Chapter 2: The Date
"So…Tony's Pizza at 6?" he asked triumphantly. What just happened? She hadn't even realized that she had some point sat beside him on the bench. She looked to the closed piano and back to his somewhat haughty expression. Trini was absolutely speechless. She smiled, stammering, trying desperately to find the right words to say in response to the brilliant performance.
"I-I can't believe it. How long have you been able to play like that?" she asked, her long black hair falling over her shoulder as she looked on at him. Skull raised his eyebrows and gave a shrug as if what he had just performed was no big deal.
"Been playing since I was 3. My mom signed me up for lessons, so I'm taking private lessons with the Angel Grove symphony orchestra pianist." He explained. "It's really nothing-"
"But, that was INCREDIBLE!" she complimented. "Do you…do you like classical music?" she questioned further.
"Actually I do." He answered truthfully. "I always have. I mean, don't get me wrong, I love that good ol' rock and roll, but something about classical…" he said opening himself up to her. Trini would never have guessed that this side of him existed. Eugene Skullovitch, cultured and well learned in classical music. Who would have ever guessed? He seems to have not only played the piano, but he played HER as well.
"So, I'll pick you up from the Youth Center at around 6 and take you to Tony's. You like pizza, right?" he asked once more. Trini gave him a stern look of disapproval.
"Well, technically you cheated." She accused. "I wouldn't have taken the bet had I had known-"
"But you didn't." Skull pointed out. "And I didn't cheat. That was more of a hustle if anything." He defended. Trini pushed her hair behind her ear.
"Regardless, a deal is a deal." She said pleasantly enough. He grinned.
"Deal's a deal." He agreed, "Besides, this may give you a chance to get to know more about me." He said giving her a wink. She rolled her eyes with a laugh. She nodded as they both stood up to leave the room.
"Okay, 6 o'clock, I'll meet you out front of the Youth Center." Trini instructed. Skull pouted, opening the door for her.
"What? You don't want me to come parading in with flowers and bragging to everyone that you're going out with me?" he asked jokingly. She laughed, shaking her head, her thick black hair swishing gently back and forth in sync with her movement.
"Please don't." she replied. She didn't mind going out with him now that he had revealed a whole new side to him that intrigued her, however, a spectacle like that would leave her positively mortified.
~~~
Kimberly's eyes glistened as she noticed Trini walk into the Youth Center. She dismounted the balance beam and scurried over to her friend.
"Trini!" she exclaimed. "You have GOT to tell me what happened! Bulk and Skull are going to leave us alone, now, right?" she asked excitedly. Trini's troubled expression tipped Kimberly off to the truth.
"Well…" she began. Kim's mouth dropped open.
"What? What happened?" she asked, "He didn't really…"
"He did!" Trini exclaimed, "It was unlike anything I had ever heard. He's good. He's REALLY good." Trini said crossing her arms. Kimberly pondered a moment, shaking her head in disbelief. She turned to climb back onto the balance beam.
"So…are you still going out with him?" she asked. Trini sighed.
"Yes I am." She answered. "We made a bet." She stated.
"Yeah, but…it's a date with SKULL." Kimberly remarked, giving a shudder.
"I know, but…I don't know." She responded. "I made a promise." Trini knew she wasn't giving the full truth to her best friend, but she was afraid Kimberly wouldn't understand. Skull's piano playing had entranced her somehow. The boy was clearly deeper than they knew. Perhaps the obnoxious tough guy attitude was all an act. The more she thought about it, she really didn't know much about Skull, especially if how people saw him was all a façade. 'One night with him, may be interesting.' She reasoned with herself.
"Wait 'til the guys hear about this." Kimberly said going into a handstand.
"Please don't tell anyone, Kim. I don't want anyone to know about this." Trini begged.
It was nearly 5:30 and Trini had felt quite satisfied with the amount kung fu practice she had gotten in. Trini gathered her things and went into the locker room to quickly shower off. After her quick shower, she got dressed and blow-dried her hair. She flipped out her hair and looked herself over the mirror. Her outfit was really nothing special. It was just a yellow and white shirt on top of a dark pair of bell bottom jeans and white sneakers. The teen started to think maybe she should've gone home to change and have Skull pick her up from her house. Trini looked at the clock. It was five 'til six. It was far too late now. She quickly picked up her bag and headed back out into the main center floor.
