A Daydream Away
New Beginnings
Grace's POV
It's been two months since I started dating Alex. The two best months of my life, to be exact. I've got all my friends. Well, Sam and Jake moved, but I was always closer to Jack and Zack anyway. And of course, biotechnology is still a little weird, but since Rian saw how Matt treats me, he changed it so Alex and I are lab partners. That and he knows how well we work together, so we're cocaptains and partners for all of our Science Olympiad events.
Yeah, Zack and I made up. We're not quite as close as we used to be, and he's still jealous, but he would never hurt me like that again. I remember every second of that conversation so clearly....
"Gracie? Please, can I talk to you? I'm sorry. I know that's not enough. But I can't tell you everything unless you actually let me talk to you. See you. Please."
"Alright, fine Zack. You can come over tonight, and we'll talk. But don't think for a second Alex won't be there. No protesting. You know exactly why. Oh, and if I get even the slightest hint of you having alcohol, then you can just say goodbye."
He hangs his head, still looking sad, but somewhat hopeful. "Okay. I'll see you tonight Gracie."
I still flinch when he uses my nickname. I shake my head, and walk away.
Later that night, Zack comes over while Alex and I were "doing some homework" to talk. He actually knocks this time, and I grab Alex's hand tightly as I walk to the door.
"Come in, Zack."
He nods and enters, knowing to walk to the living room. He sits alone on one of the chairs, while I sit next to him on a loveseat with Alex on the other side of me.
"So talk." I don't mean to sound so harsh, but I'm hurt. And he needs to know that.
"Look, Grace. There are no excuses for what happened. I know that. I should have never hid my feelings, and especially never taken out my anger at myself on you. I screwed you over before, and I had no right to believe that you would just be mine. I feel terrible, and I know it's going to take a while to build our friendship and trust again. But I can't lose you, Grace. You mean a lot to me."
I'm holding back tears. "Thank you. I think I understand now. You're right, it's going to be a long journey. But you're still one of my closest friends."
Both Zack and Alex smile. "GROUP HUG!" Alex shouts.
Wow. I really spaced out there, didn't I? Oh well.
"Hey Lex!" I exclaimed, running up to my boyfriend and giving him a kiss on the cheek. He returned it with a disinterested smile, and turned to walk without even grabbing my hand. I know how obsessive that sounds, but it's kind of our thing. He definitely doesn't remember it's our two month anniversary. Oh well, I mean it's not like we're married! But it would have been nice. I got him a present, anyway. He's supposed to come over tonight, so maybe he'll remember by then.
The rest of the day passes normally, although Alex is still being a little distant. I get ready to walk home with Zack.
"Hey Gracie."
"Hey Zack."
"What's up? You seem kind of down."
"Well, it's my anniversary with Alex, and I don't think he remembered."
"Oh. Sorry Grace. I'm sure it's just an accident."
"Yeah."
We walk the rest of the way in silence. He drops me off at my house, and I walk in, sighing loudly. My phone rings. It's Jack.
"Yeah Jacky?"
"Sorry to bug you Gracie, I know you're having a bad day, but could you trade shifts with me? Please? I'll work yours tomorrow and you'll have a free weekend."
"Okay Jack. No problem. Your shift starts at 4 and ends at 7, right?"
"Mhmmm."
"Okay. Talk to you later Jack."
"Bye Grace."
Work, to top it all off. Great.
Alex's POV
Gracie seemed really upset today. She probably thinks I forgot our anniversary! I know I was being a jerk, but I was afraid if I talked to her too much, I'd let something slip about tonight. I'm just at home trying to get everything ready when I get a call from Jack.
"Hey dude."
"Hey Alex. So, I got Grace to switch shifts. She'll be home around 7:30. So we've got over three hours to get her house ready. I'll meet you over there in like 15 minutes?"
"Sounds good dude. Thanks so much for helping me with this! I hope she'll love it."
Jack chuckles. "Of course she will. Trust me, she's a total storybook hopeless romantic. See you soon."
"Bye man."
I grab my tux, the candles, the rose petals, and the ingredients for dinner and shove them in my car before driving over to Gracie's place. I park pretty far away, so she won't notice my car when she first gets home. I watch her leave and start walking away to work, and as soon as she turns the corner, I'm at her doorstep with everything just waiting for Jack.
It's only a few minutes before I see him walking up, carrying his own suit and dinner trays.
"Let's do this."
Grace's POV
Coming home from a really intense time at work, I slam the door shut behind me and jog up to my room. I remember that Alex is coming over, so I slip into my favorite pink lace dress and black boots. I do a quick fix-up in the bathroom and go downstairs to start dinner when I hear it. There's a guitar playing in my living room.
