I'm cheating a little with this one; I actually wrote most of it months ago, but scrapped it because I just didn't like it no matter how much I edited it. But looking at it now, I can't understand what I hated so much about it! Perhaps I was in a bad emotional slump back then? Since it's Zoke Week, I decided to finally dust it off and post it. Since it's kind of old, it doesn't match any prompts, but I don't have any ideas for today's prompt, so here we are! I'd say it still counts!

I absentmindedly pulled my gray jacket closer to me as the autumn wind tickled my neck, reminding me that summer was over. It'd been an interesting summer, for sure; it doesn't get more interesting than spending a month competing in an international television show. Even aside from that, this time I had some friends to spend my summer with, friends who know about my "quirks" and don't judge me for them. The summer may have ended, bringing cooler weather and days spent in school, but against my fearful expectations, the friends the summer gave me remained by my side. One particular friend walked by my side now, a smile on her cherry lips, her hands waving animatedly as she described a car chase movie she saw last week.

Okay, the word "friend" underestimates what Zoey is to me. Of course I consider her my friend; I'd never want to date anyone I wouldn't consider my best friend. But more than that, I'd been calling her my girlfriend since June. I must be the luckiest guy in the world to be able to call myself her boyfriend... she's been nothing but sweet and understanding to me since we started dating, and we have so much in common. I really like her, more than I've ever liked anyone.

I like her...

I studied her face as she continued speaking, my ears glued to every word she told me about a particularly exciting chase scene, her bright eyes wide open and shining. Her bright red pigtails bounced as we walked, and her smile continued beaming an energy I couldn't possibly feel down around.

Wow, she's so cute...

I like her... is that it? Is that how I feel about her?

"Would you wanna see it with me?" she asked.

"Hm?" I asked, shaking that curiosity from my head as I returned to Earth.

"Do you wanna see Supercars 6with me sometime?" she repeated, her smile fading. "Were you listening, Mike...?"

"Yeah! Of course I was listening!" I said. "Is there seriously a scene where the car jumps through ten flaming hoops? How does it stay in the air that long?"

"I don't know! That's why it's so funny! It's like it's just floating there! The effect is awful!" she said, her smile returning. "And when it lands... I don't wanna spoil it, it's the best part! You've gotta come see it with me!"

"I'd love to!" I said. "I haven't watched a Supercars movie since the second one. Good to hear they've gotten even weirder since then."

"And even with the stupid parts, there's still some actually cool stuff, so you can see that, too!" she said. "I'm not used to anyone liking stupid action movies as much as I do... usually people tune me out or tell me how awful they are when I try talking about them."

"Even if I didn't like them, I'd still listen," I said. "They make you happy. Insulting them when you're so happy about them would be rude, wouldn't it?"

"Yeah, I hate when people do that to me," she said. "Sorry for accusing you earlier... I'm just so used to being ignored."

"No, that's my fault. I just got distracted. Thinking about something."

"About what?"

"Well..." I stopped walking, and she followed suit, pausing by my side. She gazed into my eyes, her smile faded once again.

"Is something wrong?"

"I was just... um, I was wondering..." I stammered, my face and hands breaking out into a sweat. Could I really tell her what I wondered?

"Mike?"

"I... I..." I gulped and found myself unable to meet her gaze. "I..." As I looked past her, I spotted a cafe behind her, advertising a special on flavored cappuccinos. "I was wondering... if you've ever been to that cafe?" I asked, pointing behind her. "Since you were saying you've been around here a lot."

"Huh?" she said, looking behind her. "Oh! Verne's! Yeah, I love it there!" she said. "I come here all the time! They have great coffee, and it's quiet, so I can design clothes in there without being distracted!"

"You wanna stop in?" I asked. "You can tell me what tastes good. I don't drink a lot of coffee."

"Sure!" she said. She grabbed my hand, not commenting on the sweat that slicked my palms, and my face burned even harder at her touch, to the point where I feared steam would burst from my pores. I staggered forward as she pulled, trying my best to walk normally even as I felt every eye in the world staring in my direction.

Was she considerate enough to notice I felt strange and trying to spare me further awkwardness, or was she really so oblivious to how nervous I was?

Well, her obliviousness is endearing in its own way. At least it means I don't need to answer to many difficult questions, because it never strikes her to ask them.

The cafe was as quiet as she told me it would be. We mostly had the place to ourselves, except for one group huddled in a booth in the corner, talking in hushed tones and occasionally looking back at us as if to make sure we weren't eavesdropping.

