A/N: This is my story for Phinabella16's Fanfiction Got Talent Audition.
Disclaimer: I don't own PnF. Also don't own the list of reasons why a guy loves a girl. Google it; it's the hub page.
In a one-story brick house, three college students were in the living room drinking sodas and eating cheesy foods. The couch was already loitered with orange, powdered residue. The party host was wearing an olive-green shirt with beige cargo shorts. This individual was Jeremy Johnson, Candace Flynn's boyfriend. With him were his best friend, Coltrane, and their drummer. Coltrane was Stacy's boyfriend with curly hair. Stacy Hirano was Candace's best friend, so they often had double dates. Lastly, the drummer had on an orange shirt and faded jeans. He pulled a card from the pile lying in the middle of the three.
"Name one reason why you love your girlfriend," the drummer read. "Easy. I respect her and love her for who she is."
"I love Stacy because she is the biggest accomplishment in my life," Coltrane answered.
"All right. Jeremy?"
Jeremy thought long and hard about the question, but came up blank each time. His friends waited for him to answer. At last, Jeremy answered, "I don't know. I've never given it much thought."
The drummer couldn't help but fall on his butt, pounding the carpet in mirth. Coltrane searched for clues that would deem Jeremy's response true, but when Jeremy wouldn't look him in the eye, Coltrane knew he told the truth.
"Wow." Coltrane picked up the next card. "Name your favorite…"
The rest of the night went by slowly for Jeremy. He seemed to look off whenever people talked, and would never look anyone in the eye when he talked. After about a half hour, Coltrane asked Jeremy, "Are you all right, man?"
"No. I feel a bit upset to my stomach. I'm going to shower and hit the hay," Jeremy sighed. He staggered up the stairs and into the bathroom, shutting the door behind him. When he started the shower, Coltrane looked to the drummer.
"Guess we should head home," Coltrane suggested.
"Yeah. I hope he doesn't fret over that question all night." With that last remark, Jeremy's friends left.
Upstairs, Jeremy let the water soak his skin for well over thirty minutes, hoping to soak his problems away.
"Some boyfriend I am," he thought. "You can't even think of a reason why you love your girlfriend!"
When Jeremy exited the shower, he slumped to his room, and plopped down on the bed. "This isn't okay. It's pathetic!" He lay awake for hours thinking about why he couldn't respond to that question. Soon, his eyes closed and sleep overcame him.
Jeremy woke up to the doorbell ringing. Groaning, he turned on his side, and jumped out of bed upon seeing the time. After he donned on fresh clothes, he dashed downstairs and flung the door open. His girlfriend, Candace, smiled and asked what they wanted to clean first.
"Cleaning?" Jeremy asked. "Huh?"
"You told me that you were going to clean some of your junk out. We were going to do it yesterday, but you had that party."
"Oh, right. Come in. We can start with the attic."
"Long day?" Candace asked upon seeing the cheese on the couch.
"You have no idea."
Hours of cleaning flew by, and before Jeremy knew it, it was time to leave for band practice. As he was leaving, his shoulder slammed against a drawer and knocked over a picture frame, which shattered.
"Whoops," Jeremy exclaimed. "My bad!"
Candace approached the fallen picture, and examined it. The picture was of an attractive nineteen-year-old girl. She had chestnut brown hair with a pinkish hue. Her locks ended about two inches below her shoulders. Her bangs seemed to have fallen into breathtaking blue eyes. A small grin was on her lips despite her eyes.
She was sitting on some couch with her feet propped up on the coffee table in front of her.
"That's one of my old friends," Jeremy explained. "I haven't met her in ten or eleven years, so need to be jealous. I've got to leave for practice," he reiterated, "so I think you should head home."
Candace nodded, and headed home. Jeremy stowed his guitar in the car trunk, and drove to Coltrane's house.
"You're not feeling it, man," Coltrane stated after Jeremy messed up their number a fourth straight time.
"Sorry. I'm going to head home," Jeremy suggested.
"Is this about last night?"
Jeremy turned around. "Yeah."
"Stop worrying about it. You'll figure out something soon. We will help if you want it."
"No, I gotta figure this out on my own."
