“AHH! Jimmy is so cheep! He gave me a FAKE flowers instead of real ones! His excuse was that he wanted the flowers to last forever! How corny is that?!?!” my best friend, Sammy wailed as we walked to the cafeteria for our lunch period. I had to physically refrain from punching her in the arm as hard as I could. Why couldn’t she just be happy that her boyfriend bought her flowers? What happened to the saying, “Its the thought that counts,”

A light push put me out of my thoughts, I glance back at Sammy with an annoyed expression and continue walking. You see, I’ve known Sammy even before I could speak. Our moms had known each other in high school and became almost like sisters. They met our dads while in college and fell in love at the same time. But, that’s where the similarities ends. Sammy’s parents got married and had her right away, while my parents dated for two extra years and then had me. Even though Sammy can sometimes get annoying with her boyfriend problems, she’s still the best junior in Hillsborough County.

Anyways. As we were waiting in the mile long lunch line, I felt someone wrap their arms around me from behind me. I instantly knew who it was but, I decided to play along, I turned my head over my shoulder and faked being surprised when I saw Jakes smiling down at me. Its not what you think, I promise. Jake is the backbone of our little group. He is Sammy’s cousin and one of the nicest guys ever. “ Hey there creeper,” I responded with smirk. Sammy laughs and Jake lets go of me and stands in line with us.

After what seems like an eternity, we finally pay for our lunches and walk to our outside lunch destination that we go to everyday. Most people think that we are insane to want to eat by ourselves in our isolated bleachers, but it completely makes sense for us because this is the only period that we have together and plus, we have all day to hang out with our other friends so its all good.


Right when we sit down, Sammy begins to tell Jake all about the Jimmy debacle. I have to hold in my fit of giggles as I watch Jake try to explain to Sammy that Jimmy probably has reasons why he didn’t give her REAL flowers, but trying to sway Sammy from her opinions is like hoping that a wall will respond to you when you talk to it.

I couldn’t contain the smile that captured my face as the dismissal bell chimed through my school. It was the Friday before thanksgiving break and I couldn’t wait to spend my Thanksgiving Break with Jake and Sammy. This year, my family is cooking the Thanksgiving meal because their families already cooked in previous years. Its kind of cool how our families alternate that responsibility so that we can all be together.
I caught up with Jake at his locker and we both walked to Sammy’s Ford Pickup Truck. Even from across the parking lot, we could hear Sammy yelling at John. “WHY ARE YOU SO CHEAP! …….” Jake was the first to speak. “I just don’t understand girls. Why do you guys think that if a guy buys you something cheap one time then he doesn’t care about you?” “ Not all girls are like that, I personally agree with you. I believe that when I get a boyfriend, I will love the small things that he does. Its really annoying when girls have high expectations that are unrealistic just because of the sappy actors in movies and stuff,”

After what seemed like hours, we all were at my house. During the car ride, the atmosphere was really tense and awkward until I started making really stupid duck faces in the rearview mirror so that Sammy would start laughing and be her normal fun self. When I unlocked my front door, all our moms were in the kitchen and the dads were watching a pre recorded football game. It oddly smelled like a Thanksgiving dinner. “Umm, you guys do know that Thanksgiving is on Sunday right??,” Jake asked with a hint of suspicion in his voice. The moms all shared a small smile and my mom replied, “ The parents have decided to take you kids to Disney World in Orlando, Florida. We all know that you three need a break from your hectic school schedules so, we are going to have an early Thanksgiving dinner and leave tomorrow morning for Disney,”

OH MY GOD!! Did they just say that we were going to Disney World??? I was the first to start freaking out, then Sammy then Jake. Sammy and I started screaming and jumping around, while Jake had a huge, excited smile on his face. Jake isn’t as emotional as us girls, so it wasn’t a surprise that he wasn’t acting like us. This Thanksgiving break just got a thousand times better!

As soon as we finished eating, the three families departed to start packing for the two hour journey to Disney World. Even though we were relativity close to the Magic Kingdom, we rarely if ever went, so whenever we got an opportunity to go, it was a real treat. The parents decided to let Sammy drive Jake and me so that we could be together, while the parents drove in Jakes moms family van. The drive went by pretty fast, we were jamming out to the pop music station and had the windows down. Soon enough, we saw the universal Mickey Mouse head sign that proved that they were almost there. Sammy gave the vendor our tickets and we zoomed into the Goofy parking lot, where the parents were already parked and waiting for us.

