Linda O'Shea was honestly excited to get a phone call that Friday night while she was doing her homework. She picked up the phone, still focused on the science work before her. "Hello?"

"Linda? Hi, it's-"

"Danny! Hi!" She bit her lip- that was too excited. She cleared her throat, "what's up?"

"Wanna grab a bite to eat at the food court in the mall? I wanna ask you some questions."

Linda's heart fluttered at the possibility of eating with the cutest guy in school. "Sure! What time?"

"Twelve noon?"

"Sure. I'll see ya there."

Linda didn't know why she was nervous as she chose a new outfit - she and Danny were very good friends. Her brother Jimmy had introduced them, and she sometimes babysat Danny's baby brother, Jamie. Although, Jamie was hardly a baby- he was almost seven.

She sighed as she pulled out a floral dress, pale purple tights to match, and white boots. It was the beginning of October, but it was colder than usual this year. She grabbed her purse and car keys (very grateful she had her drivers license already), and headed to the mall.

Danny had rolled out of bed an hour before he was due to meet Linda at the mall. He took a quick shower- on the insistence of his mother- and threw on an old pair of worn out jeans and a light grey sweater. He wore his ratty old sneakers and didn't bother to brush his hair. He leaned against the entrance of the food court, waiting for the peppy blonde. She was far from the girls he normally went with- but he had to admit she was very, very pretty.

Linda spotted Danny in the crowd of people, and she cursed the blush that came to her cheeks when she laid eyes on him. "Get it together, O'Shea. You're just friends." She reminded herself under her breath, through gritted teeth. She put a genuine smile on her face and walked up to him. "Hey."

"Hey," Danny stood up straight from leaning on the wall. "Let's eat."

She followed him to the food cart with the hotdogs- she should've guessed- and made it a point to know his hotdog order.

While the guy was putting it together, Danny turned to her. "Want something else? I'm buying."

"Crepés sound amazing right now."

"Alright." So he payed for his hotdogs and steered the two of them to the cart with the crepés. Linda ordered two with Nutella and bananas- which he made a note of- and then they found a table to sit.

"So, what did you want to talk about?"

"You know Marianne Romano, right?"

Her heart dropped, "the girl you're going with?"

"Yeah. Can I ask you something?"

"Yeah, anything." Why did she have a sinking feeling about this?

"Marianne thinks that we're stuck in a rut, and she wants to do something to spice it up."

"And you're asking me to help come up with ideas?" Her smile was gone, but the real question was why on earth was he asking the only virgin in the school?

"If you could, it'd mean a lot."

Linda sighed, "you want my honest opinion about you and Marianne, no bars attached?"

"No bars. Your honest opinion."

She sighed again, licking her canine. "I think you're doing yourself a huge disservice by having sex with that two-faced bimbo. She probably has a myriad of different sexually transmitted diseases, and she's manipulating you. She's got you wrapped around her little finger, like a marionette. And you'll probably get one of her sex diseases and become impotent, never to have children or un-protected sex with your future wife."

Danny was surprised, "I just wanted to know about ideas for romance spicers-"

"You don't have a romance with that slut! You have a a casual fornication!"

"Why are you so upset about this? All I asked for was advice!"

"Because I like you, Danny! I like you!" Linda looked down, staring at her plate. "And I don't know why- you're everything I hate in a guy. You're arrogant, self-centered, egotistical, sex crazed... You think young women are just pieces of skirt..." She trailed off and looked him straight in the eye. "But you're much more than that- I know you are."

"Linda-"

"Chasing girls isn't like you, Danny. For some reason you wanted the reputation of a player- which for some very odd, very very strange, unknown reason turns me on... but it's not you! You're not a player, and if you continue with that facade, it's going to bite you in the ass!"

"You're supposed to be my friend-" he sounded offended that she'd even have the guts to tell him those things to his face.

"I am your friend, Danny! And because I'm your friend, I'm giving you some tough love. You never know what nice girl is gonna wanna date you- or even marry you- but won't, because of your reputation."

