A/N: Hasn't been too long. Be proud! Send me an award :) tehe okay I'll settle for you just enjoying this chapter - Sam

The Not Date

Dates are always difficult to dress for. But friend dates with the asshole, occasionally caring yet attractive once upon a time quasa brother-in-law who is currently living and sleeping in your bed (against your wishes) just brings it to a whole new level of difficulty. I don't want to wear regular clothes, I do that all the time and I don't want it to look like I am not putting anything in this thoughtful idea. However, I don't want to dress too nice or it'll make it a date date and we don't want that.

By we, I particularly mean me.

I sighed and went simple. Jeggings that so look like jeans and a nice top. Erik was getting the babysitter, a girl named Kylee who was fourteen but had previously babysat her I guess, and Lexi was in my room, petting the cats and watching me decide on my outfit.

"Are you and Uncle Erik going on a date?" She asked.

I laughed,a bit on the nervous side. "Of course not! What makes you say that?"

"Well you guys are going alone..." Good point.

"Adults do that a lot." I reminded her.

"Yeah...on dates."

"Lexi! It's not a date!"

It was quiet for a moment. "You're getting defensive like it is one but you don't want it to be one because you have a boyfriend."

I sat beside her and moved her hair out of her face. "Sweetie, it is not a date. I have a boyfriend who I love very much. You'll meet him in about four weeks, okay? Your uncle is only my friend and he isn't a good one either. This outting is because he hurt my feelings and he's making it up to me." I explained to her.

"Well if he's making it up to you isn't he being a good friend?" Right. Smart move, kid. Or the uncle puppeteer who fills her little mind with who knows what.

"Aha!" I exclaimed, standing up. "So you admit that he is just a friend? Exactly, because that is what he is. I am glad you finally accept it."

Her response? Laughing. A lot of laughing. "She has, but have you?" Erik asked from the doorway. I looked over and he was leaning against the door. He was in just jeans and a t-shirt, but even I couldn't deny how sexy he was with his light brown hair a mess, his smoldering blue eyes filled with amusement and the smirk on his kissable lips.

Well, I couldn't deny that in my thoughts. Aloud? Out there in the real world? I could do whatever I want. I crossed my arms. "Not really. I don't trust you, so I guess you are more of an aquiantance." I replied.

He walked over to me. "Lexi, Kylee is waiting for you downstairs." He said, offering me his arm. "I'm about to change her mind to show what an awesome, handsome, fun friend I am."

Hesitantly I took it as Lexi ran downstairs, shouting goodbyes on the way. I guess she likes her babysitter. I was thinking about that too intently apparently because I didn't even notice Erik's lips at my ear until he whispered, "By the end of tonight, you're gonna be wishing we were more than just friends."

A chill went down my spine but I didn't say anything. Instead I let go of his arm, got my keys and went to the car. "Uh uh uh! Hand them over!" He ordered, coming out of the house.

I shook my head. "You can give me directions to get to wherever we're going. Or you could just tell me."

"That ruins the fun. A major part of tonight is to get that stick out of your ass. You won't be in control of where we're going or how fast we get there. Now hand them over."

I was about to argue with how horrible this whole thing was and how he could use an attitude adjustment when he ripped the keys out of my hands. Instead, I protested, "Hey! Give them back!"

The smirk came back but it was less attractive when I was annoyed with him. "Try and get them." He said, holding the keys over his head. Now, I'm pretty short. He's six foot something. I'm at a major disadvantage and there is no way for me to get them from him and he so knows it.

Pissed, I got in the passenger seat.

What a horrible start to a not date.

*Erik's POV*

Kylee is the only person I trust to babysit Lexi. She's a witch and knows enough spells to keep her in line, which Lexi learned awhile ago. To entertain Lexi, she does little harmless spells that look bigger than they really are. A typical magician can do things like it so if we walk in and Lexi still isn't in bed (more than likely) and there is a spell going on, it can be covered for a "magic trick".

I know, no need to say it, I'm a genius.

I started driving to Space Center and Angela saw fuming in the passenger seat. I kept glancing over, hoping maybe she'd look me in the eyes so I could use the smolder, but she didn't. I sighed, and being the good guy I am, made her an offer. "Look... you can have control over the radio for this adventure."

She turned to give me a glare that no smolder would ever be able to get me out of. "You're such an ass."

"Hey now, that's offensive."