Kimberly was already sitting at a table near Ernie's Juice Bar with Jason, Zack, and Billy. They were all drinking smoothies and laughing about something. Trini prayed Kim hadn't told them about her situation. She jogged over to let them know she had to cut out early.
"Hey, Trini!" Billy said cheerfully, "Bought you your favorite protein smoothie." He offered, handing her the tall, chilled glass. She felt bad. Trini would've loved to stay and hang out with her friends.
"Aw, thank you, but I'm going to have to get this to go." She explained, taking the glass. Ernie had overheard and already set a Styrofoam cup on the counter. The group simultaneously protested against her leaving and insisted she stay with them. "I'm sorry, guys." She apologized, carefully pouring the chunky contents into the cup. "I have to meet up with someone tonight." She said off-handedly, tapped the edge of the glass gently making sure all of the smoothie was in the to-go cup. Trini handed the glass off to Ernie.
"You sure you have to go out?" Ernie asked with a kind smile. Trini smiled back.
"Oh, I wish I could." She replied apologetically, "I made a promise, though." She went to leave, giving a quick wave as she left, "I'll see you guys tomorrow!" she shouted, heading out the main entrance and into the lobby. Trini pushed through the glass door leading outside. The cool night air hit her face.
Just then, a tan Buick pulled up at the curb and someone was getting out the driver's seat. Skull.
Trini was flustered. Clearly, he was taking this date rather seriously. His hair was nicely combed back, rather than plastered to his head with styling gel. Instead of his usual disastrous wardrobe, he was sporting a well-fitted black blazer over a tan button-down shirt, and a hole-less pair of dark jeans. Underneath the cuffs of his jeans could she just see the bright yellow toes of his favorite beat-in Doc Marten boots. Okay, so he wasn't completely dressed like a proper gentleman, but she was admittedly touched by his effort. He smiled at her, concealing something behind his back as he approached.
"Well, you certain clean up nice." She complimented.
"Yeah, well, you know, I try." He replied, handing her a simple bouquet of yellow daisies. She looked at him in genuine astonishment. Warmth had grown in his face.
"Oh! Skull…" she said taking them carefully. "That's…that's incredibly sweet." She commented. He shrugged coolly.
"Ah, think nothin' of it." He said playing off his polite gesture. "Shall we?" he said opening the passenger side door and presenting her the open seat.
"Indeed we shall." She replied playing along sliding onto the tan leather seat. "Thank you." He closed the door and travelled around the front of the car, opening the driver side door and sitting down behind the wheel.
Trini couldn't help but take in her current surroundings in the old Buick. It was nothing special. It was free of garbage, though there was quite a build-up of dirt and crumps in the corners of the carpet. There was also the definite possibility that most of the surfaces would feel sticky. The boy took notice of her searching around the car.
"My dad let me borrow his car for tonight, I know it's not much, but I made sure to clean it out for you." Skull explained as he pulled them out of the Youth Center parking lot.
"Well, thank you." She replied greatly appreciating Skull taking the initiative to throw out whatever was previously housed in the vehicle. She didn't dare to imagine what the car looked like before he came to pick her up.
The car ride itself was awkwardly silent for the first moment or two, save for the sad whirring and chunking of the air conditioning. Suddenly, Skull cleared his throat.
"Say," he started. "You don't mind if I turn on some music do you?" he asked.
"No, not at all." She insisted, happy to have relief from the suffocating silence. Without another second of hesitation, the boy turned on the radio and pressed a button turning on the tape deck. Classical music filled the car. Trini had half expected punk rock to start blaring. They both sat enjoying the short piece until it concluded. There was a pause before a guitar intro screamed, joined in by a wail of the vocalist. Trini jumped, startled by the sudden change. Skull quickly turned the volume way down with a laugh.
"Sorry, I forgot it was a mix tape." He apologized. She placed a hand over her chest and laughed.
"Very mixed." She added. That was the kind of music she expected to be blaring in his car. She was right, for the most part. Finally they pulled up in front of the small restaurant, where they both climbed out of the car. Skull smiled pleasantly, smacking his gum as he held open the door for Trini.
Tony's, although not a high end restaurant actually appeared to be a nice Italian place. The lighting was dim, small votive candles sat in the middle of each of the checker cloth-covered tables.
"Hi guys. Welcome to Tony's!" a cute perky hostess greeted the teens. "Table for two?" she asked grabbing a few menus.
