Actual Event 7 (Part Two)- Girlfriend?

Gracie's knees morphed into jello. As Connor and she stepped out onto the deck that overlooked the backyard, Gracie questioned her sanity. There were more kids then she had expected. Practically the whole patio was filled. The only real open area was the garden, hedges, and the archway.

"Look," Connor said, pointing to the giant swimming pool- which looked like an overcrowded beach. "There's Freddy and Kelly." Gracie followed his finger and spotted their friends.

Freddy was handing Kelly a red plastic cup, which Gracie guessed was root beer or sprite. Or at least... she hoped so. Freddy was wearing red swim shorts with an orange swim shirt. That was probably how Connor had spotted them. Kelly had a tikeni swimsuit on, which looked really good on her. Her form wasn't too expressed and it wasn't too baggy. The top was a sort of yellow green color, like neon signs in Las Vegas. Her shorts covered her completely (Gracie was glad she wasn't the only one) and were a dark green. All together, their group of friends almost made the complete rainbow.

Connor took Gracie's hand and squeezed it. She appreciated that more that she could put into words. She studied his face carefully.

It was mask of confidence and surety. Gracie knew Connor well enough that she knew the exact opposite was true. He was scared and didn't know how to react. He had just walked into Rachel's mansion, put on a swimsuit (which still looked awesome on him), and was expected to keep his cool in the midst of chaos.

Gracie realized that he hadn't just taken her hand to comfort her. He was comforting himself by her presence.

The thought made her blush.

"Finally! You two have finished!" Gracie turned to find Rachel walking up to them. She still looked amazing in her floral bikini swimsuit. She sashayed over, her hair flying behind her like a supermodel. Gracie spotted a group of hot guys checking Rachel out.

Ugh, disgusting.

"Yeah, sorry it took us so long," Connor apologized.

"Ooo! They were making out!" One kid called. The crowd laughed and a few wolf whistled.

That's when Gracie realized that they were still holding hands. Connor had come to the same conclusion as well. They both let go at the same time. Gracie put hers behind her back and Connor put his in his pockets. (Yeah, his swimsuit had pockets. How cool is that?)

And of course, they both were blushing fiercely.

"We weren't making out," Gracie said, just loud enough for the crowd to hear. "The swimsuits were causing us problems." A group snickered. Gracie blushed brighter.

She immediately wanted to go home.

"Oh come on guys," Connor defended. "Do you really think I would do something like that?" A few of the people in the crowd muttered to their neighbor that, no: Connor wouldn't do that.

"Nevermind that," Rachel said abruptly. "Connor. You and me? Arch?" Instead of a question, it sounded more like a demand. Connor shot Gracie a quick look that shouted:

'Uh-oh.'

He looked back at Rachel and shrugged. He tried to act as cool as he normally was, but Gracie could see the tension in his shoulders.

"Sure." He looked back again. "I'll be back in a minute." Gracie gave him a nervous smile as he was lead off by Rachel. Once they were gone, Gracie glanced around at everyone, unsure what to do.

"Uh," she gave a slight wave. "hi?" The crowd snickered then went their own ways. Gracie exhaled just as someone shouted her name.

"Gracie!" She turned as was attacked with a hug. From the smell of the tropical perfume, Gracie knew it was Kelly. When she finally let go, Gracie took a few deep breaths.

"My goodness, Kelfish. You scared me to death." She laughed and Freddy filed next to her.

"Hey, I didn't think you could come!" He grinned. In his hand, he held a bag of chips (no surprise).

"Yeah, I came with Connor." Gracie glanced back. "I hope he'll be okay."

"Nah, he'll be fine," Freddy said while stuffing a chip in his mouth. Kelly smirked, but didn't respond.

"So," Gracie said awkwardly. "When did you guys get here?" Kelly shrugged.

"Dunno. Maybe fifteen minutes ago. Rachel was nice to us for a change. It was weird." Freddy nodded.

"It defiantly was. The maid was really kind though."

"Yeah, she was to us too," Gracie agreed.

"I wish I had a maid..." Freddy said dreamily. Kelly laughed.

"I thought we were." A look of surprise appeared on Freddy's face.

"You are? Well, just because you said th-"

"Freddy," Kelly interrupted while laughing. "I was kidding!" Her laugh seemed to be contagious because Gracie  started to giggle.

"Oh..." Freddy felt awkward, so he stuffed some more chips into his mouth.

"Hey Gracie," Kelly said, changing the subject. "We were about to go jump in the pool. You wanna?" Gracie glanced over at the pool.

"I don't know..."

"Come on," Kelly urged. "It'll be fun!"

"No... I, uh, I think I will wait." Gracie gave her a smile. "Don't worry." Kelly shrugged then looked over at Freddy.

"You still want to?" He nodded and set his chips down on a table. If it was enough to make Freddy put food down for, it was something he wanted to do.

"Absolutely." He replied. Kelly smiled.

"Cool. Well," she looked at Gracie then hugged her once more. "You have fun. We'll be at the pool if you need us." Gracie smiled and waved as they left.

"Now, where's Connor?" She muttered to herself. She glanced over the crowd then started to climb down the steps of the deck. After a few minutes of searching, pushing through the crowd and peeking around the corner of the house, she spotted him.

He was under the arch by the gate, and by the looks of things, was having a serious argument with Rachel.

"-don't understand!" Connor was shouting.

