Just Not Sure - Chapter 8

"Oh my god, what the heck happened!?! Jenna, I swear, if it had anything to do with a guy, I don’t wanna hear it!" Amanda Myers said at the sight of Courtney and Jenna walking down the hallway. Jenna leaned on her crutches while Courtney struggled to open her locker with both Jenna and her backpacks in her hands. It was Friday morning, before first period, and the halls of Selden Middle School were just starting to fill with the 6th, 7th, and 8th grade students. Just as Amanda approached the two, Katy walked up also.

"Hey, what’s up? How are you feeling?" Katy said, nonchalant as she took off her jacket and bent down to open her locker.

"Much better."

"And Chris?"

"He’s fine too."

"WHOA WHOA WHOA! Okay, first of all how come Katy knows what’s happening here, and I’m clueless? I thought that was Courtney’s job." Everyone was aware that many times, Courtney had absolutely no idea what was going on around her. Courtney put her hands on her hips and glared at Amanda while Katy and Jenna laughed. "Second, who is Chris!" She looked at Jenna desperately, as though her life depended on her knowing who he was.

"You said you didn’t want to hear it." Jenna teased, hinting that her injury did somewhat have to do with a guy.

"NO! I need to know" Amanda pleaded, looking ready to get on her knees and beg.

"Alright, you know that huge party we went to in Pennsylvania? We’ll when we were there, these five guys were also there, and they ended up going to the mall with us and then pretty much spending the week with us. By New Years, we were kinda…um…not single anymore." Courtney said, struggling to explain everything that had happened in a couple of sentences.

"AUGHH! What are their names? What do they look like? Where do they live? Why wasn’t I invited?!?" Amanda asked a million questions a minute, wanting every detail.

"First of all, you are not going to miss out on anything because we are setting you up."

"WHAT! ARE YOU SERIOUS? REALLY, YOU’RE SETTING ME UP?" Amanda screamed, and people heading for their first class stopped to stare at them. "WHEN?"

"Friday night, we’re all going to the city for dinner. Me, Jesse, Jenna, Chris, Kristin, Frankie, Katy, Matt, you, and your date."

"Who’s my date?"

"Not tellin’. But here’s his screen name. He’ll be online at 9 tonight." Courtney handed Amanda a piece of paper with Greg’s screen name on it. Amanda took the paper with a look of delight on her face. Then she thought for a moment, and frowned.

"Jesse, Chris, Frankie, and Matt. If I didn’t know any better, I’d think you were dating Dream Street." Amanda laughed, but Katy, Jenna, and Courtney exchanged glances behind Amanda’s back. They wanted to tell their friend, but knew school wasn’t the place. If anyone heard, rumors would start, and they knew she would find out eventually.

"C’mon, we better get to class. We don’t want Mr. Rhine to give us pass room again." Courtney said, interrupting an uncomfortable silence, in which no one could deny that they were going out with members of the boy band.

Meanwhile, the guys were working on their schoolwork together, but nobody could concentrate.

"I wonder what they’re doing now." Jesse said, his mind drifting from his algebra problems.

"Gee, perhaps they’re in school. It’s only the law." Frankie said with a tone of sarcasm.

"I know that, give me some credit here. I meant, like exactly what they’re doing; like whether they’re thinking of us." Jesse sounded annoyed.

"Most likely." Chris said, barely glancing up from his English book.

"Where should we take them to dinner on Friday?" Jesse continued, completely distracted from his work.

"A French restaurant. Chicks dig that." Chris said, again not bothering to look up.

"Really? Katy never minds fast food." Matt frowned, wondering if he had been taking her to the wrong places all this time.

"Yeah, fast food is okay, but…I guess French restaurant is the sensitive guy thing. Girls dig sensitive guys." Chris informed them all.

"Do you know everything that girls ‘dig’ and not ‘dig’? Can’t we just do our work in quiet?" Frankie asked, annoyed at the conversation going on while he was trying to work.

