"Honey!" Trixie shrieked into the phone. "You'll never guess what!"
Honey's laughter sounded on the other end. "Hmm, let me see. Is it that my brother finally asked you out?"
"Yes!" Trixie fairly screamed. Then she paused. "How did you know?"
"I saw Jim skipping up the driveway to our house, and then his face was glowing when he came in. He hasn't stopped smiling." Honey giggled. "I asked him why he was so happy. He said, and I quote, 'Because I finally came to my senses and stopped being an idiot!'"
Trixie burst out laughing. "Wow, he actually said that?!"
"Yes!" Honey replied. "So I, of course, was waiting for your call. Why didn't you call sooner?"
"Mart was hogging the phone, talking to Di. Otherwise I would have called you an hour ago. But, Honey, I can't stay on very long. Jim said that he'd pick me up at six and that he wanted to take me someplace fancy, so I have to somehow find something to wear in two hours." Trixie added under her breath, "Why he chose to go somewhere fancy I have no idea, unless it's so that he can put me through torture."
"Trixie, I heard that. And I think it's so that he can see you all fancied up."
"Right, right, whatever you say. But right now I need help! Can you come over, Honey?"
"Of course, I'll be right there."
Trixie took deep breaths as she stood in front of her mirror and gazed at herself. She was wearing a modest long dark blue shimmery sleeveless dress with silver sandals.
She turned to Honey and Di, who were standing there and examining her critically. "You guys, I look like a mess! Or at least my hair does. Jim's going to be here in less than five minutes, and I can't do anything with it!"
"You do not look like a mess, Trixie Belden," Honey scolded. "If we had more time, Di and I could put it up, but you'll be fine going like that. You look dashing."
"No, I don't," Trixie groaned. "Why, oh why, did I ever agree to go out with him?"
"Because you like him and have wanted this for as long as you've known him," Diana answered promptly.
"Right," Trixie muttered. She opened her mouth to say more, but a knock sounded at the door.
"Who is it?" Honey called.
"Moms. Trixie, Jim is here."
"He is? Ahhh! He is! I'm going to die," Trixie moaned.
"No, you're not!" Honey and Di responded simultaneously.
"Yes I am!"
"No, you're not, Trixie," Mrs. Belden said as she entered the room. "Take a deep breath and hold it."
Trixie did as she was told.
"Now let it all the way out slowly."
Trixie obliged.
"Do you feel better?"
"Yes." Trixie closed her eyes and took another breath and let it out. She opened her eyes again. "Okay, I'm ready. Let's go."
"Us? No, we're staying in here until you leave," Di said.
"But–" Trixie started.
"Come on, Trixie," Mrs. Belden said firmly. "Walk down the stairs slowly. Jim's at the bottom."
Trixie gulped and walked slowly down the stairs. When she got to the bottom and saw Jim, she had to stifle a gasp. He was wearing a black suit with a gray shirt underneath, and his eyes looked dazed as he stared at her.
"You, you look…you look amazing, Trix," he finally got out. He offered her his arm, and she took it with a blush.
Mr. Belden looked at them sternly. "Be sure you have her back by ten-thirty at the latest, young man. Or else I'll have to reconsider this whole dating thing."
"Yes, sir, Mr. Belden," Jim answered. "We'll be back by ten-thirty."
The walk out to Jim's car seemed to take ages. When they reached the passenger side, Jim opened the door and helped her get in.
"Thank you, Jim," Trixie said, blushing again.
"It's my pleasure, Trix," he replied. She looked up at him, and their eyes locked. Jim unexpectedly leaned down and brushed his lips against hers, all while staring at her.
Trixie's breath caught when she felt his lips on hers, and as he pulled back her heart sped up. She kept her eyes glued to his frame as she watched him close her door and walk around the vehicle to his door.
"So," Jim said as he pulled out of her driveway, "you don't really go into much detail in your emails. What have you been up to while I've been at school?"
"Actually, the reason why I don't go into it in my emails is because there are no details," Trixie replied ruefully. "Ever since you and Brian left for college I have not gotten into a single mystery. It's almost like I don't find them unless you and Brian are around."
"That's not true, Trix," Jim pointed out. "When you found that mystery in Minnesota no Bob-Whites were around except for you and Honey. And Brian couldn't go to England that one time. And then…"
"Okay, so that's not it. But if that's not it, I don't know what is. Maybe it's because you've been away for so long or something."
"Well, most of the Bob-Whites are probably pretty happy that you haven't found any mysteries," Jim said.
