Thread: ugh

RE Lights in the North Nova's drabble Seven Minutes in Heaven For u kno hu ---------- Jon is thirteen when he has his first kiss. For weeks all Theon and Robb have been able to talk about is the first school dance, and he has to go. Brady cant come because he doesnt go to their school, and in the end hes the one who talks Jon into going. Theyre sitting on the swings in one of the citys public parks, and theyll have to leave soon because its getting dark and it always gets cold after dark at the end of summer. Also there are supposedly a lot of drug dealers in the parks at night, but Jons never seen one. Hes seen drunk people a few times, but thats not a big deal. There were always drunk people at the big parties his dad and Catelyn threw and hes young enough to not see the difference between rich drunk people and poor ones. Brady asks him why he doesnt want to go and Jon just shrugs. He knows hes supposed to like girls, and he thinks theyre okay, but he doesnt really get the obsession that his other friends have with them. Girls never talk about anything interesting, and hed really rather be practicing for hockey or listening to Neds old records with Brady than putting on some stupid button up shirt and standing in a dark, hot gym with shitty decorations from seven until nine thirty. You could come over instead, Jons voice is non-committal but he knows Brady knows him well enough not to buy it. We could rent Nightmare on Elm Street and Reservoir Dogs from that blockbuster by your house that doesnt ID. Well do that on Saturday. Ill come over and listen to you tell me all about your new girlfriend. Jon rolls his eyes but Brady is insistent. I bet you do get one. You arent that ugly, plus youre a Stark. My last name is Snow. Same thing. Brady kicks his legs a little so his swing moves back and forth. Jon is the last one in their group not to have kissed someone, and he only pretends that it bothers him so they dont bug him about it. I dont even know who to ask. Dont ask anyone, then. I bet you twenty bucks that you dont have to and girls ask you to dance all night anyway. Jon blushes but hes quiet. Brady is usually right about these things, and he scrunches up his face as he considers the situation. Robb and Theon are asking girls to go with them before hand. Then ask Robb who you should ask. Brady pauses, looking thoughtful. Dont ask Theon. He rolls his eyes again because that was pretty obvious, and they spend the rest of the evening planning what theyll do on Saturday. When he gets home he knocks on Robbs door and takes Bradys advice. Robb seems surprised that Jon is now interested, but hes also really pleased. Catherine Teller. Jon has to think a moment to remember whom that is, and then he remembers that shes the brunette that sits a few desks in front of him. Theyve never really talked, but she seems nice so he says he will. He wants to ask her at their first break, but shes sitting with her friends and even though he doesnt really care if she says yes or no he cant very well go talk to her when shes surrounded by her friends. So when she leaves the room and lunch he goes out after her, and catches her by her locker. Shes an inch or so taller than him, but so are most people so that doesnt bother him either. Catherine is surprised that he asks her, but pleased because the dance was three days away and she didnt want to go alone. She says yes and writes down her address with a purple gel pen, and he promises to come get her around 530. Hes more excited than he thought hed be, and on the day of the dance he lets Robb talk him into wearing some of Neds cologne. They pick up Catherine last, Ned is driving and Theon, Robb, and their dates are squeezed into the back seat of the SUV so that Jon has to sit beside her in the middle. Hes relieved that Ned tells a lame story about his first dance even though he pretends to be annoyed like Robb is because he had no idea how to make conversation. Ned promises to pick them up at nine thirty sharp, and then Jon is basically left alone with his date. Shes wearing a pink blouse and a jean skirt, so Jon tells her she looks nice even though he wouldnt be able to tell one skirt from another one, and that makes her blush. Catherine takes his hand as they walk into the gym, and he wished hed known she was going to do that because his hand was definitely sweating. Fortunately, she doesnt seem to mind because she doesnt let go until she sees some of her friends. All of the girls are crowded on the far side of the gym, near the DJ booth, and the boys are all lined up along the back. There is a clear divide in the middle, even with the music playing, and Jon is extremely relived. Five songs in, Robb is the first one to drag his date onto the dance floor, and then halfway through everyone follows suit. Its the first slow song of the night, and although Robb and Theon hold their dates quite closely Jon stiffly keeps Catherine at an arms length, with one hand on her hip and the other holding one of her hands as they sway back and forth rather pointlessly. When the song is over, they all break apart rather quickly and during the fast songs the girls dance in a large circle while the boys horse around near the back of the gym. This too is a massive relief because Brady had described the kind of grinding that went on at his public school dances which theyd started having much earlier and Jon had been secretly mortified by it. He was having enough problems interacting with girls without one of them rubbing all over his front. But he did dance dutifully with Catherine for every slow song, and eventually he let her stand much closer to him though his body didnt become any less stiff and by the end of the night theyre swaying as closely as the other couples are. She kisses him during one of the last songs, and its so quick hes not even sure it happened. Because he doesnt know what else to do, he kisses her back and wishes that his lips were as soft and pliant as hers felt. True to his word, Ned is waiting outside at nine thirty when they all filter out of the gym, Catherine again holding his sweaty hand rather tightly. They drop her off first, and he kisses her again at the door even though he can hear Theon and Robb whistling from the SUV. Brady looks impossibly smug when Jon tells him about it the next day, and he does end up dating Catherine for three weeks. The kissing gets only slightly less