Hey, guys! Thanks for reading! I really appreciate all of the nice reviews, and if you have any ideas you can PM me or leave a review! I love it when you guys reviews bcz it really does inspire me to keep writing when I know u r following along. BTW; Can anyone answer this question? Is it possible to extend the time your story is posted (60 days) to a longer time? When your chapters start going away, do you just repost them or…?

k, sorry, I will stop blabbing now. Here is Chapter 14! It's gonna be intense!

Drew stepped gracefully down the staircase while a flushing Jessica changed clothes upstairs in her room. He was so proud of himself; mostly just for having the raw nerve to even ask her. He could still remember the way her face turned pink when she'd thought it was a date. A date. Pffft, please, like he'd ask her on a date. He was Drew Hitley! He dated actresses and pop stars, not normal, plain girls from Washington. That was simply absurd! But nothing says he couldn't try something new… he was Drew Hitley after all--he had an open mind.

He stepped off of the last step and headed towards the familiar cushy red chair he had grown to like. He'd wait on her to get ready. He'd be surprised if she was down within thirty minutes because girls always got nervous and overdid it when it came to dates with The Drew. How could they not? He was handsome, famous, rich, and had connections everywhere. He was a wanted man. It was impossible to not feel inferior around him! However, Jessica seemed to be doing just fine. This nagged him constantly.

"I cannot believe this," Jessica muttered to herself after she knew Drew was safely downstairs. "How could my mom do this to me? How could she let him in my room? I knew I shouldn't have told him where I lived. Now he not only knows that, but he knows where my bedroom is! Oh, this is fantastic."

She groggily rose from her bed and ran her hand through her thick dark hair. She sighed and walked over to her dresser drawers. She'd probably ought to dress in something a little nicer and easy to move around in. She opened her bottom drawer and pulled out a pair of dark skinny jeans and then took a light red sweater out from her top drawer that fit her nicely. She went over to her closet, leaned down, and took a pair of clean navy blue chucks out. She looked over her outfit and nodded in satisfaction. It would have to be good enough. It wasn't like she planned on spending twenty minutes anticipating an outfit for Drew Hitley. Like she'd waste time doing that when she could be doing better things with her time--like cleaning a toilet!

She got dressed and went to the bathroom to brush out her surprisingly silky hair and put on mascara. She snuck to her mother's bathroom quietly and applied some of Ms. Kramer's foundation. Thank goodness they had the same skin color. She also put on some dark brown eye shadow and applied a small amount of blush. She looked at her reflection with wary eyes. She wasn't used to looking like this… but she had to admit, she liked it. It wasn't so bad. But something was missing… lip-gloss! She took a natural-looking pink color and applied it to her full lips until they shined.

She drew in a deep breath and sighed. She couldn't believe she had said yes to this. She was regretting this decision more and more with each passing second. She wanted to say no… oh, how much she had wanted to say no… but she couldn't bring herself to say it. The look on his face had been too hopeful, too pleading, too honest. After all, he had said that it was not a date, but she knew that it meant about the same thing to him. She just wished that she could set the record straight without hurting his feelings. She refused to stoop to his level. She cut her own thoughts short and shook her head. She needed to stop thinking about everything too much and making it harder than they had to be. She could try to be nice, and she could attempt to have fun, but that dark cloud of caution was always going to be there. Always.

"Oh, is she ready yet?" Ms. Kramer asked, more to herself than to Drew. They were sitting in seats across from each other in the living room, waiting for Jessica to finish getting ready. Her mother twisted her fingers together nervously, refusing to look away from the staircase for more than a couple of seconds. She was sad enough to admit that she was looking at it, more alert than Drew probably was himself.

Drew shrugged, "let her take her time. Surprisingly, I'm in no hurry. I am actually free tonight. Wow, that would be a first for me."

Ms. Kramer continued to stare at him with a mixture of compassion and sympathy.

"Really? You've never had a free night before?" she asked, the tone that only a mother could possess taking over her voice.

Drew's brows pulled together.

"It's no big deal," he said casually.

"Of course it is! You've never had free night to do what you wanted to do? That's horrible! You're missing out on part of being a teenager."

"Well, I'm fabulously famous," he said, as if it made up for everything. Which in his mind, it probably did. Ms. Kramer shook her head.

"But being a normal teenager is so much fun! And when you're a teen, you get to experience things that will influence you for the rest of your life. The trouble you get into can help you make more responsible decisions in the future."

Drew raised his eyebrows, as if saying 'and your point is?'