"They're here all the time," Zoey told me when I asked. "They just like their privacy. Don't go over there, and you'll be all right."

Due to the lack of activity, our orders came fairly quickly. Both of us got a slice of pie, apple for her and lemon for me, and she recommended I try that day's special cappuccino, a mix of mint and chocolate. I found it a bit too sweet, but she loved her own, so I kept taking courtesy sips of the one I ordered in fear of looking like I was criticizing her recommendation.

"Have you ever been to any cafes in the area at all?" she asked me.

"Every once in a while," I said. "Not too often, though. It's not really my thing."

"It's so strange," she said. "You've lived here all your life, I just come to visit, and yet I know the area better than you do. I'm the one showing you fun things to do in your own hometown!"

"I just don't like going out alone," I said with a shrug. "Going out to eat alone just reminds me of how lonely I am. And, well..." I lowered my voice, as if the group in the corner cared what I had to say. "I don't like being alone in case something goes wrong... in case, I, you know, get lost..."

"Oh, I didn't think about that! I'm sorry! You're right, I understand why you wouldn't want to risk that."

"Could probably tell you every gym in the area, though. I'm sure I've woken up in each of them at least once."

Zoey snorted in amusement, then took a sip of her coffee. "I wonder if we ever saw each other before we met?" she asked. "Even if you don't go to places like this, my family does a lot of shopping around here. The only supermarket in my town is pathetic, so we need to come out here to find anything."

"It's possible," I said. "I wouldn't have had the courage to say hello if I did, but I can see myself noticing you and thinking you were really cute... that's not creepy, is it?"

Zoey shook her head. "No, not creepy. I might have thought the same thing."

"Me? Really? You'd notice someone like me?"

"Of course, silly! I noticed you on Wawanakwa, and I'm here with you now, right?"

"And I'm still not sure how that happened." I smiled as I spoke, but wasn't sure just how much of a joke my words were and how much of it I believed.

"Please don't put yourself down, Mike. You're great. I'm happy I'm here with you."

I grinned at her, and she giggled as usual at the sight of my tooth gap. "I'm happy, too."

Really happy... I should tell her exactly how happy...

"Though, I guess I can understand being surprised... I'd be surprised if someone approached me. Guys usually only do that on dares."

"Lying to girls like that is so rude. Even Vito thinks that's rude."

"Really? Vito thinks something's rude? That's new."

"Well, maybe not rude, but a waste of time. He doesn't get why someone would hit on a girl he has no interest in actually being with, when you can hit on someone who's actually hot. His words, not mine. I never got what was supposed to be so funny about that, either."

"That's one of the reasons I like you so much. You're so respectful."

That old heat returned to my face again, and I shoved a quick bite of my pie into my mouth to muffle any strange, embarrassed noises. After washing it down with another sip of coffee, I took a deep breath and shook off the awkwardness as best as I could.

"Hey..." I started. "What if... what if I said something that wasn't respectful? You know, by mistake?"

"I can't see you doing that," she said. "I know by now that when you say something rude, it's one of the others, not you."

"Okay, maybe I wouldn't say anything rude, but... what if, you know... say I thought something was a compliment, but it was too soon for me to say something like that, and you didn't like it. Would you forgive me?"

"Still can't imagine anything like that from you. Your compliments are so innocent."

"But let's say I did."

"I'm sure I'd forgive you," she said, finally lifting a weight off my chest. "But like I said, I can't imagine what you'd say that would be too much."

I could think of three short words.

"I just don't want to move too fast and make you uncomfortable," I said. "But I don't want to move too slow and make you think I'm not interested, either. It's confusing. I really don't know what I'm doing." I tried adding another laugh to try to lighten all this, but I still wished to fall through the floor in case I was making a fool of myself in front of the greatest girl I ever met. What could be worse than that? Maybe now would be a good time to suddenly need to go to the bathroom...

"This is my first relationship," Zoey said. "So, I don't know what's too fast, or too slow, or any of that... I don't know what I expect. Just be yourself, and I'll be myself, and we'll figure out what we want together. Everything should be okay then, right?"

That should have been my invitation. She gave me permission, so I could just blurt out any true feeling in my head, no matter how stupid, and she'd accept it. She just said she would.

I didn't open my mouth, assuming that looked better than opening it and failing to make any words happen. Silence settled between us as we continued eating our treats, and the further the distance grew between us and that conversation, the less I felt I could say anything.