"Yeah." Skull confirmed. "Me and this lovely lady here." He added. The hostess smiled.
"Alright, right this way." She said leading them to a clean booth near the back. She set each menu on either side of the table as the two settled down in their seats.
"Okay, guys, your waitress will be with you shortly." The hostess assured, leaving them alone.
"Thank you." Trini replied to the girl. Skull took a breath, glancing around the restaurant.
"Well, I hope you like this place." He said, resting his arms on the table. "Tony's has some of the BEST pizza EVER." He emphasized. Trini leaned in, resting on the table.
"Do you come here often?" she asked.
"I haven't been here in quite awhile." He answered. "Truth be told, the pizza is great, but the prices…I only come out here on special occasion and when I take a gorgeous girl for a night on the town." He said suavely, raising an eyebrow. His gum smacking however, killed his attempt at appearing charming. Trini chuckled.
"So it's been a VERY long time." She joked. Skull pulled back pretending to be deeply hurt by her jab as she softly laughed.
"Right in the heart, Trini!" he dramatically sat back, clutching his chest. "Have you no compassion for this poor loser's feelings?" he continued, a small smile tugging at the edge of his lips. Trini reached across the table.
"You're not a loser." She assured. Skull's smile faded as he looked down. Trini was confused until she saw what he was looking at. She hadn't realized that she was gently resting her hand on his. Both teens blushed and Trini carefully pulled her hand back. She readjusted her hair behind her ear as Skull awkwardly cleared his throat.
"Hi guys, my name is Brandy. I'll be your waitress this evening." Brandy introduced breaking the odd air of tension between the two sitting at the table. "Is there anything I can get you, water, iced tea?" she offered bringing out a pen and pad from her waist belt pouch.
"Iced tea with lemon would be great, thank you." Trini ordered.
"Uh, yeah, I'll have a cherry coke, please." Skull requested. Brandy jotted down their order.
"Iced tea lemon and a cherry coke." She repeated. "Okay, I'll be right back with your drinks." She smiled. The teens thanked her, both now unsure of what to say to one another as they flipped open their menus. It was Skull that broke the silence.
"Did you just want to share a pizza? They're pretty big." He suggested.
"Sure. Especially if they have 'the BEST pizza EVER'." She replied, easing his clear tension with a smile. He chuckled, relaxing into his seat.
"Tell me more about yourself, Skull." Trini asked. Skull closed his menu in front of him and folded his hands on the table.
"Well, whatdya want to know?" he asked curiously wondering what she wanted to find out about him and why.
"Well," she began before she was interrupted by Brandy bringing them their drinks.
"Here you are, guys." Brandy said placing their drinks down in front of them. "One iced tea with lemon and a cherry coke." Both Skull and Trini thanked her before she pulled out her pad and pen, "Are we about ready to order, or do you need a little more time?" she asked.
"Nah, I think we're ready." Skull informed her, "We wanted to do the single." He looked at Trini, "Just cheese? Do you want any toppings?" he asked her. Trini shook her head and looked up at Brandy.
"Just cheese is fine." She ordered.
"A single cheese. Would you guys like some breadsticks in meantime?" she offered.
"That'd be great, thanks." Skull thanked. Brandy gave a nod.
"Great! I'll be right back with the bread." She informed leaving them once more. Skull pulled his was of gum out of his mouth and took a pink packet of sweetener. He smooshed the gum, folding the sweetener packet over it and set it casually off to the side. Trini was relieved he didn't just stick his gum to the cloth napkin.
"Anyway." Trini spoke regaining her train of thought. "Your piano playing, honestly Skull was amazing." She complimented. "Are you looking to making a career out of it?" she inquired. He shook his head.
"Nah." He answered, "I mean, I could easily make some money on the side playing in the shopping mall or some kid's bar mitzvah or something, but," he made a cringed expression, "neh…I don't really know what I wanna do yet." He answered truthfully. Skull had never really given his future much thought. His failing grades and his opt to constantly get in trouble had made him believe he didn't really have much chance for a future. "Enough about me. I'm a dull topic." He stated plainly.
"You're anything, but dull." She reassured shaking her head, "In fact, your piano playing shows there's this whole other part of you that I don't know—"
"Eh, I'm loud and annoying, but I play classical in private." Skull shot back. "There's not much depth to me. I. Am as shallow as a kiddie pool and about at complicated as a balloon." Before she could respond, Brandy had returned with the bread.
