DAY 3 – FIRST DATE

At last. Silence.

Lynn thought she deserved as much on her ride to her favorite sandwich shop in town, but Lori seemed to have a different opinion—given how, for the first ten minutes of their drive, she couldn't help but keep her big, fat mouth open and let loose air-headed conclusions that no one asked for.

Especially not her.

But Lynn knew Lori too well to think the respite would endure another minute longer. She had been scowling while looking out the window after her sister's last barb ticked her off, and she didn't see the need of gazing away from the passing streets to look at her sister's reflection through the rear-view mirror—it was obvious that she was stifling a giggle with an unrepentant, goofy smile, just waiting for the right time to drop another load on her.

Lynn let out a miserable groan, knowing that those stupid jokes from Lori weren't the kinds of noxious outbursts that she could roll down the window for in a desperate bid to keep them from suffocating her. Nope, she was in for the long haul, whether she liked it or not.

'I should've just taken the bus,' she thought with another long moan. 'Bus drivers aren't half as annoying as this.'

"You know, Lynn," Lori said at last, sounding too giddy for Lynn's liking. "I-"

Lynn bared her teeth, having an inkling what was coming. "Don't even think about it, Lori."

"Oh, come on, Lynn. You can't just-"

"Don't."

"But I-"

"Say."

"You shoul-"

"Another."

"Try to-"

"Word."

What felt like the beginnings of a migraine started to creep up through Lynn's skull, rattling her brain around as her face began to angrily flush. What was so dang wrong about wanting to munch on a foot-long sub? Did Lori honestly think that she needed her oh-so "insightful" commentary to foul things up before they could even start?

"Clyde's gotta be excited."

Lynn shut her eyes and hissed. Apparently, commentary was exactly what she thought was necessary.

Not that she should've been expecting anything less.

"Y'know, since a cute girl like you asked him out on a-"

"AAAAAAAAAAAH!"

Her bellow was mostly on instinct—she was hoping that Lori would take the hint and just shut up already, but her veiled threat seemed to do nothing more than inspire an uproar of laughter.

"Lori, for the last stinkin' time, this is not a date!" Lynn cried, peeling her face away from the window and boring holes through the driver's seat with her heated glare. "Seriously, it's not! What part of that don't you get?!"

"If you say sooooooo," Lori sing-sang as she took a moment to look back and wink, the perfect gesture to pull off when stopping behind a red light.

Lynn just folded her arms and slunk in her chair. "Seriously, you let it slip that you're trying to thank a guy for helping your brother not flunk History by buying him lunch, and somebody has to think it's a date."

Her pouting consumed her attention, letting her miss out on the way Lori's face slipped from jovial amusement to tenderness.

"Okay," she said, "so if you don't mind me asking-"

"I'm pretty sure I will."

Lori sighed and looked back on the road. "What exactly is so bad about one teeny-weensy date with Clyde?"

Lynn's head reeled back from whiplash of astonishment. Lori, of all people should've known what the problem with that prospect was.

"Oh, I dunno, how about the fact he's not my type?" Lynn asked, before she addressed what she felt was the true heart of the matter. "And since when are you one to talk? It's not like you've ever wanted to date him."

"Yeah, except I've got a boyfriend and a wide age gap that would literally make that impossible. Last time I checked, you don't have any of those excuses."

In Lynn's mind, she had picked a sturdy hill to die on. But all it took was one precise prick into her words to make her realize that she had been standing on nothing more than a bouncy castle that was susceptible to such precision.

And much like a punctured bouncy castle, her vigor started to deflate.

"Well yeah, but...b-but I..." Lynn fumbled out, wanting nothing more than the ground to swallow her up right now.

But in the end, it was confusion that reigned over her embarrassment. Where had all of her conviction gone? She might've been wrong to think that Lori could've related on the last point she brought up, but she still had to have been right about Clyde simply not being the guy that she'd work up the courage to ask out.

So why wasn't that card up her sleeve for her to use? What, did all it take for her to reconsider her stance was the fact that she could concede to the notion of Clyde being...a little easy on the eyes?

