Double Trouble

The First Date

California's POV

When The Troublesome Two ditched me and Gary, we sat there in shocked silence.

"I- uh, um... Hi" Gary finally spluttered, smiling shyly.

I laughed at his bashfulness. "You look like the bashful dwarf!" I joked lamely.

Gary laughed much too hard at my pathetic effort at removing the tension, which was so thick only my super sharp wit could slice it.

Gary calmed down and we smiled at each other. He looked away quickly.

"Gary," I reprimanded. "This is a date. Give me attention! Shower me in praise! Tell me I'm beautiful!"

Gary looked up, confused.

"What?" I said. "I don't mean that it's a real date, we're just teaching you how to act in this situation... Aren't we?"

Gary looked slightly crestfallen. His phone on the table flashed, and I caught a glimpse of the sender's name before he hid it under his jacket.

He covered his screen and read the message. As he went along, his smile gradually grew into a massive banana spreading across his chin.

He put his phone away, still smiling. He then leaned his chin on his hand, and winked at me.

"Cal, I promise you, this is a real date. And it's going to be the best first date you've ever had."

I smiled, pleased at the way his confidence has just shot through the roof.

"If you say so," I smiled. I wasn't going to argue with a hot guy who was begging for a date with me, now, was I?

"Waitress!" Gary reached his hand up and clicked his fingers. The harried looking waitress scurried over to us. I smiled apologetically and sympathetically at her, and slapped Gary across the face. Hard.

"Don't be a rude gorilla," I said. The waitress cheered up a bit, probably glad that the guy who had so obnoxiously called her over had been paid back.

He definitely deserved it, though. I was a waitress for about 3 days when I ran away from home, and let me tell you, dealing with customers is the worst, especially when they look down on you. Rule number 1 of life: always be nice to everyone, especially if they're doing something for you.

"Can I take your order?" The waitress grinned at me. She was really pretty with a smile. Gary was rubbing his cheek, and I was proud to see a large red handprint.

"Yeah, I'll have, uh... Well, that one." I pointed to something on the menu. It was hard to say, but it was the cheapest so it's all I'm getting.

"Same." Gary agreed when the waitress looked at him. He didn't even look at the menu though, so the pressure's on me.

The waitress smiled at me again, and I saw her name tag. "Thanks Tara," I smiled. She turned and walked back to the kitchen.

"So," Gary said, twisting his hands. "Let's play a game."

I raised my eyebrows at him. "A game! Yay." I said sarcastically.

Gary pouted - yes, he actually pouted - and whined, "It'll be fun, I promise!"

"That's the second promise you've made to me in the last fifteen minutes; let me tell you, the last guy who broke a promise to me will never be able to have kids."

Gary gulped. "It'll be fun though!" I said brightly, trying not to scare him too much.

He smiled weakly and started, "I spy, with my little-"

I slapped my hand over his mouth. The silver ring on my middle finger knocked his teeth. "Ow!" He complained.

"Sorry," I said, "But not that game."

"Fine," Gary said stubbornly. He held up an arm and leant on his elbow. "Arm wrestle."

"Nope." I leant back in my chair and crossed my arms over my chest.

"20 questions?" He asked meekly.

I sat up. "Now there's something that could be fun! I guess you might become a father one day after all!"

Gary nodded. "What's your favourite colour?"

"Okay, first, that's a lame question. Second, my favourite colour is green. Neon green. Full of fun and energy and excitement." I answered.

"Just like you," Gary smiled sweetly at me. "Mine is blue. Navy blue."

"No elaboration?" I pushed.

"Nope. When I was about 4, my brain just went 'I like that colour, that is a nice colour' and we stuck with it."

"Did you just semi-quote Shrek?" I asked.

"Oh, uh... Yeah. I did."

"That's my favourite movie ever!!" I squealed in excitement. Gary's face lit up.

"Really?! Mine too!" He grinned.

All thoughts of our game forgotten, I started to list all the brilliancies of Shrek.

"...and the bit where Shrek's like, 'do you think he's compensating for something?' Well, that just flew right over my head when I was little, but I get it now!" I gushed.

Gary nodded enthusiastically. "Yeah, I know right! Oh, and-"

He was cut off by Tara coming back with our food. "Dinner time!" She smiled cheerfully. I was really starting to like this chick.

"Thanks Tara!" I said. She laid our plates in front of us and we started eating. I still wouldn't be able to pronounce it if I tried, but I wish I could because it was the best thing I've had for weeks. It was 1000 times better than the food at the stupid boarding school.

"I am so coming back here again!" I said when I finished.

Gary nodded in agreement. "Definitely. How about a second date?" He asked hopefully.

I pretended to consider it. He was a really awesome guy, especially now that I know we share our Shrek-o-mania, plus he was hot and laughed at my lame jokes.

"Next week?" I asked. "Saturday, same time, same place?"

Gary smiled. "Yep. Of course. Should we tell Flynn and Val?"

I had completely forgotten about my best friend! "I wonder what those two are up to," I said. "Do you reckon there's something there?"

"Yeah, she's all Flynn talks about! He even talked about her *before* we started hanging out."

"Really?" I said, excited for Val. "Interesting..."

Gary and I stared at each other for a moment, lost in our own thoughts.

"Let's not tell them about this," I suggested. "We'll keep it a secret, and tell them that this date was really awkward and we just want to stay friends."

"We don't want to stayfriends though, do we?" Gary asked, looking hurt.

"Of course we're friends!" I said.

"But not just friends?" Gary said hopefully.

I thought about it for a second.

"No, not just friends. But it's a secret!" I put my finger to my lips and we smiled at each other.

Written by Ansel