January 20th-May 30th, 01.
~~~~~~~*~~~~~~~
Madison had been living with Julianna for about a month now. She was doing great with school and everything.
"Madison?" Julianna calls out into the house as she walks in the door. She shuts it behind her, venturing into the house. She hears more then one pair of feet come pounding down the stairs.
"Hi!" Madison called out cheerfully. She was followed by a short, blonde girl. "Is it okay that I had Brooke come over?" Madison asks, stopping in front of her.
"Yeah, that's fine. Hello Brooke." Julianna says. Brooke smiles. Brooke's parents were also famous, so she wasn't starstruck by Julianna.
"Hello." She says. Julianna smiles and slides her shoes and coat off, hanging her coat up on a rack.
"Did you already fix yourselves something to eat or do you want me to fix something?" Julianna asks.
"Oh, we already ate." Madison says. Julianna nods.
"Okay then. I'll just fix myself something." Julianna says. Madison nods.
"Alright, well we're just going to go back to my room now." Madison says and they turn and thunder back up the stairs. Julianna smiles and turns towards the kitchen as the phone rings. She walks over to the desk, picking up the phone.
"Hello?" She asks into the receiver.
"Hey Jules." She hears.
"Oh, hi George." Julianna says.
"What are you doing?" He asks.
"I was getting ready to fix myself some dinner. Madison's got a friend over and they already ate." Julianna says.
"Well..don't cook anything. Why don't you let me bring a pizza over and we can share. It gets sort of boring over here, alone." He says. She smiles.
"Sure, come on over. I wouldn't mind some company since Mad's occupied." Julianna says. He smiles.
"Alright. I'll be there as soon as the pizza is ready." George says.
"See you." She replies and they hang up. She smiles and turns, exiting the kitchen and heading towards the stairs to change into something more comfortable.
~~~~~~~*~~~~~~~
George and Julianna were downstairs on the couch, laughing about something when Madison and Brooke headed into the living room.
"Oh..Hey George." Madison says.
"Hi Madison. Hi..." George's voice trails off as he looks at the other girl, a smile on his lips.
"Brooke." She says shyly. He smiles.
"Hello Brooke. Nice to meet you." She nods her head. He smiles.
"Julianna..Since it's a school night, Brooke's gotta go home. So I'm gonna go outside with her." Madison says.
"Okay." Julianna says with a smile. Madison nods and pulls a drooling Brooke towards the door. "I think she likes you." Julianna teases him. He laughs.
"I think she's a little young for me." He says. Julianna giggles. "So..who was that?" He asks.
"That's Devin Richard's and Jane Trudy's daughter." Julianna says. (i made them up.)
"Ah. That's right." He says, nodding his head.
~~~~~~~*~~~~~~~
Later that night after George had left, Madison saunters into the living room where Julianna is picking up the mess they had made.
"Somebody's got a crush." Madison teases lightly.
"What?" Julianna asks, standing straighter as she looks at her daughter.
"You. You are completely and hopelessly falling over that man." Madison says.
"Who? George?" Julianna asks, raising her eyebrows.
"No, the other man that was here." Madison says. "Yes, George!" She says, exasperated.
"I do not have a crush on him!" Julianna argues.
"Okay, okay, I was wrong, you don't have a crush on him......You're just in love with him." Madison says and giggles. Julianna blushes.
"I am not!" She says, trying to defend herself as she heads towards the kitchen, carrying dirty dishes. Madison trails behind her.
"You do! Admit it!" Madison says. Julianna shakes her head.
"I don't know what gave you that idea." Julianna says.
"Julianna, I won't tell anyone. Besides, this has to have been building up inside of you and if you don't tell someone soon, you're going to burst your guts everywhere!" Madison exclaims.
"You're very graphical." Julianna says.
"Jules!" Madison calls out. Julianna shrugs, her expression unchanging.
"So what if I am in love with him? Then what?" She asks.
"Then tell him, duh!" Madison says. Julianna looks up, raising her eyebrows.
"I don't think so." Julianna says.
"Why not?" Madison asks, pulling out a stool and taking a seat.
