LAUREN
Unknown Number: Hi! This is Alex! I was wondering if you wanted to go on a date tomorrow? Maybe go and see a movie together?
I gasped and slapped Alyssa on the arm rapidly. Her eyes darted as she looked over the text, before she shrieked and bounced up and down. My dorm room mattress rocked violently, strained creaking sounds coming from under it.
"Oh my gosh! Yes! Say yes! You're free tomorrow!" She squeezed my arm. I squirmed away and beamed. My gray blankets swirled around me as I twisted.
"Am I free tomorrow?"
"Even if you aren't, you need to clear your schedule. This is top priority! We need to get you something to wear!" She rambled. Her fingers wrapped tightly around my wrist, leaving whitened imprints where she held it.
"I hope I still have my arm by then," I teased her. She loosened her grip and looked over my shoulder as I was typing back.
"Oh, no! You can't respond like that! Give me your phone." She snatched it away, and I helplessly retorted.
"But that's how I respond to you when you text me to make plans. I'm trying to sound cool and casual." She smirked and shook her head.
"Laurie, this is a boy. It's different. You need to appeal to him!" Alyssa waved her fingers in the air as she finished typing out the text. She gave me back the phone, and I read it over.
"I am not sending this."
"Fine, write whatever you want, I tried to help," she shrugged disapprovingly and grabbed her own phone again. I retyped a simple response and sent it.
Me: Sure! What were you thinking?
Alex: Stranded? It just came out and the reviews are really good.
I bit my lip nervously. "Alyssa, he wants to go see Stranded."
"Then go see Stranded," she encouraged nonchalantly, not looking up. I stared at her anxiously, and finally she sighed and met my gaze.
"It's a horror movie though."
Alyssa gave me a sympathetic smile and squeezed my arm again, more gently this time. "You've got a very limited window to get this guy. You've got to simply mirror his personality and be his dream girl. He's probably only going to be here for a couple of weeks. The first step to marrying this man and living happily ever after in a mansion, is getting a second date."
I replied, a little louder than required. "Who said anything about marriage?"
"Look, do you want to date him or not? Appeal. To. Him. Those are the magic words. I'm trying to help," she sternly advised. I sighed.
This was my favorite member of my favorite band. Why wouldn't I try to impress him? Maybe if I made it through this one movie, it would pleasant enough of an experience for him to ask me on a second date. That was the goal, according to Alyssa.
"I know you can do it," Alyssa announced. She bounced on the bed excitedly again. I hesitated, before typing up a reply, and then sending it.
Me: Sounds good, what time?
Alex: I'll pick you up at 8?
Me: Perfect!
<====><====>
A knock sounded from the hallway and I twisted the silver ring around my finger nervously. Alyssa stared at me from her bed, an encouraging smile on her lips. I took a deep breath and closed my eyes.
"You can do this, Laurie."
I smiled warmly and then nodded. "You bet I can."
"Go get him, Tiger."
I opened my eyes wide, reached for the worn down knob, and pulled open the door, revealing Alex on the other side. He rubbed the back of his neck, and jammed his other hand into his pocket. I couldn't help but smile. I had seen enough Lightning Avenue trivia, videos, vines, and interviews to know that Alex rubbed the back of his neck when he was nervous. It felt kind of good to know I wasn't the only one.
"Um, hi," I grinned and tucked a strand of my meticulously straightened hair, thanks to Alyssa, behind my ear.
"Hi, you look nice."
I looked down at what I was wearing briefly. A cute black skirt, a gray tank top, and an old denim jacket. I twisted the ring again and blushed. "Thanks." Alex linked elbows with me and began walking down the hallway to the stairs.
"So now that introductions are out of the way, how has your week been since we last met?" He started, and we strolled out to the parking lot where a cab was waiting.
"Alright, I guess, pretty much an ordinary week, you?"
"Well, anything but ordinary, I met you," he winked. I blushed to a shade that can only be described as volcanic. Alex Morrison was going on a date with me. That realization had yet to kick in.
He gave me a cheeky grin and opened the cab door.
"After you."
I hopped into the backseat, and scooting to the end of the row of seats. The driver turned to look at me. "Where to?"
"What movie theater are we going to, Alex?" He was buckling his seat belt.
"Uh, West 54th," he recalled and then turned to me. "So, where is your absolute favorite place to eat?"
"I guess I like Panera." I decided. He nodded.
"Mine's KFC." I smirked at his response, and his eyebrows furrowed. "What?"
"Well, you say it like it's a secret. But everyone on the planet knows you like KFC," I explained. His eyes clouded over for a second, and then he looked at me and smiled.
"Yeah, I guess you're right," he joked.
"I'm sorry if that's awkward or anything," I bit my lip, wanting to stop the words from tumbling out. "I mean, I was a fan before you asked me out and stuff, so I do know some things about you, sorry-"
"No, there's no need to be sorry." he stopped me gently. "I volunteered for this sort of thing when I joined the band and signed that record deal, and so it's something I'm used to, or have to get used to. Why don't you ask me about something you don't know yet?"
I didn't want to tell him I already knew everything the internet had ever discovered. Every single detail. I asked the first thing that came to my mind.
"What's your favorite color--"
"Blue," he immediately responded. "Was that too fast?"
