Scorpio Household, Thursday Afternoon-
Although she had asked it plenty of times within the last few hours, Georgie had to do it again. She would probably continue to ask as long as Maxie was around. "You excited?"
Maxie smiled as she looked at herself in yet another outfit. It was common procedure for girls before a date: They had to try on every single outfit that they possibly could, at least twice. Out of the corner of her eye, through the mirror, she saw Georgie making a face at her latest outfit choice. "What's wrong with it?" Maxie asked.
"If you want to look like a cheap slut, I'm sure he'd love it," Georgie said as she propped herself up using her elbows on Maxie's bed. "I somehow doubt that Damian would be very receptive towards you looking like that."
"Most guys would love to see me in something like this," Maxie said. It was white and left very little to the imagination. Kyle had always said that he thought she would look good in it. She grimaced as she thought of him. She had better things in her life now than he could ever give her, why was she thinking about him at that moment?
"I think we're both well aware that Damian isn't 'most guys,' Maxie."
"Why would he even care what I wore?" Maxie asked as she huffed and rummaged through the piles of clothes once more. "Why do guys put so much emphasis on what we wear to a date?"
"He's not the one doing it, Maxie. You are. I'm sure he'd love you in whatever you wore. Even if you were basically throwing off vibes that you could be bought for a twenty dollar bill."
"Georgie!" Maxie actually turned around and gave her little sister a stern look. "I was never that bad!"
"I know you weren't," Georgie said softly. "I always knew you were better than what everyone else at school wanted us to believe you were. But, nonetheless, you still look like that if you wear something like the outfit you've got on right now."
"What do you suggest then, little sister?" Maxie wondered. "You're much more modest than I am. Why don't you give me some input on what you think I should be wearing?"
"Because anything that I told you to wear you'd shoot down."
"What if I promise you that I won't do that?"
"Then I'd know you were lying," Georgie smugly countered.
"Come on, I promise!" Maxie was almost begging. "I need help! He's not like any of the other guys I've ever liked. He likes me for who I am, but the problem with that is that I'm not entirely sure who I am."
"You're Maxie Jones," Georgie smiled. "You're my big sister. You're a good person at heart, and you're the most nervous I've ever seen you before in my whole life!"
"I'm not shaking, am I?" Maxie asked.
"Not anymore." Georgie got off the bed and started searching through Maxie's clothes. "You know... it's funny."
"What is?" Maxie inquired.
"The way that we do everything backwards when it comes to the relationships that matter to use. I just think that it's amusing. I mean, I saw Dillon at Kelly's and didn't even know who he was, but I still kissed him. Sure, it was just to attempt to make Lucas jealous, but it was the way that we met. We never do anything the way that they want us to do it, do we?"
"I guess not," Maxie admitted. She didn't think that she would meet the person that she loved in the way that she did. She didn't think that she would fall in love with the person that she loved in the way that she did. She did think that her father would attempt to stop them from being in love in the way that he did. "I wish Mac could be here."
"What are you talking about?" Georgie was shocked. "You know that if he was here you'd never make it out that door!"
"I mean I wish Mac was here and he wasn't fighting my relationship so much. Georgie, I want dad to like the boy that I care for. Is that too much to ask?"
Georgie shook her head, "No, but it might be too much to accept from dad."
"You think mom would like him?" Maxie thought of her mother and shook her head. "Of course not, she wouldn't even care."
"You don't mean that," Georgie said, looking up from the pile of clothes. Her face showed the hurt that her heart felt when she thought about how much animosity her sister had for their mother.
"I do," Maxie corrected her. "I'm right about mom, and we both know it."
Georgie ignored the topic of conversation that they were having at that moment. She pulled out a deep blue blouse and straightened it out a little by hand. It wasn't wrinkled bad, but to a girl on her first big date, any flaw was reason for an entire mental breakdown. "What about this? I always thought you looked really nice in it."
"It's so... plain."
Georgie sighed, "See, told you."
"No, I don't mean it like that!" Maxie smiled. "I do like it, but I don't think that it's what I want to wear for something like this. I want to look really good!"
"You look fine!" Georgie protested. "You never realize how good you look when you're like this."
"You're just saying that."
Georgie got up and forced her big sister to look at herself in the mirror. "No, I'm not. I'm looking at the same thing that you're looking at right now, Maxie. I see everything the same way that you do. I see that great smile and those wonderful eyes. But, more importantly, I see the reason that he cares about you so much, why he fell in love with you. I see the girl who finally stopped trying to be like everyone else and found her own identity. I see the girl who finally realized what it was like to be in love, to care about someone so much that you'd do anything just to make sure that they weren't hurt in any way. I see Maxie Jones, and I see that she's never looked as beautiful as she does right now. As long as she puts the blue blouse on, of course."