"He's George Clooney. I am his best friend. I'm not going to just tell him that. Besides, there's maybe a one percent chance he feels the same way." Julianna says.
"Uh....like there's a one percent chance he doesn't feel the same way. How do you think that I figured out you love him? The way you act, your body language. He does the exact same type of thing. Believe me...I know. I'm a teenager, I know everything." Madison assures her confidently.
"And you want me to trust your judgement, just because you're a teen?" Julianna asks, leaning on the counter as she faces Madison.
"Of course." Madison replies, smiling. "What's the worst that could happen? He won't feel the same way?" Madison asks.
"And then we won't ever talk to each other ever again and I'll have lost the best friend I've ever had." Julianna replies.
"I don't think he would stop being your friend because of that. And you don't have to tell him that you love him right away! Just tell him you want to go out on a date....as more then friends and see what he does. I highly doubt he'll turn you down!" Madison exclaims.
"Okay." Julianna said, although she knows she'll never ask him anything. Madison sighed and frowned. If her mother wasn't going to do anything, she sure would.
~~~~~~~*~~~~~~~
Madison was lying on her bed, finishing up her homework when the phone rang. Since she was expecting a call from Brooke, she picked it up.
"Hello?" She asked, beginning to doodle on her notebook.
"Madison, is Julianna there?" She heard a man's voice.
"George?" She asked.
"Yeah, is she there?" He asked again.
"Yeah. I'll let you talk to her in a minute. I have a question. You don't have to tell me if you don't want to, but I just wanna know something."
"Okay.." George trailed off. He had no clue where this was going. He and Madison hadn't really talked that much.
"What did you want to talk to her about? You don't have to tell me, I was just wondering, 'cause if I think it's what I think it is, then I have to talk to you before you talk to her....If you understand what I mean." Madison said and shook her head at her attempt at an explanation.
"Uh, well...I was wondering what she was doing tonight. If she wanted to get together and do something.." George trailed off. What the hell did she want to talk to him about?
"That's what I thought it was. Good. George, how do you feel about my mother?" She asked. He paused. What the hell was he supposed to say?
"Uh...She's my best friend, Madison. Where is this going?" He asked. She didn't answer him.
"Is that all you feel for her? Just a strong friendship?" Madison asked. He swallowed. She was putting him in a awkward situation.
"I uh...What do you mean?" He asked, even though he knew very well what she meant. Madison sighed heavily.
"George? Do you feel anything more for Julianna than you say you do?" She asked.
"I..What...Madison, is there a point to this?" He asked.
"Yes, there's a point! You two are crazy about each other. And you're driving me up the wall just dawdling around this...this, whatever you would call it!" She said. George cleared his throat.
"She's crazy about me?" He asked. Madison grinned. Now she was getting somewhere.
"Is it not obvious?" She asked. He didn't reply. "Men." She muttered. Then thought about her mother. "Women." She muttered again. George couldn't help but laugh.
"What are you suggesting?" He asked.
"Ask her out on a date. I tried to get her to ask you, but she won't. And I'm tired of you two hanging around together, just waiting for something to happen because you're not sure what the other feels. You're nuts over each other. I'm the third party, I can tell. Plus, I have a nose for these type of things. Admit to me, right now, that you want to date Julianna." She said. He chuckled nervously and cleared his throat again.
"Okay. I want to date Julianna." He said.
"Ah ha! See, it was all a matter of admitting it! Jules admitted that she wants to date you. She won't ask you, but now you know. So if you don't ask her, I'll have to force you both to get dressed up and go out somewhere." She said. He laughed.
"Why is this so important to you?" He asked.
"I want her to be happy. You make her happy. And it's making me sick to watch you to secretly drool over each other without the other realizing it!" She exclaimed. He chuckled.
"Okay, Madison! I'll ask her. Now can I talk to her please?" He asked.
"Are you going to ask her now?" She asked.
"No. I'll ask her tonight when I come over!"
"That's perfect! I'm going to Brooke's. What a man! You're going to do it to her face! Kudos to you, George." She said. He laughed.
"Let me talk to her!" He said. She grinned.
"Alright, alright already! I've got to go get her." She said. Madison hopped off her bed and stood at the top of the stairs.
