"OKAY, you're gonna have to explain this to me one more time, and why can't I go on a date with Reese? What possible reason could keep me away from him?" Eva asked for the millionth time, sprawled across my bed and staring me down with narrowed eyes. "I was born for this, Stella. Born."

    I sighed, again, aimlessly searching through the Netflix selection as I had been for the past fifteen minutes with no hope of actual movie-watching on the horizon, and rolled my eyes at her. We'd had this exact conversation at least five times since I'd brought it up to them, and it seemed a sixth was becoming inevitable.

     Savannah with her baby blue tank-top and thoughtlessly perfect bun was lounging in the computer chair, flipping through a fashion magazine. She met my eye with the ghost of a smirk when Eva gave another unimpressed huff, but made no effort to save me.

     I continued button-smashing the remote, looking over to see Eva's cherry-stained pout. "Because you said that you have to babysit on Friday. Meaning you have other affairs, and you should count yourself so lucky. I'm sure hanging out with Satan incarnate is the last thing Savannah wants to do, and is only doing it because she's such a great friend."

     Savannah saluted. "Just doing my job."

     "If it's so terrible, let me go!" Eva wailed, ignoring the blonde and rolling over onto her back with flailing limbs. "Four year olds can basically handle themselves. Matilda did it. It happens."

     I snorted, cocking a brow. "Matilda also had magical powers."

     "I'm telling you, something is up with Santiago. If anything, I bet he'd be able to Home Alone it fine without me. Let me go. It is my destiny to go on this date, Sandavol! Do you want to stand in the way of destiny?" She looked up at me with big, blinking eyes in a way that I'm sure she thought was convincing.

     I shot her a deadpan look. "I don't think Macaulay Culkin is anywhere close to okay."

     What I had failed to tell her was that I'd specifically chosen Friday so that it seemed merely a coincidence that Savannah was the one that had to go, but it definitely was nowhere close to that. It was all strategically planned, so Savannah was forced to go and Reese would be appeased enough that my private notebook stayed exactly that- private. And Eva, who was none the wiser, had taken this as a personal attack against her very being and continued to fight it with everything she had, because this was Eva, and of course.

     Which- rude. I was saving all of us. Mostly myself. But in the grander scheme of things- all of us.

     "Eva Powers, are you trying to tell me that doesn't sound amazing? Are you trying to tell me that it wasn't meant to be?" she continued on, unrelenting, ignoring my voice of reason as she usually did.

     "It's not even about us, it's about Stella and Tyler," Savannah interjected, shooting me a small smile. "We should be more focused on that, yeah?"

     I beamed at the blonde, already feeling the excitement rush through my veins even though the double date was a day away, I could barely contain myself. It had constantly been lingering in the back of my mind every time I caught Reese's eye or while I stared at the back of Tyler's head in geography. The surreal fact had been plaguing my thoughts, but it had been increasingly harder to forget that Savannah was also being brought along.

     The idea of Reese and Savannah actually having a conversation with one another was becoming way too real for me in ways that did not make me happy.

     "We already know that they're going to be happily ever after- that's not the problem. The problem is I'm spending my Friday night watching The Wiggles and you guys are getting some sweet, sweet ass," Eva whined, mouth twisting into a melodramatic frown.

     I snorted. "Trust me, there will be no ass getting."

     "Tyler is a way classier guy than that," Savannah chuckled, throwing her magazine across my desk.

     Eva pointedly rolled her eyes at us, pouting. "Sure, sure. Whatever. Deception goes by many names. And I'm sure Savannah will be a good enough bodyguard for Reese when you end up beating him up again."

    "I didn't beat him up!" I insisted for the umpteenth time. "I swear! His black eyes have nothing to do with me!"

    Even Savannah didn't look entirely convinced. "Should I bring some rope in case there's round two?"

   Eva barked out a laugh, suddenly over her temper tantrum, apparently finding my pain a lot more entertaining. "Okay, it's not like you've been constantly planning his death for the past couple months or anything. That would be ridiculous."

