AN: Heyhey! Sorry it's been taking me forever to update… ugh, it's bothering me too, but I've been so busy lately! Grr. Thanks for waiting patiently though! I love you guys! And for waiting and putting up with me, this is an extra long chapter by about 2 pages! Please continue to review! Now, on with chapter 8!

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Shopping and Shakey's

Back then, we were just love-struck teens who cared about each other deeply. We still are that, but now there is more to it. We know where we stand. Before, we were just the regular high school couple, maybe more, but now it's different. We know we want to be with each other. Honestly, if he bent down on one knee and proposed to me right now, I would say yes with no regrets. I know that it seems way too soon, but people don't understand. I know Stan is the only guy I've gone out with, but I don't want to go out with anybody else; I can't even imagine that. Stan and I splitting up would be like Romeo and Juliet splitting up – impossible.

As for more recent updates, Kyle and Bebe are still the happy-go-lucky high school couple. They aren't as serious as Stan and I, but it's obvious that they love each other. Sometimes we go on double dates together, which is pretty awesome. However, if we are just going to the movies, we don't have that much time to talk…

Now it's June, and we are going to be let out of school in two days. Everybody is freaking out, and Stan and I are especially excited considering that we are going on a cruise all by ourselves that summer...

Junior prom is coming up on the last day of school, and Bebe, Red, and I are all going shopping for dresses Thursday night, which just so happens to be tonight.

Stan and I were walking back to my house, hand in hand, because we didn't want to take the bus so we could have a nice walk in the beautiful weather that only comes for a couple weeks.

As we walked into the brilliant sunlight from inside the dull school, we took deep breaths of the fresh, warm Colorado air. For once, there were no specs of snow on the ground, and the trees were flourished with vibrant green leaves.

We had been walking for about five minutes, when the sun's full blast went right into my eyes, so I turned away toward Stan. I ended up staring right into his eyes.

Stan's eyes in the sunlight were incredible. They were an incredibly clear light blue that sparkled with a faint glimmer. He was more beautiful that I had ever seen him, and that's saying something. My face must have been composed in some awestruck manor. I reached up and took his face in my hands, stroking his cheeks as he looked down at me.

"You're so beautiful. I know I've told you that time and time again, but you honestly don't know you're own beauty, Stan."

He smiled lovingly as he reached up to hold my face also.

"You don't seem to know your own beauty either," he said.

I reached up on my tip toes and kissed him. He picked me up and swung me around in circles, and he lost balance after a couple swings and fell down in the grass. We laughed and struggled to get up to continue toward my house in a joyous mood.

"Hurry up Bebe!" Red and I shouted simultaneously to her, for we were waiting outside her door while she got all spruced up to go to the mall.

"Beauty takes time, my dear children," she replied, her voice slightly muffled by the closed door.

"We are only going to the mall!" I complained.

"Which is exactly why I need to look nice – I must be noticed."

"But you already have a boyfriend."

"Well, I still want to be noticed. It's fun watching random guy's expressions when I pass by them."

I groaned.

"Jesus, Bebe, can't we even freaking come in?" Red asked, irritated.

"No! I told you already that you can't come in!"

"Why the hell not?"

"Because I'm not finished!"

Red sighed. That was not the clear answer that Red and I had wanted, but we could expect no less from Bebe.

"AHHHRG!" Bebe shrieked; she sounded seriously pissed.

"Bebe, what's wrong?" I asked.

"MY. HAIR. LOOKS. LIKE. SHIT!" she screamed.

"Bebe, let us just come in and help you…"

"NO!"

Red and I exchanged glances. "Let's just go get a drink or something while she finishes whatever she is doing," I told Red.

"Kay," she agreed.

We traveled downstairs and opened up the fridge, taking out the lemonade. I got up to Bebe's cupboard with her cups, took two, and poured the lemonade in them. We sat down at the table, and began to drink and chat.

"God knows Bebe is going to come out of her room looking like a prom queen, but saying she looks terrible," commented Red.

"If only all of us could be as pretty as Bebe…" I said, staring out the window.

Red perked up. "Well at least we all have hot boyfriends!"

"Yeah we do!" I said excitedly, thinking about Stan.

"So how is Stan? You guys are the most talked-about couple in high school," Red informed me.

"Really?" I laughed lightly. "Well, I guess it's not much of a surprise. Honestly, if he asked me, I would marry him. Red, we are really serious."

