(A/N: This one was inspired by the AGU episode "Memoirs of a Finster." Enjoy!)

I- Ice Skating

Summary: Shenzi Tuck has her 13th birthday party at an ice skating rink, and invites her friend and crush, Chuckie Finster, to come. He hopes that he won't make a fool out of himself in front of his friend and crush. Will he win her over? Or will he fall on his backside on ice?

13-year-old Chuckie Finster was working his shift at the Java Lava on a hot, August day. Kimi Finster and their friends were having a pool day at Tommy Pickles' house, but Chuckie had to work, and didn't want to let his dad down, so they understood. As he wiped the desk with a clean hand towel, his head snapped up at the door opening; His face flushed when he saw it was 12, soon to be 13-year-old Shenzi Tuck. He had a crush on her for who knows how long, but was afraid to tell her, because he didn't want to lose her as a friend.

"Hi, Chuckie!" She walked up to the counter, and hopped on a stool. "Can I get a green apple smoothie?"

"Coming right up," He nodded, and started filling the blender with green apples. "So, what's up, Shen?"

"Big things!" She replied, looking excited. "I decided where to have my 13th birthday party at!"

"Oh, really? Where's it going to be?"

"At the ice skating rink downtown!" His heart jumped at that. The ice rink? That was where his former crush, Nicole Boscarelli, had a party a year or two ago. Kimi was supposed to teach him how to ice skate for it, but she repeatedly ditched him for Japanese culture after learning of her ancestry. And finally, after she made up with him, she taught him what he needed to know. But the bad part? He was woken up at 5 in the morning! And on a Saturday, no less! "Chuckie, you okay?" Shenzi's voice snapped him back to reality.

"Y-yeah, I'm fine," He replied, "So, your party's going to be at the ice rink? That sounds fun."

"I know it will be! In fact..." She took a piece of paper out of her jeans pocket, and placed it in front of him. "You're invited! You think you can make it?"

He looked at the invitation after turning the blender off, and mentally read the information. It said that her party was going to start at 3:00 in the afternoon, and end at 5:30, on August 27th. 2 and ½ hours? She must have had a lot planned. "Y-yeah, I really think I'll be able to come."

"Yay!" She cheered. "Also, you don't have to get me a present. You coming will be enough for me."

"Really?" He blushed at that. "Well, th-thanks. I'll be there." He then placed a medium-sized cup filled with the smoothie requested in front of her. "Here's your smoothie."

"Thanks." She took a straw out of the wrapper, stuck it in the cup through the lid, and sipped some. "Awesome," She smiled, "Just like always." His blush deepened. "So um, I look forward to seeing you at my party. Do you know how to ice skate?"

"Yeah, some," He nodded, "My sister taught me how."

"Cool! Maybe we can skate together," She suggested.

That made his heart leap; She wanted to skate with him? That sounded really nice, and... possibly romantic. Hopefully that wouldn't go wrong in any way. Her giggles at his apparently eager smile snapped him out of his fantasy. "Yeah, th-that sounds great."

"Awesome," She smiled with her shoulders up after sipping her refreshing smoothie again, "I can't wait."

"Me neither."

August 27th came fast. Almost a little too fast for Chuckie. As he searched for a suitable outfit, he internally prayed that nothing bad would happen. At Nicole's party, he was so tired from waking up at 5 AM, that he was skating clumsily as he fought to keep his eyes open. He was constantly falling on his face or butt from fatigue. Needless to say, he was humiliated, although Nicole understood why he was so tipsy after explaining everything.

Today, he made sure to get extra sleep, so he wouldn't be so stumbly. After getting dressed, he rode the bus to the rink, with a wrapped up short, but wide square-ish item covered with wrapping paper in his lap. Yep, he cracked and bought her a present, despite her saying he didn't need to. He just wanted to spoil her, like he would if she was his girlfriend. If only.

After the bus stopped near the rink, he exited the vehicle and ran in the building with the present in his hands. When he entered the main lobby, he saw a few kids around his age mingling around the room. After setting his present on the appropriate table, he looked for the birthday girl, although he didn't have to search for very long. "Chuckie! You're here!" She ran up to him, and practically jumped on him in a hug. "You made it!"

"Yep," He nodded with his hands on her back, "The party looks fun."

