"Damn, Tina! Now I got a story to tell on our wedding day! You think that's not gonna happen, but I'll getcha, girl. I'm gon' getcha!" -Zeke, "Midday Run"
i.
It's around snack time when she makes her way over to Zeke and Jimmy Jr, adjusting her glasses and eyeing them up and down, like they're a pair of paintings in an art museum.
Zeke and Jimmy Jr. are a package deal and have been since first grade when they inexplicably attached themselves to each other. It's uncommon to see them separate from one another, almost like they're conjoined at the hip. When they were put in different third grade classes, their parents called up the school to complain. Even the school administrator couldn't tear them apart.
The girl lets her arms fall to her sides and says, "I'm going to inevitably fall in love with one of you." She pauses. "And I pick Jimmy Jr."
Zeke's hungry, so he's not really paying attention, but Jimmy Jr's eyebrows immediately shoot up and he exclaims, "I'm sorry, but-who are you?"
She's unfazed, despite Jimmy's obvious brashness. It wasn't intentional, but it still was enough to cause a dent in her, especially if she was unfamiliar with Jimmy. "Tina," she says calmly. "I've...been in your class all year. I mean, it's February. But I'm easy to pass up."
Zeke wraps his arm around Jimmy's shoulder and pulls him against his side. "Relax, J-Ju, she thinks you're cute." He positions his hand against his mouth, so Tina can't hear him. "Though judgin' against me, I don't see how, I mean-"
"Zeke!" Jimmy screeches and pushes Zeke away, an almost horrified look glazed on his face.
"I'm just messin' with 'ya." He gives Jimmy Jr. a playful shove, which causes him to give an uneasy laugh. Zeke calls it even. "Now c'mon! It's snack time. Maybe you and Tina here can share a bowl of Cap'n Crunch, hold hands and stuff."
Tina and Jimmy exchange wary glances before nodding and following behind Zeke, who was already plowing through the other third-graders. Zeke stands on his toes to see over the heads of the other kids in line while Tina and Jimmy begin mumbling to each other.
"What y'all talkin' about?" Zeke interrupts. Jimmy opens his mouth to answer, but Zeke cuts him off, "I'm sorry. I'm jus' hungry. Get cranky when I'm hungry." He turns back around, shaking his head.
"My mom gets cranky when she's hungry, too," Tina supplies.
"You two jus' continue on with your date," Zeke brushes off.
"This isn't a date, Zeke. We're just at school," Jimmy mutters.
"Ouch," Tina mumbles.
Zeke scoffs. "Sure, that's wha' you'll tell your grandkids."
Tina walks home with them after school that day. She stumbles behind them like a lost dog, trying to engage in conversation with Jimmy. Every once in awhile Jimmy will acknowledge a "Yeah" or a "That's nice, Tina," to her.
"Zeke, do you wanna come over to my house?" Jimmy asks.
"Why? So I can beat your ass?" He punches Jimmy in the arm before pulling him into a headlock. Their shoes scuff the concrete as they pull off the sidewalk into a gravel patch.
Jimmy laughs as Zeke pins him down with his elbow, which is digging into his back. "Zeke, stop! You're hurting me." He rolls away and hits into a dumpster.
Tina still stands on the sidewalk, clutching her notebook against her chest. Zeke can't tell if she's taken aback with confusion or fascination.
"Hey, T-Bird!" Zeke calls to her. He points to a corner between two brick walls. "J-Ju once peed over there 'cause he couldn't hold it in any longer!"
"Zeke!" Jimmy crows, nursing a wound on his elbow.
"Sorry, J-Ju, it's jus' too damn funny."
Zeke notices a bloody gash on his knee. He winces as he rolls his pants down over it while Tina rushes over to Jimmy.
"Jimmy Jr, are you okay?" she inquires, already grabbing his arm.
He jerks his arm back, grimacing against the pain. "I'm fine, Tina," he insists.
"I should help you walk home," she decides. Even though he can walk fine.
Zeke limps behind Tina and Jimmy.. Tina keeps a steady hand on Jimmy's back and talks to him the whole way, about her siblings, about her math homework.
"To distract him from the pain," she'd explained.
The pain in his knee starts to subside as they reach Jimmy's place. It wasn't until that exact moment that Tina and Jimmy realized they were neighbors.
