The next few days passed quietly. Chad and I had apparently decided to ignore what had happened after school and fell into an awkward friendliness. I couldn't help but think that we had taken two steps back as soon as I'd thought things were going well.
It was now Friday and I was really looking forward to shutting myelf in my room to read a book tonight. It had been so long since I'd done that, without worrying about Chad or parties. I just wanted to shut that part of my brain off and be able to escape in a new book, but when he pulled into my driveway after school, he spoke up before I could exit the car.
"I'll be by around seven to pick you up," he said.
My brow furrowed and I turned to him, confused.
"You know, our date," he explained, as if it were obvious.
I pushed away the slight shock and smiled.
"Oh yeah, of course. See you then," and with that I got out of the car and he pulled away.
So I guess that's still happening. I hadn't forgotten, but things had been so weird between us lately, I thought we would just mutally ignore that it was supposed to happen this weekend. I went upstairs, and collapsed on my bed. This was supposed to make up for our horrible first date but the vibe that had been prevalent between us was not the recipe for a good date. I groaned into my pillow. This was going to be worse than the first, I could just feel it.
I decided to call Zac, knowing he would come over and make everything a little more clear. He was in my room ten minutes later.
"You know you don't have to go, right?" he said, plopping down on my bed next to me.
"But what if it isn't bad. Is this all in my head?"
"No, things have been wierd, everyone can tell," he said plainly, as if that information was known to everyone but me.
"I should go," I told him, getting up and walking over to my closet. "I won't know until I do."
I could tell that Zac thought it was a bad idea. He was probably right, but the only thing that drove me more crazy than the thought of going, was thinking about all the good things that I could be missing out on.
It was growing ever colder outside, but I decided I wanted to go with something a little girlier tonight. I paired some black tights, with one of my favorite dresses. Maybe if I felt good, tonight would go well. The dress was black and red, the back almost completely cut out. It was a little racier than some of my usual outfit choices, but I was going for confidence, and this dress came with an abundance of it.
"That looks great," Zac complimented. He wasn't great with helping me pick out clothes, and could really care less, but was always supportive anyway.
I paired the outfit with a pair of black ankle boots and grabbed a jacket from the closet. It was around 5:30 and decided to start on my makeup before my mom got home.
"Can I go now?" Zac whined, standing in the bathroom doorway.
"I will not subject you to makeup talk," I told him, "but please stay and keep me company? We could talk about anything else!"
Zac agreed and took a seat on the lid of the toilet. We'd been talking about me so much lately, that I found I was out of touch with what was going on with him. Zac had been seeing this guy from a local community college for a couple of weeks now, and unlike my life, his relationship was going really well.
"Are you guys hanging out tonight?" I asked, putting the final touches on my deep mauve lipstick.
"No. He has some group project he's working on. Maybe I'll stay here and hang with your mom."
Zac laughed, but instead of seeing it as a joke, it became a sort of an opportunity.
"That would be perfect!" I yelled, turning to him. "It would soften the blow when I tell her I have a date tonight, you could even talk Chad up so she doesn't get all suspicous of him!"
"No, no, no," Zac said firmly.
"Oh come on, you love my mom. And what were you going to do tonight anyway? Watch Netflix?"
I knew I had a point and it was breaking his resistance. With a little pout and a flash of the 'help me please' eyes, Zac agreed.
"I'm only staying for dinner with her and then I'm going home," he grumbled.
My mom got home shortly after and was excited to see Zac.
"I didn't know you would be over here!" She smiled warmly at him.
"Oh yeah, just helping Bel get ready for her date," he said, nodding to me.
"Date?" my mom asked, turning her attention to me.
I started to answer, but Zac interrupted me.
"Oh yeah, Chad Cohen. He's such a sweet guy. It's going to be perfect," he gushed, almost too fakely, but I didn't think my mom could tell.
"Yeah, he just asked me today," I shrugged.
"Well then," she said, seeming conflicted. "Just make sure you're back by 11:00 okay?" she told me, the strict mother voice hard and clear.
"Definitely."
"Since Bel is ditching both of us tonight, do you want to grab dinner?" Zac asked.
My mom lit up and began gushing about this new French place she was dying to try in the next town over, leaving me a chance to escape back to my room and touch up the soft waves with the now-hot curling iron.
At seven on the dot, a knock on the door sounded. I had been in the living room with Zac and my mom, playing some question game she'd learned at a retreat last year. I excused myself and opened it, pleasantly surprised that Chad hadn't just honked this time.
"Hey, let me just grab my purse and I'll be ready," I told him, walking back into the livingroom. To my surprise, he followed.
"Hello, Mrs. Roy," I heard him say from behind me. My mom stood and shook his hand politiely. I could tell she was sizing him up, unsure how to feel about the leatherclad boy she'd heard was a trouble-maker.
"Nice to meet you, Chad. I've heard good things," she said, her voice a bit stiff. "Please make sure you have her back by eleven."
"Of course, Mrs. Roy," he said, his smile so full of charm, I was surprised that it didn't seem to be working. "Ready to go, Arabella?"
I nodded and waved goodbye to Zac and my mom before following him to the door.
Well he got his wish and met my mom. I was left to only hope that I would get mine and tonight wouldn't be awful.
A/N: pic of the dress is up at the top. Let me know what you think!
