The Relationship Status (1)

Donnie

"Ok, Donnie! I've waited a whole eight hours and you're killing me! Where on earth are we going?" Stephanie asked as we ran through the streets of Boston to get to my surprise event. I got this extra adrenaline rush when we held hands for the first time. I was hoping my palms wouldn't get sweaty so she wouldn't feel grossed out. But she continued to hold on and kept up with me.

"You'll see!" I said. And as we got close, we slowed down and just walked. I felt like one of those older couples who hold hands while taking a stroll down Boston. Right before we walked in, I said, "I just wanna let you know that this is a special joint that I'm bringing you to. I've never brought anyone else here before. Not even Jordan." And her big blue eyes widened and she smiled.

I held open the door for her, and we walked inside. In the front, was a juke box and a little bar where you could order root beers and such. We went to one of my all-time favorite hang-outs: Gina's. It was a cute little 50's diner that my mom used to take me to when I was younger. And we'd always go there for their famous milkshakes. And that's why I thought I'd bring her today.

She gasped at the sight of how authentically vintage it looked. "Wow, Donnie! I feel so underdressed here!" We laughed.

"So, where do you want to sit?"

She scanned the room's tables and booths and finally laid eyes on the big booth in the corner with the large window. "Oooh! That one looks super cozy!" So, we sat over there.

"So, a tradition my mom and I did, was to come here just for their special milkshakes." I said as we grabbed our menus that sat in the napkin holder.

"Omigosh!! Peanut Butter milkshake? Heck yes! What are you gonna get Don - Oh my goodness. What is the Dill Pickle Swirl one?"

"Only the grossest milkshake out of all of the milkshakes on the menu. Made with real pickles, too." I couldn't help but laugh.

Stephanie cringed, "Ew, nice... I dare you to order that and eat every single bite!" She laughed then frowned.

"What's wrong?" I said concerned.

"Oh, nothing. My brain just decided to be stupid and reflect back to what happened with Mark. He kinda freaked me out, to be honest."

Brian, our waiter that's known me forever, came and took our orders. Stephanie said hers and I ended up saying, "One Dill Pickle Swirl with extra gummy worms, please!" And Stephanie smiled. I figured if I ate the whole thing, I'd not only win the dare, but I'd make her happy, too.

Brain said, "Coming right up! And who's this little lady you brought with you today, Donnie?"

I started to get warm, "Oh, uh, this is my friend, Stephanie." I kinda cringed just calling her my friend. I knew that eventually we'd become more than that. Hopefully...

He winked at me, "Oh! Hello, Stephanie! Donnie's told me all about you!" What!? Why did he have to go out and say that? My heart starts going a mile a minute. I mean, I guess he's not lying. It's not like I came here the other day, sat on the counter and blabbed about everything I loved about her for a little over a half hour...

I grit my teeth, "Heh, yeah... Um, thanks for taking our order, Brian."

"My pleasure." He smirks at me and walks off.

I look back at Stephanie and my face gets warm. "Right, so what do you think about Gina's?" I try to change the subject.

She beamed, "I love it! It's so cozy and I like that there's a story behind it with your mom and all."

"Yeah, thanks. Hey, so, this was also a place where my mom and I talked about anything we wanted. No matter what it was. I get if you don't feel like talking about anything right now, but maybe later..." I knew I wasn't ready to talk about my family yet, considering the fact that Mark is a jerk.

"Yeah, it's all good. Maybe tomorrow or something."

"But we'll all be in detention tomorrow..." I slumped, thinking and hoping that Mom won't believe that I'll be like Mark the way Finster does...

We drank our milkshakes (I figured out that Dill Pickle Swirl is now my new favorite and it even made Stephanie laugh!), talked about our friends, our enemies, and school. I told her about how Jordan acts ding-y sometimes (or most of the time, depending on the situation) and she told me how Jennifer can be really sarcastic sometimes, too.

And at one point, we just had one of those moments where you can't help but laugh at everything and so I said, "Ok, so we have to say one thing we like about each other. Ready? You go first."

"Ok!" She giggled. "I think your hair is kinda cute..."

"You wanna feel it? It's super soft."

"Is it really?" She laughed again.

Now it was my turn to laugh, "No joke, it is! Feel it!"

She sits next to me and ran her fingers through my hair. I got jolts of excitement.

Then she said, "Aw, shoot. I messed up your perfect swoop. But the messy look doesn't look half bad either... It's kinda cool!"

I couldn't help but smile at her, "What does it look like?"

"Here - " She dug through her purse and handed me her compact mirror. I did look kinda cool, now that she mentioned it. Sure, it looked like I rolled out of bed. But I bet if I toyed with it the right way, I could make it work!

"Nice!" I said. "Ok, my turn. I like your eyes. They're gorgeous. I don't think I've ever seen anyone's eyes look like yours, Stephanie." And then we kinda looked at each other, the same way we did at the library. I almost wanted to move closer, but Brian interfered us to leave the bill...

"You two kids have fun now!" He smiles and waved at us on the way out. "Nice to meet ya, Steph!"

Today turned out pretty well! I think I basically took her on our first date. But I guess it was more of a surprise than a date... Shoot. Why do we even need detention again?