     Savannah and Eva had both dissolved into laughter, sparing my dignity no thought, as if it ever had a chance anyway. I glared at them with crossed arms, but there was no heat to it, and I couldn't stop a betraying smirk from cracking on my face.

     "I'm not saying I didn't want to, but that was not my work. Believe me, if it was, I would proudly take credit," I said with a broad grin, rousing another round of laughter.

    There had been rumours circling of how Reese had gotten his battle scars, ranging from knife fights to saving babies in burning buildings (I swear he had something to do with that), but apparently Reese merely gave a coy shrug and mumbled some excuse about skateboarding whenever asked. 

     I played along with it, since I didn't feel like it was my place to tell them what had actually happened to Reese. It felt oddly personal, and I almost felt as if I shouldn't have even seen it happen at all. It was a peek into a part of Reese's world, a part I hadn't consciously invited into. He seemed like he didn't mind that much, but I figured in that moment he was bothered by more pressing matters.

    Like getting punched in the face. Multiple times.

    I was definitely beginning to know a lot more about Reese than I thought I ever would. I didn't even want to begin to think about what that meant. Or the fact that he too knew that I had one too many sex dreams about Ryan Gosling, and whatever else he had read in my diary.

    "I think its home time though, better get lots of sleep for tomorrow night." Savannah stood up, grinning at me with a glint in her eye that told she was a lot more excited for me than for herself.

     Eva groaned again, rolling off the bed and finding herself on her feet. "Rub it in. I'm expecting a full minute-by-minute update on the entire evening, or I'm showing up with Wiggles in tow," she warned, casting us both a threatening and narrowed gaze.  

     I rolled my eyes at her. "Trust me, unless it's me making an ass of myself, I'm sure it won't be too entertaining."

     Honestly, I was hoping for that, at least. Boring was normal and normal was exactly what I wanted. Nothing crazy. No yelling. No one getting hurt. All I wanted was one, regular date night without anyone getting beer-drenched or a black eye, which surprisingly, was basically asking for a miracle.

    Eva and Savannah giggled and then were off, leaving me to marinate in my own thoughts and worries, anxiously peeking at my closet where my lacy dress was hung up. Although Tyler had already seen me in it, wearing dresses was still very out of my league, and I was as nervous as I was excited to put it back on again. I'm sure Savannah would give me a head-to-toe makeover, so at least that was out of my hands.

     Just as I was finding myself dozing off, a sharp tap jolted me back awake. With a disgruntled mumble and bleary eyes, I looked around, confused, finding my empty room just as before. My door was open, meaning no one had knocked, and I wondered if this was the moment I was finally going to go crazy.

     It was always a matter of time.

     And then another tap sounded, and I turned with knitted brows to the window, and felt a sigh beginning to form. Swinging my legs over the bed, I trekked over to the source of the sound and pushed my window open. Outside, just as I had assumed, stood a grinning Reese, all teeth and flagrant disregard for anyone else.

      "Seriously? You're going all medieval on me again, Powers? This is what it's come to?"

     "Well when someone doesn't want to answer their texts, that's what happens. I know where you live, Stella. I don't know why you think you can escape me."

     "Wishful thinking?" I chirped with a grin that was all teeth and no heart. 

     Reese barked out a laugh and shook his head. "Well, while I would love to do this all night, let me in. And before you say no, I have presents."

     I surveyed him with a narrowed gaze drowning in skepticism, sizing up his broad grin and squinted eyes, and shrugged. I wasn't the type to turn down free things if they were handed to me. And I figured he wouldn't poison me the day before our double date, if only that Savannah would be too busy crying at my funeral than to pay attention to his dumb ass.

    Unless he wanted to be the shoulder for her to cry on.

     "Wait, will it kill me?"

     "I'm tempted to say no, but with you, I feel like anything is possible."

     I snorted, admittedly he wasn't wrong, and pulled the window shut. Stifling a yawn, I padded down the stairs and pulled open the door, revealing a waving Reese waiting patiently on my porch.

