Love Thy Neighbor

Chapter 6

It seems quite trivial to me to go out on dates to keep up appearances. Everyone knows that Tristan and I are together. It's a stressful time for most seniors anyway, what with SATs and application deadlines, even without the possibility of losing a business you poured your whole soul into. No one seems to be doing anything fun as of now, all the festivities could wait until the last of forms were already mailed out and you could see the holiday lights stringing up throughout the town. So why Tristan insists on taking me out on a dinner date is beyond all rational thinking.

"Leila?" Tristan's voice cuts through my concentration on untangling my thoughts. I look up at him from my untouched pasta plate. From across the cloth covered table, in the glow of the candle centerpiece, Tristan's green eyes sparkle with concern from under the fading bruises. The shine of the stud in his nose glints in the flickering light, soft shadows from other tables dancing across his white collared shirt and exposed collarbones. Even with my brain as scrambled as it is, I smile in appreciation at my handsome boyfriend.

"This is really nice," I say. "Thank you for this. It feels almost normal."

"Are you sure?" he asks, concern still clear across his face. "You haven't said anything since we sat down."

"Sorry," I bring my gaze down in shame. He probably feels guilty for dragging me out of the house when he knows the state I'm in. But I feel even more so, I'm not even putting in effort to act like I'm enjoying myself.

"I knew this was a bad idea," he sighs. "I can get the check and we can leave." He half raises his hand to get the attention of our waiter, but I grab it and bring it back down to the table. Tristan cocks an eyebrow up at me.

"No, I want to stay. I promise I'll make an effort to be a normal girlfriend for the night."

"You don't have to force yourself to be okay just for my sake," he says softly. He studies my expression for a moment and then says, "I know you can't relax until this whole thing is over. I can't either, though I admit I am handling it better than you are. I do have a proposal though."

This time it's my turn to raise an eyebrow at him. He chuckles deeply in response.

"I propose we still go on dates," he says. I grimace at the thought of trying to pretend to be normal for him even though he just said I don't have to. "Don't make that face, hear me out. We still go on dates, but we use that time together to come up with a solid plan to take back The Underground. We can bring our ideas to Luke and consult with my board members later, but our time together can be spent putting your mind at ease. I know you've been restless because you think we're wasting time. I understand that, and I want to give you some peace that we have a plan in motion, but I also want to just be a couple. Or at least make it seem to other people that we are just two normal teenagers in love. Can you do that?"

I squeeze his hand that I am still holding. "Yes, of course I can do that."

"Good," he smiles at me, his dimple making a long overdue appearance. "Now, can you please try your pasta? It's killing me to watch you not eat."

I roll my eyes and bring a forkful of steaming pasta to my mouth. Already, with this proposal in place, I can feel myself starting to enjoy little things again.