March 6th, 1984

Jeena was at my side getting off of the bus when we got to the theater. Inside was almost empty, as I assumed most people had left from the last performances that had just ended.

"How long did she say this was?" Jeena asked me. We were the only ones who brought our own snacks since our pantry was always full.

"I think she said ninety minutes," I replied.

"Uh, in hours too please." Jeena frowned.

"It's really not that hard to figure out. And anyway, it's an hour and a half." We started following the class to the room where Macbeth was playing. We got to choose our own seats, so Jeena and I chose spots that were nowhere near the rest of the class. Although, Miss Smith sat with us, which we didn't mind at all.

"So Jeena, how are things with Andrew going?" Miss Smith asked, taking a bite of a candy bar she brought.

"Fantastic!" She smiled. "Just ask DJ, she'll tell you all about it."

I groaned. "I start hoping that you'll move out soon."

"I'm not leaving until I know for sure you're safe." She threw a piece of popcorn at me.

Miss Smith's face changed. "What do you mean until you know she's safe?"

"Well." I sat up a little more in the seat I was in. "She's worried my foster family may come back and try to kidnap me or something. And honestly, I wouldn't be surprised if they're thinking about it."

"I'm waiting for you to get a good boyfriend who will protect you until the end." Jeena was very serious when we talked about this. Which, is why I don't bring it up much, since it was weird seeing her in such a state.

"I'm sure that person is going to be George." Miss Smith whispered as the lights dimmed.

"Yeah, he's a good guy from what I've already seen from him," I said, smiling at myself

Honestly? I didn't want to watch this. But it was better than being shoved down by a bunch of work.

Miss Smith was nice enough to have the bus driver drop us off at our houses since we already had our bags. Nothing important was left in our lockers.

When we got inside, I hung up my coat and checked my phone for any voicemails. In fact, I have one. I picked up the phone and played it.

"Hey, DJ. It's George. I was wondering if you wanted to um, go out tonight? Unless of course, you're busy? I know you might have homework to catch up on, so It's okay if you can't go tonight. Maybe another time."

I laughed hearing the nervousness in his voice. I called him back, and to my surprise, he answered almost immediately. "Hello."

"Were you staring at your phone?" I asked, smiling.

"No. You just so happened to call me... as soon as I left the voicemail." I couldn't tell if he was telling the truth or not, but either way, I could tell he was still nervous.

"Yes George, I'd love to go out with you."

"Awesome!" he sounded so genuinely excited, it made my heart beat just that little bit faster. "Any preferences?"

"I want you to surprise me. I really like Italian food, though." I sat on my bed and bit my lip with excitement.

"Noted. Okay, be ready at say, six-thirty?" I heard keys jingle on the other end.

"Sure, but where are you going now?" I asked.

"Exploring." He said in a sing-song voice.

"Have fun with that, bye." I hung up the phone and sighed.

I walked into the hallway and to the kitchen to get a snack, to find that we needed to go food shopping.

"Jeen', we need to go to the food store, do you wanna come with?" I called,

"Sorry, I can't I'm on the phone with Andy." She said, seeming out of breath.

"Man if you're that desperate then just have him come over and take care of you here," I said quietly to myself.

I got out of that place as fast as I could and soon was driving to the food store.

I didn't have a list, but it seemed to go in a pattern whenever things went missing. If there was cheese by the end of the week, then we had no bread. If we had enough ice cream sandwiches, then the turkey hill ice cream was gone.

The same goes if it was the other way around.

I went around pretty smoothly, and I was about to turn my cart around so I could go to the checkout when my eyes began deceiving me.

I think.

I could have sworn, that I saw George. Same height to this person, hair...

I rubbed my eyes, and he vanished.

Gee, maybe I'm also impatient.

When I put my bags into the trunk of the car, I turned on the radio just to get rid of the silence.

Then I couldn't help but wonder what to wear.

Jeena helped me, as If I didn't know what I was doing. I made sure my hair looked big but pretty. She insisted on giving me at least a little makeup, but I refused.