I giggled and shook my head. "Mine's white, because white is the color of snow."
"Snow can be gray too," he pointed outside the car window to the gray sludge sloshing around the streets. I shrugged.
"Yeah, but white snow is prettier. In Minnesota, it's the whitest it can possibly be. It sparkles and twinkles, and you just want to dip into the layers that fell from the heavens and wrap yourself in the frosty crystals. It's so pure, that you wake up one morning and when you look outside you're blinded by the sheets of clouds on your lawn. And it's so even, the snow sits like paper, with tiny ripples from the wind you notice when your nose is inches away. That's the white that I like. That's the color of snow that I mean." I rambled on, remembering how the flakes delicately rested on tree branches, frosting them like a cake. I felt a sudden bit homesickness creep into my lungs.
"That sounds like quite a sight," he smiled as I slowly sank back into reality. "I just like blue because of the ocean or whatever." I laughed airily. He popped his head up next to the taxi driver. "Could we maybe listen to some music?"
The driver pressed a button on the dash, kicking up the speakers by our feet. A song started playing, that I immediately recognized, and I couldn't help but start to sing along. Alex's eyes lit up when he heard the first chord, and he excitedly turned to me.
If our love was a masterpiece
It would be the color of the cloudy sunset
A beautiful goodbye into the night
Leaving the stars so we never forget
The driver sighed. Alex's band was obviously not his cup of tea.
If our love was a masterpiece
It would be the color of the ocean night
A pallet of blues, all different hues
The tide full of dreams to hold onto tight
We slowed to a stop in front of the theater, and Alex payed the driver, who immediately turned off the radio. I saw out of the corner of my eye the wooded poster for Stranded with hundreds of monster talons and teeth. The walls of my stomach caved in.
"You alright, Lauren?" He asked, raising an eyebrow. I took one more look at poster, before turning back to him and nodding.
"Yeah, I'm fine. Let's go watch this movie!" I grinned, and pulled him through the spinning door and into the theater.
<====><====>
Blood and evil figures filled the screen. I whimpered.
Tears were streaming down my face like two salty waterfalls. I bit my lip so hard I felt a sore developing, but I watched, eating popcorn to mask my sobs. Why had I done this to myself? Would it really have been so hard to suggest a different movie?
At least Alex seemed to be enjoying the thrill. Of course he squirmed and screamed at jump scares, like everyone else in the theater, but when he did it, his eyes glowed, as if he was absorbing it all in like a child at the zoo.
One of the teenagers called out on the screen, trying to find her friends as she had gotten separated from the group. I clamped down on my tongue with my teeth, knowing she was going to die. Just waiting for the monster to come out and kill her.
It popped out from behind a tree at the girl, tentacles and teeth and slime, and I couldn't help it. I let out a final shriek of terror, before leaning forward, and blowing chunks into my popcorn. My tears flowed freely, and sweat bubbled and boiled on my skin.
I had puked into my popcorn bag.
But that thought barely registered in time. Alex glanced over at me, and his eyes widened in shock and concern upon closer examination.
"What happened?" he whispered urgently. I shook my head, trying not to breathe in the smell of my own vomit. Sweat clung to the back of my neck, and I squirmed like a bacteria under a microscope. My blood red face burned from embarrassment and the bad taste in my mouth. His jaw twitched as he helped me out of my seat. I was shaking and crying so much, I barely noticed we were moving, until I was being helped into the unisex bathroom. My hands rested on the cool, unsanitary bathroom counter. I leaned over the sink, and my weight plunged down heavily on my wrists.
"I'm sorry," I fumbled, my tongue was a thick, slow slug. He chuckled, and held steadily onto my shoulders while I splashed cool, refreshing water on my tongue and forehead.
I had vomited. I had vomited in front of Alex Morrison, on our date. There was no way he was asking me out a second time now. I collapsed onto the bathroom floor in a fit of sobs, sitting with my legs folded to the side and my head heavy in my hands. Snot and tears wove together as they slid down down my face.
"What's wrong?" He asked softly, kneeling down to my level. I couldn't look at him.
"I'm s-sorry. I'm a total mess. And you aren't going to ask me on a second date because I can't handle scary movies. A-and you probably think I'm disgusting-ing. I'm just really embarrassed! I'm sorry," I rambled out with inconsistent hiccups.
He laughed loudly. I lifted my head out of my hands to look at him. My face flushed to a peppery red, which matched my irritated eyes and nose.
"Why didn't you tell me that you didn't like scary movies? We didn't have to go to a scary movie!" He laughed some more. I wiped my eyes with the backs of my hands, mascara running onto my skin. "I only decided on a scary movie because I knew I could handle it, and I wanted to impress you with how brave I was or whatever," he explained bashfully. I looked up at him.
"You wanted, to impress me?" I was stunned. He nodded.
"Yeah, you like Panera, and your favorite color is white. What's not to impress?"
"It is," I laughed softly. "That's really all you know about me."
"For now, but it's enough to know that you are an incredible person who deserves a lot of wonderful things," He smiled sweetly, and helped me stand up.
"Thanks, Alex," I managed to mumble. He pulled me into a hug and I shut my eyes tight.
"Do you want me to walk you back to your building?" I could feel his empathetic smile. I nodded, and he wrapped his arm around my shoulder and guided me out of the bathroom.