When I was first plotting this chapter I thought it was just going to be happy first date fluff, but some drama and depth wormed it's way in. ;-)

Thanks so much for all the comments and feedback received for the previous chapter. I appreciate it and am glad so many are enjoying another what-if for our favorite, unlikely misfits. :-)

(If you're a reader of Good Things Come, I haven't forgotten and I'm sorry for another delay. Sometimes I feel like a kid with a new toy when it comes to working on Twist of the Kaleidoscope. I also underestimated how draining it was to be writing/editing the same story line for so long. But I promise another chapter of that is coming along shortly.)

Rachel was coming down the hall when something flew out of Eric's room and landed at her feet. She picked it up and peered inside. There she saw her roommate standing in front of his mirror and talking to himself. That alone wasn't so unusual, but he had a shirt in each hand and a pair of pants over each shoulder. He took turns holding them up before ultimately tossing them aside as well. "I'm sure whatever disagreement is going on between you and your wardrobe can be worked out. No need to turn violent." She retrieved a white shirt from the floor and waved it. "They surrender."

Under normal circumstances Eric would probably be laughing at the joke, but not now. Right now he was fighting a case of butterflies in his stomach. Well, when he woke up this morning they were butterflies, but now it feels like they morphed into hummingbirds- hundreds and hundreds of hummingbirds. It was odd. He wasn't normally nervous. Though he hadn't slept well last night and he assumed that wasn't helping. He kept having dreams of all the different ways he could screw this up. "That's really not helping me right now." He went to his closet and took out another shirt. He briefly held it up before throwing it towards his bed.

"What are you doing?"

"I have a date."

"With who?"

"Angela."

She felt dumb for even asking once she heard his answer. "Oh, Jack didn't tell me that you guys were dating now. Not that it's a surprise. I saw how you were looking at each other when you got back."

"I didn't tell Jack yet. We wanted to get at least one date in without the risk of Cory and Shawn finding out and trying to follow us."

She could hardly blame them for that reasoning. "I think it is sweet you woke up early to fret over your date, but-"

"I didn't. I'm picking Angela up in-" He glanced at the alarm clock. "-crap, I only have an hour left. I knew I shouldn't have spent so much time on my hair!"

"You're taking her out this early? What is your plan, a matinee and an early bird lunch special? I know we're getting older, but don't rush it."

"Rach, if you're not going to help then, no offense, get the hell out."

Wow, he was nervous. "I will help if you tell me what you need."

"Isn't it obvious?" She shrugged. "I don't know what to wear," he exclaimed, gesturing wildly. "At first I was thinking the green shirt with my jeans, but then I thought maybe the red shirt with the khakis, but then I realized that my blue shirt with my brown pants was-"

"How many different outfits have you tried?"

He looked at the clothes scattered across the room and tried to remember all the combinations he'd tried. "Um…fourteen?"

"And coming from a guy that normally thinks he could make a potato sack work-"

"You can go now, Rach, but thanks for…oh, right…you did nothing! Thanks for that. I'll figure it out."

"Oh, sit down, you big baby. I'll help you. But first I need details."

"What details?"

"Where are you going for your date?"

"I can't tell you. It's a surprise."

"It's a surprise for Angela, not for me. You can tell me."

"You won't run and blab everything to her?"

She wanted to point out that the odds of her even seeing Angela today- let alone in this hour before their date- was slim to none. Instead she simply said, "I promise."

He hesitated for a few moments. "Okay." Eric leaned forward and whispered the details in her ear. "So, what do you think?"

Rachel wasn't sure why he felt the need to whisper. They were the only two in the apartment. Jack was in class all morning and manning the coffee counter in the Student Union this afternoon. "That sounds like a great first date."

"You think?"

"Very creative. Angela is going to love it."

"I hope so."

"Trust me. She will." She patted his arm before going over to the mess of clothes on his bed. "Wow."

"I told you nothing looked right."

"I'm sure we can find something suitable." She dug around the clothing pile to see what there was to work with. "Can I ask you something?"

"What?"

"Why are you so nervous?"

"Hello, first date remember?"

"It's Angela. You guys have been getting together for months."

"Yeah, but…first date," he repeated. "What we were doing before, that was just hanging out and having fun."

"And dating means good-bye to fun?"

No, but it's real now."

"Look at it this way: you've practically been dating for months."

He jumped up. "Oh, god, you mean I was supposed to be trying to impress her all that time, too?"

"No! Seriously, what the heck is going on in your head? I've never seen you nervous for a date, even the dates where it was obvious that there was never going to be a second. If anything you were almost too confident."

