God, why did she have to be so small?

Iko's dress fit her perfectly – except for the fact that it was supposed to be mid-thigh length and was instead almost to her ankles.

She grimaced at her reflection and turned toward her roommate, who was eyeing her with just as much distaste.

"Far be it from me to want to actually know the answer to this," Cress said, "but do you have something shorter…?"

Iko sighed. "Just, hold on. I'll be right back."

She got up to leave, shutting the front door a little too loudly. Cress just shrugged it off – Iko was good at just disappearing at inopportune moments – and then peeled off the too-long dress, tossing it into the "no" pile, which was the only pile on her bed.

Cress dug through her closet for the fourth time, still trying to figure out why the hell she agreed to a date with Carswell Thorne. There was such a good chance that he would break her heart into little pieces. But that was only if she would let him, and she… she wouldn't. It wouldn't be worth it.

Still, she had no idea what they would be doing. She was pulling a sweater off of a hanger when Iko burst through the door, a dress folded over her arm.

Instinctively, Cress threw her arms around herself. "Uh, you could've knocked. I'm half-naked here!"

"I'm aware," said Iko. She shoved the dress at Cress. "Try this on."

Grumbling, Cress pulled the sapphire dress over her head. The A-line skirt fell just to her knees and it was sleeveless, coming in tight at her waist.

"Oh, I knew it would be a perfect fit!" Iko clapped her hands. "And it brings out your eyes!"

"Where did you get this?" she asked, surveying herself in the mirror.

Iko just waved her off. "A friend down the way. Look! It looks so good on you!"

She chewed her lip. "D-d-do you think he'll like it?"

"I think he'll love it!"

"I might throw up."

Iko jumped onto her bed and crossed her legs. "You like him, right?"

"I think? Ugh… maybe."

Iko pursed her lips and inclined her head, waiting.

"Right."

"And you have me on speed dial if he ends up being an asshole, right?"

"Right."

"Then you've nothing to worry about!"

He could feel Andrew glaring at him.

"A picture might last longer," Carswell muttered.

Andrew scoffed. "I can't believe you're going on a date with a freshman. They're a little too naïve. Though I suppose they're easier to convince to, you know." Carswell caught his roommate's eye in the mirror and he winked.

Carswell sighed and adjusted his jacket. "It's not like that with Cress."

"This is just wrong. What's so special about her?"

"Can we not get into this again?"

Andrew rolled his eyes. "Whatever, I'm gonna head out. There's a party tonight, in case she ends up being a total bitch."

"Call me if you need a ride," Carswell said, just as the door slammed shut.

Rolling out his shoulders, he stared at his reflection. He put on a half-smirk. "I look good."

He couldn't ignore the nervous edge to his tone.

He pulled in front of her apartment building at 2:59. He felt nervous, which was not a common emotion for Carswell Thorne and he didn't like it. Not one bit. With a deep breath, he got out of his car and made his way to her front door.

He knocked twice before someone opened the door – the girl that Cress was always with. Nearly his height with brown skin and blue braids and a perpetually excited grin.

"She's just finishing up getting ready!" she said, gesturing for him to come in.

Carswell felt like he was picking her up from her parents' house with the way that her roommate was looking at him.

He wet his lips, anxious. "So, uh, we haven't been formally introduced."

"I'm Iko!" She leaned over and rested her chin in her palms. "And don't worry, I know just about everything I need to know about you."

Damn it, Annalise. "Oh, well, anyway. I'm Carswell."

Her glaring smile persisted.

"Thanks, mama Iko," said a small voice from a doorway.

Carswell jumped to his feet at the sight of her creeping out of the bedroom. She was wearing a blue dress and white flats and her hair braided and the shyest smile on her face.

Aces and spades, she was beautiful.

He calmed himself and put on his best Carswell Smile. "Wow," he said. "You look great, Crescent."

She blushed. "Thank you. You clean up nice, Carswell."

He passed a glance to Iko, who was still staring at him with that unmoving smile, and gestured toward the door. "So, uh, my car is running."

"Oh, right. We should go." She patted Iko on the head as she walked by and Carswell opened the front door for her.

"Remember what I told you!" Iko called after them as he shut the door.

He stuffed his hands in his pockets as they walked out to his car, afraid to even accidentally touch her. He briefly wondered what Iko had told her, but he didn't try to entertain the thought. He was nervous and it was terrible.

As they started driving, she glanced over at him. "You know, you can call me Cress. If you want."

Carswell tried not to smile too much. "I like Crescent. And, hey, you can call me Thorne. If you want."

"You go by your last name?"

He shrugged. "Only to important people. Sounds more official."

She giggled. "So, Thorne. Where are you taking me on this fine Saturday afternoon?"

"The museum. The Museum of Science has a really cool Triceratops exhibit that I want to see." He chuckled. "Is that weird?"

After ten seconds of her not responding at all, he glanced over to see her smiling wildly.

"You okay, Crescent?"

It took another ten seconds for her to regain her composure. "Yeah. I just really love museums."

A ping of pride hit Carswell. "Really? Huh. Cool. Have you been to the Museum of Science?"

"No. I haven't been to a museum since I was a kid." The smile in her voice had disappeared. "Well, I went to one in elementary school, but that was a Children's Museum. It's different."

He slid his gaze to her. "So how do you know that you love them?"

"I just do."

She really, really did.

It was really hard for Carswell to impress her when she knew so much about the exhibits already.

Even the Triceratops exhibit he had been looking forward to.

