Her mind was stupid.
Wallflower read over her handwritten list again. It didn’t seem very romantic. Or long. Or much of anything.
Maybe Sunset is into lame-os
And she really wished she could shut that voice up.
She sighed and stuck it into the pocket of her blouse. She’d eschewed her sweater for tonight, and something about having her arms exposed seemed weird to her.
Better than more of you. No one wants to see that
She shook her head. It was just dinner.
But it could end up becoming more.
And that thrilled and terrified her.
She ran down her plan once more. They would go to a casual dining restaurant, one step above fast food (a small step; high schooler budgets didn’t offer many options). Sometime before dessert, she would pull this paper out and ask Sunset to go out with her.
It seemed simple, but her mind kept coming up with things that could go wrong. Everything from Sunset breaking off their friendship to having an allergic reaction to Sunset just not coming to pick her up.
That’s right. Sunset was coming to pick her up. It was lame, but just walking there would have been worse. It would have taken way too long, and it would have been an awkward silence the whole time. All around a bad idea.
This whole thing is a bad idea
The sound of an approaching motorcycle made her jump. She quickly ran out the door.
Sunset chuckled. “I would have come to the door,” she said.
“Sorry,” Wallflower said.
But Sunset seemed amused, not disappointed as she handed over the helmet.
They made small talk as they rode, but Wallflower couldn’t shake the feeling that she was forgetting someth-
The roses!
She cringed. That was a great start.
They arrived at the restaurant without issue, though Wallflower felt so nervous she nearly dropped the menu. When would be a good time? She had no idea.
Their drinks came, and she was still internally panicking.
Sunset was saying something.
“What?”
“I was asking if you wanted an appetizer,” she said. “I like mozzarella sticks.”
“Sure,” Wallflower said, silently dreading the hit on her finances.
They ordered, but it still didn’t seem like the right time. She scooted closer and bumped the table. Her water glass tilted over. She grabbed for it, but her fingers slipped off the slick glass and it toppled over, spilling water onto her shirt.
And onto her list!
The water forgotten, she yanked out the paper and saw with horror that the ink had already started to run, rendering it unreadable. “Oh, no!”
Stupid! Stupid! Stupid!
“It’s alright,” Sunset said soothingly.
It’s really not!
“It’s just water,” Sunset continued.
“No, it’s… everything’s going wrong!”
“Nothing’s going wrong,” Sunset said, confused.
Wallflower shook her head. This wasn’t salvageable. Everything was ruined. Sunset got up, she was probably leaving-
But instead, Sunset slid onto the bench next to her, and gently pulled her down into a hug.
Wallflower froze, feeling a strange combination of terrified yet exhilarated.
“You’re not the only one of my friends to have a meltdown every once in a while,” she said softly. “I’ve got you. You’re safe. No rush.”
Wallflower took a shaky breath and settled into it. This wasn’t part of the plan, but she wasn’t complaining. Somehow, just being here felt safe.
And so her explanation came tumbling out. “I wrote down a bunch of stuff to say,” she admitted.
“To me?”
“Yeah.”
“Why?”
“I was hoping to get you to go out with me.”
“Ok,” Sunset said.
Ok?!
That’s a rejection
“I mean-”
Loser
“I had considered it-”
Then dismissed it out of hand
“-when you asked me to dinner,” she said, ignorant of Wallflower’s internal dialogue.
“And?”
“I think you should ask.”
“What?”
“Ask me,” Sunset said with a little smile.
“Ok. Uh, Suns- Sunset Shimmer, would you go out with me?”
Nice. Bland and unoriginal, just like you
Wallflower squeaked as she felt a hand on her thigh.
“Definitely,” Sunset said with a smile.
There was a brief pause.
“Ok,” Wallflower said, still a little in shock.
“Don’t look so surprised,” Sunset chided. “You’re a lot cooler than you give yourself credit for.”
Wallflower blushed.
Even better, that voice in her head had no response for this.
“But for now, let’s eat. Wouldn’t want this to get too cold.”
Wallflower looked and realized that their orders had come and were sitting on the table. “How long-?”
Sunset shrugged. “Doesn’t matter,” she said.
Wallflower felt a small burst of affection inside, and she returned to her seat.
Guess I owe Rose an apology.
Her stomach full and her heart happy, Wallflower felt like she was floating instead of riding back.
She swung her leg over the motorcycle, pulled her helmet off, and paused as she was handing it back. “So, do I kiss you goodnight, or…?”
“Oh, on the first date? You are a bold one.”
Wallflower blushed again, but decided to double down. “I mean, I’ve already touched your boob.”
“That was an accident.”
“Yeah,” Wallflower admitted.
“But next time it won’t be, I’m sure.”
Wallflower turned bright red.
Sunset gestured her in close. “I’m a lot newer at this than I think you think. We can start things off slow.” Her smile widened. “But I do want to tell our friends at lunch tomorrow.”
“Sure,” Wallflower said.
But as Sunset drove away, it hit her.
“Wait. What?”