A Little Boy, A Little Girl (Laughing and Loving)

Amy takes a deep breath as she walks towards the table where Jake and Charles are currently sitting. She can feel people's eyes on her as she passes by them, probably judging her hideous outfit.

She lets out a sigh, ignoring them. Tonight is going to be a long night, she can already tell. She knows Jake, so she's ready for the worst. He was only teasing her back then, but she knows at least half of what he threatened her with the whole week will be part of their date. She'd rather be at home doing the crosswords puzzle of the day in the warmth of her bed. But she can't.

Because, as much as it pains it to admit, she lost a bet. And now she has to pay the consequences of her loss.

She keeps her eyes fixed on her colleagues while she goes through the crowd of Shaw's patrons. She tries to find comfort in the fact that at least, she's not the only one looking ridiculous tonight. With his suit jacket and cheap pair of shorts, Jake is making quite a show of himself as well. And he chose to dress like that, when she didn't have a choice.

(She knows he only did so to embarrass her, but still.)

She's only a few feet behind her friends when she hears her name being called. "… Somewhere down deep, you like Amy. Like, like her, like her."

It makes her stop in her tracks in shock. For just a second, her heartbeat quickens in her chest with the words. She's so close to the pair, she could easily make her presence known, but does nothing of the sort. Somehow, she's curious as to what Jake has to answer to this. His back is on her so she can't see his face.

"Okay, that's straight-up insanity," he's quick to deny. It hurts Amy a little, that it seems so impossible for him to have feelings for her. It's not like she would make the worst girlfriend.

(Not that it matters, anyways. She doesn't have feelings for him and could never imagine herself in a relationship with someone as immature as he is. But still.)

She takes another step towards them, trying not to take all of this too personally. But then Charles talks again; she stops again.

"How much did you spend on tonight?" He doesn't seem to let go so easily.

"1,400$." Amy lets out a small gasp as her eyes grow bigger, then quickly puts a hand on her mouth to cover the sound.

Isn't he supposed to be in crushing debt?! Why would he spend so much on a stupid bet, then?!

(It's Jake, a voice inside her head reminds her. It really shouldn't surprise her that he'd invest himself in the joke as much as he apparently did.)

"But all of it's on credit cards, so it's like, 5$ a month for the next 2,000 years. I DO NOT LIKE AMY!" His tone rises higher into the air with the last sentence. It startles Amy, and the determination with which he says those words makes her heart ache once more. She gets it. She's not his type. No need to sound so offended about someone implying she could be.

"You're putting a lot of effort into a joke. Why don't you sit down and have a real conversation with her?"

"Okay, Boyle, you live in your ex-wife's new boyfriend's basement. I'm not taking advice from you." He sounds upset now. Amy takes it as her cue to step in.

"Hey." She comes sit by their sides, trying to act casually with a small smile to her friends as she joins them.

"Oh, Amy, we were talking about you," Charles says.

He shoots Jake a knowing look, who only shakes his head and rolls his eyes in return. She acts as if doesn't feel the heavy atmosphere weighing between the two men.

"Yeah, we were talking about how we wish you've been exercizing lately, because it's dance time," Jake quickly changes topics, though. He shoots her a teasing grin, amusement clearly shining inside his eyes. As he makes her stand up to make her join the center of the bar, she already knows whatever he's got in mind, she's gonna hate it.

He's fun as a friend, but yep, it's clear for Amy she could never like him romantically either.

Oh, and there is one more rule. You're not allowed to fall in love with me, she remembers his words from earlier.

Won't be a problem, she said in a jaded voice. She already loves to follow rules, but this is one she's pretty sure she'll never struggle not to break.

(Or at least, that's what she tells herself.)

Jake doesn't like Amy. Charles doesn't know what he's talking about – he's the worst when it comes to love. He thought something was going on between them from a shake of hands, for god's sake.

His judgment is not to be trusted, then. Especially when he's high on 'truth' drugs, or whatever it is that makes him openly tell everyone what's going on inside his mind.

Amy's his friend, and that's what she'll always be for him.

And yet, for some reason, his colleague's words keep resonating in his mind the whole night – as he spins her around in front of a cheering crowd and she tells him that she hates his guts; as they stop by each of their apartments to change clothes for something more work-appropriate and he finds himself staring a second too long; as she recalls her worst dates with him and he thinks how dumb

are these guys for acting like this on a date with someone like her; as he tells her all about his Mustang and why he loves it so much and she remembers he's in crushing debt.

As he throws a nut to her and she misses it, resulting in the both of them happily laughing together.

Why don't you sit down and have a real conversation with her?

"Hey, uh, I was wondering…" Amy's hesitant voice brings him back to reality. As he looks at her, he can see the amusement that was there only mere seconds ago has now turned into seriousness.

She's barely looking at him, clearly nervous. She tucks her hair behind her ears, leaving room for him to see that the tip has turned a shade darker in the beginning of a blush.

He would usually find it cute but right now, it kind of makes him getting nervous too, frowning in confusion. What is it that she has to ask him?!

"What did, uh–… what did Charles meant, when he said that you might like me?" She eventually manages to meet his gaze.

It's a good thing Jake's not eating any nut right now, otherwise he would have chocked on it. Of all things, he didn't expect that.

"You heard that?!"

"Yeah, I was on my way back from the bathroom when he told you that." She shoots him a sheepish smile. Her blush deepens, now coloring her cheeks.

Inside his chest, his heart is now pounding but still, Jake tries to remain casual.

"Oh… Well, you know how he is. We met and he already pictured us married. So you can guess what us going on a 'date' does to him." He shrugs.

Why don't you sit down and have a real conversation with her? his best friend's voice comes back louder into his head. This is your chance, dummy, another – his own?! – joins him.

"I guess it makes sense." Amy answers. She doesn't seem too convinced by his explanation, though. She even looks a little… disappointed?!

"But, uh–… maybe he's not completely wrong, this time," he says the words before he can fully think about them. He regrets them the moment they are out as Amy stares intently at him.

"What do you mean?"

He nervously scratches the back of his neck. This is a tricky situation he put himself in. Because he can't possibly take what he just said back, can he?! Pretend that nothing happened.

(He's pretended long enough, though. Pretended that Charles was wrong. Pretended that he doesn't like her. Fooled himself into thinking he did not have feelings for her, when he clearly does.)

Jake clears his throat, trying to regain some composure before he talks again.

"Do you want to go on a real date, sometimes?"