"Okay" Jesse said offensively, surprised at Frankie’s outburst. He didn’t get mad at any of his friends like that very often. But Jesse understood that the separation from the girls was hard on all of them, especially Frankie. His last girlfriend broke up with him because of the limited amount of time he got to spend with her.

It was Friday afternoon and Jenna sat down in her sunny kitchen with her most recent issue of Popstar in her hand, which her mom had picked up for her on her way hone from work. Mrs. Miller purchased after she noticed Dream Street on the cover. In no time at all, Jenna leafed through the magazine to the segment on them. She sighed as Chris’ big brown eyes stared back at her from the picture, and smiled, thinking about how much she missed him. And how much she was looking forward to the coming Friday night. Without taking her eyes off of the article, Jenna grabbed the telephone with one hand and a banana with the other. She put down the phone to peel the banana, and took a bite. She chewed slowly, then screwed up her face with disgust. Quickly gathering her crutches, she hobbled over to the garbage pail, where she spit the banana out. Almost subconsciously, Jenna reached for the phone and dialed Courtney’s number. Courtney picked up just as Jenna cleared her throat. "Never eat rotten bananas." She said matter of factly.

Courtney laughed. "Thank you for that useful life lesson. Why would I ever want to eat a rotten banana?"

"I just did." Jenna stated, and Courtney laughed again.

"Why?"

"I didn’t know it was rotten. Guess what my mom picked up for me today?"

"What?"

"Popstar magazine. They’re in it." Jenna grinned, referring to Dream Street.

"When’s the soonest I can come over?" Courtney asked excitedly. She wanted to see the magazine as soon as she could.

"You can’t." Jenna said flatly. "My mom said I have to clean out the basement."

"Aughhh!" Courtney groaned, throwing herself onto her bed and flipping her CD player on. "I guess that means you have to go?"

"Yeah." Jenna said wistfully. "I wish it was next Friday already. Then we’d be getting ready to go out. Do you know where we’re going?"

"Nope. But I’ll find out tonight. Jesse said he was going on at nine. So’s everyone else. Try to finish by then, kay? I got to go, my mom said I have to clean my room." Courtney said, glancing around at her room. There was clothes everywhere, and her collection of CDs had fallen over onto the floor. Plus she was in the middle of reorganizing her closet, which explained the piles of shoes and clothes in different areas of her room.

"C’mon. It can’t be that bad. Your room’s always cleaner than you say it is."

"But it’s still pretty bad. Anyway, I’ll talk to ya later, online, alright?"

"Yeah, I guess." Jenna hung the phone up and stared out the window, out at the cold January sunshine, wishing she didn’t have to spend the afternoon sorting through junk. But she got up and staggered to her room, grabbing the Dream Street CD and hoping some music would make the day pass more quickly.

Finally 9:00 had come, and Jesse was relieved to sit down at his computer after a long rehearsal. Since the Aaron Carter tour was fast approaching, Claudia was more particular about getting the dance moves exactly correct. They had spent almost an hour perfecting Hooked on You, and Jesse wasn’t sure if he would be able to stand up again. He logged on and immediately noticed Courtney was on. He opened an IM to her.

*Look at SN Key at bottom of page*

Jstr409: Hey, how ya doin?

SryImblonde24: let me guess…JESSE!

Jstr409: Yep. Whats up?

SryImblonde24: I miss you

Jstr409: I miss you too. Feels like next Fridays never gonna come

SryImblonde24: it will eventually. so where u taking us?

Jstr409: don’t really know yet. probably somewhere really nice

SryImblonde24: kewl. guess what

Jstr409: what

SryImblonde24: I got the film back from Penn.

Courtney stopped typing and looked around her now clean room. She had framed pictures from their vacation and they were displayed in various parts of her room. Three or four of them were group photos taken snowboarding and outside on New Years Eve. There were two of Jesse, and those Courtney had placed so she could see them right when she woke up in the morning. The final photo she put on her bed stand. Somehow, Greg had gotten a hold of Courtney’s camera, and he had taken a photo of Courtney and Jesse’s first kiss at the stroke of midnight. She grinned as she looked at the photos, then back at the screen.

