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Post by HburgEagle44 on Jun 22, 2011 23:52:13 GMT -5
Mr. August Part 3 I waited at the airport excitedly. “I can’t believe I’m going to see him again,” I kept murmuring to myself. I glanced at the clock. “Five more minutes until his plane lands,” I said out loud. She stood up and walked closer to the gate. I paced back and forth as she waited. “I shouldn’t have stood alone,” I told myself. “I’m so nervous.” People started streaming out of the gate and I strained to see. I didn’t see him for a few moments and almost panicked. “What if I came to the wrong gate? What if he didn’t come? What if—” His head appeared. I breathed a sigh of relief, and a huge smile broke out over my face. He saw me and smiled back, waving. “Damian!” I called out to him. I ran up and gave him a hug. He returned it, smiling into my hair. “I’m so glad to see you,” I said happily. “I know,” he replied. “I’m glad to see you, too. It’s been too long.” I nodded. “It has. So, how was the ride?” “Pretty good, though it was boring, of course. I got more and more nervous as we approached the airport,” he laughed. “Nervous?” I inquired. “Why would you be nervous?” He broke the hug and held me at an arm’s distance. “Because I was nervous about seeing you again. Wow, you look amazing, Jenny.” I flushed. “Thanks, Damian,” I said. “Want to go get your baggage?” We walked over the baggage area and waited for it to come out. He glanced down at me. “How does it feel to be almost sixteen? You’re going to be able to drive soon.” “Oh, my goodness, I know! I’m excited,” I said, grinning. He frowned at me. “I don’t want you crashing, you know,” he said teasingly. “Remember, I’ll be here for your birthday. Are you getting your license on your birthday?” he asked curiously. I shrugged. “Probably,” I said. “I think that I’m ready for it.” The light started flashing and the luggage moved out slowly. Damian and I walked over to the belt and waited in silence. He pointed as his bag came out. I snagged it and we walked out to where my mom was standing. “Hi, Debbie,” Damian said. “How are you?” She gave him a hug. “I’m good!” she replied. “Nice to see you finally made it back.” “Well, it took some doing, but I’m finally in between recordings for the next cd,” Damian said. “I’m just glad my vacation could be here.” “Are you ready?” Mom asked. He nodded. “Let’s get out of this place, I’m tired of airports.” She laughed. “Jenny, you coming?” she threw over her shoulder as she led her way out. I nodded without realizing that Mom couldn’t see me, but she didn’t seem to notice. She simply strolled out of the airport as if she didn’t have a care in the world. Damian fell back into step with me. “Are you ready for this adventure?” he grinned. “What adventure? We live in Hburg,” I reminded him. “I’ll find something,” he replied nonchalantly. I smiled up at him and we walked in companionable silence. Mom turned where we parked the car. “Load up!” she said. Damian put his bag in the back and we got in the car. I sat in the back as Mom and Damian caught up in the front of the car. I was sure I would get my chance to talk with him later. After all, my three younger brothers were at camp and I had all the time in the world. At least, until the end of the summer. We made it to my house safely and I climbed out after Damian. He got his bag from the back and smiled at me. “Your brothers aren’t here, right?” “Only Jeffrey,” I replied. “Nice and quiet. Oh, and Rachelle’s here also. But she’s not loud like my other brothers.” I winked at him. We walked inside. Mom had already made her way in and was in the kitchen getting a drink of water. She yelled out, “Damian, make yourself at home!” “All right!” he yelled back. He turned to me. “So, where am I staying?” “Lukas’s room,” I replied. “I’ll show you the way.” “Oh, right, because I can’t remember,” he teased me. “After you.” I led him upstairs and into Lukas’s room. “You have a bunk bed, a dresser, a closet, and a desk. Have fun.” He dumped his stuff on the ground and followed me out. “So, what’s for lunch?” “Is your internal clock seriously confused?” I asked, trying not to laugh. “It’s nine at night. In case you hadn’t noticed, that is.” “Oh, right. So, what’s for dinner?” “Let me ask my mom,” I replied. We walked into the kitchen. “Mom, Damian wants to know what dinner is.” “Do you mind popcorn and a movie?” she asked. “That’s what we usually do when it’s late at night like this.” “Nope,” he replied. “I don’t mind at all. As long as I get to pick the movie, that is.” “No problem,” I said, wondering what movie he would pick. “You go look at movies, and I’ll make the popcorn.” “No, no,” Mom said, “go look at movies with him. I’ll make the popcorn.” She shooed us upstairs. We were consulting about the movies on our shelves when Jeffrey’s door opened. “Hi, Damian!” he said. “Hi, Jeffrey,” he said, smiling. “I came back!” “Yes, I see that,” Jeffrey said. “Glad to see you made it. What are you two doing?” “Looking at movies. I get to choose. You have to watch whatever I wish tonight,” he said, winking at me. “Oh, okay. What movie are we watching, then?” “I don’t know yet.” He leaned over and whispered to me, “Wow, he’s grown up a lot!” “Yes, he has,” I agreed. “He’s seventeen now. Crazy, right?” “Wow, yes it is!” He turned to the movies again. “Let’s watch The Princess Bride. Okay with you?” I couldn’t bite back a smile. “That’s my favorite movie, actually.” “I know,” he said, smiling back. I put the movie into the Xbox and we settled down on the couch right as Mom brought the popcorn up. “Ah, The Princess Bride. Nice choice, Damian. Though I suspect Jenny had some play in this decision.” “No, it was all mine,” he replied, taking the bowl from Mom. “Promise.” Rachelle came out of her room with a book in her hand. “Damian!” she yelled. “Hey, Rachelle,” he said, giving her a hug as well as he could while sitting down. “How are you?” “I’m good. More importantly, how are you? Was the plane ride good?” “Yes, it was, thanks,” he said. She glanced at the television. “The Princess Bride! This is my favorite movie!” she sat down eagerly. Damian looked at Jeffrey. “Jeffrey, what’s your favorite movie? Please don’t tell me this movie.” “A Series of Unfortunate Events,” Jeffrey rattled off. “That’s an amazing movie.” “It was okay,” Damian said, turning to his popcorn. We watched the movie, laughing at Inigo and Fessick’s antics. Rachelle and I quoted almost the whole movie. I think it got on Damian’s nerves. I almost cried when Wesley died, of course, even though I had seen it several times. The little boy in the movie had us all laughing by the end. The movie ended and Mom stood up. “I should go to bed. I have a jewelry party tomorrow. It’s a morning party.” She glanced at Jeffrey. “You have work tomorrow.” Jeffrey sighed. “I know. Why did I ever think that the money coming from driving tractors would be worth it?” He looked at Damian. “Good night, Damian.” He went into his room and shut the door.
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Post by HburgEagle44 on Jun 24, 2011 1:34:46 GMT -5
“Good night!” Damian called after him. He glanced at Mom and went over to give her a hug. “Good night, Debbie. Thank you for letting me stay here for three weeks.” “Anything for you, Damian.” She grinned teasingly. “You should have seen Jenny when she got the news you were coming. She was jumping up and down with excitement.” He raised an eyebrow my direction. “Oh, really?” “Merely a figure of speech,” I replied, sticking my tongue out at Mom. “Actually, I was very excited.” I smiled. He grinned as Rachelle stood up. “Well, Damian, I’m glad you’re here. I’m going to go to bed as well.” Subtle, Rachelle, real subtle, I thought. He hugged her as well. “Good night, Rachelle. See you in the morning.” She walked into our room and shut the door. “Night,” Mom said, walking downstairs. “Good night, Mom!” I yelled after her. “If you leave before I wake up, have fun at the party tomorrow!” “So your mom’s a jeweler?” Damian asked. I nodded. “So is Rachelle. I think I’m expected to be one, also. No way.” He laughed. “I can’t see you being a jeweler.” He led me over to the couch. “So, how’s it been for you recently? I never hear from you recently.” “Well, it’s been long. Summer has just dragged on and on. Of course,” I flushed, “it got a lot longer when I heard you were coming. It felt like you would never get here.” “But I did!” he said. “Finally.” “So how does it feel to almost be twenty?” I asked him. “You’re getting old!” “Eh, it’s okay,” he shrugged. “One month from now, I will be two decades old. Big deal.” “So what’s been going on for you? Besides recording.” “All I’ve really been doing is recording. It’s getting tedious. That’s why Sharon decided to give us this vacation.” He sighed happily. “I’m so glad she did.” “Me, too.” We sat on the couch for a few minutes before I realized that it was getting on eleven o’ clock and I had been up for seventeen hours. “I should go to bed,” I reminded him. “Right.” He nodded. “Of course. I’ll see ya in the morning.” We stood up and hugged. “Good night,” he said, then hesitated. He looked thoughtful. “What?” I asked, looking deep into his blue eyes. “Tell me. What’s up?” He ducked his head. “We forgot something,” he said. “What do you mean?” I asked. He smiled. “This.” He leaned down and kissed me. I almost melted and thought, This is why I’ve waited for him to come back.