     I cocked a brow. "You're actually waiting for me to invite you in?"

     He chuckled, rolling his eyes and brushing past me, apparently considering that the invitation. I'd felt defeated enough that fighting it had become a fruitless endeavour, like finding the last number of Pi or getting my eyeliner to look the same on both eyes.  

     Somehow I found myself in my room with Reese again, and he'd stolen the computer chair as he was had accustomed himself to doing recently. I regarded him with minimal curiosity, finding that sleep was whispering sweet nothings in my ear and any motivation to argue was sinking into my mattress as I threw myself on my bed.

      "I feel like you're not here for a slumber party," I mused, eyeing him with mild interest.

      "While I would love to braid your hair and have you paint my nails, of course. That isn't why I'm here." He spun in the chair, a smirk digging into his cheek, creating a familiar dimple. "But I did just want to say, uh, thanks for not telling anyone about the whole Trey thing." He stopped. 

     I ignored his look, dismissing his words with a wave of my hand. "Not my place to say anything. But really, a burning building? Where did that come from?" I cocked a knowing brow at him.

     He laughed with a sheepish grin and a shrug of his shoulders. "Don't ask me- I had nothing to do with that." 

     "Sure, sure," I murmured, finding his smile infectious.  "So you came over here to say thanks?" 

     "No, I thought I'd come over to ease your nerves. It's the day before the big game, you know." His eyes were rolling over me, drinking me in and looking for any sign of anxiety, I was sure. 

     "I'm actually feeling pretty, good? I think? It's weird, but I'm not too worried. I mean, you and Savannah will be there if anything, right?" I looked over to him, hiking myself up onto my arms. "You guys are pretty good at saving me."

     There was a beat where Reese seemed to be keenly interested in me, causing me to arch a brow, but was quickly broken as a grin cracked across his face. "Right. Well, I guess I'm getting pretty useless. I'll leave you to get your beauty rest."

     "Wait," I blurted out, causing him to stop in my doorway. "You promised gifts, don't think I forgot about that, Powers." I reached out my hands in a grabbing motion. "My time doesn't come free, you know."

     He laughed, digging his hand into his back pocket, and then throwing something next to me. With my interest piqued, I swiped it from the comforter and was surprised to find a lipstick in my hand. A nice one at that. My head titled to the side. "Lipstick?"

     "I thought it might help you feel a little better. It matches your dress. You should wear it tomorrow," he said, a crooked smile curved on his lips.

     I looked it over in my hand, my curiosity melting into confusion as I felt the cool plastic against my fingertips. It definitely wasn't the cheap two dollar kind. With tightly pressed lips and brows furrowed, I shifted my gaze over to Reese, taking a long look to size up his intentions.

     It was... nice?

    "Oh, fuck you, Powers."

    "What?" He gaped, shock lighting up his eyes as he threw his hands up. "What did I do?"

     "You're trying to soften me up so I'll let you get somewhere with Savannah. Not on my watch, bud. We're going middle school dance rules here. Arms-length apart at all times," I warned, narrowing my eyes at him.

     Reese snorted, nodding his head. "Fine, fine, you caught me. I'll see you tomorrow."

     "I'm too smart for you, Powers! Don't think you can pull one over on me!" I called to his retreating figure.

     "Wouldn't dream of it!"

     That night, after I had washed up and gotten all comfy-cozy in my pajamas, the lipstick I had left on my nightstand had caught my eye. As I sat in bed, I pulled the top off, surprised to find that it matched my dress perfectly, the exact dark shade of burgundy. Not even bothering to give it too much though, I pulled the cap back on and snuggled deeper into my blankets.

     Boring really was going to be a miracle tomorrow.

***

What!? Is this... an update on time? I know, you thought they were a thing of myth. 

This chapter was just something cute, but guys, HOW EXCITED ARE YOU FOR DOUBLE DATE? I know I've been dangling it for a while, but finally, next chapter, it will happen! And oh all the plans I have.

Also 70K and 15 in humour? How did we do it? I am hugging all of you right now. You guys are the best. c: