"Hey, mum," I dragged out as we both sat on the couch in the living room. We had on the first Rocky movie and we were watching it intently.
My mother sighed before grabbing the remote and pausing the show. "What do you want?" She turns to me expectantly.
I sent her an overly sweet smile. "Right down to business, I like it," I start while her face remains unchanged. "Do you think I can go to New York later?"
She just stared at me for a minute before bursting out in laughter. "I'm sorry, I thought you said that you wanted to go to New York, today." She says in between laughs.
"That is what I said," I tell her calmly.
She scoffs at me. "No." She reaches for the remote but I grab it before she can. "Hey!"
"Please," I beg my mum. "There's a concert and they have a great line up."
"I am not gonna let you go all the way to New York alone."
"Mum," I drag out with a frown. "Please, this is the only chance I got."
She rolled her eyes at me. "Don't be so dramatic, I'm sure they'll play another show."
Before I knew what was happening I sprouted one of what was probably the worst lies ever. "I'm going with Tristan."
"Isn't he in military school?" She asked suspiciously. My mum -for some strange reason- is quite alright with Tristan. Probably cause he never crashed a car with me in it.
"Yeah, but he's on a break for the summer." I lied, man was I good at that. "He wanted to hang out. That's why this is the only chance we'll get."
"He wanted to hang out? In New York?" She repeats. "I don't know, it's so far and we don't know anyone there."
"Tristan has an aunt who lives there, they're really close." I try convincing her. "She's a doctor," I was just pure bullshitting now.
She shakes her head with a sigh. "What time do you have to leave?"
I couldn't believe it, she had actually let me go. "Thank you!" I exclaimed before engulfing her in a hug. "We'll have to be there by seven, so we'll need to leave a few hours earlier."
"Alright, I'll drive you guys." She says as I felt the grin drop off my face.
I wave her suggestion away with my hand. "You don't have to, we already got the tickets for the bus."
She raised an eyebrow at me. "You sure?"
"Positive," I began. "He's taking the bus from Hartford and I'll meet him there."
"Alright, just make sure you tell me before you leave." She gives in as she unpauses the tv. "If I get a note saying 'Went to New York, bye!' I'll ground you till you're fifty."
~~~
When four o'clock came around I was looking in the mirror to make sure I looked decent enough to be seen in New York.
Since it was summer, sweaters and jackets were a big no. So I had settled for a plain white shirt with a pair of dark jeans. I checked my pockets to ensure that I had some spare change and my book. I doubted I'd need the latter but you can never be too prepared.
I heard some noise from outside my window and headed over to open it. I peered out the window to see Jess standing down there with his hands in his pockets. He looked up and gave me a small wave.
"Should I come up?" I heard him ask faintly.
I shake my head as a response. "Just wait there."
I closed back the window and looked over my room to make sure it was left in a clean state. I closed my room door behind me and headed down the stairs.
My mum sat at the small kitchen table with a plate of pancakes in front of her. She was wearing the same sweats from before along with a baggy t-shirt. When she noticed me come down the stairs she looked up.
"Going already?"
"Yup," I say nervously, not wanting her to pry any more. "I'll be back pretty late so don't wait up, I've got the key."
My mum nods her head, causing a few strands of brown hair to fall into her eyes. I walk over to her and give her a small hug from behind. "There's some money by the phone," she tells me with a small smile.
"Thank you," I thank with a kiss to the cheek. "Bye."
"Bye, kid," she says as I pick up the dollar bills from its place under the phone stand and head out the door.
I look around for Jess as I hear the door close behind me. He seemed to be really good at hiding. I walked around the house for a while, stopping under my window to make sure that he hadn't climbed up.
"Hey," I hear him say from behind me, making me jump.
I spun around to see him standing there with a small smirk on his face. He was wearing the same outfit he had from just now.
Giving him a small smile, I reach up and press a soft kiss to his cheek. I didn't have to worry much about people seeing, since our backyard was surrounded by trees.
"You ready to go?" He asked as I nodded and we both made our way to the bus stop.
Once we got nestled into our seats on the bus, Jess put his arm around my shoulder. I got the window seat while Jess got the aisle. We both knew the window seat was my favourite. There was no one on the bus that either one of us recognised so we didn't need to worry about how we acted around each other.
"How did you get your mum to let you go all the way out to New York?" He asked as the bus started to move.
I played with his fingers that hanged of my shoulders. "I may have told her a little white lie."
He looked down at me with a curious grin. "And how little is this white lie?"
