//------------------------------// // Chapter 3: The Date // Story: A Search for Something More // by HAKDurbin //------------------------------// "YOU TRIED TO KISS APPLEJACK!?!?!" It's the day after the party, and Caramel and I are at lunch period. I stare at my friend in surprise from the information he just gave me. "Oh fine, tell it to the whole school why don't you?" He says sarcastically. "Sorry, Caramel," I say. "I just can't believe that you would do that." "Do what?" Soarin says from behind as he takes his seat with his tray of food. "Apparently, things did not go for Caramel as well as we thought," I reply. "He tried to kiss Applejack when she dropped him off home last night." "What? How did that happen?" Soarin asks, shocked. "Ugh, I don't want to tell it all again," Caramel groans as he covers his face with both hands. "So, you saw Applejack take me home and so thought things got better between her and me, right?" Soarin nods. "Well, that wasn't the case," Caramel continues. "When I tried talking to her after Rough Draft dared us, I think I went as far as saying hi to her before I just kept stammering. It didn't help that her friends were giggling at me while I was going through Hell, trying to say another word. She was giving me this small smile that I think was telling me that she was flattered or sympathetic. Maybe both. Eventually, she asked for my name, and I shouted, 'Carmel.' I quickly covered my mouth with both of my hands, shocked that I yelled at the girl that I like, and said my name wrong. I quickly apologized, and she calmly said it was okay. Suddenly, Pinkie Pie popped up and asked Applejack, 'how is it going with your future boyfriend?' Rarity started ridiculing her for it, while the rest of the girls were making awkward glances. At that moment, I just couldn't take it anymore. I ran away without so much as a word. I went inside the house and found a corner to sit on and started breathing rapidly after what had transpired. But then Applejack came up to me, and I began to stutter again. She put her hand on my shoulder, which didn't help since that just gave me chills down my spine, and just said that it's okay and offered to take me home. I agreed, and so she took me to her truck and drove me back. But once she parked on the sidewalk, she gave me a sympathetic hug, and right then, I couldn't stop myself. I tried to kiss her as she hugged me. I think I got her cheek. Before she could say anything, I just got out of her car and ran my house and into my room." "Holy crap, dude!" Soarin exclaims. "What in the world were you thinking?" "I don't know. I guess I knew that I screwed it up for good, so I figured I would at least have that before the inevitable comes," Caramel says as he covers his face again before he looks at me and bitterly. "Why did you make me talk to Applejack? I was perfectly fine with just wishing I could be with her." "Hey, I didn't know that was going to happen," I say defensively. "I admit that I mostly did it to get back at you guys for your ridiculous plan, but I meant it when I wished you guys luck. It was time that you two would at least try to get with your crushes - you especially since you've had your crush on Applejack the longest. But, I didn't think things were going to turn out that way, and I'm sorry that it did, Caramel." Caramel keeps glaring at me for a moment until he sighs and says, "You're right. It's not entirely your fault. You had to try at least to find a girl last night, so it made sense that Soarin and I did the same with our crushes. I just wish it went better for me. Ugh, I can't imagine what she could be thinking about me right now." As he says that, he covers his face with his hands again. Soarin and I look at each other and silently decide to turn and look at Applejack and the other Rainbooms a few tables away from us. Judging by their facial expressions, Applejack might be talking about what happened herself. Rainbow Dash notices us looking and takes the opportunity to secretly mouth out, "How is Mr. Shy Guy doing?" I shake my head while Soarin makes a cut-throat gesture. She facepalms in response. We turn back to Caramel before I say, "Tell you what, Caramel; tomorrow is Saturday, so why don't we watch a movie or play video games or something? Maybe it'll keep your mind off her for a while." He makes a shrug indicating that he's okay with that with his face still covered before he silently goes back to eating his lunch. For a few moments, we just ate our lunch in silence until Soarin gets an idea and elbows Caramel. "By the way, it looks like we succeeded in finding a girl that might be interested in Rough Draft," he says with a smug grin. Immediately, Caramel stops eating and looks at me with excited eyes. "Tell me everything!" He shouts. I jump back before I respond, "Well, I didn't learn too much about her. She