"These things help you learn to support yourself when you become an adult," she explained. "You can't expect to know what to do if everyone gives you everything you want. You have to know how to take yourself seriously and responsibly."

Drew scowled. He was suddenly reminded of the pessimistic article that was published about him. It said the exact same thing. He was seventeen, after all. He was graduating in a little over a year. What was he going to do? It wasn't like he was planning to go to college… that had never been the plan. He was planning to be an actor his entire life. But what if that didn't work out? What if all he had on a resume was that he had a complete high school education? People worked with that… but his grades weren't very good and what was the best job he could receive? Busting tables in McDonalds?

"Yeah, yeah, yeah, I've heard it all before," he said dismissively. However, he was a little more polite with Jessica's mother. He felt like he needed her approval for some strange reason. He wanted to get on the mother's good side--if he wasn't already. "I guess I kind of see where you're coming from, but I'm a wanted guy. Directors practically beg at my feet for me to participate in their movies."

"I understand," Ms. Kramer nodded, "but you might want to have a backup plan. Just in case."

Drew bit his lip and just nodded. He didn't want to argue with her, even though he strongly disagreed. He'd always be famous. He'd always be sought after. Right?

Ms. Kramer nodded, seeing that the conversation wasn't going to go anywhere.

"I'll go upstairs and see how she's coming along," she said, desperate to shy away from the awkward silence. She only wanted to talk with him when she had something to say, which was most of the time. But now that she'd told him what she'd intended to, the silence was deafening.

Jessica's mother jumped out of her chair hastily and climbed up the stairs, anxious to see what was taking so long. Why was she leaving her down there all alone with Drew Hitley? She didn't know what to say to the guy who had a crush on her daughter, let alone the fact that he didn't really know it yet. Despite the fact she wanted to just yell out to both of them, 'YOU TWO ARE MEANT TO BE TOGETHER! JUST ADMIT IT AND GET ON WITH YOUR LIFE!', she felt like she should let them discover it on their own. She knew from experience that these things could not be rushed or pushed.

"Jessica," Ms. Kramer began, walking into her room slowly, "I think you need to--"

She was stopped short.

There Jessica stood, looking so much different than anyone had ever expected her to look. Jessica turned around in surprise, cursing under her breath. She was hoping that her mother wouldn't notice the makeup until she was downstairs in front of Drew. If she was in front of someone, her mother would have been least likely to say anything. Now she was in for it… Ms. Kramer would go hysteric and force her to go to the bathroom and take it all off.

"Mom!" Jessica exclaimed, clutching her chest, "don't scare me like that!"

"Honey--"

"Mom, please! I'm barely wearing any makeup, and the makeup I am wearing isn't heavy. I just wanted to try it out, and I was having a good hair day. Please, don't make me go take it off!"

"Jess--"

"Yeah, yeah, I know what you think about it. I know you believe that's it is superficial and that people my age shouldn't have to wear it to make themselves feel good. I know you tell me that I am beautiful just the way I am, and I realize that. But please, just once! I just wanted to try and all I am doing is enhancing the features I already have. Is that so wrong?

"Jessica!" her mother finally got a word in. "Relax! Let me talk! I was going to say that you look amazing."

"Oh, please, don't even try to--wait, what?"

Ms. Kramer walked across the room towards her daughter and placed a hand gingerly on her shoulder.

"I'm not going to give you some gushy, big speech about inner beauty or a relationship between a mother and a daughter, but I am going to make it short, and I am going to say something." She stroked her daughter's shining dark hair. "I was just waiting until you were ready. I wasn't sure exactly when that was going to be, and I wasn't sure exactly what I was looking for to tell me that you were, but you are going to be a college girl in less than two years. I think it's about time I lightened up a bit."

Jessica and her mother shared a loving smile and a brief hug.

"Thanks, Mom. I love you."

"I love you, too. Now, go down there and impress your--" she was cut off by Jessica's glare. "Friend who is here for nothing more than a friendly outing."

Jessica smiled in satisfaction and walked to her closet.

"Alright, Mom. Would you mind telling him I'm almost done? I need to add one last touch."

"Sure, hon," she smiled warmly, stepping out of the room and closing the door behind her. She shook her head in amazement. Drew was in for more than he deserved--more than any boy deserved, in her opinion. But then again, she was a mother. She was going to be slightly biased. But, biased or unbiased, anyone could see that Jessica was gorgeous with a stunning smile.

Ms. Kramer hopped off of the last stair happily, humming her favorite tune. Drew was standing up now, pacing back and forth nervously. Of course, once he realized someone was in the room, he stood still and smiled innocently.

