The Funeral James I hated wearing anything with a collar . I felt like a stuffed sausage , all tight and uncomfortable . But I needed to do it for Kelly . She hadn't asked me to come to the funeral , but I knew it was going to be a pretty bad day and if I could cheer her up , then why not ? Admitting to her that she was all I could think about was risky , but knowing that she felt the same had felt like I won the lottery . The only thing that was bothering me was that Michael didn't know . Michael and I had been best friends since I moved to Vegas when I was seven . We told each other everything even if it was disgusting or private . It had always been why we worked out so well as friends . There were never any secrets . Except , now , the one I was keeping from him so that I didn't hurt him . " Dude , chill . You look fine . Stop pulling on the damn tie . It took me forever to copy it from YouTube . " Michael chastised . He had reluctantly decided that I would look like a weirdo if I went to the funeral by myself , so he decided to join me . He was wearing another button - up shirt he borrowed from Dexter's closet and some black slacks and dress up shoes . I stared at the tie in the mirror and felt dweebier than usual . " Yeah , I'm getting rid of the tie . I can't do it . " " Fine . Half an hour of my time down the drain . No biggie ! " I grinned at his surly mood and grabbed my keys from my desk . " It's now or never . You coming ? " " Yeah , " he grumbled . " I just don't understand why you're so adamant to go . I like Kelly . She's a cool girl , but I don't want to go to her dad's funeral . It seems so f * cking weird that you want to go for ' moral support . ' " he air quoted moral support and I rolled my eyes at him . It would be easier if I just told him , but I couldn't guarantee he'd keep his mouth shut . He liked to hear himself talk . I didn't want to ruin anything with Kelly . I knew I said that she wasn't in the right mind for anything , but my d * ck wouldn't get the memo . Hanging out with her after the wake a couple of days ago had made me feel like the horniest man on the entire planet . She was the most beautiful girl I had ever laid my eyes on and anytime I saw her , my stomach would feel queasy and my hands would get clammy . The funny thing was that she actually liked being around me too . She was funny and cute and had this smile that made my d * ck twitch every time she'd aim it at me . I had been shocked as sh * t when she asked me to give her a ride . I had hoped for a couple more minutes of chit - chat at the end of the wake and ended up getting a car ride and a meal with the girl . " I thought you'd like to spend more time with her . " Michael gave me an ' are you serious ? ' look and I shrugged . " Dude , spending time with her like the other night , would be nice . Not going to her dad's funeral . Video games , 1/2 The Funeral +25 BONUS ves . Dead daddy , no . I rolled my eyes and walked up the basement steps , listening to see if he was following . I heard him groan loudly and follow me . " I doubt she'll even talk to us , bro . She's going to be busy bawling her eyes out . I think I'll skip out and see you after . I was okay until I realized how boring this sh * t is going to be . " " Fine . I'll go myself . I don't care . " I waved him off as he walked to his car . He flipped me the bird and I flipped it right back . He grinned and waved . I waved back and watched him take off . Maybe now that he was gone , Kelly would want to hang out with me again . I sat in the back pew of the church the service was going to be at and looked around to see if I could spot her . I could see her family in the front , but she wasn't here . I knew she'd show up at some point , but I was anxious to see her . When she finally did show up , it was in the middle of the service and she had her mom by the arm , looking miserable . I could smell the alcohol from where I was sitting and felt my chest tighten with worry for Kelly . She half dragged her mother to the front and sat her down next to who I assumed was her aunt and said something to her uncle . She then made her way to the back of the church , her eyes trained on me.She had on a black dress with the same high heels from the other day that haunted my dreams these last couple of nights . Despite looking like she needed two full nights of sleep and some food and sun , she was still the most beautiful girl there . She slumped into the seat beside me without a care in the world and took my hand in both of hers like she had in the car . Our talk the other night had concluded with me taking her home and agreeing to be friends . Well this