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

Chapter 17

I stared the twins, slightly confused as they reached behind their backs. Before I knew it, screams were exiting their mouths. “Ready! Set! Aim!”

I was being sprayed with party string and I was struggling to cover my face. I heard laughter and I recognized it as Jonah’s. “Help me, you moron!” I exclaimed

“Say I’m amazing," Jonah mocked and I continued taking the strands of party string to my face and torso. It was coming from two sides.

“No!” I called back.

“Say it," he laughed and I bit my tongue.

“I’m amazing,” I replied and I heard Weston’s laughter.

“No, say that I’m amazing, as in me, Jonah,” Jonah corrected and I growled.

“Fine, Jonah’s amazing,” I felt the string come to a halt. I finally looked down and noticed that my jacket was covered in the pink and purple party string.

I glared at Sabrina who innocently tucked the can into her pocket. Sierra was spraying Weston who was trying to battle the spray as if his life depended on it. It was actually pretty funny. I sighed and pushed the bottle to the floor.

Weston opened one eye before opening them both and pushing Sierra who stumbled backwards onto the couch. I just rolled my eyes and began taking off my coat. Before I could even get my left arm out of the sleeve, Georgia, the seventeen year old girl, flung herself at me, wrapping her arms around my torso yet again.

“What are you doing?” I asked her, laughing lightly. I wasn’t used to this much affection, not that I’m neglected at home; we just don’t hug every ten minutes.

“Your sweater,” Georgia replied, letting go of me. I looked down at my sweater before nodding; it says "Free Hugs." Before I could even recuperate from the last hug attack, I was lifted into the air while being swung around like a rag doll. This is a first.

Weston, the 6’4” giant was swinging my 5’2”- 5’3” figure around like I was a doll. I wrapped my arms around his neck for fear of falling while he just continued swinging me. When he put me down, I let out a sigh of relief.

I groaned when I felt another pair of arms wrap themselves around my torso. This hug was calmer and warmer; I wasn’t being squeezed too tightly or swung around like Raggedy Ann. I actually felt myself hugging back for a moment. The smell was familiar: Jonah.

I awkwardly retracted from the hug and was yanked towards Georgia who plopped me down on the spot beside her on the floor. Weston took my coat from me and hung it up wherever he did.

“I’m hungry,” Jonah complained.

“Why don’t we make snacks?” I asked.

Georgia shrugged. “You two can; we’ll move everything around in here so we have enough room to move around.”

I stood up with Jonah and we walked in the direction of the large kitchen. “What should we make?” I asked.

“Let’s start off with something sweet,” Jonah told me and I nodded.

“Like what?” I asked and he shrugged. “How about Reeses Squares?”

He nodded. I read off the ingredients and he searched the cabinets for them before placing them on the counter. I began working while telling him what I was doing and he would occasionally nod. When we finished, we placed it on the table to harden the chocolate and he stared at me for a minute.

“Anything else you can make, Betty Crocker?” he asked me and I glared at him before sighing and nodding.

~~~

After I made Reeses Squares, brownies, tacos, pizza bites, smoothies, homemade dip, and a bunch of other finger foods with no help from Jonah. Well, he did help me get the ingredients and emptied the chips into the bowls but other than that, he just watched me with this look on his face.

“You’re a closet chef," he told me once I sat down. Most of the food was in the oven, microwave, or fridge.

I stared at him for a minute before shaking my head. “You are. You just made all of that within an hour,” he nodded.

I shrugged, slightly embarrassed. It was hard to uphold a reputation of being a gamer girl when you know how to cook and bake, so I usually only cook for Jeremiah, my parents, and I.

“Don’t worry, it’s cute," his comment made me blush so I stood up and walked over to the fridge and started checking on the homemade dip and smoothies. I then walked over to the sink to start on the dishes but Jonah stopped me. “Don’t worry, I can do these.”

I nodded before going back to sit at the table. After about ten minutes, the food was finished and I began taking it out of the oven and placing it on the top of the stove.

~~~

When all the food cooled off, Jonah and I placed them in separate bowls and plates. We brought them to the living room with help from the twins. Georgia and Weston were currently fighting over the remote to the television.

When we placed the food down on the table, they dived for it. I quickly slipped the bowl of Cheetos off of the table and walked over to the couch that they moved back slightly. I sat down and began eating.

“Those are my favorites,” Jonah pouted and I shrugged, pointing to the array of food that was no longer crowded. Everyone had their favorite on their laps while we waited for Weston to find the remote.

“Too bad, get your own,” I smiled and he rolled his eyes before plopping down beside me. His hand starting reaching for the bowl and I quickly retracted it. “No, mine.”

He grinned before nodding. When Weston found the remote, we agreed on a movie. As I was watching the movie, I looked down and noticed that all of the Cheetos were gone. I frowned and tilted my head in confusion. I looked over and noticed Jonah who had orange hands and a grin on his face.

