I walked into my room, shutting the door behind me. It was Friday
afternoon, four-thirty to be exact. I had three hours till, well, I guess
you get it. I'm just not ready to call it a . . . date. I flopped down
on my bed.
"Seth, you do realize that you're the one that got us into this mess, so you're the one who'll have to help pull us out, right?" I spoke to my Yami in no particular tone. He raised an eyebrow.
"You mean what by that?" he asked, maintaining his mock-quizzical look. I knew better. Oh, yeah. Our spirits were separate. He leaned against the bookcase in the corner.
"You know exactly what I mean. You're the one who'll decide what we wear, how I greet her, and all the other remote details," I said. I gave him this job. If he charmed her into this, I figured that he could do anything. Thus I trusted him with this job. Under one condition.
"Seth, you realize that tonight will be a total flop unless we work together, right?" I said. He nodded, understanding where I was going. He stuck out a translucent hand.
"No foul play from either side," he said. I nodded, and we shook.
"Let's get down to business."
****
"First, we need to decide what you should wear," Seth speculated, looking me over.
"What I'm wearing right now's fine," I cut in, more to test him than anything else.
"No, you'll need something a little better than that," he said, looking through my closet. I sighed. Oh well. I gave him the job, all I could do now is trust him.
"You need something that . . .she hasn't seen before," he said, continuing to leaf through the clothes hung neatly on the hangers. "Ah! Here we are," he said.
"No way," I said, shaking my head. I didn't even know why I had it.
This would be way different. So different that I wasn't really sure how good it would look.
The first part of the outfit was black leather pants. Sure, that wasn't much of a change. Overall, that wouldn't be a big deal.
Next, a black leather jacket. Jacket. Not trenchcoat. This is where it got really weird. It felt really different, but if Seth thought it would look good, alas, I'd given him the responsibility.
For the finishing touch, I slipped on the picture I always wore around my neck. I never went anywhere without it. Opening up the locket, a younger version of Mokuba smiled back as always.
Finally, I walked out of my closet/dressing room to face Seth, and worse- the mirror.
"Not to bad," he nodded his head approvingly. Disregarding his comment, I faced my full length mirror.
I never would have imagined that it would look this . . . good. It fit very well, not to mention it was way more comfortable than what I was used to.
"I told you that I was right when I picked it out, but you didn't believe me," he said. "What do you say?"
"I say we're not through yet. I commend you on your work thus far, but we still have a long way to go." That put him in his place.
"You're right."
"And we don't have much time." I finished. He nodded.
"Let's get going. Step two: how you'll greet her when she comes to the door." Oh joy.
"I'm picking her up?" I asked, giving him a blank look.
"No, she's walking. Of course you're picking her up, you moron!" he retorted. I sighed. Sarcasm for sarcasm.
"Hey, I'm new to this," I said. He nodded reassuringly.
"Anyway, we need to decide what to say. You need something that will make her feel . . . special."
"How about hello?" I said. He was beginning to freak me out.
"No, no, no. You need to comment on what she's wearing, or something," he advised. I guess I could do that.
"How about 'I never would have imagined that you could look more wonderful than when I first met you'?" I offered. Very poetic.
"Are you sure that would accomplish anything more than severely freaking her out?" he asked. "I think you might want to drop the Shakespeare approach."
"I suppose you have a point," I admitted. I was just throwing out ideas.
"How about you stick to the tried and true 'You look great'?" he suggested.
"Sounds good," I said, nodding.
"I guess that settles it," he said in conclusion.
"Okay. What next?" I said. He was leading me through this. So far, I couldn't have done it without him.
"You need to decide what flowers you'll get her," he stated matter-of- factly.
"Flowers?" I replied, looking like I'd never heard the word in my life. This night was just full of surprises.
"Yes, flowers. You want to come across as sensitive, thoughtful, and you want to flatter her. The worst impression you could make is that you threw all this together at the last minute." Again, he had a point.
"So," I started. "What do you suggest?"
"Well, a rose does symbolize love," he said.
"You're scaring me. I'm just going on a date with her. It's not like I'm marrying her," I said, giving him a freaked out look out of the corner of my eye.
"At least you aren't tonight," he said. "That doesn't mean it won't be a possibility for the future." I shoved him again, this time into the dresser. He laughed, of course.
