It's always bad news when you kill your date ~ Jay Leno
As soon as my phone chimes, I leap out of my bed and open the text.
Be there in 20 x
I fling my closet doors open and scan through the limited options. The one pair of non-black jeans sends first-date vibes so there are the bottoms. My eyes dart back and forth between the few blouses I have, yet none of them seem to work with the jeans... the brown sleeveless coat I have on the other hand? It matches perfectly. It's never been worn and what kind of occasion better than a first date to wear it? Add in a white singlet and that's my outfit sorted.
I head over to my dressing table where the little amount of makeup I own resides. My reflection in the mirror meets my eyes and it makes me smile. I'm not wearing black for the first time ever. For once, it actually looks like I'm going somewhere other than a funeral. Who even knew that I had clothes that weren't dark?
Just a little bit of foundation, I tell myself.
It covers the red on my pale complexion and I smile fondly at myself. But the faint pink glow of my cheeks fades along with the red and my smile disappears.
Maybe a little bit of blush too.
The pink returns as the brush tickles my skin. Once applied, I feel more satisfied... if it wasn't for the black lines that stand boldly from underneath my eyes.
A bit of concealer will fix that.
And by the end of it, there I am sitting with a fully caked face of makeup... just like all of those hoes who lost their virginity on the first date.
Shit. Am I a hoe?! My eyes widen in the mirror. Surely not. "You are not a hoe," I tell myself out loud, "Raven Garcia is not a hoe and never will be."
Self-pep talks really do work.
I grin to myself and shove my phone in the back pocket of my jeans. Downstairs is pretty much empty, thankfully. Cam is at a friend's house for the night and mom and Phil are spending a nice together as fiancees. It's still pretty shocking to me. Big boy Phil grew a pair and proposed. Proposed. They're going to have a ceremony where they'll vow to be there for eachother for the rest of their lives and the rest of mom's life basically means the rest of Cam's life and the rest of my life. Cam won't mind because Phil has been the major father figure in his life. Me on the other hand... well, we all know how I feel.
Doing this basically pushed dad out completely so there goes any chance of a family reunion! My gut sinks for dad. He loved mom and my sixth sense tells me he still does. But she never even apologized. At least Tony tried to!
A pair of bright lights appear in the driveway and I throw on a pair of brown boots to match the coat. There's no need to lock the door, per mom's request. My boots clip clop against the concrete. Nate doesn't get out of the car. I slide into the passenger seat and smile at him. He's wearing a pair of black jeans and a white t-shirt that outlines his abs. Any other girl sitting in this seat here would be drooling and ruining their makeup. But it's me. So I don't. Because I prefer nerds to jocks.
"You look beautiful," he says.
I don't blush. "Thanks. You look good," I tell him.
He grins and his dimples appear. The car backs out, away from the house and we drive off into the night sky.
We're walking along some footpath somewhere. Nate's arm dangles over my shoulder again and once again, it makes me feel uncomfortable. If it wasn't seen as rude in society, I would've asked him to remove his arm. Maybe I just need adjusting. I mean, I like someone yet I'm on a date with another person. Yes, that's it.
I place my hand on top of his. It still doesn't work. My other hand slides into the pocket of my jeans. It still doesn't work. I drop my hand from the top of his and rest my head in the nook of my shoulder. This is the most uncomfortable I've ever felt and I walked in on my mom with someone who isn't my dad.
"You alright?" Nate asks which thankfully gives me an excuse to lift my head up.
I stumble for words, "oh, um... yeah. I think..."
"You're nervous," he chuckles, "why are you nervous?"
I'm nervous, alright. "Like I said, I've never had a boyfriend let alone been on a date before," I remind him.
"You don't need to have a boyfriend to be able to date," he corrects, "and you have nothing to worry about with me. I know you and you know me, and I would never do anything that you should feel nervous about."
Wow. I am using this boy as a distraction. He shouldn't be here with me, he should be out there wooing some girl who actually wants to pursue him and who won't use him like this. A small smile forms on my face. I don't know how to reply to that.
We stop outside of the local movie theatre and I furrow my brows at him, "a movie? And to think you were different to other guys."
"Hey, this is just the first date. I'm saving impressing you for future ones," he winks.
Oh my God. I should end this right here, right now and tell him the truth to save him from getting his heart broken. But I don't, I just laugh. I laugh.
