"What are you doing?" Jeremiah asks.
I've been sitting next to him on his bed, criss-cross-applesauce for the past five minutes. Just poking his cheek rhythmically.
I pull my hand away and shrug, "I don't know. Steven said I'm supposed to keep you company." I admit.
He laughs, "What?"
"This is hard." I whine.
"What is?" He says with a big grin.
I furrow my eyebrows and look at the wall in thought.
"What time is it?" I ask.
"1:26." He answers.
2:00 can't come fast enough. I need Shayla.
I poke his cheek again, but he jumps away.
"What are you doing?" He grabs onto my shoulders and looks me dead in the eye.
I frown and walk out of the room, over to Steven's.
"Your advice is bull crap." I say calmly.
"Huh?" He looks up from his lego tower.
"I tried keeping him company." I say, "Didn't work."
"How does keeping someone company not work?" He asks.
I purse my lips and stay silent.
"I'm gonna go get ready to see Shayla." I announce and walk out of his room, leaving a now confused Steven alone.
***
(your outfit, but you're free to imagine your own)
***
"Shayla, thank God." I flop into her arms.
She laughs, "What's up?"
I pout and sit down properly. We're sitting on benches at the boardwalk, by one of the local shops.
"How to boyfriend?" I say.
"What?" She laughs.
"How do I and boyfriend? How do I boyfriend? Boyfriend how? What?" I'm confusing myself at this point.
"Slow down, real English please." She teases.
"So, I have a boyfriend now. How do I do it?" I explain.
"How do you go about being a girlfriend?" She asks.
"Yes!" I point a finger at her happily.
"Well what are you struggling with?" She asks.
"Um, all of it, whatever it is?" I say.
"So the lucky man is...?" She trails off.
"Jeremiah." I say shyly.
"Awe, I knew it!" she smiles. "Okay, and how do you feel around him? I want to get an idea of the relationship at hand."
"Uhm, I mean, I still feel like I have a hopeless crush, you know?" I say.
"Mhm, and how often do you guys see each other?"
"We live under the same roof." I say.
"Right. What about dates? How often do you go on them? How often do you want to be going on them?" She asks.
"You go on dates AFTER you get the boyfriend?" I ask shocked, "I thought that's just how to GET a boyfriend!"
She laughs, "Oh, boy. You're worse than I thought."
"Help." I whine.
***
Shayla has been talking to me for two hours out here and we're not getting any closer to helping me. How do I know that you ask?
"We're making no progress." Shayla says.
I groan.
"What if you just told Jeremiah how you are feeling? About how you aren't sure how to go about all of this?" She suggests.
"EW! TELL HIM ABOUT MY FEELINGS?!" I question.
"Sorry," I say quietly. "Knee-jerk reaction.."