To Love a Spider

Chapter 5

"Oh, gosh. I'm not ready for this. What if this is all one big misunderstanding and he really didn't ask me out at all?" A thousand thoughts went through Elizabeth's head and she began to feel sick to her stomach. She was getting ready to bail.
Unfortunately, her mom had just opened the door.
Elizabeth slowly walked to the front door. She cautiously looked out the door, not knowing what to expect.
What she saw was beautiful.
Peter was standing in the doorway, towering over both Elizabeth and her mother. He was dressed in some dark jeans and a nice, white button-up shirt. Although he looked like he was awkward, his face lit up when he saw Elizabeth.
"Elizabeth's got a boyfriend, Elizabeth's got a boyfriend."
Elizabeth whipped around, looking for the source of the voice. Behind her, Alex had crept up and was now singing. Elizabeth's cheeks were already turning bright red. "Great," she thought, "Just what I needed."
"Alex, go upstairs." Her mother's voice was stern and commanding.
Alex turned and ran up the stairs but not before he stuck his tongue out at her. Elizabeth gladly returned the gesture before turning back to Peter.
"Well you two should be on your way. Have fun, stay safe, and be home by 10:00." her mom said and went to close the door. When Peter had turned so that his back was facing her house, Elizabeth's mom mouthed, "He's cute," to her.
Elizabeth turned around and found that Peter was smiling at her. Resisting the urge to smile back she asked, "What?"
He shook his head, "Nothing. Are you ready?"
Elizabeth nodded.
Peter led her over to a nice Chevy. It wasn't the newest model but it was clean. He opened the passenger door for her and she climbed inside. He soon followed.
Elizabeth couldn't help but feel awkward. She was going on a date with an older boy. She should have felt nervous. But Elizabeth had a weird gut feeling that Peter would protect her. She felt safe. Safe and awkward.
Very awkward.
They pulled out of her driveway and got onto the main road. Elizabeth kept her gaze focused on her hands. With every second that passed there seemed to be more tension between the two. It was so thick you could cut it with a knife.
"So...," as awkward as it was Peter was about to make it even more so, "Is The Lobster House good with you?"
"Yes. Than you." Elizabeth wasn't about to tell Peter that she didn't like seafood.
They rode the rest of the way in silence.
When they arrived at the restaurant Elizabeth got out of the car before Peter could open the door for her. They went in and found a comfy booth to sit in. The place was nice with colored lights around the room and red wallpaper.
"This is nice," Elizabeth said looking around.
"Yeah, my uncle used to take me here a lot when I was little." Peter had a vacant look on his face. He was remembering something.
Two years ago Peter's uncle had been shot and killed. Even though Elizabeth had only been in eighth grade, she had heard about how tragic the incident had been. Mr. Parker was a super-nice man who volunteered at almost every event he could fit into his schedule. Elizabeth had volunteered with him a couple times at younger kids sporting events. They had become fast friends. Elizabeth had been devastated when she had heard the news of his death, but she knew that no one could be suffering more than Peter.
Elizabeth made one of the boldest moves of her life and rested her hand on top of his. "He was a good man, Peter. One of the best I've known actually."
Peter looked up at her which made Elizabeth take back her hand and look down at her lap again. After a couple minutes of silence the waiter saved them.
"Would the pretty lady like anything to drink?" he asked.
At his remark Elizabeth tensed up. "Water's fine, thank you." When the waiter didn't ask Peter the same question Elizabeth could guess that Peter and him were having some...difficulties.
Finally, Peter cleared his throat, "I'll take a sweet tea, please. Thank you for asking."
When the waiter had gone Elizabeth looked at Peter and couldn't resist laughing, Peter looked furious. He stared at the guy's back like if he made one more wrong move, he would punch him. While Elizabeth should have been flushed at the thought that Peter would take up for her like that, all she felt was amusement at the whole situation. When she started to laugh Peter quirked an eyebrow at her which made her laugh even more.
"Y-you should h-have seen your f-face," she explained between laughs.
"Oh, ha-ha," Peter said sarcastically, "Very funny."
Throughout the dinner Peter and Elizabeth bonded. They learned a lot about each other and grew more and more comfortable around each other. Elizabeth told Peter about the night she was attacked and how the criminal had a star tattooed on his left wrist. Peter had seemed extremely interested in this. Elizabeth couldn't understand why. Elizabeth showed Peter her cast on her broken arm. Her sweater had barely fit over the bulky wrap.
When they had finished eating their food. Elizabeth had ordered a hamburger and Peter had gotten steak. Turns out, Peter doesn't like seafood either and had only picked this place because he thought that Elizabeth would like it. Hit and miss, Peter. Hit and miss," Elizabeth thought.
As they were walking out to the parking lot Peter started to steer her away from the car. "Um...the car is the other way, Peter," Elizabeth said, confused.
"Yes, I am aware of that."
"Then why are you going the other way?
Peter turned around to face her. His eyes had taken on a mischievous glint to them that made chills run down Elizabeth's spine. She could immediately tell that he was planning something. And she could immediately tell that she wasn't going to like it.
"Because I want to show you something."