Maxie laughed as she turned around and hugged her little sister. "You're the best, Georgie. I couldn't ask for a better sister than you. I don't know what I'd do without you."
"Aside from fail out of high school?" Georgie joked.
"You're lucky I'm still too happy about what you said before in order to be mad at you!" Maxie took the blouse and put it on. "You know what, you're right. I really like how this outfit looks."
Georgie dug into her pocket and pulled out a little box, "Here."
"What is it?" Maxie wondered.
"They're the earrings that I remember you used to love so much when we were little. You'd always beg mom to let you wear them, but she wouldn't let you. Remember? She'd say 'Not until you're a mature young lady, Maxie.' I think she'd agree that you're a mature young lady now."
"It was the only time I ever heard her say something that was even somewhat motherly. I always remember thinking that it was just some act that she put. She'd say it in a British accent and try to make it sound like it was the funniest thing in the world."
"I always thought it was pretty funny."
"I didn't." Maxie put the earrings on, but she took them off the second she saw them on her ears. "I can't wear these. They... remind me too much of her."
"I thought... you'd like it. That's why I spent an hour looking through all the stuff she left here when she went to Texas for them." Georgie was dejected, and she didn't even attempt to hide it. She wanted to do something special for her sister, and she had failed.
"I appreciate the sentiment, Georgie. I really do. But I'm not a little girl anymore. I don't see mommy as the saintly figure that I once did. I see her flaws. How could I not?"
"You sure you're going to be all right?" Georgie asked, again changing the focus off of her mother. She would always do that. "I have to work tonight so I can't be home when you get back. What are you going to do if Mac's home when you get back?"
"By then we'll already be done with the night and Mac can't take away what already happened," Maxie said. She didn't want to fight with her father so much over something like this. But if Mac insisted on trying to keep her away from Damian, then she would fight him, and she wouldn't give up until she got what she wanted.
"How much time till he comes to get you?" Georgie wondered.
"A few hours."
"Why isn't he picking you up in a car?"
"He doesn't have a car, Georgie!" Maxie pointed out. "He lived in Los Angeles before he came here and he came by plane."
"He could have borrowed Sonny's. Hell, he probably could have asked Sonny to buy him a new car. We both know that Sonny has enough money to do it."
"Damian doesn't care about Sonny's money or his power."
"You sure?" Georgie cocked an eyebrow.
"I'm positive! Sonny could offer Damian the world and Damian would just want to spend time with the people that he cared about."
"He's a lot different than the other people you've cared about," Georgie mused.
"So much different," Maxie agreed as she moved to her dresser to continue the long and drawn out process that would end with her being prepared for her date.
Outside Kelly's-
Dillon waited on one of the tables that had been placed outside the restaurant. Damian had called him and asked him to meet up. Dillon knew what it was about, he knew the feeling as well. Those Jones girls, they had a way of making the men that fell for them the most insecure people on the planet. It'd be cute, if it wasn't so annoying.
"Thanks for coming."
"Yeah, sure," Dillon hadn't even turned around yet, but when he did he whistled. Damian would have impressed the Quatermaine's with his outfit, and that was saying something. It wasn't a tuxedo, but it was still impressive. An ash grey buttoned shirt that shimmered in the light and some slacks, accompanied by some fancy dress shoes. "You went all out, didn't you?"
"It was my dad's idea," Damian admitted. "You don't think it's too much?"
"You don't have a tie, so it's not too much."
"You think she'll like it?"
"If I weren't straight and a guy, I'd be all over you right now," Dillon joked.
Damian gave Dillon a strange look, "I'm going to take that as a compliment and then wipe it from my mind."
"It would probably be better that way."
Damian nodded, "Yeah, probably."
"What's the plan?" Dillon inquired. "What do you got in store for the lovely Miss Jones?"
"You'll just have to wait until tomorrow to find out, Dillon." Damian sighed, "I should probably get going..."
"You've still got plenty of time before you told Maxie to be ready, don't you?"
"Yeah, but I'm giving myself plenty of time because I'm going to spend half of that time wondering if I'm doing the right thing and panicking about something going wrong."
Dillon grinned, "Nervous?"
"Weren't you?"
"Yeah... I guess I was. Call after in case you want to gloat to someone, or need me to talk you down from jumping off a bridge."
"Never let it be said that you have excellent tact, Dillon."
The grin widened on Dillon, "What can I say? I am a Quatermaine, after all." With a shallow wave, the two men parted ways. Dillon stopped himself as he walked away, "Good luck, Damian. Let's hope you don't need it." Damian, Dillon was well aware, could do many things without missing a beat. But he'd never been in love before. No matter how smart people thought he was, there was something about love that made it impossible to actually be educated in. Damian was smart, but he wasn't that smart.
