Chapter 5 Ever the Gentleman

Disclaimer: I do not own the characters

heartsyhawk: well if you liked that then you might like this

ldypebsaby: the date is on!

Beany: well this is what is happening, hope its enjoyable

Lin Waddell: Here it be

Thank you all for your reviews and encouragement, I sincerely hope this chapter is worth it.

If Todd were ever asked what he would not want to know about a date he would never have been able to answer. A girl willing to date him would seem to him a realm of infinite secrets. So what would be his first question to this vision in pancake make-up in front of him? He pondered, he agonized, and finally he came up with"So what made you want to be a clown" After the words had left his mouth he immediately tried to recall them, but unfortunately they had already found their way to her.

To Amara's credit she chuckled kindly at his embarrassment. "Well, how much do you know about Nova Roma"

He thought about it for several seconds before shrugging his shoulders.

"Well, that's a common answer. It is a very small country, often overlooked by most people. We are poor and most of its people are uneducated. My father was sent to this country by his father to be educated in western ways. He then came back to Nova Roma as a doctor, the only one in the country. As he was the then king's son he assumed the throne upon his father's death. Most days my father worked very hard to train his people to take care of themselves and help others to heal, while at the same time taking care of political business. At the end of these days there was nothing he liked better than to simply forget what tragedy he had seen that day. He would often have a person tell him jokes to make him happy. I did not see him much during these times so I decided as a child that I would make him laugh as much as possible. I learned from some of his court jesters how to be funny and I would practice making jokes around recovering patients to take their minds off of things."

"So did it work? I mean did you get to see your dad more"

She smiled sadly"Yes, but by then he was ready to send me here to be educated as well. I have not seem him in two years, though we continue to write. So now it is my turn."

"Your turn"

"To ask a question of course. You did not think you would be the only one asking did you"

"Oh, nah. Go ahead. I'm ready for anything you got"

"Very well... Oh, our food is here." The waiter quickly set the food down and walked away without wishing them a good meal. Todd saw a ball of flame grow in Amara's left hand before dying and then growing again. He really didn't want to end this date so soon, so he quickly interjected.

"Uh, so, you got a question for me or did I stump you"

"Hmm, oh yes, forgive me Todd" she said as the she let the ball die for good. "No, you didn't stump me. My question is who are you"

Todd dropped the fork that had been nearing his mouth with a delicious morsel of steak. "Um, sorry didn't catch that, mind sayin' it again yo"

"Oh, its alright. Who are you? I'm interested in knowing how you see yourself."

"I guess I never thought about it, ya know? I mean I'll be honest with you because you were honest with me about the clown thing. I mean I'm small, scrawny. I'm not stupid, but I don't always get things the way other people do ya know? I think that I'm cool, like I could be worth getting to know. I kinda goof things up sometimes, not on purpose, but it just happens when everybody's watching me. That's me I guess" he said quietly, sure that she would leave the table at any moment. To his relief she smiled at him.

"I can relate."

"What're you talking about Amara? I mean you're like perfect. I've never seen you trip or mess up anything. Its like you just float around in this different world where nothing else bothers you or somethin'."

"It is all in one's perception Todd. You only see me at high school. You've never seen me when I'm studying five hours straight for a five question quiz and, thankfully, you've never seen me struggle with my foe, the VCR."

Todd cracked up at her comment about the VCR, which made her laugh as well. "Are you serious"

"Yes, I always mean to record American Idol, but always get Law and Order SVU re-runs."

"Whoa, well if you want I could come over sometime and help you with programming it."

She shyly smiled"Thank you, that would be nice." He blushed upon realizing the possibility of seeing her again. They enjoyed the rest of their dinner, asking occasional questions, none as deep as the first two had been, but just as important. When they had both finished and the waiter had taken their bill Todd stood up and helped her out of her chair. That's when he felt it, just a sense of shame and embarassment. He turned and saw something flying in the air towards him. His body was already reacting to it, his tongue lashing out at the offending item, a breadstick by the taste of it, and then he leapt through the air. He could always tell who was out to humiliate him because they were always the ones most surprised when he fought back. He landed on the table and grabbed ahold of a shirt, looking a 16 year old boy in the eyes. "Who do you think you are yo! Huh! You can't just be throwin' food at people in a restaurant" he said while viciously shaking the boy to punctuate each word"Do you even know me? Do you know her! You do not throw food at my da"

"Todd"

He turned to see who had called his name and saw Amara, simply standing there, the very picture of patience.

"Walk me home" Those three simple words, he wanted to resist the power they had over him. He wanted so desperately to tap back into that primal rage he had experienced only seconds before, but those words... They had taken it from him, deflated him, shamed him. He saw in those words that she expected more of him than this outburst and he knew in the end that he would do his best to live up to those expectations. He let go of the boy's shirt and hopped off the table before standing straight.

"Yeah, I'll do that." Then he hesitantly addressed the people staring at him"I'm sorry about that." He saw the boy starting to openly cry in front of his date. "Sorry man" Todd said. They left without anyone saying anything, except an older man who had said"Don't worry son, he had it coming." Todd didn't answer, unsure of how he felt about the entire situation now. He took Amara's hand and they left the restaurant together and that was what was important to Todd at the moment.