Authors note: Oh my gosh! I've been trying to log in for two weeks almost, and I couldn't get in! I pressed the log in button, then I got this page that said I "have to be logged in to access this page" stuff. Weird. But here's a new chapter that's took too long to be posted.
Chapter 10
Saturday was the day of Bradin and Sam's date, but first they had to get through a day of practice. The entire time, Bradin and Sam couldn't stop talking to each other. And when they weren't talking, they were smiling like crazy at each other. Even when Sam was out the in the water, she couldn't help but look back to shore to see Bradin smiling at her. After practice, Bradin wanted to get the times right, so he asked her one last time.
"So, 7:00?" He said nervously, fidgeting with his shirt.
"Yeah, 7;00." Sam agreed. "But you do know you'll haftah go through my dad and my brother." She warned him.
"Yeah, you told me. But I already met your dad, so I just gotta make it past your brother." He said.
Sam nodded. "True, but sometimes my brother can be more protective than my dad." She told him. "But I'm sure he'll like you." She gleamed.
Bradin smiled brightly. "Great, I'll see you then." He said as she nodded and smiled back. Sam got her things together and headed back home. Bradin was then surrounded by all his friends on the surf team.
"So, tonight's the big night huh?" Tracy said, leaning on Bradin's shoulder.
"You finally asked her out, good move man." Robert commented.
Bradin looked at all of them huddled around him. "Lucas, you told all of them?" He asked suspiciously.
Lucas smiled. "Hey man, it's a big thing, for all of us. It's been so obvious that you and Sam got the hots for each other. So we all should celebrate this achievement of yours too." He said laughing.
On the way home, Sam saw Krystal, the girl that Lucas was almost, if not already going out with. "Hey Krystal." Sam smiled.
"Hey Sam." Krystal replied. "So Lucas told me you and Bradin are going out on your first date tonight." She said.
Sam blushed. "Yeah, I guess you found out about that."
"So, what are you gonna wear?" She asked excitingly. Being a girly girl she was, Krystal had to find out about these things.
"Umm." Sam pondered. She hadn't really given it much thought. "I don't really know. I didn't think much about it." She confessed.
Krystal gleamed of happiness. "How about I go over to your house and help you find something to wear?" She offered cheerfully.
Sam smiled then looked at Krystal. "Okay." Sam agreed, with a bit of satisfaction in her voice. Sam did want to look nice for Bradin, something different from her ordinary look.
Sam and Krystal went back to Sam's house, and on their way there they were already talking about things for Sam to wear.
"Hey dad." Sam said opening the door. She put her things down and walked Krystal to the living room to meet her dad. "Dad, this is Krystal." She introduced them to each other.
"Hi Mr. Kupihea." Krystal said politely.
"It's nice to meet you Krystal." Maka smiled and gave her a hug.
Krystal looked a little startled when Maka hugged her. "Oh, it's just a local custom in Hawaii. You give everyone hugs, for all kind of occasions, like when you first meet someone." Sam explained to Krystal. "She's gonna help me pick something out to wear tonight." Sam said, smiling.
Maka winced. "Well, I suppose you would like to look your best, if you have to." He said, somewhat sarcastically.
Sam dropped her shoulders and pouted. "Wow, thanks dad, it's good to know you care."
"Well what can I say? I'm a dad, and I don't want any boy taking you away from me." He said and kissed the top of her head. "You guys make some lunch, I've got some errands to run." He said. "It was nice meeting you Krystal." He said, heading towards the door.
"You too Mr. K." She said cheerfully.
"And maybe you can help Sam look a little bit more like a girl for her date, if you know what I mean." He teased.
Sam glared at her dad. "Haha, very funny. Not." Maka laughed and waved goodbye. Sam and Krystal got some lunch and ate it in the living room while watching some TV.
"So, are you nervous?" Krystal asked Sam.
Sam nodded and smiled slightly. "Sorta. I mean, it's Bradin, and I've been hangin' out with him for a while now. But just having tonight labeled as a 'date' is weird." She told her. They finished up their lunch and took their plates to the kitchen, when Matt came home.