awkward, and they never go any further than that, but he does tell Theon that hes felt her up to shut him up. Mostly they just sit in her living room and he listens to her talk about her horse, and how she jumps him in horse shows. Their breakup is public, and Jon cares more about that than the fact that hes been dumped. In the lunchroom, Catherines best friend tells him that hes being dumped because Henry asked Catherine out and she likes him better. Plus Henry is taller. Jon has no idea what to do, so he blushes quite deeply and shrugs. Robb offers to beat Henry up if Jon wants, but Jon just shakes his head. He tells them that she was boring anyway which is true and if Henry wants to listen to her stupid horse stories he can have her. Besides, its hard to care about the end of a relationship he didnt exactly want in the first place. He doesnt kiss anyone else until hes fourteen, and Robb is having his first real boy-girl party. Robb says that its Jons party too, because theyre brothers, but Jon knows thats really a technicality. He cares more about girls now, but he knows that no one in the school would come to one of his parties, even if he was the best player on the hockey team. But Robb is popular, so plenty of people came. At first it was a repeat of their dances, with the girls huddled and giggling in one corner while the guys postured in the other, but Brady came to this one so its not entirely stupid. Theon took an empty wine bottle out of the recycling, and he suggests that they play seven minutes in heaven. The way he explains it is they all sit in a circle boy-girl-boy-girl, and whoever the bottle lands on is the person you have to go into the linen closet with. Theyll time it for seven minutes, and then after you have to tell everyone what you did. Jon thinks that sounds unbelievably stupid but Brady seems excited about it so he keeps his thoughts to himself. Because Theon loves to torture him with this kind of thing, he suggests that Jon goes first. He cant very well say no because everyone is looking at him, so he spins the bottle. It lands on Lauren Rosenberg, one of the few Jewish girls at his school. She wears thick glasses and she has braces, and shes not considered popular because shed rather read really thick books by long dead authors than go to parties, and she has that really sarcastic sense of humor that she uses to make even Theon look like a fool. Ironically, thats also why most people like her. But shes still not the prettiest girl, so people make these stupid noises when they walk into the closet together. Its almost completely dark, and as Jons eyes adjust to the little light provided by the crack under the door he presses back into the shelves so that he doesnt accidentally touch her. He can tell shes got her arms crossed and shes looking at him critically, and hes just thankful that shes one of the people hes taller than. So, are you going to kiss me? Her voice is low, and it sounds like she couldnt care less either way. Jon blushes, he doesnt exactly want to but he knows if he doesnt hell never live it down. Do you want me to? Hes hoping that will fluster her, but it doesnt. Lauren isnt the kind of girl to get flustered. Yeah. I mean, youre not really my type but you arent that bad looking. That kind of pisses him off, and he hotly asks her exactly what is her type then. He expects her to say Robb because thats what all the girls say, or even Theon because she makes fun of him pretty much non-stop. Instead she shrugs and says she likes smart guys. And older too. The T.A. in my sisters Russian Literature class is really hot. That shuts him up, and they again stand there in silence. Finally, he grabs her shoulders and leans in to kiss her. But hes completely uncoordinated off of the ice, and its really dark in the closet so he ends up kissing her nose at first. Lauren just laughs at him and buries her hands in his curly hair, dragging his head down further so they can kiss properly. He can feel her braces through her lips, and he doesnt completely hate that. Jons kisses are sloppy, and she stops him twice to give him a few basic directions. When Theon pulls open the door after seven minutes, his hands are on her hips and slightly sliding up her black turtleneck, and her hands are still buried in his hair. Jon jumps back so quickly that a few strands of his hair are captured in her hands, and he smacks the back of his head on the shelf behind him. Everyone laughs, but the rest of the game goes smoothly and Jon is secretly glad he doesnt have to go into the closet again. He gets her number the next day from Robb, who gets it from Jeyne a new girl at school hes really into, and he gives his half brother ten bucks and a Van Halen record not to tell Theon. Lauren doesnt even recognize who he is at first, and when he explains she sounds really surprised. He asks her out, and she starts laughing, which is extremely embarrassing. I told you last night you arent my type. And what type do you think I am? Hes genuinely curious. Youre a hockey player. He can hear her scrunching her nose up through the phone. Typical meathead jock, you know? I get good grades. Jon is immediately defensive, which confuses him. Its not like he wants to be a nerd. Yeah, sure. But thats not what I mean. Theyre both quiet then, and Jon struggles with exactly how you come back to that kind of thing. We can make out at school, if you want. But Im not going to date you. And youre not allowed to tell your brother or Theon about it. Hes more confused than ever, and he tells her whatever and then hangs up the phone. Jon and Lauren spend grade nine making out in various supply closets and empty classrooms, and he keeps his word and doesnt tell anyone. Except for Brady, but he tells Brady everything well, almost everything so that barely counts. Besides, its not like Brady can spread a rumor around their school. They decide to stop it after grade nine graduation, when Lauren tells him one of her sisters friends asked her out. He both cares and doesnt care hes going to miss making out with her but she isnt exactly the kind of girl that his friends would approve of that thats still the kind of thing that matters. She looks good at their tenth high school reunion, and completely unsurprised when he shows up with Brady. I always thought there was something between you two, and she smiles in that superior way she has, And Im glad it worked out.