𝒃𝒆𝒕𝒕𝒆𝒓 𝒕𝒐𝒈𝒆𝒕𝒉𝒆𝒓

chapter 16

for the following day, we were given a break for the few days of hard practices. i was getting ready for the unexpected day ahead of me.

after finishing all of my school work around one in the afternoon. i decided to head down to the lobby and make my way around downtown l.a.

though just as i was about to step out into the fresh air, my hand was pulled back by someone. "well, where do you think you're headed without me?"

i playfully rolled my eyes and the boy who stood taller than me. he wrapped his arm around my shoulder and we both went walking into the busy streets together.

"first we are finding somewhere to eat. i am starving." dean nodded his head at me. while walking around, we each just enjoyed the scenery around us and each other's company.

dean had let his arm dangle at his side. every now and then his hand would brush up against mine, causing my stomach to do a hundred flips a second.

after walking around for about twenty minutes, we found a sandwich shop. dean held the door open for me as i stepped inside. the smell of fresh bread filled my nose.

"welcome! you can sit wherever you'd like and we'll be with you in a few minutes," a woman commented as she skated by on rollerblades past me.

we found a booth in the back and took a seat. dean was inspecting his surroundings and then faced back to me. "now you see, if that was me on the rollerblades, i would make the biggest fool of myself."

i laughed aloud at his words. "and i'd have to laugh at you." he scoffed at my response. "wow, so you're telling me that you'd be so much better?"

i tapped my chin jokingly. "more than likely, yes." dean rolled his eyes at my words. i chuckled quietly at his actions before a boy came to a stop at our table.

"what drinks would you guys like?" he kindly asked. "a water with lemon in it will be good for me," i told him. "i'll just take a plain water. please and thank you," dean said towards the boy.

he quickly jotted it down on his notepad and skated away. i turned my attention back to dean to see he was already staring at me. a small blush arose onto my face.

in the matter of minutes, the boy was back with our drinks. "water with a lemon for the pretty lady," he said as he set it down in front of me.

"and a plain water for you." he then set the water down in front of dean. though he was glaring right at the boy. i swear, if looks could kill, the waiter would have dropped dead.

"i'll give you guys a few minutes to figure out what you'd like to order." i sent a small nod towards him and the he was off. i looked back towards dean who couldn't get his eyes off the kid.

"uhh dean? are you just that fascinated by his looks?" but when dean didn't laugh or comment anything back, i was quite surprised. i waved my hand in front of his face.

he then locked eyes with me and his expression seemed to have softened. "what's the matter?" i questioned as i took a small sip of my water.

he shook his head. "ah nothing, i just thought that he uhh, had a huge bug in his hair." i slowly nodded my head at his words.

but i knew what was wrong with him. he was jealous. the boy, who was only a year or two older, had called me pretty and dean couldn't exactly shake that off.

we were in the little diner for about another hour, enjoying our food. dean had thoughtfully paid for the lunch and then he was dragging me by my hand to another store.

he said, "i swear you'll love it. it has all these band tees, cd's, even some vinyl's." i chuckled at his words.

even though we knew each other for a short amount of time, he knew quite a lot about me. i made a mental note i needed to call honesty and katie to see their opinion on this situation.

after a few minutes of walking past restaurants, candy stores, clothing stores, jewelry shops, and all of the above, we arrived. even before we stepped inside my mouth dropped open in awe.

dean still had his hand interlocked with mine as he pulled me into the store. i immediately let go of his hand and ran to the back by the cd's. i was flipping through any i could get my hands on.

"oh my gosh they have bell biv devoe, tlc, and even diana ross! i don't think i'll ever see anything like it again. gosh, i feel like i'm gonna pass out." dean was chuckling behind me.

"oh princess, this is just the beginning of our day."