"Oh! I almost forgot!" she said as her hand dug into the bag on her shoulder, officially closing the door on that topic and opening a new one. "We're in a new place! I need a picture!"

It had been a tradition ever since we left Total Drama. Every time we went on a date to a new place, she had to take a selfie of the two of us. Aware of where this was going, I pushed my coffee and pie closer to the center of the table so they wouldn't be in the way, and I sat up with a smile. After tapping at her phone, she came to my side and draped her arm over my shoulder.

"Say cheese!" she announced as the timer on the phone counted down, then clicked to take a photo. After it clicked, she pulled away from me and tapped at her phone again to save the picture.

"Aw, this came out cute!" she said. "Here, wanna see?" She came close to me again, though without touching me this time, and held the phone in front of me so I could see the photo of the two of us smiling. I doubt my pose would have won any awards, but her enthusiastic grin more than made up for it and made the photo one of the most beautiful I'd ever seen.

"You always look so happy in these photos," I said.

"Because they're with you," she said. "You look happy, too."

"It's impossible to be unhappy around that smile."

She laughed as she returned to her seat and pocketed her phone. "I'll post that when I get home. I wonder what kinds of comments it will get?"

"I'm sure they'll be good," I said. "We always get good comments. People really seem to support us."

"They see how good you are to me," she said. "How cute you are, too. I'm glad so many other people can see what I see in you. And even better, I'm the lucky one who gets to be with you!"

I almost wished she'd stop saying things to make me blush. At this rate, my face was going to melt before the end of this date.

We spent a lot more time in the cafe than I anticipated. Even long after we finished eating and drinking, we stuck around to chat, neither of us in any hurry to end the date and head home. By the time we stepped outside, sunset was well on its way, making it dark enough for the street lamps to activate. The setting of the sun made things much cooler, and Zoey shivered in her usual tube top.

"You okay?" I asked as we walked away from the cafe.

"I'm fine," she said. "I'm just not used to it getting so chilly. I should have brought a jacket..."

"Do you want mine?" I asked, already reaching for the zipper.

"Mike, I can't do that to you..."

"I'll be fine. At least my stomach is covered," I said as I pulled the jacket off my shoulders. "I can't just stand there watching you shiver."

"If you're sure..." she said as she reached out for it. My bare arms prickled as the wind hit them, but I could handle it until I got home. I'd much rather have a small chill than silently watch her react to the cold when I know full well I could be doing something about it. She snorted with laughter the entire time as she pulled the jacket over her shoulders and fastened the zipper; it was much, much too big for her. The sleeves went way past her hands, and even with the zipper pulled all the way up, she had to hold it tight to stop it from falling off her shoulders. The hem stopped at my waist, but on her, it dropped down to her knees.

"Well, it's definitely warm on me!" she said with a laugh. "Why are you so tall?!"

"Genetics?"

My answer only got her to laugh harder. "Well, tell genetics I said thanks!" she said, leaning against me as we walked. "I've always liked tall, skinny guys. You're really handsome."

"I am? Thank you." I wrapped my arms around her in order to provide further warmth. Maybe it was distraction, maybe it was her body heat, or maybe I just got used to it, but I didn't feel cold at all anymore... "That's a great compliment from someone so pretty..."

We arrived at my house much too soon. We weren't even talking about anything important for the rest of the trip; just random observations about signs we passed, and random memories jogged by things as simple as falling leaves. But no matter how banal our conversations, I didn't want them to end. If only the path could stretch on endlessly, so we could keep walking and talking a while longer...

But that wasn't the case, and I didn't want to seem too needy... but being by her side felt so special...

"It looks like we're home..." Did she sound disappointed, or was that wishful thinking on my part?

"Do you wanna come in and watch a movie?" I asked. "I recently picked up some old monster-destroys-the-city movies. They actually look pretty good, not just so-bad-it's-good."

"I'd love to, but it's getting late," Zoey said. Was she really disappointed? She wasn't just trying to let me down gently, was she? Not that I wanted her to be upset, exactly, but the idea that she wanted to be with me as much as I wanted to be with her... "If I'm not home soon, my parents are gonna be worried out of their minds. Next time for sure, though!"

"All right! Sounds great! See you then!" I said, grinning as wide as I could to hide how much my heart sank at the idea of watching her go. "Keep the jacket for now, all right? I'm already home, but you still need to get from your car to your house. I'll get it back next time I visit you, no rush. It's not my only one."

