Encouragement and title from Milner, because I'm not that clever. Edits and grammar and enthusiasm with a really, really fast turn around from BK2U.
"Here! Stop here." Uriah was tapping hard on the window.
"Here?" Tobias flipped his turn signal and eyed the giant sign of a mega church. There were cars clustered at the outer extremes of the lot.
"Yeah, here. No, maybe… Get closer?"
"Closer to what?" Tobias scanned the expansive parking lot.
"Just over there." Uriah pointed at the field. Landscaped bushes and flowers circled a giant cross that hovered over an enormous sign. A congregation of people stood at its base staring at their phones.
Tobias came to a rough halt, "Get out of the car and use your legs."
Uriah rolled his eyes and then reluctantly popped the door. He couldn't help but trot out to the middle of the field, hovering about ten feet away from the others. Tobias backed into a space, rolled the window down, and put his car in park. He turned the keys to 'accessory' and let the radio play. He shifted his weight, pushing his seat all the way back, and reclined. He pulled on his shins to get his shoes up and over the steering wheel and onto the dash. He was just about comfortable when Uriah popped back to the car and slammed the door.
"Onward! Ándale! Arriba!" he rolled his R's in his best Speedy Gonzalez impression.
"We just got here," Tobias protested, attempting to get his shoes back down under the steering wheel.
"Yeah, but their lure is done and it's boring so I don't want to put one down. Plus, I should wait for Zeke. Come on, there's a gym behind Durry's."
"Behind? Like next to the dumpsters?" Tobias made exaggerated motions and took his time to reposition his seat, check his mirrors, and adjust his seatbelt; he inserted a pause before he turned the engine over and started them on their way. It was a pattern to be repeated four more times.
"Zeke wants us to get him at school." Uriah got a glare in response. "Dude. He just texted."
"We were just at the school like forty minutes ago."
"His conferences just ended. He's ready to go hunt."
"You two are ridiculous." Tobias pulled a fast u-turn and squealed his tires in frustration.
Zeke reminded him of a kid waiting for his mom. He had on his backpack with his thumbs under the straps. He looked out and around waiting to recognize a car. The picture was completed by his back and forth rocking. Teachers had to wear school shirts or button-downs; Tobias knew Zeke would be regretting the long sleeves after a minute or two in the humidity.
"Please tell me there's a spot at McDonald's, I'm starving." Zeke pulled out his phone and cable and started rifling through the center console to plug in and charge.
"One Happy Meal coming up," Tobias griped.
"Quarter Pounder," Zeke corrected with a mumble, staring at his phone. "Fuck, server's down."
"I'm in. Try again," Uriah chirped.
"Still down."
"I'm telling you, just keep trying."
"Oh! I'm in," Zeke celebrated.
"Put your seatbelt on," Tobias ordered.
"Yes, Dad." Zeke watched the spot come into view as they approached the restaurant.
"Your kids are rubbing off on you. Shouldn't you be an example?" Tobias started the teasing, but it was obvious that Zeke wasn't paying attention.
Tobias turned in and got in the drive thru line; Uriah and Zeke clicked away and celebrated over the critters they collected.
"Take the longer line, the stop refreshes every five minutes."
"I'm not taking the longer line just for your game."
"I need balls!"
"No bigger truth," Tobias mumbled.
"Hater. Why do you hate everything that's fun in the world?" Zeke's comment was rhetorical.
"Welcome to McDonald's, order when ready."
Tobias started with his dinner, "Can I get a Quarter Pounder, a small Coke…"
"Chicken nuggets." Uriah filled the pause.
"And two Happy Meals, one chicken nuggets the other a hamburger, both with apples and orange juice."
"Seriously?" Zeke groaned.
"You're being children, so-"
"No! I froze and now the servers are down!" Uriah interrupted. Neither had heard their orders. Zeke flipped him off when he handed the box back to him. The small stuffed dog crashed off Tobias's head and landed on the dash still sealed in plastic.
"How long is this damned game going to last?" Tobias asked as soon as Zeke started firing directions at him. Silence greeted him while both of his friends stayed glued to their screens and attempted to catch things along the side of the road.