"Offensive? You have no idea what offensive is! Not only do you say crap to me all the time, but you also hurt my feelings. And how do you make it up to me? Insulting me and mocking me when you take me out!"

For a moment, I thought she was seriously hurt. But I saw the look in her eyes and realized...it was more of our usual banter because she still has that stick in her ass.

"Telling you about the stick in your ass and my attempt to take it out is heroic, not mocking." I informed her. "I am helping you. And you seriously need it."

She sighed and sank in the seat. "Can't you at least tell me where we're going?" She asked, letting the subject drop.

"Nope. Embrace the anxiety of having no idea where you're going."

"Oh my god why did I agree to this?" She muttered to herself. I pretended not to hear her and went to find a good song on the radio. "Hey!" She exlcaimed, hitting my hand. "You said that I could have control over it!"

I laughed. "You're right. Go ahead and use your priveledge before I take it away."

She changed it to some country station. I wanted to scratch my ears off but that would ruin my beauty so I decided not to. And let me tell you I paid the price. Taylor Swift, John Mayor, Carrie Underwood, Lady Antebellum...yeah that's torture.

Finally, though, we arrive at Space Center, our destination. "Space Center? Isn't this place for kids?"

I parked and got out, opening the door for her. "No. This place is for people to let loose and have innocent fun." I told her as she stepped out. "The first step in learning how to-"

"Get the stick out of my ass, yes, I know."

I smiled. "First thing to do here, is sign up for lasor tag."

"Lasor tag?" This poor deprived girl.

"Yes, lasor tag. They usually have set times to run it."I said, pulling out a twenty and handing it to her. "Here, go get tokens for games. I'll get it all set up."

She took it, not arguing and went to get them. I walked up to the guy who was running it. It would have been easier if it was a girl, just flirt with her to get Angela and I in there alone, but to handle this guy it was just as simple. "I'll pay you double for only two tickets... so long as we're the only two there."

"Make it triple and you've got yourself a deal." I was willing to pay way more than that, money being no object here, but I know enough that when bartering, start low.

I smiled and handed him the cash. "Deal. If you go back on it I'm reporting you..." I said, looking at his nametag, "Chad. Your boss won't like that you took a bribe and tried to make a profit and you'll get fired. So you better keep your word along with that extra cash and let me and my lady be the only ones in there."

His eyes widened and he nodded. "Yes, sir."

I took the tickets, filled out the little slip I had to for both Angela and I then walked over to Angela who was putting the coins into two seperate cups, one at a time. I shook my head. Unbelievable! I gave her such a simple task and yet she is being a perfectionist. How is that letting loose? When I got there I took a handful of coins, put it in one cup and threw the rest in the other. It was definitely uneven but it wasn't important.

"Hey! You ruined my counting! I was making it so we would have an even amount of tokens-"

"Which is why I ruined your counting. Don't be so concerned with how many tokens you have, just so long as you have tokens to play the games. When you run out, then you put more money in this here machine, and you get more tokens." I explained slowly as if she were a child.

In this case, it'd be easier if she were. "But that's not fair. What if one of us gets more tokens than the other?"

"That's the beautiful thing, it doesn't matter!" I exclaimed. "You play to have fun, not to have more than someone else. You greedy child."

She blushed. "I'm not greedy." She said, as she took the one with more tokens. Uhuh. Keep telling yourself that.

We played skii ball, this green monster machine, racecar driving, everything really. I, being my amazing self, won the most tickets. Not surprising. What was surprising...is that she seemed to be having fun. At the ticket machines, we cashed out our tickets and I held onto them for safe keeping. There was twenty minutes before lasor tag, so we played that mini ice hockey game. Angela, being more competetive than I expected, won.

"Ha ha ha ha ha! I won!" She boasted as we walked to the lasor tag room. There was a bit of a hop to her step and I half expected her to start dancing around me like a child.

I laughed. "I let you win."

"You did not!"

In fact, I didn't. She took me by surprise. There will have to be a rematch so I can save my honor. "I did. And while I will replay you to show you the truth in this, it will have to wait until after a game of lasor tag."

"Ah that thing you never really explaind."

I grinned and handed my pal Chad here our tickets. "Why would I do that when this nice man is going to explain it?"

"And show a video." Chad supplied helpfully.

"Oh yeah! How could I forget that video!" Seriously, anyone who has ever played lasor tag knows about that dumb video. They play it every time. It shows where to hit someone, how to hit someone, says you can't run and blah blah blah. It's all so...obvious. Which is why it is really annoying to hear.