I woke up the next morning. It was silent in my room. Rachelle was up and had already made her bed. She was taking a shower. “What time is it?” I muttered, grabbing my phone. “Why is she awake at nine?” I wondered. “Rachelle doesn’t usually get up until at least ten.” I thought for a moment. “Oh, right, marching band starts today.” I rolled off my bed and got dressed quickly. I went downstairs. Jeffrey was sitting at the breakfast bar, eating breakfast. He waved his spoon at me in greeting. “Hey, Jeff,” I said, sitting down to join him. “Good morning.” “Good morning,” he replied, focusing on his breakfast. “I have to leave in thirteen minutes, approximately.” I choked back a laugh at this statement. “Oh, okay. I guess I’ll see you later today.” “Yup,” he replied, finishing his cereal. He washed his bowl quickly and hurried back upstairs. I ate in silence, trying to find the most comfortable position at the breakfast bar without being blinded by the sunshine. I was making toast when Damian stumbled downstairs. “Hey,” he said, rubbing his eyes. “Hi,” I replied. “How are you?” “Tired,” was all he said. I laughed. He walked over to the breakfast bar and sat down. He poured himself a bowl of cereal. I marveled at how comfortable he seemed in our house. Or maybe he was just hungry. “Oh, yeah, how are you?” he asked after a moment’s pause. “I’m good,” I said. “That’s good.” The silence was starting to bother me. Was he always this quiet in the morning? I sat down again to eat my toast. Jeffrey came running down the stairs a few minutes later. “I’m going to be late!” he exclaimed, rushing out the door. The door slammed and Damian looked at me with raised eyebrows. “What?” I asked. “Is he always like that?” “Yeah, he always rushes out like that, but he’s always the second person there. It’s just something he does.” Mom’s door opened, causing Damian to jump. She was ready for her jewelry party. “I’m leaving!” she yelled up the stairs, then stopped when she saw Damian and me in the kitchen. “Oh. I’m leaving,” she said in a quieter voice. “What are you going to do today?” I shrugged. “We’ll figure something out.” “Damian, you can drive, right?” Mom asked. He shrugged. “I’m sure I could figure out America’s way of driving.” She shook her head and laughed. “Never mind, then. Call Dee if you want to go somewhere, or Kate. Just call someone. Don’t let Damian drive you anywhere,” Mom admonished me. I nodded, grinning. “Okay, I won’t. Have fun, Mom!” She walked out the door with her huge bag of jewelry and catalogs. Damian looked at me. “So, what do you want to do?” I shrugged. “I really don’t know. It’s really too hot to do anything but swim.” “Then let’s swim.” “Okay,” I said. “I’m going to clean the kitchen first.” I smiled. “Do you remember when you were here for the first time and Keith volunteered you to clean the kitchen?” “Yes,” he said, rolling his eyes. “That was so long ago.” He picked up his bowl and washed it off, putting it in the dishwasher. “Where are we going swimming?” “My grandparent’s house,” I replied absentmindedly. “I don’t like swimming in the river. It’s disgusting.” He laughed. “Okay. How are we getting there?” “Either we call Dee or we walk.” He thought for a moment as he put my bowl in the dishwasher. “Let’s walk today. I’ll see Dee some other time.” “Okay,” I said, smiling at him. “Let’s walk. But first, I have to finish the kitchen and obviously get ready.” He grinned. “What, ya don’t want to swim in your jeans?” He danced away as I threw a dishtowel at him. “I’ll clean the kitchen and then go get ready. Obviously guys can get dressed faster than girls...” I laughed. “Damian, you are digging yourself into a hole here...” I warned him. “I know,” he said, smiling at me. “Go get ready.” I grinned at him and walked out of the kitchen. Walking up the stairs, I waved at some friends through the window and went into my room to change.
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Post by HburgEagle44 on Jun 24, 2011 23:00:21 GMT -5
When I came out a few minutes later, Damian was finishing up the kitchen and was humming softly under his breath. I stood back for a moment, trying to figure out what song it was. “Home,” I muttered. He looked up as I walked in. He blinked. “Do you always swim in shorts?” he asked. I nodded. “Yeah, always.” He shrugged. “Is that the American way now? I can’t keep up.” He winked. “Who cares? I’ll go get ready now.” He disappeared upstairs as I walked into the living room and sat down. I waited for only two minutes before he came bouncing down the stairs again. “Are ya ready?” I nodded. “Yes.” We walked outside and I was hit with the heat. I groaned. “I hate summer.” “Do you really?” The surprise in his voice made me want to laugh. “Well, no. I just hate the heat that comes with summer. If summer were the temperature of fall but didn’t have school along with it, I would be completely fine with summer.” We walked through Hburg, just talking and reliving the last couple times he had been there. The walk to my grandparent’s house seemed a lot longer than I remembered. The heat probably had something to do with it. “Can I try your glasses on?” Damian suddenly asked. “Oh! Um...sure,” I said, handing them over. I watched him put them on with an eyebrow raised. “Pink is definitely your color. With stripes. Definitely. Oh yes, loving the square glasses on you.” “I think they’re kind of interesting,” Damian said. “You can’t even see yourself!” “Yes, that is what makes them interesting.” He handed them back. “I can’t wear those. I’ll get a tanline around my eyes. How do you put up with square tanlines?” I glanced at him suspiciously. “Are you just messing with me or what?” “Oh, no,” he replied, his eyes twinkling. I just laughed and walked faster. Kids kept passing, waving at me and whispering to each other. No doubt “There’s Jenny’s first boyfriend” was part of those whispering conversations. Damian and I were quite the talk in Hburg. We finally reached Grammy and Papa’s house. Their cars were in the driveway, so I asked Damian to get the ladder in the pool while I said hello. I walked into the house. “Hello!” I yelled. Grammy appeared from the other room. “Hey, honey, what’s going on? Are you going swimming?” I nodded. “Yeah, and Damian’s with me.” “Oh,” she winked at me. “Well, your Aunt Kim will be here with her girls in just a bit. They want to go swimming also. I’m sure he’ll love that!” She paused. “He is the one with dark hair, right? Not the blond one?” I laughed. “Yes, he is the one with dark hair, Grammy.” She walked to the door and opened it. “Well, let’s go talk to him.” She walked out of her house as I followed, a little shocked by the abruptness but laughing inside as well. “She’ll never be able to understand him now that his accent is thicker,” I muttered to myself. “Hello, Damian!” Grammy called out. “How are you?” He looked up in surprise from the deck. “I’m good, and you?” Grammy paused and turned around to face my laughter. “Did he use to know English? Or has he never known it?” I cracked up. “He’s speaking English. Just with an accent. He asked how you are.” “I knew that,” she insisted. Turning back around, she said, “I’m good, Damian. My youngest daughter is coming over in just a little bit. I thought I would let you know.” “Thank you,” he replied. She turned to me triumphantly. “See, he said thank you. I understood that.” Damian laughed. “Very good,” he said. Grammy flushed when she realized that he was listening. “I’m so very glad you can understand me so perfectly.” I think he made his accent thick on purpose. “Yes, well...I’ll see you later!” Grammy said, waving and going back inside. Damian raised an eyebrow at me. “Can she really not understand me?” “She can’t even understand country accents. Come on, let’s get the cover off the pool.” We had just gotten the pool clean and the cover off when a car pulled into the driveway. A voice yelled at us, “HEY!!!! Thanks for getting it all set up perfectly for us!” I pointed. “That’s my Aunt Kim.” Damian nodded. “I remember her from the birthday party, I think.” I laughed at the haunted look in his eyes. Aunt Kim walked over to us with a spring in her step, her daughters Chloe and Anne following her. “Hey, I remember you!” she exclaimed. “You were that cute one with the accent.” He smiled. “Um, sure, that would be me.” She studied him. “No, actually, that cute one was much older. Sorry.” “Mom!” Chloe protested. “I said I was sorry,” she defended herself. Damian just smiled. “Oh, you mean Ryan? Yeah, he’s in Ireland right now. Sorry.” Anne just walked over to the pool and glided in. “So, are you ready to go swimming?” Aunt Kim asked, smiling broadly. She rushed up and jumped into the pool, causing Anne to shriek at the coolness of the water. Chloe rolled her eyes. “Wow, she’s pretty mellow today. Sorry about what she said earlier,” she said to Damian. He shrugged. “It’s okay. I really honestly don’t care.” She nodded. “Right,” she said, dragging out the word. “Oh, no, you’re not like your grandmother in that you cannot understand a word I say?” Damian asked in exasperation. “Oh, no, I understand. But right now, I want to get in the pool. It’s hot.” She walked over to the pool and got in. “Oh, yeah, by the way, Jenny, I forgot to tell you that Zack and Trev are coming over in just a bit!” Damian looked at me helplessly. “My cousins,” I said. “Marilyn’s kids.” He nodded. “Now, let’s get in!” He ran up to the deck again and kicked off his flip flops. Pulling off his shirt, he cannonballed into the pool, making Anne yell again and Aunt Kim congratulate him on his splash. I laughed. “Okay, here goes nothing.” I walked to the pool and took off my flipflops. I was about to jump over the side when strong arms bear-hugged me from behind and threw me in. I came up, gasping for air. I looked wildly around. What's your favorite part?