"I was just teasing. I think you'd do well to bring her yellow roses," he advised. Somehow it sounded more like an order. I knew he enjoyed bossing me around like this; he couldn't make it anymore obvious. Still, after all he'd helped me with, I couldn't quite blame him.
"If you really think so. I'll stop by the florist on the way over." I relented. He hadn't been wrong yet.
"I really think so," he said.
"So, anything else we need to address?" I asked him. He was the leader; I was just following.
"Nope, I think that about covers it. My, how time flies! It's already six- fourty five!"
I looked at the clock. He was right! That left me fourty-five minutes before I was supposed to be at her doorstep. I had to get going.
"Seth, we have go. If you're coming, get back in the item," I said.
"If I'm coming," he said, giving me a 'get real' look. I sighed, and he returned to the item.
I dragged a comb through my hair for about the tenth time that night before running out the door. When I got to the bottom of the stairs, I sighed again.
"I know where you're going," Mokuba said with a Cheshire Cat-esque grin.
"Mokuba, I really don't have time for this," I said, using the clock as an excuse. Though I really was short on time, I could have made some had I wanted it.
"You're going on a date with Serenity," he said, smirking. How the heck he had figured that one out, I may never know. However, it didn't surprise me.
"Yes, I am, I mean, it isn't . . . " my voice trailed off. "Just don't tell, okay?" He never lost his grin.
"I promise, big brother."
"Show me your hands," I said. I could tell he was uncrossing his fingers. I ruffled his hair. He laughed.
"I'll see you Seto," he said. "Have a good time."
"See you," I said. I went out to my car. I checked the glove box. Umbrella, check. Money, check. Flashlight, check. Looks like I'm set. I went ahead and threw in the Millennium Rod. If it was nearby, Seth and I could maintain communication.
I took out my wallet. Stopping first by the florist, I picked up some yellow roses, as Seth suggested. They were beautiful, perfect for a first date. There were three, held together by a dark red ribbon that really brought out the red on the tips of the petals. So far, so good.
Step two to this process was finding the house. I drove through a few locals neighborhoods before finding the right one. Glad I allowed time for this. No offense to Mapquest or anything, but sometimes it really wasn't much help.
Finally, I found the right one. It was a small beige house with a nice garden out front. It looked very welcoming in the shade of two pine trees out front.
Slowly, and certainly not without trepidation, I walked up and rang the bell.
"Seth, you do realize that you're the one that got us into this mess, so you're the one who'll have to help pull us out, right?" I spoke to my Yami in no particular tone. He raised an eyebrow.
"You mean what by that?" he asked, maintaining his mock-quizzical look. I knew better. Oh, yeah. Our spirits were separate. He leaned against the bookcase in the corner.
"You know exactly what I mean. You're the one who'll decide what we wear, how I greet her, and all the other remote details," I said. I gave him this job. If he charmed her into this, I figured that he could do anything. Thus I trusted him with this job. Under one condition.
"Seth, you realize that tonight will be a total flop unless we work together, right?" I said. He nodded, understanding where I was going. He stuck out a translucent hand.
"No foul play from either side," he said. I nodded, and we shook.
"Let's get down to business."
****
"First, we need to decide what you should wear," Seth speculated, looking me over.
"What I'm wearing right now's fine," I cut in, more to test him than anything else.
"No, you'll need something a little better than that," he said, looking through my closet. I sighed. Oh well. I gave him the job, all I could do now is trust him.
"You need something that . . .she hasn't seen before," he said, continuing to leaf through the clothes hung neatly on the hangers. "Ah! Here we are," he said.
"No way," I said, shaking my head. I didn't even know why I had it.
This would be way different. So different that I wasn't really sure how good it would look.
The first part of the outfit was black leather pants. Sure, that wasn't much of a change. Overall, that wouldn't be a big deal.
Next, a black leather jacket. Jacket. Not trenchcoat. This is where it got really weird. It felt really different, but if Seth thought it would look good, alas, I'd given him the responsibility.
For the finishing touch, I slipped on the picture I always wore around my neck. I never went anywhere without it. Opening up the locket, a younger version of Mokuba smiled back as always.
Finally, I walked out of my closet/dressing room to face Seth, and worse- the mirror.
"Not to bad," he nodded his head approvingly. Disregarding his comment, I faced my full length mirror.
I never would have imagined that it would look this . . . good. It fit very well, not to mention it was way more comfortable than what I was used to.