That she admired his loyalty when it came to her brother?

That she looked forward to his visits because it meant she had another buddy to either pass the hacky sack to or someone to spot her as she lifted weights and beamed as he looked on her in awe?

That she sometimes thought that it'd feel good to have the less creepy sides of his infatuation with Lori to pass by her? Just for a little bit? Just enough to make her feel as pretty as her older sisters?

The last thought made her cheeks flare with red, and she tried to convince herself that her hunger for some food was making her see things that weren't there.

Like the idea that Clyde McBride wasn't completely repulsive in terms of her tastes in boys, that the possibility of him rejecting the idea of a date between them was what was really bothering her, and that Lori was unintentionally rubbing salt in that wound with her teasing.

"Look," Lori said, unwittingly interrupting her little sister's deep thinking, "I'm sorry about all the teasing, okay? I guess I got a little carried away."

Lynn narrowed her eyes in a hard squint. "A little?"

Lori huffed exasperatedly. "Okay, fine, a lot."

"Pssh. You got that right."

"For real, though," Lori continued, "this is really sweet of you to do for him."

As much as she tried not to, Lynn couldn't help but puff up with pride a little. It might've been a little self-centered to think highly of oneself when doing someone a kindness, but she couldn't help herself. After all, it was her idea to make something happen for someone special like Clyde, and no one else bothered to-

Lynn's eyes widened, her last choice of words coming back to slap her across the face. "Someone special like Clyde"? Where the heck did that come from?

And as if that wasn't bad enough, Lori's following words knocked her off her stride completely:

"But FYI, just know that if this was a date, I'm sure he'd be happy."

Did...did she seriously just hear those words come out of the mouth of the girl who'd been pined for by Clyde for years? In what world did she have a ghost of a chance at standing out in the eyes of someone who had already made up their mind about who they considered to be the pinnacle of beauty?

And most importantly, what was she going to do about her doubts and the fact that they bothered her more than they reasonably should've?

'It's just your stomach messing with you, L.J. A chicken club with spicy mayo and banana peppers oughta knock some sense into you.'

Hmph. What a load of baloney that turned out to be.

Lynn couldn't knock a good meal when she tasted one, especially since Clyde was minding his own lunch with the happiest grin on his face that she had ever seen…

...but in a sense, there lied the issue. She knew he was satisfied with himself, in part because of her kindness, but it only made her muse over how far he'd be willing to call this…outing that she had initiated as a date.

Would he frown at the idea? Throw up at the sound of it? Laugh it off like some big joke? Ask her what spirit possessed her to think such foolishness? Lori didn't seem to think so:

"But FYI, just know that if this was a date, I'm sure he'd be happy."

In her big sister's eyes, the only thing that kept her from thinking so was...herself. Not like that was fair of Lori, the object of Clyde's infatuation, to think or anything.

Lynn looked across the table, watching as her dat...friend kept his mouth busy with his BLT. If Lynn was going to put her doubts to rest, this would be the time to do it—maybe getting her first words out would be easier without those doe eyes of his churning her insides up like butter.

"Clyde, can I ask you something?"

She was surprised when she managed to get the words out without stumbling, but she cursed her luck at the tinge of color she could feel creeping up on her cheeks as he swallowed and gazed up at her.

So much for trying to be casual.

"Sure," he replied with a smile.

Welp, no turning back now. Lisa could've probably helped her out if she ran out of the shop and asked her to whip up a time machine super fast so she could go back in time and prevent her from asking.

But she found herself not wanting to go down that drastic route or anything that would be saner but just as effective. If she had the courage to play against a team of hulking jocks in her brother's stead, than she could get passed this.

…

Just as soon as she remembered how to speak.

"If...i-f this was a...date..." She shut her eyes to give herself purchase, wanting to avoid Clyde's immediate reaction to the d-word, "...would you mind?"

She couldn't see, but she could hear just fine—everything from her heart hammering into her ribs like a hammer to the idle conversations of nearby patrons drilled into her head, but not loud enough to avoid the sound of uncertainty that came out of Clyde's mouth.