"Your last name's Pesto...that makes sense. I just thought it was a common last name," Tina thinks aloud.
Their parents were enemies and so they didn't see much of each other, both warned against the dangers of the other. They wave Tina off and she makes her way across the street. Her dark hair swishes right below her ears, her high tops kicking up in a half-awkward run. Jimmy's already turned away and waits for Zeke as he collects himself. Zeke doesn't know the word for it, but he finds it strange that she chose to fall in love with someone she was destined to hate. And how she directed her hatred towards Zeke instead. He buries the idea and follows Jimmy Jr. inside the restaurant.
ii.
Zeke keeps his distance. As much as he can before Tina's Zeke-radar goes off. But she's smart, so she just ignores him most of the time.
"Jimmy Jr," she greets them, and then, in a threatening tone, "Zeke."
He knows her tone probably means something along the lines of "Leave Jimmy Jr. and I alone," but Zeke was never that good at following directions.
"W'asup, T?" he practically shouts. "We're up with the big boys now! Sixth grade!"
They were, technically, in middle school. But the way their school district worked, they were still in the same school building as a bunch of eight-year-olds. It just gave them a little seniority, but not much.
"Yeah!" Jimmy supports him enthusiastically, pumping his fist in the air.
A few older kids pass by them, sharing unsure glances to one another.
Zeke lowers his voice and turns slightly towards Jimmy. "Cool it, J-Ju. So what'chu need, T?"
"I just came over to ask Jimmy Jr.-" she tilts her head forward, but Zeke is oblivious "-if he wanted to come over after school today. To my dad's restaurant. To eat burgers and stuff, I don't know."
She stumbles over her words, only just growing into her confidence. Her eyes shift away and back, testing out some form of eye contact.
"Um, no thanks, Tina. Zeke and I were going to go down to the Wharf today," he says.
"We were?" Zeke asks, surprised.
"Zeke," Jimmy scolds him.
But Tina ignores the blatant excuse. "Oh, that's fine. I'll just join you guys."
She doesn't even ask, just immediately decides that she's going to join them. Zeke takes a step back.
Jimmy sighs. "Tina-"
"Woah, girl! Alright. Have you ever been on the Scream-I-Cane? Think you can handle it?" Zeke inquires.
Tina only stands up straighter. She's probably adjusting herself so that she doesn't have to even look at Zeke, but it seems like she's challenging him in a way. And Zeke loves a good challenge.
By the end of the night, Zeke starts to realize he's more into the challenge than Tina is. The only challenge Tina's accepted is trying to sit next to Jimmy on every ride. Jimmy eventually gives in on the ferris wheel. Zeke rides by himself, entertained only by the squeaking of the cart as it swings and their words above him. He hears Tina talking to him and only Jimmy's short responses. Eventually, they quiet down and Zeke swears they're kissing or looking into each other's eyes or something. But when they get off, he's proven wrong.
Jimmy pushes himself through the crowd. When Zeke finally catches up to him, he sees how pale he is. "Go away, Zeke. I need to go home."
Zeke tries to grab onto his arm, but his legs are a lot shorter than Jimmy's, so he manages to get away. "C'mon, J-Ju. It wasn't that bad."
Jimmy stops and turns around. Zeke walks towards him, but stops as Jimmy bends over and empties his stomach on the boardwalk. He stands back up and swipes his mouth with his forearm. "I think it was the funnel cake."
Zeke stares at the pile of vomit. "Yeah and a whole lotta other stuff. Damn, J-Ju, you were fine on the Scream-I-Cane!"
Jimmy just stares blankly at him, his face a faint green. But it's probably just from the lights on the ferris wheel. Tina waddles up behind him, and Zeke notices her skirt is sporting a dripping stain across the front.
"Damn, Tina! You too?"
Even though his face was stark white a second ago, a shade of red creeps up on Jimmy's ears. "That was me." He looks around, noticing that they've started to draw a crowd. His discomfort is obvious. In all the years that Zeke has known him, nothing gets Jimmy like embarrassing himself. "I told you-I have to go." And then he turns around and sprints away from them.
A few people from the crowd offer to help, but Zeke waves them off as he hustles Tina past them. Tina's shoulders slump as they pass a group of teenagers, who just have to stare at the brownish stain on her denim skirt.
