Date Night: Edd

Edd carefully picked his way down the hill and stopped. He adjusted the cumbersome box and held out his hand. Kali grasped it, firmly, and made her way through the smaller, but very thorny, brush. She slipped a little and fell into Edd, who caught her. They stood there for a moment, locked in an embrace, silently flushed. Edd finally broke away but continued toward the shore still holding Kali's hand.

"There's a river down here?" Kali asked when she saw the dark waters lapping against the grassy shore. Edd just smiled and continued walking, parallel to the hill now. The ground beneath them became softer till the grass became sparse in the sand. The moon was out and they found their way by its light. It was oddly dark out here, for being so close to the city limits.

"A picnic by the riverside." Edd replied as he stopped. He opened the basket and pulled out the large blanket inside. He laid it down and gestured for Kali to sit. He took out two tacky but cute plastic cups and set them down as well. He kneeled, basket on his arm, and dug the cups into the sand, so they wouldn't tip. As he set everything out, Kali watched in obvious amusement.

"You're so creative Edward." Kali chirped. Edd smiled, grateful that she had chosen to call him by his proper first name. She was not one of his "buddies" and he wanted his relationship to stay different in many aspects.

"Okay, we have vegetarian sushi for the vegetarian," Edd stated as he pulled out a black box. "And a normal sushi plate for the carnivorous one." Kali giggled as she picked up her chopsticks and ate her sushi. Edd couldn't help but watch her hands as she ate. She knew how to use chopsticks and did so delicately.

"Are you going to stare or eat?" Kali asked. Edd, flushed, picked up his box and fumbled with its lid. As they started eating, they also began to talk. Edd had already learned more about Kali's home on the farm, how she was a vegetarian, and how she wanted to become a marine biologist when she was older.

"So how'd you end up here?" Kali asked him. Edd choked a bit on his sushi, stunned by the question. It was a perfectly acceptable question but Edd didn't want to delve into his personal life before moving away from home.

"I wanted to get away." Edd answered, being as vague as possible. It worked; Kali nodded her head in agreement.

"I wanted to leave the farm too. I didn't want to be landlocked. I want to be in the ocean." She said. Edd took a sip from the water he had poured earlier. He was relaxing again, being safely away from the home question. He did know that if he intended to stay with Kali, it would have to come out eventually. But tonight was their first date and he didn't want to ruin it with his anxious prone personality. It had been a long time since he uttered "Oh dear" more than once in a sentence.

"So why did you pick here to eat?" Kali asked. Edd shrugged as if he hadn't thought much about it.

"I remembered that you liked the water." He answered with a smile. Kali blushed and poked at her sushi.

"Thanks for being so nice. Since I just moved here and all." She said. Edd smiled at her slip in accent. The last bit sounded like "n'all", very southern, very cute. Tonight was going to be very fun.