Tobias pulled into a park. "This is the last stop, guys. I can't take any more of this."
"You owe us for the quiche," Zeke reminded him.
"That was a week ago."
"Dude, you poisoned us. I had to cancel a date. This is the least you can do," Zeke prodded.
"Fine, one more stop after this and that's it. One night of food poisoning paid off. So pick wisely," Tobias insisted, parking.
"Oh, sweet." Zeke smiled broadly and quickly unbuckled.
"Jigglypuff?" Tobias teased.
"Close, girls. Poké girls." Tobias was relieved when Zeke bolted from the car and started a beeline to the ladies in the middle of the park. At least Zeke was still Zeke. Uriah followed at a slower pace and took a wide arc to get a Pidgey. Tobias started to adjust his seat for a nap when a glance back at his friends earned him a glimpse of the very attractive set of women. When it was obvious that Zeke was making a connection and getting them engaged, Tobias gave in and wandered across the lawn.
Zeke was in the middle of explaining to a curvy girl with fawn skin and coffee brown hair how his Boy Scout get-up was for work, and that he was less Poindexter and more rock-god in his personal life. She was looking skeptical, arms crossed and her lips pulled to one side. She was exactly Zeke's usual type and a no-go for him. Uriah was miming back words and sentences as he chatted anxiously with two white girls. One had light makeup and a pretty face, her brown hair pulled back and her sunglasses pushed up on the top of her head. The other was petite, blonde and embarrassed when she caught Tobias evaluating her. Both were Uriah's usual flavors, but Uriah couldn't have both. Tobias zeroed in on the blonde.
"Server kick you out, too?" Zeke's target asked.
"He doesn't play," Zeke said.
"What? How can you not play? It's free!" the blonde exclaimed, then looked nervous. He must have looked a little severe.
"I don't get the point." He put on a small smile to try and put her at ease.
"Uh, to be ten again! Don't you remember all the hours with your Gameboy? Me and my Gameboy were inseparable! Long car trips to my Aunt's place, all of my brother's boring chess tournaments. I had Red, so I got him Blue for his birthday so I could get every last one of them."
"I ah, I… um, never had a Gameboy." Tobias offered his excuse with a sheepish shrug. The blonde turned away from Uriah and squarely focused on him. The first step in success.
"No! Your childhood was stolen from you." Tobias sensed that a few wrong responses and he'd lose her interest. Especially when Uriah whooped about a sudden appearance of some Rat-thing and she swiveled back.
"Maybe it was. So, explain this Pokémon thing to me." He stepped in closer and craned his neck to look at her screen.
"He'll never get it," Zeke interrupted.
"Maybe someone with more patience…" Tobias raised an eyebrow in warning, hoping Zeke would back off. Zeke smirked and initiated a lively debate about leveling up and evolving with the girl in front of him.
"Well, um… what's your name?"
"Tobias."
"I'm Tris. So, Tobias. Little critters called Pokémon appear on the map and you have to use balls to catch them. Watch!" She demonstrated much the same way Uriah had tried to earlier.
"Okay. I can see how that is very interesting." He tested out sarcasm, a sense of humor was important.
"Shhh! There's more. Once you have the Pokémon, some are babies and some are fully grown, the babies you can evolve up into their adult forms. And you can beef them up to make them more powerful. And then you can fight them against other Pokémons."
"Fighting? Okay, that's got my attention."
"Of course it did. You like fighting games?"
"The only game I've ever really played was Mortal Kombat in the arcade."
"Were you raised by saints or demons? I'm having a tough time figuring out which one would deprive you of video games."
"Let's go with demons. So once you fight, then what?"
"Well, then you win or lose and you get experience and stuff to make your Pokémon better. And you can fight different types of Pokémon, and they all have strengths and weaknesses, which is why you want to catch them all so you have more options."
Tobias had to stifle a groan when Uriah butted in, "Hey, I'm all set. You guys want to find someplace fresh?" He obviously wasn't clicking with the other girl who was equally interested in her screen and no one else.
"You know, they have a gym and a couple stops in the parking lot of Wal-mart," Tris offered.
"Oh, and what does a gym get you?" Tobias was keen for her attention.
