Arnia arrived home to her room mate and her boyfriend sitting on the second hand couch with a bottle of bubbly and a handwritten banner strung out on the living room door way. She smiled at them, but before doing so she was hit with a loud shout "SURPRISE!"
"Oooh guys." She smiled, "You shouldn't have... I mean, you shouldn't have... I have a date tonight."
Daria spit out her champagne, "What?!" She rose up and held Arnia by the shoulders, "With who?!"
"It's a long story... See, when that Blazer hit me, he signalled me to the pull-over lane. He got out and apparently... It was Toby Turner. I tried to run off as quickly as I could, but then I saw him at the convention center, which I won because the other guy didn't show up and... Well, Toby wanted to exchange information so he invited me to dinner." Arnia began blushing and pulling at her sleeves. Daria's boyfriend promptly dropped his glass while Daria stood there stupified.
"Oh my god, you're kidding." Daria's jaw was on the floor, "We have to get you dressed up! I have the perfect outfit!"
Arnia backed off a little, "I just wanted to take a shower. It's a business exchange, I used the wrong word. Date is a strong, stroooong word."
Daria began pushing her into the bathroom, "Not taking no for an answer, you get washed up and I'm making you pretty!" Daria shut the door, "Don't come out till you're sparkling!"
"... Weirdo." Arnia took off all her clothes, meanwhile the business card slipped out of her pocket. She stared down at it, "Maybe I should call him and warn him." She picked up her phone and punched in the digits before a voice picked up.
"Hello?" Toby's voice answered enthusiastically.
"Hey, It's me. Arnia, from the convention?" She had a hopeful tone in her voice.
He laughed a bit, "Oh, hi... Well, now I know exactly who you are. You ready to go?"
She sighed, "No, I'm naked and my room mate's threatening to make me pretty."
He got nervous for a second, "Uh, well, is that a bad thing?"
"Well, not really." She put the phone on her bare shoulder and turned on the water, "I just don't wear make up a lot."
"Why not? Make-up makes girls pretty." He laid back on his hotel bed and shrugged.
"I'm a gamer. I don't need make-up, I'm not trying to look for a man." She looked at her nude body in the mirror, "I'm trying to save a princess half the time."
He gave another small laugh, "Alright. Well, just tell me when you're ready and I'll come by and pick you up."
She raised an eyebrow, "How about I meet you somewhere?"
"... Okay, you got me. I don't know where anything is, help me out here... Pleassssse?" Toby gave a small pout, "You used to be my faaaaaaan."
She sighed again, "Fine. Don't start showing up to my apartment randomly or anything though."
"Well, you ruined my plans for the next two weeks." He smiled.
"Alright, well... Seeya." She smiled, hanging up the phone. She put the phone on the bathroom counter and got in the shower, cleaning herself up and thinking about life.
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Toby laid back on his bed and turned on the TV, thinking about the day's events. "Well, I've got a date with a girl whose about a seven on the scale... Wait, not a date." He paced about, thinking about what to do with his car, "It's not totaled, so I could repair it easily... Buff out the scratches and It'll all be good. Not much money... But her fender fell off. How am I going to pay for that?" He looked in the mirror, and a light bulb went off in his head, "... Wellll, I am quite charming. Maybe if I take her on a night on the town, she'll forget... Heck, a night on the town will help me forget too."
He looked through his suitcase and picked out a pair of black slacks and a white button up. He then picked up his iPhone and skyped one of his friends, Felix.
"Hey bro! What's up? OOooh, looking snazzy." Felix smiled on the webcam.
"I need some advice on my outfit." Toby admitted sheepishly, "Could you and Marzia help, possibly?"
"Sure, Marzia! It's Toby, he needs advice!" Felix called for her as toby looked sheepishly at the camera, "I mean, you look good already. What's the occasion?"
"Well, I've got an informal business meeting to exchange information." Toby shrugged, "It's KIND OF like a date but not really. I want to impress a girl so she'll forget about a car wreck."
"That's kind of..." Felix trailed off as Marzia walked into the room.
"Shallow... I know, but what am I supposed to do? I rear-ended her and I don't know what to do." Toby sighed, "I don't know if my insurance will cover it."
"You're talking about a car, right?" Marzia chirped in, beautiful as ever.
They all enjoyed a small chuckle before Toby spoke up, "Yes, but uhm... Could you help me with my outfit?"
"Sure!" Marzia smiled warmly, examining his outfit as he stood in front of the mirror, "What kind of girl is she?"
