What the answer was.
"Sure,"
"Sure?" She asked, raising an eyebrow and looking at Tyler in amazement. She had to get out what she meant, "So.. you will go on a date with me?"
Tyler seemed to tense up when he felt the other girls' eyes on him, and he swallowed, shaking himself off from any type of dust, and said as smoothly as he could.
"I mean, yeah, totally... can we-" He added on quickly glancing at the girls then back at Mei Mei, "...discuss this somewhere else?"
"Aww!" The girls all panted, sad that the drama was going to be moved somewhere private. Mei smield awkwardly at Tyler and said while blush skimmed her cheeks dark red.
"Of course,"
The two went off, side by side and Miriam pointed out to her friends.
"They're so CLOSE their hands are nearly touching!"
Tyler pulled Mei to an empty part of the schoolyard and smiled nervously, even though he was trying to be brave.
"So we're doing this?" He asked, a spark in his eyes that hit Mei's own sparkling eyes, "A date?"
"Yeah," She said back, putting her hands behind her back as she looked at him shyly, "Like the cinema this weekend... and some big macs?"
Tyler's eyes literally fell wide open with her suggestion. He LOVED movies and especially Mac Donalds. This must be a dream. He had to truly test it though, as he asked with a serious face.
"What movie do you want to see?"
"Spiderman?" The two said together, before gaping at one another in shock with their similar interest.
"OMG, yes!" Tyler cheered and suddenly lunged forward, giving Mei aan excited hug.
"Wait... you like Spderman?" Mei asked quickly, amazed.
"Spiderman is my guy! Best superhero ever!"
Mei chuckled at this quietly, and as she felt Tyler's warm embrace, she felt her heart start to flutter and suddenly POOF!
She was a red panda again.
Tyler's face was stuffed against her giant red furry belly, and he pulled away with a laugh. Mei felt so embarrassed as she quickly calmed herself and puffed back to her normal human form.
"So... the Saturday?" Tyler asked on eagerly and she only smirked, looking at him and grinning herself too.
"Yes! This Saturday!" She laughed. The two did their secret handshake then, before heading back into the school building as recess had ended and they had to go to class.
~x~
Mei Mei was in a world of her own the rest of that week. Her mind was constantly dreaming about Tyler and the movie they were going to see. She just couldn't believe that with all the guys in her life, that Tyler – TYLER- would be the one she'd have her first date with.
Just as she dazed her way through the classes and she was heading her home direction with Miriam, her pale friend had to get out the words as she said.
"Mei, EARTH to MEI!"
"Huh?"
Miriam just giggled and shook her a bit as they walked towards the bus stop.
"You've been in your own head all day – HECK, all WEEK!"
Mei laughed nervously and pushed her bestie aside as she said.
"I'm so sorry... I just... keep thinking about this Saturday... being alone with him..."
Miriam only grinned and waved goodbye to Mei as she got on the bus.
"Just remember to stay cool! Don't panda all other the place."
The red-headed girl only laughed this off, sitting down and the bus being led to the stop just outside the temple.
~X~
Saturday came way too fast. She looked at herself in the mirror, putting on fake earrings, and a pretty dress.
As she got ready to leave, she tried to sneak past her parents, but Ming heard the sound of her foot creaking the floorboards and as her mother, she turned around instantly to look at her.
"Mei?" She said, eyeing her quickly up and down and Mei froze in terror, "Why are you dressed like that?"
"I'm just meeting up with a friend."
"What friend? A girl friend OR a boy friend?"
Mei gulped, as she peeped out the word, "Boy..."
Ming's jaw dropped open but her husband grabbed her hand, squeezing it tight as he said to her softly.
"Let Mei go..."
Ming shot her eyes back to him, before again at Mei... and knew inside she had to go of her. Her baby was getting more and more grown up with every passing day.
"Okay, okay..." She said, taking a deep exhale out, and turned to her daughter once more asking, "Do you need a lift?"
Mei was about to say no... until she realized – OF COURSE, SHE NEEDED ONE.
"Um..."
"I'll take her" Her dad butted in instantly and Mei sighed out relieved it was him who was offering.
"-But?"
"Ming..." He said to her and his wife sighed heavily again, sitting back down and Jin got up, picking up his keys and following behind Mei as the two left.
Ming just sat there in the house alone... her hands were scrunching a handkerchief tightly and she just closed her eyes, trying to relieve her hurt.
