Chapter 12: First Date

I lied in bed for a while after waking up the next morning. I rested on my back with my hands folded over my stomach, looking up at the white ceiling. It was the day, my first date. Sure it wasn’t with who I thought it was going to be with, but I had to make the most of it for various reasons, Riley being one of them.

I played back the previous night with Riley to help get my mind off of what was to come for the day. I had woken Riley up as the credits of the movie began to roll. She startled awake at my soft shake of her arm. Her face looked strange as I assumed she didn’t remember falling asleep. She quickly did a scan of the room with her eyes until her eyes locked with mine. The house had been completely swallowed in darkness except for the dim light of the television, but I could still see her wide and bright eyes staring intently at me. She had stated something like, “Oh. Erm… I-ugh didn’t even realize I had fallen asleep.” I remember how she brushed her blonde and slightly messy hair out of her face before removing the blanket and standing up. I remained seated while she continued to just stare me with such a face I had never seen on her before. It was a look of confusion and surprise in one. Without me saying another word she stated, “Umm… I guess it’s getting late. I best be going then.” She tucked her hair behind her before nodding her head once a turning towards the door. I stood up to follow her, but was stopped in my tracks when she turned back from the door with the same face. “Just have fun tomorrow, Marcel. Don’t be worried. Hayden and you… I think you will get on well. Remember to just, be yourself. You are truly... a great person.” She let out a weak smile and then turned the handle on the door and exited into the dark night air. I had had no clue what just happened. I didn’t understand the sudden leaving or that look about her face. Those intent eyes I could never forget.

I remained in my bed a few more minutes playing the scenario back through my head a few more times. I suddenly heard a door close in the hallway and figured somebody had to be awake. I grabbed my glasses from my side table and looked to see that it was 9:30AM. I laid my head back on the pillow not really wanting to rise yet, but then decided I should spend the morning with my mum or Gemma, whoever was awake.

I swung my legs out from the pile of coverings that incased me and stood up on my bare feet, stretching me arms towards the ceiling. I walked over to my window, and threw open the curtains to see it was a rather nice day outside. I figured at least the weather wanted me to have a nice first date. I then walked to my bedroom door and opened it before quietly heading down the stairs.

I rounded to the corner into the kitchen to already smell the morning tea and see my lovely mother reading the newspaper. She hadn’t heard me enter so I stated, “Morning mum.”

She flipped down the top of the paper to meet her face with mine. “Morning, dear! How was your evening?”

I walked up to the stove and poured myself a nice beverage. “It was nice. I think Riley really helped me calm down a bit for tonight.” It was a sort of lie because I was still feeling extremely anxious, but I didn’t want my mum to know that.

“That’s lovely, Marcel. I am so excited for you! I’m sure she is a darling girl, and that you’ll be a perfect gentlemen.”

I sat down across from her a sipped from my cup before speaking, “Yeah. I guess I don’t really know anything about her, but you’ve raised me. I know how to treat her.” We both let out small giggles and my mum’s face lite up. One of the best feelings in the world was to make her proud of the person I’ve become. I always tried to take deep pride in that. I took another drink and asked, “So how was your night, mum?”

Another wide grin spread across her face. “It was very nice. Robin and I had a lovely meal and night out on the town.”

I looked down into my cup before looking back at her. “You must really like him?”

She reached her hand across the table and grabbed mine. “I do. I know you’ve only met him a few times. I’ll have to make sure you two get to know each other better.” She let out a nice smile looking straight into my eyes.

I nodded my head with a weak smile, “That sounds nice. I think I’d like that.”

“Yes. I’ll make some plans soon.” She tapped at my hands a few more times and released them slowly. Then she stood up to head over to the refrigerator. She opened the door, making the light com on inside. “What would you like for breakfast, Marcel?”

“Erm…how about some eggs?” She nodded her head and opened one of the drawers when I asked, “Do you want me to cook breakfast.”

She placed the ingredients she had gathered on the counter and looked at me. “No. You do way too much. I’ll just give you probably more difficult task of waking your sister.”

Our attention was soon taken to the doorway of the kitchen with a lazy eyed Gemma entering. “No need. I would have killed you if you woke me up by the way.”

She always had such a funny attitude in the mornings. “And good morning to you too dear sister.” I gave her a big smile causing to roll her eyes in a playful manner.

Gemma poured herself some tea and joined me at the table while mum cooked breakfast. The food was in front of us soon enough, and we all began to eat. My mum suddenly looked to me, covering her mouth while she talked, “Oh Marcel, I was meaning to ask you… just where are you taking the car tonight.”

I put my fork down and spoke, “Oh, erm… Just into town. Dinner and to the cinema.”

“What movie?” Gemma cut in.

“I-uh. I was going to let her pick.”