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Post by HburgEagle44 on Jun 25, 2011 13:44:39 GMT -5
hahaha here's the next part for ya....poor Damo this is literally how my family acts, just saying! I came up, gasping for air. I looked wildly around. “Trevin!” I screamed, trying not to laugh. He, however, was roaring. “That was a beautiful dive, Jenny,” he said. I swam over to him and grabbed his arm. Pulling him in, he came up and splashed me. “Come on, that was weak. Weak!” he teased me. Zack calmly got into the water. He walked/swam over to Damian. “Hey, I’m Zack. I don’t know if we’ve met.” “I’m Damian,” he replied. “We met about a year and a half ago at Jeffrey’s birthday party, I believe.” “Oh, that’s right!” Trevin splashed himself over. “Hey, I’m Trevin. I’ve been in Texas for a while.” He extended his hand. “Don’t take it!” I yelled, but Damian was too polite and reached out to shake his hand. In an instant, Trevin had him in the water and held him down for a moment. Damian came back up, gasping for air. “Oh my...!” the rest was drowned out as Aunt Kim got in on the fun. She pushed him down as well. I stood there in shock. Chloe was leaning up against the wall of the pool, looking on like it was the most natural thing to do. Anne had escaped the cold pool and Zack was swimming in lazy circles. Damian broke away from Aunt Kim and Trevin after a few minutes. He swam to me as fast as he could. “Are they always like this?” he hissed. “Oh, no. They’re just picking on you because you’re new.” I glared at Chloe. “Actually, they think it’s fun to mess with anyone and everyone. It’s not because you’re ‘new’, whatever that means.” “Oh, it means a new addition to the family,” Chloe replied. Damian flushed and turned to me. “Are they coming to kill me?” he asked, pointing to Aunt Kim and Trevin. They had broken from their huddle and were moving towards us. “I don’t know, exactly.” I grabbed his shoulder and pushed him in front of me, laughing. “You first!” “No!” he yelled. “What are you doing?” He looked terrified. I felt a little sorry for him. Not much, though. Aunt Kim approached him first. “Damian, right?” He nodded. “I just wanted to say that you shouldn’t take anything we do as a bad thing. Just because we attacked you doesn’t mean anything.” Trevin nodded, smiling. “So just relax and have fun, okay?” She wandered over to Zack, no doubt to dunk him as well. My jaw dropped. I had never heard Aunt Kim sound so...well, so kind and repentant before! Trevin stuck out his hand. “No hard feelings?” Damian eyed his hand warily. “Is it safe?” he whispered to me. “I would say not,” I whispered back. “Apologizing means they can do it all over again without remorse.” He nodded and turned to Trevin, who was looking decidedly uncomfortable at this whispering. Chloe was simply grinning beside me. Damian said, “I don’t trust you enough to shake your hand, but no hard feelings.” He grinned. Trevin grinned back. “That makes sense. I respect you not trusting me. Most people don’t.” He looked at me. “Like Jenny here.” “I don’t trust you,” I declared. “Smart.” He walked off to help Aunt Kim, who was thoroughly drenching Zack. Anne found her bravery and made it back into the pool. She looked at Damian with wide eyes. “Are you that Irish guy that I heard about from the Glee Project?” “Um, yes. That would be me.” She squealed. “Oh, my goodness! You’re Damian McGinty! The girls will never believe me at school!” He smiled. “No, that would be too much to hope for, wouldn’t it?” he asked dryly. She sighed. “Oh, well. I know I’ve met you. Now I just have to meet Cameron and I will be completely happy.” “Oh, I know how to get a hold of him,” he said, winking at me. “You do?” I had never seen Anne this excited. “Yeah. I’m sure he would be glad to talk to ya since you’re a friend of mine.” “I’m a friend of yours? I’m a friend of Damian McGinty’s!” Anne seemed in a trance as she walked over to Zack. Damian stared at Chloe. “Is she always like that?” “Yes. She is. You were really on Glee?” “No, I didn’t make it to the end. But I was on the Glee Project. It’s where 12 kids get together and audition for Glee, essentially. They hang out as the judges eliminate them one by one.” “Oh, that makes sense.” Chloe thought for a moment. “What was your most embarrassing moment?” He turned bright red. “Um, I don’t really want to talk about it.” “Probably when he sang Jessie’s Girl, right?” I teased him. “I said I don’t want to talk about it!” he said, splashing me. I splashed him back, and it turned into a contest between everyone in the pool (except Anne, she got out again). Grammy came out of the house and interrupted us. “I made lunch, if anyone’s interested.” “Lunch!” Damian and Zack exclaimed at the same time. “I take it people are interested,” Grammy said, going back into the house. Everyone got out the pool and dried off. We had to make sure we weren’t dripping before we went inside. Anne, of course, was already dry. When we were sure we weren’t dripping, we all ran inside. Grammy was setting the plates out. “Hamburgers!” Zack called out. “My favorite!” “Any food is your favorite,” Trevin scoffed. “True. But hamburgers is close to the top,” Zack retorted. Everyone attacked their food with a vengeance. Grammy came out of the kitchen and said, “I guess everyone’s hungry...” Everyone looked up. “Oh, yeah,” Zack said, taking another bite. Grammy smiled and looked at Damian. “You found everything all right?” she asked him, like being foreign made him a little kid. “Yeah, I did,” Damian said, taking another bite. “This is really good. Who made it?” “My husband,” Grammy said after a moment’s pause. “That is what you were asking, right?” He nodded. “Definitely.” Everyone giggled at how Grammy couldn’t really understand accents. “Remember when she thought that por favor was portavor?” Aunt Kim said loudly. Grammy shook her finger at her. “Now don’t be making fun of me!” she protested. “I just don’t get accents!” Damian joined in the laughter but stopped when he noticed Anne staring at him dreamily. “Protect me from Anne, okay?” he whispered to me. I grinned. “She won’t do anything. She’ll just want a picture,” I replied, lowering my voice. Oh and don't kill me over the Glee Project thing, okay... ??