"It is!" She nodded. He then blushed a bit at the outfit she wore for the event; A black halter v-neck leotard, a light blue caimsole under it, a short black petticoat skirt that flowed with almost her every move, black and light blue argyle knee-high socks, classic Converse high-tops, black hoop earrings, blue ice skate clip-on earrings, and a light blue extension in her long bangs. "What's wrong?" He blinked to come back to reality at her concerned voice.

"Huh?"

"You seemed to be in a daze," She told him, "You okay?"

"Y-yeah," He nodded, "I-I just like your outfit."

"Oh, thanks!" Her smile grew. "You want some cake?" He saw a moderately-sized chocolate cake with white frosting, and those kinds of candles that had different-colored flames. "After I blow out the candles, at least."

"Is that a trick question?" He chuckled. "'Course I do."

"Awesome," The two friends stared at one another, as their faces were inches away from each other.

"Shenzi? It's time to blow out your candles."

"Oh! Coming, Dad!" She broke out of Chuckie's hold, and ran to the table.

Dad? Oops. He almost kissed Shenzi in front of her overprotective, but well-meaning father. You see, throughout her whole life, she has been looked at as "Daddy's Little Girl" by herself, her family, and her friends. She was proud of this status, and didn't let any bullies put her down for it.

She blew out the candles, so they were taken out before any wax could get in the cake, and her father, Friar Tuck cut the cake in equal pieces. As the guests enjoyed the delicious cake, Shenzi was talking to Chuckie and Kimi. "So, you're really Japanese?"

"Yep," Kimi nodded, "Pretty cool, huh?"

"Uh huh. And I heard from Chuckie that you had a family tree project in history class around a year ago. I was sick that day."

"Yeah, we did," Chuckie nodded, "That was a... pretty interesting time."

"What happened?"

"Well..." The two stepsiblings started explaining the whole episode from their perspectives.

Unfortunately, Kimi said something that she shouldn't have. "I was feeling uneasy because I'm not a "real Finster.""

Shenzi raised an eyebrow, although it wasn't seen. "What do you mean by that?"

"It's because I'm not related to Chuckie and Dad by blood."

The birthday girl couldn't stop herself from getting angry. "You don't like not being related to them by birth? Well, guess what? I'm not biologically related to anyone in my family! Not my mom, not my dad, not my sister! My blood relatives seemed to have passed on, and my birth father may as well not exist!" She started choking up. "So when it comes to blood relatives, I have no one! Absolutely no one! So do us a favor, and appreciate the fact that you have two birth parents that love you, and don't see you as a disgrace!" As tears welled up, she ran off to another room.

"Shenzi!" He tried to run after her, but he stopped when she kept going. He then turned to a guilty-looking Kimi with a disappointed expression. "Well, I hope you're satisfied with yourself." He then ran after his best female friend without another word to his stepsister. "Shenzi!" After a minute of running, he found his best girl friend sitting by the shoe lockers, with her knees to her chest. "Shen, you okay?" He knelt down in front of her.

"Do I look okay?" She replied drolly.

"... N-no." She hid her face in her arms. "Shen, don't let Kimi get to you. She doesn't feel that way anymore."

"It still makes me sick," She mumbled, but he understood what she said, "I mean, I have no blood relatives in my life. As I said before, my birth father may as well not exist." By now, they both knew that he was a sexist jerk who looked down on his own daughter simply because of her gender. "She should be grateful that she still has both of her birth parents."

When she looked like she was going to break, Chuckie held out his arms in an offering. She practically fell into his hold, and cried softly in his chest while gripping his shirt. "Shen, I do agree with you, but she is grateful now, and as am I for my birth family."

"G-good," She stammered with a sniffle. "Um, s-sorry I freaked out like that."

"It's okay," He assured her, "Why don't we go back out there?"

"Okay," She nodded and they headed back to the lobby, where the party was still going on. When they saw Kimi looking guilty by the presents table, they walked up to her. "Um, Kimi?" She turned to look at them. "I uh, I'm sorry I freaked out on you like I did."

"It's okay, it was my fault. I shouldn't have said that part about what happened. So, it's all on me. And... I'm sorry."

