Hey guys, just as a warning, to have never been on a date before, and have no idea how it's done. ;) I hope this chapter clears up any questions you might have. Also, i didnt feel like thinking up new songs, lets assume that the song artists are alive in the selection era. thanks! Enjoy! And thank you Kiera Cass for writing the Selection! Lov ya!
Starlight stared at her wall. She just couldn't focus on her work. After she had talked to Silvia, she ran to her room to get the reports she was in charge of looking at out of the way. But there was just too much going on. She had sent her maids to take a break, and leave her alone. The windows were open and she could see a couple of the Selected boys wandering around. She recognized them as Tyler Rain and Jonathan Smith, and they seemed to be friends. She walked onto the balcony and crouched down listening.
"So what did the princess talk to you about this morning? She asked me about what I liked to do." Jonathan had red hair and was wearing a blue tie.
"Just about what I thought about the princess. It's kind of funny considering what I said." Tyler had black hair and was wearing a purple tie.
"What did you say?" asked Jonathan.
"That I thought she was funny, but hated her hair."
"What? Why?"
"I don't know, I've always thought she would look better with short hair, and there she is! Weird right?" Tyler looked at his friend.
"That's so funny! Did you really? What did she say in return?" Jonathan asked laughing.
"She said that maybe the princess would cut it, to appease me! And then she walks in at breakfast with short hair! I was horrified, until her sister said it had always been that short. I thought she had run to her room to cut it, before I realized that it was that short when she was talking to me!" Tyler blushed, and the two boys laughed. He looked up to Starlight's balcony. "What do you think she's doing right now?"
"I don't know, watching us, come on Tyler, I don't think we should be over here. It could be considered as impolite." The two boys walked back the way they had come, and Starlight wondered how they had known which balcony was hers.
Creepy, she thought. She hurriedly finished the reports and ran down the hall to her Izzy's room. "Hey guys, sorry it took so long, but I just couldn't focus and then over heard two of the boys talking in the gardens."
"What were they doing over here?" Izzy asked, from in front of her mirror. She was pulling out the bobby pins from her hair.
"Don't know, but get this, they knew which balcony was mine! How'd they know that?"
"Weird! Were they spying on you?"
"Don't think so. It looked like they had explored too far, and decided to turn back. But I'll confess that I was spying, so I guess were even on that account."
"Yeah, but you had better be careful of what you say, you never know if one of them could be watching," her sister warned. "You ready to go?"
"Yeah, is Jenny here?"
"No she's already there." The girls were going to the Women's room to play, because it was closer to the common room. The common room had been a disused room but was refurbished for the Selected's use, seeing as they couldn't hang out in the Women's room. They headed over, and Starlight was bombarded by questions from their maids who were waiting.
"I heard that you've already set up two dates! And sent two people home! How'd you do that in less than three hours? That's skill that is!" exclaimed Anna.
"Nice going!" said Jo, from the one of the couches. "At this rate, you'll be married in no time!"
"Jolene Martin! Speak for yourself!" huffed Starlight smiling. Jo had gotten married two days after her sweetheart had proposed. "And if you think I'm going to ask him to marry me you are insane! I'm not that much of a guy!"
"How's that going to work then? Are they all just going to ask you and you'll just pick whoever?"
"I guess, I haven't really thought about that. I have to get to know them first don't I?" She sat down, and turned on the TV. "Does anyone have the cards?"
"Yeah, here," said Izzy, handing the cards of each Selected to her.
"Thanks. Okay, let's see." she tossed out Jared and Simon's cards, picking up Nathan's. "Might as well get a look at who I'm going on a date with tonight."
"Nathan Orion, 20 years old, speaks two languages, French and English, favorite color blue, likes, watching movies, chocolate, snow, and watching the stars. He's a two, works as a model, and is from Whites. Okay then."
"Oooh! He's a model!" swooned Izzy. "And he's so hot! Lucky you!"
"I really don't care, and didn't you read these?" Starlight asked, handing over the card.
"No, I never got a chance. Who's next?"
"Um, let's go with Cody, he's tomorrow. Okay, Cody Ganter, 17, only English, favorite color red, likes reading, taking notes, girls," they laughed, "painting, he's a five, works as an painter duh, and is from Dominca. Interesting, looks like a nerd to me."
"Yeah, but a cute nerd, and he doesn't have glasses," commented Suzie, one of Izzy's maids.
"So? He's still a nerd!"
"Whatever, who was that guy with the light blue eyes, the one who looked haunted?" asked Anna.
"Tyler Rain, 19, he's a 3, favorite color is green, likes swimming, reading, being outside, and playing games. Hmm, I wonder if he likes laser capture the flag. English, Spanish, and French, works as a stunt man. Sweet! This guy can take the hits! I am so going to ask him to play!" She conveniently forgot to mention she had seen him outside.
"You going to ask him on a date next?" asked Izzy, wiggling her eyebrows.
"Why not? But I have to get though these one first, what do you do on a date anyway?"
"Well, you could go see a movie or go to the arcade, maybe have a private dance. I don't know," suggested Anna. "Jo, any suggestions?"
"It depends on the guy, for Nathan I'd go with a movie since he likes those. Cody, you could take to the library, or the art gallery. Mind you, I have no idea what these boys would like to do, so you should just ask them, but it's always good to have a backup plan right?" Jo shrugged, picking up a card.
"How about this," she said. "Damon Revin, 16, likes having fun, dancing, and pie. Favorite color blue, Italian, French, and English, he's a six from Atlin."
"I like his smile, makes you think like he's up to something," said Starlight. The rest of the day passed with gossip, speculation, and… well, not exactly bets, them being ladies and all, but close enough. Finally it was time to get ready for her date, and Starlight was actually nervous for once.