We all walked to the trolley that took us to the boat that will take us to the entrance of the Kingdom. All the teenagers agreed to turn off our phones so that we would enjoy the full experience and not be distracted. The boat ride was only about ten minutes but for me, it was only three minutes. The boat stopped right in front of the Cinderella Castle. It was even more beautiful in person then in all the pictures. “Alright, have fun kids, we will meet right here at 6:30 so that we will see the fireworks show.” Jakes mom told us as the parents were walking away.

“Since we will be here this whole week, lets just walk around and see the whole park, then tomorrow we can ride rides,” Sammy said in her mom like voice that she puts on when she wants to be in charge. Jake and I agreed and began to walk in the opposite direction that our parents took. The first day was a blur, we acted like little kids. Our eyes were bright with excitement and wonder. We observed all the rides and figured out a game plan for the next day.

The next morning, Jake knocked at my hotel room at 9:30. Sammy offered to share a room, but she snores so loud that the walls shake, so I politely declined and picked the conjoined room. I yelled for him to come in and we waited for Sammy to primp up.

Lately, Jake and I have had these quiet moments where we don’t have t say anything, it’s a comfortable silence. All of a sudden, we hear Sammy screeching into what we assumed was her cell phone.

“You are the worst boyfriend ever! Jake and Stephanie have more of a chemistry then we do and that’s pretty pathetic because they are only best friends…” Jake and I both had mortified faces but burst out into fits of laughter when we saw each others faces. I think that we both knew that Sammy was just trying to make Jimmy feel bad. As the day wore on, that statement sort of haunted me. I don’t really know why, but I kind of felt insulted. I blamed these feelings on hormones at first, but as the week went by, I knew that it was completely different.

While we were waiting in line for Space Mountain, Jake told me that he needed to talk to me before we went to bed tonight, I was a little perplexed to why we couldn’t talk at that moment, but I followed his wishes. For the rest of the day, I went through all the reasons why Jake was persistent to talk to me alone, but I was actually a little excited. Nobody knows this, but I might have a crush on him. Ever since Sammy’s comment about us, I have been thinking about how great of a guy that he is. For the last five years of our friendship, I only saw him as a best friend, but now I’m starting to notice the small details. I didn’t realize how his eyes lit up when he smiles or when he’s laughs, his nose wrinkles in an adorable way. OH, NO! These thoughts have to stop, Jake is a best friend, attractive, but only a friend. He wouldn’t like me, I’m boring compared to the girls who go crazy over him. Anyways, lets see how tonight goes.The day went by pretty fast, and soon enough, it was confession time for Jake. “Umm, I honestly don’t know where to start..” Jake started to feel really nervous at this point but there was no turning back now. Sammy was already fast asleep and if he didn’t do it now, then he most likely wont ever. “Steph, remember what we heard Sammy talk about this morning about us having chemistry,” Stephanie was looking at him with curiously as she nodded her head. “Well, have you ever thought about us being more then best friends, Please keep in mind that this is COMPETELY hypothetical,” Jake was staring at her with such an intense look that Stephanie felt her heart skip a few beats. She knew at that very moment that what she was imagining was not just in her head. “Well, since this is totally hypothetical, I’m going to flat out say this, I have liked you for awhile now, but to tell you the truth, its kind of freaking me out. We have been friends for as long as I can remember and now I’m starting to see you as more. And no, it wasn’t a quick feeling that crept on me like it is in those movies that we like to make fun of, it took time for me to feel this way. Now the ball is in your court.”

JAKES PERSPECTIVE

After the first sentence, I zoned out. That’s all that I needed to hear. I had to fully stop myself from lunging at her and kiss her. Finally, I assumed that she was finished and instead of answering her, I strode to her and kissed her.










EPLOUGE

After our five minute make out, I started to realize that maybe the movies weren’t that far off. Even though the different plots and characters are exaggerated, the feeling of pure happiness with being with someone that you deeply care for is the most magical feeling in the world.


After that kiss, Jake and I became official. Unlike most couples our age, we took things slow. We waited a month to hold hands and on our one year anniversary, we exchanged I Love You. Even though I am still a little skeptical about the whole “Love at first sight” logic, Im a true believer in falling in love.