"Of course I do!" Rachel spat angrily in return. "You said it yourself! Gracie isn't your girlfriend!"

That made Gracie freeze in her tracks. What were they talking about?

"That doesn't mean anything!" Connor snapped. "What does Gracie not being my girlfriend have to do with anything?"

"Because you need one!"

"No, I don't!"

"Yes, you do! You're the only boy in the school who doesn't have one!" Rachel rebuttaled.

"And what is that supposed to mean?" Connor replied while sneering.

"Well, I can find you one." Rachel started to twist her hair around her finger. "And you will be popular again."

'Again?' Gracie thought. 'He already was... Wasn't he?'

Connor sighed and looked at the pavement stones at his feet.

"So," Rachel finished. "You have until the end of the evening to find a girlfriend." She turned and started to walk toward Gracie, but turned at the last minute. "And it can't be Gracie."

Gracie could have been a frozen statue. Her mouth was hanging open like a fish and her feet were glued to the spot. But when Rachel's flip flops were coming toward her, she turned into a fleeing deer. She dashed toward the crowd, trying to blend in as much as possible. She slipped past a group of laughing kids by the drink table. She pretended to pour herself some root beer while looking for Rachel. When she spotted her, Rachel was giving her the death look. Gracie quickly looked away, and focused on the corner of the house where she had eavesdropped.

Connor turned the corner, his face pale. He looked like he had just gotten off a crazy roller coaster ride. She didn't want to, but Gracie's feet carried her over to him. He was leaning up against the house while rubbing his eyes.

"Hey," Gracie said quietly. "You okay?" His head shot up and looked at her. The tension in his body relaxed and he sighed.

"Yeah... I'm fine..."

"What did Rachel want to talk to you about?" Gracie asked, stepping next to him and leaned against the house. She already knew the answer, but she wanted to hear it from Connor. He took a deep breath and exhaled slowly.

"I don't really want to talk about it right now," he said honestly. Gracie took his hand with her free one. Connor looked down at her with a sad smile. Gracie gave him a hopeful one. After staring and smiling for a while (and some more staring and smiling) Connor cleared his throat and looked away.

"Do you, uh, want to go talk in the garden?" Gracie looked out at the garden. No one was there.

"Yeah, that would probably be best." Connor stood up straight and pulled Gracie along through the crowd. Gracie spotted Freddy and Kelly sitting at the edge of the pool talking. Each had a towel around their shoulders. She smiled at them, but they were to engrossed in their conversation to take any notice.

Connor opened the gate to the garden and held it open for Gracie. She stepped in and took a deep breath. She could smell all kinds of flowers, fruits and vegetables. Connor closed the gate then lead her to a bench by the rose bushes. Gracie studied his every detail.

His blonde (I can't remember! Sorry!) hair glowed in the sunset and his face was a mask of confidence. Gracie had always wondered how he could do that. She couldn't even do a good poker face. His outfit was normal, yet extremely different at the same time. It fit his personality so well.

Connor sat down and Gracie took a seat next to him. She made sure her skirt could go as far as it could because she was slightly worried.

"Gracie," Connor began, breaking the silence like water and ice. "Rachel is forcing me to choose a girlfriend." He looked at the petunias growing in a flower box in front of them, as if wishing to be somewhere else. "And she said it couldn't be you..." He sighed then looked down at his lap sadly. Gracie put a hand on his knee.

"You don't have to listen to what she says," she replied quietly. "Remember what your mom said? Remember who you are." She put her other hand on top of his. "Are you the popular kid going with the flow? Or are you the Connor I know? The Connor who took me in when I first moved here. The Connor that stood up for me." She paused then said, "the Connor who is proving that he didn't dump slime on me." He looked up at her, a small smile growing.

"That Connor feels like a fairytale," he said honestly. He looked back down at his lap and studied Gracie's hand on his. "A fairytale that doesn't have a happy ending."

"It does have a happy ending," Gracie insisted. "We just have to defeat the evil mind bender." Connor chuckled.

"Mind bender..." He muttered to himself. "That has Rachel written all over it." Gracie nodded.

That's when the situation got awkward. Neither Gracie nor Connor said anything. They just stared at the beautiful plants in the garden and occasionally looked at each other.

"Connor," Gracie said quietly. "If you want to find someone else, I'll let you. You can finish Rachel's deal. I can just go find Freddy and Kelly." She stood up to leave, but Connor took her hand. She looked back at him.

"No, Gracie," he pleaded. "You don't have to do that." Connor stood up and pulled her into a hug. His arms were warm, and they reminded Gracie of a comforting blanket. She wrapped her arms under his and rested her hands on his shoulder blades.

"I want you." He whispered so quietly, it was barely enough for her to hear. Gracie's eyes began to tear up. She looked up at him while he looked down at her. And, of course, the obvious happened.

They kissed. A good proper kiss. No slime. No photos. No fighting. Just the two of them. Alone in a garden at sunset.

"Gracie?" Connor asked quietly, his forehead on hers. His breath brushed her nose like a butterfly. "Will you be my girlfriend?" Her heart swelled inside of her chest.

'Had he just asked what I thought he did?' She thought with disbelief. It took her a moment to register what that meant. Gracie smiled, her eyes still closed from the kiss. She replied in the same quiet tone:

"Yes."

From uneasiness, to fear, to extreme calm, Gracie thought Rachel's party was the best thing that had ever happened to her.