The Dove's Brother: Origin Story

Chapter XII: The First Date

STEPHEN

Stephen looked into the mirror one last time as he examined the Windsor knot in his tie. He took a deep breath and unbuttoned his blazer before proceeding to sit on the ledge of the bathtub. He was too nervous to attend a dance, a simple dance for heaven's sake and the causes of his problems were right outside the bathroom impatiently knocking on the door while talking away at a hundred words per minute. He should have known better but he took their advice and now here he was sweating, anxious and completely clueless on what to do. What was this great mistake you ask?

Flashback

Stephen sat in the midst of the cafeteria slowly consuming his food and lost in his thoughts when the sound metal scraping on metal distracted him. He looked up or rather across to see the twins had pushed their plates on the bench but were struggling to climb onto the considerably high chairs. He stifled a laugh and helped them into their seats as they glared at him. It was a daily occurrence for him but the twins never got tired of attempting to climb the chairs. He ruffled their hair and quickly rushed back to his seat across them before they could respond. Surprisingly neither of them turned but Julia merely threw a string bean in his milk, while Alex pouted. Their silence was short lived as they began pestering him about his crush. Julia gasped loudly attracting the attention of the entire cafeteria when he told them he might not make it to the dance. But Julia was insistent that he attend so he could meet his Princess and fall in love. The conversation was nearly lost on his end when he noticed that Alex didn't say a word about his plans to skip the dance. He had long since finished eating by then, so he got up, went over and sat beside him before asking, 'Hey Alex, buddy, you ok?' Alex didn't look up but simply nodded. Julia slowly stood up on the chair and whispered in his ears, 'He doesn't want to go to the dance because some of the senior kids in our class said bad things about our parents. They said that only people in love or with someone who loves them can attend the dance. When he told them that we have each other, they called us weirdos' Anger coursed through Stephen. Why would anyone tell a five year old that they aren't loved? His mind was screaming at him to teach those brats a lesson but he controlled himself and pulled Alex into a hug saying, 'It's okay, buddy. Those jerks were wrong. You have your sister and me. We will always love you no matter what.' He let him go and saw Julia nodding along with him when Alex looked up to him with big teary eyes, looking uncharacteristically like a vulnerable five year old and asked, 'Really?' He smiled and answered, 'Yes really. Now eat up, we have more classes to get to.'

The conversation took a cheerful turn as the twins excitedly discussed their dresses with Alex refusing to go in any dress other than as Sherlock Holmes and same was the case with Julia who insisted on going dressed as Joan Watson. After much persuasion and compromising, Stephen got the twins to agree to attend the dance in formal wear or what they presumed was formal anyway. It was then he realised that he couldn't let the twins go to the dance alone and unchaperoned, so he agreed to accompany them but then they insisted that he bring a date. Using methods that even the most hardened of soldiers couldn't resist (i.e their Puppy dog eyes), the twins made Stephen reveal his secret crush and after some 'persuasion' from Julia, Stephen inexplicably felt the need to ask his crush out.

End of flashback

For a second, the babbling of the twins stopped only to be followed by 3 sharp knocks on the door. An angelic voice called out, 'Stephen, are you okay? The twins say you are refusing to come out of the bathroom. Is everything all right?' All the anxiety that bubbled in his body was instantly replaced with a strange soothing calm and confidence. Her presence knowingly or unknowingly always made him relax regardless of the time and place. With a sharp breath, he swiftly got up and buttoned his blazer before opening the door.

Right in front of him stood the girl that made his heart beat faster, Alice Daniel a squadmate and classmate. At 5 feet and 3 inches with slightly curly black hair cut up to her shoulders in the standard Bob-cut, she had an easy-going and friendly personality. Her joyful brown eyes were framed by her glasses and she wore a baby pink dress, that hugged her lithe frame and displayed her toned arms and legs. Her lightly tanned skin glinted in the night, reflecting the moonlight. A sparkling smile adorned her face along with a light blush that dusted her cheeks. This was the girl who made his heart race and his thoughts scatter. It was then that Stephen realised that he had been staring at her without saying a word. His face flushed as he remembered the twins who wouldn't let him live it down. He looked down at his feet and saw them lying on his bed silently snickering at him, through his peripheral vision. He heard Alice's soft voice asking, "You ok, Stephen? The twins told me you were not coming out of the bathroom and now you completely zoned out on me. Is everything alright?"

Stephen's face flushed again as he said, "Ya, I am good. I was just too nervous about the dance. Coach Thorne is the faculty chaperone in charge and he always seems out to get me, not to mention the twins are way too excited about the punch. So ya I am ok, just a little nervous but I'm fine." Alice giggled lightly covering her mouth, while the twins were full out laughing. Alice smiled and said, "Well, it's completely understandable, Stephen. I suppose babysitting 2 five year olds can be quite stressful." Two simultaneous 'Heys' were heard followed by thumps as the twins jumped off the bed and punched the teens in the calves. Laughing softly, the teens ruffled the twins' hair making them pout. Stephen held out a hand to his date and said, "My lady, shall we?" Smiling Alice replied, "Yes" and intertwined her hands with Stephen. Together the four students made their way to the dance hall, which was the cafeteria cleaned and redecorated, with the twins excitedly chattering about the punch which the teens were determined to keep the kids away from, not that they would tell the twins in fear of dealing with the puppy dog eyes. Once outside the dance hall doors, Stephen knelt to the twins height getting their attention. After he managed to do so, he spoke to them in a serious voice completely aware of Alice looking on, "Hey guys, you have to behave properly okay. Always make sure either Alice or I are near you. If you need to use the restroom, we will take you, ok? Remember coach Thorne is incharge, so if you see him just greet him and walk away." The twins mumbled under their breaths about mean coaches nodded along when Alex raised his hand and asked, "Can we have some punch?" Alice stifled a laugh while the two twins looked at them seriously. Stephen sighed deeply before saying, "No guys. You are too young to be drinking punch." Seeing the sad looks on their faces he continued, "But you can have fruit juice. They have juice boxes on the tables."

Alex kicked invisible dust on the carpet and Julia frowned deeply, seeing their expressions Alice took Julia's hand and Stephen took Alex's as Stephen said, "Just stay close to us, ok?" They nodded and he took a deep breath before pushing the doors open.