He presses himself closer, groans into her lips when her body catches him. Her back collides with the lockers behind her; the sound echoes along the empty hall and throws itself back toward them.

Emma gropes at him, warm hands on his face, one leg hooked over his hip. He slows down and kisses her soft, almost apologetic. "I have to go." His breaths are coming too quick and his body is a livewire, but he steps away from her, anyway.

"Why?"

"I have to meet Dylan at the shop."

She pulls at him again and he's back where he started. Another groan falls from him involuntarily. Emma smirks in that cocky way she does when she knows she's won. "You know, if I didn't know any better, I'd be jealous of him."

Norman laughs; it's a puff of air on her skin. "Cute. Real cute. Now, would you go to your damn student council meeting already and stop trying to screw me in the hall?"

Emma gives him a playful shove. "Would you rather I screw you in the girls bathroom?"

"Why would you even suggest such a thing?" His mouth touches her again. "Bye, sweetie."

"Bye, jerk-face."

The scent of oil and sweat is too thick here. Norman practically gags on it. Far too much masculinity in one place, this crappy little mechanic's shop that Dylan ran with his uncle. Norman shakes his head as he puts his hands in his pockets. Dylan spots him from the other side of the room.

"Hey!" Dylan jogs the distance, through mangled car parts and gas cans and tool boxes.

Norman chuckles at his best friend's enthusiam. "Hey. What's going on?" All around them, there's the sound of drills and lifts and sputtering engines.

"Same old, same old." Dylan smiles and claps Norman on the shoulder. "I'm glad you're here. I wanted to ask you something."

"I have no idea how to use a wrench." He wipes at the grease spot Dylan left behind on his best shirt.

"No, Norman. Nothing like that." His eyes drop. He's giving off nervous energy.

"What is it, Dylan?"

"My mom told me to invite you over for dinner. You interested?"

"In meeting your mom? Does that mean we're going steady?"

His friend shoves him. "Shut up, dude. I'm being serious here."

"Calm down. I'd love to meet your mom."

"Cool. Eight o'clock work for you?"

"That's fine. See you then."

Emma's already at his apartment by the time he gets there. He walks in to find her sprawled across his bed, her eyes on a book, but her ears perking up at his entrance. He crawls in behind her, his body automatically molding to hers, his mouth on her pulse. "What you reading?"

"Catcher in the Rye. It's for class."

Norman nods against her. "So, since you're caught up in your work, would you mind if I went over to Dylan's tonight? His mom invited me."

She glances at him and there's a twinkle of mirth in her eyes. "You're meeting his parents? That's adorable."

"Just his mom. His dad's been gone for awhile."

"Either way, I'm happy you and Dylan have taken your relationship to the next level." She teases as she rolls over onto her back. "Have fun, okay? I'll miss you."

"I'll miss you more." He drops his forehead to hers, smiling when her hands come up to cup his face. "Would you mind picking out my outfit? I want to impress this woman."

"Why?"

"Cause according to Dylan, she's super classy. I don't want to seem disrespectful. Dylan's my best friend."

"You're cute when you're nervous."

"Would you just help me please?"

"Of course."

Emma decides on a simple black button down and a pair of blue jeans. It's casual and Norman feels at ease in it. Still, he isn't sure why Norma Massett's approval means so much to him. Maybe because he didn't want to lose Dylan; he'd become such a vital part of Norman's life. A brother, almost and a better father figure than his own father had ever been. So, yeah, he needed Norma's approval. Just to feel validated.

Dylan's the one who greets him at the door. Immediately, there's the smell of a home cooked meal and a soft feeling of comfort and famailarity that wraps itself around Norman like an embrace.

"Hey, buddy." Dylan pulls him by the elbow. "Glad you could make it."

"Wouldn't miss it."

Their house is relatively small, but it's homey. Two bedrooms, one bath. Norman wonders how Dylan sneaks girls in here...or if he ever thinks to. The kitchen is sparse, only containing a small round table, a stove, and a pantry. Dylan's mom is at the table, typing away at a laptop. Norman assumes it's a work computer, though he can't remember what Dylan told him his mother does for a living.

"Hey, Mom." She turns at the sound of his voice. A pair of glasses sits on the edge of her nose and her plaid shirt is slighty open in the front. Her hair falls in blonde waves to her shoulders and her eyes are deep blue, her smile almost horribly friendly. Norman swallows. She's beautiful. Someone should've fucking warned him. "This is Norman."

She stands and Norman's gaze traces her figure. Perhaps it comes off as nerves rather than appreciation. He hopes so. She holds out her hand and he takes it almost too quickly. "It's nice to meet you, Mrs. Massett."

"Please, call me Norma. And it's wonderful to finally meet you, too. My son can't stop talking about you. I'm glad he's made such a close friend."

He can feel Dylan fretting beside him, but he only smiles. "Trust me, Norma, he's done more for me than I could do for him."

Norma leads him to the table by the hand. Norman loses a milisecond of breath. "Please, sit down. Dinner will be ready soon." She sits beside him, returning to busily fussing away on her computer. Dylan takes the place across from him and folds his hands neatly on the table top.

Norma clicks the laptop closed after a few minutes. "So, Norman, Dylan tells me you got into NYU."

