The Life and Times of Alison Malone

chapter 7

The ride home was mostly loud squeals of happiness from Naya and Chloe. They knew how I felt about Kieran so they were super excited for me,I hope the feeling in my stomach was excitement too.

The girls decided to stay over to help me get ready,heaven knows I needed all the help I could get.

"Hey girls! How did school go?", my mum called from the kitchen when we walked in.

"Hey mum,it was good!", I called back. I went to the kitchen and motioned for the girls to to my room.

"What's up?", my mum asked as I walked in.

"Nothing,I just want to let you know that I'm going out later with a friend." I replied.

"Oh,who?" She asked excitedly. I had told her about Kieran a while ago,she told me to make a move but she knew better.

"Its Kieran", I said to her and a smile crept up on my face.

"I'm so happy for you,what are you waiting for? Go get dressed!", my mum said,shooing me away.

I ran to my room quickly and put my back pack on my bed.

"Go shower,we'll pick out an outfit", Naya demanded

"Okay,okay,chill.", I said,laughing and tying my hair heading to the bathroom.

I showered quickly,dried off and got out. I was immediately bombarded by Chloe and Naya who rushed me to my chair,we had an hour. That's a lot of time,right? Well,not according to Chloe.

She put some light makeup on my face,she knew how much I didn't like makeup so she made it minimal. She then straightened my hair and parted it a quarter down the middle. When Chloe was done with me,Naya called me to my bed where she had laid three outfits down. I had the choice of a knee length sundress,a pair of leggings and a cute top (typical Naya) and a pair of high waisted mid-thigh length shorts and a cool mickey mouse crop top. I was warm outside for a change so I went with the shorts and a pair of ballet flats,no,they weren't mine.

***

I heard a knock at the front door.

"I'll get it!",Andrew called
Oh,no. I'm nervous and now my brother is going to ruin it.

"Uh,hey. I'm here for Alison". I hear Kieran say.

"Who are you and what's your business with my sister?",Andrew says coldly.

"I've come to pick her up for a mo-" Kieran says before I interrupt.

"Mom! I'm leaving now!" I call out to my mum cutting Kieran off.

"Okay honey,have fun and be safe!" Mum calls back from her room.

"You're in shorts?! And flats?!", my brother says when he sees me,"damn man. I never thought I'd see this day", he continues,still in shock and disbelief.

"Yeah,now get out. I'm leaving", I say to him sidestepping him so that I'm in Kieran's line of sight. When he sees me his jaw drops,he realises his oggling and quickly recovers.

"Hey Ali,you ready?", Kieran says.

"Yeah Kieran,let's go. Bye Andy", I wave to my brother and we start towards Kieran's Jeep.

"Be safe children! And you,", he starts pointing at Kieran,"touch her and I'll kill you." He says to Kieran in a serious tone. Kieran nods and opens the door for me.

He gets in and we start the twenty minute drive to the movies.  We pull into the mall and Kieran puts his hand on my back. His hand is on my back. While I mentally freak out,he leads me to the Italian restaurant just outside the mall. He said it was better to park the car and walk as opposed to driving the short distance. When we get to the restaurant,we are directed to a table and the waitress wake for our drink orders while we look at the menu. I order a lemonade and Kieran orders a lemonade.

We both decide we don't want a pizza, I had one for lunch at school and he is just tired of it,working in a pizzeria and all. When the waitress returns I order the penne  with pesto and Kieran orders the chicken parmesan. The restaurant isn't full so our food comes quickly. The conversation is good and Kieran is pretty laid back. My nerves are settled and I feel really good.

After settling the cheque, Kieran leads me back to the mall which is practically a slow five minute walk away. He trusts me in choosing a movie,being the super hero fanatic I am,I go with the Amazing Spiderman two. Kieran smiles at my choice.

"You're into super hero flicks?", he asks amusedly.

"I'll disown you as a person if you don't.", I say to him feigning seriousness.

"Actually, I'm quite the fan. Let's go catch a spider.", he gets us tickets and I pay for the pop corn and the icees even though he protests. We go into the theatre just as the movie begins.

Liking superheroes is not the only thing we have in common,he too likes chicken and mushroom pizza,has a sacred pair of shoes,microwaved cornflakes and hazelnuts. I love hazelnuts. I' e also learned a little about him,his first passion,though he plays it,isn't basketball its actually football. He explained how putting a ball in the back of a net was amazing and it was a great feeling. He spoke of it with so much love for it. I asked him why never joined the school team and he said it was because at the time he had a broken foot. When it was fully healed the football season was over and his height advantage made it good for him to join the basketball team.

He'd also shared with me the story of his family. His parents were divorced, his mother took custody of himself and his two sisters. He adores his sisters who are twins,Anna and Sophia. He had a fear of heights but conquered it when he and his mom visited Livingstone and went bungee jumping on the bridge near the Victoria falls.

"Now that,was an awesome movie.", Kieran says,he is so pumped.

"I know right! The end sucks though. I can't believe Gwen dies.", I say

"Its not right, but I guess that makes a good movie so me to.", he says, I think about it and its true,in some ways,the ending is kind of beautiful in a sense.

Its just after ten and my curfew is eleven. On the drive back to my house,Kieran takes the long route.

"Why are we going this way?", I ask curiously.

"Because I want to be with you for as long as is allows", he replies looking at me.

And just like that my friends,I melt.

When he pulls up in my drive my heart falls,its the end already?? He reluctantly walks out and opens the door for me. Like a gentleman, Kieran walks me to the door.

" I had a great time tonight, thank you so much."I say to him