"Well," I begin nonchalantly, "She thinks that I went out with a friend." Knowing that Jess had a slight problem with Tristan, I didn't wanna mention him.
"Which friend?"
There it goes. "Tristan," I began as I watched his reaction.
Jess just groaned. "That douche?" He says exasperatedly. "Your mum is fine with you going to New York with that guy." If I didn't know him any better I would say he was mad. But I did know him better.
"Are you jealous?" I teased with a cocky grin.
He sticks his tongue out at me childishly. "Me? Jealous of that guy? No way." As he squirmed in his seat slightly I let out a laugh.
"You are so jealous," I continue on as a faint tint of red appears on his cheeks.
I felt him bury his face into my neck. "Shut up," I felt him mumble. When he lifts his face back up for me to see he had on a small pout. "I'm being bullied."
I kiss his pout away and felt him smile into the kiss. "You know you have nothing to worry about," I reassured one I pulled away.
"Glad to hear it," he says as I lean my head against his shoulder.
~~~
"I cannot believe you just said that!" Jess exclaims as the two of us walk the busy streets of New York.
I laugh as I swing our interlocked hands back and forth. "It's true, Indiana Jones would definitely have lost to James Bond."
"First off," Jess begins, "It wouldn't be a fair fight, cause Indiana Jones doesn't have a gun."
"Even if he did, he would've lost."
"It's still not fair," he says as we weave in between people on the streets as we make our way to the concert venue. "They're not even in the same category."
"Well then, who would be in the same category as James Bond?"
Jess thinks for a moment before responding. "Batman."
I groan at the mention of the superhero. "Don't get me started on that guy." My eyes were dragged towards a food stand that soon closer inspection, sold bagels and coffee. "Jess," I tugged on his hand excitedly as I dragged him over to the stand. "Do we have time?"
He checked his watch as we stood in line behind a small family of three. "We got half an hour to get there, so yeah."
When it was our turn to order, we each got a coffee while I got a bagel. I need to remember to add bagels on my list of reasons to move to New York. They are a whole other level of delicious. We got our food and headed back into the direction of the venue.
Jess held both of our coffee cups, making it easier for me to eat my bagel. Neither of us spoke as we finished off our food. That was one thing I liked about Jess. It was like we never ran out of thing to talk to, but on the rare occasion that we do, the silence didn't bother us at all.
"You ready?" He asked as we stood in front of the hall where the concert was gonna be held. People were coming in and out of the big doors, talking away loudly. The place got more crowded as more time passed by. We threw our empty coffee cups in the bin by the street.
"I'm ready," I agreed before we headed inside.
~~~
As we excited the concert, I could still hear the beat of the drums ringing in my ear along with the adrenaline coursing through me.
"This is the best night of my life!" I tell Jess, not realising that I was shouting. "I think I even saw Mark Hoppus smile at me!"
"Cassie, you are yelling." He says with a slight laugh. "And I doubt that he did."
The summer night was cooler than the day time. The lights from the many buildings lighting up the sky as Jess and I made our way down the streets. It was as if everyone in New York City were night owls. There was ten times the people on the streets at night then there was during the day.
"You scared about the competition?" I asked with a grin. "Also, I think I may have burst an eardrum," I half-joke as Jess wrapped his arm around my waist.
He casts me a small frown. "Well then who will help me make fun of Taylor at those whacky town meetings?"
"I'm sure Luke will help you out," I began as the ringing in my ears ceased. "Alright, hearing back to normal."
"That's good," Jess starts, "Now we can have dinner without you shouting at the waiter."
I never did peg Jess as the 'take you out to dinner' type. But I liked this side of him. The sweet and caring side that people rarely got to see. The side of him that asked me throughout the concert whether I could see and offer to put me up on his shoulders. I was more than glad to be able to see him like this.
"Are we gonna go to one of those fancy restaurants with the red napkins?" I inquired. "Cause I know for a fact that neither of us can afford it."
"We're not gonna go there," he says. "Unless you want to. Cause if you do we can go."
I smile at his sweet offer. "Thanks, but no. I'm sure I'll love wherever we're going."
"That's good, cause we're here." We stopped in front of a restaurant that had a sign of Mickey Mouse in red and green neon lights. The big windows gave a clear view of the tables and chairs that were almost all occupied inside the restaurant.
"Welcome to Mickey's Pizza," Jess told me with grin.
My insides swell at fact that he had brought me to one of my favourite pizza parlours. I think I probably mentioned it to him only once. "You really know me," I tell him before grabbing his hand and opening the doors to the restaurant.