September 10th, 1971

Right as the trio started their senior year, Hephzie got a job as a waitress at The Juke Joint. No one pressured her to do it, but the seventeen-year-old thought she should for a number of reasons. One: she was old enough to enter the workforce. Two: the guilt she often felt for using her grandfather's earnings would die is she used her own money. Three: she had to start saving up for college at some point, even if she didn't know what she was going to do yet. And four: she'd get free burgers and shakes.

A little before that, Stan got a summer job hauling boxes at the dock and saved up enough money to buy a car. A red El Diablo that was barely hanging on by a thread and looked one hit-curb away from falling apart. The car was dirt cheap, so Stan spent the next Fall fixing it up until it ran like a champ. He wouldn't need it once the Stan O' War was finished, but until then it was nice to have a ride of his own. Ford and Hephzie also appreciate it, now having a designated driver if needed. They didn't ride on his coattails too much, mostly just had Stan drive them to school and back. He found he didn't mind and the Stanmobile proved to be an excellent investment.

As high school got tougher and things got busier, Stan quit his job to make time for causing trouble and working on the Stan O' War. When the twins weren't in school or working on the boat, they found themselves spending a lot of time at The Juke Joint to hang out with Hephzie as she waited tables. They didn't visit during the summer, too busy with their own responsibilities like boxing lessons, work and their pet project, but one Friday night they decided to stop by for dinner and improve Hephzibah's shift.

The Juke Joint looked like it was stuck in the 50s. Advertisement for products that were a quarter cheaper than they were recently decorated the walls, along with flags and framed records. The checkerboard floor collided with the tan furniture, but the place had some of the best shakes in all of Glass Shard. Stan and Ford walked in and found Hephzie waiting a table towards the back, wearing jeans, a pink shirt, and a white apron with roller skates. She winked at the twins and they sat down at a booth while she dropped off the order.

Hephzie pulled out a chair and sat down for a moment with the back of the chair up front. "Hey, guys! What's up?"

"Nothing but the ceiling." Stan sneered.

Hephzie rolled her eyes.

"How's work?" Ford asked.

"Eh. Could be worse. Could be better, too, I guess." Hephzie said with a shrug. "So, what'll it be? Two Pitts?"

"Sounds great." Ford complimented.

"Be right back." Hephzie put the chair back to its original table and skated for the kitchen. "I need two holes in the ground, n' make 'em deep!" She yelled and soon came back with two glasses full of cold Pitt.

Ford read over the menu while his brother looked around the restaurant. A good chunk of the customers were kids from school or young adults in college. Some were on dates, some were small groups of friends. There was a bar that another girl ran and a pale-skinned dirty-blond waitress waited on one half of the diner while Hephzibah got the rest of the tables. It was interesting to see Hephzie work. She skated gracefully from table to table and could balance a lot of food on her arms. She somehow made every table laugh and it was clear that she was good at her job.

There was one girl among the diner who wasn't a waitress or just passing through. Stan recognized her as that girl who wore pants to school every day. That wasn't uncommon - Hephzie wore jeans rather than a skirt - but the girl really set the fashion trend aflame and a lot of women started to wear pants now. What was her name, again? HotPants McCorkle, right? She had a gorgeous figure and long beautiful brown hair that curled at the bottom and went down to her waist. She had a flower pinned in her hair and wore a cute pink top, oh yeah, and hot pants that didn't even go to her knees.

Stan watched as she danced carefree to the music the jukebox played. She danced pretty well and was really friendly, even doing a twirl when Hephzie came whizzing by.

"Whoo! Dance with me, Momma!" Hephzie cackled as she twirled the brown-headed girl and McCorkle laughed with a beautiful voice.

"Don't work too hard, Hephzie!" She called as the waitress delivered a slice of pie to a couple.

Hephzie skated to the twins and leaned on a booth. "Alright, what'll it be, boys?"

"I dunno, that girl's phone number would be nice." Stan let slip, but then he turned red and slapped his mouth shut. Oh, Sweet Lord, why?!

Hephzie tossed her head back to the dancing queen by the jukebox. "Ya mean Carla?"

Ford laughed and sat down his menu. "Good luck!"

"What's that supposed to mean?!" Stan demanded.

"Stanley, no offense, but you're not exactly as smooth as butter." Ford teased, using a metaphor their mother was very fond of.

"Oh, like you're one to talk." Stan growled..

"Fair enough, fair enough." Ford admitted, holding up his hands in surrender.

"Well, if ya want her number so bad, just go up n' ask her for it." Hephzie advised.

