I look at myself in the mirror.

Normally, on first dates, at least from what I knew from books and movies, a mother or best friend gets a girl ready for her first date. I didn't have either one of those. 

"I don't need one," I say to myself. 

My hair was in messy curls and I had paired a black long-sleeve turtleneck with a pair of skinny ripped jeans. 

Opening my jewelry drawer, I pull out a pair of thin gold hoops with a matching bracelet. 

The doorbell rang and I instinctively look up at my alarm clock which sat on the white table, next to my full bed. The lighting in my room was warm, blending into my peach bed-covers and decor. My full-length mirror sat on the side of the room, next to a white dresser. I smile as I look around my room. It was surprisingly clean, a contrast to the usual mess. 

The doorbell rang again and I tuck a strand of hair behind my ear. Walking to the door, a natural smile on my face, I open it. 

Storm had cleaned up too. 

He hands me a bouquet of gorgeous daises and I smile widely. They were my favorite flowers. 

I'm going to let myself be normal tonight. Just a teenage girl on a date. No Heroes, no Villains, no missions. 

"Hi," he says, softly. 

"Hi," I say, back. "Thanks for the flowers. They're lovely."

There's a silence.

"Do you want to— "

"Should we— "

Storm smile. "We should get going," he said. 

I nod and smile. "Where are we going?"

Storm looks at me. "Bowling."

YES! I grin. "Okay but I should warn you, if you're a sore loser you shouldn't play with me." I make a show of flexing my muscles. "I've never lost."

"Well then we better make sure you do this time," he says. 

All of a sudden, the awkward silence evaporates. We were just two kids going bowling to get to know each other. 

I punch him in the shoulder. "Sure. Sure. I guess we'll just have to see," I say, joking. 

He looks sideways at me, with a grin that gives me butterflies. "I guess we will," he says. 

I laugh. "I TOLD YOU I ALWAYS WIN," I say, joking.  

Storm shakes his head. "Sure, I totally didn't let you win," he says, hiding his smile. 

"Uh-huh, after not 1, not 2, but 3 gutterballs, I'm fairly certain that everyone here knows that I'm the winner," I say. I have a wide smile on my face, that seems almost unnatural.

He stops the game from the control panel, a grin on his face too. "Do you want to get something to eat?"

I glance at the clock. It's been almost three hours. We had played five games, which was more than usual I figured by looking around me. The place was almost empty. I nod my head, "Yeah. Let's go."

He turns around. "Diner or fancy Italian place?" he says. 

"Depends...who's paying," I say. 

He laughs. "I'll pay. Let's go to the Italian place."

I slide off my shoes and hold my hand out for his. "I'll pay for bowling," I say. 

He looks up hesitantly. "Okay." Pulling off his shoes, he hands them to me. "Thanks."

I nod. Taking our shoes to the counter, I pay quickly. "Let's go."

He nods, looking at me intensely. I feel butterflies again. 

"Okay. Stop," I say. 

"Stop what?" he says. Shaking his head, he looks at me again. 

"Looking at me...like that."

"You're gorgeous."

I blush bashfully. "Shut up."

"You are though," he says. 

"Let's go," I say. Avoiding his gaze, I pull on my white vans and head out the door, feeling his presence following me.

In ten minutes, we're seated at a table. 

"Well, that was fast," I say, putting the awkward scene at the bowling alley behind me.

"Yeah. What do you want to eat?" he asks. 

I look over the menu for the one thing I always eat at Italian restaurants. "Spinach ravioli." 

Storm scrunches up his nose. "Why would you ever eat something with spinach in the name?"

I squint my eyes. "Have you ever tried it?"

He shakes his head. 

My jaw drops. "You've never  had ravioli?"

He shakes his head again.

"Th-that's— HOW? It's so, so, so good," I say. 

He smiles, with a "she's crazy" look. "Sure."

"Nuh-uh, you have to try it. I cannot allow you to go a minute more into your life without trying ravioli," I say dramatically. 

He gives me an amused smile. "Okay..." he says. 

The waiter walks by and Storm waves him over. "One spinach ravioli and a bowl of tomato soup, please."

The waiter nods. "Drinks?"

Storm looks at me.

"Lemonade," I say with a smile. 

"Just water, please," Storm says. 

I grin. "So..."

"So..."

"We should get to know each other..." I remark.

"Yeah. Hi, I'm Storm," he says.

I give him an unamused look. "Favorite color?"

"Navy blue. You?"

"Peach."

"We're so cliche," he retorts. 

I shake my head. "Favorite food?"

"Pizza," we say at the same time. 

"Birthday?" he asks.

"January 25," I say, with a smile. It's coming up in a couple of weeks.

"June 4," Storm says. "We could've been one of those couples with the same birthday," he says, shaking his head. 

"Not my fault your parents decided to do it on the wrong day," I say.

He's silent at the mention of his parents and I don't press it. 

We spend the next ten minutes asking random questions to each other. 

"This is nice," Storm says suddenly. "Right?"

"Yeah, it is," I sigh, content. It's nice doing something normal, for once. 

As a waiter gives us our food, I a bite of my ravioli. I melt into it. "If you don't fall in love with ravioli after this...we can never talk again," I say. 

He smirks and gives me a questioning look. "It can't be that good," he says. 

I hand him my fork, acutely aware that I just took a bite from it. 

He doesn't seem to mind as he takes a bite. "Mmm," he says, before quickly covering it up. "It's not even that good," he shrugs. 

I raise an eyebrow. "Uh-huh," I say. "Sure."

He reaches for another bite but, I grab his hand. "I thought it wasn't even that good." 

"Yeah, well, I think I didn't get a big enough bite," he says. 

I laugh, grabbing my pasta back. "Drink your soup."

He gives me an unamused look. "I'm serious, I want another bite."

"Should've thought of that before you decided to insult my taste in food," I joke. 

He smiles, looking straight into my eyes, making my knees go week. His eyes sincere and lips dreamy. 

I melt. "One bite."

A victorious smirk appears on his face. 

He shouldn't have this kind of effect on you. 

I smile. I don't mind it.

We finish up our food with a few fights, ending up with me letting him have the rest of my ravioli. 

A grin lights up both of our faces, as he pays and walks me back to my dorm. 

He snakes his hand around my waist, asking with his eyes if it's okay. 

I nod. It feels nice. 

As we walk home he gives me a smile.

Finally reaching the door of my dorm, I face him, back against the door. 

"This was nice," I repeat what he said earlier. 

"It was," he nods.

I look up slightly, meeting his piercing gaze. I want him to kiss me. 

He pulls me in, his hand still around my waist. 

We're close enough to kiss now. Our noses a few millimeters apart. I can feel his warm breath against my skin. I feel him suck in a breath and it's like a dozen butterflies are knocking my lungs out as all the air rushes out of me. It's like being on a rollercoaster, but also the most secure and safe place in the world.

He swoops down to my ear and says, "Not yet, Ace. Not yet."

What a tease. 

I swat at him, the moment over. 

He smiles, turns, and walks away. 

Dee:

Welpy, welp, welp. He didn't kiss her. I think it was an okay date. Not enough detail? Did I skip through parts too much? I feel like I might've done that. Sorry!

Anyway, hope you liked this chapter! The next update will actually be before he even asks her out because I feel like there wasn't enough that happened between them and he asked her out too suddenly, so I'll be going back and doing that. 

See you next time!

*basic editing done 5/3