"Anyone home?" He called from the door.
"In here." Sam replied.
Matt heard Sam and walked into the kitchen. "Hey Sam." He said, only then noticing Krystal. "Hi." He said to her.
"Hi." She smiled.
"Oh." Sam said, turning the faucet off. "Krystal this is my brother Matt, Matt this is Krystal." She introduced them to each other.
"Nice to meet you." Matt said, giving her a hug. Krystal was somewhat surprised again that she was getting hugged by a complete stranger.
Sam walked past Matt. "We'll be upstairs if you need us." She told him, then started to walk away.
"Shoots." He said, opening the refrigerator.
Krystal followed Sam up the stairs. "Ya know, your brother's kinda cute." She said, making Sam stop walking abruptly. Sam stared at Krystal as if she was insane. "But I think I'd stick with Lucas." She said.
"Good choice." Sam replied.
They went up to Sam room, and when Krystal walked in she stopped at the door way. "Wow, your room is so awesome." She said, gazing at everything in the room. There was her dresser that had pictures all on it. Her bookshelf was filled with books, magazines, yearbooks and old notebooks she used as journals. She had a small area for bags and hats hanging on her wall. There were several shelves above her dresser and spread out throughout the room with trophies placed on them. Her closet doors were decorated in glow in the dark stars spelling out "Sam" on one door and "Keepin it real" on the other. Her bed was neatly made with stuffed animals on her pillows. Her desk had a nice stack of her school books and notebooks.
"It's kinda cluttered though." Sam replied, walking over to her closet. She opened both doors to show everything that was inside. "Not much, but some stuff we could use." She told Krystal.
After Krystal walked around the whole room, she moved over to the closet. She saw at least three pairs of skateboarding shoes, two sneakers, along with three different kinds of sandals. Sam kept these shoes in her closet because she rarely wore them out. She had a small box of things she didn't put up in her room in one corner of the closet. Krystal fingered through the hanging clothes to find a few dresses, a couple of skirts, blouses, aloha shirts, muumuu's, some over-shirts Sam wore before to school and several hooded jackets.
Krystal stepped back and looked at everything in the closet. "Wow." She said. "You have some really nice stuff Sam." She complimented.
Sam smiled and sat on her bed. "Thanks. I don't really wear most of 'em though." She told her. "I'm usually just in shorts and a t-shirt."
"Okay." Krystal turned to Sam. "So, what do you want to wear? Do you have a kind of look you have in mind?" She asked.
"Well." Sam pondered. "I'm not really a big dress fan." She told Krystal. "I only wear dresses if I absolutely have to, or I'm in the mood to. But I rarely am." She smiled.
"Okay. No dresses." Krystal replied. "What about skirts?" She asked. "You have some really nice, but simple skirts you could wear. Not too fancy, but still nice and casual." Krystal sounded like a fashion designer.
Sam tilted her head from side to side. "Yeah, skirts are okay." She said. Krystal pulled out about three different skirts from the closet and placed them on the bed next to Sam.
"Do you have any jeans you'd rather wear?" Krystal asked. Sam nodded and opened up her dresser drawer. She pulled out five different pairs of jeans she had and laid them out on the bed.
"Ooh, I like this one." Krystal smiled, reaching for one that had stars stitched on the back pockets and down the side of the legs. She chose two other jeans and put the other two back. "Okay, so we have possible bottoms for you to wear. Now, lets do the tops." She said smiling.
Sam and Krystal went through blouses and shirts that were decent enough for a first date. After that they worked on what shoes or sandals to wear. Krystal then was excited to start working on accessories for Sam. In the end, they picked out three skirts and jeans, two different shoes and sandals, four shirts, two over-shirts, several accessories Krystal liked, and one versatile jacket with a zipper down the middle that would go with anything. Sam went to go take a quick shower to get the ocean smell out of her hair. When she came out, Krystal had narrowed everything down to two different outfits.