"That's where you can fight Pokémon," Zeke said briskly.
"Let's just go hunting, I don't have anything worth fighting yet," Uriah countered.
"There's a carnival set up there. So I bet someone puts a lure on it all night long."
Tris's information piqued Uriah's interest and he was won over. "A stop and a gym? Lures… I'm in."
"Shauna? You want to? Marlene?" Tris asked, her friends nodded eagerly. "Oh, wait. I walked."
Tobias sank into disappointment, looking at the other girls for help. Shauna explained, "I have a two-seater. But, I can come back for you. I'll make two trips."
"I have room in my car." Zeke was amused at how fast Tobias offered.
"Well, I don't know. We don't really know you," the girl called Marlene stated, eyeing his big frame like it was the first time she'd seen him.
"I'd be glad to trade you Zeke as a sign of good faith. You drive him, I'll take two of you."
"Who are you, anyways?" Marlene continued to be suspicious.
"Tobias," Tris stated with a smile. He liked how she looked embarrassed for saying it for him. He liked that she paid attention. He downright liked that girl. "I'll ride with him. Marlene?"
"We don't know him. And there's two of them."
"It's okay, I'll go alone."
"Tris."
"It's fine. Tobias, give me your phone." Tris raised her eyebrows and was about to reach into Tobias's pocket when he finally woke up and handed it over. "I assume this is your life. Email, texts, bank apps, everything you need to survive? Right?" Tobias shrugged and nodded. Tris gave it to Marlene, "If he wants his phone back, I'll get there in one piece."
"I swear, all in one piece." Tobias grinned.
"Nope. More phones." Marlene insisted, looking at Zeke and Uriah.
"Pokémon!" Uriah recoiled.
"Driver's licenses? You can have all the details," Zeke offered, opening his wallet and handing his over. He elbowed Uriah to get him to comply.
"Okay. But, be careful."
"I'll be fine," Tris assured.
"To the carnival?" Uriah looked pleased that they would finally be leaving.
"To the carnival." Tris started the group in the right direction, towards the cars.
"Miata?" Zeke watched the other girls open the door to the small convertible.
"MX-5." Shauna grinned.
Tris took the front seat at Zeke's insistence. Uriah spun the stop one last time to get more balls and they were off.
"So, your friend..." Zeke started, plugging his phone in again.
"Who? Shauna?"
"Yeah, Shauna. The driver," he confirmed.
"What about Shauna?"
"Well... is she like… available?"
"You saying you're interested?"
"I mean… I'm saying I'm available."
"She's recently single. I don't know if she's looking."
"And you? Are you looking?" Uriah leaned heavily against the back of Tobias's seat. Tobias kept his eyes straight forward, his hands at nine and three, and held his breath.
"Why? You saying you're available?" Tris's singsong reply made Zeke snort.
"Just a question." Tobias caught Uriah licking his lips in the rear view. Somehow that translated into tapping his brakes and Uriah knocked himself in the eye. "Jesus, Tobias! What was that?"
"Sorry, chipmunk." He cleared his throat and sped up.
"What level are you… uh… we're not good at this names thing. I'm Zeke. This is Uriah."
"Tris. Nice to meet you." She'd turned her focus back to her phone and was flicking a ball at a bat-looking thing, as far as Tobias could tell in his peripheral vision. "I'm level 12. I only just started two days ago."
"You play all day? I'm only a six," Zeke exclaimed.
"Nope, we just like to be in the park anyways, so it's convenient. We've been raking it in."
"What do you do?" Tobias's voice broke a little and he cringed.
"Mainly mooch off of nerd-boys for lures."
"No, like school, work?"
"Oh, ha. I'm taking classes and I dog watch. You?"
"I'm uh… between jobs at the moment." He didn't miss the way her eyes widened and she looked disappointed. "I've got interviews tomorrow and Friday."
She seemed to perk up. "For what?"
"One's a supply chain manager position, the other is entry engineering."
"Oh, you're an engineer?"
"Yeah, I like to design stuff. The engineering position is with a toy company."
"Better not let on that your childhood was shit and devoid of video games."
