13. The Date
Zoe stood in front of her mirror, studying her appearance. She was wearing skinny jeans, a light, pink blouse and some black flats. Her hair was waved into a loose braid that fell down her side. She decided she was satisfied and went downstairs.
"Dad, I'm off to meet Annabeth" she called out as she grabbed her jacket and keys.
"Alright, honey, don't stay out too late" he called from the living room and Zoe headed out the door.
She walked over to Annabeth's house and knocked on the door. Annabeth's older brother, Kyle, opened the door.
"Zoe's here, let's ride" he shouted into the house as he stepped through the door and onto the porch.
Zoe just stood there puzzled, but before she could manage a question Annabeth appeared in the door.
"I'm so sorry, but we have to ride with Kyle up to Mobile" she said apologetically.
"Oh, that's alright" Zoe said as they descended down the porch stairs and towards Kyle's car. It was a worn down, old Buick that had definitely had better days.
"Sorry 'bout the car, I'm workin' on gettin' a new one" Kyle said as he opened the door and slid inside.
"Hey, it's no biggie, as long as it runs, right?"
"Yeah" he said as he glanced at her in the rear-view mirror and smiled. "I just figured that you were some stuck up brat that couldn't stand the sight of rust"
"Kyle" Annabeth scolded, looking back at Zoe with an apologetic look.
"Hey, it's alright. He's entitled to his opinion"
"No need to be rude about it though" Annabeth said, as she turned back to look ahead as Kyle drove into the street.
"Just call it as I see it, sis" Kyle replied, smirking at his sister.
There fell an uncomfortable silence as Annabeth was resolved to be mad at her brother but he just ignored her, making her even madder. Zoe felt like she should say something but didn't know what. Finally she decided on asking Kyle what he was doing up in Mobile.
"Same as you, catchin' a movie. I'm meetin' a few lads at the theater"
"And we have to wait around for their movie to finish for our ride home, I'm so sorry for this, Zoe, if I'd known we'd have to hitchhike with Kyle I never would've asked you to come"
"It's fine, really, AB, stop apologizing"
"See, the baby doctor thinks it's fine, so stop givin' me crap"
"Baby doctor?" Zoe asked, her voice and facial expression a mix of offense, outrage, shock and humor.
"Yeah, your daddy's the doctor, right?"
Annabeth just shook her head at her brother and Zoe was still not quite sure how to react to his nickname.
They finally arrived at the theater in Mobile and as soon as the car stopped Annabeth dragged Zoe out and hurried as fast as she could away from her brother.
"He's not that bad, and kind of good looking" Zoe said when Annabeth had finally stopped in front of the ticket booth.
"WHAT? You think my brother, my stupid brother Kyle, is good looking?"
"Yeah, I mean, he's tall, well built and he's got that sexy, stylishly messy look with his hair" Zoe said as she looked over to where Kyle was standing, catching up with his friends. He'd be even more good looking if his hair blonder and a bit shorter and if his eyes had a bit more green in them.
Annabeth just shook her head as they went into the theater. There were still a few minutes until the movie was supposed to start so they bought some popcorn and soda and sat down on a couch that was nearby.
"You'll never guess what I'm doing tomorrow night" Zoe said when they'd gotten comfortable.
"What?" Annabeth quickly replied, clearly not even going to try guessing.
"I'm going on a date with Wade"
Annabeth nearly choked on her popcorn.
"Wade Kinsella? You, Zoe Hart, are going out on a date with your amazingly hot neighbor Wade Kinsella?"
"Yeah" Zoe said shyly, staring at her hands that were resting in her lap.
"When was that decided?"
"Last night"
"LAST NIGHT! And why am I just hearing about this now?" Annabeth exclaimed.
"Well, we didn't really hang in school today and I didn't feel like sharing in the car with your brother"
"You should've called me last night" Annabeth said, a little bit offended.
"Sorry, I'm kinda new at this girlfriend stuff. Claire and those girls don't really talk about this stuff, at least not with me"
"Well, now you have me to teach you. So, we've established the when, now it's the how and why? I thought you guys hated each other"
"Yeah, but the day before the attack Jonah broke up with me and Wade found me crying in the woods and we had a moment and nearly kissed. Then he was all chivalrous and saved my. When we were both released we had another moment in the woods, but that was kind of a bad moment. Then he was ignoring me but then had a sudden change of heart and started being all nice and then we kissed in the woods and after that we had a nice talk out in the backyard and then last night we hung out in the woods again and that lead to a semi-heated make-out session and then Wade asked me out on a date and got me to agree" Zoe let out a breath. Once she started it had just all come bursting out.