Intrigued, but also a little freaked out, I tread lightly to the room until I see Jack playing guitar and Alex getting ready to sing. They're both in suits.
Alex smiles at me and starts:
"Blue jean baby, L.A. Lady, Seamstress for the band.
Pretty eyed, pirate smile, you'll marry a music man."
He stands up and starts walking towards me with his hand outstretched.
"Ballerina, you must have seen her dancing in the sand."
He wraps his arm around me and grabs my one hand. I wrap the other around his neck and we begin to dance. He's still singing softly in my ear, as Jack carries on on guitar.
"And now she's in me, always with me, tiny dancer in my hand.
Jesus freaks out in the street, handing out tickets for God.
Turning back, she just laughs, the boulevard is not that bad.
Piano man, he makes his stand in the auditorium.
Looking on she sings the songs."
And I join in with him, as we dance around my living room, lit with candles and the floor scattered in rosepetals. I kick off my shoes as I see he's barefoot.
"The words she knows, the tune she hums.
But oh, how it feels so real, lying here with no one near."
Jack stops playing and leaves the room, saluting us and heading out in the direction of the kitchen, where I can now smell something cooking. They didn't leave one detail out, did they? Alex is perfect. He takes my hand and we lay in the rose petals, holding hands and still singing. I stop and he sings in my ear.
"Only you and you can hear me, when I say softly, slowly.
Hold me closer tiny dancer."
And I do.
"Count the headlights on the highway.
Lay me down in sheets of linen, you had a busy day today."
At that I nod into his chest, and his arm wraps around me protectively.
"Blue jean baby, L.A. Lady, Seamstress for the band.
Pretty eyed, pirate smile, you'll marry a music man."
He pulls me to my feet and we sway together for the last beats of the song.
"Ballerina, you must have seen her dancing in the sand.
And now she's in me, always with me, tiny dancer in my hand."
He pulls me close and I wrap my arms around him as I cry lightly into his chest.
"Thank you so much Alex. I love you." At my words, I feel him stiffen a little, but then relax.
"Anything for you, Grace. I love you too." I look up, and he kisses me. It gets pretty heated, and then we hear Jack clear his throat from behind us. He smirks at me.
"If you two aren't otherwise occupied, dinner is served." And with a little bow, he leads a laughing Alex out of the room, who grabs me by the hand.
It's perfect.
It's been two months since I started dating Alex. The two best months of my life, to be exact. I've got all my friends. Well, Sam and Jake moved, but I was always closer to Jack and Zack anyway. And of course, biotechnology is still a little weird, but since Rian saw how Matt treats me, he changed it so Alex and I are lab partners. That and he knows how well we work together, so we're cocaptains and partners for all of our Science Olympiad events.
Yeah, Zack and I made up. We're not quite as close as we used to be, and he's still jealous, but he would never hurt me like that again. I remember every second of that conversation so clearly....
"Gracie? Please, can I talk to you? I'm sorry. I know that's not enough. But I can't tell you everything unless you actually let me talk to you. See you. Please."
"Alright, fine Zack. You can come over tonight, and we'll talk. But don't think for a second Alex won't be there. No protesting. You know exactly why. Oh, and if I get even the slightest hint of you having alcohol, then you can just say goodbye."
He hangs his head, still looking sad, but somewhat hopeful. "Okay. I'll see you tonight Gracie."
I still flinch when he uses my nickname. I shake my head, and walk away.
Later that night, Zack comes over while Alex and I were "doing some homework" to talk. He actually knocks this time, and I grab Alex's hand tightly as I walk to the door.
"Come in, Zack."
He nods and enters, knowing to walk to the living room. He sits alone on one of the chairs, while I sit next to him on a loveseat with Alex on the other side of me.
"So talk." I don't mean to sound so harsh, but I'm hurt. And he needs to know that.
"Look, Grace. There are no excuses for what happened. I know that. I should have never hid my feelings, and especially never taken out my anger at myself on you. I screwed you over before, and I had no right to believe that you would just be mine. I feel terrible, and I know it's going to take a while to build our friendship and trust again. But I can't lose you, Grace. You mean a lot to me."
I'm holding back tears. "Thank you. I think I understand now. You're right, it's going to be a long journey. But you're still one of my closest friends."
Both Zack and Alex smile. "GROUP HUG!" Alex shouts.
Wow. I really spaced out there, didn't I? Oh well.
"Hey Lex!" I exclaimed, running up to my boyfriend and giving him a kiss on the cheek. He returned it with a disinterested smile, and turned to walk without even grabbing my hand. I know how obsessive that sounds, but it's kind of our thing. He definitely doesn't remember it's our two month anniversary. Oh well, I mean it's not like we're married! But it would have been nice. I got him a present, anyway. He's supposed to come over tonight, so maybe he'll remember by then.
