I pull up into the ranch house's driveway, feeling my palms slide off the steering wheel. Damn. Jade West does not sweat. Ugh. And yet, here I am, butterflies in my stomach like some pathetic teenager in a John Hughes movie.

I really don't want to keep her waiting, but I see her shadow in her window and she looks like she's still getting ready. I take a deep breath. I have some time, I remind myself, but it does nothing to fix the violence of my heartbeat.

I still can't believe she said yes, honestly. I asked her out of the blue, and she has no reason to even talk to me, let alone date me. I've been awful to her, ever since her first day. I almost made her leave Hollywood Arts, for Pete's sake.

I watch her twirl around her room, adjusting her hair. I subconsciously do the same, watching her fix her outfit, watching her bend over to put on her flats. I swallow as she leaves her room, and I smooth down my shirt and adjust the clip in my hair before exiting the car.

I don't know how her ten foot driveway turned into a mile long driveway, but magically, it did. I blame it on the heels.

I knock on the door and try to hide my blush as Mr. Vega answers. He greets me by name, something I'm not entirely used to, nor quite comfortable with. His eyes are twinkling, and I'm not sure why, because I'm no better for Tori than Ryder or Danny. All of us were bad influences, all of us had a darker past than most, all of us had a piercing somewhere other than our ears. Maybe it's just because I can't get her pregnant.

Mr. Vega is saying some words at me, but I can't hear them. I'm too focused on Tori, who is descending the short staircase.

She's wearing this perfect blue tank top with these pure white shorts and her hair is pinned up so it falls around her face in tiny ringlets. It must have taken hours to accomplish. She smiles and I feel underdressed compared to her, even though we're wearing practically the same thing.

She smiles, which does nothing to improve my blood pressure.

"I…you look gorgeous, Tori." I finally say, glancing at her dad, who nods his approval. I relax a little and interdigitate my fingers with my date's, leading her to my car.

I open the passengers' side for her and slide over the hood of the car, just like every cheesy movie you've ever seen.

We go to a movie first. It's some new action flick that's out, and I'm not even paying attention to the man about to split solid concrete in two. I'm too focused on the wonder in Tori's eyes, and the ideas I can see flowing out of her head. I slide an arm around her, not with the stupid fake yawn, but a very honest move. That's one thing I can count on with this unpredictable girl: she likes honesty.

She relaxes onto my arm and cuddles into me a little bit. I smile and run the pad of my thumb over her shoulder blade.

The movie ends far too soon, and we ditch my car in the parking lot.

We walk to the park that's a few blocks away. I can't find words to describe anything, so I just let her do all the talking. She does a magnificent job of it, too.

This park is a really old one, with a really romantic feel to it. The walkways are paved with cobblestone, and the park is lit by strings of lanterns hung from tree to tree. Fireflies zoom in and out of my vision, and the soft sound of the pond's waterfall makes me sleepy.

We end up in a lantern lit pagoda. She tells me that this is the best first date she's ever been on, and I agree. I tell her how Beck's idea of a romantic first date was me watching him pretend to fix his car and then we saw a movie I'd seen four times already.

Tori grins. She tells me that Danny had taken her out to an ethnic place that gave her indigestion, and she couldn't even finish watching the low-budget indie movie he had taken her out to.

I find myself biting my lip softly, and notice that Tori is doing the same. Then Tori is leaning in, and so am I, until finally, our lips touch. I grin and kiss her chastely before pulling back.

Tori asks me to sing for her, and she looks happy, so I sing her a few verses of a random Rocket song I heard on the radio.

And then we kiss again.