"Wow. What the hell are you doing in the woods all the time?" Annabeth asked with a rather disgusted look on her face that caused Zoe into a fit off laughter.
"That's what you took from all this?" she finally managed when she stopped laughing. "Apparently we've shared a secret hideout in the woods for years but never bumped into each other since that day Jonah dumped me"
"Aww, that's so sweet. A date with Wade Kinsella. Are you nervous?"
"Yeah, I guess. I gotta confess that I haven't thought to much about it, but I found myself turning your brother into him earlier"
"Eew, do not need to now that" Annabeth said, laughing.
Before they could discuss this any further a bell rang, indicating that the movie was about to start.
When the movie was over Zoe and Annabeth got out of the theater and looked around.
"Guess Kyle's movie is still running and we have to wait" Annabeth said and they walked over to a bench outside the theater.
"So, now we can continue our conversation from earlier" Annabeth said with a smile as they sat down.
"Okay" Zoe replied, giving Annabeth the chance to start drilling her again.
"Where are you going?"
"Fancies"
"Fancies? Really? Wow, didn't now Wade was a Fancies type of guy"
"Me either, but it was his idea, so who am I to question it, right?"
"Maybe he's with my brother thinking you're a stuck up brat that needs fancy stuff"
Zoe's face went pale. "No, I mean, do you really think he could be thinking that? I mean, we have been neighbors for all our lives, he knows me, kind of, though we weren't friends or anything" Annabeth lifted her hand to cut off Zoe's rambling
"Zoe, relax, I don't know why I said it, I'm sure Wade doesn't think you're stuck up"
"I hope not, because I really am not"
Annabeth just gave a vague nod, because even though Zoe had grown up in Bluebell she clearly had New York in her genes and she couldn't even touch the frogs they had to dissect in biology. She decided to quickly change the subject before Zoe got really freaked out.
"So, have you decided on what you're going to wear?"
"No, I thought I'd do it tomorrow, there's nothing else planned for the day"
"I'll come over and help you" Annabeth declared with so much enthusiasm that Zoe didn't have the heart to decline, and she didn't really want to either.
"Ok, we'll make a day of it" she said, smiling at her friend.
"I'm so excited"
Shortly after that Kyle walked out of the theater with his friends.
"Finally, we've only been waiting for ages" Annabeth said as she stood up.
"Jeez, relax, it's not like you've got somethin' better to do" Kyle said as he made his way towards his car. "Russ and Whitney are riding back with us" he said as he slid into the driver's seat.
"What?" Annabeth exclaimed, outraged, but didn't have any room to argue because the two guys had already made their way into the car.
"Zoe, you sit in the middle, I can't stand sitting next to that baboon Whitney" Annabeth whispered as she pushed Zoe ahead of herself into the car.
Zoe was jammed in the middle of the backseat between Annabeth and this Whitney guy, who Zoe thought didn't seem so bad. He was tall and tanned and really athletic, had thick, dark hair and dark hazel eyes.
"Hey, I'm Whitney Jackson" he said when they'd all gotten as comfortable as possible
"Zoe, Zoe Hart"
"Ya think you're Bond or somethin'?" he joked
"Yeah, didn't you know he has an illegitimate daughter that was raised in Alabama?"
"Oh, yeah, of course. How could I forget?"
They both laughed at their joke but Zoe could see Annabeth shaking her head and turning to the window.
"So, Zoe Hart, the illegitimate daughter of James Bond, you thinkin' of a career in the CIA?"
"Oh, no. One special agent is enough for any family. I'm going to be doctor" she said, smiling.
"A doctor, that's aimin' high"
"Well, my father's a doctor and I've spent most of my life at his practice reading medical journals so I think I've got a bit of a headstart"
"James Bond is a doctor in his free time? Man, that guy just keeps gettin' cooler and cooler" he laughed. "But that's really cool that you know what you wanna do so early"
"It's not that early, it's only a year until I head off for college"
"Still, I haven't the faintest idea 'bout what I wanna do"
"Aren't you going to college with Kyle?"