“You ate them all!” I frowned and he smiled before heading towards the bathroom to wash his hands.

I walked back over to the table and grabbed a plate and put a few pizza bites onto it. I moved to the floor beside Georgia who was watching the scary movie with a pillow blocking her face. Good, at least she won’t steal my food.

When Jonah exited the bathroom, he sat on the couch behind me. I made sure I glanced down at my food every so often to make sure it was still there. I tossed a glare behind me to Jonah who was smiling innocently.

I felt a light tugging on my hair and I looked back to see Jonah playing with my hair. It wasn’t normal playing; it was him holding two strands and tossing them at each other violently. When he saw that I was watching him, he sheepishly put my hair down. But when I turned back around, I felt my hair being tugged again but I didn’t mind.

~~~

“It’s ten thirty, what do we do now?” Georgia asked as she turned on the lights.

Jonah, who just finished playing with my hair, fell off of the couch and rolled onto the floor in a small heap. “I don’t know.”

“We can have a dance party,” Georgia suggested as she stood up. She pushed the table of food against the wall and plugged in her iPod speaker. She started playing music and flailing her arms wildly.

Weston was next to join her and then surprisingly Sabrina. I was grinning now and Sierra was slowly shaking her head, as if disappointed. Jonah crawled back onto the couch and I decided to sit between him and Sierra.

“Why aren’t you dancing?” I asked him.

He turned to look at me with a deadpanned expression. “I told you; I can’t dance the moves I know in public.”

I rolled my eyes as Sierra looked at me with an annoyed expression. “He constantly says that; he actually can’t dance.”

“I can, too! Just give me a pole, a speedo and a stack of ones!” Jonah retorted and I started laughing loudly.

Sabrina and Georgia came over to the couch and Sabrina grabbed Sierra’s arm and Georgia yanked mine. I was tugged towards the middle of the living room where Georgia proceeded to flail her arms.

Weston was no better at dancing; he was attempting to do the running man. I watched as he fell and smacked his face on the carpet but he got up and continued trying while nobody acknowledged his slipup. You know what they say: If you fall face first into a carpet, get up and try again.

Sabrina was shaking her head wildly in beat of the song and I winced, that’s going to give her a headache. Sierra was doing the Hokey Pokey and fist pumping. I realized that the whole group of teenagers in this room can’t dance.

I looked over at Jonah who had the exact same expression on his face, cringing in pain. I looked back at Weston who was now keeled over in pain. I slowly made my way over to the couch but with no intentions of sitting down.

“Hey,” I smiled as I reached Jonah. He was casually seated on the couch, staring at the dancers. His eyes met mine and he smiled.

“Hello,” he greeted. I reached down and grabbed his hand, yanking him upward. Luckily, he wasn’t expecting that or else he would’ve put up a fight. I pulled him towards the group of people and he stumbled forward. “These people can’t dance.”

“I’ve noticed,” I replied as I bumped my shoulder into his. He stared at me for a moment before bumping his shoulder into mine.

“You’re crazy, you know that?” ne asked me and I nodded.

“Yes, yes I do,” I replied as I bumped his shoulder one last time.

~~~

We were seated on the carpet, talking. The dance party didn’t last long. It took twenty minutes for Weston to get tired of his failures and Georgia to get tired of her arm flailing.

“What’s your middle name?” I asked Georgia and she sighed.

“Rose,” she admitted in a defeated tone.

“Is your dad a dentist?” I asked her and she rolled her eyes at me but smiled. “Why don’t you guys go to our school?”

Weston was casually inch-worming across the carpet while Georgia scrolled on her phone. “We go to school down the street.”

“Which is where we were going to go, but it was full,” Jonah replied and I frowned.

“I wish it had one spot left,” I sighed while Jonah turned to look at Sabrina.

“She wants you to switch to JHS, Sabrina," he said as he looked at her. She snorted before shaking her head.

“I meant you, genius.” I punched his arm and he looked at me.

“We all know you don’t mean that," he stared at me while I nodded my head.

“Oh, but I do,” I told him and he narrowed his eyes.

“What can we do?” Sabrina interrupted our stare-off with her whining.

“We can always play spin the bottle.” Weston suggested.

“You guys are related!” I stared at him as he nodded his head, frowning.

“Don’t blame me, Miss Kill-My-Ideas. I’m just trying to help!” West frowned, causing Jonah to sigh.

“He lacks in brain cells,” Jonah whispered to me and I laughed.

“But my body makes up for it,” Weston winked while I rolled my eyes. “Speaking of my beautiful body, JHS’s football team is playing against your school’s football team when we go back to school.”

“We should all go!” Georgia grinned and I frowned. Shaw is on the football team. I glanced at Jonah and his face mirrored my own.