seems to be a close friend of DJ-PON-3, she might be from some high-class family or something judging by her clothes and her accent, and best of all, she only recently started to go to this school, so she hopefully has no idea about what happened at the Spring Fling." Caramel rolls his eyes at the last part before he asks, "What's her name?" "Octavia Melody," I say plainly. Caramel looks at me, confused and asks, "Wait, Octavia Melody?" "Uh-uh. Do you know her?" I ask. "Well, I know more of her." Caramel answers with a shrug. "Her parents are famous musicians, and they recently moved here, wanting to live in a suburb instead of in Manehatten high society. Though personally, I think it's odd that they haven't moved again. I mean, Octavia's parents transferred her to Canterlot High in hopes for her last high school year to be more quiet and normal than her school back in Manehatten, and yet Octavia has gone through the first couple of months experiencing everything that happened at the Fall Formal and the Battle of the Bands." "I see," I say in a focused tone. "Well, I hope I'll see her around at school. Maybe I could ask her out for coffee or something." Soarin gives me a concerned look on his face. "I don't know, dude. You seem to be leaving whether or not you'll see this girl again to chance," he says. "I mean, you have never seen her until the party, so how are you going to find her?" I take a moment to think about it before I shrug and say, "I don't know. I'll have to think of something." After a couple of minutes, the school bell rings, informing us once again that lunch is over. I leave the cafeteria and say my goodbye to Soarin and Caramel before I walk to my sixth-period class, which is, unfortunately, gym with Mr. Iron Will. I don't know what it is with Mr. Iron Will, but he seems very devoted to make gym class agonizing. Whether it's running, volleyball, tennis, or dodgeball, he makes sports feel like everything we do is a matter of life and death. I don't know why that cliché of dodgeball, in particular, being a nightmare is still a thing in high school, but Mr. Iron Will found a way. It's like you're going to be in pain no matter where you get hit. Heaven help the person who gets hit right in the face with one of the dodgeballs. *WHAM* Like that. I fall on the ground with my forehead searing in pain. I slowly open my eyes move my head up to surprisingly find Octavia also on the floor and rubbing her forehead. I quickly stand up and offer her my hand. "Are you alright?" I ask. She groans in response before she looks up to me and takes my hand. "I could be better," she says as I pull her up. We both take a moment to collect ourselves before Octavia recognizes me. "Oh. You're the guy from the party last night, aren't you?" She asks. "What was your name again? Something, Draft?" "Rough Draft," I reply. "Oh, right. Sorry," she says. "No biggie," I say. For a moment, awkward silence fills the air. I try to think of something else to say. "So...um...first-time head colliding?" I ask with an awkward chuckle. Octavia looks at me with an unamused look. "What gave it away?" she asks sarcastically. "Eh, I can always find the rookies," I say. She snorts in response. "Well, it's good to know that butting heads affect your silly sense of humor," she remarks. "Oh, what can I say? It's buried too deep in my brain to be affected no matter how fragile my skull is," I say jokingly. Octavia chuckles, amused with my response. I rub the back of my neck before I eventually ask, "So, uh, you in a real hurry to your next class?" "A little bit," she responds. "I have history with Ms. Harshwinny, and her classroom is on the other side of the building. My previous class is not far from there, but I had to do something with Vinyl that brought me all the way over here. I'm probably going to be late anyway since I'll have to walk from here with this headache." "Oh, man. Sorry about that," I say quickly. "I have her before my lunch period." Octavia scoffs and says, "She's such a dreadful woman, isn't she?" "Yeah, she's awful. I get detention a lot for not paying attention in her class," I say. "I believe you," Octavia says with a smirk. I make a fake offended gasp and put my hand on my chest in an over-the-top manner. "Now, why would a lady like you say something so mean?" I say in a playful, over-dramatic tone. Octavia giggles at my performance before she replies, "Oh, I don't know. I suppose a lady like me knows when a poor guy like you has such an unfortunate habit and kindly tells him the cold hard truth." We chuckle at her little joke before she asks, "So, I assume that you're one of those students that falls asleep or tries to be on their phone without getting caught?" I hesitate with answering the question, afraid of how she'll respond if I do. "Uh, actually, I mostly just write stories," I say