"Yeah, but I haven't even declared a major yet"
"Well, what are you good at?"
"Football" he grinned.
"Other than that" Zoe said, shaking her head. "Not everyone can be Lavon Hayes"
"No, they certainly can't" Whitney said, and Zoe could hear a bit of hatred in his voice.
"So, any subject you're enthusiastic about?" she quickly added, before Whitney could sink back into his clearly dark thoughts.
"Nah, I guess I'm alright in math"
"That's good, math is a really important subject and you can go in many different directions with it, you could be an engineer or an architect" Zoe said, filling with enthusiasm.
"I've always liked building stuff, so those two maybe aren't to far fetched" Whitney said, smiling at Zoe's enthusiasm.
Zoe smiled back at him and then looked out the window, they were just pulling up in Annabeth's driveway. This drive had flown by. Kyle stopped the car and they all got out.
Zoe gave Annabeth a hug goodbye and then headed off towards her house.
Zoe stood in her room, her hair tied up in a messy bun, wearing nothing but her underwear and a silk rope and the contents of her closet were lying all around the room.
"Annabeth, thank god" she exclaimed when Annabeth walked in the room.
"Wow, Zoe, did a hurricane hit your room?" she asked, laughing at the sight.
"Annabeth, this is no time for jokes. I'm in the middle of a crisis" she said and that made Annabeth laugh even harder.
"You could give Lemon a run for her money"
"What, Lemon, what?" Zoe said, her head clearly not in top shape.
"Nothing. Look, first thing's first, let's pull down the curtains" Annabeth said, walking over to Zoe's windows.
"Why?"
"Your windows are adjacent to Wade's windows and we don't want him seeing your outfit until you make your entrance down the stairs" Annabeth said in a matter-of-fact voice.
"Oh" was all Zoe managed, still standing in the middle of the room looking lost.
"Why are you so nervous, you've been on dates before, and that good ones, I mean, you dated Jesse Kinsella and Jonah Breeland"
"I don't know, I've never been so nervous before a date. Maybe it's because it's Wade and I know he doesn't usually do dates so I don't really know what to expect" Zoe sighed and sat down on the pile of clothes on her bed.
"It'll be fine. Worst case scenario, you'll have to pay" Annabeth said, attempting a joke but not receiving quite the reaction she was hoping for, but at least a small chuckle.
"You're right, no need to stress over it, what happens happens, right?"
"Yeah, now it's only five hours until Wade's supposed to get here, so let's get to work"
They turned on some music and spent the next three hours trying on clothes and laughing. Finally they settled on an outfit and moved on to hair and makeup.
The alarm clock on Zoe's nightstand showed 7:55 when Annabeth put down the last brush and declared Zoe ready.
"Now all we have to do is wait" she said as she sat down on Zoe's bed.
"Yeah, who would've known it would take five hours to get ready for a simple date"
"Everyone" Annabeth said, again in that matter-of-fact voice of hers. "I gotta tell you, Zoe, I'm surprised how you ever managed before"
"It's a miracle" Zoe said, laughing.
Just then the doorbell rang.
"Wow, two minutes early. I kind of thought we'd have to wait half an hour or something" Annabeth said, impressed.
"Zoe, you've got a gentleman caller" Harley called out from downstairs, clearly amused.
"Coming" Zoe called down, shaking her head at her father. It's not like it was the first time she'd gone out.
"I'll just wait a couple of minutes and then let myself out, don't wanna intrude" Annabeth said, smiling as Zoe made her way out into the hall.
Wade was standing in the doorway, nervously trying to wipe the sweat of his hands. He'd never actually picked a girl up for a date before. Actually, he'd never gone on an actual date before. Fortunately, Dr. Wilkes wasn't giving him a too hard time, just some light banter.
He heard footsteps upstairs and looked up and caught his breath. Zoe stood at the top of the stairs in a dark blue V-neck dress that came down to mid-thigh and was wearing a pair of black heels. Her hair was lightly curled and the curls carefully placed to frame her face.
She carefully made her way down the stairs and came to a stop before him.
"Hey" she said, her smile dazzling.
He somehow managed a "hey" back, he wasn't sure how. His mind was numb.
