The Teenage Guide To Popularity [COMPLETE]

Chapter 8: Teenage Dream,

He was like something out of a fairy tale, like Prince Charming. When she was a little girl, she had a funny little crush on Prince Charming, so it all fit together quite perfectly now. Her six-year-old self would completely approve.

The only thing keeping her from falling into a fictional Prince daze was the fact that she had no idea what to say to him. Normally, Carter had no problem coming up with interesting topics to discuss. When awkward silences filled the conversation, Carter liked to crack a joke, but she didn't know what Aiden found funny. Her sense of humour was a little dry, a little random, and it didn't sit too well with some people. She didn't want to risk offending him. So she kept quiet. 

He would look at her once in a while, give her a smile, and then return his attention to the road. 

"So, does Elena throw a party every weekend?" Carter asked, desperate for something to talk about. 

"Yeah. Girl's parents are loaded, and never home. Wish my parents would leave the house."

Carter was about to comment on how sad it was to have parents that didn't care enough to be around, but decided against it. Most teenagers didn't like their parents, wanted them to leave, to never try to connect on any level. In Carter's case, she loved and respected her parents. She enjoyed spending time with them, holding political debates with them, discussing religion and art and history. Her father was a well-educated, worldly man who would tell her stories about the many cultures and places he had visited before he married. Her mother was a strong, highly opinionated woman who had always taught Carter to be independent and courageous.

Aiden didn't need to know this. Popularity was a many-layered thing, and one of the layers consisted of a coolness Carter didn't really have. So she had to fake it. Even though it pained her to lie about her parents, she had to change the story around. Remember, go with the flow.

"Yeah, mine too," she said. "They won't leave me alone."

"Your parents nag you too? My dad's been on my case lately. He's pushing me to go work for him."

Aiden's father owned a massive sporting goods store. Everyone in Newton knew the family. They were well-liked and contributed a lot to the town's local charities and developmental projects. Carter had met Aiden's father once, at a park picnic, and he had seemed very nice. 

"And you don't want to? Does he want you to take over the business in a few years?"

"Right. How'd you know?"

The truth was, Carter watched a lot of movies. It was the usual teen flick cliché with guys and their fathers. The father wanted the son to work for him and eventually take over the company, or to go to the college he had attended as a young man. The son wanted to travel the world, or go to a different college. It usually ended with the dad insisting that the son was giving up his dreams, and the son insisting that the dreams were the dad's and not his.  "Lucky guess."

"Oh yeah? You're not psychic, are you?" He was joking. He smiled again, and it made Carter blush like crazy. She turned and faced the passenger window. 

"Hmm, maybe."

"What am I thinking right now?"

"You're thinking... how much... you love your car?" 

"So you're not psychic," he said, laughing.

"That's not what you were thinking?"

"No. I was thinking... how awesome it is that you're here with me."

"That would've been my next guess."

Aiden laughed again, and as corny as it was, Carter's heart skipped a beat at the sound of it.