Chapter Seven: Maxxie

At the end of the day on a Friday, Jace was leaning against my locker, a smile on his gorgeous face. You'd think that since I had been dating him for about a week now I'd be used to him smiling at me. But this was a huge step for me; the most popular boy in the tenth grade was my boyfriend. I had gone from the biggest geek in the school to only slightly geeky.

As I walked up to my locker, Jace wrapped his arm around my waist and pulled me close to him. He bent his head down and pressed his lips against mine, causing ecstasy to surge through my body. I didn't feel the eyes on us anymore. Almost everyone was alright with us together now.

"So," Jace said when he pulled away. "About getting to know each other better, do you have any plans for tonight?"

I glanced at Brian two lockers down. He was packing all his books into his tiny backpack, stealing a glance at Jace and I every so often. Usually on Friday nights Brian and I would have Batman movie marathons before playing some Batman games. But judging from Jace's face, I could tell that he wanted to spend the night with me.

This was the hardest decision of my life. I could do the same old same old with Brian, or I could go on my first date with Jace; if that was what he was planning. Part of me didn't want bail on Brian. The other part of me really wanted to experience my first date and get to know Jace better. He was my boyfriend, after all, and I barely knew him.

I put a smile on my face and shook my head at Jace. "No, I don't have any plans tonight. Why do you ask?"

He smiled and his grip around my waist tightened. He pulled me close to him once again, resting his soft lips against my head gently.

"Well," he said against my golden hair, "I want to take you somewhere tonight. But it's a surprise."

I chuckled. That was something I could have never done around Jace before—laugh and be happy. But during the past week I had grown so comfortable with him.

I looked up into his eyes and asked, "What kind of surprise?"

He shook his head and kissed me again. I smiled against his lips before pulling away. He unwound his arm from around me and reached for my hand. His touch—as always—was warm. He grinned at me.

"So, would you care to walk home with me?" he asked. He then glanced back at Brian. "Or are you two walking home together?"

I glanced at my stout friend. He stared at me with sad brown eyes. He was waiting for me to just walk away with Jace, leaving him to stumble home all by himself. Of course I would never do that to Brian. He was still my best friend, no matter if I was in a relationship or not.

I turned back to Jace and smiled at him apologetically. He shook his head and said, "No, it's okay. I understand. I'll pick you up at your house at around six-ish, okay?"

I nodded. He smiled and kissed my cheek before walking down the hallway with his friends. I smiled at his disappearing figure before turning to Brian. He looked slightly annoyed, if not angry. I wanted to ask him what was wrong but he began walking down the hallway and out the double doors. I rolled my eyes and quickly grabbed my stuff from my locker. I then ran out the double doors and into the bleak mid-September weather. The pale orange sun was casting a warm light over everything. I caught sight of Brian, who hadn't made it very far down the sidewalk, and ran as fast I could over to him. Once I reached him, I put my hand on his thick shoulder.

"Dude," I huffed, "what's the matter?"

He shrugged me off of him. I sighed and continued to keep pace with him. For an overweight guy he was pretty speedy.

"Brian, please talk to me!" I pleaded.

Silence.

What had I done wrong? I had just declined Jace's invitation to walk home just so I could spend more time with Brian! And I spent the entire day with that guy! I had no idea why he was angry with me at the moment. The way I saw it, I should have been the one angry at him for giving me the silent treatment.

I finally couldn't stand it anymore and I grabbed his shoulder. I yanked him backwards, causing him to stumble a little bit. He shot me a look of pure anger.

"Leave me alone!" Brian shouted.

His shout took me by surprise. Brian was a pretty easygoing guy, never one to hold grudges. So why was he yelling at me, his best friend? More importantly, what wasn't he telling me?

"Brian, what's wrong?" I asked him.

He shook his head and said, "Just leave me alone, okay? I can't... I can't look at you right now."

I furrowed my eyebrows, completely confused and appalled. I watched as Brian kept walking down the sidewalk, not stopping to turn back and look at me.

>>><<<

I was not going to let Brian get in the way of my very first date. Though I was still unsure of what had caused his outburst, I decided to push Brian out of my mind. This was going to be a good night. This was going to be a night I would remember for the rest of my life.

I had no idea where Jace was taking me. The only detail he'd given me was to dress casually. So, I had dressed in a pair of jeans, a Green Lantern T-shirt and a pale blue hoodie underneath a brown jacket. For about the millionth time, I checked myself in the mirror. My glasses looked awkward on my face. I frowned.

Suddenly, I heard a knock at the door. Before my parents could answer it, I rushed out of my room and down the carpeted stairs. I opened the front door to reveal Jace standing there. As always, he looked stunning. He was wearing a blue and black checkered shirt and a dark pair of jeans. His accessory was his perfectly flawless smile. I suddenly felt like a piece of trash next to him.