SryImBlonde24: Yeah they’re really good. Greg got us @ midnight

Jstr409: you mean when we kissed?

SryImBlonde24: you got it. ooh greg just got on! im gonna get amanda to im him

Jstr409: does she know…?

SryImBlonde24: no

Jstr409: this is gonna be fun

Amanda had just logged on when Courtney IM-ed her.

SryImBlonde24: You’re gonna im him right?

singlnluvnit: yeah I guess so. u won’t even tell me his name?

SryImBlonde24: nope (evil grin)

singlnluvnit: fine, be that way (pout)

SryImBlonde24: I sure hope ur gonna use ur other screen name

singlnluvnit: whats wrong with this one?

SryImBlonde24: single and loving it? come on

Amanda took a deep breath in as she double-checked the screen name to the piece of paper Courtney had given her.

singlnluvnit: hey

howudoin503: who are you?

singlnluvnit: Jenna and courtney and all your buddies r setting us up

howudoin503: nice to meet ya. im greg

singlnluvnit: lol that’s funny

howudoin503: what? I have a perfectly normal name.

singlnluvnit: its just your friends are jesse chris matt and frankie. kinda like Dream street, this group my friends and I enjoy listening to. u probably never heard of them

howudoin503: yeah I have.

singlnluvnit: oh really? how?

howudoin503: um…courtney never told u?

singlnluvnit: no she wouldn’t even tell me ur name

howudoin503: ohh. I see now. well, we are

singlnluvnit: you are who

howudoin503: dream street

singlnluvnit: you have got to be kidding me

howudoin503: nope

singlnluvnit: brb

Amanda switched over to Courtney’s conversation.

singlnluvnit: what kind of joke are you trying to play on me?

SryImBlonde24: im not playing any jokes I swear

singlnluvnit: youre seriously dating Jesse McCartney

SryImBlonde24: yep

singlnluvnit: omg. u have no idea how freaked out I am right now. how did you meet them?

SryImBlonde24: it takes a long time to explain, so why don’t we all tell you on Monday in tech.

singlnluvnit: alrighty then. back to greg.

*

singlnluvnit: so tell me sumthing about you.

howudoin503: um…what do you want to know?

singlnluvnit: how would you describe yourself (in a couple of sentences)

singlnluvnit: argh that sounds like a question off the NYStateTest

howudoin503: oh ur in 8th grade?

singlnluvnit: yeah I just turned 14 in december

howudoin503: im 16, and my birthday is in may. I attend a high school in nassau, but right now I have a tutor because of the tour comin up

singlnluvnit: u must be lookin forward to it

howudoin503: yeah its gonna be fun.

singlnluvnit: anyway, I go to SMS like Jenna and Courtney and Katy. we’re all in the same classes

howudoin503: do you play any sports?

singlnluvnit: softball.

howudoin503: so then im guessing ur a baseball fan too?

singlnluvnit: yep. mets fan born and raised

howudoin503: how can u be a mets fan?!?

singlnluvnit: don’t tell me…yankees

howudoin503: you said it

snglnluvnit: we better change the topic before I say something I regret

howudoin503: lol what kind of music do you listen to?

snglnluvnit: everything. I have everything from dreamstreet to linkin park.

And so the conversation went on. Amanda and Greg found out everything they could about each other. The more they found out, the more they wanted to meet. After a while, Greg noticed that everyone from the group had signed on, and suggested setting up a chat room.

howudoin503: anyone here yet?

singlnluvnit: hey!

SryImBlonde24: whats up?

balletbrunette57: finally! my basements done!

Jstr409: what about ur basement?

XoKTSoX: im baack!

lax4life422: where’d you go?

tallhairboy: her mom made her clean it up

TheitalianNYCguy: whose mom made who clean what up

balletbrunette57: my mom made me clean the basement up

TheitalianNYCguy: where’s kristin

balletbrunette57: we only have one computer, so shes here too lookin over my shoulder

TheitalianNYCguy: I miss you!!!

balletbrunette57: she misses you too

singlnluvnit: so who is everybody

Jstr409: im jesse. ur amanda right?

singlnluvnit: yep

TheitalianNYCguy: im frankie

tallhairboy: chris

lax4life422: im matt

XoKTSoX: so where are we going on Friday?

tallhairboy: a french restaurant

lax4life422: we never said that! u just decided.

tallhairboy: so?

