Chapter Three – The Date

"So, what do you think?" Michael smiled nervously, shifting his bag on his shoulder as he stood in front of Linda, who was stone still and silent. "You can bring a friend, and I'll bring my friend that way it won't be so…umm…awkward, I guess."

Someone was actually asking her out. Her. And it wasn't a forced set-up by her parents. Unless it was, and she didn't know. But Michael didn't fit what her parents wanted; there was no way they could've been involved.

That meant that he asked her out willingly on his own...

"Umm…" She paused. Michael looked so much like he wanted her to say yes, but she just couldn't. If any word got back to her parents about her going out with somebody they didn't know, they would positively lose their minds and she could say goodbye to any hopes of coming back next term.

But as she started to open her mouth to say no, Fran's words from a couple of nights before came back to her mind. She was at university, on her own. Her parents didn't have to know about one simple date. What harm could be done? A thrill of excitement and worry went through her as she opened her mouth again.

"Sure." A simple word sealed it. "I've got a friend that I could ask to come with me."

"Great!" He clapped his hands together. "So, we'll meet outside the pub tonight at 7:00!" She smiled and nodded. "Fantastic! See you tonight!" Turning around, he practically skipped down the hall before rounding the corner. Ignoring the pit of worry that had built up in her stomach, Linda turned around and walked the opposite direction.

Rejected.

The word made Chris even madder as he stalked across campus, shoving anyone and anything he could out of his way. The editor took one look at his story and gave it back, telling him that it wasn't what the magazine was looking for and to try again later. After years of work, he still was being told no and it was still just as maddening to hear as the first time. Ignoring the strange looks he got from other students as he went through the halls, he stormed back to the dorm room and slammed the door behind him.

Laying on his bed, he put his pillow over his face, willing himself to calm down. Once again, he was back to being unknown. What in the world was it going to take to get noticed? What if he never did? No, he would. He wasn't a quitter. When he wanted something, wild horses couldn't stop him from getting it.

And by God, he wasn't going to back down.

But until then, he was going to sit and sulk for a bit.

Suddenly, the door slammed open, breaking him from his thoughts.

"Get your good clothes on, we've got dates tonight!" Michael practically sang as he came into the room, throwing his bag on his bed. "She said yes! I can't believe it!" He spun around in delight, ripping open some drawers that were at the end of his bed to start looking through the piles of clothes that sprung out. After a few seconds, the pillow flew from Chris's face and Michael hovered over him, smiling a smile that was a mile long "And she's got a friend," he elaborated in his sing song voice.

"Delightful. Give her friend my apologies." Chris started to turn around on his side, but Michael pulled him back to lay on his back.

"No, you agreed!" Ignoring the pained groan, he went to his wardrobe and threw the doors open, picking through his clothes. "You're coming out tonight, whether you like it or not."

"I'm really not in the mood-"

"I don't care, you're not about to ruin my chances with one of your mood swings."

"I don't have mood swings," Chris muttered, turning to his side and huddling into a small ball.

"Yes, you do," Michael called as he crossed the hall to go to the washroom. "You better be up and getting ready by the time I get back!"

"Who are you, my mother?" Chris called to empty space and with a soft curse, he got up and went to his drawers, starting to look through his clothes for a decent shirt.

"Hi," Fran called from her bed as Linda walked in. "How was class?" She erased a mistake on her paper.

"Umm…interesting." She sat down on her bed across from Fran. "Are you by any chance free tonight?"

Fran stopped writing and looked up slowly. "Why?"

"I was just wondering."

"No, you were asking, meaning you've already wondered about it."

Linda fidgeted nervously.

"What did you do?" Fran asked.

"Why do you always assume I did something?"

"Seriously. What did you do?"

"I…Michael, that boy from my class asked me out for tonight. And he said he had a friend, so we could double date."

Fran's face fell at Linda's nervous hopeful smile. "I'm busy," she said, looking back down to her homework.

"Oh, Fran, please come! You just gave me a speech about me being away from my parents and doing what I want! I'm doing what you said, I just...need some support. Please?" Linda pouted and Fran pulled her paper up to read it, blocking her view. She needed Fran to come; how was she going to convince her?

Finally, with a long and thoughtful sigh, she pursed her lips.

"I'll do your homework for you."

"His friend better be good-looking," Fran muttered, slamming her book shut to get up and go to the wardrobe. "And find something decent to wear." she sneered distasteful at Linda's clothes."I can't be seen with some old woman."

Linda laughed and got up to open her drawers. She knew that she had that blue dress somewhere.

"Now, just please don't embarrass me," Michael told Chris as they stood outside the pub, nervously looking every direction he could.

"I think you're more than capable of doing that on your own." A droll stare met Chris's lazy statement.

"I'm serious. You've got a knack for it, whether you realize it or not."

Rolling his eyes, Chris leaned back against the wall and went back to observing the people around him. A woman wearing a mink coat walked loudly down the sidewalk, swinging her bag and hips and a sudden idea struck him; drawing a small notepad out of his pocket and a pencil, he quickly took note of the woman's appearance. She would make the perfect victim for his murderer-

"There they are."

