Alrighty!
This is the last one from Stacy, coming to you in five parts...
-- Suze
****************************************************************************
DISCLAIMER: All major characters are copyright 1996 to Hanna-Barbera,
Inc. and Turner Entertainment. No permission was asked. No money is
being made (although it is a wonderful thought). =)
AUTHOR'S NOTE: This is for all the HR's out there (and you know who you
are! *grin*) and my college roommates Jen, Julie and Tahnee. . .without
whom, I would still be watching JQ with a straight face. Comments?
Questions? Concerns? Direct them to me through e-mail at:
moon_princess@hotmail.com. ENJOY! =)
FIRST DATE
(Part I)
by Stacy Burger
Hadji chuckled softly to himself. He couldn't believe what he was
hearing.
"What do you think, Hadj? The dark denim shirt?"
"Or how about the green, button-down. . .green is her favorite color--"
"A sweater is out of the question--"
"A tux would be too formal--"
"So this is where my Yoda tie got to--"
"My black pants are here somewhere--"
"I think this one's dad's--"
"I liked the blue striped denim better--"
Jonny looked exhausted when he finally took a deep breath and said to
his best friend/adopted brother, "You know, Hadj. I don't have a thing
to wear tonight."
Hadji burst out laughing.
Jonny frowned at his messy room, then at Hadji.
"What's so funny?"
It took a minute for Hadji to calm down. "You are, my friend."
Jonny looked perplexed. "Why? What did I do?"
Hadji shook his head. He looked around at what was once Jonny's clean
room. Dresser drawers hung open. The closet doors were also open,
revealing a semi-empty space inside. Tee shirts, turtle necks, and
button-down shirts were strewn around the room, some still on their
hangers while others were ruthlessly ripped off. Jonny had turned his
room inside out in search of the perfect outfit. But he had only
succeeded in making a mess.
Jonny followed Hadji's glance around the room and groaned.
"C'mon, Hadj. It's not funny," Jonny said. "I have to impress Jess."
Hadji looked seriously at his distressed friend.
"Why would you have to impress Jessie, Jonny?" Hadji said, a bit
confused. "She would not have agreed to go out with you if she wasn't
already impressed."
"But. . ." Jonny's voice trailed off. He wasn't sure exactly how to
put it. "Things have changed in the past year."
Hadji knew Jonny was struggling to put his feelings into words. He
walked over to Jonny's bed and sat down. this could take a while.
"Such as," Hadji prompted his friend to continue.
Jonny looked up at his friend a little surprised. Hadn't he seen the
changes, too? Of all the people Jonny was closest to, he thought Hadji
would have seen it coming.
"Well. . .sixteen is different from being fifteen," Jonny began his
explanation.
"It is only a year older, Jonny," Hadji replied.
"I know that, Hadj. It's just that. . .something just kinda happened.
. .like overnight." Jonny had turned sixteen nearly a month ago. On
the day of his birthday, everything started to change. He got up
earlier than usual to get ready for school. He didn't wear his normal
blue jeans and black tee shirt, but instead opted for a pair of black
jeans and the light blue, button-down, denim shirt his father had given
him as a present. He even sat down to the breakfast Mrs. Evans had
prepared for them.
School was different, too. Jonny began to notice things he had taken
for granted before. Girls were looking at him, some sizing him up, and
for once he didn't feel uncomfortable about it. He found it easier to
talk to some of them, too, starting conversations in class and
in-between. His friends were also different. When he went over to Todd
and Ian before class, there were no jokes, no snide remarks, just a
simple and hearty "hello" from each of them.
One other thing had caught Jonny's attention. Jessie. She was
standing across from the group, getting her books out of her locker.
Oddly, she looked different to Jonny. Her hair was still tied back from
gym class. She wasn't wearing her usual attire, but a pink tee shirt
and a pair of khaki slacks. Jonny wasn't aware of staring at her until
she slammed her locker door closed. An electric shock went through him
as their eyes met across the hallway.
That never happened before, Jonny had thought.
Ever since then, Jonny kept getting "a feeling" whenever he was with
Jessie. Their relationship hadn't changed in any way, though. She
still went into Questworld with him, raced with him on the hoverboards,
and beat him in Monopoly. They did the things they'd always done
together. For the life of him, Jonny couldn't figure out what was
different.
Maybe it was a crush. She was, after all, his best friend.
Then came the day when one of Jonny's friends asked Jessie out. Jonny
was goofing off between classes with Ian, Derek, Todd and Jessie. Ian
had mentioned that Gretchen, a German exchange student, had asked him to
the Homecoming dance. Derek and Jonny congratulated him when Todd
turned to Jessie and asked her to go. Jessie was a little surprised,
but she smiled and told him she'd think about it. Jonny wasn't
surprised that his friend had asked her out, but it bothered him. And
bad!
So what if they went out?
Almost a week later in History class, Jonny realized what was happening
to him. Jessie had always been there for him. She'd been a true friend
and confidant when he needed one. She was, for the shame of being
cliche, his better half. This feeling wasn't a silly crush. And it
wasn't Jessie who had changed. . .it was him! His feelings for Jessie
were changing. But what should he say to her?
What if she didn't feel the same way?