nervously. "Oh, really? What do you write?" Octavia asks, suddenly interested. Dang it. I didn't think she'd ask that. My one chance with this girl and I probably have to tell her that I write fanfiction. Thankfully, before I get a chance to respond, the bell rings, and we both realize we are late for class. "I better head off. Mr. Iron Will is probably going to have my head for being late." I say. "I should get going to Harshwinny's class too," she replies. "But I'd like to have my question answered later." She gives me a small smile as she walks past me. I take a moment to think about my options at this point. On the one hand, maybe telling her won't be so bad, but on the other hand, she might laugh, and I'm going to be embarrassed. Do I want to take that kind of chance just so that I can talk to this girl again? No. This is not worth it. I can forget Rainbow Dash's advice from here. It was nice giving this whole thing a try while it lasted. Don't do it, Rough Draft. Don't even think about it. Do not take that - "Actually," I begin, making Octavia turn around and looks at me. *sigh* You idiot. "If you want to know, I don't have anything going on after school. So, would you like to get together sometime then?" I ask. "Maybe we could grab some coffee or go to Sugarcube Corner or something?" Octavia raises her eyebrow. "Are you asking me out just for that?" She asks. I scratch the back of my head and look around as if everything else besides her is the most interesting thing to look at and stammer, "Y-yes?" For a moment, Octavia doesn't say anything while I prepare for the worst. But instead, she smiles. "I don't drink coffee. It makes me very hyper," she says. "But I have heard how good the milkshakes at Sugarcube Corner are, and I've wanted to try them for some time." Huh. She's said yes. "Well, that sounds good. Um, why don't we meet at the front entrance to the shop at say four-thirty ish?" I ask. "Yes. That works for me," Octavia replies. "Okay, good. Um, I will see you there then," I say. "Yes, I will see you there, Mr. Draft," she says. "You could just call me Rough Draft," I say with a smile. Octavia smiles and says, "Alright, see you there, Rough Draft." With that, she walks away, heading to her class. The moment she is out of sight, I let out a big sigh of relief. Holy cow, I can't believe that just happened. I got a date with this beautiful girl tonight. Actually, does that count as a date? Neither of us said it was. I think you both have to agree it is for it to be one. Eh, I'll call it that anyway. Now I have to wait for school to end, head home to drop off my backpack, and I'll be going to Sugercube Corner with Octavia. Of course, that also means still going to gym class and face heaven knows what from Mr. Iron Will for being late. Oh great. ********************************************************************************************************************** There's nothing like limping to a restaurant to meet up with a girl, is there? When I made it to Mr. Iron Will's class, I had to do fifteen laps around the gym and then join in playing dodgeball despite being worn out after running. Needless to say, I never stood a chance. Fifteen laps and then one hit in the right leg with one of those hard balls, and naturally, I would be in a little bit of pain with Mr. Iron Will and the better fit classmates calling me a wimp. Well, excuse me for having a life outside of the gym. As I walk over to Sugercube Corner, I check the time on my phone. It's two minutes until 4:30. Okay, so she could be a little late. No biggie. Unless, of course, she decides that I am not worth her time and ditches me and does something that will make me the laughing stock of the entire school. Whoa, easy there, Rough Draft. This is a new girl who is very nice and seems interested in you, not Sunset Shimmer. Though after something like the Spring Fling, a guy can still be worried. I make it to the restaurant before I sit down on the cement and lean my back on the wall next to the front doors. I sigh in relief as I allow my legs to take a break after all the walking from school to home to here. Thank heaven this date will involve mostly sitting down, and there is no school tomorrow. I could stay in bed all day, playing video games with Caramel and Soarin online on our laptops over the weekend. "Comfy down there?" I look up to see Octavia standing in front of me with an amused smile. I smile back as I get up. "Oh yeah. It's super comfy," I say jokingly. "I heard that 9 out of 10 times, your muscles are completely relaxed the moment you sit on the cement, and you lay your head against the wall. Want to give it a try?" She rolls her eyes before she says, "Thanks, but I just finished having the nap of my life during detention." I smirk before I jokingly say, "Ah-ha! Even the lady is not immune to getting detention!" She scoffs