[ C h a p t e r - S i x t e e n ]

Chapter 16

I glanced at my closet; I should be getting ready right about now. I’m supposed to be heading to Jonah’s house in an hour but here I am procrastinating. It’s 7 o’clock in the evening and I’m watching television reruns. My phone starting ringing and I groaned. “Are you getting ready or are you watching Breaking Bad?”

I winced at Mere’s accusations. “It’s sad that you’d think so low of me," I muttered as I brushed through my wet hair.

“Seriously, Savannah, get ready," she hung up before I could even protest and I grumbled as I stood up and walked towards my closet.

I swung open the door and thumbed through my sweaters. Finding my blue ‘Free Hugs’ sweatshirt and tossing it onto my bed, I went to the other side of my closet and grabbed a pair of black jeans.

I quickly dressed in the clothes before grabbing my straightener and fixing my hair. With only fifteen minutes left, I raced toward my closet again and pulled out my blue winter boots. The things are made to walk in the snow. I grabbed my coat out of the closet before stuffing my arms into it. Filling my pocket with my phone, lip balm, gum, and some cash, I exited my room.

“Have fun, love you!” my mom and dad cheered from the living room. As I exited the house, I saw Jeremiah leaning against the side of my car.

“What?” I asked as I approached him. He shrugged.

“I just wanted to tell you to have fun, but not too much fun," he narrowed his eyes at me and I rolled my eyes before getting in my car. “Don’t forget to get your New Year’s kiss.”

I scowled while driving away. Jonah texted me the address and I realized that I have no clue where it is. I pursed my lips as I strained my mind; if I don’t know where it is, I’ll end up going in circles. And it'll only make me dizzy.

Putting my phone on speaker and placing it in the dashboard holder, I dialed Jonah’s number. “Hello?”

“Are you on your way?” Jonah’s eager voice asked.

I laughed. “I’m attempting to get there; I don’t know where your street is,” I told him sheepishly.

He chuckled. “Where are you?” he asked me.

“I’m on the corner of Grimes and Dixon,” I told him and he began giving me directions.

“Do you want me to just pick you up?” he asked and I battled with myself for a minute. What if, let’s say, we do kiss at the party, wouldn’t it be awkward when we drive back together?

“Yeah, that’d be great,” I told him.

“I’m already 30 minutes away. I hope you don’t mind if we have to make a stop at the store," he told me and I told him it was no big deal before I started driving back home.

When I got home, I entered the house and my parents turned to look at me. “Did he cancel on you?”

“Honey, it’s okay. Plenty of guys cancelled on me," my mother started to say but I furrowed my eyebrows.

“Actually, he’s coming to pick me up because I have no clue where I’m going and the GPS on my phone doesn’t work," I informed them, taking off my coat. They both nodded before turning back to the television.

~~~

When Jonah arrived at my house, I quickly exited. I was trying to avoid my father, who was eager to come outside and make conversation. I dived into the passenger’s seat. “Hurry up! Drive!”

“What?” Jonah asked as he started driving away from my house. I glanced out the back window to see my dad watching the car as it drove away. “What happened?”

“My father wanted to talk to you,” I said between breaths.

“What? So you make me look like I’m some rude guy who just picks up his daughter and leaves?” Jonah asked, turning to look at me as we arrived at a red light. I shook my head.

“He wanted to talk to you about…other things, not about sports," I told him and it clicked in his mind. His cheeks tainted pink and he nodded, silence overtaking the car.

When we were approaching the store, I decided to break the silence. “What are we getting?”

“Just a few things,” Jonah replied with a mysterious look on his face. I furrowed my eyebrows.

“There isn’t going to be a party there, right?” I asked him and he shook his head.

“My Aunt and Uncle would never allow that; it’s just going to be 6 people,” he told me and I furrowed my eyebrows.

Jonah, Sabrina, Sierra, Georgia, Me, and…who else? “Who else is going to be there?” I curiously questioned.

“Their name starts with a ‘W',” he informed me. I felt my heart sink for some reason. Waverly.

When we got out of the car and went into the store, the Christmas decorations helped to distract me. Why are they still out? It’s December 31st. “Let’s go," Jonah murmured from beside me.

Jonah led me to the toy isle and he began searching for something. He wouldn’t tell me what it was so I couldn’t help him. When he found it, he put it into the basket. When I tried to peek into the basket, he pushed my shoulder away. “Nu-uh-uh.”

I glared at him before slowly letting myself fall behind. He continued getting things and placing them in the black basket. When we finally reached the checkout line, he turned to look at me, taking my hand and placing something in it. “Can you please go start the car?”

“You trust me to start your car?” I asked him with raised eyebrows and he stiffly nodded his head as if he regretted his decision. I smirked.

“I’ll try not to crash it,” I walked out of the store and approached the car. I unlocked it before getting into it. I shivered slightly; it’s so cold. Thank you, captain obvious. I put on my seat belt, so we can be safe. I revved the engine, listening to the soft purring before I turned on the heat and drove up to the entrance of the store. Jonah looked utterly terrified.

When I switched sides, Jonah quickly placed the bags in the backseat before getting into his car. “Did the bad lady hurt you, baby?”

I furrowed my eyebrows as he pet his steering wheel. “Overreacting, all I did was waste 95% of your gas.”

Immediately, his eyes darted to me. “I told you to start the car not bring her around.”

“I drive like a pro, anyway,” I snorted and I could see a ghost of a smile on his face but he maintained his angry look.

“We all ‘drive like a pro’ until we crash into a building,” he muttered as he drove out of the parking lot. I winked at him before turning towards the window. Why’d you do that, you idiot?

