Stacy stretches her arms and lies back on her pink princess bed, a calculative glint in her pale green eyes.  "So he said it'll be a surprise?"

"Yep. Weird, huh?" I look at the two movies we've narrowed down to watch on her TV. It's between Shrek and Mean Girls and I've got to admit that this is one of the hardest decisions I've made all year.

"That pretty much means he's either gonna take you out to dinner or it'll actually be a creative and fun date that'll make you want to see him again until he tells you he finds your mom hotter than you and he leaves you three seconds away from a breakdown – "

"Stacy," Nicole starts, painting her toenails baby blue. "Breathe,"

She breathes. "I'm just saying."

"My mom's old," I say passively. She turned forty eight at the end of January. It was a wonder that she had Jackie but she did and he's here so it is what it is.

"That won't stop him." She says and her right eye starts to twitch dangerously. "Especially if he has a fetish for old women,"

She said she was three seconds away from a breakdown but I'm pretty sure that time limit expired.

"I think it'll be fun." Nicole says, blowing on her feet. "These Fairbank boys are so much more sophisticated than the boys at our high school."

It is currently Tuesday evening and we are having our bi-weekly sleepover. We started them halfway through freshman year when Nicole split up with her very first boyfriend Derick. It was my idea in order to cheer her up, even though she was totally okay and didn't really need it.

Honestly, I just wanted a reason to complain.

Now we're pretty much like the sleepover club except that we swear and sometimes troll on club penguin at the oddest hours of the night.

"Why do you think that, Nicky?" Stacy asks, getting off the bed. She joins the two of us on the floor with a strained smile on her face.

"Well," She starts but then gets distracted by the colour of her feet. "Do you think this colour matches my skin tone? It looks pretty cold."

I critically evaluate the colour. "It is a little cold. I think if you go a little lighter it'll get warmer, but I don't know."

Stacy groans. "Can we stop talking about toes and start talking about Kennedy's blossoming love life?"

"Oh whatever. We all know what's gonna happen," Nicole waves it off. Now I'm curious.

"What'll happen?"

She sighs and looks up. "You and Dante are gonna be that high school sweetheart couple that have the most brilliant life together because you're both super smart. Speaking of your smarts, have you got accepted into Brown yet?"

I shake my head and feel this bundle of nerves settle in my stomach. "They haven't sent one, but it's still early,"

Stacy shrugs. "Yeah, you've got time, it's only mid-February,"

"Actually, we're in the second half of February." Nicole says a matter of factly. "Today is the eighteenth and that means we're past halfway."

"Fantastic," I say far from enthusiastically. "Anyway, how was your lunch with Max today?"

She begins cheesing. Today at lunch, Nicole snuck out of the school grounds to meet Max at the local ice cream parlour. She didn't come back for afternoon classes and wasn't returning our missed calls or texts. Stacy and I betted on her being able to make it tonight and I gained thirty bucks when she showed up at the door with wild hair and a backpack slung over her shoulder.

"Oh my God, guys, he's such a good kisser," She gushes and I start laughing. "We talked and talked and talked and suddenly it was like, five and we were sitting in the grass on the top of the hill in the park. Then he brushes this – wild piece of hair out of my face and kisses me and it was literally the best thing."

"I'm totes jealous," Stacy has this faraway look in her eyes and she sighs longingly at the twelve year old drawing of a unicorn on the wall. "I haven't even seen this Max guy but I bet he's dreamy as hell,"

"He is. Tell her how hot he is, Ken,"

I nod appreciatively. "He's pretty hot, if I'm allowed to say so. But he doesn't smile much, does he?"

"He really doesn't," She agrees and rubs her chin. "Huh. I think he's just a tortured soul."

"You can't save him from himself, y'know," Stacy warns, her eyes suddenly watery. "Especially if he doesn't want to be saved."

"Do I look like I wanna be Super girl?" Nicole picks up the bottle of paler blue polish and twists it open in one swift movement. "Because I was trying to give off a Wonder Woman vibe,"

"What's the difference?"

"That is super offensive," I add on and lean back into Stacy's dresser. She rolls her eyes and throws a pillow at me and I am suddenly sprawled all over the floor.

Same old, same old.

"Can we watch this movie?" Nicole pulls out an old DVD from underneath the big bed. "Lolita. There's a Lana Del Rey song named that,"

Stacy shrugs. "It's one of my mom's but yeah, sure. I hope it isn't boring or like... creepy or anything though because I cannot deal with anything like that so close to my period."

