Kate

After Jillian finishes working on Jarrod's outfit, he changes back into his jeans and T-shirt, and we pop in The Matrix. A few minutes in, Jillian goes to her room to read, claiming she has no clue what's happening. As soon as she's gone, I move in closer to Jarrod. It's not that I'm embarrassed, but it feels odd to be close to Jarrod when Jillian's around.

We're quiet for a while, commenting on the movie here and there, but not really talking. But soon a line from the movie reminds me of something.

"Speaking of minds, you read mine earlier," I say, turning to look at him.

"I did," he says, wincing apologetically. "I didn't mean to, it just happened."

"Eh, it's okay," I say. "I mean, I don't want you to read my mind whenever you want, but I was thinking…"

"Uh-oh… What now?" he jokes.

"It might be a good idea for you to read my mind once in a while. Like, when I give you a signal or something. Hell, it could be fun," I smile mischievously.

"Allllright…" Jarrod agrees slowly, thinking about it. "But what kind of signal are you talking about?"

"I don't know… Something like this?" I make a funny face: my eyes cross, tongue hangs out, and nose wrinkles. I hold it for a second, then Jarrod starts laughing and I do too. We joke around for a bit, but finally decide on a system of special looks. There's one for him to ask if he can read my mind, one for me to tell him to, and a few others.

We end up talking through the rest of the movie, and I'm very disappointed when it ends. I don't want Jarrod to leave. I had so much fun with him tonight. But finally, he calls his dad and he says he'll be over in a bit.

When he hangs up he's standing in the kitchen and I come to stand by him.

"Jarrod, are we… er, well… are we a couple? I mean…" I pause. "Damn," I say finally. "I shouldn't have brought this up." I look everywhere but at Jarrod, trying to find something to say, anything. Jarrod's done this before, the boyfriend/girlfriend deal. I haven't. He knows how these things work. I should have left this up to him. I mean, yea, we're into each other, I really like Jarrod, but that doesn't mean we have to be a couple. An item.

There's a silence between us that seems to last forever. I can almost hear the wheels in his head turning, trying to find a way to say No without hurting me too much. He opens his mouth as if to say something, and we hear a car horn beep twice outside. His father's here. No! Now he'll have all night to think of what a retard I must be. His chest drops as he lets out the breath he was going to use to tell me he doesn't want to be my boyfriend. He takes another breath. This time he uses it.

"He's here. I better go. Uh, I'll pick you up at 6?"

I only nod in response. He grabs his jacket and clothing then comes back over to me. "Er, bye Kate," he says before giving me an awkward kiss on the cheek and leaving,

I numbly tidy up the living room and go upstairs to bed.

Jarrod

Dad and I make small talk on the way home, but not much more. I guess I don't look to happy, but I can't help it. I mean, I had assumed that Kate and I were boyfriend and girlfriend, and I thought she had too. Why bring it up then, other than to let me know she didn't want that?

My mind drifts and I think about the past few hours. I had so much fun tonight. It's amazing to see her open up without being afraid of what someone will think of her…

But why wouldn't she want to be my girlfriend? My mind keeps going back to that thought. Had I done something wrong? Did I say something? It's so frustrating.

And we agreed not to talk to each other tomorrow until I pick her up so it would be like a real date. Why would she want to go on a date if she didn't want us to be a couple? Now I can't even call her to ask.

Dad knows I'm going to the party with Kate tomorrow, and I'm sure he knows Kate's the reason for my mood. He's always been able to tell what's going on in my head. He likes to call it fathers' intuition, or some junk like that. But thankfully, he doesn't bring up Kate or the party or any of that stuff at all. Another thing my Dad's good at: knowing when and when not to bring certain things up.

Once we get in the house, Mum tells Dad that Casey fell asleep while he was gone, and they both ask me if I want to watch a movie.

"No," I reply simply before getting a drink from the kitchen and going to my room.