~~~

“How much longer?” I asked as he drove down what seemed to me like endless roads. He rolled his eyes.

“10 minutes," he replied casually as he drummed against the steering wheel to a song on the radio.

“You said that ten minutes ago!” I snapped and he rolled his eyes again.

“No, ten minutes ago, I said ‘shut up and wait,’” he reminded me and I glared at him.

Finally, we pulled up to a house that was pretty big. Well, it has to be. As far as I know, 6 people live here. I suddenly remembered that Waverly’s here and I slumped my shoulders. When we walked up the stairs, Jonah turned to me. “Are you ready?”

“For what?” I asked curiously. I hope he wasn’t planning to have Waverly try and attack me or something. I’d hate to have to choke slam her on such a nice porch.

Instead of replying, he turned the doorknob to reveal four teenagers arguing. They turned their heads towards the door. My gaze swept over them. An unfamiliar guy was there, a girl who I’m assuming is Georgia was there and the twins were seated on the same couch. “Savannah!”

I turned to see the girl Georgia running towards me at full speed, knocking me backwards as she flung herself onto me. You’d think I was her long lost sister. “I’ve heard so much about you!”

“You weren’t ready,” Jonah smirked down at me. Georgia quickly stood up before helping me up. I groaned as my back throbbed in pain.

“I’m sorry, I just get so excited,” Georgia started jumping up and down with a huge smile on her face. We stood on the porch for a moment before she motioned for me to come inside. “Well come in; let’s get this party started!”

I smiled as I stepped into the house. They had a large leather couch but the guy was sprawled on the floor. He sat up and smiled at me. He looked just like Georgia but more masculine. I’d hope so. “I haven’t introduced myself, I’m Weston.”

I nodded; he must be the person whose name starts with a W. “I’m Savannah,” I awkwardly replied.

“I know," he grinned before standing up. I remembered when Mere was on the phone with Jonah and said something about a gay cousin.

“Are you the gay one?” I blurted out. I instantly covered my mouth while Georgia howled in laughter. Weston narrowed his eyes at Jonah.

“Did you tell her that I was gay?” he asked Jonah who sheepishly looked away. Weston turned towards me with a smile on his face. He approached me and picked up my hand in his own, pressing his lips gently on my hand. “In fact, Savannah, I am completely straight.”

I stared at him for a moment. I’m sure my face was warm but not like it gets with Jonah. It was warm out of pure embarrassment. “That’s good for you.”

I sounded rude. Of course, I didn’t mean to but I did. This caused Jonah and Georgia to laugh loudly. I even saw the twins crack a grin. “Shot down!”

I stared at Sierra for a moment while she snickered at her own comment. It just made everyone laugh louder. “I didn’t mean to sound rude.”

“You didn’t," I turned to look at Weston who was smiling at me. “I see you’re all for Jonah.”

He’s lucky that I’m the only one who heard him over the sound of everybody’s laughter. I sent him a threatening glare. “I never said that," I retorted.

“Hey, you should be thanking me,” he stated.

“Why is that?” I asked, pursing my lips.

He smirked. “I’m the one that told him to go talk to you.” He did look familiar. He was the one chatting up the blonde at the front desk.

I rolled my eyes as I watched everyone laugh at the jokes Sierra kept saying. “Want a tour? They’re not going to be coming around for another ten minutes.”

I shrugged and followed Weston as he walked throughout the house, pointing out the kitchen and bathrooms. We walked through the dining room before we walked back into the living room where we bypassed the laughing group and up the stairs. He pointed to bedrooms before opening the door slightly. The twin’s room was split in half, really. Half of the rectangular room was red and the other half was pink. I could tell that the pink side belonged to Sabrina.

Georgia’s room is yellow and orange, bright like her personality while Weston’s is a burgundy color. He pointed out their Aunt and Uncle’s room and then the study before he stopped. “And this is the last room on the floor and I saved it for last because it has value to you.”

“It's normally so clean that you'd think no one lives here.” he opened the door to Jonah’s room and I was greeted by a clean, blue room. It had a white fluffy rug and band posters on the wall; I recognized all of them. He had a large king sized canopy bed in the middle of the room but it was against the wall opposite to where I was standing. In the corner, there was a large television with a game system beside it and a couch across from it. A bookshelf that had actual books in it was beside the dresser. On the nightstand, he had a lamp and a bottle of water.

He looked at me for a moment before awkwardly shutting the door and kicking the carpet. “If you need anything…you know, Georgia’s bathroom and the twin’s bathroom is pretty stocked, I think,” he explained. I pressed my hand against my forehead before nodding.

As we walked back downstairs, the twins were grinning at us. “Let’s get this party started!” they spoke, synchronized. They rarely speak synchronized, only when they’re causing trouble.

Uh oh.