was friendly , right ? " Shouldn't you be up there with your family ? " I whispered to her as the priest began talking . " I'm not dealing with my mom . I told them I was coming to sit with you . They can deal with it or suck it at this point . I'm tired of being told what I can or can't do . " She shrugged her shoulders and leaned her head against my shoulder . I was definitely glad Michael hadn't come with me . Today's Bonus Offer X GET IT NOW The Funeral Cont . +25 BONUS The Funeral Cont . After the service ended the family was called back to a limo to ride to the cemetery but again I watched her talk to her uncle and point back at me . I lifted a hand in a small wave and hoped that he wouldn't come and strangle me . While they spoke , Kelly's mom came and stood next to me . " Hey , lover boy . You're stirring up some sh * t aren't you ? " I looked up at the older version of Kelly and shrugged . She had Kelly's blue eyes and her mouth . Her hair looked more white than it did blonde , but seeing as she was in her sixties , it made sense . She was probably really beautiful when she was younger . I could see a lot of Kelly's looks came from her . " I'm not trying to . I'm just here for support . " Oh trust me , baby , you are stirring it up . Joe is going to have a conniption if Kelly doesn't straighten up . " She nodded over at Kelly and Joe arguing silently . People were filing out of the church behind us , going to their cars to follow the procession line . " Should I go ? " She snorted and shook her head . " This is a hell of a lot more funner than following all of Joe's rules . Let's see if Kelly gets her way . " We watched as Kelly stomped her foot and pointed over to me again . Kelly's mom cackled beside me and I couldn't help but smile . She was tiny , but she was a firecracker . Finally , after rolling his eyes , he nodded and pinched the bridge of his nose . Kelly grinned triumphantly and walked over to me . She gave her mom a once over before ignoring her completely and pulling me towards the parking lot . " Come on . Let's get in line before we get too far back . " I followed suit and we hopped in my car and lined up . " What was all that about with your uncle ? " " He wants to control every aspect of the funeral . He's mad that I wanted to come with you instead of ride in the limo with the family . " She shrugged and took my hand again . " How are you holding up ? " She shrugged and closed her eyes . " As expected , I guess . It's hard but it's even harder having to deal with my mom and Uncle Joe . Highlights of my days right now are when I can escape to my room and the house is finally quiet . That and right now , with you . " I smiled at her and began following the cars . We were far behind . We wouldn't be getting to the cemetery for a while , but she seemed okay with it . " What have you been up to these last couple of days ? " " School and playing video games with Michael . I worked on my essay for one of my college applications . Nothing special . " 1/4 The Funeral Cont +25 BONUS " Ooh . Where are you hoping to get in ? " " I'm looking at Ivy League schools , mostly . I made a pretty decent score on my SAT's and ACT so I think I can get in . " " Wow . " She snorted and shook her head . " And you said I was out of your league . If anything , it's you who is out of mine . That's impressive . " I blushed and shrugged . " That's if I even get accepted . We will find out soon , hopefully . " " Well , I hope you get everything you ever want . I , in the meantime , will probably end up in Southern Nevada . It's not bad , but not Ivy League . " " What are you hoping to study ? " " I want to be a registered nurse . Maybe help doctors give birth to babies . Or in the emergency department . " " That's good . What made you want to be in the medical field ? " " I'm not sure . I haven't made up my mind yet . I haven't thought past high school yet if you want me to be honest . " She stared through the windshield frowning and sighed . " Now that I think about it , I'm quite pathetic . I was so tied up with getting Dexter's attention that I didn't even think about my future . " " You're not pathetic . " I squeezed her hand and she smiled at me . " Not even a little bit ? " " Maybe a bit ? " I pinched my fingers to show her how much and she laughed. Hearing it sent shivers down my spine and I gripped the wheel tighter . She was driving me crazy . It was bad how much I wanted her again . I knew it wasn't going to happen but I did . We arrived at the cemetery shortly and I waited in the back while she sat in a chair next to her mom . I watched tears spill from her eyes as they lowered the casket . Kelly's