“Brandon!” I squeal, “Brandon, he asked me OUT! Can you believe it?” I can’t stop smiling because the most eligible boy in school just asked me out. I’m nearly jumping up and down at the memory of Matthew asking me out.
      “Really?” he sounds surprised and disappointed. What’s up with him? I can see the tightness around his eyes that betray his easy smile as he says, “That’s really awesome Mia.” I start to wonder what’s wrong, but can’t stop thinking about Matthew long enough to ask.
      “What will I wear?” I gasp realizing that I have nothing worthy to wear for a first date with Matthew McMillan. Brandon moves to stand beside me and slides his arm around my shoulders.
      “Don’t fret Mia; we’ll go to the mall after school.” He smiles at me, a proper one this time. I squeal and wrap my arms around his neck, “Thank you, you’re the best.”
      “I know,” he smirks at me, “Now get to class. The bell rang ages ago.”

***

      “Hey! Mia!” I smile to myself before turning to see Brandon walking toward me. Even though Brandon is a year older than me, he’s been my best friend since we could walk.
      “Hey Brandon, have a good day?”
       He drives me to and from school every day but won’t let me drive. I’m still on my Learners. I’ve tried to convince him that I’m a good enough driver, but he never gives me a chance to prove it. It could possibly be because of the incident with his car and the rear end of another during stop lights.
       I lean over and turn the radio on and when I hear Kelly Clarkson, I turn the volume up and sing along. In my peripheral I see Brandon smiling, looking blissfully happy. I love it when he looks like this because I can’t help but be happy too. I turn the radio down and shift to face him, “You know I absolutely love you for helping me with this?” I send a smile his way which he returns saying, “Why do you think I’m doing this?” 

      Brandon pulls into a park and we both step out, him sighing, probably thinking of the torment ahead.
      I drag him into the nearest clothes shop, leading him by the hand over to a rack full of floral slip dresses. I pull one out of the rack and hand it to Brandon. He takes it and drapes it over his arm not missing a beat. He figured out his role after the fifth time I made him go shopping with me.
      Two hours later and still no outfit. Brandon can tell I’m frustrated so he leads me out of the store to a little shop on the corner. It looks a bit grungy somewhere I’d never go, but I follow him inside. It’s an op-shop. Hell no. I’ve never shopped in one and I’m never going to. I start to turn around but Brandon grabs hold of my wrist and pulls me deeper into the shop, ignoring my protests.

      We stop in front of a rack of mismatched clothing; Brandon looks at the clothes while I scan the place. It actually isn’t too bad in here. Okay, so the walls are a bit old and peeling, but the decorations are cosy and quaint. I kind of like it. After a while, he returns looking happy with himself, his arms full of items as he directs me to the change rooms.

      I look suspiciously at the mountain of clothes that are in his arms but take the pile and close the door. I hang all the pieces up and try on the skinny jeans and a button-up shirt that is a size too big for me. When I face the mirror, I’m surprised to see someone looking back who appears fashionable and gorgeous. I would never have picked these out, but damn, Brandon knows me. I go through the rest of the clothes to separate the keepers and those I don’t need.

      When I leave the room I have two piles— one to keep, the other to be farewelled. I shake my head and walk to the counter.
      “How am I going to pay for all this?” I ask him, scowling. He smooths out my forehead with his thumb and smiling his half-smile says, “I’ve got it covered. But you owe me an ice-cream,” I pull a face at him but agree and follow him to the food court.

      “What time’s your date tonight?” Brandon asks with a casual expression.

      “Nine. But I told you that already,” I say in a confused voice.

      “Just wanted to make sure we have time,” he starts pulling me to my feet.
      “Wait, time for what?” he just grins wickedly and pushes me onwards. Oh great.
       On our way to the car he grabs hold of my hand. It’s so big it swallows mine, but it’s so comforting that I don’t pull away.

      Once the bags are in the car, we walk down to the beach. It’s just on sunset so it’s pretty as a picture. I love drawing and I’ve always wanted to capture the beauty of a sunset but have never had time. There’s a drawing pad and a pile of coloured pencils on a towel that he must have arranged earlier. This is the best surprise he’s ever given me so I wrap my arms around his neck tight. He smiles at me when I pull away and thank him. “What are friends for?” he looks away quickly, but not before I catch a glimpse of sadness in his eyes. Before I can say anything, he pulls me down to where my present is so I can start my work.
      When I’ve finally finished my masterpiece, I look around for Brandon and find him in the ocean just floating there. The last of the sunlight shining through his hair is breath taking.
      I shake my head, no way. He’s my best friend. I shouldn’t be looking at him like that. But damn it was hard. I mean, his body is even better than Matthew’s. How is that possible? And how have I never noticed before?
      Brandon is waving at me and yelling something I can’t understand. I shake my head and shrug my shoulders to show my confusion. He gets out and walks up towards me, shaking his head to get the water out.
      “You finished?”
      “Huh?” I reply confused. He gestures to my drawing.
      “Oh, yeah. Thanks for bringing me here,” Why can’t I think straight?
      “Great. Let’s go then,” he starts walking back to the water.
      “Wait. You want me to go in there? No way.”
      “Yes way.” Before I realise what’s happening, I’m over Brandon’s shoulder being carried down to the water. I pound on his back and yell curses at him, but he doesn’t flinch once.
      “I swear, as soon as you let me down I’m going to-” I don’t get a chance to finish because I am dumped into the cold, dark water. For some reason when I come up, I start laughing and so does Brandon. I splash him with all the force I can manage but he just splashes me back.
      We muck about for a while before trudging back up to our towel. He wraps it around my shoulders but lets his hands linger just a little too long. I look up into his eyes and see longing there. He turns to go but must have thought better of it, because quickly turning around he mashes his lips to mine so fast that I couldn’t have stopped him even if I wanted to. Which I don’t. He pulls back to search my face for any sign of refusal. He won’t find any.
      “I…I’m sorry,” he stammers. His breath hot on my face.
      “Don’t be,” I pull him to me and place my lips firmly on his, savouring the feel of him against me. “You’re going to be late for your date,” he murmurs softly against my lips when he pulls back.
      “Do you seriously think I’m going on that date now?” I give him an incredulous look. He just smiles and says, “I hope not,” wrapping his arms more tightly around me pulling me closer against him where I seem to fit perfectly.
      “Does this mean you’re my boyfriend now?” I whisper to him because he’s so close. He wipes my wet face with the palm of his hand and says, “I was always your boyfriend. I just had to wait for you to realise it,” kissing me again.

      I don’t know what just happened, but I’m glad it did.

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God Bless, Munchkins!