I am sooo sorry this is late! The fillers really kill me, guys. I pretty much have the main plots of the story ingrained in my brain, but the little bits and pieces sometimes take me a minute to figure out what I want to say! I finally finished out this one, and I actually ended up loving it. Here you go! I hope I don't disappoint too much! Please R&R my lovelies! Thank you and enjoy! This one has lots of cuteness!

Disclaimer: I do not own McFly or anyone intimately associated with them, but I do own Emma and this fic.

Chapter 14

Tom's POV

My palms were sweating profusely, and I was quickly praying to God that my armpits weren't doing the same. I have a rather bad problem with sweating when I'm nervous.

And I'm quite nervous.

I'm finally taking the girl of my dreams out on a date. We've known each other for years and I still feel so nervous around her!

This is the first time, though, that being around her means so much more. I get to show how I feel about her, finally.

I walk up to her and Carrie's flat, checking myself out in their glass door.

I didn't think I looked too bad myself, to tell the truth. Jeans, white long T-shirt, and black T-shirt with Darth Vader in sunglasses over it. She won't really see much of my outfit, seeing as it is cold outside, but still, I think I look good. No thanks to Danny at all, who's still occupied with that damn girl from the party.

He has been acting so weird all week, sneaking out and such, not telling any of us where he is going. It's not like him to keep secrets, especially from me. But I'm not one to pressure people, so I'll let him be. He'll tell me when he's ready.

Anyway, I deem myself to be presentable, if not slightly greasy unfortunately. I didn't have a lot of time today, so my hair doesn't look as good as it should, but Emma is no doubt used to it by now, or she just doesn't care. She obviously wouldn't be dating me if she thought otherwise…right?

Before I can even knock, Carrie has opened the door for me, already knowing that I'm here. She beams at me and waves me in. I grin at her and walk in.

I walk into their little flat, instantly smelling one of the many candles they always have lit. They have loads and loads of candles, and there is always at least one burning, if not more. Carrie says they are calming or something. I was always awed by how cozy their flat was. It was very inviting. I remembered how much Mum had worried about Carrie moving out so young, only 17 years old, her whole life ahead of her. I worried about it sometimes too, but she was living with Emma, who is one of the most responsible people I've ever known. She takes good care of her.

The girl I had (always) been thinking about walked into the room at that moment, looking as nervous as I felt.

She smiled at me shyly. She looked lovely. I don't think I've ever seen her without her hair in her face. It made her look even lovelier than usual. The whole world shrunk away when she was in the room. I had completely forgotten about Carrie.

However, Carrie is not one to be ignored or forgotten. She cleared her throat very loudly and obnoxiously. Emma and I both turned to glare at her humorously. She lifted her eyebrows in a seemingly innocent expression. "Well, are you leaving or not?" she asked impatiently, putting her hands on her hips. Emma and I both laughed.

I held out my elbow for her. "Shall we depart, madam?" She giggled sweetly, putting her arm through mine. I felt my stomach flip over. We waved to Carrie and left the flat.

My hands were shaking, and I stumbled slightly (hoping she didn't notice) as we made our way to my car. I opened the door for her, a timid smile on her mouth as she climbed into the car. That smile suddenly made me want to kiss her. I went around the car and slid in next to her. She looked at me with a happy grin, her beautiful eyes shining.

"Ready?" I asked her. She nodded. "Alrighty then! Let us be off!" She giggled at my nerdiness.

"So, where are we going?" she asked after a beat of silence. I smirked. "That is a secret! You'll find out when we get there. It's not too far."

Our short drive to my chosen destination was filled with easy conversation and laughter. I felt myself quickly relaxing around her. It both did and didn't surprise me how easy it was to be with her.