"Nothing to see here!" Zeke calls. "Don't act like you've never thrown up before!"
Surprisingly, it causes more people to stare. Tina groans quietly, crossing her arms over her chest.
As soon as they're out of earshot, outside of the Wharf, Tina breaks down.
"I can't believe I was so stupid! It was so bad that Jimmy Jr. threw up all over me! I can't believe I even thought it was a good idea. He'll never look at me the same and we'll never get married now!" She tugs on her hair as she kneels over, stopping in the middle of the sidewalk. The stain on her skirt drips slowly onto the pavement.
"Woah, girl! Slow down! I can't think that fast!" he says, stopping next to her. "You think J-Ju puked because of you?"
Tina groans.
"Are you kiddin'? You're the best thing J-Ju's ever had-"
"Well," Tina interrupts.
"-even if he can't see it! It wasn't you that caused him to throw up all his innards and stuff. Hell, I think he even puked on the Scream-I-Cane. Jus' didn't want to embarrass him, that's all."
Tina stands up straight and lets out a choked laugh. "I think he brought that on himself."
Zeke's eyes widen as he buckles over with laughter. He raises his hand to pat her on the shoulder, but her glare freezes him. "Thas'-thas'-what do you see in 'im anyway? I mean, J-Ju's great if you can get past his daddy issues and lack of a mother figger."
Tina shrugs. "I don't know. He's a good dancer...nice. Sometimes."
"So the whole star-crossed lovers, Romeo and Juliet stuff doesn't bother 'ya?"
She shakes her head.
"'Ya know they both die at the end, right?"
"For love. They both die for love."
Zeke nods. They fall into a sort-of agreed silence, their feet keeping pace with one another. For a second, Zeke considers taking her hand or something, but her arm's are still crossed. Zeke looks at the dark sky and starts to whistle. Tina asks him to stop, so he does.
"What'chu thinkin' about?" Zeke asks her.
"I hope Jimmy Jr.'s okay," she answers honestly, but quietly. She's looking at the sidewalk as she walks.
"C'mon, T. He's probably not thinkin' 'bout you. Think about...what're you into?" Zeke looks over at her.
"Besides Jimmy Jr? Writing, horses-"
"Don't 'chu mean ridin' horses?" Zeke interrupts.
He notices her trying to not to smile. "No. I meant writing and horses."
Zeke shakes his head. "Writin' and horses. Have you ever riden a horse?"
"No," she mumbles.
"Are you still thinkin' 'bout J-Ju?"
"Yes."
Zeke sighs.
When they reach Tina's place, Zeke looks across the street to see the Pesto's place still lit up and Jimmy sitting in the back. He's watching them and Zeke and him make eye contact, but Jimmy pretends not to notice. Tina doesn't notice him and Zeke doesn't say anything.
"Oookay, who's this?" Tina's sister Louise spins around in her chair.
"Yeah, and what's he doing in our restaurant? We don't have any money! We're broke!" Gene joins in.
"This is Zeke. Jimmy Jr's friend," Tina explains. She walks behind the counter. "I need to change," she tells her dad.
Bob scrunches his nose. "God, Tina, you smell disgusting!"
"Thanks. It's vomit," she says before leaving.
Zeke stays standing in place, patting the tops of his legs.
"Hey, Zeke...can I get you anything? Like a burger? Or something?" Bob offers awkwardly. Louise and Gene are still staring at him. Louise is squinting her eyes, probably analyzing him. Gene just stares blankly at him.
"No thanks, Mr. B. Jus' droppin' Tina off," Zeke says.
"A little dine and dash, hm?" Gene wonders.
"Well, thanks. For walking Tina home," Bob says slowly, like he's weighing his words or trying to figure something out at the same time.
Zeke lifts his hand to wave. "Anytime, Mr. B." He pushes the door open and leaves. The air is thick with humidity, but the rush from the door provides a little breeze. He starts to head over to the Pesto's. He's halfway across the street when he notices Jimmy isn't in the restaurant anymore. He stops in the middle of the street. A car's headlights illuminate him before honking. Zeke jumps out of the way, almost tripping over his feet. He hustles back over to the sidewalk and heads home.
iii.