“Do you have anything planned out? I thought that was what Riley was coming over for last night? To help you? Wasn’t she the one who got you into this in the first place?”

“No-Yeah. She did, but I thought I’d just let Hayden pick.”

“Oh!” Gemma exclaimed sticking another bite of food into her mouth.

My mom continued, “Just make sure you’re careful, and to also get some gas when you are finished.”

“I will, mother.” I stated happily.

“What time are you leaving tonight?”

“I said I’d pick her up at six.” I stated.

A wide grin spread across my mum’s face. “This is just so exciting, Marcel!”

Gemma rolled her eyes sarcastically, “Yeah, A real hoot.”

We all laughed and changed the subject to Gemma’s life. Her college classes were going well and it sounded like she had an eventful night out with her friends, although I’m sure she was probably leaving out the crazier parts of her night’s story for mum’s sake.

When we were finished eating I collected plates and began washing them. Mum exited the room to head upstairs to get ready for the day, while Gemma finished drinking from her cup. I had the cooking dishes washed and was about to grab a towel to dry when Gemma plucked it from my reach. “I’ll dry. You wash.”

I reached my hands back into the soapy water, “Thanks, Gem.”

She nodded her head and was silent for a few moments. However, after drying a few dishes she asked, “Are you alright going on this date tonight? I mean, even though it’s not Riley.”

“Erm… well. Yeah. I guess so. I mean. I still wish it was Riley, but she did get the whole thing setup.”

“Are you ever going to get over her? I’ll just hate it if you get your heart broken so much by her because she never wants what you want.”

I twisted my face up in confusion. “Where is this coming from?”

She shrugged her shoulders. “I don’t know. The thought of you guys hanging out alone last night and most other nights makes me feel like she is getting your hopes up all the time. This blind date was just sort of thrown in your face.”

“Riley and I have been friends for a long time, Gemma. She's just trying to help.”

She grabbed a plate from my hands and began drying it. “I know. It’s just that, something seems different now. You’re getting older is all, and I don’t want her to lead you on if nothing is ever going to happen.”
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I pursed my lips, not really sure how to respond to this sudden conversation with my sister. I loved how Gemma had my back, but I felt like I needed to defend Riley. “Riley is a really good friend. I’m not sure where this life will take me, but I know if I didn’t have her at all I don’t know what I would do.”

Gemma nodded her head slightly. “As long as you’re happy, brother. I just want to look out for you.” She gave me a big smile and flicked a bubble at my nose.

“Hey!” I stated in protest, throwing down the plate I was washing and wiping my nose. I immediately flicked more at her to which we both started laughing hysterically. It broke out into a bubble war and things were getting messy. We both dove our hands into the soapy water and flung it on to the other, excitedly making a mess of everything.

After a few minutes, when the kitchen was soaked, Gemma threw her hands up in truce. “Okay! Okay!” She stated still laughing. “That’s enough!”

“Alright!” I chuckled. I threw her a towel to begin cleaning up all over again. “Mum would be furious if she saw this!”

“For sure! Then I need to take a shower, because this is ridiculous.” Gemma giggled.

We dried the kitchen floor we had made a mess of and finished the dishes together. She was about to exit kitchen when I piped up, “Thanks for caring so much though, Gem.”

She turned around with a smile, “I love you, bro,” and headed out of the kitchen towards the stairs.

I flipped the light switch off and followed Gemma’s footsteps back up the stairs. I entered my room and closed the door behind me. I still had several hours to stall until I would leave for my date. I walked into my bathroom and grabbed a towel to dry off the remains from mine and Gemma’s sink water war. I walked back out to my room and decided it was in need of a good cleaning. I neatly made my bed, patting out all the wrinkles in my duvet to make sure it laid flat, picked up any clothing remains on the floor from the previous night, and put away any other out-of-place miscellaneous items. I was surprised at how much time actually passed by doing this. When I was finished it was already 1:00 in the afternoon. I figured by the time I did some homework, it would be time to get ready, and leave to pick up Hayden.

I grabbed my bag and carried it over to my desk to begin work. I had a few readings and papers to accomplish, so I decided to get straight to work. I got lost in my homework. Most people dreaded doing it, but I always made sure I put a full effort into it. I didn’t see much a point otherwise. I always made sure to go above the expectations, especially that I had received the title of valedictorian.

The hours passed in peace as I successfully accomplished my homework without disruption. I checked the clock and it read, 5:00. I packed away my books and headed back into the bathroom to take a shower. I flipped on the handle, letting the water pour out from the spout and the bathroom fill up with steam. I stripped of my sleep wear and stepped into the refreshing shower. I let the shower hit my body as I rushed my hands through my hair. I thought about the night to come and butterflies reentered into my body. The worst thing that could happen was being made fun and embarrass myself. I shampooed my hair thinking maybe I wouldn’t put gel in it. I couldn’t style it how Riley did it, but I could let it go natural and do something different. After I washed my body I shut off the faucet and grabbed the towel from the hook to wrap it around my waist. I wiped off the mirror with my hand and I am not really sure what came over me, but I really wanted to impress for the night. I wanted to make my first date one to remember.