She looked stunned. "Marry him? Already?"

"If you were me, you would know. It's true love, I know it."

She eyed my cautiously, but seemed to accept it.

I decided to change the subject. "How are you and Kenny?"

Her expression lightened. "Oh we're great! I mean, it's just a regular high school couple, but I really like him. We say 'I love you' and stuff, like it's no big deal, but I really do think I love him," she said with a glimmer in her eyes.

"Oh that's great!" I exclaimed.

She smiled widely.

Just then, we heard footsteps coming down the stairs. Bebe emerged into the kitchen in a jean miniskirt and a tight-fitting pink spaghetti-strap shirt bearing the words "You Wanna Piece of Me?" She also straightened her hair so it fell halfway down her back having a soft, shiny luster. Lastly, she had on black high-heeled sandals that crisscrossed every which way.

Red and I stared at Bebe with our mouths hanging open.

"Ugh, I couldn't find anything to wear! All of my outfits sucked, but I just went with this one. You guys?" she added after she took in our expressions, "Do I look that awful? I mean, I know I don't look all that great, but you guys don't need to rub it in…"

"Shut up Bebe," said Red angrily. "You know that every girl in the school wishes that they looked like you and then you go around looking like a freaking movie star but only saying you look okay. That's retarded."

Bebe just stared at her with a slightly resentful expression.

"She didn't mean for you to take offense Bebe," I started, "She was merely stating the truth."

Bebe let out a huff in agreement. "Alright then, I guess I'll just take that as a compliment."

"Good, now let's go shopping for prom dresses!" Red exclaimed, yet still half irritated by Bebe.

We all cheered. As Bebe turned around to head out toward the door, I noticed that the back of her shirt said "Too Bad, I'm Already Taken." I guess she had gotten that after she stared dating Kyle, or after one of the other hundreds of boys she has dated.

We jumped in Red's pink Volvo (yes, it was pink), and drove to the mall, talking excitedly about the kinds of dresses we all wanted.

After a couple of minutes, Bebe changed the subject.

"You know what?" she asked.

"What?" Red and I said together.

"Kyle's ass is really hot. I mean really hot. Like, if he were gay, the guy that screwed him there would be in heaven the whole time, admiring the greatness of his ass."

Red and I exchanged dumbfounded glances.

"I'm just saying it's really hot. I wanted you guys to understand what I was talking about."

"Yeah, um, that's nice Bebe," I said quietly.

That was the end of that discussion.

After about ten minutes, we arrived at South Park Mall, and practically sprinted into a store called Macy's to try to find nice dresses before they were all taken.

Luckily, there were still plenty on the racks, probably because they had stocked up on extra due to prom.

Red and I grabbed around six dresses each, while Bebe picked up about fifteen.

"God Bebe, do you even half enough time to try all of those on? Plus, we still have other stores to go to if we don't like any of these!" said Red.

"Hmm… I think I'll manage."

We all ran into the dressing rooms and tried on dresses. We each tried on one and came out at the same time, so we could give each other comments about our dresses.

I ended up falling in love with an ice blue dress (which just so happened to be around the same color of Stan's eyes) that was long, sleeveless, and elegant. It was pretty simple, being a solid color and a little sash around my waste, but it was beautiful.

Red also fell in love with a dress in Macy's as well. It was a warm chocolate brown color that fluffed out slightly at the bottom. It was a spaghetti strap and it was a few sequined flowers across her chest area.

Red and I came out to make our purchases while Bebe tried on the rest of her dresses.

After we came back, we found out that Bebe didn't like any dresses, obviously, and being her picky self she lugged us around to a milled other stores before finding one that she liked, but I must say it was well worth it.

Her baby pink dress was strapless, just like mine, and after it past down her waist it fell in soft ripples until it almost touched to floor. Unusually, Bebe thought she looked really good in her dress, which was amazing because she is usually complaining that she looks bad.

We went with her to buy her dress and started to go to the smoothie stand.

"Mmm I love smoothies!" Bebe said as we approached the stand.

"Yum! I want a mango one!" said Red.

"Oh screw mango, I'm getting blueberry!"

"I love strawberry mango," I mentioned.

"Yum Yum Yum! Smoothie time, ladies!" Bebe chattered excitedly.

"What would you like, young ladies?" the woman working there asked.

"One mango, one blueberry, and one strawberry mango," I told her.

