Started my daily ficlets to make the hiatus pass, then decided to keep going with a 2nd cycle, and then a 3rd, 4th, etc through 66th cycle. Now cycle 67!

"Dating & Trying"
Nora (AU!Beth), Emily (OC; Nellie V.), Grace (OC) - Jay (OC)
Sunshine Girls 2 series
(all series now listed under the communities tab in my profile)

Grace didn't want to tell this story. It wasn't a bad story, really. It was good. But as good as it was, telling it in front of the girl she was steadily and irrevocably falling for, knowing she didn't know, knowing she couldn't tell her, it was going to hurt, and Nora wouldn't be the one who would feel it. She couldn't work her way out of it. She was going to have to tell the story Emily had requested. Her best date. Her second date with Jay.

X

Their first date had not exactly been a mess. She was just shy, and he didn't know how to get her to open up. She thought for certain he would never want to see her again. But then a few days after, he'd dropped a folded piece of paper on her desk in class, and she'd grabbed it quickly, before her teacher could see it. She unfolded it under her desk, then when the teacher had his back turned, she snuck a look.

Can we try again?

It made her smile, and once she'd gotten a hold of that smile, she turned her head and gave him a quick nod. Soon it would be set, Friday night, they were going out again.

He'd picked her up at her house. Her little brother was being his usual charming self and had managed to drop food in her lap while she was waiting, forcing her to go up and change just before Jay was supposed to arrive. She was still going through her closet when she heard the bell, and even if she knew her bedroom door was closed, she had to turn and make sure. The longer it took her, the more time it would give for her mother to start interrogating Jay or for her brother to do something worse.

One quick change later, she had scrambled down the stairs, grabbed Jay's hand, and they were gone. At the very least, the rush had put color in her cheeks, something Jay would later say was single-handedly responsible for how much he wanted to kiss her from that point on in the night. It had always helped to loosen them up.

By the time they had reached the restaurant though, all the tables were booked, and they had to wait. "We could always go somewhere else," Jay had said, and her stomach had won out. Ten minutes later, they sat in a booth facing each other, and as they looked through the menus, her foot had accidentally tapped his. She apologized, but he shrugged it off. Then he returned the gesture and she smiled. For the rest of their dinner, every once in a while they would tap the other's foot. It would be something they did all throughout the time they dated, just to make the other smile, reminiscing.

Jay would do anything to make her smile. He was not afraid of making a fool of himself, and she always loved that about him. On this night in particular, they would look around, to the other tables, spot out the most amusing ones, and then he would sing as low as he could, whatever song he thought was appropriate for the given scenario. She'd never heard him sing before, and each of his choices had her laughing that much harder, to the point where the last couple he 'hit' had heard her and they'd both ducked down, turning to each other as they laughed. He'd tapped her foot under the table and she'd tapped his back.

They'd gotten their desserts to go, and as they'd started walking he had dared her to do just like he'd done, sing something. She was still too shy to let anyone hear her at this point, but he'd put all his efforts in convincing her until she'd finally relented. He could barely hear her at first, and he made a point of showing this until, blushing and grinning, she would raise her voice just a little more. She'd scrunched up her face when he said she'd been great, and he had gotten caught up in the moment, stretching over to kiss the side of her head. He'd been unsure what to do then, but she just smiled, getting back to her dessert.

He'd taken her to see a movie in the park. They'd been having them this time of year for a few years now, and she'd always thought it would be a great place to go on a date, something she'd never told him, so when they had found themselves there, she'd been elated. They sat side by side against a tree, and as the night progressed, she found herself leaning against him, resting her head on his shoulder. He took hold of her hand, and this was as good as a promise that they would have a third date.

He brought her home after the movie, and after spending the entire walk back wondering if he would kiss her, she'd gotten her answer. It was her first kiss, the first one that mattered, and after they'd said their goodbyes, she'd just sort of wafted up on a cloud, back to her room, her heart full to the brim with happiness.

X

"My goodness, how have I never heard this story?" Emily blinked at her friend when she'd finished. Grace had to look down, uncomfortable again now that it was done.

"It was…" she shook her head. Even if they'd broken up by now, it was never not going to be one of her best days, even with this Nora situation.

"I'm never going to have that though," Emily shook her head, exasperated again.

"You… You could," Nora told her.

"I'm sorry, have we forgotten my past dates?" Emily stared up at her. "Now it's my turn to tell you a little story. Try and tell me I'm not crazy after that."

THE END/TO BE CONTINUED (DAY 1421)

A/N: This is a one-shot ficlet, which means that signing up for story alert will not bring you any alerts.
In the event of a sequel, the story will be separate from this one. And as chapter stories go, they are
always clearly indicated as such [ex: "Days 204-210" in the summary] Thank you!