The Ex Games (Chapter 5)

After talking to Terry, Madeline approached Homer, who stood by the railing with Gary. When Gary saw Madeline coming, he walked away towards his friend, Terry. Madeline smiled while Homer was just not happy.
"Hi," she said.
"Hi," he responded.
"Homer--"
"Look, Madeline, if you want to be with Terry, that's fine."
"I don't want to be with--"
"No, it's totally fine. And I'm sorry. I'm sorry for being so jealous. But I was being so jealous because I like you and I thought you liked me, too. And I don't know, I just feel dumb and confused like Helen Keller or something. But maybe I should stop being so selfish."
"Why should you stop being so selfish?"
"Because I thought you were my girlfriend or something but I honestly have no idea."
"Well, you do have an idea because I am your girlfriend."
"You are?"
"Yeah."
"Since when?"
Madeline looked up quickly and quietly giggled. "Since the third date so you've been my boyfriend for, like, less than three weeks."
"Oh. Oh! Oh, my goodness. What a relief!"
"Now can you relax?"
"Look, I was only behaving the way I did so you could see I was a potential boyfriend. That was an obvious waste of time."
"Not really. I love it when a man vies for attention from me." Madeline put her hands on Homer's chest and began to play with the collar of his light blue button-up.
"Do you really?"
"Mm-hmm." She nodded.
"You're such a woman."
"Tell me something I don't know."
"So I didn't embarrass myself?"
"Uh, you kinda did. But it's alright. It was cute."
"Madeline, I never thought I would say this but let's take a selfie."
"Okay!"
Madeline started to grab her cell phone from her pocket but Homer stopped her.
"Let's take one with my phone," he said.
"Oh, that's fine, too." Madeline slid the phone back in her pocket.
Homer took out his black cell phone from his jeans' pocket and swiped the screen after turning it on. He set his phone to the camera and held his phone up in front of him and Madeline so they could see themselves in the screen.
"I can't believe I'm gonna be on your phone," said Madeline. "This is so exciting."
The two smiled as Homer snapped a picture. Madeline seized his phone and began to get a closer look at the picture.
"I look so good," she complimented herself.

The Ex Games (Chapter 4)

For at least an hour and a half, Terry and Homer competed against each other in a series of carnival games. They played games like Skeeball, Whac-A-Mole, and Basketball. Homer was trying to prove that he was better than Madeline's "ex", Terry, while Terry just wanted to partake in some games.  No matter what game they played, Terry won every single one, causing frustration in Homer. Madeline and Gary followed the boys to wherever they went; Madeline started to feel bad for Homer and at the same time, irritated. Feeling like she needed some type of closure, Madeline decided to have a talk with Terry. She let Homer know and he distanced himself away from the two, standing by Gary.
"Thank you for the teddy bear," said Madeline. "I already have some at home but I'm still thankful."
"I'm glad you like it," nodded Terry. "A bear for a 'bear-y' special girl."
Madeline giggled. "Terry... you know I'm with someone, right?"
"Oh, yeah. His name is Homer, right?"
"Yeah."
"He seems a bit uptight."
"Trust me, I just found this out."
"Why is he so competitive?"
"I don't know. He doesn't Tebow when his lacrosse team loses a point."
"You shouldn't be with someone like that."
"Because you want me to be with you?"
"I mean, yeah. Madeline, I like you."
"And I like you, too. Well, I used to like you."
"Oh."
"I didn't mean it like that. I like you, just not in that way."
"No, I get it."
"I'm sorry. But I really did like you. I really did."
"Enough with the past tense."
"I hope we can still be friends."
"I guess I would like that. No matter what we are, Madeline, you'll always be a pretty lady."
"I know." Madeline grinned.
Terry chuckled. "But if Homer does anything to hurt you, call me, okay?"
"Okay. Well, I'm actually gonna call my girlfriends first. But when I do that, I'll call you."
"I'll take it."

        "I can still keep the teddy bear, right?"

        "Oh, definitely. Besides, why would a grown boy like me want to keep a teddy bear?"

        "I got a reason."

        "Well, whatever that reason is, it doesn't exist to me so keep that reason to yourself."