XoKTSoX: im fine w/ french

SryImBlonde24: me too. I can brush up for that test we have at the end of the month

balletbrunette57: as long as I don’t have to eat escargo…

balletbrunette57: kristin’s good with french too

howudoin503: eww…escargo? isn’t that snail?

TheitalianNYCguy: yep, but im sure they have normal food too

Jstr409: then french it is.

singlnluvnit: anyway, what was that before about a basement?

balletbrunette57: my mom made me clean the basement out. but now she said I can redo it.

SryImBlonde24: ooh can we help

Jstr409: yeah a painting party!

singlnluvnit: funfun

balletbrunette57: then its decided. everyone is coming to my house to decorate the basement. it’ll be the new hang out room

SryImBlonde24: yay! new hang out room!

XoKTSoX: well, I have to go. my sister needs to work on a report or something.

lax4life422: bye! I love you and I’ll talk to you later!

XoKTSoX signed off

balletbrunette57: yeah, I better go too. I have to get up early for Dance rehersal tomorrow

tallhairboy: I’ll see you on Friday, and maybe I’ll call you during the week. I love you!

balletbrunette57: love you too

balletbrunette57 signed off

singlnluvnit: what time is it?

TheitalianNYCguy: 9: 49

singlnluvnit: grr! I have to get off too. I said I’d only stay on till 9:45

singlnluvnit signed off

SryImBlonde24: wait…its almost ten?

Jstr409: yes! we just said that!

SryImBlonde24: sry, my parents went out and said they would be calling around ten, so that means I’m getting off too. ilove you and ill see you all on Friday! byez!

SryImBlonde24 signed off

tallhairboy: well that just leaves us.

lax4life422: all the girls are gone.

howudoin503: wait, why are we talking to each other? I saw u guys all day today, I’ll see you all day tomorrow, and soon, we’re going to be living on the same bus. I’m going.

howudoin503 signed off

lax4life422: he has a point. bye, see ya tomorrow.

lax4life422 signed off

tallhairboy: bye

tallhairboy signed off

TheitalianNYCguy: bye

TheitalianNYCguy signed off

Jstr409: wait! where did everyone go?

Jstr409: hello?

Jstr409: is anyone here?

Jstr409: I guess not

Jstr409 signed off

"Finally! It’s Friday!" Jenna cried out as they sqeezed into Kristin’s car (five people in a four person car---and one’s on crutches!) "I have been looking forward to this day all week!"

All of the girls were happy. The whole week had been torture because the boys were so busy they didn’t get time to call them.

"Kristin, you do know how to get there, right?" Courtney asked. She was always one to worry about getting lost and stuff like that.

"Umm…sure!" Kristin chirped, not sounding truthful at all.

"Uh oh." Katy laughed at Kristin’s reply. Kristin ignored the comment and turned up the radio. Courtney noticed that Amanda was being unusually quiet.

"What’s wrong?" Courtney asked, concerned.

"Nothing, just nervous I guess. What if he’s different from what I imagined him to be like? What if we hate each other?" Kristin turned down the radio and Jenna spoke.

"We aren’t saying you guys have to go out. Courtney and I just thought you and Greg would go good together."

*

Meanwhile, Greg was worrying about the same thing. He called Frankie in a state of panic. "What if we don’t get along, or she like totally hates me. Or if I make a wrong move or say the wrong thing or…"

"GREG! You’re going hysterical here. It’s just one girl, and we’re all going to be there with you. Plus you’ve already talked to her online and she seemed okay. You don’t think Courtney and Jenna would set you up with her if you didn’t have a chance, would they?" Frankie reassured his friend. Greg felt better about it, and they arranged for Greg’s mom to pick Frankie up on the way to the restaurant.