"I told you that I was right when I picked it out, but you didn't believe me," he said. "What do you say?"
"I say we're not through yet. I commend you on your work thus far, but we still have a long way to go." That put him in his place.
"You're right."
"And we don't have much time." I finished. He nodded.
"Let's get going. Step two: how you'll greet her when she comes to the door." Oh joy.
"I'm picking her up?" I asked, giving him a blank look.
"No, she's walking. Of course you're picking her up, you moron!" he retorted. I sighed. Sarcasm for sarcasm.
"Hey, I'm new to this," I said. He nodded reassuringly.
"Anyway, we need to decide what to say. You need something that will make her feel . . . special."
"How about hello?" I said. He was beginning to freak me out.
"No, no, no. You need to comment on what she's wearing, or something," he advised. I guess I could do that.
"How about 'I never would have imagined that you could look more wonderful than when I first met you'?" I offered. Very poetic.
"Are you sure that would accomplish anything more than severely freaking her out?" he asked. "I think you might want to drop the Shakespeare approach."
"I suppose you have a point," I admitted. I was just throwing out ideas.
"How about you stick to the tried and true 'You look great'?" he suggested.
"Sounds good," I said, nodding.
"I guess that settles it," he said in conclusion.
"Okay. What next?" I said. He was leading me through this. So far, I couldn't have done it without him.
"You need to decide what flowers you'll get her," he stated matter-of- factly.
"Flowers?" I replied, looking like I'd never heard the word in my life. This night was just full of surprises.
"Yes, flowers. You want to come across as sensitive, thoughtful, and you want to flatter her. The worst impression you could make is that you threw all this together at the last minute." Again, he had a point.
"So," I started. "What do you suggest?"
"Well, a rose does symbolize love," he said.
"You're scaring me. I'm just going on a date with her. It's not like I'm marrying her," I said, giving him a freaked out look out of the corner of my eye.
"At least you aren't tonight," he said. "That doesn't mean it won't be a possibility for the future." I shoved him again, this time into the dresser. He laughed, of course.
"I was just teasing. I think you'd do well to bring her yellow roses," he advised. Somehow it sounded more like an order. I knew he enjoyed bossing me around like this; he couldn't make it anymore obvious. Still, after all he'd helped me with, I couldn't quite blame him.
"If you really think so. I'll stop by the florist on the way over." I relented. He hadn't been wrong yet.
"I really think so," he said.
"So, anything else we need to address?" I asked him. He was the leader; I was just following.
"Nope, I think that about covers it. My, how time flies! It's already six- fourty five!"
I looked at the clock. He was right! That left me fourty-five minutes before I was supposed to be at her doorstep. I had to get going.
"Seth, we have go. If you're coming, get back in the item," I said.
"If I'm coming," he said, giving me a 'get real' look. I sighed, and he returned to the item.
I dragged a comb through my hair for about the tenth time that night before running out the door. When I got to the bottom of the stairs, I sighed again.
"I know where you're going," Mokuba said with a Cheshire Cat-esque grin.
"Mokuba, I really don't have time for this," I said, using the clock as an excuse. Though I really was short on time, I could have made some had I wanted it.
"You're going on a date with Serenity," he said, smirking. How the heck he had figured that one out, I may never know. However, it didn't surprise me.
"Yes, I am, I mean, it isn't . . . " my voice trailed off. "Just don't tell, okay?" He never lost his grin.
"I promise, big brother."
"Show me your hands," I said. I could tell he was uncrossing his fingers. I ruffled his hair. He laughed.
"I'll see you Seto," he said. "Have a good time."
"See you," I said. I went out to my car. I checked the glove box. Umbrella, check. Money, check. Flashlight, check. Looks like I'm set. I went ahead and threw in the Millennium Rod. If it was nearby, Seth and I could maintain communication.
I took out my wallet. Stopping first by the florist, I picked up some yellow roses, as Seth suggested. They were beautiful, perfect for a first date. There were three, held together by a dark red ribbon that really brought out the red on the tips of the petals. So far, so good.
Step two to this process was finding the house. I drove through a few locals neighborhoods before finding the right one. Glad I allowed time for this. No offense to Mapquest or anything, but sometimes it really wasn't much help.
Finally, I found the right one. It was a small beige house with a nice garden out front. It looked very welcoming in the shade of two pine trees out front.
Slowly, and certainly not without trepidation, I walked up and rang the bell.