"Uh..."

Lynn wanted to nothing more than to melt into a puddle and evaporate into hearing that. That was the sound of someone trying to consider their words, as if they wanted to soften the blow of the rejection that was sure to follow.

But no matter how bad it would feel, she wouldn't let herself look like a pathetic mess by crying, even as her eyes began to burn from behind her eyelids. She'd keep it together through the pain, just like with any of the injuries she had accumulated from her game.

"...n-no."

She wouldn't cry, she absolutely wouldn't give Clyde something to write home about, or her name wasn't…

Huh?

Lynn slowly opened one eye and could've sworn that she was peeking into a mirror. Minus both eyes of the reflection being opened and it resembling Clyde more than her image, it matched her blush, her timidity…

...perhaps it even reflected the deep-rooted feelings that she was still trying to put together?

"Seriously?" Lynn asked, her other eye slipping open.

"Of course, I wouldn't mind. I mean, don't get me wrong, Lori's a goddess among women and everything..." Lynn couldn't ignore the flicker of annoyance that passed by her at hearing Lori being propped up on a pedestal for the umpteenth time. "... you're pretty fun to be around. Plus, you're strong and funny and cut-"

He clamped his hands over his mouth to keep himself from saying more, and regarded Lynn with an expression of sheer horror. Lynn was too surprised (both by his reaction and the word he was this close to finishing) to be offended that Clyde would think that she'd chew him up and spit him out for giving her a few compliments—heaven forbid that a boy tell her that she was cute for once.

"S-sorry!" he cried. "I didn't mean to step over the line like that!"

"No, no, it's okay!" Lynn replied.

Their outbursts had earned the snickers of passerby, but that only measured up to a tiny percent on why Lynn was as flustered as she was. A boy that she conceded wasn't gross and was somewhat in her sights was not only about to call her...cute but that a date between them wouldn't be the most horrible thing in the world.

"Thanks," she said, and felt the need to return the favor of compliment. "You're not bad, either. Sure, you'd kind of a dork, but that doesn't stop you from being a really good friend."

She would've added more than that, but doing anything in the vein of appearance-based compliments would've probably made her burst.

And besides, if she could judge the flattered smile on his face, she'd say that she did a good enough job, anyway.

…

But had she? Perhaps in the department of letting Clyde know that she found him a decent catch, but in making their feelings official by giving their jaunt more significance? If he was willing to say that he wouldn't mind their lunch together a date, why wouldn't she push the envelope a little?

In the end, it wasn't like she minded the idea of this being a date, either.

"Look, I know this is gonna sound really weird and stuff, but..." Lynn took a deep breath to forge her resolve. "...I wouldn't mind hanging out with you a little longer. In fact, I'd be willing to call this a date."

As she saw his eyebrows raise and his eyes widen, she quickly added, "If you want."

"But...but why?"

"Look, I'll be honest, there are probably at least three guys I could think of that I'd rather go out with...but it's just like I said before—you're not bad, either."

To call Clyde a fourth-string prospect felt a little swallowing cod liver oil, but she didn't allow guilt to consume her. Besides, he was sure to remind her that Lori was still the apple of his eye.

"'Sides," she continued, "nothing's gotta happen after this. It's not like a date means I have to marry you."

She'd stick to her guns on that one no matter how bad it made Clyde feel, not that she suspected that it would. Him being kinda cute, quirky, and nice was not a worthy equivalence of a lifetime commitment.

And based on how Clyde had laughed at her remark, she could tell that she felt the same way.

"So...do you wanna give it a shot? Maybe go to the arcade or to a movie after this?"

She had a feeling that she already knew the answer, but that didn't stop her from feeling a little over the moon when he predictably replied, "Yeah. I would. It'd be my first date, but I'd love to spend it with you."

She let him finish the rest of his sandwich in peace, trying her best to hold in the excited jitters she felt swarming over her. She'd have to get over the feeling eventually, though.

After all, she couldn't text Lori, tell her all about her first date, and let her know that she didn't need to be picked up until later with shaky fingers.