and says, "Yes, it appears Ms. Harshwinny took my lateness worse than I hoped. She just announced that I had detention in front of everyone before I fully entered the classroom." "Wow, that has to be a new school record. I'm impressed," I say. "You shouldn't be. If it went any longer, I would've been very late for meeting with you," Octavia points out. "Fair enough," I say. "Speaking of which, let's get inside, shall we?" "Yes, let's," Octavia says with a smile. I hold the door for her, which she responds with an appreciative smile as she enters (thank you, Soarin for the tip) before I follow. Sugarcube Corner is a friendly establishment and is a regular hang out for most of the students at Canterlot High. Octavia and I look around and see other students hanging out with their friends while enjoying their milkshakes, tea, sodas, and pastries while sitting on couches or tables. "Well helloooooooooo, Rough Draft!" I jump before I turn to see Pinkie Pie in her work uniform, holding a tray full of drinks and a smug grin on her face. "Look at you. One party later, and you found yourself a date," she says. "Uh, yeah, I did," I say while turning to Octavia, who rolls her eyes, smiling. "But it's only half thanks to you, Pinkie." "What do you mean?" Pinkie asks with a confused look. "According to Rainbow Dash, the dance-off thing was the dumbest thing to try to find a girl," I explain. Pinkie Pie looked even more confused at this information. "Well, that's funny; I thought for sure that was the best way to get attention. I even asked Sunset Shimmer to make sure," she says. Sunset Shimmer? Did she say Sunset Shimmer? Well, that's just great. She didn't think it was enough to try to get back into my good graces, but she even had the nerve to try to sabotage Caramel, Soarin and Pinkie's attempt to - On second thought, I'm just going to let this one go. After all, her plan did fail in the end, and that's good enough for me. "You know what, Pinkie? It's all good," I say. "Heck, if anything, Octavia and I did start talking through the subject of how silly 'the Dodger' was, so technically it worked anyway." "Yes, I must agree," Octavia says. "It was a rather amusing thing to talk about." "Well, whatever works for ya," Pinkie Pie says with a happy shrug. "Anyway, have fun." She walks away, heading to deliver the drinks, humming as she went, while Octavia and I go back to ordering our drinks. We both walk to the counter where one of the owners, Mrs. Cake smiles and asks, "What can I getcha?" "I'll have a blueberry milkshake," I answer. Octavia hesitates before she says, "I'll try a strawberry, milkshake, please." Mrs. Cake rings up the orders and tells us the total cost. I offer to pay for both of us, which Octavia politely accepts. I take out my wallet and begin to take some cash out. *CRASH* Suddenly, I hear glass breaking and look past Mrs. Cake. To my displeasure, I find Sunset Shimmer behind the counter, wearing her own Sugarcube Corner work uniform. She appears to have dropped a few milkshake glasses and is acting embarrassed about it as Pinkie Pie pops up from behind her and helps her clean up the mess, telling her that it's okay. Great. As if acting so nice wasn't enough, now she's working here with Pinkie Pie, coming off as someone even closer than she ever was before. Why can't they see that this is all a ploy before she strikes again? She's done all of this before, and she will do so - "Rough Draft." Startled, I snap out of my train of thought and turn to Octavia, who gestures to me to pay Mrs. Cake. After a quick apology to Mrs. Cake, I give her the money, and she tells us that our drinks will be right out. Octavia suggests that we find a place to sit, and so we find a small table next to a window. After we sit down, we take a moment of silence before Octavia looks at me with a concerned look and asks, "What was that all about? You were staring at Sunset Shimmer with a rather venomous glare. You also looked like you were going to blow a fuse when Pinkie mentioned her." Oh jeez, is that really how I facially react whenever I'm looking or thinking about that girl? I take a moment to think about her question, unsure of what is the best way to answer. "Yeah, sorry about that. I have a...bad history with her," I explain. Octavia is taken aback at this. "Oh, I'm sorry," she says carefully. "It's not your fault," I say "But I am sorry about how I reacted. To be honest, no one has ever told me I give her a venomous glare. I feel kinda embarrassed." "It's alright. I understand," she says with care. "I won't ask any more about it unless you're comfortable with it." "Thank you," I say, appreciatively. Mr. Cake comes with our milkshakes, and almost immediately, we start drinking. Already I am a third of the way into my drink, whereas Octavia takes her time with hers. I decide to try drinking slower out