"Enjoy guys! Your pizza should be ready soon." She assured the two before she left to tend to another table.
"You're more than that, Skull." Trini said. "I can tell." Her dark almond eyes locked with his and she had never realized just how blue his eyes were. They were a sky blue with a splash of green. Guess she had never really noticed before just as he had never looked closely at the color in her eyes. Her eyes were a dark brown, rich and warm as a cup of coffee that Skull was easily drinking up.
"Anyway, you really could make a career out of your talent. Your playing is beautiful." Trini implored.
"There are more beautiful things I'd rather talk about." He said, not breaking his eye contact, "I want to talk more about you." He confessed, her cheeks burning up at his smooth compliment. This side. This was genuine, compassionate side of the boy she desperately wanted to get to know. They spent the rest of the evening sharing their pizza, which Trini did agree was some of the best she'd ever had, share experiences, and talk about their families.
Skull's dad had his own motorcycle repair shop, his mom a hair stylist. Trini's father was a corporate executive to a big name company oversees, while her mother stayed at home, involving herself in volunteer work whenever she could. Neither of them had any brothers or sisters, however Trini had an extensive family in Vietnam and a cousin that lived just an hour outside Angel Grove.
Skull was just finishing a story before they received the bill for their dinner.
"Well, after a VERY long shouting match, my dad finally puts soap in the dishwasher," the teens laughing as Skull recounted a story, "it was a few minutes later I heard mom scream, I ran down stairs to find our entire kitchen filled with suds!" they laughed together.
"So after ALL that?" she asked, "After all that, the kitchen still got ruined!" Trini confirmed. Skull nodded.
"Yup! After all that." He chuckled, "Boy was my mom mad!"
"How did we enjoy everything?" Brandy asked, placing the check on the table in front of them.
"It was excellent, thank you!" Trini replied.
"Still the best pizza in town!" Skull added. Brandy giggled.
"Well, good! Well, thank you for dining with us tonight, and we hope to see you at Tony's real soon, okay?" Brandy said leaving them with the check. Trini rummaged through her purse and brought out her wallet.
"Hey hey hey hey." Skull put a hand out to stop her, already putting money into the leather booklet. "I got this covered."
"Are you sure? I really don't mind-"
"No no no. The bet was to go on a date with me, not for you to pay for it." Skull insisted.
"Well," Trini said putting her wallet back into her purse, "How about I pay for our second date and call it even?" she suggested.
"What second date?" Skull asked, not initially understanding what Trini was suggesting. The gears cranked hard in Skull's head until it clicked, a smile growing on his face. "Oh! Really?" he asked happily. "Do you want to do something like this again or what?"
"I would like that. There's a restaurant in Downtown Angel Grove that has really good Tai food." Trini suggested.
"How does tomorrow afternoon sound?" Skull asked. "It's early release Friday cause the dumb prep rally thing, we can go straight from school to the restaurant." He reasoned.
"Sounds great!" she exclaimed, pleased with the plan. The two got up and headed back out to the car.
"Want I should drive you home?" Skull asked, starting the car.
"Yeah, it's a little too late to drive me back to the Youth Center. It'd be closed by now." Trini pointed out as she read her watch 9pm. She couldn't believe they'd been out for 3 hours together. She was in even further disbelief at just how well the night had been. It had gone so well in fact, that she WANTED to see him again.
Trini glanced over wanting to catch a glimpse of those blue eyes of his again. He could see her looking at him out of his peripheral. He flashed her a quick glance and smiled. The two chuckled.
He pulled up to the front of her house, the large front room window glowing.
"Thanks for losing the bet, Trini." Skull teased with a smug grin. She gave him a playful shove.
"You're welcome, you cheater!" she joked.
"So, tomorrow after school?" he laughed. She laughed with him before suddenly planting a kiss on his cheek. His laughing stopped abruptly, and his eyes widened in surprise.
"Tomorrow after school." She agreed, climbing out of the car, her purse and small duffel in hand. Skull touched his cheek where she had kissed him, a small smile spreading on his face. She shut the passenger door and gave a wave. She quickly jogged up to her front door and gave him another wave once she opened the door and disappeared inside.
Once the door shut, the punk let out an embarrassingly high squeal of delight that thankfully no one could hear.