School the next day was definitely awkward. Ashido kept looking for opportunities to ask Jaxon out, but none seemed to come all morning.

Finally, the bell rang for lunch. Tsu and Jiro waited by the door for Ashido; the three of them sat together almost every day, with Kaminari or Koda sometimes joining them.

"Hey, Mina," called Tsu. "You ready?"

Ashido thought a moment. Better now than never, she realized as she walked over to her friends. As the three walked down the hall, she summoned a little courage. "Um, guys?" she asked, stopping in her tracks.

Tsu turned around. "Ribbit! What is it?" she asked, as Jiro turned as well.

"I probably won't be eating with you today." Heaving a sigh, Ashido told her friends what had happened the day before, and about her childish crush on Jaxon.

When Ashido finished talking, Tsu tilted her head to the side. "You hid this from us the entire time? I don't know if I'm impressed with that or not."

"I don't know, either," replied Ashido, her face turning red, "but since... well, since I'm about to ask him on a date, I figured you guys deserved to know."

Jiro looked thoughtful. "But... how are you going to ask him? Neither of you can so much as speak to each other."

"I'm sure as heck going to try," Ashido replied. "Since his mom told me I could date him, I'm pretty sure he can't say no."

"That's really not how dating works," Jiro retorted, a smile crossing her face. "My parents told Kaminari he could go out with me, and I've been blocking that braindead Pikachu since we could both walk."

"I did NOT need to hear that," Ashido snapped as they entered the cafeteria, but she smiled and kept walking.

"Good luck," called Tsu.

"You're gonna need it," added Jiro.

Jiro and Tsu went to their table. Ashido walked into Lunch Rush and ordered some sashimi; her stomach was growling like a rabid animal by the time she got it. The perfect distraction from my problem, she thought as she carried the container of food under her arm.

But then the problem resurfaced.

Most of the time, Jaxon ate lunch with Sero, Ojiro, and Hagakure. Today, though, Sero was home with the flu, Ojiro was on vacation, and Hagakure had left early for a doctor's appointment. So Jaxon ate alone today. He pulled a box of his mother's takoyaki out of his lunch bag and silently whooped; this was one of Alondra's best dishes.

He bowed his head and prayed to start his meal off. When he looked up again, he noticed Ashido standing outside Lunch Rush. Wow, he thought. What a girl.

Leo cackled. Dude, you're missing what's right in front of you. Look at her!

What do you mean, look at her? That's all I've been doing! snapped Jaxon.

Not at her looks! At her actions! She looks over here like twice a minute, and then looks away again! And her face is every shade of pink EXCEPT the one it's supposed to be! Face facts, my guy. She's way into you!

No, Leo. Stop. Jaxon sighed and took a bite of takoyaki. She's not into me. She's looking in my general direction. Probably waiting for someone. Else. I don't care what you say, I don't think she and I are in the cards.

Dante spoke up. If you are not in the cards... then maybe you just haven't drawn yet.

Very nice Yu-Gi-Oh-phemism, commented Leo.

We will see if she likes you, Dante added, brushing off the compliment. Wait for her to come over here. Then, play your Graceful Charity.

As usual, Dante, I have literally no idea what you're talking about. Jaxon kept eating, ignoring Leo's subsequent barrage of insults. He closed his eyes to concentrate on Dante's words and what they could mean.

The words are mine, but it is up to you to interpret them, Dante replied. Here she comes now. No, wait, here she is. Darn my poor depth perception.

Wait, what? Jaxon opened his eyes and had to bite back a shriek. Ashido was standing at the table, right in front of him.

"Hey, Jaxon," the pink girl said nervously. "I wanted to talk to you. Is this seat taken?"

Jaxon swallowed. "N-no," he replied. "You can sit down. Uh... what's going on, Ash?"

You dolt, Leo muttered. Now you've done it.

Oh, this I've got to see, Rush said, "waking up" from his meditation.

Ashido raised an eyebrow and blushed. "You've never called me that before."

Jaxon backpedaled. "Oh! T-that's my bad! I was just thinking you might prefer it... I mean, because of Tsu and all, and I... If you want, I can go back to Ashido or Mina or-"

"N-no!" Ashido exclaimed, a little too quickly. "I... actually kinda like it. It's unique."

Jaxon smiled and brushed his hair out of his face as Ashido sat down. "Well, then that settles that," he answered. "What did you want to talk to me about?"

"Um... I'm not sure how to ask this..." Ashido thought a moment. She had to find a place to start. She'd already figured out that she wanted to go to a movie, and she'd paid Yaomomo in advance for the one Jaxon picked. Now, she realized that the only way to find out if he wanted to go would be to straight-up ask. "Are... are there any movies out right now that you've been wanting to see?"

Jaxon cocked his head. "What, like in theaters?"

You've got to be kidding me, groaned Leo. Of course she means 'in theaters', knucklehead.

"Yeah. Like, that are out right now."

"Um..." Jaxon smiled. "That Find You, Find Me looks really good. You know, the one with all the American actors?"

A romantic comedy, Ashido realized. Perfect. "Well... I think I've got the hookup on tickets to the cineplex downtown, and I was just wondering if... if you wanted to go see it with me?"

Jaxon's eyes went wide. Everything inside him was silent. "Y-you... you asked me what movie I wanted to see... for the express purpose of asking me to go to the movies with you?"

"I think I made that clear," replied Ashido. "If you don't, I under-"

Jaxon's heart spoke before his head. "A thousand times yes," he said, before he could stop himself. He gasped, and his face immediately went bright red. "I'm sorry... That came out so wrong."

"No," Ashido replied. "It came out just right. Does Saturday work?"

"Let me check my social calendar." Jaxon pulled a blank sheet of paper out of my backpack and pretended to examine it. "I'm completely free until July three years from now," he added.

Ashido giggled. "Perfect. I'll have Yaomomo pick us up at ten."

Jaxon blushed again. "I don't mean to rush things, but I guess it's a-"

"-Date," Ashido finished, getting up quickly and picking her container of food up. "See you later, then!" She basically ran away with her hands over her face.

That's when Jaxon noticed that Ashido hadn't taken a bite of her food.

Huh, he thought. Leo, Dante, you were right.

Danged right I was, Leo replied. She can't get enough of you, you sly dog.

Still think you and she are not in the cards? asked Dante.

Jaxon hesitated. It suddenly occurred to him that he had no idea what to do on a date. Especially not with someone as energetic as Ashido.

I need to talk to Alph, he realized.