"She's a gamer-girl. Like, an actual one. She won the first round today in Indiana." Toby slightly bragged, "Her friend is dressing her up though, so... I have no idea what to wear."
"She's probably got a dress or something. Your clothes look fine, just wear a nice jacket over your button up.. Or roll the sleeves up if you don't want to get sweaty." She shrugged, "Also, comb your hair!"
"So, she won the first round in Indiana? ... I thought they put you in a place in the US." Felix was cuddled up to Marzia on the call.
"No, no. Indiana is a place in the US. It's a state... It's not much of one though." Toby began rolling his sleeves as he put his phone against the hotel lamp to make it stand, "How is it?"
Felix and Marzia looked at each other for a few moments before smiling and nodding, "Looks good. Now go freshen up. Brofist for luck?" They all did a long distance fist bump before hanging up. Toby stood in silence before he looked up at the clock; It was eight thirty at night, and was worried all the restaraunts would close before Arnia's friend would be finished. He panicked slightly and looked to his phone, hoping for the call to relinquish his hunger. If it was too much longer, he'd just bring her back to the hotel for room service.
He looked through his old jeans and found the wad of money, looking at it with a glow of pride, dimmed with the guilt of his conscience. He betted on a girl he didn't even know and now planned on charming her so he wouldn't have to pay for a car accident... He was a mess and he knew it. No one really knew how broken inside Toby was or how deminished his morals had become. His mother would be ashamed to see him like this. He put his head down and stayed in deep thought, scolding himself internally.
"It's just for the money..." He whispered, "Not for the habit..."
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"Hold still! STAHP!" Daria held Arnia in place as she curled her hair slightly.
Arnia struggled, "WHY ARE YOU DOING THIS?"
"BECAUSE YOU'RE GOING ON A DATE WITH A CELEBRITY. DO YOU NOT UNDERSTAND THIS CONCEPT?" Daria sprayed her hair furiously, "Call it what you want, it's a date!"
"No it's not!" Arnia coughed slightly in the mist of the hairspray, "It's not a date! He already hooked up with a girl!"
"Oh yeah, who?" Daria flipped Arnia toward her and smeared some gloss on her lips, "He asked you on a date. Not her."
Arnia blushed, "You remember Frankie who used to come over when I was practicing?"
Daria's jaw gaped again, "You're kidding." she shrugged, "Atleast you're prettier than her."
"She had breast implants put in since last year." Arnia put her head down as it was jerked up by Daria, who then proceeded to put eye shadow on her, "I swear if she wasn't so mean I could go lesbian for her."
"You better not go lesbian tonight." Daria laughed at her own joke, quieting down after she realized that Arnia wasn't laughing. Suddenly there was a loud ring on the bathroom counter, causing both the girls to jump. Arnia picked it up and looked at the caller ID, surprised to see a familiar number pop up...
"Arnia... It's me, Franklin. We need to talk." Franklin sounded concerned on the phone, "It's about Toby."
"How do you even have my number?" Arnia was about to hang up when Franklin started chiming in.
"I saw you and Toby Turner talking... He's not being friendly to you just because you're a fan." Franklin continued on, "He has something way bigger in mind for you."
"Like what? He's an actor with money, what can he get off of me?" Arnia chuckled, "Look, I heard what happened from some of the other gamers. You lost your cool, I don't judge you for it, but there's no need to bring Toby into it. He has nothing to do with you losing."
"He molested me in the men's room. If you're not careful, he'll do it to you too." Franklin sniffled a bit, "I kissed him and he took advantage of me... I'm just the biggest fan of him and I just wanted to see if he'd let me do it.."
Daria sighed and took the phone from Arnia, "Look, Frankie, just because Arnie got a date with Toby doesn't mean he wants to jump her. Maybe you're just lying to us. We have no proof and neither do you." Daria took the phone from her ear, "Now go back to your own business." she then slid it shut and hung up, handing the phone back to Arnia, "That's how you handle drama."
Daria continued to priss her up as Arnia started to go pale, "What if he does try something? I mean, he's probably desperate..." Arnia shook her head feverishly, "It's not a date though."
"Honey, that's easy. If you want it, go for it. If you don't, tell him no." Daria smiled.
Arnia stuttered slightly, "I-it's only a business exchange. It won't lead anywhere. I won't let it. That's unclassy."
"You have a whole life ahead of you to be classy. You're young, go have fun." Daria giggled as she applied some blush on to her face.