"Wait, just like that?" Stan asked, suspicious that she was setting him up for failure and a slap in the face.

"Sure," Hephzie said as she pulled out a pen from behind her ear and twiddled it in her hand. "Take it from a gal, they'd appreciate a guy bein' straightforward rather than dancin' around the subject. If ya want it, get it, knucklehead."

"Yeah, yeah I will!" Stan said and popped his fingers.

Ford and Hephzie watched as he strolled over proudly to the jukebox and leaned against it, making it more apparent that he was watching Carla dance.

"I'll bet you ten bucks he gets rejected." Ford sneered.

"I'll take that bet." Hephzie said calmly. "Stan's a nice guy with a strong body n' a cute car."

"Would you date him?"

The bell rang by the kitchen and the cook yelled, "Order up!"

"Gotta go." Hephzie said and skated to pick up the order.

Ford entertained himself by rereading the menu. He occasionally glanced over at Stan and Carla, interested to see how it would go. At first, Carla had gone to the jukebox to select a song, of course noticing Stan as he leaned against it and watched her admirably. Ford couldn't hear what either of them were saying, but soon Carla had paid for the right song, started to dance, and then pull Stan away from the machine and started to dance with him.

Hephzie rejoined Ford at that point and leaned against the back cushion of the booth, her hands on her hips and a smirk on her face. "Who knew your brother could dance?" She chuckled at seeing Stan danced swiftly along with the girl.

Ford shrugged. Stan was never one to shy away from a party or the chance to dance, fully confident that he moved swiftly, unlike Ford, who was convinced that along with being born with six fingers, he had also been born with two left feet.

"Right, what'll it be, Fordsie?" Hephzie asked as she readied her pen and pad.

Ford blinked to avert his thoughts back to dinner, his stomach quite empty now, and said to his best friend, "Just a double cheeseburger with no onion and a triple bacon for Stanley."

"Ya want the fries deluxed?"

Ford checked the menu and saw that for a quarter extra one could get the fries covered in chili and cheese. "No thanks."

"Gotcha." Hephzie said and rolled back to the kitchen. "I need a brother with no tears n' a big daddy make it southern n' leave the fries naked!"

Ford covered his mouth to muffle his laugher at hearing Hephzie talk-diner and entertained himself by watching his twin brother danced with HotPants McCorkle. They actually looked pretty good together and both had smiles on their faces. Once the song was over, Carla took a sip of soda from her seat at the bar and chatted with Stan for a bit. Once or twice someone would chuckle and at one point Stan worked back to his table with Carla waving him goodbye.

Stan say down very smugly and said, "And that is how it's done, brother."

"What, you got her number?" Ford asked.

"Nope! Even better! This guy's gotta date!" Stan said triumphantly as he pointed his thumbs to himself.

Hephzie skated over with a tray full of the teenagers' dinner and laughed, "Ha! Ya owe me ten bucks, Ford!" Ford groaned and forked over the cash while Stan happily munched on his burger and Hephzie quickly swiped a fry off his plate and popped it in her mouth. "Anyways, when are ya gonna meet up?"

"Sunday night. Right here." Stan grunted in between mouthfuls.

"Damn, that's my day off."

"That's kinda why I said Sunday."

That earned him a punch on the shoulder and Hephzie got back to work.

September 29th, 1971

It was raining outside. That was why he was yawning. Yes, that was it. It wasn't late enough for him to be this tired. He looked out the window by the table he had allowed his books and papers to explode on and found it almost too dark to see the rain. Stanford blinked his stiff eyes a few times, then removed his glasses and pinched the bridge of the nose he inherited from his father.

He wasn't hungry, but he was starting to feel a little drowsy. Maybe a quick walk to stretch his legs? That sounded best. And then back to homework. Stanford stood up and stretched, popping his stuff back as he bent backwards and had his polydactyl hands planted on the base of his spine. He pushed in his chair and started his way through the thousands of books organized on the vast shelves. The library was a wondrous place. A great place to go if you need to escape.

Stanford's footsteps could be heard on the marble floor below him and the rain drummed on the domed ceiling above him. He traced a finger over the aged books, being in the science-fiction section, and picked up a title or two that he instantly recognized. Journey to the Center of the Planet, Gold Earth, 500 Years, and The Big Fish to name a few. Stanford couldn't risk getting distracted from his work today, but he might check a fictional book out later for some fun reading.