"Right…"
Zeke could feel the awkwardness flooding the car. "Is there like a roller coaster at this thing?"
"I don't think so, more like those two-person rides that spin you around and ones that flip you and games and stuff."
"Oh good. We can all be puking by the end of the night. It'll be just like last Friday." Uriah's lack of amusement wasn't what Zeke was looking for.
"First to puke has to buy pizza tomorrow," Zeke declared.
"I hope they have corn dogs," Tris sighed, taking stock of Tobias's car. He was suddenly aware of the little straw wrappers and the crumbs. She picked up the little Happy Meal toy.
"Kids?"
"Just the ones in the back seat. You like corn dogs?" He wanted her attention off of his cleanliness.
"It's like the best carnival dinner."
"Not burgers?"
"Eww, carnival burgers are like a pound of grease."
"That's half the appeal. Greasy, juicy, flame-broiled."
"Give me the corn dog any day. The stick is so convenient."
"Who cares about convenience? It's about flavor."
"Mustard is a flavor."
"Mustard? On a corn dog?"
"On everything," Tris confirmed.
Zeke was smirking to himself. Tobias was normally horrible with girls, or more appropriately, put in minimal effort every time he tried to set him up.
"You're gonna miss the entrance," Uriah whined. Tobias slowed down to pull into the parking lot, resisting the urge to brake check Uriah into his seatbelt. They piled out; Tobias stretched and Tris evaluated his backside. A little flash of a tattoo peeked out under the bottom of his shirt before he smoothed it down and pulled up on his belt.
Tobias tried to herd the five Pokémon trainers through the cars and towards the front, but each one took turns darting off in hot pursuit shouting, "Leaves!" or "I need a Charmander," or "Ouch!" when Uriah ran into someone's side mirror. "Stop it, guys," Tobias shouted, "Put the damned phones down and let's get to the gate in one piece."
Tris snuck a look at her phone and stubbed her toe on a parking spot marker. Tobias snatched her phone away while she hopped.
"Hey!"
"At the gate. Before you lose your toes." He shook it at her and held it out of her reach.
"We just met and you're stealing my phone?"
"Just taking my cue from you."
"I was making sure I wasn't getting murdered. Marlene, can I have his phone back?"
"Better keep it til you're tired of me. I could be playing the long game," Tobias shot back with a laugh. Zeke and Uriah exchanged surprised looks. The ease of his flirting wasn't going unnoticed.
"Okay… phone later." Tris didn't miss it either.
"Who's in for a lure-a-thon?" Uriah asked, darting over towards the back of the carnival crew's caravans.
"Ooo, me!" Tris trotted after him.
"Where you going?" Tobias watched everyone dart away from the gate and towards gas generators and lawn chairs, and not to be left out, Tobias followed the group.
"How many lures do you have?" Uriah started taking inventory. "We could be here for two hours."
"Level up! And Up! And Up!" Marlene proclaimed.
"But I want to ride some rides! We didn't just come because of the gym, did we?" Shauna pouted and subtly stamped her foot.
"I'll ride with you," Zeke quickly offered. She smiled brightly. Tobias wished he had game enough to get Tris off her phone.
"Here, Mar, take my phone, play for me!" Shauna handed off.
"Tobias, I'm trusting you." Zeke handed his over as well.
"Really? You want me to play for you? I don't know what to do."
"Well, it's super complicated. I mean, you probably have to be six to get it. Have Tris teach you." Zeke gave him a wink.
"Ready! Set! Launching the lure!" Uriah announced.
Zeke's phone started to vibrate. Tobias jostled it in his hands and glanced nervously at Tris. "Now what?"
"Oh, well, you click on one of them and then you throw balls at it."
"Which one? How?"
"With your finger… just click." She rolled her eyes. He followed directions. He quickly fell into the game. It took him a bit to figure out when Zeke hadn't caught a Pokémon before, and that the green circle was the target. Uriah's lure ended with everyone shouting out how many they caught and reporting the number of balls they had left. Tobias just shrugged and looked around for Zeke.
"Do you want to go on rides?" Tris's tone was neutral; he assumed she was teasing him.
"What if I did?"