"Ok," I announced proudly. "We're here!" She looked up, taking in her surroundings. She gasped. "Oh, Tom! This is gorgeous!" She paused, and started to giggle. It was infectious, so soon I started to giggle as well. "What?" I asked her. "This is definitely not what I thought this date would be," she said, still giggling. I pretended to scowl. "And what does that mean, young lady?" She laughed some more, unable to stop. "Well, I dunno. I just thought you would be like every other guy I've dated, and do the whole dinner and a movie thing." I smirked. "Well, see! That is your problem! I'm not like every other guy." I smiled at her before letting up my seatbelt, and pulled my car door open. I heard her mumble something; I couldn't be quite sure, but it sounded like she said "Thank god." I grinned from ear to ear.

Emma got out of the car, looking around at the botanical garden I had brought her to. She gasped as she looked at the beauty of it all. The snow made it even more appealing.

I reached into the back seat and grabbed the large picnic basket that I'd brought with me, along with a few blankets. Emma turned to see what I was doing. As soon as she saw the basket she gave me a huge smile. "A picnic? Really?" she asked excitedly. I nodded. "Oh yes. I love a good picnic now and again," I said with a grin. Both of us seemed completely unable to stop smiling.

She took the blankets in one arm while I held the rather heavy basket. I held my free arm out to her again. "Shall we go find somewhere to sit, miss?" She nodded. "Yes, sir, I think we shall."

We found a perfect spot right next to what I call the Lily Pad Pond. The whole pond is absolutely covered with lily pads, and is filled with fish and frogs and other pond creatures. "Wow, that's really cool," she said, looking at the delicate lily pads. I nodded. "I know. This is my favorite place to sit. It is really awesome in Spring and Summer. I like to just watch everything that goes on in there." For a pond, it was actually incredibly clear water, so you could see down to the very bottom. Well, obviously not right now, because of the snow, but you know what I mean.

Luckily, I had picked the perfect day to do this. There was no wind, and it was a fairly nice day. We both still had winter coats and hats on, but it was still incredibly nice. I took the blankets from Emma, and overlapped the two of them so our bums wouldn't get too cold whilst sitting on the snow covered ground.

We sat down, both shivering slightly at the first feeling of the cold ground. We quickly got used to it, though. I started to unpack the picnic basket, pulling out an assortment of sandwiches, fruit, cheese, and crisps. "Wow," she said, sounding rather amazed. "You really went all out." I chuckled. "Not really. I just wanted to make it special," I said without thinking, blushing madly after I realized what I'd said. "Well, it is very special," she said quietly. I cleared my throat. "Erm, well, I hope you are not vegetarian," I commented, quickly trying to remember if Carrie had ever mentioned it. Shit. That is typically something you find out when you take someone on a date! She laughed. "No, I'm not." I sighed, relieved. "Oh, thank goodness for that. I made chicken sandwiches," I said, laughing. She grinned. "Perfect," she said simply. I took out the plates, forks, and napkins from the basket. "You are very well prepared, aren't you?" she asked with that same shocked tone. I don't think men are usually this organized or well prepared, which makes me slightly weird, I know. "You have no idea," I said cheerfully. I pulled the last few items out of the basket. "What is that?" she asked somewhat warily, eyeing the thermos in my hand. I chuckled at her tone and facial expression. "Hot chocolate! What did you think it was?" She laughed. "I have no idea. I thought for a fleeting second that maybe you had brought alcohol, but after I quashed that idea, I thought maybe it was coffee, of which I'm not a huge fan." I shook my head. "I'm only a fan of Starbucks coffee. I've tried to make my own, but I always manage to make it taste completely awful." We both laughed and started to get into our food.