"Okay," she said while punching in numbers on the cash register, "that will be $5.87."

"My treat!" Red shouted as she fished the money out of her purse before Bebe or I could complain.

"Aw thanks!" Bebe and I said as we took sips out of our cold and refreshing drinks.

"Mmm…" I hummed dreamily.

We walked over to a corner of the mall and sat down on a bench.

"So Bebe," I began, "You got all dressed up to attract attention, but I don't see you trying to attract any."

"Oh! I forgot," Bebe said stupidly.

"Alright, now that you remember, let's see you grab some guy's eye," Red said, sounding kind of smug.

"Kay."

Bebe got off the bench and went over near where a group of cute skater guys were chatting.

"Oh, damn! I lost my twenty dollars I was going to use to buy that shirt I've been wanting!" she said devastatingly. I must admit, she was a pretty good actress.

The guys turned around, and once they saw Bebe their eyes seemed to pop out of their sockets. The closest guy near her stepped out of the group and over to her. He had brown hair that came down to his ears and brown eyes.

"You lost twenty dollars?" he asked casually, eying her chest.

Red and I gagged. What a loser.

"Yes," Bebe said, giving a little sniffle and looking up into his eyes.

"Don't worry about it, I have twenty dollars for you, but only if you'll go to the movies with me tonight," he said slyly.

"I have a boyfriend," Bebe said with the tiniest hint of disgust in her voice.

"Oh, well a hot girl like you shouldn't wear such sexy tight-fitting clothes to a mall and attract attention to herself."

"No, I seriously lost twenty dollars, and I like to look nice, thank you very much," she told him.

"Ah, well, I'll give you the money if you promise to call me… and maybe we could get together sometime… without your boyfriend knowing?"

Bebe smiled. "I'd like that."

The guy smiled back. "My name is Scott, and here is my number," he said, writing down his number on a piece of paper Bebe gave him. He then took out twenty dollars and handed it to her.

"Thanks. Bye hun," she added, winking at him.

"See ya, babe."

Bebe turned her back on Scott with the paper with his phone number in hand and came back to us.

"See? This time I even got his phone number, and not to mention twenty bucks!" she shrieked.

"You're not really going to call him, are you?" asked Red.

"Oh hell no, I wouldn't cheat on Kyle! And if you ask me, that guy was a full-of-himself asshole."

"Agreed," Red and I told her.

"Twenty dollars… wow!" I exclaimed.

All of us then finished our smoothies, and headed back to the car. Before Bebe got in, she threw Scott's number in a nearby trashcan, smiling to herself.

"You know, that's like the fortieth time I've thrown out random guy's numbers," she said as we drove home.

Red and I laughed half heartedly because we had already known that.

Red dropped Bebe off and then me, and then she went home.

I stepped into my front door and ran upstairs to my room to put my dress away before Mom made me model it for her, because I really didn't feel like doing that. Right now, I really just wanted to see Stan.

I picked up my cell phone and dialed his number. It rang a few times before he picked up.

"Hello?" His sweet voice almost made my heart melt.

"Hey," I breathed.

"Oh, Wendy, what's up?"

"I was wondering if you wanted to go out to dinner or hang out or something."

"Oh yeah, that would be great! I'm starving. Where do you want to go?"

"Um, I guess let's just go to Shakey's Pizza considering there isn't a good restaurant that isn't twenty minutes away."

"Sounds good," he agreed.

"Do you want to walk or drive?" I asked.

"I think we should walk so we can enjoy the weather."

"That sounds really nice. It's great that you like the outdoors just like me," I commented.

"Yeah, it is nice. Well, I'll be at your house within five minutes, so be ready because my stomach is growling!"

"Okay. Bye Stan," I told him.

"Bye Wendy," he said before hanging up.

I decided to lie on my bed and rest for the few minutes before he came.

The doorbell rang after four minutes. I flew down the stairs and wretched open the door to reveal Stan.

He smiled and reached over to hold my chin while he leaned down to give me a greeting kiss.

After he released me, he smiled and laced my fingers with his.

After walking for a minute in silence, Stan struck up a conversation.

"So, what have you been doing this afternoon?"

"Oh," I had completely forgotten to tell him where I would be. "I went with Red and Bebe to get dresses for junior prom.

"Any luck?" he asked with sincere interest. Most guys wouldn't be that interested. How sweet.