"Well, the ticket booth is over there." Tris started walking ahead of him, leading the way. Finally to the gate, she announced, "I'm hungry, too. So let's get a corn dog and then do something mellow."
"Back to the corn dogs," he mused. She refused to let him buy her any tickets, but gave in when it came to the corn dog. She suggested the Ferris wheel; it didn't look that high.
"You know, it's been years since I've been on one of these," Tris started to soak her corn dog in mustard.
"Me too." He tried to hold in his nerves.
"I love the lights. Can you imagine how many of those bulbs get broken driving down the highway?"
"Or how many bolts fall out?" He had to remind himself not to squeeze his hamburger. He presented his ticket and was ushered on first. The cart swung wildly when he climbed in. Her weight on the floorboards pitched it further forward. He snatched the handle at the side.
"You okay?"
"Yeah, sure. Just lost my balance." He was glad she didn't ask how he lost his balance when he was already sitting. He forced himself to fold his hands around the burger in his lap and tried not to react each time she leaned forward or over the side or rocked the cart. He flinched with each sway. His reaction got stronger with every slow foot that was put between him and the ground.
"So, toys? What kind of toys?" Tris prompted, taking a break from craning her neck to twirl her corn dog in more mustard. She took an enormous bite.
"What?"
She set her basket on her lap and covered her mouth while she spoke, "The company you're interviewing for?"
"Oh, little robotic things: trains, boats, cars." He swallowed hard, and focused his eyes on her knee.
"Neat."
He knew the pause was getting long. He wet his lips forced himself to look at her and countered, "How about you, what do you study?"
"Phobias." She knew. He could tell she knew by the way she raised her eyebrow and how she smirked.
"Oh?"
"Yeah. Well, psychology, but we've talked about phobias. So what would possess you to get on a Ferris wheel?"
"I'm not afraid of Ferris wheels." Tris rocked the cart wildly. He gripped the handle. "Fuck! Jesus!"
"No? Then why haven't you eaten any of that greasy burger you admire so much?"
"Uh… fine. I'm not fond of heights."
"You know it's pretty common. It's also pretty brave of you to volunteer to go on a Ferris wheel."
"I've done crazier things on dates." He peeked over the side and felt like throwing up.
"Oh, is this a date now?"
He focused in on her, again, "Would you mind if it was?"
"I've been on weirder dates," she shrugged.
"Weirder than finding a guy in the middle of a field?" If he stayed focused on her, it wasn't so hard to keep his earlier Quarter Pounder down.
"I went on a date on accident once."
"How does that happen?" He groaned a little when they started another revolution.
"Well, when I was a freshman, this guy in my class invited me to something his church group was doing. And I hadn't found my friends yet, so I agreed. So he and his brothers picked me up and we went to one of those places with Go-Karts, and bumper cars, and an arcade. It was a lot of fun, and the church group paid for everything. Then, on the way home, his brothers were all, 'So, should we find a diner or something and give you some privacy?' Awkward."
"Wow, poor guy."
"Poor guy? What kind of guy takes a girl on a first date with his church group?"
"Maybe the type that takes a girl out to hunt Pokémon?"
"Naw, you bought me a corn dog. You're riding a Ferris wheel with me. This is a much better date already."
"Oh, thank God." Tobias let out his breath when the operator started unloading the cars.
"See, it wasn't so bad once we started talking. Although, for two tickets, I expected at least ten minutes and a kiss at the top."
"A kiss?" Tris grinned at his shock and took the last big, mustardy bite of her corn dog.
"Maybe later, if this date thing goes well."
"No pressure."
"No pressure. Just you have to like… impress me."
"Impress? Oh, I have skills!"
"Mmm-hmm, sure you do." She tossed her trash in a bin. "You gonna eat that hamburger or just carry it around all night?"
"Oh, um… I'm not hungry." He let it fall and wiped his hands on his pants. He looked around at the vendors: funnel cakes, strawberry lemonade, a ladder climb challenge, some muscle hammer smasher stand, and bowling pins lined up with balls to throw. "So, it would be a traditional date-type thing to win the fair lady a prize."
"These things are rigged."