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Although she had asked it plenty of times within the last few hours, Georgie had to do it again. She would probably continue to ask as long as Maxie was around. "You excited?"
Maxie smiled as she looked at herself in yet another outfit. It was common procedure for girls before a date: They had to try on every single outfit that they possibly could, at least twice. Out of the corner of her eye, through the mirror, she saw Georgie making a face at her latest outfit choice. "What's wrong with it?" Maxie asked.
"If you want to look like a cheap slut, I'm sure he'd love it," Georgie said as she propped herself up using her elbows on Maxie's bed. "I somehow doubt that Damian would be very receptive towards you looking like that."
"Most guys would love to see me in something like this," Maxie said. It was white and left very little to the imagination. Kyle had always said that he thought she would look good in it. She grimaced as she thought of him. She had better things in her life now than he could ever give her, why was she thinking about him at that moment?
"I think we're both well aware that Damian isn't 'most guys,' Maxie."
"Why would he even care what I wore?" Maxie asked as she huffed and rummaged through the piles of clothes once more. "Why do guys put so much emphasis on what we wear to a date?"
"He's not the one doing it, Maxie. You are. I'm sure he'd love you in whatever you wore. Even if you were basically throwing off vibes that you could be bought for a twenty dollar bill."
"Georgie!" Maxie actually turned around and gave her little sister a stern look. "I was never that bad!"
"I know you weren't," Georgie said softly. "I always knew you were better than what everyone else at school wanted us to believe you were. But, nonetheless, you still look like that if you wear something like the outfit you've got on right now."
"What do you suggest then, little sister?" Maxie wondered. "You're much more modest than I am. Why don't you give me some input on what you think I should be wearing?"
"Because anything that I told you to wear you'd shoot down."
"What if I promise you that I won't do that?"
"Then I'd know you were lying," Georgie smugly countered.
"Come on, I promise!" Maxie was almost begging. "I need help! He's not like any of the other guys I've ever liked. He likes me for who I am, but the problem with that is that I'm not entirely sure who I am."
"You're Maxie Jones," Georgie smiled. "You're my big sister. You're a good person at heart, and you're the most nervous I've ever seen you before in my whole life!"
"I'm not shaking, am I?" Maxie asked.
"Not anymore." Georgie got off the bed and started searching through Maxie's clothes. "You know... it's funny."
"What is?" Maxie inquired.
"The way that we do everything backwards when it comes to the relationships that matter to use. I just think that it's amusing. I mean, I saw Dillon at Kelly's and didn't even know who he was, but I still kissed him. Sure, it was just to attempt to make Lucas jealous, but it was the way that we met. We never do anything the way that they want us to do it, do we?"
"I guess not," Maxie admitted. She didn't think that she would meet the person that she loved in the way that she did. She didn't think that she would fall in love with the person that she loved in the way that she did. She did think that her father would attempt to stop them from being in love in the way that he did. "I wish Mac could be here."
"What are you talking about?" Georgie was shocked. "You know that if he was here you'd never make it out that door!"
"I mean I wish Mac was here and he wasn't fighting my relationship so much. Georgie, I want dad to like the boy that I care for. Is that too much to ask?"
Georgie shook her head, "No, but it might be too much to accept from dad."
"You think mom would like him?" Maxie thought of her mother and shook her head. "Of course not, she wouldn't even care."
"You don't mean that," Georgie said, looking up from the pile of clothes. Her face showed the hurt that her heart felt when she thought about how much animosity her sister had for their mother.
"I do," Maxie corrected her. "I'm right about mom, and we both know it."
Georgie ignored the topic of conversation that they were having at that moment. She pulled out a deep blue blouse and straightened it out a little by hand. It wasn't wrinkled bad, but to a girl on her first big date, any flaw was reason for an entire mental breakdown. "What about this? I always thought you looked really nice in it."
"It's so... plain."
Georgie sighed, "See, told you."
"No, I don't mean it like that!" Maxie smiled. "I do like it, but I don't think that it's what I want to wear for something like this. I want to look really good!"
"You look fine!" Georgie protested. "You never realize how good you look when you're like this."
"You're just saying that."
Georgie got up and forced her big sister to look at herself in the mirror. "No, I'm not. I'm looking at the same thing that you're looking at right now, Maxie. I see everything the same way that you do. I see that great smile and those wonderful eyes. But, more importantly, I see the reason that he cares about you so much, why he fell in love with you. I see the girl who finally stopped trying to be like everyone else and found her own identity. I see the girl who finally realized what it was like to be in love, to care about someone so much that you'd do anything just to make sure that they weren't hurt in any way. I see Maxie Jones, and I see that she's never looked as beautiful as she does right now. As long as she puts the blue blouse on, of course."