mom knelt and begged for him to come back and it hit me hard in my chest . I even got a bit teary eyedhearing her pain . When it was all over , Kelly didn't even stop to talk to her uncle this time . Instead , she walked straight to me and leaned up to me , her mouth against my ear . " Take me to your house . " I nodded and we left quickly . I wasn't sure that she wanted to go to my place , but I knew she didn't want to stay with her family . " There's a reception at my house and it's going to be full of people . I don't want to have to socialize with everyone and have them tell me how great my dad was . I've heard it all these last few days and I just need a breather . If that's okay with you . " Her wide , blue eyes looked into my face and there was no way I could say no to her . " My mom is home with some of my younger siblings if that's okay with you . " 2/4 The Funeral Cont . +25 BONUS " Yes , I don't care as long as I don't have to be around my mom . I drove to my house quickly and felt nervous . I hoped my mom wouldn't say anything embarrassing or stupid . I hoped that my little brother and sisters wouldn't scare her away . I was not sure how much longer she would want to hang out with me now that the funeral stuff was over , so I wanted every little bit that I could get . Walking inside through the garage door , I hoped to avoid my mom , but of course she was in the kitchen , baking some shit . She loved her kitchen more than most of us , I was sure . My dad made sure she had state - of - the - art everything . He spoiled her to pieces and in return , she gave him a sh * t ton of kids . I didn't see the payoff in that , but it was whatever . My mom's eyes widened when she saw Kelly and she smiled brightly . I wished I could remind her telepathically that she wasn't in any mood to be cheery . " Hi ! You must be Kelly . Oh my gosh , he didn't tell me how gorgeous you are ! Look at you ! James ! She's beautiful ! ' I glared at her and shook my head . Kelly giggled and held her hand out to shake my mom's . Instead , my mom brought her into a hug and I felt my face burn with embarrassment . Kelly's shoulders slumped and I watched as she dug her face into my mom's shoulder . Her shoulders moved as she cried silently in my mom's arms and I felt helpless . I didn't expect that to happen . My mom frowned and stroked Kelly's hair . She was about as short as Kelly , so there wasn't any height difference . After a couple of minutes of my mom comforting Kelly , she pulled away and wiped her eyes . " I'm so sorry . I was not expecting that . " She gave a shaky laugh and wiped at her nose with the back of her hand . My mom walked around the center kitchen island grabbed a paper towel and handed it to Kelly . " It's okay . I'm so sorry for your loss ! I can only imagine how hard it must be . " Kelly nodded and wiped under her eyes , black lines appearing on the paper towel " It's been hard , but James has made it a bit more bearable . " She smiled up at me and I smiled back . Now I felt kind of guilty for only thinking of myself and what I wanted . I should have been watching out for her and her feelings . " Well , he is the sweetest of my children . They say the first one is born to trick you into having more . That was definitely what happened . I keep falling for it too , if you can believe it ! " I rolled my eyes and Kelly giggled again , her smile brighter than it had been . " Yeah , I've heard . A Starr in every grade . " " That was not intentional . Are you guys hungry ? Or are you getting back from the reception ? " " Um ... " She glanced up at me and I nodded . " Sure . What do we have ? " " I just made some sandwiches for the little kids , but if you guys want something different I can whip something up quick. " " Sandwiches are good , " Kelly answered . " I can help . " I watched as Kelly and my mom made some sandwiches and talked a little about my mom's kitchen and different gadgets . " We're going to eat in my room , " I told my mom when they were through . My mom nodded and smiled at Kelly . 3/4 The Funeral Cont +25 BONUS " In case my son hogs you for the rest of the time you are here , it was nice meeting you . " " It was nice meeting you too , Mrs. Starr . " " Marlene , sweetheart . " " Marlene . " She smiled and I quickly led her out of the kitchen and down to the basement . My room was thankfully clean , seeing as last time I was embarrassed for it being so bad . We sat down on the edge of my bed and she picked at her sandwich a little before she turned to look at me . " Thank you . " For what ? " " For being here for me . I know you didn't have to be , but I appreciate it . " Making Out