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Post by HburgEagle44 on Jun 26, 2011 19:24:17 GMT -5
“Hey, you two!” Chloe called out good-naturedly. “Six inches!” “Wow, she reminds me of someone...” Damian muttered. Before I knew what was going on, Damian’s face took on an ornery smile and he grabbed my shoulder and drew me in closer, kissing me on the cheek. “Six inches? No way.” “Ooh!” Aunt Kim said teasingly. “You two are too cute!” Anne gasped. “Are you two dating?” I sighed and moved Damian’s arm. “Yes, we are.” I smiled at him as Anne looked jealous, no doubt wanting a hug from the famous Damian McGinty! Zack looked at Damian in disgust. “Dude, you’re dating my cousin? What is wrong with you?” he shook his head in disappointment. “We need to talk. I’ll tell you everything embarrassing that has ever happened to her.” I glared at him. “Damian, never talk to him about me. He’ll tell you a pack of lies. That’s our family nickname: The Lying Family.” Damian looked confused. “Um...Zack, guess I can’t talk to you. Sorry.” He shrugged. Zack shook his head in exasperation. “Dude, you really need to not let her control you like that.” He stretched and looked at his empty plate. “I’m going swimming again.” He stood up and walked off, followed by Trevin. Damian looked at me curiously. “Doesn’t he realize that he shouldn’t swim on a full stomach?” “Let him kill himself,” I said. “Just joking! Besides, it doesn’t bother him.” Aunt Kim stood up. “I’ll go help Mom with the dishes,” she said. “Behave yourselves, you two.” Chloe followed her. Anne was texting on her phone desperately. I could only imagine what she was saying. She looked up at us staring at her. “Damian,” she said with a rush of breath, “can you do that rap again for me?” He sighed. “No. It’s not appropriate.” He winked at me. “I just wondered, because I didn’t understand you at all when you did it on the Glee Project, and I want to know what you said.” “He was talking about a girl in Dublin,” I interrupted. Damian nodded. “Oh. Really? Strange.” Immediately, she was on her phone again, no doubt relaying this information to the others. Damian touched my elbow. “Come on, let’s clean up and leave.” “Okay,” I smiled. We picked up our plates and threw them away, and then were out of the house. Zack and Trevin waved good-bye from the deck happily. We walked back to my house slowly, taking the time to “stop and smell the roses”. The people who lived on Smith Street had especially good smelling roses. We reached my house and nobody was there. That was a bit strange as Rachelle should have been there, but we decided that she went into town or something like that. (A/N: You know you live in Hburg when you say you are going into town...) Damian glanced at me. “So...” “So?” “What is there to do here? Besides go walk around town.” I thought for a moment. “You mean here, as in within walking distance, right?” “Yes.” “Um...well, about nothing. The Skate Park, the ‘store’, the park...the basketball court...” Damian shook his head. “The teen place (but that’s only on Fridays), and...that’s about it. Welcome to my town.” Damian looked thoughtful. “Okay. So. There’s nothing to do here, is what you’re saying?” “Pretty much,” I admitted. “So tell me about those embarrassing stories that Zack was going to tell me about,” Damian said, grinning. I blinked at the change in subject. “Who knows what he had in mind? I don’t do anything embarrassing around him. That could get bad.” He shrugged. “Okay, then. What did you look like when you were little?” I flushed. “Why do you want to know?” He grinned. “I just want to see how cute you were back then.” I pointed at the couch. “Sit down.” I went into my mom’s room and came back with her yellow scrapbook. “When my sister made cards, she used me as a model a lot. These are some pictures.” Damian took the scrapbook and opened it up. He pointed at the very first picture. “That’s you?” I nodded slowly. “Yeah, my sister made me quite the dramatic...” “How on earth did your cheeks ever stay on your face?” I burst out laughing. “I don’t know. Maybe they were connected? But yeah, they hang down pretty far, don’t they?” “And this is Zack?” Damian pointed at a different picture. “And Anne?” “Yes. We were all great models.” “What was your commission?” “Um...we got to be on the front of cards.” He raised his eyebrow. I couldn’t help but grin at this gesture of skepticism. “That’s it? Wow, you really should’ve gotten paid!” “Why?” I asked curiously. “I was five!” “But such a cute model deserves money!” Damian said, grinning. “Damian!” I pushed him, laughing. “Thanks for the compliment...I think.” “You’re quite welcome, madam,” he replied, trying to put on an English accent and failing miserably. “Any requests from you will be granted.” “Why?” “I don’t know, it just sounded like something an English guy would say,” Damian said, shrugging. I tried not to laugh and put on my own English accent. “Well, thank you, good sir! I would very much love a good cuppa. Could you fetch me some?” He looked at me in astonishment. “You sound...English.” “People have told me I have a good English accent, yes.” I hid my grin at his expression. “Are you sure you aren’t from England or something?” I laughed. “I was born in Dallas, Oregon. I have never been off the west coast of America in my life.” “Oh, well, that’s good to know. How boring,” he commented. “So you’ve never been to New York or anything like that?” “Damian, just think about it. My family going to New York.” I stared at him. “Don’t you think that would be a little...far for all of us?” He grinned. “Maybe. All seven of you? Yeah, that’s a little much.” He continued flipping pages. “This is Chloe? And Lukas? Aw, they were so cute.” He turned another page and started laughing. I flushed as he sputtered, “How did your sister ever get you into the fireplace like that? And your mom let you! You must’ve gotten so dirty!” He pulled out his phone and took a picture of the picture. “That’s such great craic like you wouldn’t believe!” he chuckled to himself. “That’s...not fake.” “What?” he sounded astonished. “Jeffrey and I really did climb in the fireplace...Mom was pregnant with Lukas and it was five o’ clock in the morning. Good times, good times.” I grinned sheepishly. “That was real?” he asked, his smile broadening. “You really climbed in the fireplace?” I sighed. “Yes, and I have a feeling that was on Zack’s list of ‘tell Damian embarrassing things about your cousin.’” “The one you won’t tell me about?” “Well, what do you want to know?” The front door opened and Damian and I jumped. Mom walked in, talking on her phone, and smiled. “Oh, hey, you two. Can you go get some stuff and help bring it in?” She walked into her room, still talking.
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Post by HburgEagle44 on Jun 27, 2011 23:33:20 GMT -5
Damian and I stood up and walked out to her car. He grabbed the card table and I got the bags. “Your mom needs all this for a jewelry party?” “Yes, why?” I asked, climbing up the stoop. “She has a lot of stuff, I know.” He pulled the door shut behind him. “Why does she have a table?” “To put all the jewelry on, maybe?” He shrugged. “Remind me to never become a jeweler.” I bit my lip at the visual. “Okay, I will remind you.” I knocked on my mom’s door. “We have your stuff.” “Come in!” We walked in. My mom was sitting on her bed, still talking on the phone. “It’s Nita,” she informed me. “Nita!” I exclaimed. “I miss you!” “She misses you,” Mom relayed. A pause. “She misses you, too. She says to come on over if you want to.” I smiled at Damian. “That’s what we can do. You’ll like Nita and her kids as well.” “Okay,” he responded. “That’ll be fun.” He smiled. “Let’s go right now!” He put the card table where Mom instructed him and I put the bags down. She shooed us away. “Have fun at Nita’s,” she said. “I’ll see you two later.” We left, walking into the blinding sunshine again. We walked slowly down past the elementary school, the skate park, and the fire station. I pointed. “That’s Nita’s house.” “Okay,” he said, crossing the street. “Damian! You can’t just jaywalk!” I hissed at him, following closely behind. “Why not? You have such a small town that no one’s going to care! Besides, you’re doing it. I can just blame it on you if we actually get a ticket.” I thought about that for a second. “No, we’d probably just get into a conversation with the deputy. That happens a lot.” He walked up Nita’s doorstep and knocked on the door. I laughed and pushed past him, opening the door. “Hello!” I called. Josh came around the corner. “Jennifer!” he cried, giving me a hug. “I haven’t seen you in four days!” I smiled. “I know, it’s been a while, hasn’t it?” I teased him. I looked at the other boy in the room. “Hi, Sam, how are you?” He smiled. “I’m good. Is this your boyfriend?” Damian nodded. “I’m Damian. Nice to meet you.” He extended his hand. Sam looked at me like I was crazy. “Jenny! This is the guy in the band you used to be so obsessed with! Only, he looks different.” Damian looked uncomfortable as Sam scrutinized him. “You don’t have braces and you’re taller. That’s it.” Damian put his hand down. “Yes, those would be some differences...” Nita came around the corner. “Hello, Jennifer!” She gave me a hug. “Nice to see you again!” She turned to Damian. “Hi, Debbie said you would be coming with Jennifer. I’m Nita.” She and Damian shook hands. “You want to sit down?” Damian followed her as I was hit with questions. “Is he nice? Does he always talk with an accent? How old is he?” The answer to the last question was met with some disapproval by Sam, who thought that Damian was too old for me. Sam, being almost seventeen (his birthday is a day before mine), thought that anyone older than he was became a problem. I finally escaped this and found Nita and Damian talking in the living room. I sat down next to Damian on the couch and caught up. “Well, you see, only three of my kids are here right now,” Nita explained. “Three of them are in California for a trip, and two of them are in the mountains with their dad.” Damian’s eyes got huge as he calculated mentally. “You have eight children?” She smiled. “Yes, and—” Sam came in and interrupted. “And four more are at my grandparent’s house.” Damian looked like he was about to go into shock. “One dozen children...” he muttered. “A whole dozen.” Nita groaned. “Sam. Eight children is all the children I can take, Damian. I only have eight.” “Oh, only,” I heard him say softly. I jabbed him in the ribs. “Ow,” he said in surprise, staring at me. “What was that for?” “Oh, nothing.” “That’s right, Jennifer! I’ll help!” I looked over at Josh and grinned. He came forward and sat next to me. “Do you need help killing him?” “Why would I kill him?” I asked in surprise. “I just wanted him to stop being sarcastic. Is that the correct word?” I wondered. “Oh, because he’s being annoying. And he can’t stop looking at you. I just thought that you might want to get rid of him.” Josh looked up at me with big blue eyes. Nita cleared her throat. “Jennifer can handle Damian by herself, but thank you, Josh.” “Why do you keep calling her Jennifer?” Damian asked curiously. “That’s her name, isn’t it?” Josh looked at him like he was just a stupid guy. I choked back a laugh at Damian’s face. “Well, yes. But Sam calls her Jenny, and so does everyone else. You two don’t.” “And neither does Daniel or Rachel or Maia or Christine or Jacob or Alex.” “Sam, why do you call me Jenny?” I asked. Sam shrugged. “I don’t know. Maybe because all your teachers called you that and I had a lot of classes with you last year.” “Makes sense.” Nita laughed. “This is getting confusing. Damian, Jennifer, do you two want lattes?” “Sure!” we both responded. We followed her to the kitchen. She started making the lattes in the kitchen and kept talking. “So, Damian, what do you do for fun in Ireland?” she asked. Damian thought. “Well, I play footie. Soccer, I mean. And obviously, I love singing. And, well, I don’t really do anything. That’s the joy of it. I love Mario Kart, though.” I shook my head in amusement. “Just another guy who likes video games,” I teased him. Nita smiled. “Sounds like America. Except nobody plays soccer where we live. Just basketball.” Damian grinned at me. “I noticed.” I stuck my tongue out at him playfully. “Hey, I’m not obsessed with basketball!” “No, you just talk about it a lot.” “Aren’t you in a summer league?” Nita asked me. I shook my head. “No, that ended three weeks ago. Thank goodness! I was getting so tired of basketball.” “It’s a miracle.” Damian ducked to avoid the look I sent him. I glared at Damian for a few seconds. “Do you want to walk back?” I asked him teasingly. “Because I’ll make sure you do!” “Well, it seems as if you and I are both walking back, so sure!” he grinned, knowing he had the upper hand. “No, no, no.” We looked at Sam, lounging in the doorway. “You’re supposed to cower in fear and say, ‘No, I don’t want to walk’ when she says something like that.” Damian nodded slowly. “Oh, okay. Thanks for the tip.” He turned to me. “No—” I cut in. “You don’t have to say it,” I said, laughing. “But thanks anyway, Sam.”