She clasped her hands in front of her and her smile could've blinded the sun itself. "Did you know," she said, "that a Triceratops's third horn is actually made from the proteins found in human fingernails? So, it's not really useful and not really a horn! And did you know that scientists have found that T-Rex's likely fed on them from time to time?"

"N–"

"–Also, their skulls are 1/3 the size of their body!"

Carswell blinked. "No. I did not know those things."

Maybe it was her impressing him.

"I hope I'm not boring you." She laughed a soft, adorable laugh. "I had a dinosaur phase a few years ago. It was weird."

Maybe she was absolutely perfect.

"That's not weird. That's actually… kind of cool."

She beamed, before she blushed and turned back towards the skeleton of the dinosaur. "Th-thanks."

Her face still furiously red, he reached over and tested the waters with a small nudge of her arm. It was hard to just try and hold her hand when she was an entire foot shorter than him, so he had to just bump her arm until she got the hint and lifted her hand enough so he could hold it. When she offered it to him, he slid his fingers between hers, his heart pounding.

This was strange. This was new. This was good.

When she interlaced her fingers with his, his stomach did a somersault. "They've got some Pterodactyl eggs in the next exhibit. Wanna go check them out?"

"Uh, yeah!"

"So how many of your dates have you taken to the museum?" she asked as they made their way to the pizza parlor a few streets over.

He ran his thumb over the back of hers, giving her goose bumps. She did her best not to blush. "None, actually. They were never really that serious, you know?"

That floored her just a bit. "What do you mean, serious?"

"Aces, you're really gonna hate me if I explain it."

"Don't you think we're past that?" she said, giving his hand a squeeze.

He chuckled. "It really does sound bad, but if you insist." He sucked in a long breath. "I haven't dated a girl seriously – I mean, and this is the bad part, they were more like conquests. Who could I score next, you know?" He groaned. "It really is awful."

Cress looked up at him. "And I'm not a conquest?"

"No." He glanced at her. "You aren't at all."

"What will all the girls at school think of me when they realize I changed Carswell Thorne?"

He nudged her with his elbow. "Are you proud of that revelation, or no?"

"I haven't decided yet." She hip-checked him. "Leaning more towards the latter, but this date isn't over yet."

He smiled, and her heart stalled. He was really handsome when he smiled like that.

"I'm glad to see I'm winning your favor."

"Like I said, this date isn't over yet." She was kind of glad about that fact, too.

The pizza parlor was pretty nice for looking more like a hole-in-the-wall sort of place. It was said to be one of the best in the city, and it was a place she'd been wanting to try since she first heard about it at the beginning of the semester.

They both ordered two slices and a drink and took a seat in a corner booth.

Cress pushed her long braid behind her shoulder so it wouldn't get in the way, glancing at him. "So, what are you studying, exactly?"

"Aerospace Engineering."

She gaped at him. "No way."

"Yes way." He beamed, and it was dazzling. "I'm really interested in the prospect of spaceships, you know? Just think of the possibilities!"

She nodded. "That's amazing."

"What about you? What're you in for?"

"Computer Science." She dropped her eyes to her plate, picking at the cheese on her pizza. "I've always been really good at computers."

Swallowing a bite, he cocked his head to the side. "Like, fixing them?"

She nodded, nibbling at a slice.

"Hardware or software?"

Cress looked back up at him. "S-software. I'm mostly self-taught, so I have to go through all of these stupid beginners' courses because none of the professors thought I could handle jumping into advanced courses."

"That sucks. But, hey! Just think! If you could've gone on to higher levels, you never would've met me!" He winked.

"You say that like it's a bad thing."

He laughed and she delighted in the way it sounded. "You're fun, Crescent. I like you."

Heat flooded her face. "Thanks."

He took a quick drink. "It's strange, you know. I didn't know I was capable of having genuine feelings for a girl. Not yet, at least."

"Oh, you meant, like… you like me." She was doing her best to be nonchalant, but she just felt like an idiot.

His chuckle was more like a hiccup. "Yeah. I did."

She chewed her lip. "I think the worst part is that I like you, too."

His eyes lit up and his smile widened and Cress nearly melted.

He pulled in front of her apartment building and she unbuckled her seatbelt. She turned in the seat to face him. "I had a lot of fun today, Thorne."

He grinned. "I had a lot of fun, too." He wet his lips. "Do you think we could do it again sometime?"

Cress tucked a loose strand of hair behind her ear. "Y-yeah. I'd like that."

He wanted to kiss her. For all the stars, he wanted to kiss her so badly.

She bit her lip. "I'll see you in class Monday?"

"Yeah," he whispered.

When she smiled at him, her blue eyes shining in the lights from his dashboard, he took it as an invitation. He leaned in and he could tell that she was holding her breath.

Just as his lips closed in on hers, she turned her head, and they brushed her cheek instead.

"S-sorry," she mumbled as he pulled back.

He chuckled, trying to lighten the mood. "No, don't worry about it." He reached over and squeezed her hand. "I'll see you in class on Monday."

"Goodnight, Thorne."

He lifted her hand, pressed his lips against the knuckles. "Goodnight, Crescent. It was a pleasure."

She blushed. "The pleasure was all mine."

Author's Note: I can't believe I wrote a 3rd part to this trainwreck of a fic. I can't even believe I wrote a second part. But it's fine! Cresswell dates are everything I'm here for. Okay. That's all. This fic is over. Don't look at me. I'm sorry.