Coming toward them were two women, one tall and long-legged with a seemingly large chest and bright red hair and a smaller woman, who looked like a delicate doll compared to her friend. Chris slowly lowered his notebook. The red head was the loud and boisterous type, he could tell, but her friend was quite the opposite...

Wait, he thought to himself. That's the girl I bumped into a few days ago.

And indeed it was. Her pale blue dress conformed beautifully to her curves, highlighting the electric blue of her eyes and the shimmer of her long blonde hair, which rained in waves and curls down the front of her shoulder. Chris felt himself stand a little taller, suddenly self-conscious and a tad bit worried. What if she was meant to be his date? What if she didn't like him? What if he said or did something stupid; what if, what if, what if? But his fears suddenly ceased as Michael walked up and offered his arm to her. If he didn't know better, he could swear he felt his spirit droop.

"Chris," Michael startled him out of his thoughts. "This is Linda and…"

"Fran." Fran grabbed Chris's hand, shaking it slowly. "Nice to meet you," she purred, winking. With a sharp tug, he pulled his hand away, rubbing it on his pants.

"Pleasure," he said tightly, looking to Linda who tentatively offered her hand to shake. As he took it, he couldn't help but notice how delicate her grip was, her skin just as soft as he remembered. "Nice to meet you," he murmured, a smile twitching at the corner of his lip. She swallowed and pulled her hand away slowly.

"Let's go in, shall we?" Michael said as he held the door open for the ladies, with Chris following them inside. They were all shown to a small booth and sat down with menus. Linda was a very nervous person, Chris noticed as he watched her study her menu, chewing her bottom lip. Her eyes met his, and he smiled, making her cheeks blush a light pink as she returned his smile quickly, lowering her eyes again. The waiter came and took their orders, leaving everyone to stare at each other in awkward silence.

"So, Chris," Fran loudly said after a few seconds. "What are you studying?"

"English," he said simply. Linda tilted her head, looking slightly intrigued.

"Are you a writer?" She asked, her voice floating to his ears like gentle music.

"He is, and he's a really good one, too," Michael interrupted Chris, looking at Fran. "Going to be in the campus magazine and everything."

Chris looked down at his lap, his lips in a tight line.

"And how about you then, Michael?" Fran asked.

"I'm a maths major, like Linda," he said, smiling shortly at Linda who smiled weakly back at him.

"Oh, so are you a genius, too?" Chris's head snapped up at the word 'genius'.

"No, no," Michael chuckled. "No, I'm just an ordinary student."

"Well, that's all good and right then…so, Chris." Fran looked to Chris again and he held back a groan. "You're going to be published in the campus magazine, eh?"

"No, actually. I got rejected," he said tightly, looking to watch an older couple argue fiercely on the other side of the restaurant.

"Wait, you didn't tell me that." Michael sounded shocked. "Why did they reject it?"

"It was hardly the time to talk about it, Mike," he said, turning his head to face his friend. "You were too busy dragging me out against my will." The table fell silent at Chris's very stoic words. Michael laughed a loud and humorless laugh.

"What are you talking about? I didn't drag you out against your will." He looked to Linda, who was holding back a smile. "Seriously, I didn't."

"Lying to your date is not the best way to get the night started-" a sharp kick to Chris's shin made his last words lost, and he hissed out a curse, making Linda blush and Fran's eyes widen.

"He's such a kidder!" Michael said loudly to draw the attention of the woman back to him. "Such a comedian! Oh, Chris what would I do with you?" He said through his teeth.

"I'm sure you would be absolutely lost." Chris rubbed his shin tenderly.

"Hardly." Linda pursed her lips, holding back a slight giggle at the boys' arguing. Poor Michael looked as though he was going to faint from so much embarrassment. But she could tell from Chris's sly wink in her direction that he got a huge kick out of making Michael look like a fool. Holding back a grin, she looked to Michael and asked him about the homework, helping him to recover from Chris's tease.

"Come now, Mike, I hardly embarrassed you."

The men walked into the room and Chris ignored the sharp stare at his back.

"Are you serious? You made me look like an idiot!" Michael exclaimed.

"Oh, you're overreacting-"

"Don't you start." Michael pointed at Chris. "Don't. You know perfectly well you did that on purpose."

"Yes, because I really have all the time in the world to think about how best to ruin your date." With a sweep past Michael, Chris flopped on his bed and opened his notebook again, picking up his paragraph where he last left off. He slowed down as he felt Micheal's stare get more intense and finally stopped to look up at him. "Look, if it'll make you feel better, I'll go and find Linda tomorrow and clear things up."

For a second, Michael looked suspicious and then his face softened. "You'd do that?"

"Yes, of course."

"Okay, thanks..." Michael sighed and sat down on his bed, shaking his head. "So you didn't like Fran at all?"

"Do you really have to ask me that?"

"No," Michael chuckled softly. "You looked like you'd be more excited watching linoleum curl."

"Ah, you understand me." Chris smirked, looking up to Michael from his notebook.

"Barely." The boys shared a chuckle and Michael laid back to give Chris some silence to finish his work.