As Mei and Jin got in the car, Mei turned up the radio and her dad started the ignition. The car pulled out to the road and the two sat there quietly for a few minutes before Jin asked.
"Who's the lucky fellow?"
Mei smiled shyly at this question and said in a dreamy voice.
"Tyler..."
"Oh?" Jin said, but not really sounding surprised, "I sensed something about that boy weeks ago."
"Dad!" Mei whined embarrassed and her old man only chuckled at her flustered response.
"So what are you two seeing?"
"Spiderman."
"Who's he?" Jin asked passively and Mei only laughed, rolling her eyes as she said.
"A superhero,"
"Oh," Her dad only replied, and the two fell silent again before Mei admitted to him.
"I'm glad it's you who's taking me..."
Jin kept his eyes on the road as he replied, "Oh?"
"Mum... she's... a little intense sometimes..."
Jin turned the corner, before glancing quickly at his daughter and muttering, "She loves you so much... things, they're just changing for you... and so, they're changing for her too."
"I know..." Mei agreed, defeated and knowing that was the truth, "But it feels, every day... we're both changing and are slowly growing apart."
Jin huffed a soft laugh and said to her as he pulled out in front of the cinema.
"That would never happen."
Mei blushed when she saw Tyler was waiting on the sidewalk before the building and she kissed her dad on the cheek as she said to him with a nervous grin.
"Bye, Dad!"
He nodded warmly to her and then pulled off.
When Tyler saw Mei coming his way, he lit up with happiness and the two approached one another nervously as he said to her.
"I already bought the tickets."
"TYLER!" Mei whined helplessly as she said to him, "You didn't have to buy mine."
"No, but I wanted to." He said back firmly and Mei felt her heart flutter again inside.
Then POOF!
She was huge, red, and furry again. Tyler only gazed up into her embarrassed eyes and she closed them quickly, whispering to herself.
"Be calm... be calm!"
She could feel all the eyes of the shocked pedestrians on her as they gawked, but she managed to stabilize her fluttering emotions and forced her panda to poof away and just be human again.
"I must have that effect on you," Tyler said with a cocky smirk, and Mei, now human once more, gave him a coy smile as she said.
"No..."
He cocked an eyebrow up and she just grabbed his hand, pulling him into the building and the two gave their tickets to the worker behind the booth.
As they went inside the dark large room, Tyler dragged Mei to the very back upper seats. There were only a few people in the cinema room and the two plopped eagerly down onto their spots.
As the two sat there, their arms on the armrests relaxing, Mei froze up in fright when she felt Tyler's hands brush hers.
She bit her bottom lip, her heart beginning to pound again, and she began to whisper in her head.
STAY CALM. STAY CALM.
She swallowed, and slowly wrapped her fingers through his. Tyler smiled, feeling her hand's warmth, and the screen down below suddenly blasted with sound as the trailers were played just before the movie.
"Are you scared...?" Tyler asked her in a quiet whisper and Mei strained her eyes as she looked fearfully over at him.
"My heart is pounding."
"Do you think you can keep your panda in...?"
She didn't know how to answer. The last few days she had managed it fine... but now, every time she was around Tyler, she just couldn't control her emotions.
He NOW had that effect on her.
Her heart wanted to feel it all... the crushing, the infatuation, the excitement of love.
But now, her panda side was being released faster and easier without her control...
"I'll try keep the panda in..." Mei said to him with a tense worried voice, "I just...need to be stronger."
"Okay," He said with a goofy smile and placed a kiss on her cheek, "I know you can do-"
POOF!
Pink smoke flew everywhere, and Tyler gasped in surprise as the girl right next to him was a giant red panda.
"Or maybe you can't yet..."
Mei nearly had tears rolling down her cheeks and he grabbed hold of her paw, looking at her softly and saying.
"It's okay... it's cool, Mei"
But it wasn't okay and cool to her... being near him had become a trigger. She took a deep breath in and sat there on three seats now as the film began.
Tyler's own heart hurt as well...
He didn't expect that his first date would be with a giant red panda and not the girl he was crushing over.
All he could do was support her... and she sighed heavily, poofing again and becoming human.
The two smiled relieved, and just as Tyler reached to hold Mei's hand again – she pulled it away.
"Let's just... watch the movie," She whispered, a tear slipping down her cheek. He saw her pain, her sadness... but they'd find a way to make this work.
He'd find a way.
He hoped.