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Post by HburgEagle44 on Jun 28, 2011 23:09:45 GMT -5
Nita handed me a cup. “Here you go. Just remember, it’s hot!” she warned us, handing Damian his cup. We both stood there, blowing on our cups. Damian started drinking his soon. I think he liked it. He sucked it down really fast. “So, where’s the third child you said was here?” I asked. “And which one is it?” Nita thought for a moment. “Daniel is here, but he’s not in the house. He’s at play practice right now. Sorry for the confusion.” “Oh, okay,” I said. “What are they putting on next?” “Not sure, actually. A cabaret type thing, I think.” “Play practice?” Damian asked. “He’s an actor for a local group,” I explained. “They’re really good. We should go sometime if they perform in the next few weeks.” “Okay, I’d like that,” he said, smiling at me. “So, Damian,” Josh said, “Sam was telling me about the band you’re in. Are you guys good?” Damian grinned. “I like to think we are. Let’s ask an outsider, shall we?” He looked at me. “Jenny, are we good?” “Hey, you can’t do that! She’s biased!” Josh argued. “They’re good, Josh. Trust me.” I smiled. “I’ve liked them for five years. I think I know what I’m talking about.” “Were you biased five years ago?” he asked. “Meaning did I have a boyfriend from the group five years ago?” I asked, grinning. “Well, no.” Boyfriend, I kept thinking. What a weird thought. Nita laughed. “You are all so crazy.” “Excuse me!” Sam said, appearing out of nowhere. “I like to consider myself happy and strange. Not crazy.” Damian gave him an odd look. “Well, then. Okay,” was all he could make out. He looked at me. “What time do you think your mum wants us to be back?” “Mum,” Sam muttered, laughing softly. I glared at him and shrugged. “I think she doesn’t care. I mean, you’re an adult, and we aren’t doing anything today.” “Okay.” He finished his latte and washed the cup out. Nita smiled at this. My phone started buzzing right then. I pulled it out and looked at the caller ID. “Hello?” I said in astonishment. “Keith?” “Hello, Jenny! What’s the craic? Damian will not answer his phone and I was just making sure that he got back safely.” I glanced at the clock. “What time is it there? And yes, he’s here. We’re visiting friends right now.” Sam, Josh, Nita and Damian all looked really curious. “It’s Keith?” Damian asked. I nodded. “Why is he calling?” Damian pulled out his phone. “Oops,” he said sheepishly, looking at all the missed calls. “Well,” Keith said, “I also just wanted to make sure you were up.” “If I could punch you,” I said slowly, “I would. Take my word for it.” He laughed and hung up, reassured in the fact that Damian was safe and I was awake. I put my phone in my pocket. “Well, that was strange.” “Who was it?” Nita asked. “Keith Harkin. He sings with Celtic Thunder, just like Damian. I became pretty good friends with him last time he was here.” “Oh,” Nita said. She turned to Josh and Sam. “You two should go hang out somewhere. Stop being annoying.” Damian almost coughed up his latte at this statement. I think he thought it was funny, but I wasn’t sure. I patted him on the back. “Mom!” Josh complained. “I want to stay here and talk with you!” Nita frowned at him. “Go to the skate park or something.” Josh stood up and went upstairs. Sam pulled out his cell phone an started texting. “Who are you texting?” Nita asked. “Michael. I want him to come over. We’ll leave after he gets here, don’t worry,” Sam said hurriedly, seeing the look on her face. “Well, okay.” She turned to us. “Do you want to go back to the living room?” We walked into the living room and sat down, talking for a while. Josh came back down and left after giving me a hug. Sam sat silently, just listening. A few minutes later, there was a knock on the door and it opened. Michael walked in. “Hey, Sam,” he said. “Hey, Miss Nita.” He looked at me. “Calculus! Wow, it has been a long time!” I groaned. “I thought you had forgotten that nickname.” “Nope, never. You will always be Calculus to me.” He turned to Damian. “Hi, I’m Michael. You are?” “I’m Damian,” he replied, grinning as he cocked an eyebrow at me. “Calculus?” “Hey, don’t knock it,” Michael said. “When she was fourteen and in Pre-Cal, I thought that was the coolest thing ever. So I started calling her that.” He smiled at me. “Do you remember that volleyball game?” Sam looked very confused. I grinned. “Yeah, that wasn’t Hburg’s shining moment. Of course, anything volleyball isn’t Hburg’s shining moment.” Damian joined in Sam’s confusion. “Um...” Sam said. “Michael, wanna go now?” “Sure,” Michael said. “Where are we going?” Sam shrugged. “I have no idea, honestly. Just around, I guess.” He looked at Damian and me. “Do you two want to come walk around Hburg again?” Damian held back a grin. “No, we’ve done that already.” Michael raised his eyebrows teasingly. “Ah, an Hburg date, huh? Calculus, I thought you didn’t date! At least, that’s what you told me!” He pretended to look hurt. I grinned. “Michael...” I warned him. “Yes, this is my boyfriend.” Damian smiled at me. “No, this is my girlfriend.” “You two,” Nita laughed. “What do you want to do?” Damian asked. “Do you want to hang out with them?” I studied the two guys. “Well, I don’t know. These kids are pretty crazy. It might be invaluable to not go with them. It could save your life.” Sam flushed. “No, we’re good kids. Wait. Kids! We are not kids! We’re older than you!” “Not me,” Damian reminded him. “Oh, true.” “How old are you?” Michael asked him. “Nineteen,” he answered. “I’m turning twenty in September.” “Wow...Calculus, just letting you know, he’s old for you.” “Oh, thanks, Michael,” I replied sarcastically. Turning to Damian, I said, “How about we just go back to my house?” “Okay,” he said, smiling. “That would be good. Is your sister there?” I shrugged. “I don’t know. Marching band camp is a long day, so probably not.” “Is your mom there?” Nita asked. “Because if she is, I’ll drive you and probably stay for a few minutes.” “Well, Mom, I’ll see you later,” Sam said, almost dragging Michael out the door. “Bye!” “Bye, Calculus!” Michael called. “Bye, Miss Nita! Bye, Damian!” The door slammed. “I’ll drive you,” Nita said.
