Chapter 2

"This is probably the only time I've ever seen him happy to go back to school." Chuckie Finster, Dil and Tommy's red haired childhood friend, said.

"Yeah, he was pretty bummed out without her." Tommy added.

"Why? I mean, what makes her so special to him?" Kimi, Chuckie's sister, inquired. It was the day before school started and they were sitting in the Pickles' backyard.

"She's one of the very few people who pay attention to him, besides us, of course. She's also one of the closest people to him, it's like they have their own language." Tommy confessed dramatically.

"That's cool! It's like they're twins!" Phil DeVille said aloud. The gang laughed; Phil had a twin sister, Lil.

"Where is he?" Lil asked.

"He's in his room. He's been on Skype all day and night, hoping to talk to her. She was online for a while until she suddenly stopped, without explaining. He's pretty mad at her, if you ask me." Tommy answered.

"This should be good- I've never seen Dil pissed off." Phil snickered before his sister punched his arm.

"I'm sure Jasmine would explain what happened." Chuckie said confidently.

"We'll see what happens." Tommy said, hopeful.

On the next day, Dil woke up earlier than planned. He was excited and yet nervous to go back to school, and to see her. They talked a few times on Skype and he constantly mocked her attempt to follow Parisian fashion. He tried to ask her about the kiss, but she disregarded it by saying it was 'on the spur of the moment'. He knew he shouldn't push it, or she would get upset and shut down. He pulled out his favorite jeans and t-shirt from the closet and wore them. He walked to the bathroom and closed the door behind him. As he brushed his teeth, he inspected his new haircut; he shaved the sides of his head, leaving the rest as a mohawk. He washed his mouth to get rid of the remaining toothpaste and dried his face with a towel. He looked up and touched his chin; he felt it was rougher. Following Tommy's steps, he slowly began taking care of himself. Dil was definitely growing up, even in just a few weeks. He knew he had to accept these changes; he was becoming a man. He was a little afraid, mainly worried about Jasmine's opinion.

Dil walked back to his room, grabbed his bag and was about to go downstairs when Tommy opened his bedroom door and saw his brother ready to go.

"Are you kidding me?" Tommy asked, incredulously. This wasn't very typical of his brother; Dil wasn't a morning person.

"Morning, bro! Come on, Mom said you can take the car today." Dil said cheerfully in his sudden lower voice. Tommy groaned and walked to the bathroom, slamming the door after him. Dil shrugged and went downstairs to eat breakfast.

"So, Jasmine's coming today, right?" Stu asked.

Dil swallowed his toast and answered "Yeah. I want to know why she wasn't online for a while."

"Don't worry, you'll find out today." Stu gave him a reassuring smile as he went back to reading the newspaper.

Dil finished his breakfast when Tommy came down the stairs and joined them at the kitchen table. Tommy understood that his brother missed his good friend, but couldn't help but wonder where his anger had gone. There was no way he was going to miss their reunion. Tommy grabbed a bowl of cereal and a stack of pancakes. A soft knock on the door was heard, as Dil went to get it. He opened it to reveal their childhood friends. Chuckie was near his father's car, which was parked near the Pickles' mailbox.

"Hey guys." Dil gave him a half- smile as they entered the house. "Chuck? You coming?" Dil shouted to him. Chuckie looked up at him and walked towards their house.

They waited for Tommy to finish his breakfast. He heard his mother gasp and rush to one of the drawers in the living room. Tommy placed his dishes in the sink and joined his friends in the living room.

"Oh, I forgot my camera!" Didi Pickles cried out.

"No, Mom!" Dil moaned; in the beginning of every school year, she would take pictures of them.

"This is getting weird, Mom." Tommy said coolly.

"Nonsense! This is making you uncomfortable?" She asked them. They felt awkward; they didn't want to hurt her feelings, so they were silent.

"See, boys?" Didi said in triumphant. She turned on the camera and told them to stand up.

She took a photo of them and grinned "Oh, how've you grown!"

Tommy looked at the clock and said quickly "We're going to be late! Thanks for letting me take the car!" They rushed as they heard Tommy say that to his parents. The gang got into Tommy and Chuckie's parents' cars and were on their way to school.

Tommy and Chuckie pulled over at the school's entrance so the others could go to school. Tommy and Chuckie drove away and went to park the cars. Dil separated from his friends and went to find his locker. He grinned when he saw it; it was different than the others, it was painted bright green to his delight. He opened it and pulled out specific books he needed for the day and looked to the right. A picture of him and Jasmine was stuck with tape. He had his arm around her, as she was laughing at something.

Sure, he was excited to finally see her, but he was angry because she barely talked to him. He heard a commotion in the hall; laughing, screaming and chattering. He peered to look at a few students looking at a certain direction. He put the books in his bag and closed his locker. 'What are they looking at?', he thought to himself. He spotted Phil a few lockers away from his.

"What's up? What are they looking at?" Dil asked him. Phil turned his head to look. He got on his tiptoes to get a better look. He turned around and got off his tiptoes.

Phil smirked and replied "New girl, I guess."

Dil furrowed his eyebrows "So what? It's just a new person, so what's the big deal?"

"Go see for yourself." Phil advised him. Dil nodded and went to the group of students. He pushed and shoved some of them to get closer to the source of his commotion. And that's when he saw her.

Her hair was in a low ponytail to one side of her head, and on it was placed a beret. He noticed her figure was slightly fuller than the last time he saw her. 'Since when does she put make up on?', he wondered. People were staring at her, and he could sense she was uncomfortable. She quickly ran away from their prying eyes and he followed her. "Wait!" She heard someone shout. She stopped in her tracks and turned around to look at someone she knew.

"Dil!" She said in surprise.

"Why haven't you answered my messages?" He simply asked. She took this chance to get a better look at him; his looks have definitely changed, for the better.

"Your messages? What are you talking about?" Jasmine asked, confused.

"I sent you 14 messages on Skype and 10 emails. I thought we would talk more often, but we didn't. I thought we were friends, Jazz."

"We are! I've answered you in the beginning, but my grandmother's computer went kaput. I didn't have a way to tell you that, so I knew I had a lot of explaining to do." She grinned as she said the last part. He wasn't buying it.

"You were so busy changing yourself and who you are that you forgot about the real people who care about you here!"

"What the hell-?"

"The clothes, make up, and the beret! Yeah, what's up with the beret anyway? You're not in fucking France anymore." Jasmine's eyebrows shot up as she heard him.

Soon, a couple of students were looking at him and listening to their conversation. She noticed his and yelled "What are you looking at? This ain't no circus!"

They quickly went back to their own business. Little did they know, Tommy was slightly farther from them and heard their conversation.

Jasmine calmed down and said "Look, you have my number. When you've calmed down, call me and we'll talk about this. Nice seeing you."

As she was about to turn her back on Dil, she turned back and said one last thing "If you really cared about me, you could've found a different way to contact me." And with that, she left him.

"So could've you!" He retorted back to her. But he had to admit, she changed. She wasn't the shy girl he hung around with two months ago. She had more spunk than ever, and he loved it even though he was pissed off at her. He knew she was one of very few people who truly understood him.