Zeke knows his boundaries. Knows that Tina and Jimmy are currently straddling the line between something and something more. (Jimmy says it's something; Tina says it's something more). Knows the distance Tina keeps with Zeke, and knows he shouldn't disturb it. But it doesn't stop him from butting in on their conversation while he leans his shoulder against the lockers.
Tina's got her notebook clutched in her arms, as usual. And Jimmy ignores her at first, riffling through the books in his locker, as usual.
"Jimmy Jr!" Tina says, like it's some coincidence to meet him at his locker.
And Zeke.
"Hey, Tina," Jimmy replies in a monotone voice. He continues grabbing his books from his locker. Tina stands patiently, watching him carefully.
A small slip of paper falls out of his locker and floats to the floor.
"I got it!" Zeke calls immediately, dropping into a crouch and scooping it up. He unfolds it and reads it. His eyes widen. "J-Ju! Tina's askin' you to the eighth grade formal!"
Tina sighs. "Zeke-I know it's technically guys ask girls, but I figured 'Hey, we're already kind of a thing' and so I decided to ask you anyway."
"We're not a thing, Tina," Jimmy informs her, snatching the paper from Zeke.
Zeke stands up. "Ooo," he cooes, "a little couple feud, huh?" He looks eagerly between them while they stare at each other.
Tina looks unbothered. It took a while, but Zeke notices the way she holds herself, shoulders thrown back, no longer hunched over. He figured if Jimmy was to puke on her today, she wouldn't even change, but model the puke stain like a new scarf.
"So...we goin' as a group or what?" Zeke says, attempting to ease the tension.
Jimmy inhales and says, "Tina-"
"Because if J-Ju didn't want to, I was thinkin'-"
"I'll go with you, Tina!" Jimmy says. Zeke knows that's not what he was going to say before.
Tina's face lights up. "Really?"
"Yeah...I mean we are kind of a thing," Jimmy says, trying to make up for his hesitation.
Tina nods, smiling. "Okay. I'll see you there then. Or before then, when you pick me up. Which reminds me, are we walking there together? You know what? I'll just meet you there." She walks briskly down the hall.
Zeke whistles. "That's one mighty catch."
"Shut up, Zeke."
Lights dance across the floor as a pop song pounds from the speakers, shaking the entire building. Zeke sits at the table, sipping a cup of soda, but he's pretty sure it's beer because he'd heard that Lenny Destefano's dad managed to sneak a few cans in. Either way, he doesn't mind.
Jimmy throws his arms everywhere, twisting and turning while Tina punches her arms around him. They look happy, or at least Tina does, and that's what matters to Zeke.
Wait.
Zeke sets his drink down and turns around, placing his elbows on the table. He presses his fingers against his temples and shuts his eyes. When I open my eyes in five seconds, I'll deal with this. He opens his eyes.
He'd always had some feelings towards Tina, whether he wanted to admit it or not. He'd just shoved them outward, put them on full display. Outright told Tina he liked her. Because she wouldn't believe him. Idiot.
Sighing, he picks up his drink and walks outside. He shoves the other hand into his pocket as he sips the beer/soda substance. It's colder outside, no active bodies producing heat. He can think better. And the parking lot's empty except for two people hiding behind the building smoking. But the smell of cigarettes reminds him of home and comfort and oddly Tina. Tina doesn't smoke.
He sits on the sidewalk and sets his cup down between his feet. Then rests his elbows on his knees and groans.
"I do that, too, when I'm upset," a familiar voice behind him says.
He twists around to see Tina, glowing in the school's front lights. She's not wearing her usual purple gown, but a teal shimmery thing. Zeke thinks she looks something close to beautiful, but he ignores it.
"What? I'm not upset. Where'd you get that idea, girl?" Zeke scoffs.
Tina sits down next to him.
"Aw, don't do that. You'll get your dress all dirty," he says.
"It's fine, Zeke," she says, stretching her legs out in front of her. "I saw you sitting alone and then you left, so I followed you outside."
Zeke sighs. "Yeah-"
"I know you're upset Tammy came with Lenny instead of you. In my opinion, they're not good together. Not like Jimmy Jr and I."
Zeke sighs again, this time louder. "Yeah...that's why I'm upset. You get me, T-Bird."
She smiles and doesn't try to hide it. "I know I act like I hate you, but I don't. At least, not since you walked me home that one time…"
"I know, T. No need to apologize."