"Yeah. I think the only ones who aren't happy are Honey and me."
Jim glanced over at her. "I wouldn't say that I'm totally happy about it," he said quietly.
"What? Are you kidding? You're probably the happiest of all of us, except for maybe Brian," Trixie responded.
"I'm only supposed to be happy. I'm not, really. I mean, well…"
"What is it, Jim?"
"I know that solving mysteries makes you happy, and when you're happy, I'm happy. If you're not happy right now, well, then I can't be fully happy." Jim glanced at her again nervously.
A smile crossed Trixie's face. She leaned back in her seat happily. "I didn't know you felt that way."
"Yeah, well….I've felt that way since I first met you. I just never showed it very well."
"I'll say," Trixie muttered to herself.
Jim grinned, and Trixie caught her breath again. There is no way that this is Earth. I must be on another planet or dreaming or something.
"Trix?" Jim asked. "Are you okay? You look like you're on another planet."
Trixie flushed. "Ahh, no, I mean, I'm fine. I was just thinking about something. And no, it's not a mystery. I already said that there are no new mysteries."
A little smile crossed Jim's face. "You know, I wouldn't chew you out if it was a mystery you were thinking about. You don't have to try to hide them from me anymore."
"I never exactly tried to hide them from you in the first place," Trixie answered honestly. "I just didn't always listen to you, and I didn't always tell you what I was planning."
"I think it's my turn to say, 'I'll say,'" Jim said. "Most of the time we poor males just had to figure it out for ourselves."
"Uh-huh," Trixie replied, grinning. "You know, you could look at it a different way."
"What way?"
"Well, instead of thinking that we never filled you guys in, you could instead think that we had such faith in you guys that we knew you'd figure it out in time. I mean, you are pretty smart." Trixie paused. "Well, you, Brian, and Dan are. Mart I'm not so sure about."
"You're right, we could look at it that way," Jim agreed, "but then we couldn't tease you about it."
"What's with this 'we' stuff?" Trixie wanted to know. "You never teased me and Honey – or, at least, me – about the fact that we never told you. It was mainly Brian and Mart who teased, sometimes Dan."
"Yeah, well, I did tease Honey about it."
"Why not me?"
Jim's face reddened. He glanced away. "I didn't think you would take too well to it."
Trixie took in Jim's red face and his words, and she cocked her head, thinking. I wonder if Jim was so overprotective because he was terrified that he would lose us. I can't believe I didn't think of that sooner. But why would he be so worried about me? I'm just Trixie Belden. Although we are on a date….gleeps, I wonder if he likes me! That could be why he never liked teasing me!
"Trixie? Are you on Mars again?"
Trixie shook her curls. "What? No, Jim. I mean, I was just thinking abo– uh, I was just thinking again. Sorry about that."
"It's fine." Jim glanced at her while he drove. "Is something wrong? You've been preoccupied a lot this evening, and we aren't even at the restaurant yet."
"Wrong? No, nothing's wrong," Trixie quickly assured him. "Hey, speaking of the restaurant, where are we going?"
"You'll have to just wait and see," Jim said slyly.
"Why? I think that since I went to all the work to look sort of good, you should at least tell me where we're going," Trixie responded.
"You don't look 'sort of good', Trix," Jim mumbled. "You look gorgeous."
Trixie pretended not to hear, although her red face showed Jim that she did hear. Soon Jim pulled up in front of a restaurant that had a sign in front that read Corelli's.
"Corelli's?" Trixie asked doubtfully. "I don't think I've ever been here. Are we even in Sleepyside anymore?"
"No, we're in White Plains. This is one of the nicest restaurants that I could find. Will you be okay eating here?"
"Of course. But Jim…" Trixie hesitated. "Isn't this place expensive? It looks expensive."
"Don't worry about the cost, Trix. I want to do this for you," Jim replied.
Trixie peered up at him shyly. "Thanks, Jim."
Jim leaned over and pressed his lips lightly against hers. "You're welcome, Trix." He pulled back and got out of the car. Trixie watched dreamily as he came around and opened her car door. She put her hand in his, and together they walked into the restaurant.
The couple ordered their food, and then they lapsed into silence. Trixie was the first to speak.
"So, uh, Jim…" she began as she fiddled with her napkin. "Um…why exactly did you ask me out?" Her eyes widened as soon as the words came out. She kept her eyes on her napkin as she waited for his response.
Jim looked surprised. "What do you mean, Trix? Why do boys usually ask girls out?"