So I decided to tune Chad and the video out completely while explaining the game. Instead, I focused on Angela. She was listening and watching intently, as if commemorating each detail in her head. For the first time in my life, I wished I was like that stupid Edward Cullen guy, so I could read her mind. I know, I know, the guy can't read boring Bella's mind but trust me, Angela is no Bella.

Angela is...different. Special. She's so human in so many ways but at the same time she's unlike anyone else I've ever met. She never does what I expect her to do. Oh God I do sound like that Edward punk...make it stop!

"So you understand the video?"

"Hm?" was my genius response.

"You know...the video that just played..."

"Oh yeah I totally dozed off for that." I know all the rules though. Of course, I'll pretend like I don't. That's where the real fun is at in lasor tag...not playing by the rules.

"Erik! Then how will you-"

"Alright." Chad said interrupting her. "The video was very fascinating, yeah, I know. You two are the only two who signed up, so you'll be playing agaisnt each other, is that alright?"

"Yup." I answered, nudging Angela to let her now it is on.

"Great." Chad said, not really caring and looking at the list. "So, red team and player one is...sexycop69."

"That's me." I said, taking the little gear that he held out. I know, my username says a lot about me doesn't it? I love putting usernames that are about the person.

"And blue team or player two is...stickupmaarse." Chad said, chuckling just a little.

Angela gave me a glare. "It's on." She said, taking the gear and putting it on as instructed in the video.

"You two, follow me." Chad said, leading us into the big, dark room with cool lights. "You stay here." He told Angela, leaving her in the blue section. I followed him to the red area. "And you stay here."

"Okay!" He shouted so we could both hear. "Stand in front of the computer in order to activate your gear and gun! Wait until the music starts before going out! As a reminder, no running or crawling! One knee is okay! Most importantly, have fun!"

Oh, I fully intend to have fun.

I loaded up quickly and headed for where Angela was before the music started. Hell I shot her before the music started. Then I booked it upstairs to get in the grate above the stairs, where she would be headed, so I could shoot from above.

When I saw her I just kept shooting her over and over and over again. She attempted to duck and tag me, but I hid behind one of the plastic objects in the room. When she found me I just kept shooting her repeatedly so she couldn't even get in a shot. Angela attempted toretereat but I followed her, still shooting her.

She turned annoyed. "Stop following me! It's against the rules! You're suppose to be at a certain-" I interrupted her with another shot and her gear informed her of it. "Ugh!"

I let her walk away and predicted where she was going. When she turned the corner, I got down on one knee, following the rules. "Marry me?" I asked, smirking as I shot her yet again.

"No!" She shouted before running off.

"Hey! No running!" I called after her with a laugh.

I love lasor tag.

*Angela's POV*

By the end of the first two rounds, I so far negative it wasn't even funny. I hadn't shot him once! Not once! Losing isn't fun...

So I guess it's time to win.

See Erik doesn't play fair. He breaks every rule! He is at my heals, repeatedly shooting me without giving me a chance, running, and he starts before the music! So in order to win... I have to play dirty too. I know, it's so bad. It goes against the proper structure of the entire game. But what other option do I have?

The minute I recharged, I bolted upstairs. My heart was racing in my chest as I went from hiding spot to hiding spot, never lingering in the same place, anticipating running into him. Lingering in the same place made it easier for him to find me and if he finds me then I won't ever lose him and he'll keep on shooting me like he has the past two rounds. So moving was essential.

I spotted him. He was going in the wrong direction. So what did I do? I ran at him full speed, screaming and shooting at the same time. He jumped and turned, but I was already shooting him. I didn't hit him much, but I did hit him! That improvement, pathetically, made me feel invincible.

In response, Erik bolted. I ran after him but damn he runs fast. He ran way ahead and I lost sight of him. I slowed down, breathing hard and tried to find him again. As I turned a corner, something tripped me. Then shot me. I glared up at Erik and got up quickly and ran down the ramp and past the reff, who mentioned something about running, but at the time, I didn't care.

Erik, who also didn't care, was at my heals. He tackled me in the middle of the game and while it hurt a lot when we landed and he crushed me, I was laughing hysterically. I held up my gun and shot him. "All that work and I still got you."

"Hey who's ontop of who here?"

"Touche!"

The reff, Chad I believe his name was, came over his all red and his eyes bulging. "That's IT! You two are OUT! Game over!"