"I forgive you." The two girls shared a short, friendly embrace to seal the exchanged apologies. "Now, let's go skate!" She grabbed Kimi and Chuckie's hands, and led them to the skate rental area.

After they had what they needed, they headed for the area with the smooth, cold ice, where one or two people were already skating. "I'll meet you guys out there!" Kimi started gliding along the ice when Chuckie hesitated, and Shenzi stuck by him.

"You okay, Chuck?" The birthday girl asked her best friend when he held onto her for balance.

"Y-yeah, I'm fine," He assured her, "I'm just... nervous."

"You'll be alright. I can help you if you need it."

"You know how to ice skate?" He couldn't hide the surprise in his voice.

"A little bit," She shrugged, "We'll be fine. Come on." They stumbled to where they could get on the ice, and held onto the side. After a while, Shenzi was gliding along the rink, occasionally wobbling a bit, but was just fine. But when she heard a loud thump, and a yelp of pain, she turned to the source and saw a cringing Chuckie on his backside. She carefully skated over to him and knelt down, ignoring the cold ice on her knees. "Chuckie, you okay?"

"Y-yeah," He nodded, "I just slipped."

"You want to sit down?"

"Sure," He nodded; She helped him to the carpeted floor and on a bench by the shoe lockers, where he untied his skates and put his sneakers back on. "Um, i-if you want, you can keep going."

"Oh, I'm fine," She sat next to him, and changed her shoes, "I skated enough today."

"You sure?"

"Uh huh."

They sat together in silence for a moment, watching the people, including Kimi, skating on the slick ice. "Um, s-sorry I didn't do so well out there."

"It's okay," She laid a comforting hand on his shoulder, "I wasn't the best together."

"What're you talking about? You were great! Heck, one reason why I fell is because I was watching you," Chuckie accidentally blurted out.

A shy blush grew on her face. "Y-you were watching me?" No turning back now.

"Uh huh," He nodded, "Um, sorry if that's creepy."

"No, it's fine," She assured him, "I, I'm flattered, actually."

"You are?" He was genuinely surprised. "Well uh, I'm glad you are. You're really good."

"Thanks," Her blush deepened, "And until you fell, you were good too."

"I was?" He couldn't help but feel skeptical.

"Yeah," She nodded, "Even though it was at 5 AM, Kimi taught you good."

A shy blush formed on his freckled cheeks, and an equally shy smile grew. "Thanks, Shen."

"No prob," She smiled back.

After a few seconds of silence, Chuckie made his move. The one he was waiting to do since... forever. "Um, Sh-Shenzi?"

"Yeah?" She turned to him.

"Uh, after the excitement's over, do you want to get a..." He hesitated, "A uh, a hamburger at the mall sometime?" His heart pounded hard after he finished.

"You mean, a date? You want to go on a date with me?" She wanted to confirm.

"Uh huh," He nodded, "I do."

She couldn't believe it. He returned her feelings for him? "I, I'd love to," She answered his question, "How about tomorrow at 1 or 2?"

"Sounds good to me."

As they watched the skaters glide around, they both did a happy dance in their heads.

Chuckie's eyes widened and his heart jumped when he felt a little, quick kiss on his cheek. He looked and saw Shenzi stifling giggles at his stunned expression. His shy smile grew back as his blush deepened. She truly was an amazing girl; Under her shyness was someone who wasn't afraid to make a sneak move like that. That was one thing he liked about her; In a way, she took risks like how he wanted to.

But then, he remembered; His present! "Um, Sh-Shenzi, I'll be right back." After she nodded, he dashed to the appropriate table, grabbed his gift, ran back on the bench, and put it in her lap as he sat next to her.

"Oh!" She exclaimed in surprise. "Thanks, Chuck." She tore off the paper, revealing a black and white striped tank top that looked to have a black vest on it, and a black and white striped wallet with a bow on the front. "Oh, Chuckie! These are awesome! Thank you!" She hugged him tightly, keeping her presents on her lap.

"You're welcome," He hugged her back, "I'm glad you like them. I was shopping with Kimi and our mom, and when I saw those in the stores, I immediately thought of you."

She blushed timidly. "Aww. Well, thanks Chuckie." She kissed his cheek again.

He was eager to go on that date with her already. He could hardly wait!

(A/N: There's I. You know the disclaimer.)