Up until she showed me a chapstick, flavored salted Carmel. I figured it would actually taste horrible, but honestly, it was really good. I could've eaten it.

"He won't be able to get enough of your lips once he knows what you have on, I guarantee it." She winked.

"That would be nice, I suppose I'll bring it with me." I took it from her hands and put it in the pocket of my dress. "I don't wanna wear this, though."

"Why? You really look sexy in it." She complimented.

"Whatever, I'll go downstairs and see if he's here yet," I said.

She wished me luck and I went for the door.

When I got downstairs, there was a limousine outside.

"Are you DJ Collymore?" A man startled me. A classic bodyguard. Tall, strong, suit, glasses.

"Yes, I am," I said.

"George sent us to come to get you. Please, step inside."

He was very polite, and I was excited to see what the inside of a limo looked like. I had never been in one before.

Mainly because I had never had the money.

Actually, no. Mainly because I was never treated like a princess.

I felt the vehicle come to a stop a while later, and the door opened.

I saw a hotel in front of me, which looked very very fancy. I didn't even know Pennsylvania had such a beautiful place to stay.

I thanked the driver whose window was down and saw one of the large men come to my side. I guess it was still his job to escort me up. We went inside and saw a lot more men and women than I expected to be staying here.

"Do you know what he's doing?" I asked, careful not to say his name in front of people.

"I was told not to speak of the situation with you." He smiled at me.

I raised an eyebrow. "Interesting, Mister..."

"Collins. Manny Collins." He announced.

"Well Manny, you are very good at keeping a secret." I teased.

"Thank you." When we got off of the elevator which took us to the top floor, he pulled out a key and unlocked a door that had room number 803 on a plaque.

I was greeted by smells that made my mouth water. "Hello?"

The inside was gorgeous. The furniture looked so comfortable I could fall asleep right as I hit the couch. The curtains were closed which I thought was weird since the sun was still up. However, the goldish light from the ceiling made everything so cozy. A fireplace was in the corner. I didn't even know hotels could have a fireplace.

"DJ?" I heard George's sweet accented voice from somewhere. My head turned, although It was a delayed reaction. I couldn't stop looking around.

"Any place I tried were either booked or didn't have good food. I hope you don't mind that I decided to have us eat here." George seemed more anxious than ever. It was honestly so cute to see how much work he put into this.

"George, this is so nice of you." I smiled, walking up to him and kissing his cheek. I didn't want him to get a taste of my lips yet. But even after I ate, I would have to apply it again.

He took my hand and walked me down a hallway until I saw a dining room with food set on the table.

"Did you make all of this?" I asked.

"Well, I made some of it. My mother came to visit and I thought she could help too. She's very good at cooking." He said. His cheeks were just slightly pink, which just made him so much more irresistible to attack with a kiss.

I sat down in the seat that was across from him. The first portions were already poured out and still steaming, making my stomach scream on the inside saying, feed me!

"Crap," He said under his breath. "I'm sorry, DJ. I forgot something."

"It's no big deal," I said.

He got up and went back out into the hallway to the kitchen. I was starving, so I snuck a bite of pasta, which was heavenly.

"He did all of it, you know." A voice said from behind me.

I turned my head. "Andy?"

He smiled and walked up to me. "I'm heading over to your place. Jeena asked for me to come over."

"Yeah, sure sounded like you were already there," I admitted.

He laughed. "I think she likes me."

"She really does. I love seeing her happy." I said. "Now, explain fast what you meant by, 'he did all of it' because I don't understand."

Andrew patted my shoulder. "He doesn't want you to think he's trying too hard. His mom is still back home in England. He also doesn't want you thinking he's trying to be cocky. George spent hours working on this."

"Really?" I asked.

"Yeah. If something didn't taste right, he got frustrated and started over. I had to calm him down a few times and tell him you were going to love it no matter what. He's been that determined to impress you."

My eyes almost started to tear up, but I took a sip of water to flush down the lump that was slowly growing in my throat. "That's really sweet."