"Okay, so I have one outfit with a skirt, and one with jeans." She explained as Sam towel dried her hair. "This one has the brown flared skirt with your turquoise top, and your black sandals. Here's a necklace and some earrings." She showed Sam the first outfit on her bed. "Okay, and this is a bit more casual than the other one." She began to say. "Here's the pretty star jeans." She smiled. "I really like the stars." She said as they both laughed. "Here's a white tank top with a lavender over-shirt to wear, a nice matching star belt and your purple shoes." She showed Sam. Krystal stepped back to let Sam look at the choices she had, and she could tell that Sam liked what she picked out.
"Krystal, this is awesome." She said, giving her a hug. "I would have never came up with any of this." She smiled. "Thanks Krystal." She said sweetly.
"No problem." She replied. They talked more about the different clothing that Krystal had picked out, and Krystal also chose some other accessories Sam might want to use. It was about 6:30, and Sam finally chose the outfit she wanted to wear. She chose the casual jean outfit, since she didn't want to look too dressy, but she still wanted to be herself. She changed into the jeans, belt and tops and put her purple shoes on. Krystal helped her with her hair. Sam wanted it to be something casual and simple, yet still nice. So Krystal put her hair up in a half up half down ponytail. Sam put on her crystal stud earrings while Krystal picked out a shade of lip gloss for Sam to wear. Within a matter of minutes, Sam was ready for her date. She took one look in her mirror and couldn't believe who she saw.
"Wow, I can't believe this is me." Sam said out loud, shocked about how she looked. She and Krystal went downstairs into the living room where her dad and brother were waiting. When Sam went in the living room both her brother and dad were shocked.
"Sam." Her dad said, standing up. "You look wonderful." He said, giving her a hug.
Matt stood up as well. "Geez, that looks nothing like you." He teased.
Sam smirked. "Real funny Matt." She said, hugging her brother despite his bad insult.
"I gotta admit Krystal, you did a great job." Maka said.
"Thanks Mr. K." She smiled. "Well, I better get goin'. I hope you have a great time Sam." She said, giving her a hug.
"Thank you so much for everything Krystal." Sam smiled. Krystal said her goodbyes to all the Kupihea's and headed home. It was almost 7:00 and both Bradin and Sam were getting very excited.
"Bradin, do you have everything?" Ava called to him, walking down the stairs into the living room area.
"Yes." He replied, trying to stay relaxed. "I'll be alright." He said as she walked up to him.
Ava took a good look at Bradin, then straightened his jacket on his shoulders. "Are you sure?" She acted like a worried mother.
Susannah and Jay walked in. "Oh Ava stop being such a mother." Susannah teased.
"The boy will be fine." Jay added. "He really likes this girl, I can tell." He said, winking at Bradin.
"Well, have a great time Bradin." Nikki called from the staircase. "Don't do anything stupid." She warned him as he glared at her.
"Thanks Nikki." He replied, not amused with her comment.
Derrick got up from the coach and walked over to Bradin. "Have a good time Bradin." He smiled. "I really like this girl, so make sure it works." He said, making them all laugh.
"I really like her too." He said smiling. "I better get going." He finally told them, heading towards the door.
"Okay, but if you need anything-" Ava said in a worried voice.
"Aunt Ava." Bradin turned to her. "I'll be fine. And trust me, I'm gonna do it the right way this time." He gave her a gentle smile then kissed her on the cheek.
Ava smiled. "Have a good time." She said as he opened the door and left.
Ava walked back into the living room and sat down on the couch. "Don't worry, he'll be fine." Susannah said, resting her hand on Ava's shoulder.
Since Bradin had yet to get his license, he had to walk to Sam's house, and in a matter of ten minutes he was there. He ringed the doorbell, already feeling his stomach tie up in knots.
"No funny stuff Matt." She said one last time before she went to the door.
"What are you talking about?" He called to her.
She quickly turned around. "You know what I mean." She glared. She calmly walked to the door, breathing steadily. She took a deep breath and opened the door. She saw Bradin and they immediately looked at each other.
"Hi Bradin." Sam smiled.
