The party had finally begun and it was a blast! Penelope seemed to be enjoying herself. The others, who took turns congratulating her, surrounded her. They were so proud that their little friend was finally joining them in High School.
Pashmina walked over to the snack table to pour herself a drink. As she poured herself some fruit punch, she stared at her group of friends across from her and how perfect it was; Penelope was smiling happily with Cappy; Bijou, Sandy, Shawn and Boss were talking; Dexter and Howdy were still aruging witheach other, and Oxnard and Pepper were showing the others the pictures they took and the souvenirs they bought from their trip. Pashmina didn't want it to change.
"Yo," Stan walked over to join her and poured himself some fruit punch.
Pashmina glanced over, "Hey, Stan."
"Is my girl enjoying the party?" Stan asked flirtatiously.
Pashmina reacted, "YOUR girl? I was never YOUR girl to begin with."
Stan smirked, "But some day you might be."
"In your dreams, Stan." Pashmina rolled her eyes as she, then, decided to change the topic, "Shawn is coming with us to go see the cherry blossoms bloom tomorrow. Are you coming?"
"It won't be fun without Stan the man." Stan stated.
Pashmina laughed in disbelief, "It will be interesting to have you there, that's for sure"
"You bet." Stan winked then slowly walked back to join the others.
Pashmina sighed and shook her head at Stan, "Oh gosh." She grinned laughing still then called after Stan, "Hey, Stan!"
Stan turned around, "Whats up?"
"Do you want to…" Pashmina was trying to avoid sounding flirty, "Do you want to have a friendly conversation outside? I really need some fresh air."
Stan, flabbergasted, agreed with an awestruck nod.
On the way outside, Stan and Pashmina didn't say a word to each other, until Pashmina had chosen a spot to settle down and talk.
"Why would you want to be outside if the party's inside?" Stan asked investigative as Pashmina sat down on the grass, "And not just ANY party either – a party made for Penelope."
"Oh, I still do love and respect Penelope," Pashmina responded confidential, "But I just need some fresh air, that's all."
Stan gleamed, "Alright baby, just you and me then," He winked at her, " Finally realized my brilliant side?"
Pashmina sighed hesitantly, "Oh please, Stan. Give it up. I'm not into you, and I haven't been for the past 8 years."
"No problem, you need time that's all. I can understand that." Stan looked at the bright side.
Pashmina gave up and, once again, changed the subject, "So, how close are you and Shawn?"
Stan glanced up at her suddenly, "You're really interested in Shawn, aren't you? Are you crushin' on my cuz?"
Pashmina jumped from Stan's assumption, "No! I don't like Shawn. I don't really know him at all! I was just asking."
Stan, convinced, answered her question, "Shawn and I are quite close. We're like brothers and we like similar things. The only difference between us is that I'm the wild one and he's the gentle one."
"That's the only difference? You two don't dress alike." Pashmina pointed out.
"Oh, and that. Our personality reflects the kind of style clothing we wear." Stan explained," Other than that, we're basically like twins." Stan leaned back and started to stretch.
"How are you two like twins if you two are so far a part? I don't ever recall you visiting Mexico before, except this year." Pashmina reasoned. Stan stared at Pashmina and Pashmina detected a sudden glow in his eyes that she hadnever noticed before.
"That's simple. He comes to visit from time to time, and that is why you don't see Sandy or me often during the summer." Stan reciprocated.
"I never heard you or Sandy talk about him before." Pashmina stated.
"The reason why we don't talk about him that much is because we know you guys don't know him and, so, there's no point in talking about him if you guys can't really say anything in return. Since he's here now we want him to feel welcomed and comfortable with everyone we know; the whole environment around us." Stan replied logically.
Pashmina was amazed. "So there is a mature side to Stan." She thought to herself again. Pashmina was fully convinced and didn't know what else to say. "You know, Stan. It was fun talking to you." She smiled convincingly.
Stan smiled back and it wasn't his flirtation smile either, but a normal sweet smile. At that moment, Sandy, Bijou, and Penelope came running outside looking around desperately until they've spotted them.
"PASHMINA!" Penelope cried as she ran a head of Sandy and Bijou.
"You were here all thiz time?" Bijou asked tiredly.
"Yeah. I was chatting with Stan." Pashmina stood up.
"We were looking for you!" Sandy exclaimed.
"I was so worried that something might havehappened to you, " Penelope hugged her tightly.
Pashmina embraced her and smiled then stared at Sandy and Bijou, "I am so sorry, girls. I didn't mean to worry you. I just needed some air."
"As long as you're fine." Penelope sounded relieved.
"Well," Stan stood up restlessly, "What do you say I escort you ladies back to the party?"
Sandy stood, staring at him suspiciously, "Being a gentleman all of a sudden, Stan? What's on your mind?"
"Nothing, sis! I was just offering!" Stan felt offended.
"Ve'll love it if you escorted us back," Bijou answered politely.
"Alright, then. That's all I needed; an answer." Stan stared pass Sandy and went to grab Bijou's hands. He smirked, "Let's go." As Stan brought Bijou inside, Sandy sighed.
"I knew he was up to something."
Pashmina and Penelope both giggled.
"He's not all that bad. I had a talk with him and he seemed very mature." Pashmina exposed.
Penelope's jaw dropped, "Stan! Mature? No way! I gotta see this!" She got all excited.
"Yeah, he can be if he wanted to be." Sandy admitted, "But around a bunch of, like, girls, there's no chance of it."
Penelope was disappointed, "Aw."
"Don't worry, Penelope, you'll get to see Stan's mature side some day." Pashmina sounded sure.
Penelope grinned at Pashmina and she returned it, " I really hope so..."