A distant grandfather clock told the teenager that it was an hour before the library would be closing. He sighed, breathing in the incense, and traveled back to the big table where his stuff was laid out. He sat down and picked up a pencil to finish his Trigonometry. A few minutes later, he heard footsteps and looked up on reflex to see who it was. He was surprised to not see a total stranger, but to see Hephzibah. She appeared to be looking for him, and when their eyes met, she smiled. Stanford smiled back and resumed his work; however, he could feel Hephzibah pull out the chair on his right and sit down, her backpack hung behind the chair.

"I thought I'd find ya here." Hephzibah whispered, resting a cheek in her hand as her elbow rested on the table.

"Is everything okay?" Stanford asked, not looking up from his homework.

"Yeah. Just had nowhere else better to be." Hephzibah answered in an equally quiet voice. "What about ya?"

"Just getting some work done."

"Hm. Wanna grab a bite to eat?"

Stanford wasn't necessarily hungry, but food did sound delicious. Maybe a taco or something. He looked up and threw the teenager in dreadlocks a smile. "Sure. Just let me finish."

"Course." Hephzibah said and got up. She ventured out to the books and searched for an interesting title. She picked up an old brown book and opened it, found it somewhat interesting, and decided that it was worth sitting down with. Once back in her seat, she asked, "Seen Stan?"

Stanford rolled his eyes before finishing an equation. He hardly saw Stanley much these days, given the fact that he was always off with that McCorkle girl. Not that it really bothered Stanford all that much - he liked the quiet and his alone-time - but he could do without how "mushy" his tough brother was becoming. How many times had Stanley gone on and on about their first kiss? How many nights did Stanley send Stanford to sleep by babbling into the darkness about how amazing Carla was and how much fun the two had together? Stanford was happy for Stanley, but it was getting a little irritating.

"Out with Carla."

"Ah." Hephzibah nodded, not looking up from her book.

"He won't stop talking about her." Stanford let slip in a bitter mutter.

"You're not jealous, are ya?"

"No!" Stanford said in a louder voice than wise.

Hephzibah look up from the story in her hands and raised an eyebrow at her; it was hard to tell if she was doing so out of not believing him or disapproval for his raised voice in a library.

"No, I'm not jealous." Stanford said in a quieter tone and explained himself. "It's just… Stan talks about the fact that he's kissed a girl like it's a huge accomplishment. It's… it's becoming a little demeaning."

"I doubt he even knows demeaning of that word."

"Oh my God." Stanford groaned and held his head. Hephzibah chuckled in a way that made Stanford's heart flutter. He smiled as he held his head and he slowly straightened up. "It'd just be nice if Stanley would get off his high horse."

"I get it." Hephzibah sighed and closed the book, not getting any reading done. "It seems like every other guy in school as kissed someone. They make it this big fiasco, n' it's… stressful."

Stanford raised a brow at her. "Stressful?"

"Well, yeah." Hephzibah whispered. "Think about it. Everyone expects their first kiss to be perfect. Didn't Stan do it in the middle of the rain while out for a walk in the park?"

"Something like that." Stanford mumbled.

"I wish I could get mine over with."

Stanford stared at Hephzibah. He gave her a look of complete and utter shock before hissing, "Are you kidding me?"

The dark-skinned woman looked at him with a crooked smile. "What?"

"You've never kissed a guy?"

Hephzibah chuckled as she answered. "No, who would I have kissed?"

Stanford opened and closed his mouth, trying to think of a right answer, or hoping words would just spill out, but no sound escaped from behind his lips, so he pressed them together and got back to work on his studies. Of course Hephzibah had never kissed anyone. As far as Stanford knew, there was no guy to kiss. Still, it was a little confusing as to why. Surely a beautiful young woman like Hephzie with her long black hair and stunning eyes and perfect body could manage to get a kiss if she wanted one. Maybe that was it; maybe she didn't want one. But… she had just said…

Stanford glanced back up at her to find her lost in thought. She closed her eyes for a moment, said something under her breath, sighed, and opened her eyes, looking out at the bookshelves that filled the room.

"What?" Stanford whispered.

"Nothin'."

"No, what?"

Hephzibah looked back at him and leaned into her chair, holding her forearms and looking down at her lap. "I was just thinkin'... maybe… no, it's stupid."

"Come on, you can tell me." Stanford mumbled and sat his pencil down, giving her his full attention as he turned his body and rested his left elbow on the table. "Look, if it makes you feel any better, I've never kissed anyone, either."

"I know." Hephzibah said gently, still not looking at him. "Fine. I was gonna say that…"

"We should kiss?"

