dogfight-e.d

eleven

second date.

rey stands on the street right outside of oasis café, the place where she and ethan will have their second date, the gentle wind blows against her freshly washed curls as she looks around for expected date. her fingers interlock with each other and she fiddles with them, feeling nervous, she's still so new to this whole 'dating' thing and is still in mild disbelief that a boy like ethan would be remotely interested in her. suddenly, rey feels someone standing close behind her and a hand lands on her shoulder gently but she still jumps. "rey relax doll" a familiar voice chuckles, its ethan, rey lets out a sigh and smiles, simultaneously scolding herself for jumping like an idiot.

"hi ethan" she says, tucking her hair behind her ears and smiling. ethan once again looks ultra stylish wearing dark black jeans with his white shirt tucked into them, covered by a baby blue denim shirt, topped off with accessories like his van sneakers, small black studs and white watch. once again, ethan dolan is looking as attractive as ever."you ready for another great saturday with yours truly?" ethan grins at her, effortlessly switching on the charm that's going to help him soar through this little bet in time for prom. "of course" rey beams, feeling the butterflies in her stomach rising up at the way ethan is smiling at her."well lets get started" ethan says and he gestures to the entrance of the café "I'm hoping you like coffee and pancakes?", "oh, trust me I love them" rey replies following him towards the front door. "sweet because this place is famous for making the best coffee and pancakes babe" ethan informs her as they walk in.

the smell of freshly brewed coffee and bread instantly fills rey's nose, the warm and pleasant odours making her smile and feel relaxed which is what she needs considering how nervous she is and how that could trip things on this date up. "okay doll you just take a seat wherever you like and I'll get us our coffee and pancakes" ethan says and rey nods, "what topping do you want on your pancakes?". rey looks over at the menu and thinks for a moment, then it fully hits her. she's going to have to eat in front of ethan on this date. anxiety clutches her heart and her chest tightens, it may not seem like a huge deal to anyone else but rey has some slight issues with food and eating...especially around other people. she eats much more than what she's supposed to which must seem obvious to people when they look at her slightly rounded body, its stemmed from the fact that she uses food as a source of comfort whether that be for loneliness or the taunts she receives from the other kids at school. as a result of that she gets nervous at the thought of eating in other people's company and the fact that she will have to eat in front of ethan dolan, a cool attractive guy whose taking her on these dates, makes her the most nervous she has ever felt with the issue.

"rey?"

rey's eyes blink, she realises she hasn't responded to ethan yet whose looking at her with a fading look of perplexity. "umm....strawberries sounds kinda nice" rey finally answers, her voice slightly hoarse so she quietly coughs to clear her throat. "okay cool" ethan smiles at her and she feels the concrete in her chest begin to melt as he does. he has such a soothing and beautiful smile. she takes a seat at a two seater table and takes a few deep breaths to relax more, her hands clamped together in a tight fist. ethan looks away from her and slowly shakes his head so rey won't notice. "whats up with this girl?" he thinks, confused and slightly unsettled by rey's habit of zoning out awkwardly when he would try and talk to her. despite her quirks, ethan has to keep this up and carry on faking an interest in rey if he wants to keep that car his dad will give him after graduation.he steps up to the front counter and gives his and rey's orders, picking up the two coffees he inhales a deep breath, prepping himself to drag his way through this 'date'. walking over to rey, he paints his classic charming smile and sits down opposite her, "thanks" she smiles as he places her drink in front of her.

"the food will be here in a few minutes" ethan explains, wondering how he's going to fill in that gap before he can mostly distract himself by eating his favourite food, maybe he can pass the time by asking her questions even though he's not really interested in the answers."so I was hoping during this date I could get to know more about you" he fills his voice with pretend enthusiasm. rey, mid sip, looks up at him with wide eyes and nods, "okay that sounds nice" she says smiling at the fact that ethan 'wants to get to know her more'. "okay...." ethan chews his lip, thinking about where the hell he can even start. what do girls like rey do? Is there anything interesting about her? she's too different to the girls he's normally interested in. those girls just seem more like his....type."what's your favourite thing to do?" a pretty steady starting question. rey looks down to her drink and bites her lip, considering lying and changing her answer to something less sad and more ethan's style, but she doesn't like lying and doesn't want to feel so bad about what she enjoys doing. "star gazing...". her voice is practically non-existent, her doubt omitting it and making it come out blurred and muffled sounding. "I'm sorry?" ethan leans closer "I didn't catch that doll". rey clears her throat and speaks again.