*-8*-8*

I have learned in the past few days that texting Dante is possibly the best thing to do with my spare time. Unlike many people our age, he actually provides scintillating conversation that makes me think before I can truthfully respond. And he always replies quickly.

Always.

Do you think that my head is big?

DANTE: 7:26PM

See? Thought provoking and riveting.

Hey, at least it's not 'what are you wearing ;)'. Talk about head size I can deal with. Fuckboys I cannot.

It's a cute big. The kind you can hug and feel safe with.

YOU: 7:27PM

So it's big but then it's a nice type of big?

DANTE: 7:28PM

It's not even that big

YOU: 7:28PM

He ends up calling me.

"I don't understand, Kennedy." He says a matter of factly. "Is my head big or not?"

I have to think about it before I can really reply. "It's... not... but it is?" He groans and I chuckle. "I don't know how to explain it."

"Huh," He sighs loudly and then hums a bit. "I'd ask someone else but I'm feeling pretty insecure about it right now,"

"You shouldn't, nobody really notices the size of your head unless you bring it up." I tell him, trying to cheer him up. He doesn't seem appeased because he goes on to complain about how he hates having a big head. I just attempt to lend him a sympathetic ear because heaven knows we all need comforting about how big are heads are every once in a while.

"Anyway, enough about me," he says and clicks his tongue. "Are you excited for Friday?"

I shrug, trying to come off all nonchalant. Then I realise that he can't see me. "I'm ready to find out what you've got in store as a surprise if anything,"

His soft chuckle makes me squirm and I'm suddenly glad he can't see me because I'd probably embarrass myself if he did. 

"You'll see. It'll be fun,"

The front door closes and my mom wanders into the kitchen. She pats me on the head and I wave at her.

"When you say fun, do you mean fun as in food related fun or like... activity based fun?"

"Ah," He says and by the tone of his voice I'm pretty sure he's figured out what I'm trying to ask. "No guessing until Friday evening,"

"Damn," I say and avoid the side eye my mom is giving me over the top of the fridge door. "Can I ask one question?"

Dante hums slightly as if he is thinking about it. "Fine, one question,"

"What should I wear?"

"Whatever you want? I don't really... you'll look nice no matter what." He settles for.

Of course he'd think that, he's only ever seen me a few stages before my final form. If he sees me when I've just woken up on one of the nights I forgot to wear my silk scarf, he'd probably run for the hills. And I can't say I'd blame him.

"Who are you talking to?" My mom asks bluntly. She's eating some stringed cheese and looks unusually interested in my conversation. Frightening stuff.

"Dante, could you give me a moment?"

"Sure," he says and then clears his throat. "I'll wait,"

"Thanks," I cover the front of my phone by pressing it to my shoulder. "I'm talking to a guy,"

She folds her arm. "Do I know him?"

My mom knows everyone, so there's a high chance that she knows him too. "Um, Dante Correll?"

Mom squints at me as though she's trying to recall his name from somewhere. Her eyes flash in recognition when she does and she does this thing where she points her finger in the air and smiles at me. With the combination of the pantsuit and pearls she's currently wearing, she looks like Hilary Clinton.

"Ah! The short one with the sister that was your sister's friend, right?"

I shrug. "He wasn't that short. Also, McKinley didn't like me around her friends so I never really got to know them..."

"The really pretty one that sang at their high school graduation?" When I stare at her blankly, she continues. "Oh come on, the one who got married a few years ago? She has a kid?"

"Mom, I don't know her,"

She frowns at me and then sighs. "Whatever, tell him I said hello,"

"Will do," She leaves the kitchen, her stringed cheese far from finished. I wait until she's gone before I return to my phone call. "Sorry, my mom was asking about you,"

"She was?" He hums. "What did you tell her?"

I wonder if I should play with his emotions or whether I should just let it go, "Nothing much. Just something about your head being a lot bigger now,"

He gasps and I smile at nothing in particular. "You said it wasn't that big!" I start laughing while he complains, actually sounding hurt.

"You know I'm kidding, Dante," I say when he tells me that he's not going to talk to me anymore. "Your head is fine,"

He sniffles. "I don't know if I trust what you're saying,"

It's my turn to gasp. Though it's a bit exaggerated because I've never been the best actress.  "You don't trust me?"

"Yep." He pops the P and I feel a little bit offended. Just a little, so it's not anything to panic about as of yet.

"Wow. Do I get a chance to change that?"

He sighs and keeps silent for quite a while. It's almost worrying, if not comedic. "I don't know. I presume that we'll see what happens, right?"

