If It Means a Lot To You

Chapter 6- Double Date

Finally, the day of our project was here.  Groans were heard all throughout the class of kids who did not want to go first.  Adam volunteered, of course.  I don't want to pat myself on the back, but I think we did pretty well.  Brian even answered a few questions and did a damn good job at holding the visual poster up. 

"I think we killed it!" I said to Adam after class,  putting my hand up for a high five."

"Well," Adam laughed, "You did," he said, nudging me with his elbow. 

"You know how I get about projects," I said as we strolled down the hall. 

"I admire your passion," he said.

The rest of the school day passed quickly, thank goodness, and it was finally the weekend. I pulled on my backpack and stepped outside into the crisp Autumn air.  

"April, wait up!" I heard Skylar yell from behind.  

"How was your project?" she asked with a certain look in her eye.

I raised one eyebrow.

"Good," I replied. "But since when do you care about my history projects?" I laughed.

"Well..." she said, "I have some really good news."

"What?" I said.

"KENNETH ASKED ME OUT!" 

"WHAT?!" I yelled, practically jumping up and down, trying to keep my voice down. "Like boyfriend/girlfriend going out?"  I asked.

"Well, not quite," Skylar said. "He wants to go out this weekend. Like tomorrow!  To the orchard for a hayride and stuff.  

"That sounds awesome! Ahhh!" I yelled, grasping her hands. 

"Buuuut," Skylar said, "He also wanted me to invite you and Adam.  Is that a bad sign?" she asked. 

"Not at all!" I answered.  "He probably just wants some of the pressure off of him. Think of it as a double date. You can stay the night at my house and we can get ready together. And I'll call Adam. I'm sure he'll say yes."

She was beaming the whole bus ride home.

"Hey, Skylar," my parents said as we walked through the door.  My parents practically liked her more than they like me.  Skylar waved. "What are you ladies up to?" my dad said. "Sky is spending the night and then tomorrow, me, her, Adam, and Kenneth are going to the orchard."  

"Who's Kenneth?" my mom said, winking at Skylar.

Before Skylar could open her mouth, I laughed and said, "Her new man."

"Is not," Skylar said. "I wish."

We went up to my room and I turned on the radio.  We sat on my bed and flipped through magazines. 

I finally picked up my phone and dialed Adam's number. My heart started pumping fast again.  "Hello?" he answered eagerly, like he had been waiting by the phone. 

"Hey," I said. "I have a question. Skylar and Kenneth want to know if you wanted to come to the orchard with us tomorrow for a hayride and stuff."

"That sounds awesome," Adam said. I put him on speaker phone. "Who's driving?"

"Kenneth," Skylar chimed in.  "He's got a Mustang." I raised my eyebrows, impressed.

"Well.." she said, "his dad has a Mustang that he will probably let him borrow."

"Okay," Adam said, "What time should I come?" 

"Umm, like 3:30," Skylar answered. "We need to go while it's still daylight."

Adam agreed and we hung up.

"Ugh, Skylar," I said, picking a fuzzy ball off of my sweatshirt. "I'm nervous."

"What?" Skylar asked. "YOU'RE nervous?  It's just us. And you're the queen of fall themed activities." 

"True," I remarked. "But I don't know. This will be the 2nd time that me and Adam have gone out in like 2 weeks."

Skylar looked me over and asked me in an honest tone, "Look, April, do you like him?"

I looked at Skylar, surprised. "What makes you ask that?"

"You forget that I'm your best friend and I know you better than anyone else."

"I'm not sure!" I said, fiddling with the pages of a magazine.  "I'm just...confused.  I forgave him, but I never expected us to become so close again so soon. "

"I know what you mean," Skylar said. "But you KNOW how long he has liked you."

"Has he though?" I asked. "I'm not sure.  I think he might just be lonely. He's never had many friends. No one would talk to him in middle school, unless it was to make fun of him. I've never seen him hang out with anyone else.  Everyone says he has always liked me.  But I just don't know."

"Well," Skylar said, "Let's see how it goes tomorrow. I'm not trying to push you into moving too fast or anything, but I've never seen you laugh like you laugh with him.  I've never seen your whole face light up like that."

I blushed and turned away.  I loved having such an insightful and intelligent best friend, but sometimes, I felt like she knew me all too well.

The night grew late with lots of gossip, junk food, and picking out outfits.  Skylar and I practically shared a closet. 

"Should I go emo?" Skylar laughed, pulling a studded belt over her black jeans. 

"I think you should dress the way you normally do," I said, putting my hair up in a top knot.  "Obviously, it has worked thus far. Kenneth seems pretty impressed."  

Skylar laughed and threw a stuffed animal at me. "Shut up!"

Before too long, we crashed.  

The next day came early.  We stayed up way too late. 

We woke up at 9:00 and got straight to work. Skylar flat ironed her long brownish black hair until it was pin straight.  I braided my auburn hair down past my shoulder and threw on a red flannel shirt. 

"Ugh, you're so basic," Skylar said, laughing at my fall attire. 

"It's an orchard, Skylar, not a My Chemical Romance concert," I joked, pointing to her Doc Marten boots and ripped band tee. 

We made our way downstairs, fresh hair and makeup and all, and sat up at the kitchen counter.  We laughed and ate snacks until 3 o clock struck.

My dog started barking like crazy. I looked out of the blinds and 2 shiny cars, one of them a Mustang, had pulled up in the drive. I started sweating in my flannel. Why was I so nervous?  

We finally heard the much awaited "ding dong" of the doorbell.  "Act natural," I said to Skylar, who was a visible nervous wreck. I walked to the door and tightened my braid, hearing the guys make chit chat outside on the front porch.

I needed to take my own advice.