"I believe in you, Zeke."
"Tina-"
"And no matter what, I think everything will turn out just right for you. Just believe in yourself, sometimes."
Zeke stares at her, both longingly and desperately. She puts her hand on his back and Zeke freezes up. Tina draws her eyebrows together and pulls her hand back.
Zeke laughs uneasily. "Why don't you-why don't you go back in there, shake up the dance floor? You and J-Ju looked like y'all were havin' fun."
Tina still looks confused but nods. "You can join us...if you want."
"Nah, I can't keep up with y'all." He shakes his head, looking down into the cup between his feet.
When he looks up, Tina's walking away. He can't help but feel some pain in his chest. He sees her give him one more glance before heading inside. He lifts up his hand. Zeke knows his boundaries. But sometimes it's hard not to want to cross them.
iv.
"So how 'bout it? You and me, the aquarium?" Zeke asks Tina.
She shifts on her feet. "Will Jimmy Jr. be there?"
Zeke thinks quickly, but if he's being honest, he expected this. "J-Ju can't. You see, I was thinkin' we could check out the horseshoe crabs in the Touch Tank. J-Ju's allergic to horseshoe crabs." Zeke feels bad, but eventually discards it. Slow and steady.
"Okay. Saturday is good for me," she says.
Zeke nods. "See you then."
When she walks away, Zeke lets out a breath he was holding. Was he too obvious? He's always been obvious. He runs a hand through his curly and shakes his head.
Zeke's sitting on the edge of the fountain in front of the museum when Tina arrives. She spends a few minutes saying bye to her dad. It makes Zeke feel a bit lighter in a way. The way she literally has to claw Louise off of her, who Zeke knows is just messing around. Eventually, she shuts the door and half-runs over to him.
"What'sup, T-Bird?" Zeke says, rising to his feet.
"Technically, the sky, but I know that's not what you're asking. I'm doing good," she says.
Zeke claps and rubs his hands together. "Alright! Ready to get your hands on some horseshoe crabs?"
"Sure."
They walk over to buy their tickets. Tina pulls out some cash from her pocket, but Zeke insists he pay for hers, fishing around in his pocket for some coins. Once inside, Tina's entire expression changes. Her mouth gapes open as the blue water reflects onto her face. Zeke smiles at her, pleasantly surprised at the change of attitude.
"You like it?" he asks her, but he already knows the answer.
"There so many...fish," she mumbles, looking up at the large tank, filled to the brim with colorful fish, in front of them. She snaps her head back down and looks at him. "Are there mermaids here?"
"Uhh-what? I don't know, girl. Maybe. C'mon, let's go look at some horse crabs!"
He leads her towards the center of the aquarium. A few kids run around the play area, crawling underneath the slide. The Touch Tank takes up a majority of the room and has a handful of people surrounding it. Parents hold their children up as their kids are practically in the water trying to grab a horseshoe crab. Zeke and Tina manage to squeeze in.
"I thought you might like 'em 'cause you said you like horses," Zeke says. He reaches his hands into the water and immediately scoops one up, making sure it stays emerged in the water.
Tina reaches into the tank and brushes her fingertips against its shell before withdrawing her hand (and touching Zeke's hand slightly as she does). "You remembered that," she says quietly.
Zeke sets the crab down. "'Course I do. And I remember that your room is covered in horse posters and stuff."
Tina folds her hands on the edge of the tank. "Not anymore. I'm not thirteen."
Zeke nods slowly. "Right. 'Course you're not, T."
She smiles and sticks her hands back in the tank. Zeke's hands join hers in touching the horseshoe crab. "I have a question that I've been meaning to ask you," Tina says.
"Shoot."
"I know this was year ago, but remember that time when my dad subbed in Home Ec?" Zeke nods. "And how you were really good at cooking and I hated your guts? Well, how did you get so good at cooking?"
Zeke tries to concentrate, but it's hard when he can feel her wrist brush up against his. "My stepmom wasn't home a lot. I mean, now she is-I mean, she's tryin'. And my dad sure as hell wasn't goin' to pick up a pan. So my grandma started teachin' me how to cook. And I don't know, I kinda like it."
Tina nods. "Huh," she says. "Have you ever considered working over at my dad's restaurant? I mean, he won't pay you. It's...just an idea."