"Yeah, it's blue. Actually it sort of matches the color of your eyes, so maybe that's the reason it caught my eye…" I trailed off, embarrassed.

He smiled. "And do I get to see it on you yet?"

"No, you'll just have to wait until tomorrow," I said, smirking.

"Oh no, how will I ever live?" he said dramatically, putting the back of his hand on his forehead and pretending to faint.

I giggled.

We then arrived at Shakey's Pizza, for it was a very short walk. But then again, in South Park, everything is a short walk away in the town.

We entered, and a young waitress seated us, all the while eying Stan.

"Howdy y'all. My name is Tina and I'll be your server tonight. What would y'all like to drink?" she asked in an Alabaman accent.

"Water, please," I told her.

"Make that two," Stan added.

"Alright, just call me if y'all need anythang' else. I'll be right back with your orders sugarpie," she said while looking as Stan.

As soon as she left, Stan groaned.

"Ugh, I hate it when girls do this to me."

I knew exactly what he was talking about, but I was slightly taken aback.

"Do I annoy you?" I asked.

"Wendy, do you honestly think that you of all people would annoy me? The love of my life?" He looked appalled.

I blushed. "Well, I don't know, I was just wondering."

"Wendy," he said while reaching across the table to hold my hands, "You know my love for you is true and deep. I know I've told you this many times, but you're the one. I know it. I can feel it in the marrow of my bones."

"Thank you Stan, and as you know, I feel the exact same way about you," I told him.

At that moment, the waitress brought us our drinks and placed them right where our hands were connected, forcing us to break apart. Stan looked up at her angrily, but she didn't notice.

"Alrighty, here ya go. Whatcha wanna eat?" she asked, still oblivious to Stan's glares.

I looked at Stan. "Do you just want cheese pizza?"

"Yeah," he said grudgingly, still glaring at Tina as though he was trying to burn a hole through her face.

"Okay then, one large cheese pizza."

"Alright, I'll be back in a jiffy," she said, turning around and storming into the kitchen.

Stan shut his eyes tight and pinched the bridge of his nose. I reached over to stroke his hand, and he seemed to relax at my touch.

"I'm sorry, but that girl pisses me off. Can't she see that I'm with you?" he said angrily.

"Relax Stan, we just have to wait, eat, pay, and then we can go home."

His stomach growled, reminding himself that he was hungry. He chuckled.

"You're right," he agreed.

A few minutes later, Tina came back out with a sizzling plate of pizza.

"Be careful dear, this is hot," she said to Stan. She set the plate on the tip of my finger.

"Ouch!" I yelled, ripping my finger out from the plate and sucking on it.

"Damn it woman don't do that!" shouted Stan furiously. "I'm not interested, so back off!"

Tina glared at him and then turned around, running out of Shakey's.

"Wendy, are you okay?" he asked as soon as he regained his temper.

I inspected my finger before replying, "Yes,"

"Okay, let's eat," Stan said cheerfully, seeming pretty stoked that Tina was gone.

We ate and chatted happily, filling our stomachs with warm, cheesy goodness. Eventually, we finished and paid a new waitress, this girl being nicer and more of a regular waitress than the other. Stan and I then walked home.

The horizon was sparkling in the background as we walked, as usual, hand in hand.

"When we get married," Stan began.

I sighed contently; we had had this conversation before but I loved it when he brought it up. Just thinking about it… him and me, together forever, and completely inseparable by two little rings; the thought was soothing.

"How many children do you want to have?"

The question caught me off guard; he had never asked me something like that before.

"Hmm…" I said, concealing my shock. "I think two would be nice. I always wanted a boy and a girl. Twins would be so adorable!"

He stared off into spacing and appeared to be in deep thought. "Yeah, that would be really nice, but mainly because they would be ours," he said while rubbing the back of my hand with his thumb. "But that won't be until a long time from now," he concluded.

My house finally came into view, and we started to walk up the driveway.

As we stepped onto my doorstep, Stan gave me a long kiss goodnight.

I was in the middle of heaven, until the door opened and my mom was there. Startled out of our minds, Stan and I ripped apart. A warm blush spread across my cheeks.

"Oh, mom," I started.

"Oh, um, honey, um, I'm sorry… I'll just be, um, going now…" she said, embarrassed, and closed the door.

I exhaled.

Stan smiled, and choosing not to comment on that interruption, pulled me into his arms and continued to kiss me with a beautiful sunset behind us.