He coughs. "Uh, yeah, yeah, I did. But, I was thinking of applying somewhere a bit closer to home."

"Really? Why is that?"

His hands rub hard at his pant legs. He hadn't wanted to bring up Emma. "Well, my girlfriend is still a junior, so I just wanted to stay close to her until she graduates."

Dylan scoffs. "They're stuck in the honeymoon phase, Mom."

Norman expects her to write him off right there. Instead, she gives a cute little laugh. "Well, I can certainly understand that. There are plenty of great schools in the area. I wish you luck."

He almost blushes. Damn it, he feels like a schoolgirl with a crush. "Thank you, Norma."

The oven dings and Norma shoots up. "That's the meatloaf. I hope you're hungry."

"Starved."

Dylan gets called in to the shop. Usually, Norman's night would've been ruined. Not tonight. Tonight, he gets to help Norma clean up after dinner. The two of them. Alone. Norman's casting glances at her and hoping she doesn't notice, trying like hell to think of some menial small talk so he can hear her voice.

"I'm sorry, but Dylan's dad was an idiot."

"Oh yeah? How's that?"

He looks at her, his hands wrist deep in soapy dishwater, his sleeves rolled up, his dignity this close to compromised. "If I had a woman like you and a son like Dylan I'd do everything in my power to keep you. I wouldn't ever dream of running away."

She almost smiles; he can see her gaze softening just slightly. She's endeared by his honesty. "Yeah, well, my husband felt our neighbor was a better fit for him."

"He's a jerk. He couldn't deserve you in a million years." He takes a step closer, releasing pruned fingers from their task, his lips quirking into a grin.

Norma nods at him. "You're right. You're right."

"So, what do you do for a living, Norma?"

"Actually, I'm in college right now. Business major."

"Really? That's what I'll be majoring in. Caleb promised that when I graduate, he'll give me the shop to run with Dylan."

Norma chuckles at that. "Do you know anything about cars?"

"Of course not, but I don't need to. I'll do the books. Dylan's got the cars."

"Why hasn't Dylan told me about this?"

"I don't know. Maybe he wanted it to be a surprise. You're okay with that, right?"

"Yes. Yes, of course. It would be good for you. The both of you." She goes quiet for a second. "Hey, listen, there's this assignment that's stumping me a bit. Think you could help me?"

"Absolutely."

He sits close to her on the couch, so close he can smell her sweet lilac perfume. Her fingers tap away at the keyboard again and every once in awhile, she glances over at the textbook open on the coffee table, her eyes scanning a certain paragraph for an answer. Norman's entranced by her movements and he hopes beyond hope that she's too engrossed to notice.

"Are you gonna help me or just stare all night?"

He lets out a nervous, awkward sound that's barely a laugh. "I was gonna stare if that's cool with you."

She looks up at him, her pupils intense behind her glasses. An easy smile slides across her lips.

Norman lets himself stay loose; otherwise, he'd embarrass himself. "I'm sorry. You're just really beautiful."

If he didn't know better, he'd say she actually blushes. Like a little girl being fed a exgerrated compliment. "Thank you." She puts a stray piece of hair behind her ear and ducks her head.

Norman's chest grows warm with her reaction. "This was a bad idea, wasn't it?"

"What?"

"Dylan inviting me over." He shakes his head. "If I'd known..."

"Known?"

"How absolutely irrestible you are I would've stayed home." He moves a little closer to her and leans in. "I wanna see you again. Alone. Anywhere you want. Please."

"Norman, you're eighteen. And you have a girlfriend."

"I didn't say it had to be serious or that we had to tell anybody. I just want a chance to know you. I can't bear the thought of seeing you once in awhile. Or of you by yourself in this house. Surrounded by creeps at school."

Norma laughs. "You're ridiculous."

"But you like me."

"I do."

"So, is that a yes? Will you see me?"

She leans in, too, and puts a hand over his. "I can't believe I'm saying this, but yes, I'll see you."

He really hadn't thought any of it through. The excitement had been too much in the moment and now, the nerves were setting in. Crackles of electricity were edging up and down his spine, making him readjust himself over and over, hands in his hair and rolling his shoulders back. He'd agreed to pick her up from school and so here he sat in the parking lot of the local community college, staring hard at his reflection in the rearviewmirror, his tongue tracing over his teeth repeatedly.

"What the hell are you doing?" He mutters out loud. "This isn't a date."

"It's not?" She's standing at his passenger side window, a bemused smirk on her mouth. She opens the door without being prompted and slides into the seat, her eyes trained on him. "You're cute when you're nervous."

His hands run through his hair again. "Sneaking up on people in private moments is not polite."

"Yeah, well, neither is taking out your best friend's mother."

"You're shameless, aren't you?"

"It's a gift."

He hits the steering wheel with the butt of his hand and refuses to look at her. "So, where you do wanna go?"

"Actually, there's this great movie playing down at the Vista. To Have And To Have Not. Ever seen it?"

"Of course. I've seen everything Lauren Bacall has ever touched." Now, he meets her eyes. "But, then again, with you around, I doubt Lauren will even have a chance to keep my attention."

"Dylan didn't tell me you were a charmer."

"He's jealous is all." He winks. "So, the movies? Complete darkness? Is that an invitation?"

"Don't get ahead of yourself, sport."