I covered my mouth to stop myself from laughing. Did we really just get kicked out of lasor tag? I looked over at Erik, who was struggling to hold back a laugh, and we both got up and exited the game.

"Hey...can we have our scores?" Erik had the nerve to ask.

"Erik!" I giggled, hitting him playfully. "You're so bad, lets just go."

Chad threw the scores at him and told him to leave before he had management escort him out. Erik didn't look scared of Chad or the management for that matter, but we left anyways.

"Guess the rematch for the ice hockey game will have to wait." I pointed out as I got into the car.

"Yeah. And the use of the tickets we earned. How long do you think until they forget this whole thing and we're allowed to come back?" He asked, getting in the drivers seat.

Probably never. "How about we go to a different space center..." I suggested.

Erik laughed. "Probably for the best."

I settled down as he drove and my heart pace returned to its regular beat. I was sweaty and gross, but I was still smiling like an idiot. Guess I did have a stick up my ass..."Thanks for taking me. I had a great time."

"Such a typical thing girls say. Why not something like, 'Hey, you sexy mother fucker. I had the time of my life with you. How can I ever show you my gratitude for this?'"

I laughed. "Because that's lame. Be hapy with your typical, everyday thank you."

"Nope. Now I'm extending this shindig. We're going to dinner."

"To where? Chuckie Cheese?"

He chuckled. "No, I was thinking Micky D's."

McDonalds is something I don't ever eat. I prefer to eat healthy food or when out at decent restraunts, you know, places with class. McDonalds isn't exactly classy. Cheap, but I wouldn't call it a five star joint.

However, today, I am trying new things. "Sounds good."

We went there and I let Erik order for me. I went to get my wallet to pay but he decided to. And by decided I mean he didn't let me. So I let him and we ate cheeseburgers and french fries which weren't as bad as I expected them to be.

"Did you always want to be a cop?"

"Did you always want to be an accountant?" He countered.

"Nope. I wanted to be a teacher."

Erik looked at me with interest. "Why did you want to be one?"

I looked down and played with a french fry. I didn't like talking about these kind of things. "Uhh I love kids and being a teacher I thought would be really cool."

"What stopped you?"

"It costs a lot of money for schooling...and teachers don't really make much and aren't really in demand..." I trailed.

"But accountants are?"

I smiled. "No but they don't require a college education either."

"Ah, so you didn't have the money for college?"

"Pretty much. What about you?" I said, meeting his gaze. "Always wanted to be a sexy cop?"

Erik grinned and bit a french fry. "That or a professional male stripper. You know, for you...I could be both..."

I laughed and threw a french fry at him. "Pig."

"Speaking of pigs...we're going on a quest for maple bacon after this."

I gave him a look. "Maple bacon?"

"Yeah! Maple bacon! I haven't had it in a long time! We are going to sneak in a grocery store like secret agents and everything! It'll be great! You done eating?"

I pushed the tray, which only had a couple french fries left on it anyways. "Yup!" He took the trays and threw it out. I thought he was kidding about the quest thing...but he wasn't. We ended up in a grocery store parking lot.

"Are you ready?"

"To look like a complete idiot? ...A little I guess."

He chuckled. "Ata girl! Let's go!"

So we lurked in the shadows, close to the walls, humming mission impossible. We ran past the security cameras and then army crawled through aisles to get to the meat department. Then we stood up arubtly, grabbed three packs of maple bacon and walked while whistling over to the self scan to pay for it. The entire time I felt absolutely ridiculous but at the same time, was so amused and having so much fun.

I'm really glad I did this...

When we got home, we were about to go back in and I stopped. The fun ends here? Back to being boring Angela? That hardly sounds like fun. I looked up at Erik. "Erik..."

He looked straight into my eyes. "You alright, Angie?"

I love when he calls me Angie. "I had the time of my life tonight. How can I show you my gratitude?"

Surprisingly, he didn't go all asshole. Instead he stared into my eyes, creating a tense, exciting atmosphere. He stepped slowly towards me, close and put a hand on my cheek. Then...he let it fall and the moment was over.

"You did, just now."

I wasn't sure what that meant...but part of me was scared to as well. I went into the house, tired, and confused...but happy.

Happier than I've been as far as I can remember.

A/N: Awh! Such a nice, long chapter! And wasn't it cute? I thought parts were tehe but it doesn't matter what I think. I wanna know what YOU think! So review! - Sam