𝕯𝖔𝖚𝖝𝖎𝖊 𝕺𝖓𝖊 𝕾𝖍𝖔𝖙𝖘

vi. how to woo douxie casperan

Y/N's POV

I look myself over in the mirror one more time. Is ripped jeans and a skin-tight white v-neck shirt too casual?

I think about texting Angelique. But then I remember that she would probably tell me to wear whatever I think is comfortable and  something out of my comfort-zone. The jeans are comfortable. The v-neck dips pretty low which makes me feel a little bare, but I don't mind being a bit bold today.

I brush on light make-up. Just some lip gloss and dusted cheekbones. Then I take a deep breath and head outside. Where Douxie is already there in his black Honda Civic. 

I grimace, how long has he been waiting? Like the gentleman he is, Douxie is holding open the passenger side's door for me. We're almost matching. He has a v-neck with jeans too but he's wearing all black. My heart jumps when he smirks as I approach. "About time. I thought the boys were exaggerating on how long girls take to prepare."

I wonder how long Zoe took when she was with him. I shake off the thought then I roll my eyes at him and smile. "Sorry."

I step in the Civic and buckle in. Douxie gets in the driver's seat and shuts his door with a soft click. He starts the engine and backs out of my driveway then begins down the road. While keeping his eyes ahead, Douxie tells me, "You look beautiful, (y/n)."

My mind blanks out and I find myself struggling for words. My tongue feels like lead and my brain can't compute properly.

"You clean up nice, too," I try to to say casually but it comes out an octave too high.

Douxie just grins, enjoying my reaction. I lean back in my seat and try to make more simple conversation. "Excited?"

I almost strangle myself. He's about to see his ex again and I ask if he's excited? I'm horrible at this. It's too late to take it back so I glance over nervously to gauge his reaction. Surprisingly, his hazel eyes don't seem bothered and they're mostly focused on the streetlight, waiting for the go. "I'm excited," he says finally. "I'm spending the evening with you."

I groan. "Who taught you these charms?"

"Taught myself."

Then we're parallel parking by Benoit's. It's not that far from my home after all. Arcadia is a small town. I get out of the Honda before Douxie insists on opening the door for me and pause, waiting for him to lock the car.

Once he reaches me, we interlock hands, just any other couple would do. I feel a shiver go down my back as he rubs my thumb with his.

When we just approach the entrance, I hear someone calling us.

"HEY! We're over here!"

I swiveled around. It's Liam. He's already got a table with a salty looking Pinkie Pie. She's picking her nails, not bothering to glance up. There are two chair reserved for us and we move to take a seat. Like earlier, I'm quick to pull my own chair out before Douxie does.

"We got you guys water already," Zoe says in a bland and flat tone.

"Thanks, appreciate it," I say back. I refuse to let her get on my nerves. We are all gazing at the menu when I hear a familiar clear, alto voice. When my head snaps up, I meet Angelique's stormy dark-brown eyes which are full of amusement. The right edge of her lips curve upward in a lopsided grin. "You all ready?" she asks.

My eyes twitch. I didn't know she was on shift today.

Douxie gives her his own grin then answers. "Yes."

She smiles then says in a friendly tone. "I'm Angelique, I'll be your server today. What would you guys like?"

Zoe hands her the menu. "I'll have the portobello mushroom burger with fries."

Angelique clamps Zoe's menu under her left arm while she jots down the order. "Alright." She looks at me. "And for you?"

"Steak," I reply. "Can I replace the mash potatoes with asparagus?"

"Of course."

Angelique takes the rest of our orders and our menus. Douxie is having ravioli and Liam is having linguini.

"So," Angelique says, writing down the last of the notes, "can I get you guys anything else?"

"We're good," Douxie tells her.

"Enjoy your night," Angelique murmurs to everyone, but I don't need her reading people skills to tell that she only specifically meant Douxie and me.

I watch as Angelique goes to the entrance and suddenly meets Jason Grace. He's on serving duty too, apparently. He says something that makes her smile and she slightly tilts her head up to kiss him on the cheek.

While he's flustered, Angelique seems to abruptly remember something. She juts her chin our way and Jason's eyes narrows a bit at the sight of Douxie. Then she lightly scolds him and he just scoffs good-naturedly.

I stop watching the couple and turn my head back to the table.

~

The food is all finished and we all get up. I leave a tip and so does Douxie for Angelique. Liam and Zoe seeing that we already tipped, don't bother doing it.

That makes me purse my lips lightly but I refrain myself from saying anything. We all silently walk to the parking area. The silence between me and Douxie is comfortable, but the silence between the us and the rest of the party is not.

When we stop by Douxie's car, I talk to them. "That was fun, I hope you guys had a good time."

"We did," Liam says.

Awkward silence.

"Um, goodnight, then," Douxie says.

When we face the car again to get in, Zoe suddenly speaks up. "Wait."

We both slowly turn to her again. "Yes?" Douxie queries.

"I hope you're happy," Zoe says begrudgingly.

Douxie smiles at me and kisses my forehead. "I am."

Zoe suddenly snaps. "Fine! You win! I'm jealous. I'm envious."

Fuming, she grabs a surprised and stunned Liam's arm and drags him away.

Douxie and I glance at each other, both wide-eyed. A second ticks by. Then we burst into laughter and the sound is music to my ears. I can still hear Zoe's grumbling from the distance.

END OF PART SIX!