Seb had been a mess for three days straight. He was thrown between despair and bliss, all because of a few stray messages here and there. No more phone calls, no more talking. Yesterday his need for Kaiden became so strong that he went to the café after school. He even braved to go inside, but to his dismay, Kaiden wasn't there. 

The only person who had helped him stay sane was Tyra. She had been utterly amazing. He was sure Dylan would have helped him too, if not for the fact that Dylan was completely focused on Zach. If Seb hadn't been crushing on Kaiden, he would have found it odd, but now he understood. So instead of shooting Dylan angry stares, he had tried to be as nice as he could. He was sure Dylan wouldn't abandon them completely. 

Now, Tyra, she had made sure he didn't go insane while waiting for Kaiden to respond to messages. She also prevented him from sending a couple; telling him that he shouldn't invest too much before he knew that Kaiden was interested. Of course, Seb agreed, but it was still increasingly harder to follow her advice. 

Tyra sat next to him, munching on her salad. It was Friday, and the lunch room was filled with excited teenagers. They were buzzing with gossip and rumors about parties. Apparently there would be a big one tomorrow, but Seb wasn't particularly interested. 

"You're awfully silent today, boo," Tyra said, before biting into a cherry tomato. He blushed and looked away. She already knew why he was silent, but obviously she wasn't going to let him get away with it.

"What movie are you gonna watch?" she asked. 

"I dunno," Seb replied. His voice barely carried. He was so nervous that he had a hard time thinking; eating was out of the question. Tyra sent him a wry smile. 

"Don't be nervous, I'm sure you'll have a great time. Just don't let him into your pants." 

If Seb's mouth hadn't been empty, he would have coughed out food all over the table. He looked up at her, mortified. 

"I'm just kidding, Seb. Don't worry!" 

She was laughing at him, loud and clear, and it did nothing to settle him down. 

"Not funny!"

"Oh, you're so cute when you're pouting!" she cried, and giggled some more. 

"You're a lousy friend, Tyra," he bit back, but for some reason he couldn't be angry with her. 

"Am not!" she said, and pinched his cheek.

"Tyra!" he whined. 

"Oh, come on! I have to pinch someone's cheek. Might as well be yours."

"Don't think so..." he threatened. 

"Aww, that pout again," she cooed, and pinched him a second time. 

Two plates landed on the table, and Seb looked up. Dylan and Zach. Seb was still a bit uncertain around Zach, but right now he was happy they were here to save him from Tyra. 

"Tyra, you're harassing my friend," Dylan said, and placed a protective arm around Seb's shoulders.

"Am not!" Tyra retorted. 

"You are!" Seb replied, feeling much better now that Dylan was here. Something about his friend just made him less insecure. He wouldn't call it sure of himself, but at least it was better than before he met Dyl. 

"See, Tyra, you are," Dylan filled in.

"You two are boring," she grumbled and bit into another cherry tomato.

Zach chuckled, and the sound was so shocking that the other three looked up and stared at the guy. Zach shrugged his shoulders, as if saying, what, before attacking his food again. 

"So, date night," Dylan said, wiggling his eyebrows towards Seb.

"Yeah..."

"Nervous?"

Seb rolled his eyes in reply. Of course he was nervous. 

"You have nothing to be nervous about, I saw how he looked at you, Seb. You're in for a great night. Just relax and have fun. Let him lead the way," Dylan continued.

"No no no, don't let him get into your pants, I already told you," Tyra joked, feigning a stern expression.

"You're not my mother, Tyra," Seb replied.

"Thank God for that! I would never force you to do homework, I would let you roam free, like teenagers should," she replied. He smiled at that, and realized that his friends had managed to settle his nerves a bit. He wasn't as tightly strung, and the food in front of him started to look a bit more appetizing.

When the last class ended for the day, Seb had already built up a new set of insecurities and worries. Or rather, they were the old ones, but back in full force. He would have a couple of hours at home, and he didn't look forward to them at all. It would be endless waiting and trying on item after item of clothing. He couldn't think of something more nerve-wrecking to do before a date.

"Hey, Seb, wait!" he heard Tyra shout after him as he went outside towards the yellow buses. He turned around and squinted to avoid the bright sun. 

"What's up?" he asked as she caught up. 

"Why don't we find something for you to wear tonight. I was going to the mall anyway."

He beamed, here was his rescuer, arriving at the best moment possible. "Yeah, that would be great!"

"Cool, you wanna see if Dylan wants to come?"

"Nah, let him hang out with Zach."

"You sure? I mean, I know he would be happy to help."

"I think we can manage without Dylan, you've got better style than him anyway," he said, and grinned as he saw a satisfied smirk land on Tyra's face. Flattery always worked. 

An hour later, they had scoured the stores and found nothing. Of course they had found stuff, but nothing that Seb wanted to wear on his first date. Either it was too relaxed, or it was too much. Tyra scrunched her face together in thought. Then she seemed to have an epiphany, because she practically yelled out: "Now I know!"

Seb couldn't help but giggle, even if he felt a little weird as people around them shot them long stares. 

"Come on, I know the perfect store," Tyra said and grabbed his arm, tugging him along. They went deeper inside the mall, and then Tyra took an unexpected turn and let him into a small store with a lot of goth-looking stuff everywhere. Seb's eyes widened. He grabbed his hand around Tyra's arm and dragged her closer, leaning in to whisper in her ear: "What are we doing here?"

"Trust me, I know the perfect outfit," she mock-whispered back. When she saw his worried face, she added, "if not, I'll buy us both ice-cream." 

"I'm not a child you can bribe with ice-cream, Tyra," he said, arching an eyebrow. 

"Pft, it works on everyone, now come!"

She dragged him into the store and started to throw black skinny jeans and fake-washed-out band shirts at him. He stared at the collection that piled up in his arms. 

"You sure about this?" he asked. 

"You'll look great in those jeans, and you've said no to every shirt I've shown you so far. So - tada!" she sang, and placed yet another shirt on the growing stack of clothes. 

Seb sighed and looked around for a place to try on all those clothes. He found one little narrow booth and shut it behind him. He heard Tyra begin to pace outside, clearly excited to see him dress up. He got out of his loose fitting washed out jeans and looked skeptically on the black skinny ones. He stepped into them, started to tug, and got about half-way. 

"Tyra, I don't think they fit!"

"I think they're your size, let me see."

"No, you can't come in here."

"...'course I can," she said, and barged into the small booth. There was hardly enough space for both of them, but Tyra didn't seem to care in the least. "They'll fit, you're just unused to them. Like this," she showed, and began to pull them further up. 

"Tyra!" he cried. "Let me try again, there's no need to dress me..."

"Sure, go ahead," she replied and let go, putting her hands at her sides with a satisfied grin in her face. 

When he finally got the pants on, she handed him a band shirt. "Try this on, it'll look awesome."

He shrugged out of his t-shirt and pulled the other one on. Tyra gave off a low whistle and shoved him out of the booth. "See, you look great!"

Seb turned around and found a full-lenght mirror. Tyra was right. He did look good in this. Simple, but nice. The dark colors brought out the green in his eyes. He pulled his bangs to the side and turned towards Tyra. "I think this works."

"You bet it does, you look hot! Kaiden won't be able to keep his hands off of you. But remember, don't let him get into your pants," she repeated, and waved a stern finger in the air. This time, Seb erupted in a soft laughter. 

"He won't get into these, I can promise you that..." he replied, showing off the skinny jeans. He felt a lot better, and now it was only two hour left. It was time to go home, prepare and then head out again. And for the first time since Kaiden asked him out, he felt like he could do this.