The Ex Games (Chapter 3)

Madeline and Homer walked through the boardwalk, passing people playing games while they looked for a game to play together. They almost passed by Terry, who was his big-armed friend, Gary, someone Madeline also met at Fake Cabo, who happened to be competing in a game of Water Gun. The two, with their own guns, shot at their small targets which were right next to each other. Both of the balloons behind the targets filled up but Terry's balloon was bigger than Gary's. Madeline stopped, making Homer stop, when she saw Terry beating his friend. Eventually, Terry's balloon popped, making him the winner.
Terry pumped his arm in the air. "Yeah! You owe me a soda, man!"
Madeline applauded Terry, causing a perplexed look to appear on Homer's face.
Terry and Gary turned around and gazed upon the smiling blonde.
"Oh, hey, Madeline," greeted Gary, flashing a smile that could win any prize. "I haven't seen you in a year."
"Hey, Gary," responded Madeline. "I can't believe you still remember me."
"Yeah, since Terry never stops talking about you."
Terry nudged his friend in the arm. "I do not talk about you, Madeline," he chuckled.
"Yeah, I'm exaggerating a little bit. He only talks about you, like, once a week."
"Who's Gary, Madeline?" asked Homer.
"Why are you asking so many questions?" Madeline made a face.
"I'm just asking. You didn't happen to make out with him, too, right?"
        Madeline looked at Homer and scrunched her eyebrows.
"No way, man," said Gary. "When I met Madeline, I was with Keeley. I'm still with Keeley."
"Aw," uttered Madeline. "How is Keeley?"
"Oh, she's great. We're great. I never get tired of her. We even gone past second base."
"I didn't need to know all that, Gary."
"What shall be your prize, sir?" the older man behind the counter asked Terry while leaning against it.
Terry scanned the various prizes hung beside the counter. "Hmm... I'll take the teddy bear so I can give it to a special lady named Madeline."
The man walked over to the prizes and unhooked one of the big, white teddy bears. He handed it to Terry who handed it to Madeline. Homer was not pleased.
"Aw, thank you, Terry," Madeline smiled, embracing her new toy.
"Uh-uh," uttered Homer. "You are not giving Madeline that big, freakin' teddy bear."
"But I just did," said Terry. "Besides, she's my friend and it's my prize. I'm just being nice."
"I could give her a prize, too. You don't think I can't? That's it. You, me, Water Gun, right now."
Gary got up and stepped back, thinking about how crazy Homer looks. Homer sat in the seat where Gary sat and put his hands on the gun. The man replaced the balloons from the gentlemen's targets which took a minute.
"Homer, what are you doing?" asked Madeline.
"Relax, Madeline," he commanded. "I'm trying to get you a stuffed monkey."
"On your mark, get set, go," instructed the man after moving out of the way.
Terry and Homer squirted their water guns at the targets, slowly filling up the balloons. Gary cheered his friend on while Madeline just stared. It took a few minutes until Terry's balloon popped, defeating Homer. Homer almost cursed while Terry pumped in his arm in the chair, spinning his seat around.
"Alright," said Homer, standing up. "Ring toss, right now!"
He ran through the boardwalk to the Ring Toss game which was only yards away. Terry followed him while Madeline and Gary just stood there watching them.
"What is that dude's name?" asked Gary.
"Homer," answered Madeline.
"Like Homer Simpson?"
"Shut it, Gary."

The Ex Games (Chapter 2)