Maxie laughed as she turned around and hugged her little sister. "You're the best, Georgie. I couldn't ask for a better sister than you. I don't know what I'd do without you."
"Aside from fail out of high school?" Georgie joked.
"You're lucky I'm still too happy about what you said before in order to be mad at you!" Maxie took the blouse and put it on. "You know what, you're right. I really like how this outfit looks."
Georgie dug into her pocket and pulled out a little box, "Here."
"What is it?" Maxie wondered.
"They're the earrings that I remember you used to love so much when we were little. You'd always beg mom to let you wear them, but she wouldn't let you. Remember? She'd say 'Not until you're a mature young lady, Maxie.' I think she'd agree that you're a mature young lady now."
"It was the only time I ever heard her say something that was even somewhat motherly. I always remember thinking that it was just some act that she put. She'd say it in a British accent and try to make it sound like it was the funniest thing in the world."
"I always thought it was pretty funny."
"I didn't." Maxie put the earrings on, but she took them off the second she saw them on her ears. "I can't wear these. They... remind me too much of her."
"I thought... you'd like it. That's why I spent an hour looking through all the stuff she left here when she went to Texas for them." Georgie was dejected, and she didn't even attempt to hide it. She wanted to do something special for her sister, and she had failed.
"I appreciate the sentiment, Georgie. I really do. But I'm not a little girl anymore. I don't see mommy as the saintly figure that I once did. I see her flaws. How could I not?"
"You sure you're going to be all right?" Georgie asked, again changing the focus off of her mother. She would always do that. "I have to work tonight so I can't be home when you get back. What are you going to do if Mac's home when you get back?"
"By then we'll already be done with the night and Mac can't take away what already happened," Maxie said. She didn't want to fight with her father so much over something like this. But if Mac insisted on trying to keep her away from Damian, then she would fight him, and she wouldn't give up until she got what she wanted.
"How much time till he comes to get you?" Georgie wondered.
"A few hours."
"Why isn't he picking you up in a car?"
"He doesn't have a car, Georgie!" Maxie pointed out. "He lived in Los Angeles before he came here and he came by plane."
"He could have borrowed Sonny's. Hell, he probably could have asked Sonny to buy him a new car. We both know that Sonny has enough money to do it."
"Damian doesn't care about Sonny's money or his power."
"You sure?" Georgie cocked an eyebrow.
"I'm positive! Sonny could offer Damian the world and Damian would just want to spend time with the people that he cared about."
"He's a lot different than the other people you've cared about," Georgie mused.
"So much different," Maxie agreed as she moved to her dresser to continue the long and drawn out process that would end with her being prepared for her date.
Outside Kelly's-
Dillon waited on one of the tables that had been placed outside the restaurant. Damian had called him and asked him to meet up. Dillon knew what it was about, he knew the feeling as well. Those Jones girls, they had a way of making the men that fell for them the most insecure people on the planet. It'd be cute, if it wasn't so annoying.
"Thanks for coming."
"Yeah, sure," Dillon hadn't even turned around yet, but when he did he whistled. Damian would have impressed the Quatermaine's with his outfit, and that was saying something. It wasn't a tuxedo, but it was still impressive. An ash grey buttoned shirt that shimmered in the light and some slacks, accompanied by some fancy dress shoes. "You went all out, didn't you?"
"It was my dad's idea," Damian admitted. "You don't think it's too much?"
"You don't have a tie, so it's not too much."
"You think she'll like it?"
"If I weren't straight and a guy, I'd be all over you right now," Dillon joked.
Damian gave Dillon a strange look, "I'm going to take that as a compliment and then wipe it from my mind."
"It would probably be better that way."
Damian nodded, "Yeah, probably."
"What's the plan?" Dillon inquired. "What do you got in store for the lovely Miss Jones?"
"You'll just have to wait until tomorrow to find out, Dillon." Damian sighed, "I should probably get going..."
"You've still got plenty of time before you told Maxie to be ready, don't you?"
"Yeah, but I'm giving myself plenty of time because I'm going to spend half of that time wondering if I'm doing the right thing and panicking about something going wrong."
Dillon grinned, "Nervous?"
"Weren't you?"
"Yeah... I guess I was. Call after in case you want to gloat to someone, or need me to talk you down from jumping off a bridge."
"Never let it be said that you have excellent tact, Dillon."
The grin widened on Dillon, "What can I say? I am a Quatermaine, after all." With a shallow wave, the two men parted ways. Dillon stopped himself as he walked away, "Good luck, Damian. Let's hope you don't need it." Damian, Dillon was well aware, could do many things without missing a beat. But he'd never been in love before. No matter how smart people thought he was, there was something about love that made it impossible to actually be educated in. Damian was smart, but he wasn't that smart.
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