There's A First time For Everything

          As soon as the bell rang I was out of study hall and booking it down the sidewalk. I'm pretty sure a couple papers flew out of my cross-body bag and were somewhere on the street, but I kept running. I ran past the bus, It would take too long I thought, I have to get to Sasha. I followed the shortcut that Sheen told me to take to our apartment if there was ever an emergency; I was finally at the back of the apartment building and grabbed the old, rusty ladder that we kept back there in case we needed to get in or out using the window. I climbed to the top of the ladder and tried to lift the window; it was either stuck or locked, and both were inconvenient. I knocked on the window and waited, hoping Sasha was home. I was about to start knocking again when I saw the door open inside, It was Sasha; when she saw me at the window, I couldn't decide if she looked confused or upset.
          She ran to the window, unlocked it, and let me in; I tripped over the windowsill when I climbed in and landed on my face at her feet. Sasha walked over me and quickly shut the window, "you scared me to death, were they chasing you again?!" "Well, no" I breathed, as I got up from her bedroom floor. She whipped her head towards me "Then what on Earth are you doing, using the emergency ladder?" Just then, Sheen walked in holding Ferdie, our cat. "What's going on Sash?" Then he saw me standing in front of the window "oh you're home early" he smiled, I didn't hear you come in. "Oh- I uh- didn't use the door." I mumbled, motioning to the window. "Did they chase you again?!" Sheen asked, concern creeping into his voice. "No- I just, it's stupid, I'm sorry" I muttered as I started to leave.
          Both Sasha and Sheen moved to stand in front of the doorway. Sasha gave me her signature 'oh-no-you-don't' look, and Sheen just towering over me was enough for me to surrender, even with a fluffy, spoiled cat in his arms. "Okay, okay, I'll tell you" I breathed, sitting on Sasha's bed, which was littered with extra blankets and it seemed like four hundred stuffed animals. I took a deep breath and couldn't help but feel like I was about to let them down, but I was here, right now; and they wanted to know. "Willow Paine asked me out" I blurted without thinking about how embarrassing it was with me sitting there among stuffed animals, looking like I was going to cry, I must've seemed like a child to them. I was fiddling with the hem of my shirt nervously as their faces softened and they began to laugh.
          "I- I told you it was stupid" "It's not stupid, Sam" Sasha laughed "You were just so frantic" "You know that you could've just sent me a text" Sheen chuckled, handing me Ferdie. "Guys, stop laughing, this is serious!" They both straightened up a bit, I felt bad for snapping at them. "You guys know I've never been on a date before" I said as I placed Ferdie on a pile of Sasha's Sanrio plushies. "I'm sorry bud, I forgot about that." Sheen sighed, scooting a Kuromi plushie out of his way as he sat down next to me. "I suppose you wanted some advice from the master?" "Actually, I-" I started to cut him off when Sasha shot a look at Sheen "Well ladykiller, how many dates have you gone on in the past year?" Sheen put his hands up, "Woah there, does the lady at the gas station ring a bell?" "You don't even know her name and she was wearing a name tag!" Sasha continued "And all you wanted was for her to accept your expired coupon for a free Monster Energy."
          I cut in "hey guys?" I laughed, "we're a little off track here" "Yeah I'd say that." Sheen chuckled. "I actually came home early to ask if Sasha would help me out," I prattled. "Why did I say it like that?" "I'm sorry Sheen I didn't mean it like that, I want your advice too." I knew he was a little upset, but no one else would really notice but me. "Sam it's really no big deal" he laughed, "As long as I can help in the wardrobe department, You could be going out with Sasha and I wouldn't mind." Sasha and I exchanged glances

"Eww"
"Eww"
"Hey that's my sister!" he laughed, eyeing me, "And that's my best friend!"

Okay, maybe he wasn't that upset.

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          My date with Willow is in six hours and I keep checking my watch; I shouldn't be this nervous, Sasha has been giving me tips all week, "I've got this! " I opened my leather-bound sketchbook and set it on the table next to my sandwich; I bent over in my chair to reach my bag for a pencil, but when I looked up, I saw Willow from across the lounge talking to the art history teacher. She had her hair in a green bandana with a few small orange curls peeking out; and she was wearing black overalls and a long sleeve shirt that was the same color as her bandanna. Some of the nervousness was returning, but it was outweighed by wanting to see her again. I rode the bus home from school today, I thought it would help calm the rest of my nerves; when the bus arrived at the apartments, there was a brown and white stray dog outside of the building. Sasha and I named him Willy, he usually waits for me to get home so I can give him his dinner.
          "Hey Will" I said, scratching his droopy ears, "Sasha is going to bring you your dinner tonight, I have a date." He nuzzled my hand and I went up the stairs to the second floor of our apartment building. When I opened the door, Sheen and Sasha were playing Super Smash Bros on the couch; they heard the door click and whipped their heads around to see me. Sheen checked his watch, "Only two more hours to go, how are you feelin'?" I set my bag down on a barstool and walked into the kitchen to grab a drink, "I'm feeling alright, I'm definitely putting to much trust in your advice." I continued, "but I'm good." I joked, popping the tab on a Coca-Cola. Sasha put her controller on the coffee table and took a sip of Monster, "You dorks will have a great time, I found one of her articles in your room and-" "Why were you in my room?!" I stammered, snapping the tab off of the soda can.
          Sasha snickered, "I was helping Shay-Shay with your outfit and I was looking for your jewelry, but I found your school newspaper clippings instead." Sheen cringed and choked on his drink, "I thought we agreed to not use that nickname anymore." "Nah I still like it," Sasha shrugged. "But anyway, back to the point," she continued, "You guys have so much you can talk about, it may be deathly boring for anyone else in the café, but at least you'll be getting along," She joked. "Art, architecture, and law are not boring, it's what keeps this world from falling apart." I berated. "Yeah, yeah, whatever, let's get you ready." Sasha said as she grabbed my hand and led Sheen and I to my bedroom. Spread out on my bed was an outfit with pieces that I didn't recognize and definitely weren't Sheen's clothes.
"Where did you- these aren't mine" I stuttered. Sasha smoothed a wrinkle out of the tan turtleneck that was laid meticulously on the bed, "with all the new movies that came out this year, there's been a lot more people visiting the parlor." Sheen cut in, "And my manager at Hot Topic gave me a raise, so we-" I locked them both in a hug, which Sheen tried to escape, "I love you guys" I whispered. "Before you suffocate us, can you just try on the clothes?" Sheen asked sarcastically. "Ugh, if I have to." I joked, picking up the outfit that Sheen and Sasha bought for me.
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