"What should I wear?" she asked when they got back to her room.
"I'd wear a dress, but not something too fancy. How about this?" said Anna, holding up a light blue long floating summer dress. It has loose short sleeves, and thin belt of white diamonds.
"Wow," breathed Starlight. "I'm not one for wearing dresses, but that is beautiful! Did you make this?"
"Yes, I thought I would appeal to your girly side." Replied Anna, helping her into. She applied a small amount of makeup, giving the princess a light blue smoky-eye look that was hardlynoticeable, but brought out her dark green eyes. With her short red hair, Starlight looked almost like a radiant pixi. She put on her Shoes of Pain, "Just in case," which matched her belt. Looking herself over, she swore. "Shit! I look like a girl!"
"And you didn't think it was possible!" gloated Anna. "Pay up!"
Starlight subjected her fingernails to be painted silver, and wasn't too annoyed that her had lost the bet. "There!" exclaimed a satisfied Anna. "You're done! Now hurry or you'll be late!"
They had decided that she would show up at Nathans room and go from there. As she walked down her hall, one the guards whistled, "Your Highness! You actually look like a girl! Going on a date already?"
"Shut up Jack! I already lost a bet! Don't repeat that!"
"My lips are sealed. Have fun!"
"Right." She headed to Nathan's room. Jack was like an older brother and was so annoying. But he was good at playing games.
She knocked on Nathan's door. "Come in," he called. She took a breath and pushed the door open.
He looked at the figure in the door way and gasped. "Wow! You look amazing!" he was dressed in a black suit with a blue tie and a white shirt. Then again, there wasn't much variety when I came to suits. He walked over with a slightly open mouth, until he realized it was open and shut it.
Starlight laughed, breaking the tension a bit. "Hi Nathan, so… um… what do you want to do? We could go have dinner and watch a movie," she suggested, feeling like a total idiot but not really caring what he thought of her, after all, she could always just send him home.
He seemed to know what she was thinking, reassuring her, "Don't worry, you look absolutely stunning." He risked another sentence, "When I first saw you this morning I thought that there had been a mistake and Lady Silvia didn't know what she was talking about. How could that boy be the princess? And when you came in for breakfast, you acted so natural in that dress, but I you tell you hated it." He paused, staring into her dark green eyes. "But now you look completely at ease, like you want to be here. Are those just amazing acting skills or is that really you?"
"Um… I that was me… I guess. I wasn't really thinking about it at the time, I was just too busy having fun." She grinned, "So back to my original question, what should we do?"
"I liked your original suggestion." He smiled, offering his arm. She took it and they walked out the door, heading for the private dinner room, complete with romantic music and candles. It also happened to be right across from the movie theater. Well, isn't that convenient, she thought, as they sat down.
"So Nathan, what do you like to do in your spare time?" she asked, after they had ordered.
"Well, I like listening to music," he said.
"What kinds?"
"Just whatever I feel like at the moment, my favorite is Shooting Star by Owl City. What's yours?"
"Hm, I like so many. I'm going to have to go with… Wide Awake by Katy Perry. You know that one?" The rest of the evening passed with exchanged details, and Starlight was starting to think that Nathan was nice, but boring. At least they were talking about something, instead an awkward silence. After dinner, they went across the hall to watch a movie, and ended up picking Pitch Perfect. At least one interesting thing about him was that he could do the cups perfectly, to any song.
Izzy would probably like him, she reflected. But if he doesn't reveal anything really interesting, I suppose I will have to send him home. It wasn't an encouraging thought. As fast as she had sent the first two home, this was different. Starlight felt as if there a secret that she could unlock in him, and just had to find out what it was.
As they walked back to Nathan's room, she smiled. It hadn't been the best first date every girl dreamed of, but it hadn't been horrible either. Nathan, catching her smile asked, "Did you have a nice time?"
"Yes, I guess I did, thank you." He smiled and kissed her hand, walking back into his room. Unbeknown to Starlight, Nathan had been warned by Anna not to try to walk her back to her room. And after getting a chance to talk to her, he knew the reason why. She liked to do things herself, but still had a girly side that loved being taken care of. When she was ready, he hoped it would show through more. She really was amazingly beautiful, and now that he had partially gotten used to her choice of hairstyle, he felt it fitted her personality very well.
Starlight walked through the hallways in search of Jack. She found him near the garden entrance, "Jack, can I talk to you, or are you on duty?"
"You know you can always talk to me," he replied winking. "You are the princess after all."
"No, I mean it's not that important and can wait until tomorrow. So are you on duty?"
"Duh, what does it look like? But I can still talk if you keep it short." He said, giving her his full attention.
"Okay, so I just finished my first date and I was wondering, are all boys so uncomplicated, or is that just him?"
Jack laughed. "Is that all? I thought you had some burning question about dating! And yes, most boys are uncomplicated, but it depends on the personality. Girls are a lot more technical than boys, and come up with elaborate plans. Boys are more strait to the point, kind of like you, except you still an elaborate, technical girl. Don't worry about it," he smiled. "I'm sure you'll figurate it all out, you are you after all."
"Thanks Jack! And sorry for bothering you. Oh, do you have tomorrow night off? I wanted to test out a new game I came up with." She asked, putting on her best puppy face.
"Yeah, but don't you have another date tomorrow?"
"Yeah, but for this game it has to be completely dark, so I'll have time afterwards."
"Okay, but don't blow the poor guy off," Jack bowed, and Starlight waved, heading to her room. Funny how every time something exiting happens, I go talk to Jack, she thought smiling. Well, he is my bro.
Ok! So that's that! First date down and she didn't die! Hope I didn't mess anything up, lol. Stay tuned for more awesomeness! Don't forget to review!