The rest of the day passes normally, although Alex is still being a little distant. I get ready to walk home with Zack.
"Hey Gracie."
"Hey Zack."
"What's up? You seem kind of down."
"Well, it's my anniversary with Alex, and I don't think he remembered."
"Oh. Sorry Grace. I'm sure it's just an accident."
"Yeah."
We walk the rest of the way in silence. He drops me off at my house, and I walk in, sighing loudly. My phone rings. It's Jack.
"Yeah Jacky?"
"Sorry to bug you Gracie, I know you're having a bad day, but could you trade shifts with me? Please? I'll work yours tomorrow and you'll have a free weekend."
"Okay Jack. No problem. Your shift starts at 4 and ends at 7, right?"
"Mhmmm."
"Okay. Talk to you later Jack."
"Bye Grace."
Work, to top it all off. Great.
Alex's POV
Gracie seemed really upset today. She probably thinks I forgot our anniversary! I know I was being a jerk, but I was afraid if I talked to her too much, I'd let something slip about tonight. I'm just at home trying to get everything ready when I get a call from Jack.
"Hey dude."
"Hey Alex. So, I got Grace to switch shifts. She'll be home around 7:30. So we've got over three hours to get her house ready. I'll meet you over there in like 15 minutes?"
"Sounds good dude. Thanks so much for helping me with this! I hope she'll love it."
Jack chuckles. "Of course she will. Trust me, she's a total storybook hopeless romantic. See you soon."
"Bye man."
I grab my tux, the candles, the rose petals, and the ingredients for dinner and shove them in my car before driving over to Gracie's place. I park pretty far away, so she won't notice my car when she first gets home. I watch her leave and start walking away to work, and as soon as she turns the corner, I'm at her doorstep with everything just waiting for Jack.
It's only a few minutes before I see him walking up, carrying his own suit and dinner trays.
"Let's do this."
Grace's POV
Coming home from a really intense time at work, I slam the door shut behind me and jog up to my room. I remember that Alex is coming over, so I slip into my favorite pink lace dress and black boots. I do a quick fix-up in the bathroom and go downstairs to start dinner when I hear it. There's a guitar playing in my living room.
Intrigued, but also a little freaked out, I tread lightly to the room until I see Jack playing guitar and Alex getting ready to sing. They're both in suits.
Alex smiles at me and starts:
"Blue jean baby, L.A. Lady, Seamstress for the band.
Pretty eyed, pirate smile, you'll marry a music man."
He stands up and starts walking towards me with his hand outstretched.
"Ballerina, you must have seen her dancing in the sand."
He wraps his arm around me and grabs my one hand. I wrap the other around his neck and we begin to dance. He's still singing softly in my ear, as Jack carries on on guitar.
"And now she's in me, always with me, tiny dancer in my hand.
Jesus freaks out in the street, handing out tickets for God.
Turning back, she just laughs, the boulevard is not that bad.
Piano man, he makes his stand in the auditorium.
Looking on she sings the songs."
And I join in with him, as we dance around my living room, lit with candles and the floor scattered in rosepetals. I kick off my shoes as I see he's barefoot.
"The words she knows, the tune she hums.
But oh, how it feels so real, lying here with no one near."
Jack stops playing and leaves the room, saluting us and heading out in the direction of the kitchen, where I can now smell something cooking. They didn't leave one detail out, did they? Alex is perfect. He takes my hand and we lay in the rose petals, holding hands and still singing. I stop and he sings in my ear.
"Only you and you can hear me, when I say softly, slowly.
Hold me closer tiny dancer."
And I do.
"Count the headlights on the highway.
Lay me down in sheets of linen, you had a busy day today."
At that I nod into his chest, and his arm wraps around me protectively.
"Blue jean baby, L.A. Lady, Seamstress for the band.
Pretty eyed, pirate smile, you'll marry a music man."
He pulls me to my feet and we sway together for the last beats of the song.
"Ballerina, you must have seen her dancing in the sand.
And now she's in me, always with me, tiny dancer in my hand."
He pulls me close and I wrap my arms around him as I cry lightly into his chest.
"Thank you so much Alex. I love you." At my words, I feel him stiffen a little, but then relax.
"Anything for you, Grace. I love you too." I look up, and he kisses me. It gets pretty heated, and then we hear Jack clear his throat from behind us. He smirks at me.
"If you two aren't otherwise occupied, dinner is served." And with a little bow, he leads a laughing Alex out of the room, who grabs me by the hand.
It's perfect.
Notes
So was this chapter really long? I feel like it was.Anywhore, thanks to all the amazing people reading this <3
You are all so beautiful:
gamble with desire.
str4ightuphustl3r
4/21/13