Hephzibah looked up at him and looked at him in a funny way. Growing up, Stanford had seen many facial expressions from her. He had seen looks that could kill, a face full of misery and woe, and a smile that could outshine the sun. But here she was, looking at him like she was expecting the absolute worst from him. Hephzibah was tough, like the twins, and was unsure about putting herself out there, but now that she had she seemed to be preparing herself for rejecting or even hatred.

Stanford leaned back in his chair, too, his twelve fingers locked on his lap. "Huh." He gave the idea some thought. He could understand why Hephzibah would have the idea to kiss. It would certainly solve their problem. "I don't think it's a bad idea."

Hephzibah blinked, her face relaxing slowly. "Really?" Stanford was the smart guy; if he thought the idea was worth keeping than it must be.

"It would allow us to get it out of the way." Stanford pointed out, looking at her. "And there is some comfort in knowing we shared our first kiss with someone… special. But not in that way!" He quickly added in a low hiss and shook his hands in front of him as he turned again towards Hephzie.

"No, no, you're right!" She agreed and sat at the edge of her seat. "N' just this once! Never again!"

"Agreed! And we take this to our graves!"

"Totally!" Hephzibah whispered back and bit her lip. "So… we really gonna do it?"

Stanford gave it another thought as he looked at her. Kissing Hephzibah Cece? His old childhood friend? It sounded… it sounded ridiculous, but honestly he couldn't think of anyone better to share his first kiss with. Plus, it would be her first time, too. She wouldn't judge him or reject him or ridicule him. Kissing Hephzibah was risk-free and would allow him to see what all the fuss was about, and Stanford knew the feelings were mutual.

He nodded. "Yeah… yeah, I think we should."

Hephzibah let out a deep breath and looked at him for a moment, as if waiting for something. When Stanford was still, she whispered so quietly he hardly heard her, "So? Lean."

Stanford blinked at the realization and readjusted how he sat in the stiff wooden chair so he was at the edge, close to Hephzibah. Suddenly it hit him what he was about to do and he was a little unsure. It was too late to back out now, but he wasn't sure what he was doing. After all, he had never done this before.

Stanford decided to make this as comfortable as possible. He slowly reached up to touch Hephzibah's cheek so she would see his six-fingered hand coming towards her, but she only smiled in approval and let him touch her smooth, dark skin. Stanford was pleasantly surprised by how soft her cheek was. Hephzibah placed a hand on his shoulder and gave it a kind squeeze to let him know it felt right to her. In return, he gently rubbed his thumb on her cheek.

He had stalled long enough. Stanford leaned in and closed his eyes to respect Hephzibah's privacy. She did the same until their lips met in the middle and were still there for a moment. It was like a lightbulb went off in Stanford's head. It's power was so bright it was blinding him, but now he seemed to understand a little bit what was fuss was about. It felt… nice. But they weren't really doing anything. Their lips were only touching. Stanford wanted to try and see if maybe they should do more, but he didn't want to overstep any boundaries. He opened his eyes to see how Hephzibah was doing and was pleased to find a soft smile on her face, or as much as a smile as her puckered lips would let her. Stanford closed his eyes again and moved his lips so they layered, Hephzibah's top lips in between his own. He could feel her hand slowly moved down from his shoulder to the front of his long-sleeved polo, grabbed the collar of his shirt and slowly pulling him closer.

And that's when it stopped. They both separated, their eyes opening, their lips sealing. Stanford cleared his throat and removed his hand from Hephzie as she let go of his shirt.

"That was…" Stanford looked at her and found it hard to suppress a smile. "... nice."

"Yeah." Hephzibah breathed as she shook her head to clear it. "Yeah, good job."

Stanford chuckled as he started to pack up his things. "Thanks. You, too."

"So, how about Mexican?" Hephzibah asked, concerning dinner.

Stanford smiled. Not only because he was craving Mexican food as well, but because he was pleased to find that things were back to normal. A small voice in the back of his head told him that after the kiss things would never be the same, but they were. Hephzibah still talked to him like a normal person and they were still best friends. The only thing that changed was that they both could mark "First Kiss" off their bucket list.

Stanford zipped his backpack closed and swung it over his shoulder. "Sounds delicious."

Hephzibah slipped on her own backpack and whispered with him all the way out of the library. Once at the entrance, Hephzibah pulled out her umbrella and shared it with Stanford before venturing out into the cold, wet night. Stanford was happy to find, once again, that things weren't awkward when they had to stand close under the umbrella to keep themselves dry.