered his eyes and began to speak. "You're pretty," he quietly said and ran out of the room. I could feel the blood rush to my cheeks as I blushed and continued making my temporary bed. When I was done, I grabbed a fresh pair of clothes, slightly dressier than yesterday's lazy outfit and made my way to the bathroom. I turned on the water and I looked in the mirror. My long dark brown hair was in its natural wavy state. My eyes looked more blue than usual today, the grey barely noticeable. I stared at my light skin and thought about how I should tan someday soon.

•

I stepped out of the shower and dried myself off. I pulled a plain garnet knit sweater over my head and pulled on a pair of dark wash ripped skinny jeans. Before I put anything else on, I dried my hair and straightened it, like usual. I walked out of the bathroom and saw Jade walking down the hall. "Morning Jade!" I called out. She quickly spun around and smiled. "I was about to see if you were up already. I guess you are. I'll get dressed in a few and we can go grab a bite to eat since you're almost dressed." I agreed and continued to my room.

I grabbed a pair of socks and my garnet vans. I slipped them on and decided I may need a bag for a phone charger and some money. I grabbed the same tribal bag I used as my carry on and packed it. I looked in the mirror on the door and decided I was ready to go, because I was feeling a little hungry.

I started walking down the hall to the staircase. I walked down into the large living room and saw Max sitting on the ground playing with a toy train. He looked up and smiled, so I returned a smile. Jade walked into the living room dressed in a pair of jeans that had a leg of black and a leg of red plaid, a black knit sweater, a black obey SnapBack, a pair of black high tops, an a plain black backpack. She looked at Max. "Dad should be up in a few minutes, Alex and I are going to go get some breakfast," and then she turned to me. "Ready?" I stood up, "yeah I'm ready."

We got into her black jeep and pulled out of the garage and drove down the driveway. "Two of my friends wanted to meet up for breakfast today at a diner so I told them we'd be there," she said to me. I was a little nervous because I had just got here and didn't know anyone here other than Jade and her family. What would her friends be like? "Uhm sounds cool," I said, unsure if I meant it. Jade most likely detected that in my tone because she smiled. "They're nice, I promise. I've known them all my life. Our moms were friends since before we were born."

Some small talk was made on our drive to the diner and then we pulled up. It was small but looked like your average hole in the wall. "Marietta's" Jade said as we stepped out of the car. "It's really good here," she continued. I smiled and we walked in together as her eyes scanned the room. She suddenly smiled and pulled me by the arm to a booth with two boys sitting down on opposite sides.

The boy on the left was slightly smaller than the other boy and had brown curly hair. He had a lip ring and he was smiling at me. "I'm Keaton," he said and waved. I smiled and waved back. The boy to the right interrupted and looked at me. "And I'm Wesley, but you can call me Wes," he told me. He had straighter brown hair and brown eyes. He had an eyebrow piercing. And then I saw his smile. With a smile like that, I bet he got every girl he wanted. "I'm Alex, nice to meet you guys," I said trying to stop my thoughts of the boy I just met.

Jade sat down next to Keaton after giving me a face questioning if it was okay. I gave her a quick nod and took a seat next to Wesley. He looked over at me and smiled. "So where are you from?" I looked back and was stuck on that smile. I guess he caught me staring and laughed a little. "What's the matter, cat got your tongue?" I snapped out of it and answered. "No sorry, I zoned out. I'm from South Carolina." He nodded.

The waitress came over and smiled at us. "So what's it going to be today?" She asked while pulling out a pad of paper. Keaton chimed in and gave her his order, and Wesley followed his actions. Jade gave her order and looked over to me as I gave her a nervous look, trying to tell her I hadn't even picked up my menu yet. "Two of those actually" she said covering for me. The waitress nodded, clicked her pen, and left. "Thanks," I muttered to Jade. "You seem nervous, everything alright?" Keaton asked me with a worried expression. "Yeah, I'm fine I just don't know what they have here and-" I was cut off by the voice beside me. "That's why they have menus, babe," he smiled and chuckled a little bit. I felt myself blush at his word choice. I shook my head. "You know what I mean Wes."

The wait until our food came was short and filled with small talk between Wesley and Keaton. My phone buzzed on the table, alerting me about a text. I picked it up and saw that the message was from Jade. *if they annoy you, tell me. :)* I looked up to Jade and nodded with a smile. The waitress came over with our food and we began to eat.

•

We finished eating and Jade got up, followed by Keaton. Wesley nudged me, "you gonna get up, or am I gonna have to push you out?" He asked whilst smiling. That smile. I stopped my thoughts once more and playfully punched him in the arm. "I'm getting up," I told him and stood up.

I looked around to see where Jade and Keaton went and I saw them next to the door. They were talking and Keaton was sheepishly blushing. I walked over and felt an arm grab me and spin me around. "Nice seeing you, hope we can hang again," Wesley said and pulled me in for a hug. His embrace was warm but unfamiliar so I let go. "Sorry, I'm a hugger," he said. I smiled and then walked out with Jade as Wesley joined Keaton. They went to their car, a royal blue mustang, and Jade and I walked back to her jeep. The brothers waved to us and Jade waved back.

•

We returned to Jade's house and pulled into the garage. "Wes just texted me and asked if we all wanted to hang out tonight. You down?" She suddenly asked. "Where at?" I asked her. "The beach. We usually do that." She said with a smile. The beach sounds nice, sand, water, and a breeze. "Sounds great," I answered with a smile. "We should watch a movie until tonight," Jade said while walking towards the living room. "Okay, sure. You pick." She grabbed a few movies and told me to follow her. We walked down the hallway that I wasn't familiar with and stopped at a door that had a sign that read "Reynolds Theatre". She opened the door and we walked inside. I looked around the room. It was big, a large black leather couch along one of the walls, dimmed lights, numerous movie posters, and a large projector screen. Jade put the disc in and went to sit on the couch. I walked over and sat down too. Jade and I sat in silence as we watched the movie.