House of Cards Series # 3 One Shots (QoS, KoH)

First Love (2)

* Bella Thorne with red hair plays the young Grace

Nate was holding a bag of frozen peas to his face and gave his laughing parents a dirty look. His first date had definitely NOT gone as planned. He should have known that things were gonig to be trouble when Tommy asked Grace out. This was the same Tommy that Nate's own little sister Adri had kissed at school last week and yet Nate hadn't worried about it.

When Nate and Grace were dropped off to meet their respective dates, Nate finally started to wonder if Tommy was as good a guy as Grace kept saying he was. He'd been too busy trying to steal his own first kiss from Amanda to pay attention to everything his best friend had told him about Tommy, and now it was making the fourteen year old's stomach ache that he didn't know anything about the guy holding his best friend's hand.

Still, his own date looked very pretty and he wasn't going to worry about it now while everyone looked excited and nervous. Althought Nate had been quite the charmer as a little boy, he grew up with a healthy respect for the girls around him that kept him from being too forward. It wasn't so much that he thought he couldn't get away with stealing kisses, but that he was afraid that his mother would find out and then there would be the talk. He had had a talk with his dad already, and knew about the whole biology thing, but he knew that if his mom though he needed the talk again then it would be her giving it. And something in his instincts warned him that it would be far more awkward and uncomfortable than even the one he'd had with his dad.

They were about to head into the theatre when he got the first inkling that something wasn't as alright with his best friend as he'd thought at first. Grace and Tommy had gotten into the line for food before Nate had gotten his movie tickets and now were waiting for Nate to make his way through the food line. As his dat wandered up to the candy display rack to pick out her bonbon of choice, Nate watched his best friend and her date. And to his utter disgust, Tommy was trying to get Grace to kiss him. Nothing too pushy, but he'd backed her against a wall and was trying to gently tilt her chin up. Before Nate could go over there and see if Grace was alright with this but playing shy, it was his turn at the cash.

"Amanda, why don't you order for us, I'll have the same as you." Nate smiled at his date and handed her the money his dad and given him for just this expense. Amanda blushed prettily, seeming flattered that Nathaniel wanted her to order for him. He didn't notice, walking away from his own date to check on Grace's.

"¿Estás bien?? he asked Grace, knowing that thanks to her dad, she was as fluent as he was. (Are you alright?) Even if no one would guess at her Cuban heritage looking at her, Grace's father Westley had been born and raised on the island, eventually moving and becoming close friends with Nate's own parents. Though none of the kids had been given the details of that particular set of stories yet.

Grace lifted her face to look at Nate while Tommy glared at him. "What the h*** man, isn't your date over there?" the fifteen year old asked, glowering at the shorter Nathaniel.

"Yes. And my best friend is right here, what's your point?" Nate asked, not understanding why Tommy was stating the obvious.

Tommy left his position from caging Grace in to try and stand over Nate, obviously intimidating. "So why don't you mind your business and go over there? I was just talking to her." Tommy pushed Nate's shoulder a little.

Nathaniel had a dad and an uncle who had both shown him what to do should a fight start. Even though Nate had a bad enough temper that he was tempted to shove back, he smiled instead and said exactly what his dad had told him to say. "If I feel I need to step in, maybe you need to reassess what you were doing." it made him feel so proud to say the mature words.

The pride wore off really fast after Tommy pushed him backwards though. Nate could hear the adults of the theatre start yelling at them, telling them to not fight, take it outside etc... but no one actually stepped in to do anything about it. Which was fine with Nate, he'd tried the high road and now it was time to show Tommy what else dad and uncle West had shown him.

By the time that the adults finally did peel the two boys apart, Nate had broken Tommy's nose and gotten an elbow to his face. His left eye was already starting to swell shut by the time the respective parents arrived to take their kids away. He had also gotten that kiss from Amanda because she had run over, thrown her arms around his neck and kissed 'the hero'.

So now Nate sat, holding a pack of frozen peas to his face while his best friend told them the unabrigded version of events and his parents learned why they were told Nathaniel wasn't allowed back in the theatre for an entire year. Yes he'd gotten his kiss, but this dating thing might be a little more dangerous and complicated than he originally anticipated. Though when Grace hugged him tightly and thanked him, he figured it'd been worth it afterall.