It Had to be You (Jack Barakat of All Time Low)

Chapter Nine

Date Night!

---------------

Lachlan sat, pushing a bit of her food around with her fork. Her mind had been slightly distracted for the last few minutes; secretly she'd hoped Evan wouldn't notice that she wasn't paying attention to him. It wasn't as if she didn't want to pay attention, she did. Somehow, her attention had just been averted.

Why did her mind choose now, to be the time to start thinking about everything that had been going on in her life? Why, did it always seem to pick the worst possible times, to think period?

"Sorry." Evan cleared his throat, bringing her up from her thoughts. "I know, I'm boring."

"Boring?" Lachlan echoed the word

"Yeah, boring. I don't mean to bore people, I just do." Evan replied with a nod

"No, you weren't boring me." Lachlan smiled. "I'm sorry, it's my fault honestly. I don't know why, but my mind just hasn't been my best friend lately."

He apologized for being boring? Yet, Savannah said the guy was no good. Lachlan bit back a small laugh, she somehow saw Savannah's description of Evan Kirkendall being wrong, very wrong. In the last hour, Lachlan had been in his company, she'd noticed that more than anything he was shy.

Evan didn't seem to be rude, annoying, or anything else Savannah had called him. Instead, he seemed to be the exact opposite. He was quiet, seemingly polite and mannerly. Lachlan couldn't help but think that perhaps Evan just didn't want the people to see him as being soft, so he put on a front.

People put up fronts, to hide the real them all the time.

"So, you're not bored? Honestly."

"No, I'm not." Lachlan smiled. "Really, I was listening, but my mind tends to get the best of me sometimes."

"If you want, we can leave. I don't mind." Evan offered

Lachlan shook her head. "Oh no, we don't need to do that."

Evan gave her a questioning look, as she nervously and a bit too quickly reached for the glass of wine that sat in front of her. The only reasons for this that he could give were; He'd bored her to the point, she had to medicate herself, just to be near him. Or, she was an alcoholic, it was possible... After all, he did witness her down at least three glasses of wine and a martini, all within a twenty minute span.

"Are you sure, you're alright?" Evan asked

"Yes, yes I'm fine." Lachlan nodded and waved her hand in the air. "Now tell me, what it is like living your dream?"

"It's actually...not that bad." Evan shrugged.

Nodding, Lachlan sighed. "I wouldn't know."

"You mean, you haven't always wanted to teach?"

Lachlan shook her head. "Nope."

"What did you want to do, if you don't mind me asking?" Evan smiled

Sighing; Lachlan sat her wine glass down and folded her hands in her lap. Slowly, she was starting to feel the effects of the alcohol in her system already. That was her biggest problem, she was a cheap drunk, two or three drinks and she was out of it. Silently whimpering, she prayed that she wouldn't do anything stupid, like she did the last time she'd been out and under the influence.

Ah well, at least this time she was with Evan. If by chance, they ended up in bed together come morning it wouldn't be so bad, would it? At least, to her knowledge, he wasn't married. As far as she knew, he wasn't even seeing anybody.

"Truthfully, this is going to sound dumb." she shook her head

"Try me." Evan encouraged

"I've always wanted to be a mom. When I was little, I was convinced that I could just find the right man, get married and have a family. Once I did that, I could stay at home and look after them." Lachlan could feel herself blush. "See, it's dumb. Anyway, I realized that before you could find Mr. Right, you had to have a backup plan. So, I settled with teaching. It's always been my number two dream. It's not bad, but not my first choice."

"It's not dumb." Evan smiled.

"Yeah, it is." Lachlan giggled, her nose wrinkled

"No, hell when I was a kid, before I decided I wanted to travel with a band. I wanted to be Papa Smurf."

Lachlan giggled again. "You'd look very nice, in that red pointy hat. If you ask me, you'd rock it."

Something about how pleasant and laid back the evening had been surprised Lachlan a bit. For some reason, she had thought things would be a little more complicated than what they had turned out to be. Both seemed to be able to carry on two sided conversation, for Lachlan that was important.

Lachlan hated nothing more, than going out with a guy, only to hear him talk about himself and things that she had no interest in hearing about. Sure, he answered her questions about himself when she was asked, he even explained a bit about what he did, but even then Lachlan had to ask him before he offered up information. For some reason, he seemed more interested in hearing what she had to say. Not that there was much to tell.

In the long run, Evan had to be one of the nicest guys she'd ever been out with that alone was a huge relief. It had been so long, since she'd last been on what one could even consider a date, she had thought at some point she'd ruin the evening and although she'd come close, by her thoughts taking over, things seemed to bounce back nicely.

As Evan's chevy rolled into the parking lot of Lachlan's apartment, she felt herself blush. She didn't exactly live in the nicest apartment in the state, but it was cozy, affordable and it was home. Those were the things that mattered to Lachaln. Glancing out the windshield at her apartment, Lachlan sighed.

"Well, I guess this is my stop." she smiled, turning slightly in her seat.

"I don't want to sound forward, but." Evan gripped his steering wheel. "Could we maybe, do this again some time?"

Lachlan nodded. "Yeah, sure I'd like that."

"You know, it's usually not often I go out. And actually enjoy it." Evan chuckled. "Most women don't care about anything, other than the fact they can use you to get to Alex Gaskarth."

"Who?" Lachlan cocked her head to the side

She was so new to this, Evan found it cute.

"He's...never mind." Evan laughed.

"Ok then." Lachlan herself laughed. Glancing at the clock that glowed from the stereo she motioned toward her building. "I should probably get in."

"Let me walk you in, I just...I'll feel better." Evan replied, undoing his seat belt

Opening her door, Lachlan slid out of the car before he had time to help her, like he had every other time she'd gotten in or out. Waiting at the front of the car for Evan, she smiled and held out her hand. Cautiously taking her hand, Evan followed her inside and to the elevator. He watched as Lachlan pressed the number for the floor she wanted then rested up against the wall.

When the elevator dinged and Lachlan stepped off, Evan quickly continued to follow her. Quietly they passed down the hall and stopped outside Lachlan's apartment. Giving Evan a small smile, as she pretended to fish for her keys, she debated asking him to come in, or just avoiding it. Closing her eyes tightly, Lachlan quickly counted to five, giving herself the five seconds to make the choice to ask or not.

"Found my keys." she announced, pulling them from her purse. Turning to unlock the door, she kept it closed. "Thanks for tonight."

Evan nodded. "You're welcome."

With a split second decision, Lachlan hoisted herself up onto her tip toes and gave him a quick kiss on the cheek.

"I'll see you another time?" she asked, with a smile. "Soon?"

"Sure." Evan replied, returning the quick kiss on the cheek, before Lachlan said good night and slipped inside the apartment.