"Who's at the door?" I heard my mom say as she began to walk down the hall. She finally arrived at the door and her eyes shifted from me to Jace. She raised an expectant eyebrow at me, demanding who this person was. I gave her a wan smile.

"Uh, mom, this is Jace Storme. He's my... friend. We're just going to hang out for a bit, okay?"

My mom flashed Jace a quick smile before frowning at me. "I thought that you and Brian had plans? Just like every Friday?"

"No. We cancelled." I turned back to Jace and smiled. "Let's go, shall we?"

I stepped out of the door and shut the door behind me before my mom could say anything. I peeked at Jace and he smiled. He snaked his arm around my shoulders and pulled me close to his body. I could smell his body spray emanating from his body. I just wanted to dig myself into him.

"So," I asked. "Where are we going?"

He laughed. "It's a surprise."

I smiled and let him lead me to wherever he was leading me. Thankfully my house was within walking distance of everything, so we didn't need a car or anything to get around town. The only question I had was where were we walking to?

We finally arrived at the town park. The lush green grass was illuminated by the soft glow of the surrounding street lamps. Jace beamed at me before interlocking his hand with mine. He continued to lead me through the park, where we finally arrived at a little corner.

I smiled at what I saw. There was a small square blanket resting on the ground, with candles flickering light over a picnic dinner of spaghetti and meatballs. I grinned at Jace and he blushed.

"I know that it's really cheesy," he explained, "but I just wanted everything to be perfect."

Aww! I thought. He's so cute!

Jace motioned for me to sit down and I did. He did the same and sat beside me. I couldn't help but blush as he stared at me, a smile set on his face. About two weeks ago a scene like this would all be a fantasy for me. But this was reality and I couldn't ask for anything more. I knew that we were young but the connection I felt with him, it was inexplicable.

We began talking and eating our meal. I learned about what colleges Jace wanted to go to, what he wanted to major in—which was musical theatre—and what his dreams were. In exchange I told him where I wanted to go, what I wanted to major in, and how I thought of the world.

"What's your biggest fear?" he asked me.

I thought for a moment. I had a lot of fears. But which was my biggest one?

"My biggest fear is probably losing love," I admitted.

Jace bit his lip. "Who's love?" he asked softly.

I shrugged. "My mom's, since she's dating again. Brian's friendship love." I stared at him and blushed. "Your love."

He smiled sheepishly, as if he were a little bit flattered or something. He bit his smiling lip and reached to pick my hand up. He held it gently in his own hands, cradling it protectively. He looked me straight in the eye, as if he were looking into my soul.

"As long as I live, I will always love you in some way," he said. "I have gotten to know you better and I know that you are a remarkable person. It's impossible not to love you."

I tried to process his words as best as I could. Surely this couldn't be the man of my dreams; this was too good to be true. There was no way that I, Maxxie Gray, was sitting on a picnic blanket with Jace Storme holding my hand in his. There was just no way that the geekiest kid in school was dating the most popular kid he knew. The world just simply didn't work that way. It was like the law of the Universe.

Jace gave me an amorous smile and said, "In the time that I have known you, really known you... well, it's been the best time of my life."

I couldn't say anything. All I could do was stare at him, speechless, and smile. This was still trying to set in my mind. But it was true. Jace loved me, and I loved him. Yes, it was too good to be true, but it was. It was all completely true.

Jace caressed my cheek softly with the side of his index finger. He whispered ever so softly, so softly that I could barely hear him, "I love you."

He cupped my face in his hand and pressed his lips against mine. It was a soft kiss, a gentle kiss. Yet it was full of a humble passion, one that was hard to find.

When we pulled away, we both lay back on the blanket, my head on his shoulder and his arms around me. We stared up at the bright stars illuminating the dark sky. We were both quiet, for words couldn't explain how either of us felt at that moment. Jace rested his head against mine and laced his fingers with mine. I smiled up at him and he smiled back.

Jace suddenly looked as if he had remembered something important. He reached to his side and handed me a little book. It had a picture of Batman and Robin on the front, though Robin was stroking Batman's arm. I smiled confusingly and continued to glance at the cover. I saw a little name in the corner of the page. It read Melanie Rose.  I chuckled once.

"Did you know that she and her friends told me today that they're officially our fangirls?" I asked Jace. He laughed.

"That explains why Melanie made this book," he said. He opened to a page and said, "Look."

I looked at the page, staring at a picture of Robin on top of Batman. Well, technically it was Bruce Wayne. I smiled and chuckled. Jace kissed my head.

"You're my Batman, you know," he whispered. "You always come and save my day."

I looked up at him and whispered back, "So that means you're Robin? And you're on top of me?"

He chuckled and sat up, only to place a hand beside my torso. He leaned over me and stroked my cheek with his finger. He nodded matter-of-factly.

"Yes, that does mean that I'm Robin," he explained. "And yes, I am on top of you."

I smiled up at him. He smiled back and pressed his lips against mine again. We spent the rest of the night like that, kissing each other softly, our hearts exploding in our chests.