"And is that observation self referencial?"

Linda blushed, and looked down at her crepés. She closed her eyes, her hair falling like a curtain in front of her face. "Maybe."

Danny would be lying if he said he didn't want to date her. "What are you going to do about it?"

"What can I do? My feelings are obviously unrequited. I'll just... date another guy."

"Who ever said that I didn't want to date you?"

"You- you do?" Linda looked up, surprised to hear him say that. Surely he didn't want to date someone as boring as her! "Why? I'm so... so-"

"So what?"

"So ordinary."

"I don't think so."

"No?" Her face grew hotter, and she cursed herself in her head.

"No, you're fun. I like you too."

"But not the way I like you!" She hated how she felt like crying.

"Isn't it ironic?"

"What?" She sniffed, looking back down at her half eaten crepés.

"I didn't think you'd ever be interested in someone like me."

"How come?" The question came before she could register it.

"Because you're so pure!"

"Me? Pure?" Linda laughed out loud at that. If he knew about the romance novels stashed under her bed or her fantasy of a good sexual time, he wouldn't be so convinced.

"Yeah! You have to be pure- you're a virgin."

She blushed harder, hating the silence that followed his assumptions. "So... so now what?"

"Now I take you out next Friday."

"Um... what?"

"Yeah. You an' me. Friday. Pizza and a flick. Whaddaya say?"

"Well... alright, as long as you're offering..."

The next Friday, Linda was giddy with anticipation as she chose her outfit for her date with Danny. She kept telling herself it was a casual date- just two friends eating pizza and watching a movie.

"Is he paying?" Wendy had asked when she stopped by for the afternoon (probably wanting money, Linda thought).

"Yes," Linda had shortly told her older sister.

"Then it's a date."

Linda chose a pink sweater with nice grey pants for the evening. She pulled her hair back with a matching headband, and blew out a breath as she walked to the door.

Danny picked her up, and she hummed along to the radio as they drove to Pizza Plaza. They made the usual conversation over their pizza- how their two shared teachers were awful, how the new dress code was terrible, and funny things their siblings did.

When they got in the car to drive the short distance to the movie theater, Danny cursed after turning the engine over. "Aw crap."

"What's the matter?" Linda looked up after buckling her seat belt.

"I forgot to put gas in it."

"So? You have enough though, right?"

"Just enough to get us to our houses."

She shrugged, unbuckling. "So we'll walk!"

"What?"

"It'll be good exercise!"

They walked to the theatre, Danny laughing at Linda's happiness. The movie was good, and it was a little chilly as they walked back to Danny's car.

"Are you the kinda guy who doesn't refill things until they're out? Like you don't tell your Mom or whoever does the shopping that you're out of something until it's at the end of the container?" Linda smiled up at him.

"Yeah."

"That'll annoy your wife."

"Probably." He agreed, stopping at the street corner.

"I had fun tonight. It was nice."

"It was." He glanced over at her, her black purse strap falling between her breasts. He knew it was just hormones, but man- did he want to kiss her. She was beautiful standing there under the twilight sky, rocking a little bit on her feet. "Hey, Linda?"

"Yes, Danny?" She turned her head to look at him, her blue eyes sparkling under the streetlight.

He brushed her hair away from her face, the slight breeze making a little difficult. So he cupped her face with his hand, and kissed her lips.

Linda's eyebrows shot up and her eyes went wide. She was actually kissing Danny Reagan! Danny Reagan was kissing her! She put her hand on his, and kissed him back sweetly. When they pulled apart, she smiled and muttered, "so that's what it feels like."

"What what feels like?"

"To be properly kissed." Linda rose to her toes and kissed him again, this time her arms around his neck.

Danny took her hand, and led her back to the car, but not before looking up at the street signs. The corner of Tenth Street and University Place was when their opposing paths became one that would take them through a life journey together, side by side.