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Post by HburgEagle44 on Jun 30, 2011 14:33:15 GMT -5
. We walked to the front door and got in her car. I squeezed into the back seat and buckled. We drove through two railroads and Main Street and were there. “Wow,” Damian said, climbing out, “I love small towns.” We walked in as my mom was going into the kitchen. She turned as the door opened. “Hey, Jenny and Damian are here!” she yelled up the stairs. “Nita!” she gave her a hug. “It’s been a while since I’ve seen you!” “Who’s upstairs?” Damian whispered to me. I shrugged. Nita and Mom were chatting away happily. I decided to go upstairs with Damian. We walked up and almost collided with Monica and Dee. “Hey!” I exclaimed, giving them both hugs. “Dee!” Damian said. “It’s been a while.” “Yeah, heard that you and Jenny started dating,” she said, winking at him. “That was the biggest news of the year.” Damian simply grinned. I flushed. “Yeah, yeah. Whatever.” I looked at Monica. “Wow, I didn’t know you were in Oregon! What are you doing here?” She smiled. “I’m visiting Sandra. She said that she misses me.” “We all have,” I said, smiling at her. “So you came from Texas just because?” She nodded. “Yes, I did. It’s summer.” She looked at Damian and smiled. “Hi, Damian. I’m Monica, if you haven’t already guessed.” He laughed. “I think I figured that out.” He shook her hand. “You come from Texas? You don’t sound like it.” She grinned. “I can if I want to. But I lived here most of my life, so I talk like a Pacific coast person.” “We’ve been waiting for you two for forever,” Dee chided us. “Then why didn’t you call?” I asked her. “Oh, yeah...why do you always have to be so logical?” she asked. Damian looked bewildered. “Wait, what time did you get here?” Dee shrugged. “I don’t know. Fifteen minutes ago?” “Wow, your idea of forever is definitely shorter than mine...but that’s okay. You’ll just have a lot of forevers in your life,” Damian said, laughing. “So, Jenny,” Monica said, “what do you want to do?” “You wanna just walk around Hburg?” Dee asked. Damian and I looked at each other and laughed. “No thanks!” I declared. “How about we just sit here?” “And talk? Can we watch something while we talk?” Monica asked. “Sure,” I said. Monica walked over to the shelf with movies. Dee looked at Damian. “So, how’s everything back in Ireland?” “Good,” he said. “Sharon gave us some time off from recording, so I got to come back. I was glad that it was during the summertime, also.” He smiled. “How have you been? You graduated, right?” She nodded. “Yes, I did. It was hot on graduation.” “And that means?” Monica asked, laughing. She pulled a DVD from the shelf. “I want to watch this. Seems kinda familiar.” I took the DVD and tried not to grin. “Sure, we can watch this.” I put it in the player and laughed. “Why do you want to watch this?” “It’s singing instead of a movie, and we won’t have to watch it. We can just listen. And besides, I’ve heard of these people before. The blond one is cute,” Monica said, winking at Dee. It went to the main menu and Damian almost died coughing. “Celtic Thunder: The Show?” he asked. “Yeah,” Monica said. “What’s the matter with that?” Dee and I hid our grins. Damian stopped coughing long enough to say, “Nothing’s wrong. It’s amazing, if I may say so myself. I happen to know this group pretty well.” The music started for Heartland. The screen flashed with Damian’s face from five years before and Monica flushed. “Oh, I see why you were kind of...yeah.” Damian shrugged. “I’m fine with it. It’s just strange watching me at fourteen.” Dee laughed. “You were fourteen? I always thought you were twelve or something.” He flushed and laughed good-naturedly. “So I was short. And had braces and everything. So what?” He punched Dee playfully. “Oh, yeah, Keith told me to say hi if I saw you.” She smiled. “Oh, tell him I say hi back! How is he?” “I’m assuming he’s fine right now. Who knows, with Keith?” he shrugged. Monica was watching the DVD. “Wow, you have such a big voice for being so little!” she exclaimed. “And oh my goodness, that’s the guy you showed me a picture of!” she said to Dee. “He is so cute.” “Keith?” Dee asked. She paused. “Yeah.” Damian winked at me. I ignored him and watched The Show for the millionth time. “Jenny!” Mom called up the stairs. I walked down them. She was standing there with the phone. “It’s Logan.” I looked at the phone curiously. “Hello?” I said. “Peppy! I was wondering if Callie and I could come over?” “Um, sure?” I said. “Why now?” “Well, she was wondering if she would ever get to meet this Damian guy, and I just want to hang out. We haven’t hung out for a while. And by the way, Callie says hi.” I walked upstairs with the phone still in my hand. “Sure, you two can come over. Dee and Monica are here, too.” “Oh, okay. Monica? She’s here from Texas? Cool. I’ll be over with Callie in just a few.” He hung up. I stared at the phone, marveling at this short call. “Who was that?” Dee asked. “Roger.” “Logan Roger?” Monica asked. “I haven’t seen him in forever!” “Yes, Logan. That’s right, you were in band.” Damian looked lost. “What do you mean Logan Roger? Is that his full name? If so, why do you call him by his last name?” “His name is Logan,” I explained. “I just call him Roger. Well, a lot of us do.” He shrugged. “Band people. They’re crazy.” Monica looked pleased that Logan and Callie would be there soon. Dee just watched The Show. Sorry I didn't update yesterday, but hey, things get hectic comment!
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Post by HburgEagle44 on Jul 1, 2011 22:23:51 GMT -5
“Why is he coming over?” Damian asked. “Because he’s wanted to hang out for a while, and Callie wants to meet you. Actually, most of Hburg wants to meet you.” I grinned. “We don’t get many people here from another country.” “And besides that, Jenny’s never even shown an interest in a guy before,” Dee said, laughing. “Can we go to Sweet Life?” I grinned. So did Damian. Monica looked like she was thinking. “Sweet Life? Would that be that bakery that ya’ll are so obsessed with?” Damian blinked. “I thought you didn’t talk with a Southern accent.” She flushed. “Well, sometimes I do accidently.” “Can we go to Sweet Life when they get here?” Dee asked. “I really want to go again. Besides, I can drive us all. We don’t need to take two vehicles.” “Well, we’ll ask Roger and Callie,” I said. “But that would be fun.” “Do they know that I’m famous?” Damian asked. “Callie does. Why?” I asked him. “Is that a problem?” “I just get tired of people freaking out over me...” his voice trailed off. “But I’ll trust you. She isn’t like Anne, right?” “Oh, he met Anne? Your cousin Anne?” Monica asked, trying not to laugh. He glanced at her ruefully. “Yes, I met Anne. It was an experience. One I’m used to, but still an experience.” The door opened downstairs. Mom called to me, “Jenny! Logan and Callie are here!” I heard Logan say, “Thanks, Debbie. We’ll just go upstairs.” Callie ran up first. “Jenny!” she said, hugging me. “Hey! How was Idaho?” “Marvelous as always,” she laughed. “Hi, Dee! Monica! It’s so good to see you!” she gave Monica a hug. “Hi, you must be Damian,” she said, grinning and extending her hand. “Hi, Callie. Yes, I am Damian.” He shook her hand and turned to Logan. “Hi...um. Do you prefer Logan or Roger?” Logan grinned and shook his hand. “I’m called Roger by my friends.” He turned to me and gave me a hug. “Hey, Peppy. I haven’t really seen you since school ended. Sup?” “Sup,” Damian muttered, grinning. I frowned at Damian teasingly and looked at Logan. “Nothing much. Just hanging out this summer. Well, of course, Damian’s here.” “I see that.” He studied Damian for a moment and looked at the TV. “Peppy, what is this?” I grinned. “This is Celtic Thunder. They’re a singing group from Ireland.” “Oh, cool,” he replied. “Oh, that’s that group that sang whatever about being a creature in the choir or whatever it is you sing every day on the band bus?” Damian grinned. “All God’s creatures got a place in the choir,” he supplied. “Yeah, that one,” Logan replied, then stopped. He turned to stare at Damian. “Wait. You—” he pointed at the TV. “Yeah, that’s me,” he admitted. Everyone was watching this exchange and grinning broadly. “You’re going out with Peppy, and you’re a famous singer?” Logan asked, his jaw dropping. “This is an Hburg first!” he declared. “This is almost an Oregon first,” I said. “No, you’re forgetting Anna,” Damian reminded me. “That would be why I said almost.” Callie looked from the TV to Damian. “That’s you? I see the resemblance in the hair and the shoes. That’s it.” “Yes, that’s me. I got rid of me braces, though.” “Wow, he even sounds like he’s from Ireland!” Callie said. I almost laughed at this ridiculous statement. “You are such a blonde, Callie,” Monica said, laughing. “I’ve missed that.” She winked at her. Dee spoke up. “So, are we going to Sweet Life?” “Sweet Life?” Logan asked. “You’ve never been there?” Damian asked, surprised. “And you’ve known Jenny how long?” “Yeah, Roger, come on!” Monica exclaimed. “I’ve been there! And I haven’t even been here that long!” He looked nervous. “Sorry. What is the great Sweet Life that I must go to?” “A bakery,” I responded. “The most amazing bakery ever.” “Uh huh,” he replied. “Where is it?” “Eugene,” Dee said. “I’ll drive everybody.” “In your car?” Callie asked, smiling a little. “No, I brought my mom’s van today. She needed the car because she went up to Portland and needed something with better gas mileage. So I can fit everybody.” Logan shrugged. “What are we waiting for? Let’s go!” “Um,” I said, but everyone was downstairs. I turned off the TV and the Xbox and grabbed my sunglasses and some money. Walking downstairs, I only saw Mom, Nita, and Damian. “You ready?” he asked quietly. “Yeah, I’ll see you later, Moms,” I said, smiling at Mom and Nita. “Bye, daughter! Bye, Damian!” they both called. Well...what do you think is going to happen? comment!