of politeness before I clear my throat and ask, "So...how is it?" She looks up at me and says, "It's good. It's certainly sweeter than I thought it would be. I might try to come here more often and try other flavors.” I make a small chuckle as I reply, “They do give a lot of options.” “Indeed,” she states. We continue to drink in silence before Octavia asks, "By the way, I noticed that you are limping. Was Mr. Iron Will that harsh?" I give her another small chuckle, and say, "Define 'really harsh.'" She makes a worried facial expression. "That bad?" she asks. I make a sarcastic face as I say, "Oh no, he just made me run a few laps before throwing me into the lion's den that is dodgeball, leaving one of the balls to hit me pretty hard on my right leg." "Oh dear," Octavia replies with a grimace. "Yeah, I don't know what is with the dodgeballs he uses that makes it so painful to get hit," I say. "It's like the skin of those things is completely made out of mithril." Octavia gives me a perplexed look and asks, "Uh, made out of what?" Oh great. I just had to show my nerdy side right there. "It's this metal from The Lord of the Rings that is very light but also very hard," I explain. "So I'm exaggerating that the skin is made out of mithril because the balls are light enough to pick up and throw, but strong enough that it hurts when you get hit." Octavia continues to give me a quizzical look, unsure of how to respond. Eventually, she says, "I see." and goes back to drinking her shake. Well, this is just splendid. I just had to say something so nerdy. I mean granted, if Octavia and I go further than only one date, she would have to learn it eventually. But even so, I would have liked to have her get to know me in general before showing that I'm into stuff like that, along with my fanfiction. Oh yeah. Planning to tell her what I write about was what led to asking her out, wasn't it? In fact, what was it that I thought to myself earlier? Oh yeah. You idiot! Well, for better or worse, we finish our shakes and talk about how we both enjoyed them before the inevitable happens. "Oh, I almost forgot. You were going to tell me about what you write," Octavia says. Oh, boy, here we go. I rub the back of my head, thinking of whether or not I should tell her or make something up. Eventually, I take a breath and respond, "Actually, I'd rather not say." She makes a surprised facial expression before she stutters, "What?" "Uh, I actually don't want to tell you because I am a little uncomfortable about admitting what I write," I say. "But you said that you'd tell if we came here," Octavia says, sounding hurt in her voice. "I know, and I'm sorry, but I wasn't thinking. I just wanted to ask you out, and I wasn't considering how you will laugh if I tell you," I say ashamedly. At this, Octavia stares at me, still hurt. I wish I could say something that could make this better, but I felt like I just pissed her off. But instead, she sighed before she places her hand on mine and calmly says, "Hey, it's okay, you can tell me. I promise I won't laugh at you." She gave me a reassuring smile, which is a little comforting, but not enough. "I don't know." I slowly say. "Please, Rough Draft, just tell me," Octavia asks. "You promise you won't laugh?" I ask. "I promise," Octavia answers. "In fact, I Pinkie Promise." My eyes widen at what she just said. The Pinkie Promise is the most serious promise you could ever make. I've only heard stories of what Pinkie Pie does to people who break a Pinkie Promise, and I don't want Octavia to find out what. "Octavia, that isn't necessary," I say. "No, I mean it," Octavia says confidently. "Whatever it is you write about, I won't so much as make a tiny giggle. Cross my heart, and hope to fly, stick a cupcake in my eye." Oh my gosh. She did it. She made a Pinkie Promise. I don't know if I should be flattered or horrified that she would go that far to find out the truth. Then again, she has been willing to stick around for this long, so it might be worth a try. With all the calmness I can muster, I take a deep breath and spit out, "Iwritestarwarsfanfiction!" Octavia looks at me with confused eyes. "Sorry, what was that now?" she asks. I take another breath before I say more slowly, "I write Star Wars fan fiction. I pass the time in Harshwinny's class writing adventures of me as a Jedi Master fighting whole empires of the Sith." For half a minute, not a sound is heard outside of people chattering around us. Octavia's face is unchanged, probably trying to process in her mind what I just said. Then a smile slowly begins to form on her face, and I become a little more comfortable. But then I hear a small snort. The snort turns into a snicker. The snicker turns into a chuckle. And the chuckle turns into complete laughter that she tries to cover with both of her hands. Wow. Fail. Yeah, that doesn't