"Rigged or not… prepare to be wowed. Your best balls, good sir!" He slapped two dollars down on the counter, four balls were lined up in front of him. Tobias tossed up one of the balls a few times, aimed and let it sail. He hit the bowling pin square but it only wobbled.
"Weird," Tris commented. Tobias tossed the second ball up a couple times and let it go. He hit it again, dead center, but nothing fell. He felt a little exposed. He started to come up with an excuse, but he didn't have a chance. "Booo! Boooo! It's weighted! Scam! Scam!" Tris started shouting.
"Whoa, whoa!" The vendor tried to calm her.
"He hit it square in the center. Twice!"
"He got the wood of the shelf," the vendor dismissed.
Tobias wound up and threw even harder. The pin leaned back, rotated a little then snapped back up.
"Total fraud! This man is a con artist! Scammer!" Tobias gaped and looked around, curious if anyone was paying attention.
"Fine, take your prize. Just take it." The vendor shoved a pink lawn flamingo at her. She stroked its head like a villain. "Well, go!"
"He has one more ball."
"Just go." The man moved in front of his bowling pins. Tobias chuckled and tossed the ball up and over, landing among the pins and still none fell.
"That was… you're lucky they didn't throw us out."
"Are you kidding? The scene I would have made the whole way to the car. Newsworthy."
"Well, do you like your flamingo?"
"I will call him Stan," Tris declared, cuddling into the creature. "So, what's next on this date extravaganza?"
"Well, I bet games are off the table now. So, hmm… how about a ride or two. Something that stays on the ground?"
"Sure. You pick."
Tris nearly lost her corn dog on the little knock-off tea cups. Tobias used all his muscle to spin them as fast as possible. The force slid Tris up next to him. He liked making her scream. It took a while after the ride had finished for the brakes to slow them to a stop. He let his arm wrap around her back on the top of the seat. Tris had to lean into him hard to keep upright on the way off the ride.
"How about that one?" He pointed to one with arms that went up and down with spinny carts at the ends.
"Less circles."
"That one?" He pointed to the Zipper: cages rose up a center tower and then appeared to go over the top and return upside-down before rounding the bottom and returning upright to the beginning. They watched as two boys climbed in and took a turn. The cages were held in place until they cleared the top and started down, then let loose and swung around and over, rocking the kids. The hinges then froze and they were held catawampus until they righted at the bottom and started the same loop around.
Tobias often lacked an appreciation for his size. The contrast between his height and her petite frame was made all the more apparent when the lap belt came down against him and she had inches to spare. The operator closed the cage and Tobias suddenly felt a little trapped.
"Maybe we should split up," he suggested.
"No! This is fine. They wouldn't let you ride if it wasn't safe."
"I guess." It was the last thing he had a chance to say before they started up the tower. They leaned backwards against the seat and started the slow turn upside down. Tris fell against the lap bar, precarious at best. Tobias put his arm around her and grabbed the bar on the other side. She cursed and laughed and then screamed as she slipped. Then the lock let go. They twirled back and over and rocked and then started the climb, again, only upside down and then they were let loose to spin. Each rotation had Tobias gripping tighter, Tris screaming louder, and crushed divots deeper into his arm. She was out of breath and crying with laughter when they finally came to a stop and waited to get off.
"Oh my God, that was dangerous!" He let his anger roar out. Tris started laughing more and rubbed his arm in apology.
"Let's do it again!" she declared.
"Are you kidding? You almost fell out. I knew we should have split up."
"Almost, but I didn't. You saved me! My hero!" She borrowed the drama of a kid's cartoon.
"You're crazy."
"You know, you still have your arm around me," she pointed out. He released her, glaring at the operator when he opened the cage and released the lap belt, and offered her his hand to get out safely.
They rode a couple other rides, much tamer rides, and circled back to their friends just when the sun was setting.
"There you are! Give me my phone!" Zeke clamored for his device. "Where have you been? There have been dozens of Pokémons."
"It's not even curfew, Mom." Tobias kept a straight face.
"It's not his fault. I almost died!" Tris relayed her perilous ride with some drama, and excessively exaggerated their confrontation with the game vendor that led her to possess Stan. Tobias was beaming, lapping up the attention she gave him - light arm touches and nudges with her shoulder - and intrigued by the spitfire spinning white lies for all of their enjoyment.