When Jeremy left, Coltrane shook his head. "This is bad. I'm going to the last resort," he mumbled, whipping out his phone and dialing a number.
"Hello?" a high-pitched voice asked.
"Hi, this is Coltrane. Suzy, we need your help…"
When Jeremy arrived home, he went to his room, put his guitar on top of his bed, and closed his eyes.
"Jeremy!" Suzy called. "Can you help me with some homework?"
"Coming, sis!" Jeremy called. He sat up, and went into his sister's room.
"I'm having trouble with my math homework. I can't seem to figure anything out!" Suzy informed, holding up a mostly blank math worksheet.
"Ah, long division!" Jeremy grabbed a chair and some pencils, and sat down with Suzy.
For an hour and a half, Jeremy and Suzy worked through the problems. Suzy thanked Jeremy afterwards to which he waved it off, and headed into his room.
Jeremy logged onto his computer to check his email before he went to bed. When he opened the mailbox, Jeremy saw that he had a new message from Coltrane. Clicking on it, he read:
The answer to all your problems.
Jeremy shrugged, and opened the file. His eyes lit up, and he found that he could not move away from the screen. He stayed staring at it for a half hour before he logged off, and dashed downstairs.
"I'm going over to Candace's house!"
"Okay, be back by midnight!" Mrs. Johnson called.
Upstairs, Suzy smiled as her brother left. Whipping out her phone, Suzy texted Coltrane,
He left for Candace's place.
Half a minute later, Coltrane texted back, saying,
Excellent!
Candace was sleeping peacefully, dreaming about her Prince charming, Jeremy Johnson, fighting off dragons and rescuing her.
Plink!
Plink!
Plink!
Opening her tired eyes, she went over to the window and saw Jeremy standing outside her bedroom window. She opened it, and whispered, "Jeremy? What are you doing here?"
"Can you come down? I have something really important to tell you."
Candace climbed down her window, and jumped into Jeremy's arms. There, he led her to his backyard. It is lit up by lanterns, illuminating the plant life. Jeremy led his girlfriend to the pool, and then stopped.
"What did you bring me here for?" Candace asked calmly.
"I like the view." Jeremy realized his hands were shaking so he shoved them into his pocket. "At the party last night, we were doing a game, and they asked me why I loved you. I couldn't come up with a response just then. Sorry about that."
"Jeremy—"
"Like, really, really sorry. I didn't mean…" He stared at the ground. "I didn't mean to hurt your feelings."
"Jeremy, you didn't—"
"But now, I found that reason why I love you." Jeremy pauses to gaze at Candace. She blushes under his sudden intense eyes. Jeremy grabs her chin with one hand to lift her face up until she looks him in the eye. He takes her hands and places them in his.
"Candace," Jeremy started, calmer now, "I love you for lots of reasons. One of them is because being with you gives me complete peace of mind."
"Aww! How sweet!"
"And I love because no matter how strong I may be to others, I can always shed my worries upon you, and I love you because being with you gives me complete peace of mind."
Jeremy was cut off when the air was forced out of his lungs from Candace's strong and unexpected hug. He stumbled backwards, and the two fell into the pool.
When the two got out, Candace smiled at Jeremy, and Jeremy smiled back. Both their clothes were sopping. Candace might hate her appearance right now, but at that moment, Jeremy had never seen her so beautiful in his life. Candace grabbed Jeremy gently by his wet shirt and pressed her lips into his. Jeremy felt as if he was rising into the sky. He wrapped his arms around Candace, and deepened the kiss. Ever fiber in his body felt alive, his heart pounding rapidly. He didn't want to let go in fear that this moment would cease to exist. He didn't let go in fear that he would come crashing down to earth. This was what living again felt like.
Finally, the two separated for some much needed air. Jeremy looked at Candace.
"And the last reason I love you is because I want to watch you gently go to sleep in the dim & fading light with my hands over your head, playing with your soft and beautiful hair."
"Well, how about I make that wish come true for you?"
Jeremy smiled. "I'd like that."
Squeezing Candace's hand, Jeremy led his girlfriend inside the house and into his room.
Then, he closed the door.
The End.
A/N: What did you think, Phinabella16? Will this do?
R & R!