hurt at all sarcastically speaking. I cover both hands with my face, trying to control my emotions. This is the worst thing that could happen to me. I try to move on from everything that happened with Sunset Shimmer, and now I'm laughed at because of my hobby again. I can't believe this. I feel Octavia take my arm to uncover my face while still fighting off the laughter. "I-I-I'm so sorry," she says in mid-laughter. "I-I-I didn't mean to -" "Well, you did anyway," I say bluntly. "I warned you, but you just had to be so determined to find out." "No, I know, and this is rude of me," she says apologetically. "I really did want to know. Heck, I even made a Pinkie Promise for heaven sa -" At that moment, she immediately stops laughing and loudly gasps. We look at each other with looks of horror on our faces as we realize the gravity of the situation. We didn't know what to do except stare at each other, afraid of what was going to happen. "OCTAVIA!!!" We both jump as we turn around to face the counter. Pinkie Pie stares at both of us with steam coming out of her ears and mouth and fire in her eyes. She starts running toward us, shouting in a monstrous voice, "YOU PINKIE PROMISED!!!" We both watch in horror as Pinkie charges at us. I turn to Octavia, who looks even more horrified than before. It was at this moment that I decide to get her out of here. She may have hurt my feelings, but I still don't want to find out what happens if Pinkie gets to her. "Shall I take you home right about now?" I sympathetically. Octavia makes a sharp nod, and I stand up and grab her hand as we race to the exit. Pinkie Pie shouts out, "OCTAVIA, GET BACK HERE!!!" which only makes us more desperate to leave. But suddenly, I feel a jolt of pain on my leg and fall on my side, forgetting that it still hurts from dodgeball. Octavia notices and comes back, lifts me up, and helps me run to the exit. After we got outside, we are only a few steps away from the doors when Pinkie Pie is about to leave the building too, until Mr. Cake shouts out that she has to stay because she's still working. We both dare to look back to see her staring at us with a vengeful glare. "Don't think you escaped me for long, Melody!" She shouts without the monstrous voice. "The next time I see you, I will hunt you down and make you say you're sorry!" Octavia turns to me with a worried look. "Do you want to run a few blocks further away from her just in case?" she asks. I shout out in panic, "Please don't let me stop you!" And with that, we run/limp away, eager to be as far away from Pinkie as possible. ********************************************************************************************************************** For about fifteen minutes or so, we keep going until we eventually make it to a park next to the neighborhood. Octavia finds a bench for us to sit down on so we can rest. Octavia turns to me and asks, "Are you alright?" Unfortunately, her question leads me to remember that I'm upset with her. With a slight hint of venom in my voice, I mutter, "I could be feeling better." Octavia winces at this, and we both look away from each other. We stay silent for a couple of minutes before she speaks again. "Look, Rough Draft, I am sorry that I laughed," she says. "I just didn't expect that to be what it is that you write about. When I asked earlier today, it was because I was interested in knowing what it was you were passionate about. I was even excited that you would ask me out just to tell me what you do. You see, I love seeing people express themselves through different forms of art. It's just something that I enjoy as a musician myself. And the truth is while I haven't known you for very long, I must admit, you have proven to be a very nice, charming, and rather silly, but also a very deep person. I had a feeling that there was something more to you than how you appear, and I wanted to find out what. But I still completely handled it the wrong way, and I feel horrible about it." She looks away from me, feeling guilty. I'm not sure how to respond. I'm still hurt that she laughed, but at the same time, I felt a little better with her explanation. Maybe it was the compliment about her thinking I'm deep on top of being a nice guy or something. Whatever it was, I start to feel like I shouldn't be too harsh on her. She sounds like she meant it when she apologized, and I have to admit that deep down, I still wanted to get to know her more. I made a move on her last night, feeling that there was something more than how she appears, and then she expressed her interest in what I write because she thought the same way about me. Maybe there is something that we could build on after all. I clear my throat, still not looking at her, and say, "Well, you're not necessarily wrong. What I really want to do is to write stories that take place in my own creative