I put on the outfit that Riley had picked from the Harry Styles wardrobe and thought it looked quite nice. I fixed the cardigan nicely over the t-shirt, making sure collar wasn't tucked in. I brushed through my hair, but did not reach for my gel. I shook it through my fingers a few times and let the curls remain free. It didn’t look quite as put together as when Riley styled it, but it was good enough. I grabbed my glasses, wanting to have somewhat of a safety net as I didn’t want to become recognizable for the small chance I made it onto The X-Factor. I really just wanted to look slightly different. I finished up all other little things I needed to do to get ready checked myself in the mirror one more time. I looked different, but not too different I didn’t think.

I went out of the bathroom and flipped the switch down. I grabbed my wallet and filled it with some extra money and walked out the door as it was just about time that I should be leaving. Both mum and Gemma were downstairs doing various things. I was unsure of their plans for the night, but I figured it was a night home for my mum since I had the car. I stepped off the last step and caught both of their attentions’. Mum’s hand flew to her face. “Marcel, you look lovely.”

I stepped towards them, “Thank you very much.”

Gemma smiled, “Your hair is so crazy and curly!”

“I know. I just wanted to do something a bit different. It’s not as nice as when Riley does it.”

My mum stood up from her seat. “I think you look handsome, Marcel.” She grabbed the sides of my face. “I think you are really going to impress!”

Gemma stood up from her chair as well. “I think if Riley saw you, she would be dropping that boyfriend of hers.”

Typical Gemma. I just rolled my eyes playfully at her not really sure what to say. My mum dropped her hands from my face as I began to ask, “So, can I have those keys?”

“Yes… of course.” She walked over to the side table and picked up her jingling keys. “Here they are. Have fun, but be safe!”

“You don’t have to worry, mum.” I gave her a reassuring hug before putting on a coat and heading towards the door. “Goodbye! Love you!”

In perfect harmony the chimed back, “See you! Goodbye!” My mum added on, "Don't be out too late!"

I walked out into the brisk air as the sun was just about set. I unlocked the car door and climbed in. I let out a deep breath as this was it, now or never. I turned the key in the ignition trying to recall the directions Riley had given me to Hayden’s house. I remembered that it was fairly close in proximity so I didn’t have much time to mentally prepare myself as I reversed out of my driveway and down the road.

After a few minutes of thought silent driving, I pulled in front of the curb of a rather lavish home. It had the same house numbers as what Riley had said so I knew it was the correct one. The front porch light was lite along with most of the windows of the two-story home. It seemed quite clean cut and proper with nice landscaping and what looked to be freshly cut grass.

I let the car run as I opened the door to the car and walked up the cemented pathway. I reached my hand up and knocked somewhat gently a few times against the metal door. I heard some stumbling around from inside and took a few steps back. A few seconds later I was met by the sound of the door handle turning, making my heart do a flip in its chest as it slowly opened.

I was soon met by a pair of interesting eyes. Hayden met me with a surprised smile. I was taken aback that she wasn’t completely disgusted by me like I had originally thought. I snapped from my thoughts quickly as she closed the door behind her. “Good evening, Hayden.”

“Good evening.” She stated as her smile somewhat fell, but still continued to hold me with a careful stare. I had a feeling it was the way I looked that had her in such a way.

“Are you ready to go?” I asked politely and held out my arm for her to grab onto.

“Erm, yes… Marcel.” She said as she gently grabbed at my arm as I began leading her back towards the car down the cement path. We reached the door and I did what I knew was right and opened the door for her to climb in. She gave me a nice smile. It wasn’t a Riley smile, but regardless it was still remarkably beautiful. I closed the door and walked around and got into the car myself. I shifted into drive and we were off.

Notes

I'm SO SO SO SO sorry for how long this took me! I didn't even get all of what I wanted done. I originally wanted the date to be one long chapter, but it was getting quite extensive and taking me forever!!

I even lost some subscribers in the process. :/
So BIG thank you to all who have stuck with me and this story! You're amazing!! I'm also sorry to say it may be another few days before the net update. School is coming to a close for the semester and I have so much studying to do with finals!!

I'm sure if you comment, rate, and subscribe I'll get more motivation to update sooner, however!! ;)
I hope if you celebrated Thanksgiving it was filled with lots of good food and love!
Thank you for the billionth time! Love you guys!
-J