Trixie licked her lips. "Well, because they like them in that boyfriend-girlfriend way. But…I mean, you don't like me like that, do you? You only asked me as friends, right?"
Jim shook his head. "No, Trixie. I asked you out because I do like you that way. I've always liked you that way."
"But why? I'm just Trixie Belden, a clumsy tomboy who's always getting into trouble. Why on earth would you want to go out with me?"
"Shamus, you are so much more than that to me. You are a beautiful blue-eyed blonde who is full of spunk and loves helping others. You are the person that I owe my life to. You are the person who taught me how to love again," Jim said tenderly.
Trixie looked at him with a small smile on her face. She could feel her heart pounding in her chest – did he just say that he loved her? "Really, Jim?"
"Yes, Shamus." Jim gazed upon her with a look full of adoration.
Their food came, and their conversation ceased while they ate. After a while Trixie sat back and, as a sly smile crossed her lips, asked Jim, "So you were an idiot before today, huh?"
Jim looked at her confusedly for a moment before he remembered what he had said to Honey earlier. "Oh, uh, well. I didn't mean that I was idiot, exactly…"
"So what did you mean?"
"I just meant that, um, I got smart today…" His voice trailed off as he looked at her. "Okay, yes, I confess that I was an idiot before today. I don't know why I didn't ask you out sooner."
"I don't know why, either," Trixie agreed. "I mean, it only took you three years to finally ask me out."
Jim stared at her for a second, and then he grinned and shook his head. "Yeah. Only three years."
After they had finished eating, the couple walked out of the restaurant hand-in-hand. Jim walked Trixie to the passenger door and helped her in, and then he leaned down and pecked her lips with his own. Trixie dreamily watched him walk to his door and get in.
Jim started the vehicle and pulled out of the restaurant. After driving in silence for a while, Trixie spoke up.
"So, Jim, you said before that you didn't know why you didn't ask me out sooner, but really – why didn't you?"
Jim glanced at her before answering. "I suppose I felt like any teenage boy." He shrugged. "I was scared to."
"You weren't scared to give me the ID bracelet," Trixie pointed out.
"Yeah, but I gave you that after I almost lost you in that storm. When you want to show someone how much you care, you put aside your fears. But when you ask someone out, you don't know if they'll say yes, and, well…it can be nerve-wracking."
"I see," Trixie replied.
After they pulled into the Beldens' driveway, Jim walked her up to the porch. "I had a really nice time tonight, Trixie," he said, tugging gently on a curl.
"Me too, Jim," Trixie answered softly, gazing up at him.
"Would you…would you want to go out together again sometime?" Jim asked huskily.
A delighted smile appeared on Trixie's face. "I'd love to, Jim. But, well…"
Jim looked nervous. "But what, Trix?"
She swallowed. "If we go out again, does it mean we're a couple?" she wanted to know, her heart pounding.
"It depends," Jim replied.
"On what?"
"On if you want us to be a couple. I know that I want us to be officially dating. But if you don't…"
"No, Jim! I want us to officially be a couple, too," Trixie said shyly.
Jim's mouth broke into a huge grin. "That's awesome, Trix. Awesome."
"Awesome is right," she agreed.
"Yes." Jim looked at her fondly. "Will I be seeing you tomorrow?"
"Probably at some point. I don't know when."
"Fine with me." Jim's green eyes met her blue ones, and he leaned down toward her. She rose on her tiptoes to meet him, and as their arms went around each other their lips met in a sweet kiss. It was a kiss full of promise for what was to come, and when they finally pulled apart, they just gazed at each other. Finally Jim let go her, and said softly, "Good night, Trix."
"Good night, Jim." She watched him walk out to his car before turning and heading into her house.
Trixie walked dreamily up the stairs to her bedroom. I will so have to tell Di and Honey all about this tomorrow, she thought to herself as she got ready for bed. Well, maybe not all of it. But a lot of it. Trixie crawled into bed. For now, though…"Today was a fairytale," Trixie murmured before drifting off to sleep.
Author's Notes
I don't own these characters, nor am I making any profit from writing about them! This was inspired by Taylor Swift's "Today Was A Fairytale," which I don't own, either.
This used to be a songfic, but I removed the lyrics to comply with the site's rules. Line breaks are where the lyrics used to be.
Corelli's is totally a restaurant of my imagination. I have no clue if there is a fancy restaurant in White Plains, so I just made one up. And as for what they ordered…use your imagination. I'm not good with foods :)
Thanks for reading! I hope you enjoyed it!
Thanks to my editor, Lilly! You're awesome!
2,690 words