We talk for another twenty minutes about nothing in particular. It's nice until Tyler and a few of his friends come in the kitchen, laughing and joking loudly. Even though he sees me on the phone, he doesn't make the effort to quieten down. Though it's annoying, I guess I can deal with it because it's not like they're paying any attention to me.

That is until one of his friends decides that he really wants to talk to me about something.

"Hey, Kenny," I think his name is Trevor. Though I ignore him for a bit, his persistence begins to piss me off.

"Hey, Dante, I gotta go." I say, trying not to sound annoyed.

"Is everything okay?" He asks, picking up on it immediately. I'm truly blessed.

I nod and look Trevor up and down when he's not watching me. "Yeah. I just gotta deal with... someone."

"Okay. Well, I'll see you soon, okay?"

I smile gently at the island counter top. "Looking forward to it. Bye,"

After saying bye, he hangs up and I smile at my phone for a while before turning to a new burden, who is also smiling at me.

"Hey," he says, sparkling eyes.

"... Hi," I say back and wait for him to ask me whatever it is he wants so I can flee in peace. But he just looks at me and it's making me feel slightly uncomfortable. "What's up?"

He shrugs. "I don't know," Then he leans on the table top. "I was just wondering when we'll be going on our first date together,"

Oh discomfort, my old friend.

"Um, I didn't know we were going on a date," Why is Tyler friends with this guy? I mean, he used to be a dick but I am sure his choices in friends are very different now. They're much more... refined.

That being said, I think he's currently laughing at a fart joke, so there's that.

"Come on Kenny, the sexual tension between us is too much to ignore. We've gotta date, baby girl,"

Oh wow.

"I'm seeing someone right now," I say bluntly. "Sorry."

He doesn't even look fazed. "Seeing someone, huh? Who?"

"You wouldn't know him,"

Trevor clicks his tongue. "Try me," He says, his voice getting lower as he gets closer to me. The only thing I'm trying not to do right now is shiver.

"Dante?" I say, leaning back slightly so I have some space. "Dante Correll?"

His look of disbelief almost offends me. Almost. "You're going out with Dante Correll? The captain on the Fairbanks team?" He turns to Tyler. "Hey, Ty, does Kennedy go out with Dante Correll?"

Tyler, who is eating one of Jackie's pudding cups, nods and comes over to us. "Yeah, they're like, totally committed to one another,"

He's exaggerating but it's helpful. I guess.

"It's weird though because the both of us were like the best of friends in middle school and now they're like a couple." He continues and sits up on the counter top. "Why?"

"I was gonna ask her out," Trevor says, leaning back and trying to look cool. Tyler gives him this sceptical look and continues eating his pudding.

"Dude, no offense, but Kennedy is way out of your league. That's like me asking her friends out, a total no-no."

I cover my mouth and try to feign offense.

"And Dante from Fairbanks is?"

Tyler stares into his almost empty pudding cup and frowns. "Of course he is. I mean, you were the one who was talking about how much of a goody-goody he was when we saw him at that party. And didn't you say his -"

"Okay, I get it," Trevor starts pouting. "Whatever," He says and gets up, going to talk to the other guys. The two of us watch him join the group.

"Thanks for the save," I tell Tyler, standing up myself. He flashes his eyebrows quickly and finishes off the pudding cup with one scoop.

"No problem. Chad's kind of a chauvinistic pig, so I did you a big favour," He throws the empty plastic cup in the trash can and grins when it lands perfectly. "Sick, huh?"

"Yeah," I say and fold my arms. "Chad? Who's Chad?"

The look on his face tells me that I've been really stupid. "You were just talking to him..."

I start laughing. "I thought his name was Trevor, holy shit,"

Tyler joins me. "Ew? Like that kid who drank toilet water in fifth grade? That's gross, Ken,"

Standing up, I wave my hand in his direction and pick up my phone. "It doesn't really matter, but thanks again."

He gives me a thumbs up and then goes to join his friends. I leave the room, thinking about all the homework I got from school today and how I'll probably leave it until the last minute to do. Jackie is watching television in the living room and I have to get him ready to go to bed because it's way past his bed time. My mom's probably doing some extra work in her room and forgot all about the bedtime routine.

After I'm done, I go to my room and try to think up an outfit for Friday night. Something black should be the best but what if I wear a pair of jeans when I really should wear a skirt, or vice versa? Wouldn't that just really mess everything up?

With the intention to figure out what we're doing, I text Dante.

Hey big head

YOU: 8:42PM

:(

BIG HEAD: 8:44PM

word count: LMAO

a/n: shoutout to hepburned for getting the stacy's mom reference smh y'all disappoint me sometimes