"Bowling?"

"Nope."

"Indoor ice skating?"

"Definitely not."

Letting out a frustrated sigh, I folded my arms across my chest and waited as Calvin grabbed his anatomy book from his locker. Our upcoming date was giving me anxiety, but know what he had planned would put at ease. Except he was being very tight lipped about it.

"Why can't you just tell me?"

He closed his locker and we headed to our first classes.

"Because that would defeat the purpose of a surprise," he pointed out.

"I don't know if you've noticed, but I don't really like surprises."

He laughed, "All you need to know is that it'll be fun."

I wanted to argue that outside of scary movies and writing, he didn't know what I liked to do for fun. Then I remembered the dessert he surprised me with at Sweetie Pies. Maybe he paid more attention than I gave him credit for.

"Okay, I'm trusting you."

"Good," he smiled. "Are you on dish duty at Bloom tonight?"

"Yeah, why?"

"I'm taking my mom there for her birthday dinner," he explained. "So, I'll need the gifts."

We stopped at the end of the corridor, where we had to split up to get to our classes.

"I'll give them to you after school," I said. "And if you tell me where you're taking me on our date I can get you free desserts."

He simple laughed at my efforts to bribe him. "I'll see you later," he said before turning on his heels and walking to his class.

+ + +

"Well, that escalated quickly," Alyssa said as she set up her video camera for the Homecoming nominees interviews. "Yesterday you didn't even know if he liked you and now you're going on a date?"

"Yeah, it seems surreal," I admitted. "Everything is going so perfectly I feel -"

Alyssa clamped her hand over my mouth, her eyes narrowed at me. "Don't you dare over think this to death," She demanded. "You will go on this date and you will be happy and you will not convince yourself that you don't deserve to be. Got it?"

I nodded and she smiled triumphantly as she removed her hand.

"Ahem," a voice coughed and I looked over to find Jasmine standing in the doorway. "If you two are done being weird I'd like to get this interview over with."

"Sit there," Alyssa instructed, pointing to the stool in front of a jungle themed back drop.

Jasmine did as she was told, her eyes widened when she saw the camera. "You're filming this?" She asked in a panic as she pulled out a compact mirror and began to touch up her makeup and fluff up her curls. "You could've warned me!"

"Whoops," Alyssa drawled, rolling her eyes as she continued to mess around with the camera. "I forgot the memory card, I'll be right back."

She left the room, leaving me alone with Jasmine. Who sat across from me, glaring and filling the room with a thick layer of awkwardness.

"So, you have a date?" She asked after a while. "You and Derek must be thrilled to finally get out of the shadows."

"I'm not dating Derek," I said for what felt like the hundredth time. "I'm going on a date with Calvin."

Her face scrunched up with confusion. "Who the hell is Calvin?"

That was difficult question to answer because I couldn't think of a single time they would've interacted with each other.

"Just as I thought," she snorted, taking my silence as conformation of her theory. "You made him up to cover up the fact that you are a terrible excuse for a friend."

My mouth opened and closed a few times as I tried to find the words to explain, but there were none. Like Faye, she's made up her own truth and it was pointless to try and tell her otherwise.

"Got it," Alyssa announced as she re-entered the room waving the memory card in the air.

Letting out a sigh of relief, I get my note pad and pen ready to jot down her generic answers to my generic questions about Homecoming. Missing second and third period was not worth this.

+ + +

"I come baring gifts," I said once Calvin opened the door. He let me in before taking the bag I held. "Also, I put the stuff in gift boxes."

"Thanks, you didn't have to."

"I couldn't let you give her the stuff in a plastic bag," I pointed out.

"Good point," he agreed, setting the bag down on the coffee table.

I had to do a double take because the last time I visited the Benton residence it had only the bare necessities. Now, as I did full three-sixty, I noticed it was now fully decorated. Potted plants, wall art, rugs, framed family photos and, the biggest shock, a TV.

"I guess we can start having movie nights at your house now" I grinned, turning back to him.

"Yeah, my mom finally decided to get the stuff out of storage," he said. "I guess she really likes it here."

"And what about you?" I questioned, stepping closer to him.

A smile slowly formed on his face. "It's growing on me."

His eyes were locked on mines and I wondered if he was thinking the same thoughts as me.

He liked me, I liked him. It was out in the open. Those feelings swarmed around us, but it was like they were on pause until Saturday. A day I wish would hurry up and come.

I looked away, the pinned up feelings in my chest threatening to act without warning. My eyes landed on a box near the coffee table.

"Is that a yearbook?" I pulled it from the box before he could stop me.

"What are the chances of you not looking through that?"

"About the same as Beyoncé adopting me," I snorted, taking a seat on the sofa and cracking open the book. "Wow, a lot of people signed this and not with the generic 'have a great summer'"

"You don't have to sound so surprised," he deadpanned, sitting next to me.

I gasped mockingly. "And look at all these phone numbers. Someone was very popular."

"You have dishes to wash," he reminded me as he tried to take the book from me.

Fending him off with one hand, I flipped through the pages with the other. "I haven't even seen a picture of you yet."

I came across a collage for the basketball team and Calvin was easy to spot among the sea of red jerseys. He looked happier than I've ever seen him, it was like an entirely different person.

"What happened to this kid?" I questioned, holding the book up for him to see.

"That's a story for another time," he said, taking the book from me. "You should get to Bloom before your mom extends your punishment."

It was obvious he didn't want to talk about and I had to stifle my curiosity to keep from asking questions. Still, questions popped into my head. Did it have something to do with his scars? His dad? The fact that they move around lot?

He did say it was a story for another time, so I just had to wait for him to open up to me.

+ + +

"What are you doing?"

Stepping away from the circular window of the swinging door, I turned to face Mom.

"Nothing," I shrugged, walking back over to sink that held a fresh load of dishes for me to wash.

"It looked like you were watching someone," she pointed out.

When she put it that way it made me sound like some sort of creep.

"I wasn't watching anyone," I lied.

Calvin and his mom were out there. Initially, I only wanted to see her reaction to the gifts. A reaction that I missed because I was so focused on Calvin. He looked nice tonight dressed in a white button down and jeans. I bit down on my lip to keep from smiling.

She snorted a laugh. "Your little crush isn't as secret as you think."

"Okay, so I was watching him," I admitted. "He asked me out on a date."

"Really?" Moms face lit up as she smiled. "I guess Cassie wins the bet."

I stopped scrubbing a plate and stared at her. "What bet?"

"Like I said, your crush on Calvin wasn't a secret and neither was his crush on you," she explained. "So, on Labor Day Cassie and I bet on when you two would finally get together."

There were no words for what I'd just heard. Imagining Mom and Cassie discussing us as a couple was an insane thought. So insane that my only response was to laugh. Mom soon joined in and we got weird looks from the staff, but we did care.

"Denise, lobster guy is on the phone," one of the chefs announced, pointing towards her office.

"Okay, I'll be there in a second," she told them as she sobered up from laughing. "What do you say we go buy you a new outfit for your date later this week?"

Well, I wasn't expecting that. We usually only hung out at home, never out in public. The idea of a mother-daughter day did seem like a lot of fun though.

"I'd love that," I said, flashing her a smile.

"Great," she agreed, returning the smile. "Now, you should get home and work on homework."

I nodded, removing my rubber gloves as Mom walked into her office. This week was going to be an interesting one for sure.

//

Thanks for reading!

Sooo, the girls are still accusing Mia of stealing Derek.

& I'm hoping you like the date idea I came up with for the next chapter.

I'll give you a hint: It has to do with Halloween (the holiday, lol)

Please comment & vote!! <3