"Jules?" She yelled down.
"Yeah?" She heard Julianna call back.
"George is on the phone for you!" Madison said and headed back into her bedroom. She waited until she heard her mother pick up before she hung up, a smile on her face. Playing Cupid was fun.
"Hello?" Julianna asked, picking up the phone.
"Hey Jules." George said, chuckling under his breath.
"Oh, hey George. I didn't hear you call." She said.
"Oh, I called a couple of minutes ago. Madison wanted to talk to me." He said. Her brows drew together.
"About what?" She asked.
"Nothing. Just talk. Anyways, I was wondering what you're doing tonight?" George said.
"Oh, nothing. I think Madison is heading out somewhere. Probably to Brooke's house. Other than that, nothing special is going on." She said. He grinned.
"Well now you're doing something special. I'm bringing some dinner from Luigi's over." He said.
"Mm, Luigi's sounds great!" She said. He chuckled.
"Good. I need to talk to you about something anyway. So we'll do that when I get there." He said. He was growing more confident about this every minute. Thank you for Madison!, he thought happily.
"Okay. I want Chicken Alfredo." She said.
"Okay! I'll be there in a few hours." He said.
"Alright, see ya then George." She hung up as Madison sauntered into the room, smiling widely.
"What're you up to?" Julianna asked.
"Oh nothing." Madison replied.
"What were you and George talking about?" Julianna asked, trying to pump some info out of her.
"A shared interest." Madison said and chuckled to herself. Julianna just stared at her, but decided not to comment.
~~~~~~~*~~~~~~~
Madison jumped up at the sound of the knock on the door. She opened it and saw George standing on the other side with a couple of boxes in his hand.
"Hey George." She grinned at him. He couldn't help but to smile back as he shook his head, walking into the house. She had specifically been waiting for him before she left for Brooke's house.
"What're you up to?" He asked.
"Oh, I was just waiting on you. Julianna's in the kitchen." Madison raised her eyebrows. "Don't forget to ask her." He grinned.
"Promise." He said. She smiled and lifted her keys off the table by the door.
"Good. Bye George." She said. He chuckled and nodded at her as he headed into the kitchen.
"Hey Jules." He said, coming into the kitchen. She turned.
"Oh! George, I didn't realize you were here." She said. He chuckled.
"Your daughter let me into the house." He said. She nodded.
"Here, let me help you." She said, taking the boxes of food from him. He smiled at her. She placed the boxes on the counter and turned, raising an eyebrow at him.
"Okay, mister, what're you looking at me like that for?" She asked, turning to him, her hands on her hips. He chuckled and took her elbow into his hand.
"We can eat later, first I have to ask you something." He said and walked into the living room, letting go of her elbow. She followed him, puzzled.
"Does this have anything to do with Madison? You're both being awfully secretive." She said, her hands back on her hips as she stared him down. He laughed.
"Madison has nothing to do with what I want to ask you, but she talked me into asking you." He said. The corners of her mouth turned up slightly, but she didn't smile.
"Alright..Ask away." She said.
"Will you go out on a date with me? As more than friends." He said confidently, but his stomach was churning. What if Madison had been fooling around?
All the color drained from Julianna's face. Madison had convinced him to ask her out on a date. That meant he really didn't want to. Julianna stepped back a step, feeling somewhat betrayed.
"I don't know, George...I mean, if Madison convinced you, than...I don't think it would be such a good idea for me to.." She stopped. He was about ready to back down and make a joke about it, when he realized what she meant.
"No, wait..Don't say no yet. What I meant was that Madison pestered me on the phone. She wanted to know how I felt about you. Then she told me that I should ask you out because it was easy to tell we were crazy about each other or something. I'm not asking you out because she told me to. I'm asking you out because I want to, but she convinced me that it would be a good step to make. She didn't tell me...anything. I mean.." He stopped, hoping she would understand. He reached out and touched her shoulder. He sighed deeply. "I want to go out with you..On a date, as more than friends. Madison just told me that I should ask you out because she knew you wouldn't ask me or something. Do you know what I'm trying to say?" He asked. She nodded.
"I think so." She paused. "You want to go out on a date with me and you're asking me because Madison convinced you I would agree." She said. He smiled.
"Yes. That's exactly what I meant. I wanted to ask you out before I even talked to her. She said it was driving her up the wall the way we were, I believe her words were 'dawdling' around this." He sighed and took her hand into his and squeezed gently. "Jules, will you go out with me sometime?" He asked, starting over, the nervous smile back on his face. She gazed into his eyes and saw everything mixed in. The nervousness, the anxiousness, and the hope. The truth. A smile lit up over her face and she nodded, suddenly shy.
"Okay. Yeah...I would like that." She said. He let out a breath of relief.
"Great!" He exclaimed, smiling. She grinned then and they began to laugh softly.
"How about we eat outside?" He suggested, looking over her shoulder and out the back patio door. She turned and looked to where he was looking.
"By the pool?" She asked, raising an eyebrow.
"Yeah. By the pool. Only, let's sit in the grass. Let's have a picnic!" He exclaimed. She laughed.
"George, you're something else, you know?" He chuckled and went into the kitchen.
"Get a blanket and.." He opened up the fridge and bent down before pulling out a bottle of wine. "Some glasses." He said.
'You're really going all out." She said, but was thrilled inside. He chuckled and looked at her.
"Is this all okay with you?" He asked. She laughed at him.
"Of course. It's perfect." She said and headed towards the closest to get a blanket after grabbing two wine glasses. He grinned at her and picked up the boxes of food and took the bottle of wine with him. He opened the back patio door and stepped out onto the brick. Moments later she followed him out.
"Why don't we spread it out right there in the grass so we don't get sore." He said. She grinned and nodded.
"Sure thing, Captain." She teased. He grinned as she threw the blanket onto the ground and bent down beside it. She carefully placed the glasses on the brick as she spread the blanket out onto the grass. Then she bent and picked up the glasses before taking a seat on the blanket. He sat across from her and put the food in between them.
"Here's to our picnic." He said, chuckling and popped the cork out of the bottle. She grinned as the timed lights blinked on around the pool, illuminating them. He grinned. "Perfect." He said, looking at her as she began to dig through the boxes of food. She thought he was referring to the light, so she smiled, but he was referring to the way she looked under the lights, sitting on a blanket in her back yard with him and he couldn't help but smile.
They ate, making small talk and laughing quietly together, enjoying their new found relationship, knowing that they were both interested in each other. Julianna sat, leaning back as she looked up at the stars that had just come out. Her stomach was full and her heart was content. She sighed.
"The sky is so pretty on clear nights like these." She said. "All the stars.." She trailed off, gazing up. He shifted on the blanket, moving to sit beside her, leaning back on his own arms. She scooted a bit closer to him and leaned her head against his shoulder as she looked up at the stars. He wasn't looking at the stars, he was gazing down at her, watching her. She was happy, he knew. He could tell. And it made him happy to know that she was happy just having a picnic under the stars with him.
She turned to look up at him and realized she was mere centimeters from him. He could feel her warm breath on his face and he smiled, reaching up with one hand to caress her cheek with the lightest of touches. She sighed and smiled, leaning her cheek into his hand. He rested his hand against her face, his thumb settling into the curve of her neck where he could feel her pulse beating against his thumb. He smiled again and leaned forward, barely touching his lips to hers, leaving his hand on her face. He bit back a chuckle as he felt her pulse skip and then race under his thumb.
"You're beautiful." He murmured and brushed his lips against hers again. She sighed softly and closed her eyes, pressing her mouth closer to his. He gave in and shifted, bringing his mouth down softly, sweetly against hers. She murmured inaudibly under his lips and twisted her body so she could press against him. He pulled away, savoring her. Her eyes fluttered open and she looked up at him. A smile bloomed across her face and he chuckled, running a finger down the side of her neck. She shivered slightly and he scooted around, shifting until he was sitting with her back against his chest. He wrapped his arms around her waist as she leaned back against him. He kissed the side of her neck gently and they both smiled as they gazed up at the stars, together, finally.
~~~~~~~*~~~~~~~