"Yeah, and look where that got me. I don't have the best luck with girls and dating. Things are usually good and fun at first, but then after a couple weeks they get tired of me." He picked up a pair of balled up socks and tossed them around. "Angela's different. She likes me- the real me. We spent two weeks together- a lot of that time tired and stuck in a car. It may come as a surprise to you, but I'm not always the wonderful person you see every day. I can be annoying."

"You don't say," she deadpanned.

"Don't get me wrong, it's not Cory levels, but still, I can be unpleasant and get on people's nerves."

"Did Angela get on your nerves?"

"Not really…well, maybe once or twice. But she wasn't that bad. She had control issues with the radio and tried to be crazy punctual when it was time to switch to her music- like she tried to change over in the middle of a song- but she was okay. We snapped at each other maybe once or twice."

"That sounds pretty good for a long car trip. You've seen each other in less than glowing circumstances and you still want to date. A lot of people never get to that level in a relationship because they bail the second things aren't happiness and perfection every moment. Seeing the less than perfect, human person scares them."

"Angela doesn't mind me being silly, goofy, and a little crazy, but it has to be genuine. She can see through any bullshit deflecting and not being authentic with her."

Genuine? Deflecting? Authentic? Rachel wasn't sure she had ever heard him talk like that before, well talk like that and have everything make sense. Before he would throw big words into conversations, but they were either used in wrong context or were the wrong words altogether. "Isn't that good?"

"It's scary." Eric watched as she mixed and matched a few options. He glanced at the clock every few seconds just to be sure he wasn't late. It occurred to him that this was the first conversation Rachel has initiated with him in at least a week. "Does this mean you're not mad anymore?"

"Mad about what?"

"The bet? You seemed pretty pissed."

"I wasn't really ma- okay, I was furious. But I talked it out with Jack and I understand why he was afraid to say something the more time went on."

"You know, just because things started as a competition, that doesn't mean the feelings were fake. Jack took the time to get to know you and he really cares about you."

"And how do you feel?"

"I care about you, too, at least as a friend."

"Me, too."

"So you and Jack are okay?"

"We're getting there. I'm not happy that our relationship started the way it did, but I realized I either had to accept it or not be with Jack anymore. And I'm not ready to throw in the towel just yet."

"Are we okay?"

"We will be."

"I'm really sorry."

"I know." She smiled and held up an outfit. "What do you think? This maroon button-down over a t-shirt and your darker blue jeans- casual yet put together."

"Do you like it?"

"I do. It says you care about your appearance yet didn't spend the entire morning worrying about your clothes."

"That last part is a lie."

"No one needs to know that. Don't be so nervous. You and Angela have been hanging out for months. You're just putting a proper label on the relationship."

"I suppose."

"It's going to go great and I want details when you get home. Date details, you can spare me the kissing stuff."

"Don't worry, Rach, I'll be sure to fill you in before I write all about it in my diary," he said sarcastically.

She hit his arm. "Did you need anything else? I have to run to the store. My backpack decided it couldn't hang on the last six weeks of school."

"No, I should be good now. Thanks."

"Anytime. I'll see you later. And remember…have fun."

Eric rushed around to finish getting ready. Maybe Rachel had a point. Maybe it would be easier to imagine they've been dating all this time. But if things didn't work out between him and Angela, it wouldn't be because of some idiotic behavior on his part. It would be because of him, the real him.

/

/

Angela examined her reflection in the portable vanity mirror that was on her desk, hoping she hadn't overdone her makeup. She opted for a more neutral lip gloss but played up her eyes just a little with a shimmery eyeshadow. Deciding what to wear had been trickier. It was a morning date and, while unusual, she assumed that automatically meant casual. Jeans? A skirt or dress? She appreciated that Eric wanted to surprise her, but she wished he'd given a hint, something to tell her how to prepare for their date. His advice to "wear comfortable shoes" didn't exactly help her. Hopefully her chosen outfit of a green abstract print dress that fell just above her knees, paired with a denim jacket and black Converse was acceptable.

Aside from the clothing choice she was rather calm. There were none of the nerves she'd expected; no apprehension, no second thoughts…nothing. Not that she was typically shaking like a leaf before a first date, but there had always been an uneasy feeling mixed with that anticipation. Would she like the guy? Would he like her? Would they have enough in common to be able to have a real conversation?

Maybe that was the benefit of starting out as friends first. She and Eric had the luxury of knowing they already liked each other and they always had plenty to talk about. They had a good time together. It was fun. And there was never any pressure.