"Ooh this is nice." Katy grinned as she sat down at the huge table. The restaurant was beautiful and had a relaxing setting to it. All of the tables were covered in lacy tablecloths and contained flowers in a vase in the center, as well as candles. The rest of the girls sat down, and talked quietly, waiting for the guys to come. Slowly, they arrived, but Greg and Frankie were the last to arrive. Frankie walked in first, and Greg followed, nervous about his first glances at Amanda. But all of Greg’s worries melted away as he looked at the only girl unfamiliar to him. She was radiant. Her blonde hair created a golden aurora around her face, and her brown eyes glowed as she laughed at a joke that Jesse was telling. As Greg sat down at the table, her eyes traveled to him.

"You must be Greg." She said, smiling. She knew what he looked like from the photos on Courtney’s dresser and (since she had the CD) the poster on the CD cover.

"Amanda?" He asked, and kissed her hand as she outstretched it, expecting a handshake or something. Amanda blushed, surprised and flattered at his manners. "Nice to meet you finally."

"Nice to meet you too!" She definitely had a fighting chance. Both Katy and Kristin sent her smiles that said exactly what she wanted to hear---‘he totally likes you!’

"Okay! Let’s eat." Frankie said, picking up the menu. He opened it and frowned. Then he turned it upside down. Still not able to understand it, he put the menu down. "Umm…guys, I can’t read the menu."

"What are you talking about?" Chris asked, and picked up his menu. He glanced at it and then laughed. "It’s in french. How are we going to order?"

"I know french!" Kristin suggested. "I’ve been taking it since the eighth grade."

"Ha! I started in elementary school. Beat that." Greg said.

"Well I hope you know how to order, because I’m really hungry!" Jesse begged.

"I know how to order!" Courtney volunteered.

"So do I" Katy and Amanda replied in unison.

"So" Greg broke the silence as him and Amanda found themselves alone in the park. Each couple had gone off in a different direction.

"I had a great time." Amanda cut in. "And we didn’t really mean all of the stuff we said about the guys."

"Yeah, that was fun." Greg laughed. "Listen Amanda, I’m not very good at saying this stuff, but I really like you, and would like to get to know you better. Maybe next weekend we could get together and hang out."

Amanda blushed and grinned. "Actually, I kinda like you too, and would love for us to hang out."

"Great" Greg said happily then stopped and thought for a moment. "Does that mean we’re like…going out?"

"Maybe we had better wait a little while. I mean, we should take things slow. Trust me, I know." Amanda said truthfully, thinking again about David.

Greg looked up, thoughtful for a second, then looked into Amanda’s brown eyes. A smile played onto Amanda’s face as he replied yea, and she sighed happily in his arms. They stood there watching the stars, then stopped to turn and stare into each other’s eyes, drawing close to a kiss.

*

Courtney and Jesse grinned in delight as they watched Amanda and Greg talk from the shadows. "See, I told you they were perfect for each other." Courtney said matter of fact-ly.

Jesse laughed. "I never doubted you." he argued. Courtney shrugged up in Jesse’s arms as they sat on a park bench. " I noticed you kept on reaching for your cross at dinner."

Courtney blushed. "I guess it’s just a habit. It still feels like it’s there."

That’s when Jesse got his brilliant idea. He couldn’t say it aloud to her, because if everything worked out the way he planned, he would have the perfect surprise for Courtney. He made a mental note to ask Frankie later if he could drive Jesse somewhere tomorrow morning. Since it wouldn’t be worth it to go home and then travel back to Manhattan again early tomorrow morning, the four guys were all staying at Chris’ house.

Courtney and Jesse continued on their walk through the park and eventually came back to the middle, where everyone else was waiting for them. They regretfully decided it was time for the girls to leave before it got too late, and everyone started for the cars.

*Key for s/n’s

SryImblonde24= Courtney

Jstr409= Jesse

singlnluvnit= Amanda

howudoin503= Greg

balletbrunette57= Jenna

XoKTSoX= Katy

lax4life422= Matt

tallhairboy= Chris

TheitalianNYCguy= Frankie

*none of these screen names are real----we made them all up!