"So?" Drew asked, trying to keep his voice from breaking from anticipation.

"So…" she trailed off meaningfully, wagging her eyebrows. "She's almost done. Don't worry, it will only be a couple of more seconds." She stepped closer to him and dropped her voice to a whisper. "And it was definitely worth the wait."

Drew's look was questioning and confused as she skipped to the kitchen to give them some privacy. Of course she'd be able to hear what was going on, but she'd try not to if she could help it.

Drew turned away from the kitchen and towards the stairs once he heard footsteps. He was not prepared at all for what he was about to see.

Jessica stepped down the steps a little more quickly than usual, although in his mind, she was walking in slow motion. Her hair was silky, dark, and flawless. Her light red sweater was long enough to shape around her hips and over her two front pockets, but it was not long enough to be a dress. Her dark jeans curved down her legs smoothly, never wrinkling or showing any sign of imperfection. Her dark navy chucks was something he'd never expect anyone to wear with that outfit, but they worked. They definitely worked. A small, understated silver necklace hung limply from her neck, tying it all together.

But then he saw her face.

She was beautiful. No, not beautiful. Beautiful would be an insulting word. It didn't cover her appearance closely enough. Millions of different words ran through his head: gorgeous, breath-taking, pretty, hot, lovely, and many, many more. His eyes bugging out of his head, his mouth agape, he was frozen. Completely frozen. Once again, no girl had ever made him freeze up. He was supposed to make girls freeze like a statue! They weren't supposed to have that affect on him! It was against the rules!

It was a couple of moments before he realized that Jessica was standing in front of him and not still walking down the stairs.

"Alright," she sighed casually, "I'm decent."

Still frozen. No response. He was pushed into total shock if he wasn't already. Decent? Decent? Honestly? Is that all she saw? Simply decent?

"Uh…" Drew mumbled, "um… well… you…"

"Are stuttering," she quoted him, following it up with a wide signature smile. Now he was nearly completely paralyzed. He smiled in response, not trusting himself to speak. No telling what would slip out…

"I… uh…"

"Have you decided if you're okay with the carnival yet?"

Drew finally forced himself to speak. He had to. She was waiting for an answer.

"I already told you that wherever you wanted to go was fine with me," he muttered, not wanting to speak any louder. He was positive his voice would crack.

"I know, you just looked like you didn't really want to," Jessica shrugged. "I guess we don't have to."

"No," Drew said confidently. His voice broke, just like he'd expected. However, he ignored the look it earned from Jessica. "I am paying you back for having me over for Christmas. We are going where you want to go, like it or not."

"Hmmm," Jessica said suspiciously, narrowing her eyes, "that's surprisingly selfless, Drew."

His pulse hammered in his veins.

"Uh, yeah," he breathed, "whatever. Don't get used to it."

She smiled her breath-taking smile when he said this. That had been exactly what he'd said when he'd apologized for the first time, and he'd done it over and over again.

Drew exerted more effort than he ever had in not saying--especially doing--something incredibly stupid than ever before. There were so many things his hormones wanted to do on impulse at the moment… but he fought back the thoughts with every tiny bit of his willpower he had remaining.

"So, are you ready to go?" she asked, pulling a piece of paper out of her back pocket. "I printed out directions. It's really not that far, so no whining."

This helped snap him back into reality. However, his voice was not normal yet.

"Please, Drew Hitley doesn't do whining," he snorted. His voice was still a simple octave too high. She raised her eyebrows suspiciously but shook it off with a shrug.

"Sure he doesn't," she rolled her eyes. "But do you mind if I ask you a question?"

Drew was suddenly tense. His eyes were cautious.

"What?"

"Why do you always speak in third person?" she asked.

"I--" He honestly didn't know.

"Never mind. Do you want to leave now?"

His thoughts were now scrambled again since his mind had been taken off of the current question. His eyes were stuck to her, and he was unable to look away no matter how hard he tried. Just then, the unfairness of the situation settled in on him. He was doing what she should have been doing to him from the beginning! He didn't want to give her the satisfaction… but he soon forgot everything that just ran through his mind when she stepped closer.

"Drew, hello?" she asked, waving her hand in front of her face. His mind was elsewhere. She was within touching distance… so close. They were only about four inches apart. He could smell her lavender body wash. Her freesia shampoo was incredibly mind-boggling. She was so gorgeous… she smelled so good… she was so down-to-earth…

He was snapped out of his trance when he realized she was no longer standing in front of him. By now she was halfway to the door. Drew was so startled with his behavior that his cheeks turned pink and stayed that way for the next half hour.