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Post by HburgEagle44 on Jul 3, 2011 1:08:52 GMT -5
“Hey, you two! Come on!” Dee cried. “I haven’t been to Sweet Life in forever! You’re holding us up!” Damian climbed in and helped me in after him. I buckled and shut the door. Dee drove off, blasting KDUK while she was at it. “Are you okay?” Damian whispered at me. I shrugged. “I don’t know. I kind of wanted to just relax at home with you...” my voice trailed off as Damian squeezed my hand reassuringly. “We’ll be back soon enough. Then we can get rid of all these people.” I looked up at him, surprised, but his eyes were twinkling in amusement. He was joking. Bruno Mars’s song “Just the Way You Are” came on just then. Logan rolled his eyes and leaned forward, switching off the radio. “Roger!” every girl in the van screamed. He jumped. “Turn that back on or you walk!” Dee threatened him. Logan looked back at Damian, no doubt for masculine support. Damian just smiled and shrugged. Logan sighed and turned the song back on. The girls were all singing along, including myself. We got to Sweet Life in record time (for a mini-van) and got out happily. We all filed into the bakery, talking and having a great time. Logan’s jaw dropped. “Why hasn’t Peppy brought me here before?” he asked rhetorically. His gaze wandered over all the cakes. We ordered quickly and claimed a few tables. Callie sat with Damian and me, while Logan, Dee, and Monica sat together. Callie leaned over to Damian. “Do you know how to talk in Irish?” she asked. “Do you mean Gaelic?” he asked, trying not to smile. “Um, maybe. I don’t know. Whatever it is you Irish people speak. Besides English, I mean.” He rattled off something in Irish Gaelic. Callie stared at him in fascination. “What did you say?” “Lord have mercy, Christ have mercy. It’s from a song that my group sings.” “Oh, that’s cool. Jenny, do you know any Gaelic?” I laughed. “I can say what he just said, something from another song they sing, and I can say, ‘I am cold’ and ‘I am not cold.’” “Wow. That’s impressive.” I rolled my eyes and glanced at Damian. He was choking back his laughter. “So, Jenny,” Callie continued, “did you know that Sam and Sandra are going out again? I couldn’t believe it when I heard. It was so over last I heard.” “Um, no. Sam didn’t mention it today.” I held back an inward groan. I was not in the mood for that subject that day. “Well, that’s what everyone’s saying. Apparently, they went out to lunch together.” “And that makes them together?” Damian asked. “I mean, I went to a bakery with you. What does that mean?” She gasped. “You’re right! I’m telling everyone that Sam and Sandra are not going out, after all! Should I say that they broke up today?” I did a mental facepalm and zoned out, eating my cake and listening to the buzz of conversation around me. A while later, I heard Damian’s voice saying my name. “Jenny? Jenny?” I shook my head and shook myself out of my thoughts. “What?” “Everyone’s headed back to the van. What happened to you? You got lost in your thoughts and stopped talking. I had to keep up a conversation with Callie about people I’ve never met who are finally going out and gosh they are so cute together.” He raised the pitch of his voice to match hers. “Oh, I’m sorry, Damian,” I said, sighing. “I guess I’m just tired and want to go home.” I stood up. “Well, let’s go, shall we?” I bussed my table and followed Damian out to the van. Dee had the engine started and was waiting for us. “Hurry up!” she yelled out the window jokingly. I got into the van hesitantly, realizing that I had a headache. Damian grasped my hand again, reassuringly rubbing it. We rode home and I tried to keep my eyes open. “Why am I so tired?” I muttered to myself. The van finally pulled up outside of my house and I stumbled out. Nita’s car was no longer there, but my sister’s was. My mom’s was gone, however. I walked into my house in front of my friends and immediately went to the kitchen and pulled down a bottle of Ibuprofen. Everyone followed me in and saw what I was doing. “Oh, do you have a headache?” Monica asked, worried. “Yes, but it’s okay,” I said. “You sure?” Logan asked. I nodded. “Yeah, I’m sure.” “Well, I need to be getting home,” Dee said tactfully. I shot her a grateful glance. “Anyone need a ride?” she continued. “I’ll gladly give them!” Everyone said good bye and a lot of hugs floated around. Then Damian and I were alone finally. Comment and yes, Keith is hooked... at least, in this story. But no doubt he would be in real life, also! hahaha
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Post by celticthunder1510 on Jul 3, 2011 8:42:24 GMT -5
Ah poor Damian having to talk to a group of strangers whiel Jenny zoned out.
UPDATE soon!
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Post by celticbear on Jul 3, 2011 19:58:44 GMT -5
I have a feeling the reason she zoned out has to do with Sam and Sandra! But I could be wrong! Love Rogers's reaction to the *Sweet Life*, reminds of Damo's and Keith's first reaction to the place! UPDATE SOON! PLEASE!
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Post by GalwayGirl on Jul 3, 2011 22:08:42 GMT -5
I loved the last two updates!!!!! Poor Damian!!! lol I can't wait to see what happens next! Update soon please!!!!!
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Post by HburgEagle44 on Jul 6, 2011 1:29:25 GMT -5
“Are you sure your headache is okay?” he asked, concerned. “It’s really not,” I said, starting to cry. “It hurts so bad...” Rachelle came down the stairs. “Hey, I thought I heard voices!” She stopped in the kitchen doorway. “Jenny, what’s wrong?” “I have a really bad headache,” I explained, wiping my eyes. “Did you take anything for it?” I nodded and started to walk upstairs. Damian followed me and Rachelle walked outside after giving me a worried look. I lay down on the couch as soon as I reached the top of the stairs. Damian sat down on the edge. “Do you need a cold washcloth or something like that?” he asked. He seemed way too worried. It was just a headache. I told him so. “Well, okay. You just...you were crying.” Damian paused. “I’ve never seen anyone cry over a headache before.” “Well,” I admitted, “I also can only stand being around Callie for so long...” He grinned. “Yeah, she wasn’t the brightest bulb, was she?” I put on my trademark innocent look. “What are you talking about? All she wanted was for you to speak Irish!” “You’re so lucky you zoned out,” he sighed. “Half of what she said just made me want to die from laughter, while the other half was just plain stupid.” “Hey, hey, hey! Watch your language!” I started laughing, which hurt my head, but felt so good. He grinned and kissed my forehead and disappeared into Lukas’s (sorry, his) room for a moment. He came back out with a small box in his hands. “I wanted to give you this a little later, but I thought...well, open it up. It’s actually sort of from my sister. She helped me pick it out, and wanted a share.” I sat up and looked at it curiously. “Your sister?” I asked in astonishment. “She got me a gift?” I took the box and opened it. Inside was the most beautiful locket I had ever seen. “Oh!” I said softly, taking it out. I opened it and saw that my name was on the inside. “It’s beautiful.” I smiled at Damian. “Tell Gemma thank you for me.” He sat down next to me. “Here, let me put it on you.” He took the necklace and put it around my neck, turning me to see how it looked. “It’s beautiful,” he whispered. He was going to kiss me, I knew it. We were both leaning in when Rachelle walked upstairs, humming The Fisher King and reading a book. I whirled around to face her. “Oh,” she said, looking embarrassed. “Sorry.” “It’s okay,” Damian said. She flushed a deep red and walked into our room. Damian smiled at me. “Now, where were we?” He leaned in again, but Rachelle came out of the bedroom again. “Jenny, do you know where I put my cell phone?” she asked, then stopped. “You two! Stop doing this to me! I can’t believe it! Twice in a row!” “What did we do to you?” I asked in astonishment. “You won’t stop making me feel so embarrassed! I’m going to read outside!” she turned to walk away, but came back in a moment. “You don’t happen to know where I put my charger or my phone, do you?” I laughed. “No, Rachelle, I do not.” She walked downstairs with her book. I waited a moment before looking at Damian. He had an amused look on his face. “Are you sure she’s six years older than you?” “Positive.” I smiled at him. “At least, I’m pretty sure. When I turn sixteen, she will be five years older than me.” “When does she graduate college?” “She’s going to be a senior this year.” “Just like you,” he said, ruffling my hair affectionately. “You’ve gotten so old,” he teased me. “Do you remember when I met you as you were walking to jazz band?” “Yeah, and you were a little freaked out that there was a Celtic Thunder fan in this town,” I said teasingly back. “And you complained to Ryan about how it was supposed to be a short run.” “Hey, he told me it was going to be short!” he defended himself. “And we ended running through the whole town.” I burst out laughing. “Yeah, because that’ll take you so long!” I said dramatically. We talked like that for a few more moments, just reminiscing. Mom came back from Nita’s, I’m assuming, and she came upstairs. She looked down at us, still on the couch, and smiled. “What are you two doing?” “Just talking,” Damian responded. “Oh!” Mom said softly. She reached for the necklace around my neck. “That is so beautiful. Damian, is this from you?” “Well, me and me sister,” he replied, smiling. “She helped me pick it out.” She turned it over and opened it. “Jenny,” she murmured. She closed it and put it down. “Well, I’m going to make dinner. I hope you’re okay with that.” Damian laughed. “Okay with you making dinner? Yes, ma’am!” “No. No ma’am. Just Debbie.” She smiled. “I’ll be downstairs if you need me.” The rest of the day passed quietly. After dinner, Jeffrey came home and went directly into his room (bad day at work, from what I gathered). Rachelle just stayed outside in the sunshine. Mom went into her room and out again several times, just hanging out I guess. Damian and I just sat and talked. We talked of Sweet Life, of singing, of touring, of school. It was a quiet afternoon, which was nice after the morning. Sorry about the wait...you know, the fourth, people coming and going, busy times comment!