“We made an enemy, or two, or three who just so happen to be on the football team,” Jonah laughed awkwardly.

“Who?” Weston asked us and I bit my lip.

“Jeffrey Shaw and friends,” I informed him.

“I know him; the guys indestructible,” Weston laughed.

“Didn’t he have a bruise on his face not too long ago? Somebody can take him down," Georgia retorted.

“Yeah, the girl to my right,” Jonah muttered.

“What’s that supposed to mean?” West asked.

“She gave him the bruise; she punched the guy straight in the face with no remorse,” Jonah told West whose eyes were wide.

“Seriously? This pipsqueak punched him?” West asked and I nodded.

“Then how did he become your enemy?” West asked Jonah.

“She shouted at the guy that I said he takes steroids and the next thing you know, we’re in a high speed chase. We ended up in a closet and when he came in, she punched him,” Jonah explained.

As if imagining the scene break out in their minds, the four listeners laughed loudly. Georgia was holding her stomach. I rolled my eyes. “Glad our adventures amuse you.”

“I just wish we could witness some of your hilarity first hand,” Weston chuckled. I smirked.

“I have an idea.”

~~~

“Hello?” Waverly’s voice entered the phone. I had her on speaker and I was planning on pranking her.

“Is this Waverly?” I asked in a nasally voice.

“Yes," she replied.

I made a loud coughing sound. “Where have you been? Your appointment was at 6!” I snapped.

Hopefully, she didn’t catch onto the fact that it’s New Year’s Eve and almost all stores and offices are closed. “What appointment?”

“Your breast implants; it was today!” I explained and Weston placed a fist in his mouth. Jonah was sitting beside me, his arms wrapped around his legs and his head buried in them, shaking with laughter.

“I don’t have breast implants!” Waverly shrieked.

“I know, because you skipped your appointment. Your A cups would have been D’s,” I explained and Sabrina let out a snort of laughter but quickly covered it up.

“What? Who told you my bra size?” she hissed and I bit my tongue to hold back my laughter.

“You did, when you filled out a form at www.ihaveacups.com,” I replied. Georgia covered her face with a pillow and Jonah buried his face in the crook of my neck. I felt shivers run down my spine and I ignored the warmth that spread through my body. I continued focusing on the problem at hand: Waverly’s A cups.

“I’m hanging up!” she snapped.

“Don’t be angry, Flat Stanley. Embrace it,” I retorted before she hung up the phone. We all let out hoots of laughter as we shook on the carpet.

“Maybe we should get to the living room; the ball is about to drop,” Georgia informed and I smirked before nodding.

We all sat down on the couch, the twins beside each other, then Jonah beside them; I was next to Jonah, Georgia was beside me and Weston at the end. It was 11:55 PM and we watched the television anxiously.

When it reached 11:59, they showed all the kissing couples and Weston groaned. “Alright, get on with it!”

Georgia nudged me and winked. I furrowed my eyebrows. What’s that supposed to mean? “Jealous? They’re actually kissing the hot guy that they like.”

Rather than denying it like I should be, I furrowed my eyebrows. “Did you just call your cousin hot?”

~~~

“I’m going to bring Savannah home,” Jonah called out to his cousins as he fetched my sweater. I hung up the phone with my mother and took my party string covered jacket.

I hugged everyone and told them I’d see them soon. Weston convinced me to go to his football game. He asked me to convince Jonah to go and I said I’d try. Georgia continuously dropped hints about my supposed crush on her cousin while the twins acted like civil people and told me they’d see me at school. I exchanged numbers with Georgia and West.

When we got into Jonah’s car, he stared at me for a minute. “What was Georgia telling you on the couch?”

I shrugged, hoping he doesn’t see through my lie. “I don’t remember; it wasn’t important, just some joke about kissing.”

Jonah eyed me for a moment suspiciously before starting the car. “I don’t believe you but if you don’t feel the need to tell me, fine.”

He turned his head away childishly. I rolled my eyes. “Jonah?”

He ignored me and I sighed. “Jonah?”

He continued ignoring me. “If you want to know, ask Georgia when you get back,” I told him and he looked at me.

“She’ll tell me?” he asked and I shrugged.

“I don’t see why not.”

~~~

When Jonah came to a stop at my house, I unbuckled my seatbelt, not yet ready for the night to end. “I had a really fun time.”

“Yeah, I did, too, Betty Crocker,” Jonah grinned and I rolled my eyes but couldn’t fight the smile that reached my face.

I got out of the car but looked into the rolled down window. “Let me know that you got home safely.”

He nodded. “I will.”

He waited until I was inside until he drove off, which I found adorable although almost every guy does it. The first words I heard when I got into the house were unfortunately my brother's. “Did you kiss him?”

I just rolled my eyes and shook my head. But I was sure of one thing, I really wanted to.