It wasn't until I was starting to really feel cold that I decided to check the time. To my surprise, I found that we had been gone for 3 hours. "Wow!" I said after looking at my watch. "What?" she asked, and I could see that she was shivering. "We've been gone for 3 hours!" She raised her eyebrows. "Wow, I had no idea!" she said, her teeth starting to chatter. I stood up and held my hand out for her. She took it and I helped her up. "We should go," I said, rubbing her arms absent-mindedly. I didn't even think of what I was doing until I felt her staring up at me. I jumped away a little, hoping I didn't offend her; it was so easy being natural with her. "Oh, erm, I'm sorry," I said sheepishly. She smiled. "I didn't mind in the slightest, Tom. But we really should get going. I'm pretty sure my knickers are starting to freeze to my bum." She paused, realizing what she had just said. Her already red cheeks burned with embarrassment. I giggled. "Seems I'm not the only one doing that," I said, gathering all of our stuff together. "Doing what?" she asked, cocking her head to the side. "Not thinking about what I say or do before I do or say it." She nodded, grinning.

We packed the stuff haphazardly into the basket and ran to the car. I started the heating as soon as we got in. We both breathed heavily, anxiously waiting for the car to get warm. We looked out onto the horizon, the sun starting to set. "Oh," she breathed softly, taking in the beauty. I suddenly had a brilliant idea. "Come on," I said swiftly, opening my door. "What?" she asked, confused, her eyes wide, not wanting to go back into the cold. I laughed.

"Come on, just for a moment! There's something I want to do!"

I of course had brought my camera, not being able to go anywhere without it, and inspiration had suddenly hit me as I saw her looking at the sunset. I had already taken loads of pictures during our picnic but this one was different. She groaned. "It's cold!" she said half-heartedly. I laughed again. "Just for a moment! The car will be warm when we get back in." With that, she climbed out of the car, my excitement enticing her, I think.

"Ok, stand over there," I commanded politely. I snapped a few shots, the sun haloing her head perfectly. She turned to brush the hair out of her face and I pushed the button again, capturing her silhouetted against the sun perfectly. She scowled at me, but I knew she was joking, seeing the corners of her mouth start to pull up. "One more," I promised. "Ok," she acquiesced, "but on one condition." I lowered my lens, amused. "And that is?" She crooked her index finger, telling me without words to come near her. My heart started beating quickly. "You have to be in this one with me!" I grinned. "Alright. I think I can handle that." I walked over to her, and before I could say or do anything, she had put her arm around my waist. My stomach flipped.

We had been slowly flirting and briefly touching during our picnic. A brush of the fingers here, a quick hand grasp there.

But she had completely bypassed that and put her arms around me. I mean, I know we were taking a picture together, but it still surprised me. In a good way, of course.

"Hurry," she whined jokingly, but I knew she really was cold, so I held up the lens toward us. I snapped a few pictures of us quickly. I looked them over on my screen. "Good?" she asked. "Well, if we move a little to our right it will be perfect." We scooted to the right, bumping into each other. We both laughed, and I looked down at her, and she was looking up at me, flushed face, snow falling in her hair from the tree we were under. She looked so breathtaking.

That's when I kissed her.

To be completely honest, it wasn't the best first kiss I've ever had. We were both so cold, and our lips were pretty much frozen. But after the first, and even second and third kisses, it got a lot better. Her lips were so soft and inviting (after they thawed a little, that is). She looked up at me again, her eyes shining. "I've wanted to do that for a very long time," she admitted. I nodded. "Me too." She suddenly grabbed my camera. I started to protest, but she silenced me with her lips. "Just a moment," she said softly, her eyes capturing mine. I heard the click of the shutter. I pulled her into me, taking her face in both of my hands and kissed her again, passionately. After a few moments, I heard the shutter click again. I laughed.

"Oh, I see," I said, taking the camera from her, replacing it with my hand. She grinned, taking my hand giddily. "You were just using me to get a good shot, is all," I accused. She shrugged, still grinning ear to ear. "You caught me. That's all I want you for, good pictures." We both laughed, and walked hand in hand to the now warm car.

A/N: Awww, aren't they so cute? Ok, if you caught it (and I've thrown other hints throughout the fic) obviously I know that Carrie isn't 17. This is set a few years back. It'll be explained more in the next few chapters. I hope you liked it!