Zeke tilts his head. "J-Ju's been tryin' to get me to work over at his place for awhile. But your dad's cooler."
She draws her hands out of the water quickly, causing water to splash onto Zeke's arms. "Woah, girl!" He takes his pruny hands out too. And then he smiles mischievously. He grazes his fingertips into the water and splashes a little bit of water onto her. It gets on her arms and stains the front of her shirt.
Tina holds still, staring down at her shirt, hands hanging out in front of her. Zeke wipes the smile from his face. "Oh, sorry, T. I didn't-"
She quickly swoops her entire hand into the tank. Zeke's shirt ends up soaked. He laughs and swipes his hand through the water, splashing the water onto her glasses.
"Hey!" an attendant yells. He begins walking briskly over to them. Tina takes Zeke's distraction as an opportunity to get one more splash in.
"Uh-T, I think we should go," Zeke says.
"Definitely," Tina agrees.
They sprint out of the aquarium together. After they leave, Tina calmly takes Zeke's hand. Zeke looks down, puzzled, but Tina looks confident in her decision, so he lets it slide.
A taco truck is parked against the curb. "Tacos?" Zeke asks her. She nods.
Tina unlatches her hand from his to eat her taco, and Zeke can't help but feel like something's missing without her hand in his. She's halfway through her taco when she just starts breaking down in tears.
"T? What's wrong? Are the tacos that bad?" Zeke asks her urgently.
She shakes her head. "I think-," she hiccups, "-I think Jimmy Jr's seeing someone else."
Zeke exhales, slouching forward slightly. "That's bound to happen, girl. We're in high school. It's like the thing to do, you know?"
She wipes the back of her hand across her mouth. "But you-aren't-doing that," she says in between hiccups.
Zeke looks away, setting his taco down on the wrapper. "That's not the point. Look, come here." She falls into his arms as he pats her on the back. She rests her face into his shoulder, her body convulsing when she hiccups. "You're better than that, T. Some things just aren't meant to be. I mean, sometimes your first love isn't your last."
She leans back, staring at him for a few seconds. At first, Zeke thinks she's going to kiss him, but then she says, "I wish Jimmy Jr. was here. Wish he wasn't allergic to horseshoe crabs."
"J-Ju isn't allergic to horseshoe crabs," Zeke admits. "Hell, I don't think anyone is allergic to 'em."
"He's not?"
"No...I jus' said that, 'cause I thought you wouldn't come…"
"You didn't need to lie. I would've came. You're like my best friend, Zeke," she says.
She's gotten her hiccups under control for the most part, except for a few gasps.
Zeke takes a deep breath, and plunges, "You know I like you...right?"
Tina blinks at him. "I'm not holding you at gunpoint, Zeke. Or like water balloon point."
"I'm serious, T-Bird. Dead serious. As serious as the dead cow or whatever's in these tacos," he says with a straight face.
Zeke sees tears well up in her eyes and it isn't the reaction he expected, yet alone wanted. She looks away, wiping her eyes with her napkin. "I can't do this right now, Zeke."
Zeke nods. "Okay. Don't worry 'bout it, T." Take your time. Zeke wipes his hands on his pants and stands up. "I'll go get you somethin' to drink." Tina nods without looking up.
v.
It's around lunch time when Tina makes her way over to Zeke. Zeke takes a deep breath in and a deep breath out. He grabs the pizza box from behind him and climbs onto one of the cafeteria tables.
"Hey, Zeke, Louise told me you wanted to see me?" Tina asks.
"Hit it, Gene!" Zeke shouts.
Gene presses play on the boombox, a gift Gene had gotten for his birthday. Michael Jackson's "The Way You Make Me Feel" blares from the speakers, almost drowning out what Zeke is saying. He opens the box, the words "I know this is CHEESY but will you go to PROM with me?" written inside.
"Um-Zeke?" Tina says, raising her voice to be heard over the music.
Zeke continues. "Tina, will you go to prom with me?"
Half the people in the cafeteria have their hands folded in anticipation, while the other half looks at each other nervously.
"Gene, stop the music," Tina demands.
"You can't stop the love, Tina!" Gene says.
"I'm serious!" Gene stops the music.
Zeke looks down at her. "What'ya do that for, T-Bird?"
