So, since I haven't updated in three days, I'm going to give you three chapters today. This is the second of three, so there will be another one today after this one! Enjoy! And please, please review.

FEBRUARY 14

"Wait," Mom said, giving me a strange look, "you want to do what?"

I sighed. It really wasn't that weird. "First of all, it wasn't my idea. It was Willow's. But I think she's got a point. Valentine's Day is kind of stupid. It puts way too much pressure on couples to be all romantic and creative. So we're going to have a sort of…Anti-Valentine's Day date. We're going to try to be as un-romantic as possible, basically."

She shook her head. "Your girlfriend is weird."

I smirked. "You know you love her."

Mom sighed. "I do, you're right. So what does this date involve, exactly? And why should I allow you two exclusive use of the theater room?"

"Because if you don't tell them not to, the twins will race in and ruin the whole thing. They'll be extremely obnoxious, unless you convince them to stay out. We're trying to be un-romantic, but I still want to enjoy time with my girlfriend."

Mom narrowed her eyes at me. "You're not going to have sex in there, are you?" she asked frankly.

I blanched. "Mom! No! We're not…Willow and I haven't done that yet. Sheesh. And with the whole family home? What do you think I am? An animal?"

"I think you're a teenage boy. You really haven't had sex yet?" she asked, and she sounded really surprised by that fact.

I covered my warm face with my hand. This was so embarrassing. I mean, it wasn't like we hadn't talked about sex before. My mom was pretty…straightforward about stuff like that. But still. "No, we haven't." I was actually still a virgin, unlike most of my friends. But my mom had always been adamant about not being sexually active unless I was prepared for any and all of the consequences. I wasn't quite ready to be a father yet, so I wasn't going to rush into anything anytime soon. "We're taking things slow."

"Hey, that's smart. You should never rush. Just make sure, when you do take that step, that you're safe about it."

That was something else she was adamant about; safety.

My face got hotter. "Oh my gosh. This is getting a little too awkward for me." It had always been easier to have this conversation when I wasn't dating someone. Now that I was with someone that I loved…Well, it made things more awkward. Even then, this had always been a very awkward topic to discuss with my mother. "Can we please talk about something else?"

"What are you going to do on this little date of yours?"

I sighed in relief, glad to be moving away from the topic of sex. Not something I wanted to talk to my mom about, especially not when my girlfriend was supposed to be arriving any second. "We're going to order a pizza and some barbecue wings for dinner, first of all."

Mom nodded, grinning. "Very un-romantic."

"Exactly. We'll probably play some Cards Against Humanity. And we'll watch some horror movies, but we'll watch them while playing our own version of the mustache game."

She frowned, looking confused. "The mustache game?"

"You've never heard of the mustache game? It's been around forever. It's supposed to be an alcohol drinking game, but we're just going to use water. Basically, what you do is tape a mustache onto the screen and watch whatever movie you want. Whenever the mustache lines up with someone's mouth, you have to take a drink. Willow and I are going to add a rule, though: you can't use the bathroom during the movie. The first one to use the bathroom loses the game. Sort of like Water Monopoly."

Mom shook her head. "You know you're not supposed to put that kind of strain on your bladder. It's not good for anybody, but especially not for a diabetic."

I rolled my eyes. I'd gotten the speech about not straining my bladder when I'd been diagnosed. And I was usually really good about that. But... "It's not like I'm doing it on a regular basis. It's just today. Calm down. I'm pretty sure it won't kill me for a couple hours. So, can we use the theater room? Please?"

She sighed. "Fine. I'll convince the twins to leave you two alone."

I grinned, giving her a quick hug. "Thanks, Mom."

"Stryker."

"Yeah?"

"How serious are you and Willow?"

I smiled. "Serious enough that I can't even begin to imagine my life without her. I plan on marrying her someday. I don't know when, but someday."

Mom smiled back. "You love her a lot." She said it as a statement, not a question.

I answered anyway. "I do. I love her with everything that I am. I'm not planning to propose anytime soon, but…someday."

"Well, I'm glad. She makes you happy, and she's good for you. And she helps you keep your diabetes in check, most of the time, which is good. I'm surprised that she's going along with this mustache game, actually."

"I don't know that she really realizes that it's not necessarily the best thing for me."

"Oh, hey, I want you to go onto this website sometime this week," Mom said, handing me a piece of paper with a website written on it. Something medical, so I was assuming it had to do with my diabetes. "Look at the insulin pump designs that they have. Start thinking about what you might want."

I narrowed my eyes at her. "Wait…seriously? An insulin pump?"

She nodded. "Your dad and I were talking, and even though you're eighteen, we want to get you an insulin pump. I think it will make it easier for when you go to college. We'd like to get you one now, before you leave, so you have some time to adjust to it."

I hugged her again. "That will be awesome." An insulin pump would be so much less hassle than the stupid pens and stuff. And I wouldn't have to poke myself as often.

The doorbell rang just then, interrupting us.

Mom lightly flicked my nose. "Go. That's probably your girlfriend."

Another fun diabetes fact: it really is strongly advised for diabetics to not put any kind of strain on their bladders. They are more prone to UTIs and stuff than most people. It's really not good for any bladder to be strained, but a diabetic's bladder is more...vulnerable, I guess? Maybe that's the right word.