"You kids go have fun, don't keep her out too late, Kinsella" Harley joked as he closed the door behind them.
Wade's head was still not working properly and he didn't manage a response to Harley's joke.
"You look amazin'" he finally managed as they stood out on the front porch.
"Thanks, you don't look to bad yourself" she smiled and he looked down on his outfit. He hadn't gone all out with a suit, both because he didn't own a suit and he just felt stupid in one. In stead he was wearing his finest jeans and a clean white shirt. His hair was actually combed down for a change and he'd gone for a light splash of cologne.
"Are we going to stand out here all night, or actually make our way to the car?" Zoe joked after Wade had only stood there, staring at her, for a minute.
"Oh, yeah" Wade snapped out of it and took Zoe's hand and led her to his car. He opened the door for her and then quickly made his way to the driver's seat.
They stayed silent for the short ride over to Fancies, neither one knowing what to say.
They got out of the car and made their way into the restaurant where they were seated and given menus.
Wade looked over the menu and swallowed. Even if the name wasn't really true and this place wasn't so fancy, almost everything on the menu was out of his price range. He just hoped Zoe would be a typical girl and order a salad or something, those weren't so terribly pricy.
"I think I'll go for the lobster, it's so good here" Zoe said after a moment. So much for her ordering a salad.
"Yeah, sounds good" Wade managed as his head was spinning with calculations. He'd just get something cheap.
Just then the waitress came over to take their order and he decided on the catfish. It was one of the cheapest dishes, given Bluebell's easy access to it, and he knew how it tasted. He wasn't really used to fancy dining.
Zoe was waging an internal battle. She was regretting deciding to go for the lobster, it was a bit pricy, and she was wondering if she should offer to pay for her food, but it would probably insult Wade, even if they both knew that he couldn't really afford it.
"So, how was the movie?" Wade asked, feeling like someone needed to say something.
"What?" Zoe asked, jerked out of her thoughts.
"The movie? You went to Mobile with Annabeth to catch a movie last night, right?"
"Oh, yeah, it was fun. Just your typical romantic comedy"
"You didn't go for the new horror movie then?" he asked, grinning.
"No, they're not really my thing. I think Kyle and his friends saw that one though, so you could ask him how it was if you're thinking of seeing it"
"Annabeth's brother" Zoe added after a while when she noticed that Wade was nowhere near placing him.
"Oh, yeah"
"What about you, how did you spend last night?"
"Oh, just sittin' at home playin' video games" That wasn't really a lie, he had played video games for a bit, but then he'd spent the remainder of the night taking care of his dad, making sure he didn't choke in his own vomit.
"Very productive as always" Zoe said teasingly.
"You know me, always hard at work" he grinned at her.
They finally relaxed a little and managed to get the conversation going and time flew by. When the waitress came over asking if they wanted dessert, Zoe quickly dismissed her, without Wade getting a chance to say anything. She felt bad enough having ordered the lobster, she wasn't going to let him pay for dessert also.
After the waitress had come with the check they got up and left the restaurant. They walked over to Wade's car and he opened the door for her again, continuing his chivalrous behavior. The ride back was a little easier, but as they drew closer to home the tension started building up again.
Wade drove up Zoe's driveway and got out to open the door for her. She took his hand as he helped her out of the car and continued holding it as they made their way to her front door.
"So, I had fun tonight" Zoe said as they came to a stop on the porch.
"Yeah?" he asked, a shy smile on his lips.
"Yeah. Who knew Wade Kinsella could go on a real date" she said, smiling back at him.
"Not me" he grinned. "But I'm glad I managed to make you take a chance on me"
He let go of her hand to cup her face in both his hands as he leaned forward and kissed her. Zoe let her hands rest on her hips as she gave into the kiss. It was just a sweet little kiss and Wade broke away after a short while, stepping back.
"Goodnight, Zoe" he said and smiled at her before turning away and heading to his car.
"Goodnight, Wade" Zoe whispered as she watched him turn on his car and back out of the driveway before heading inside.
"You're back already? I thought I would finally get to use my gun" Harley said teasingly as he made his way into the hallway from his study.
Zoe just gave her dad a stern look.
"Goodnight, dad" she said firmly and then made her way up the stairs.
Harley just chuckled and went back into his study.