They spent thirty more minutes luring Pokémon and talking in general. Zeke boldly asked for Shauna's number, which reminded Tris.
"Oh, Marlene, can I get Tobias's phone?" She took it and swiped twice at the screen. "Pattern?"
"What are you hacking me for?" He reached out for it.
"So I can look at your collection of nudes... To give you my number, moron." He snatched it from her hands, swiped his finger through the dots and handed it back, grinning.
"So, does that mean you're impressed?"
"Ugh, Android. Where's your contacts?" She slammed ungracefully at the buttons.
"Let me."
"No, no. I've got it," she insisted, holding his phone away from him and turning her back to him. "There. My number." Before he could get his phone back, she was dialing and looking at her phone, "And I have your number. And I will text you tomorrow night if you don't call before then. I don't do this 'wait a millenia, be aloof' shit. Only my text will not be nice and there will be no second date."
"Noted."
"Good. So, tomorrow."
"So this is it? Date complete?" He made an exaggerated frown.
"Unfortunately, I have a class project tomorrow morning. Otherwise, I'd make you go on that Ferris wheel again."
"Thank God for projects. How are you getting home?"
"Uhh…" She looked at Shauna and Marlene, both engrossed in their screens. "I guess… Can I get a ride? I'm just back a mile away from the park. You can drop me at the park if you want."
"Absolutely. Zeke, Uriah, come on. We're leaving." He had to snap his fingers at Uriah to get him to look up from his phone.
"What? No! A lure just started," Uriah protested.
"Well, Tris needs a ride home and we're it."
Zeke squeezed Shauna's hand and suggested he'd call her soon. He had to pinch Uriah's ear to drag him to the parking lot.
"We are going to hit a couple Poké stops, right?" Tobias did his best to stop at every commanded spot including a few detours through neighborhoods and into church parking lots. It was the least he could do to keep Uriah happy, and it helped Tris at the same time.
Tris directed him to her apartment complex. He was doing the mental math on how far apart they were: maybe fifteen minutes. He also started to replan his running route. He was fast, but not fast enough to make it to her door before she had it open. She looked at him a little shocked.
"It was a date, remember." He took her hand.
"Right. I don't think I've ever had a date get my door before, is all. It's a bit old-fashioned."
"Well, that's me: old-fashioned."
"So I guess you want that kiss, then?"
"Tradition dictates: if the date went well, that a kiss might be involved. But, you haven't said if you were impressed or not." He followed her up the steps and along the balcony path towards her front door.
"Well, this is me." Tris felt butterflies, nervous, and less confident once they were completely alone.
"So, verdict? Kiss-worthy?" His top teeth pressed into his thick bottom lip, his eyebrows arched hopefully. Tris nodded and pulled his head towards hers with a hand on the back of his neck. His hand snuck around her waist, his lips at first gentle and hesitant. He pulled back for a second before committing, and Tris stretched up on her tiptoes to follow his backwards movement.
"Call me." She pecked him again, then retreated back behind her door.
"So, what do you think about this silly game now?" Zeke commented, he'd already moved into the front seat.
"It's alright."
"You get a number to go with that kiss?"
"Yep."
"Three days."
"What?"
"That's what you have to wait."
"No, I'm calling tomorrow."
"I'm telling you, wait three days. You'll seem desperate."
Tobias rolled his eyes, pulled out his phone, found her in the contacts and hit a button.
Tris peeked out her window, he could see her from the car, "Tobias? Forget something?"
"Zeke said I'd come off as desperate if I called you tomorrow."
"Oh, did he?"
"I just wanted you to know, I'm way more than desperate. Too desperate to wait for tomorrow."
"Oh, okay?" She laughed and waited.
"So, when can I take you out?"
"Ummm, what kind of out?"
"Dinner, lunch, food… maybe a movie? Date, date stuff."
"Monday night, seven. Nothing R-rated."
"Done. I'll see you then." Tobias stared and smiled at Zeke.
"Desperate."
"Very. And with a date for Monday night. When's your date?"
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