"Really? Thank you so much! If I come here first, then I'll bring it back, I promise! Hope I see you soon!" she said, and turned away with a wave to head to her car parked nearby. I made it up my front steps, but then paused. The night couldn't end here, could it? Wasn't there one more thing I had to do? It was at that point I chose to do something that could either be very sweet, or very stupid.

"Zoey?" I called. "Wait a second."

Her body remained faced away from me, but she turned her head to look at me. "Is something wrong?" she asked, her brow furrowed.

"It's just... I wanna tell you something. It's simple, not a big deal..."

"What is it?" she asked, turning back around and walking back to me, pausing at the bottom of the stairs.

"I... I, um..." I gulped. These words could change everything. They could make everything better.

They could make everything worse.

Should I tell her?

Should I change my mind?

Could I change my mind at this point?

Would my nerves ever stop shaking my stomach like that?

Oh god, I was gonna puke.

"Mike?" she asked. "You can talk to me. What's going on?"

"I just... I... I had a really great time tonight... I always do, with you, you know, and it made me think... made me realize... I think I... I know I... I... I..." I swallowed some bile, and exhaled ungracefully. Yeah. Definitely gonna puke.

"Mike?"

I muttered what I wanted to say, quickly and quietly, just to get it out there. Somehow, that didn't make me feel any better.

"I'm sorry? I couldn't hear that. Mike, what's wrong? Is there something I can do?"

"Ivoo." At least I was louder that time, but the words blended together into indistinguishable mush.

"Mike, please speak up."

"I just wanna say... that I..." I swallowed once more, then steeled myself as best as I could. That was it. No more hesitation. This had to happen. "I... I love you, Zoey."

And thus began one of the longest moments of my life. I stood waiting for a response, ignoring every instinct that told me to run into the house and forget that I just did something so stupid. It's too soon! I'm moving too fast! And no matter how long I waited there was no way she'd-

"You... you love me?" she asked, after what felt like a million years.

Reluctant to open my mouth again, I simply nodded.

I then had warm arms squeezing me tight, pulling me forward to the point where I should have wondered if she'd pull me off the steps. I didn't wonder that, though. I had other things on my mind, like the fact that I had her hugging me and I was now hugging her back and she didn't hate me? I said something like that and she didn't hate me? With my brain still rushing too fast for me to speak, she stood on her toes and kissed my lips, too low to make it more than a peck. I didn't know how to speak, but I certainly knew how to respond to that. I stepped down to put myself more level with her, then returned her kiss, my hands pressed against the small of her back, hers holding my face and pulling me even closer. The temperature could have dropped to winter levels, snow could have fallen and built up around us, but I still wouldn't have been cold in that sweet, victorious moment. Once our kiss finally ended and I opened my eyes, she gazed at me with her dark brown eyes and smiled.

"I love you too, Mike."

I hugged her close, and rested my hand on the back of her head to hold her against my chest. She hugged my waist and snuggled close, and we stood there, a peculiar sight to any passersby.

We'd hugged exactly like this before, but in that moment, it felt different. Warmer. Safer. More secure.

"Now I really don't want to go," she said. "If I didn't have to..."

"It's okay, I understand."

She stood up straight, and I stole the opportunity for one more short kiss.

"I mean it," I continued. "I really do love you. I've been wanting to say that for a while..."

"So have I," she said. "I just wasn't sure if it felt right... when is the right time to say something like that? I've never had to before. Not like this. So I don't know. I didn't wanna be that clingy girlfriend and scare you off."

"Does this change anything?" I asked. "Things don't have to get... weird between us, do they?"

"I don't think so," she said. "I don't see where things would have to change at all. Except that I'll probably say 'I love you' a lot more often, now that I know I can."

"Looking forward to it." With heavy regret, I let go of her. Temptation insisted I kiss her again, but I knew if I kept kissing her, neither of us would ever want her to go. "Have a safe drive home, all right? I'll see you soon!"

"Can't wait!" With a final smile, she turned back around and headed toward her car. I turned as well and went back for my front door. As I placed my hand on the knob, she called out to me. "Mike?" I turned back to see her facing me, her own hand on her car's door while her other hand held the jacket to her body as best as it could.

"Yeah?" I called back.

She paused for a moment before speaking again. "I love you!" With that, she finally got into the car and drove off.

"Love you too!" I called after her as she drove away.

As if she could hear me... what a shame... well, it was all right. I could make up for it with a text before she went to bed.

Already, I could tell we were going to spend the next few weeks as one of those annoying couples who have to say something mushy and stupid every five minutes... but hey, I sure didn't mind that, especially if she didn't.