"Alright, maybe I'll see you later?" He asked.

"Sure," I said.

He went out a door that was in this room, which I questioned where that would even lead to. George came back a few seconds later with a candle in his hand and dimmed the lights.

"You are treating me very well," I said.

"Is that shocking?" He asked.

"No, I've just never felt so special," I said.

"I'm glad you feel that way." he held up his glass to clink with mine.

When dinner plus dessert was finished, I felt not full, but satisfied. I was a good feeling like I knew I didn't stuff myself too much.

"Was it good?" He asked.

"Are you kidding? It was some of the best food I've had in a long time!" I smiled. I checked my watch, which showed that it was almost eight-fifteen.

"Do you have to leave?" George asked, standing up and walking over to me.

"Not at all," I said, smiling. "I have time."

"Well, this place has a tv in the bedroom. Care to watch a movie with me?"

"I'd love to," I said.

I followed him to the bedroom he spoke of and sat down.

"I'll be right back." He said.

George tossed me the remote and I turned on the tv. A screen popped up showing the play screen for the movie Sophie's Choice. I had never watched it, but I knew it was rated R, not that it mattered.

George came back and laid down next to me. "Have you seen it?"

"Nope. Seems like a tragic love story from the thumbnail." I said.

He laughed, and I laid my head on his chest. George took the remote and selected play.

When the movie was over, I was almost asleep. George had to shake me to get me to respond. "DJ, honey, it's past ten. Don't you have to go home? Tomorrow is a school day."

"No, I don't wanna leave. I turned away and snuck the chapstick out, lathering a good amount on. I put it back in my pocket and looked back at him. His face was close enough, so he kissed me. To make sure he could really taste it, I pulled his face closer to mine.

After a few seconds, he pulled away, almost panting with pleasure. "What is that?"

"What is what?" I asked, acting like I didn't know what he was talking about.

"That... that stuff that's on your lips." He kissed me again to get another good taste of it.

"Oh, nothing special," I said when he pulled back again. "Just a salted caramel chapstick."

He huffed out some air. "That stuff is good." Just looking at his impatient face was turning me on a little. "Kiss me again."

I really went for it this time. I yanked the collar of his sweater, pulling him abruptly toward me.

Minutes go by, and I really could tell he was hungry for more. But I decided to be evil, and pull away early. "I should get home, you're right."

His face was tense with irritation. I could tell it was hard to push out the words he said next. "Alright. Do you want me to call the guys again to drive you home?"

"No. I'll get a taxi. They have those downstairs. After all, this is a hotel." I didn't even give him one last kiss before getting up and walking out into the hallway.

I put my shoes back on and hugged him goodbye. "What's wrong?" I asked, once again pretending as if I didn't know the problem.

"Nothing... nothing." He said, still tense and impatient.

"Okay. Well, thank you for dinner. I really enjoyed tonight. I'll be sure to return the favor and take you out sometime."

"Okay." His mood still didn't change, but he did smile lightly.

When I got back down to the lobby, I saw Andrew walking in as well. "Hey, Andy! You're back earlier than I expected."

"Yeah, I remembered you were both still in school so I convinced Jeena to get some sleep." He smiled.

"I'm sure she wasn't too fond of that." I laughed.

"Hey," he said before I could walk away. "Do you need a ride home? I could drive you."

"That would be great, actually. Thank you." I said.

"Anything for my girlfriend's best friend." He winked.

While we were driving, it was very quiet. But I had a lot of time to think. "So you learned to drive on the right side?"

He laughed. "George and I both did. We figured since we're touring, then it would be convenient to know how to drive in America."

Then, it was quiet once more. But when we got back to my apartment complex, crickets were heard.

"Thank you, again," I said, then closed the door. The window was rolled down, so I decided to say one last thing. "Be prepared to go back to a moody George. I kind of left him impatient and horny."

He smiled. "I'll be ready."

I waved off to his car and entered the building.

Walking into the apartment was quiet, which of course meant that Jeena was sleeping for once.

I got into bed and fell asleep soon enough.