Elliana X Jason

Nine, Actual Dates

Jason felt ready. Mostly. A little. Half. Not that much. Not at all. Yeah, he was screwed. Great.

He looked at himself. He'd dressed up a little, but not anything extra. It was just... him. He looked good enough, and he was still ready. Ish.

He clutched his head and left before he could second-guess himself. But as he was leaving, he saw someone out of the corner of his eye.

"Alex?" Jason asked.

Alex sighed. "Yeah. Sorry I left. I was being childish and stupid and-"

"Don't apologize to me. Apologize to Ian." Jason said.

"Yeah, that makes sense. Can you come with?" Alex asked.

"I'm sorry. But while you work out your love life, I've got to deal with mine."

"Deal with?"

Jason sighed. "I like Elliana. A lot. Like, probably too much. But I just never know what to say to her, and I'm afraid I'll say something that screws everything up." He mumbled.

"Dude. This girl has forgiven you for anything and everything. She can forgive you if you say something wrong."

"Yeah, you're right." Jason said. "Thanks."

Alex patted him on the back and left to face his own problems. Jason sighed and began walking towards Elliana's house. Walking. He could teleport, but he didn't want to. His scared mind wanted to take as much time as possible. And yet he found himself rushing, excited to see her.

After a while, he made it to Elliana's. Instead of climbing through the window like he usually would, he rang the doorbell. After a moment, Elliana opened the door. She had her phone to her ear, and she waved to him.

"I know, mom. I'm taking care of myself. I've got to go. Bye! I love you too. Sic, Amore. Stop! Okay, I really have to go now."

Elliana hung up and Jason got a good look at her. She was wearing a white turtleneck tank top and a jean skirt. Her waves were placed into a neat ponytail at the back of her head. He figured she was wearing makeup, because her eyelids were golden. She swatted at one of her eyes, then the other.

"Sorry. I'm never wearing makeup again. So itchy."

Jason laughed.

"Sorry, was I supposed to dress up? I could change." Elliana said.

"No, don't. You look... well, you look great." Jason smiled.

Elliana blushed. "Thanks." She said.

"So, uh, do you want to go?" Jason asked.

"Where are we going?" Elliana asked.

"Surprise."

"Are we walking?"

"Yes. It's not far."

"How far?"

Jason laughed. "What's with all the questions?" He asked.

Elliana shrugged, giggling. "I don't know. Just curious." She said.

"Very curious." Jason laughed.

"Sorry." Elliana blushed.

"It's okay." Jason said, pecking her on the cheek. "I like it."

Elliana smiled, and they began to walk. It was mostly silent, except when Jason looked at Elliana, finding it impossible not to explore every perfection of her face.

"What?" Elliana asked, catching him looking at her again.

"Nothing!" Jason laughed.

When they finally arrived, Jason noticed Elliana staring in surprise at the large 'Pizza & Arcade' sign.