Last Friday, in study hall, the two teens were alone. Finally, Jonny
had the chance to ask her out on a real date. Mustering up his courage
he wrote her a note and placed it on her physics book. As he was
crawling into bed, he heard someone at his door. That's when he noticed
a piece of paper with Jessie's handwriting on it. He opened it up and
found that it was her reply to his earlier question. What he read made
his heart skip a beat.
"It's a date!" she wrote.
Jonny was in seventh heaven.
Hadji listened to Jonny explain the events of the past few weeks and
told him, "You will never know her true feelings unless you ask her, my
friend. She is your friend, after all."
Jonny glanced up at the edge in Hadji's voice and was greeted with a
smile. He smiled in return.
"You're not jealous, are ya, Hadj?"
"Let me put it this way," Hadji said, throwing the green button-down
shirt at Jonny. "If you would not have asked, then surely I would
have."
***** *****
*****
"So, Bandit, what do you think?"
Bandit barked happily from his resting place on Jessie's bed.
"It's not too much, is it?" Jessie asked, doing a quick turn for a
second observation.
Bandit barked happily again.
Jessie smiled down at the little dog then glanced across the bed to her
full-length mirror. She carefully studied her reflection. Her red hair
was pinned up at the sides to prevent it from falling into her face.
her ivory blouse was unbuttoned at the collar, revealing a heart-shaped
pendant, and her emerald green skirt stopped four inches above her
knees.
*Not bad, Bannon* Jessie smiled to herself.
From the doorway, Race Bannon silently watched his daughter. How long
had he tried to prolong this moment? Days? Months? Years? But here
it was, staring him straight in the face. The moment he had been
dreading worse than his own death. His little girl was going out on her
first date.
And with Jonathan Quest at that, he thought. It should definitely be
interesting.
"Ech hem!"
Startled, Jessie turned toward the doorway. There, in the dim light of
the hallway, stood her father. A bright smile lit up his face.
"So," Race said. Jessie saw her dad fidget a bit and realized he was
nervous. "Are you ready for tonight?"
Jessie nodded. "Just about." She skipped over to her closet and
pulled out a pair of green dress flats. One by one she slipped them on
her feet. "OK. Now I'm ready."
Race shook his head in amazement. Jessie had grown up so much in the
short time she had spent with him at the Quest Compound. He could still
see the little girl in pigtails he'd first introduced to Dr. Benton
Quest and his son. She was six then. She was a young woman of sixteen
now. Race had tried to convince himself that this would never happen. .
.not to his little girl. But when Jessie told him that she and Jonny
were going out on a date, Race gave up.
Jessie noticed the far away look on her father's face and asked, "Dad?
You OK?"
Race smiled down at Jessie, taking one last look at the little girl he
saw there.
"Just fine, Ponchita. Ready?" He offered his arm to Jessie. She
accepted it with a giggle.
"Ready."
***** *****
*****
Dr. Benton Quest, world-famous scientist, was sitting in the family
room when father and daughter came in giggling and laughing. Benton's
nose was planted firmly in the latest edition of a journal. He looked
up briefly and smiled.
"What's so funny?"
Jessie disengaged herself from her father's arm and went off into the
kitchen. Race watched Jessie go, then sat himself in a chair next to
the doctor.
"I was telling Jessie about the night I met her mother."
"If I remember correctly," Dr. Quest commented, "It was quite a tale."
"Yeah," Race said closing his eyes. He rolled his head back and forth
to stretch out his neck muscles. Then he said, "They grow up so fast,
don't they?"
Benton placed his bookmark in the journal and closed it. He looked out
into space for a moment, then at a photo of his wife, Rachel, hanging
above the fireplace.
"I suppose they do." Benton looked at Race. "We can't stop them,
Race. No matter how hard we try."
Race opened his eyes as Jonny and Hadji walked into the room. Hadji
was calm and collected as usual. Jonny, on the other hand, looked like
a nervous wreck.
Jonny saw his father and Race sitting in the family room as he and
Hadji entered. Judging by how quickly they became silent, Jonny knew
they were discussing "parent" things.
*Oh, great. They're gonna give us a lecture and a half before we can
get out of here* Jonny thought with a groan.
Not wanting to get into a conversation with either adult, Jonny looked
at his watch and said, "Where's Jess? She said she'd meet me down
here."
As if on cue, Jessie Bannon entered the room from the kitchen. Jonny's
eyes suddenly focused on her, blocking out everyone else in the room.
Jonny thought his heart was going to bust.
*Slammin'!* his mind screamed.
Jessie, too, noticed only Jonny as she reentered the family room. He
was wearing a pair of black denim jeans and a washed silk, button-down
shirt. And a green one at that! Jessie wasn't prone to fainting, but
one look at Jonny and the thought had some serious potential.
Race and Dr. Quest looked at the children, then each other. Yes, they
both thought, they do grow up fast. And there isn't a single thing we
can do about it.
the sound of keys jingling in his ear brought Jonny out of his dream
world. He looked next to him to see a broad grin on Hadji's face.
"Take good care of her." Hadji placed the car keys in Jonny's hand.
For a moment, Jonny wasn't sure if his friend meant Jessie or the car.
Jonny gave Hadji's shoulder a friendly slap. He tossed the keys in the
air with one hand and snatched them up quickly with the other.
Wordlessly, Jonny offered an arm to Jessie.
The giggling girl forgotten, Jessie accepted Jonny's arm with a bright
smile. Not even a sarcastic remark passed between them as the two teens
waved to everyone and exited through the front door.
END PART I
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