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Post by HburgEagle44 on Jul 8, 2011 4:51:36 GMT -5
The next day I woke up and was fixing breakfast again. Cereal again. I felt so weird if I didn’t eat cereal in the morning. I was pouring the milk when there was a knock at the door. I stood up to go open it, just as Damian stumbled downstairs, rubbing his eyes. “Hey, sleepyhead,” I teased him, going to the door. He smiled at me. “Hey,” he said quietly. I opened the door. “Hello?” “Hi, I have this package for a Debbra Nelson.” “Oh! I’m her daughter. May I take it?” “If you’ll just sign right here, miss.” I signed and took the package. I held it in my hand and studied it. “What is it?” Damian asked, coming to where I was standing. “Not sure.” I thought for a moment before I remembered. “It’s my mom’s book! My mom’s book came!” He sighed teasingly. “Of course your mom wrote a book.” “Shush.” I opened the package. “Yup, this is it. Look at it!” “Very beautiful. I’m hungry.” He walked away laughing after I socked him on the arm. I heard him pouring his cereal and laughed. “Jenny!” my mom called. I walked into her room with her book. “Mom, it’s here!” I said, grinning. “So I see. Well, I’ll read it today for any mistakes.” She took it from me and tried to conceal her excitement, but I could see how happy she was. “Oh yes, good morning to you,” she teased me. “Good morning. Now, I’ll just go partake of my morning meal,” I laughed. “You do that.” I went into the kitchen and ate my cereal silently with Damian, again wondering if he ever talked in the morning. When Keith called in about forty minutes, I would find out. That is, if Keith kept calling. “Jenny!” I almost spilled my cereal all over when I heard this. Dee bounced into the kitchen. “Guess what? Oh, hey Damian. Well, you see, I’m going out with Erick, ya know? And I wanted to go shopping today. But I didn’t want to go alone, so I asked Erick to go with me. But he doesn’t like shopping with girls, he says. So I decided to see if you wanted to go with me. Do you want to go shopping? Damian is invited, of course.” She smiled. I shut my eyes. “Sure, Dee. I’d love to go...shopping. With you.” Damian snickered. “Not exactly your thing?” I glared at him. Dee looked surprised. “Wow, I think this is the first time in our four year friendship that you’ve actually gone shopping with me! But okay. Damian, are you coming?” Damian suddenly looked slightly nervous. “Um, sure?” he managed to say. “What was that? I couldn’t understand you. Does his accent get thicker when he’s embarrassed, or is that just me?” Dee asked me. “No, it does.” “I’ll go,” Damian said decidedly. “When?” “Well, unless you want to go without shoes, in a few minutes? Besides, I have to say hi to Mom.” “Wait, what do you mean by that?” Damian had a very confused look on his face. She sighed. “That’s what I call Debbie. I’ll be right back.” She skipped out again, leaving Damian staring at her with his jaw dropped. I shut his mouth. “You don’t want any flies in there, do you?” “So, are we leaving right now? Because I honestly can’t tell what she’s saying half the time.” “Yes, we are. Go get whatever you’re going to need.” Damian went upstairs and I went into the laundry room and grabbed a pair of shoes. I ran upstairs quickly and got some money and my sunglasses. Then I met Dee and Damian downstairs. “Ready?” Dee asked happily. “Wait, I have to say good bye to my mom.” I went into Mom’s room. “Bye, Mom. I’ll see you later.” “Have fun!” she said, bent over her book with a red pen in her hand. I laughed and left. “Now I’m ready.” We all got in Dee’s car, which was not a Camero, sadly, and drove towards Eugene. Damian and Dee were in the front seat, listening to music and chatting away. I sat in the back and wondered how Dee ever suckered me into this in the first place. Dee dragged me from store to store. I wondered seriously how Damian and my relationship would last, considering how much he was enjoying the shopping, which I absolutely cannot stand. I decided to give him another chance, though. I saw Kate in Aeropostale. She waved at us and just kept going, though. Finally, I decided to complain. “When are we going to go back?” Damian jumped. “I think that’s the first time you’ve spoken this whole trip!” “I’m tired of shopping.” Dee laughed. “We haven’t even started.” I stayed silent. “Okay,” I finally said. We went to more stores, and Dee bought more clothes. “Goodness, where is she going to put all of it?” I muttered to myself. “What?” Damian asked, looking up from some magazine. “Oh, nothing,” I shrugged. “Just talking to myself.” “You really don’t like this, do you?” he asked me as Dee went to the dressing room. I shrugged. “Well....no. I don’t enjoy shopping. Which would be why I’ve never gone shopping with Dee before, obviously. And probably why she’s never asked me. Are you enjoying this?” “I’m enjoying hanging out with Dee and seeing what normal girls do all the time that they spend away from a guy,” he replied, winking at me. I glared at him. “Is that a joke? Or are you trying to tell me something?” He looked nervous. “No, no, no. It was a joke, I promise!” I continued glaring at him until I decided he had been punished enough. I started looking around the store. “What size do you think I am?” He looked surprised at the question. “Um...if you’re serious...can I see some clothes, please?” “One size of each?” I handed him three t-shirts. “Um...do I have to answer?” he asked, looking at the shirts. I just started laughing and couldn’t stop. Dee walked up to us with a new bag in her hand. “I’m done. Are you two ready?” I couldn’t stop laughing and Damian was just standing there in shock. Dee took the shirts from his hands and said, “What, were you trying to guess her size or something?” He just stared at her. “She asked me.” He took another look at me. “I think she’s suffering from sleep-depravation.” I wasn’t about to deny it. “Well, you’re never going to guess it. But thanks for making her laugh finally. Now, let’s go.” Dee dragged Damian and me out to her car. Once I realized where we were headed, I got really happy and almost felt like skipping to the car. Oh, no, I do not like shopping. We got in and Dee said, “Okay, we’re going to the other mall now.” I’m sure my jaw dropped and I looked ridiculous, because Dee cracked up. Damian joined her. I was getting a little upset when I realized it was a joke. “So we’re going back?” I asked. She nodded. “Yes, we’re definitely going back. It’s almost one and I haven’t eaten in a while.” I realized that Keith hadn’t called me and I grinned in satisfaction. We drove home chatting happily. I was just glad to be done shopping and Dee was excited to have so many new clothes. Not sure why Damian was so happy. When we got home, I invited Dee inside, but she had to run. Her dad was coming to get her and she had to get ready. So I gave her a hug good-bye and watched her leave. Damian had already headed inside, no doubt to make lunch. I shut the door quietly and wandered into the kitchen. Damian had his head in the refrigerator and was rummaging around. I stared at him for a moment, trying not to laugh. He turned back around with a handful of ingredients for making a sandwich. “Where are the knives?” he asked, putting everything on the bread board. I pointed. “In that drawer. I’ll get you one.” I handed him a butter knife and he instantly started making a sandwich happily. I laughed and joined him.
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