Arnia sat still as make up was being applied to her already rosy cheeks, "You're really a bit too smart to act preppy."
Daria stepped back as she finished applying products to her face, "If I acted smart all the time, I'd get no where and I'd get speeding tickets." She handed Arnia a mirror, "See? You're definitely prettier than Franklin. Those tits are as inflated as her ego." And, indeed, for one of the first times in her life, Arnia was made up to be pretty. She touched her face and smiled with her now shining lips. It was hard for Arnia to speak, so as always, Daria did it for her, "Now let's get you dressed for business success."
"Alright." Arnia's voice was meak as she was being lead to her room mate's closet.
"Now let's see... You have dark hair and I've given you a very subtle look..." Daria grabbed some outfits and laid them out on the bed. She stopped dead in her tracks as she eyed something in the depths of the closet, "Oh yeah. This is it."
"What is it?" Arnia started glancing at her in curiousity. Daria pulled out a plunge-necked black dress, dashed white white from the waist down. It was a bit short for Arnia's taste, but it was quite pretty even when daria showed her the white corset-backing. "Well, it's probably a little too small for me. How about a pair of jeans?"
"Nope. Take off the towel, and put it on." Daria sounded like her mother sometimes, but Arnia did indeed take off her towel. "Dude. Not in front of me." Daria covered her eyes as Arnia put on the dress.
"Could you help me with the back?" Arnia twirled around in the full length mirror of the closet. She, if anything, did not look like herself at all; maybe she could just blow Toby off if she wore this. She suddenly got morose at the thought of ditching Toby. She had nothing else to do except hang with Daria and her boyfriend, and they probably wanted alone time. Her thoughts were interrupted by a sudden jerk from her back side.
"It fits you almost perfect." Daria pulled the strings, squeezing the backing together, "I wish my hips could fit this... Mine are too small." Arnia slipped her hands over the velvet-like fabric and looked into the dingy mirror. Even in the dirty reflection, she looked gorgeous. She was definately not an Arnia tonight; maybe she could change her name for the evening... She thought she could be an Evelyn or a Janice. She was absolutely stunning.
"What about my bra or... underwear?" Arnia suddenly clenched her legs together, realizing she was bare in the lower area.
Daria winced a little bit, "That's in your area. Not mine... Some guys think it's hot to not wear underwear."
"Business exchange." Arnia eyed her in the mirror, "I didn't shave, so it's not going anywhere."
"You're not fooling anyone." Daria smirked, eyeing her legs, "Your gams are hairless. No girl can go through the trouble of shaving their legs for a 'business exchange' then think, 'My crotch is good'." She patted arnia on the back, "Don't sit like a man, cross your legs, and make sure you don't get too turnt up."
"I'm just going to go get underwear." Arnia laughed, then exited the room, "Thanks though." She walked to the bathroom and picked up her clothes, throwing them into the dirty clothes pile. Then, she looked through her drawers for a pair of dainties, only to realize there were only one pair left: Her special occasion panties. They were black with lace trim, the only problem being that the were see-through. She had only worn them on the night of her first date and it had been diasastrous; waiter came late with their food, date ended up seeing a bunch of his ex's, the car broke down, she broke her shoe, and her date ending up leaving her stranded in the middle on Indianapolis because he had gotten her address wrong. She silently prayed to herself as she slipped them on under the dress, "Please let this not be a disaster..."
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Toby sighed, nibbling on cheetos as he walked down the hotel hallway. As he walked he bumped into a few fans, many of them asking for pictures, which he happily obliged with his cheeto stained fingers. He chatted with them for a few spare moments before he excused himself due to his phone ringing in his pocket. He used his pinky to answer his phone, trying not to grease it up, "Hello?"
"Her body is ready." Daria laughed as she handed the phone to Arnia.
"What?" Toby was extremely confused at the moment, dropping his cheetos, "damn it."
"Sorry, that was my friggin' room mate. I'm ready to go. Need my address?" Arnia was reluctantly perky.
Toby bent over to get his cheetos before answering her, "Of course not, you know. I totally know where a stranger lives."
"It's 104 E. Broderick Rd. Apartment 7." Arnia smiled, "You've surprised me before."
Toby couldn't see her smile, but he could somehow hear it in her voice, "Alright. I'll be there in a little bit depending on traffic." He smiled softly, finding himself looking forward to it now. Arnia seemed to be a nice girl, "Maybe we can be friends after the tournaments are done." Toby thought to himself quietly, "Why can't more girls be like that?"