"Hey." He said sweetly. He looked at Sam and couldn't help but notice how different she looked. "You look great." He said in awe. She was wearing her regular jeans and shoes, and tops she's worn before. Her wavy hair nicely fell down her back, letting the wavy ends in the ponytail fall nicely on her shoulders. Her earrings sparkled, and her lips were lightly coated with lip gloss. He'd seen her wear all those things before, just never all at once. He took a moment and looked at her once again.
"You look wonderful." He said with a sweet sincerity in his voice.
Sam couldn't help but smile and blush at the same time. "Thanks." She replied.
Bradin cleared his throat. "Uh, this is for you." He said, pulling out a single red rose from behind his back. He gave it to Sam as their fingers touched each others.
"Bradin, it's beautiful." She said, smelling the rose he just gave her. They smiled at each other for a moment more until she invited him in. She led him to the living room where her dad and brother were waiting.
"Bradin, this is my brother Matt." She said, introducing the two of them.
Matt stood up and walked over to Bradin. "It's nice to meet you Bradin." He said, offering his hand.
"It's good to meet you too Matt." Bradin replied, shaking Matt's hand.
"You've got a quite a grip there." Matt observed, stepping back and folding his hands across his chest.
Bradin looked at Sam then to Matt. "Thanks, I think." He said, feeling the tension coming from Matt.
Sam looked at Matt as if he'd just committed a crime. She then took a breath and turned to her dad. "I'm gonna put this in water. I'll be right back." She said, smiling at Bradin then quickly walking to the kitchen.
Bradin stood in front of them uncomfortably, not knowing what to say or do. "So, Sam told me you just got in yesterday." He said, trying to make small talk.
Matt nodded. "Yep, got in from college. I took my finals early." He said briefly. He looked at Bradin as if he was a police security officer inspecting random citizens. "You planning to go college someday?" He asked, sounding like a father.
"Uh, yes." Bradin said, caught off guard by that question. "I was thinking maybe going back home to Kansas after I'm done with high school here. Or if I can't do that, then I'd look into a local college in the area." He said quickly, wondering where Sam was. Matt continued to ask Bradin all kinds of questions, until Sam finally came back.
"Sorry, my brother just thinks he's the father in this family." She told Bradin, glaring at Matt.
"I was just getting to know Bradin." Matt replied.
Maka laughed. "He's always been like this, even with boys who didn't want to date Sam." He told Bradin.
"What can I say, I'm protective." Matt said. "Do you know have a younger sister Bradin?" Matt asked him.
Bradin nodded his head. "Yes, I have one younger sister and a brother.
"Then you know what it's like to have the feeling of protecting her?"
"Yeah, my sister's got this, I guess you'd call her a boyfriend." He told them, speaking of Cameron.
Matt smiled slightly. "Then you must know what I'm getting at?" He nodded.
"Absolutely." Bradin answered.
Finding out that Bradin was also an older brother of a girl was comforting to Matt. He knew that Bradin must know what it's like to try and keep his sister safe. He did something Sam didn't expect him to do at all: he smiled. "Well, you guys have fun then." He finally told them.
"Thanks dad." Sam said to Matt. "I'll see you guys later." She said, giving her brother and dad a hug.
"It was great meeting you Matt, and it's good to see you again Mr. K." Bradin said, shaking hands with both of them.
Sam waved goodbye and led Bradin to the door. "Bye guys." She called to them. Matt and Maka watched them leave.
"I guess he's okay." Matt finally said. "He seems alright."
"I think he is too." Maka added.
Bradin closed the door behind him. "Ready?" He asked and smiled at Sam.
She smiled back. "Sure am." She said, and they both walked together to start what would hopefully be one of the best nights of their lives. This was it, the moment they were both waiting for for a long time. For Sam, this would be her first real date, let alone with a guy she really liked. And for Bradin, tonight was a night of proving to everyone that's he's changed his ways and was ready to start a new chapter in his life. Hopefully this would be a start to something great for the both of them to enjoy together.
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Muumuu: Hawaiian style/print dressed.