"Which movie do you want to see? A good one where we actually enjoy it or a bad one where we can just talk through the whole thing?" he says, but I see the specs of desire in his eyes. 'Talk through the whole thing' is just lingo for let's make out the whole time.
I shrug awkwardly, "it's up to you."
"Do you like those old kind of films? My ex-girlfriend hated them. We can watch one of those," he suggests.
Now, I am well aware that I am the worst relationship adviser, but when your date mentions their ex, I am pretty sure that that isn't a good sign. "Sure thing," I simply reply. He doesn't notice my unease.
It's also pretty bad when your date is clueless. Even though I call Peter clueless, if he was my date, he would sense my discomfort and--
He's not your date though, so get him out of your head Garcia!
I hang back near the snack bar and focus on the popcorn popping. It gives me some satisfaction, but still doesn't get Peter out of my head. People pass by and stare at me awkwardly. I can't tell if it's just me or if it's really happening, but it seems as if it is. I whip out my phone. Fake-texting one would only make me feel like an idiot so it is decided that I'll really text someone.
I tap on dad's contact and open our messages.
I miss you. Can I come visit? Queens sucks, people suck, everything sucks. I'm only exaggerating... or am I? I'm on a date and it sucks and mom and Phil are getting married. They're getting MARRIED dad and
My thumb presses down on the backspace button, erasing the entire message. I need to stop complaining him and worrying him, especially right now and especially like this.
"All about Eve."
My heart leaps out of my chest. Nate has appeared by my side holding two pieces of white paper. "What?" I ask.
"All about Eve. That's the old movie they're showing tonight," he declares.
Oh. "That's great!" I exclaim genuinely.
"Good sarcasm! I almost fell for it for a second," he bellows and laughs heartily, "any old movie sucks, to be honest."
I wasn't being sarcastic, jerk. All About Eve is a fantastic movie and one of the best out there! As a punishment, I will focus solely on the movie and not at all on him.
"Right," I force a laugh.
Nate orders a large tub of popcorn and one drink, one drink... for us to share. Looks like I'll be staying thirsty throughout. He hands me the tub and I hold it, not even bothering to eat any of it.
We enter the cinema which is practically empty except for one couple. "Where do you want to sit?" Nate asks me.
My eyes dart around the cinema and focus on the two people sitting next to eachother. The curly haired figure rests their head on the shoulder of the brown-haired one. My eyes adjust to the lighting when I realize who it is.
Holy shit.
I only know one curly-haired and light brown-haired couple. What are the chances that they're watching the same movie as us, on the same night, at the same time?! "This way," I shove my hand into Nate's and drag him into the seats directly behind MJ and Peter.
The two are too engrossed in a conversation to notice me. He sits on my right and I sit directly behind Peter. Nate leans over my seat and whispers in my ear, "I know I gave you the choice to choose, but did you have to choose the seats right behind the one other couple?"
I ignore him and fold my arms across my chest, trying to overhear the discussion they're having. But the movie starts and they fall silent so I lean back and try to actually enjoy a good movie despite the surrounding distractions... then a large group of Nate's jock and cheerleader friends enter the cinema.
"What are they doing here?" I whisper-shout at Nate. There is no way I will be able to watch now, with all of them chatting. The number of them is abundant and I peer over them all to try and see if Cassie is among them.
He shrugs, "just ignore them. They're annoying, especially when they find out I'm on a date with someone who isn't one of us."
It still seems very suspicious...
Peter and MJ are very interested in the film. I'm not surprised though. They're into these kind of things; old, foreign and Star Wars. The jocks on the other hand? I'm pretty sure that there was a 50 Shades of Gray screening, yet they're here. A bunch of the louder and more annoying ones wave erratically at Nate as they scale the stairs. He gives them a small wave back. One of them winks and makes out with the palm of his hand. Nate merely winks.
Something is very off.
The movie has barely even started and I already want to leave. MJ leans over towards Peter and whispers something in his ear which makes him laugh. My heart breaks. He kisses her on the cheek. My heart shatters. Then he does the cliche movie-yawn-first-date thing and my heart explodes with pain. I have never felt anything so intense towards someone like I do now.
"Raven?" Nate whispers suddenly.
I face him in annoyance. I was just beginning to enjoy the movie. "Yes?" I ask.
Then he does something I never expected him to do in a million years: he licks his lips, sighs... and crashes his lips onto mine.