Over the weekend, Madeline went on the date she planned with her boyfriend, Homer. He drove her in his gray Chrysler several minutes to a beach where a fair took place. After parking the car, they entered the area and passed by the young ones filling up the boardwalk. Madeline put her arm around Homer's arm and put her head on his shoulder, enjoying the breeze of the early afternoon and the warmth coming from her friend's neck.
"What should we do first?" she asked.
"Whatever you want to do, Madeline," Homer replied.
"Aw, I like it when you put me in charge. How about the 'Ring the Bell' game? I want to see how strong you are."
"I'm pretty strong."
"I'll believe it when I see it. But you got big arms so I believe it."
Homer chuckled. "You know, Madeline, I've been having a really good time ever since we met. It's so weird for me to say something like this but I really like you--"
"Wait a sec," Madeline demanded, stopping Homer. "Stay right there."
"Why? What's up?"
Madeline faced her handsome friend. "You look so fine in this light. I got to take a selfie of us." She began to take out her pink cell phone.
"Okay, when are you going to stop taking so many selfies?"
"'Til the day I die."
Madeline opened the camera application on her phone and switched the view. She held up the phone so the two could see their faces on the screen. She wrapped her arm around Homer and the two smiled into the camera. After she took the picture, she heard a voice call her name. It was a familiar voice. A voice of a young male. She put down her arm and looked to the right. She looked over Homer and found her old friend, Terry, from Fake Cabo, standing a yard away. He walked towards her with a nostalgic smile, formed by his thin yet soft lips.
"Oh, my goodness. Hey!" he said.
"Oh, hi, Terry," Madeline politely smiled. "I haven't seen you in a while."
"I know. It feels like forever although I've last seen you during the spring."
"Yeah." Madeline nodded.
"Who's Terry?" Homer asked, slowly filling with suspicion.
"This is Terry."
"I know; I see him. What I'm asking is who he is?"
"Oh, he was-- Or he is my-- What do you call it?"
"Ex-boyfriend?" Terry replied.
"Ex-boyfriend?" Homer repeated.
Madeline quickly chuckled. "No, he's not my ex. We were never in a relationship."
"Oh, yeah," agreed Terry, nodding his head.
"No, I've known him for a while."
"Were you guys a thing?" asked Homer.
"Uhhh, sorta."
"Yeah, sorta," said Terry.
"We used to talk. Maybe text each other."
"We made out once."
"Yeah, we made out. No, we didn't!"
"We didn't."
"Don't tell Homer that, Terry."
"I'm sorry."
"Wait, now I'm confused," said Homer. "Did you make out or not?"
"Why do you want to know?" asked Madeline.
"Because I-- I just-- I just want to know these things. He obviously meant something to you if you were making out with him."
"Yeah but I don't make out with him anymore. I barely talked to him at all since last summer."
"Yeah, we haven't talked that much," said Terry. "But we should really catch up."
"Yeah, we should."
"No, don't start talking to each other!" said Homer. "Just because you haven't spoke in a while doesn't mean you got to talk to each other again."
"What is the big deal?" Madeline asked almost loudly. "We're friends."
"Yeah, we're friends," Terry agreed.
"We're friends now, Homer."
"Alright," Homer almost mumbled. "I'm sorry for raising my voice."
"Listen, Madeline, I'll catch you later," said Terry.
"Alright," Madeline softly smiled.
As Terry walked off, Homer pointed at him. "No!" he disapproved. "No catching. No catching anyone later!"
"Homer, chill. He's just a friend. There's no need to be upset. Like really."
"Okay, I'm sorry. I apologize again. Just no catching."

The Ex Games (Chapter 1)

It was an easy, breezy afternoon and the girls were already settled in the cafeteria in time for lunch. Everyone was in a good mood, especially Madeline. While the girls were eating, Madeline decided to show them pictures from her cell phone. She went through every picture by swiping the screen and told her friends what was each picture of.
"That's me and Homer at Starbucks. That's me and Homer at Cool Beans. That's me and Homer at Subway. I'm going on the Subway diet of course. That's me and Homer at the movies. We sat in the back so it was okay. That's me and Homer at his house. That's me and Homer at my house. That's me and Homer making funny faces. That's me and Homer wearing funky sunglasses."
"Man, you and Homer took a lot of corny pics together," noticed Skye.
"Yeah, I can't resist. He's so cute. And I'm so cute. We're cute together."
"Is Homer your boyfriend?" asked Lizzie.
"Yep but he doesn't know. So, shh, don't tell him."
"Ooh, you're sneaky."
"'Sneaky' is my middle name."
"I thought your middle name was Louise."
"Figure of speech, Liz'."
"When will he know that he's your boyfriend?" questioned Debra.
"When he introduces me to his friends. But if he doesn't call me his girlfriend in front of them, I'll tell them myself. Think I won't? Because I will."
"You like him so much, you wanna ruin his life?" Andrea queried.
"Uh, I'm too bomb to ruin his life. Wait, let me rephrase that. A girl like me can't ruin his life; I make it better."
"I assume you're busy with Homer Simpson this weekend," shared Skye.
"Why are you calling him that?"
"Because that's his name. I'll say it to his face, too."
"Well, you're right. I am going to be busy with Homer this weekend. He's taking me to the boardwalk which I think is so romantic because we met at a fair."
"Another location to take pictures in," said Andrea.
"I know, right? I think I should make a scrapbook."
"You known him for weeks."
"But I got a bunch of pictures! It's gonna happen."
"Ooh, we should have a scrapbook," Lizzie suggested.
"Yeah," Debra smiled.
"We may have a bunch of pictures but it ain't gonna happen," said Skye.
        "Come on," said Lizzie. "We can use stickers."
        "That doesn't convince me."