worlds. The thing is that I haven't come up with anything yet. I am not sure if I want to write science fiction stories or fantasy or a bit of both, but that's more or less why I resign myself from writing fanfiction; it's stuff that has to do with one of those genres that I know where I can write at least some stories. But even then, I know that I want to go out of the box and create something new someday. Something with a new world or worlds where there are numerous adventures with my own characters." I turn around and see Octavia slowly do the same. She smiles at me and says, "I knew it. There it is. That's the part of you I knew I saw." I start to smile back before I remember to add, "Oh, and I also want to have somehow romance be a key role in my stories too." She starts giggling, but I know this time that she isn't doing it out of insult. "Any particular reason that you would like something like that in your fictional worlds of Jedi or whatever?" she asks with a flirtatious smirk. I make a goofy grin before I sincerely reply, "To be honest, I wonder about that myself sometimes. I think it is because it always sounded like it's the key to real...completeness in life. Like there are so many other things people that are worth searching and fighting for, but there's something about finding love with someone special that makes life much more filling or whole. So if I do write the stories I want to write, I hope to find a way to make that fit into what my characters go through in their story arcs. Though I admit that it's something I've never experienced before, but I hope to experience someday and be able to express it through my writing." Once again, silence fills the air. Octavia and I don't do anything apart from just staring and smiling at each other. Then Octavia scoots closer to me before she quietly says, "I believe you will." My goofy smile returns, and I look away, feeling my cheeks turning red. She giggles again, which makes my blush grow. "Just one last query," she says. "Based on what you just told me, is there some beautiful princess or Jedi or...a Jedi princess or whatever to rescue or fight alongside with the Rough Draft in your current stories?" I chuckle and say, "No, I'm afraid Jedi Master Rough Draft is a lone wolf focusing forced to focus more on fighting evil than anything else." Octavia snorts before she playfully exclaims, "What? Boo! How dare the evil Sith distract keep him from finding that lovely Jedi princess!" We both chuckle before we went back to looking into each other's eyes, smiling. ********************************************************************************************************************** The sun starts to set, so Octavia and I decide to start heading home. Octavia helps me limp my way to my house. Once we reach the front door, I jokingly say, "Hey, wait a minute. Isn't the gentleman who asked the lady out supposed to be the one to bring her home?" Octavia rolls her eyes, smirking before she says, "Indeed, he does, but given the dear gentleman's injuries, we should make an exception here. But the lady would like for it to go the other way around the next time." I smirk back as I reply, "Well, I shall do everything in my power to ensure that it will, Lady Melody," trying to take a bow before my leg begins to hurt again. Octavia rolls her eyes again before she says, "All playfulness aside, kindly let that leg heal over this weekend." I respond by saluting like a military man Ave saying, "Fear not, madam. There won't be so much as half of a step made with this foot throughout the entire weekend. Gentleman's honor." She giggles and says, "Well, in the meantime, why don't we exchange numbers so that I'll be checking to make sure you hold up to that promise." I smile as I nod in answer to that suggestion. We take each other's phones to add ourselves to others' contact info. I send a text to her to make sure that I have the right number. After that, Octavia looks at me with a genuine smile, "Well, thank you for the milkshakes, Rough Draft. All things considered, I did have a good time." "Me too," I confirm. "We should do this again sometime." "I would like that," she says. And then, before I realize what she was doing, she leans over and kisses me on the cheek. My cheeks warm up again as I watch her walk away. She stops at the end of the driveway to turn and look at me to give me one last smile before she turns and heads home. Quietly, I step inside my house and walk up the steps to my room. My mom calls over from the kitchen to let me know that dinner will be ready soon, and I let her know I'll be in my room until then. I enter my room that is filled with posters of Star Wars, Lord of the Rings, and other sci-fi or fantasy films/shows and fall right into my bed with a sigh. For the first time in a while, things are starting to look bright for me.