"I'm almost ready, I'll be down in a minute," Stan called from his room as his fingers fumbled with his shoelace. He checked himself one final time in the oak-framed mirror hanging on his wall and left his room.
"That's me leaving, Ty," he called to his flatmate.
"Your tail's tucked in, mate," Ty replied cheerfully, much to Stan's embarrassment. He hurriedly fixed his tail, and headed out the door.

Stan had a date with an attractive fox; the most attractive fox in the forest in his opinion. His friends had mocked him and made him worry non-stop since they'd heard the news, but Stan secretly knew they were jealous, and he loved it. He'd never had much luck with girls, but he knew how to treat them. He just had to keep his confidence up and make it through this night, and hope she liked him afterwards.

Stan stepped out of the front door, and found himself standing in front of his date. Everything about her was perfect, he thought; her clothes, her hair, her tail. She wore a black dress that complimented her figure nicely, and a black hairband to match. Stan noticed then that she was the same height as him almost exactly.

Stan shook himself back to reality, and hoped he hadn't been standing there for too long.
"Ready to go?" he asked, without hesitation. He didn't want to screw this up.
"Sure," the fox, whose name was Tanya, answered calmly. The two foxes set off down the road, at first in silence, but soon laughing and talking to each other with ease.

Stan had met Tanya at school two weeks ago, but hadn't had the courage to do anything about his crush on her until now. In the end he had explained his situation to Ty, who was older than Stan and "knew about these things", or so he said. So Stan did not question it, for he had gotten him a date after all. He had asked Ty for advice for his date on multiple occasions before the night, to all of which Ty answered as best he could. Stan was as ready as he could be.

"So, you wanna go to the nice pizza place? I'll pay," Stan offered as they walked to the forest's high street.
"Oh, I'd love to! Their pizza is the best!" Tanya said, smiling. Stan smiled back, staring into Tanya's emerald green eyes. They continued on their way to the pizza restaurant, joking and conversing the whole way.

The couple decided to eat down at the riverbank where it was quieter.
"Aren't you cold?" Stan asked Tanya, as the sun was descending down to the sky's edge and an icy chill had set in around them.
"A little, but I'll be fine," Tanya replied politely. Without thinking, Stan removed his jacket and put it over Tanya's shoulders.
"Better?" Stan asked with concern.
"Yeah, much better," Tanya said, smiling and looking into Stan's eyes. They sat down in the soft grass and looked out over the slow, calmed river. The sun's last rays trickled through the branches of the trees, and the sky was orange and cloudless.
"The sky's beautiful at this time of year," Tanya said softly.
"Yeah," Stan replied, looking over at her. Tanya met his gaze and held it, smiling. They lay back and looked up at the sky, which had turned a deep purple colour and was beginning to fill with stars. Stan began to shiver, but he couldn't care less. He was lying next to the only person in the world he wanted to be with, and that was enough for him.

Tanya was equally happy. She wasn't thinking about how cold she was. She wasn't thinking about how she was supposed to be home 20 minutes ago. She was thinking about Stan. He was so sweet and considerate, and not too bad looking either. Quite suddenly, she was stricken by her feelings towards him.

The two foxes sat up at the same time, and looked into each other's eyes once more. Tanya opened her mouth to speak, but Stan gently placed his paw over her mouth.

"Don't say a word," Stan whispered softly.

He leaned forward and kissed her.