"Zeke, get down from there," she says.
"Oh-kay." He sets the pizza on the table and stumbles down.
"Jimmy Jr already asked me to prom. And I said yes," she says simply.
Zeke feels his heart stop. But he nods anyway. "I see. How'd he ask 'ya?"
"We were sharing a plate of fries over at his place and at the bottom of the stack, he'd written 'Will you go to prom with me?' on the plate. His dad got mad, but he said it was worth it."
"Damn, that's good," Zeke mutters. "Well, this is awkward." He walks backwards away from her. He trips over his own feet and crashes into a table.
"Zeke! Are you okay?" Tina insists. She rushes over to help him, but Zeke brushes her off.
"I'm alright, girl, no need to worry." He brushes imaginary dirt off of his shirt. "I guess I'll see you there then."
The silence in the room is almost deafening as Zeke leaves.
It's common knowledge within twenty minutes that Tina and Jimmy Jr. have decided not to go to prom together, three hours before prom is to begin. It is also common knowledge that they both still decide to go to prom anyway, just separately.
Zeke considers heading over to the Belcher's place and asking to take Tina, but he doesn't. He understands her space and the distance she puts between them and that it's there for good reason. So he doesn't.
When he pulls up in his dad's old truck, the last thing he is expecting is Tina, sitting outside the venue by herself. Zeke quickly parks his car and rushes over to her.
"What'ya doin' out here all by yourself, girl? It's prom!" Zeke calls to her as he jogs over.
Tina stands up and brushes dirt off her dress. She's dressed in a floor-length gold gown that makes Zeke's heart skip a beat.
"Don't tell me it's 'cause you and J-Ju decided to call it quits," he says.
"That's partly the reason. I don't feel confident enough to go in there dancing without him. He's already made himself at home. Last time I checked, he was having a dance off with Lenny Destefano."
"Lenny, huh? Who knew he'd be a dancer?"
"Well, Jimmy Jr's creaming him, so no one."
"But that's not the point, T. You're the most confident person I know and to-to-" he says, grasping at straws. "C'mon, I'll go in and dance with 'ya." He tries to pull her inside, but she remains rooted.
"It's not that important to me, Zeke. I only wanted to go because of Jimmy Jr."
He steps back. He looks down as she pulls her arm out of his grasp, but then locks their fingers together. Zeke is frozen and he can see that Tina enjoys it, strangely.
"You look nice," Tina says.
"Not as good as you," Zeke says dumbly, his gaze still focused on their hands.
Tina lets out an exasperated sigh. "You're not used to this, huh? Don't worry, I'm an expert." She takes his other hand and places it on her waist. Then, she puts her free hand on his shoulder.
The music is so loud that they can hear it outside. They dance in a slow, awkward circle. A goofy smile grows on Zeke's face, causing Tina to laugh and shake her head. "You asked me to prom, but you can't even dance?"
"I'm no J-Ju," Zeke admits. "I only wanted to go with you. Forget the dancin'. It was all 'bout you, Tina. It's always been."
Tina slows down, her feet no longer moving, and Zeke almost trips and falls into her. She looks at him for a long time, a hint of a smile on the edges of her lips. She draws her hands back before placing them on both sides of his face and pulling him into a kiss. Zeke melts into her, but she pulls back. "You've never kissed anyone before, have you?"
"Uh-no. I mean, pillows don't count, right?"
Tina shakes her head. "Don't worry, I'm an expert," she whispers before pulling him in for another one by his tie.
Zeke wraps his arms around her waist and smiles against her lips. He stumbles backwards and breaks the kiss.
"Hey, losers! Prom's inside!" some kid shouts at them.
They look at each other, electric smiles planted on their faces. Tina's ears are red and Zeke's pretty sure his entire face must be pink.
"I mean, we still have senior prom, right?" Zeke asks her.
Tina nods in agreement.
Zeke fishes his keys out of his pocket. They race towards his truck, the wind blowing Tina's dress back, like she's a runaway bride. Once inside the car, they sit in silence for a few seconds, save for the engine humming.
"Let's go on a date," Zeke decides.
"Aquarium? And tacos?" Tina offers.
"You get me, T," Zeke says. He pulls out of the parking lot, away from the crowds of teenagers. At that moment, Zeke feels somewhere near euphoric.