She was double checking that everything was in her purse when her phone rang. "Hi, dad," she said, having checked the Caller ID before answering. "What's up?"

"I'm just returning your call from last night. Sorry I didn't get back to you earlier. It was a long day and I fell asleep before I even ate dinner."

"You shouldn't work so hard."

"It's the military, sweetheart. No half-assing anything."

"Something tells me even if you weren't in the military you wouldn't half-ass it."

He conceded her point. "You're welcome for passing my strong work ethic onto you. And as I said when you were here: I only have three years left. Once this contract is up that's it, I will retire."

Angela was quiet. He's been promising her he would retire and get another job for years. She wouldn't hold her breath. If he couldn't do it when she was a kid and needed him around, why would he be motivated to do it when she was virtually an adult? "We'll see."

"Angela, I-" He stopped himself, realizing that she would only believe his retirement was a fact when it actually happened. "What were you calling to tell me last night? You said something about me not being surprised?"

"Eric and I…we're together now. Or rather, we've decided we want to be together. He's actually picking me up for our first date in about twenty minutes."

"You're right. I'm not surprised. And what do you mean he's picking you up in twenty minutes? It's still morning."

"I know, but that's what he said. Neither one of us have Friday classes, so why not take advantage? He won't tell me where we're going because he wants it to be a surprise. Which, coming from Eric could mean anything from a trip to the museum to a personalized concert or magic show."

Alvin smiled at the enthusiasm in his daughter's voice. It was nice to hear her so happy. "Have fun and be careful."

"Okay, dad."

"I like Eric and I can see that you two care about each other, but if he hurts you he'll have to answer to me."

She chuckled. "I can take care of myself."

"I know," he stated in a slightly somber tone. "You've always known how to take care of yourself." She'd learned to be self-sufficient at a young age. She had to.

"You taught me well. You're insane crazy work ethic isn't the only thing you passed on. I'll call you later, okay?"

"Okay. I love you, sweetheart."

"I love you, too, dad. Bye." She put her phone in her purse and turned around to leave the room only to find Topanga standing in the doorway. "Oh! Hi, I didn't hear you come in."

"You and Eric are dating?"

"Yes. Were you eavesdropping?"

"I heard you when I came in. I didn't know entering our dorm was eavesdropping."

"What's your problem?"

"I don't have a problem."

"Really, because judging by your tone-"

"I thought we were telling each other things again. After our talk a few nights ago I figured that we were back on track…best friends."

"Topanga, it took us a while to get to that point and it will take some time to get back to it." Angela sighed. She really didn't have time for an argument. "Look, Eric and I didn't tell anyone yet. So if you look at it that way, you're the first to know! Well, second after my dad." Topanga still looked upset. "We wanted to at least have one date without having to look over our shoulders for Cory and Shawn. I'd love to think that they wouldn't spy and interfere, but-"

"And I'm just a big blabbermouth who tells her fiancé everything?" She crossed her arms and stared at the floor. "You can't trust me?"

"That's not what I meant. I just… we're all living in such close quarters and are all right on top of each other. Is it wrong that I wanted something kept to myself for a while? We're about to go on our first date. I'm sure you remember how exciting that is. Don't you think Eric and I deserve the chance to see where this goes without everyone all up in our faces?"

"You're right. I'm sorry." Topanga sat down on her bed and covered her face. "I'm just having a weird morning. I didn't mean to take it out on you."

Angela eyed the time. She had to meet Eric outside in fifteen minutes. "What's wrong?"

"No, really, it's okay. Have fun on your date."

She took a seat next to her friend. "Spill, girl."

"It's my parents."

"Are they still fighting?"

"They're still being weird. You know how they're supposed to be coming to town towards the end of May to help with wedding stuff so I can pick a date and finalize things?" Angela nodded. "Well, mom called and said it might just be her. Dad doesn't know if he can get the time off."

"He's got to work. That's understandable."

"We've had our 'wedding plan week' scheduled for a while. He had more than enough notice to get some time off."

She wrapped her arm around Topanga's shoulders. "I'm sorry, but every relationship hits a rough patch now and then. No one can be happy all the time."

"My parents are." She closed her eyes, willing herself not to cry. "Or at least they were."

"Tell you what, pick a day this weekend where it's just you and me. We'll do our nails, give each other facials, and just talk. We'll talk about everything."

"You and Eric don't have plans?"

"We're dating, not joined at the hip. At least not yet," she added with a smirk. "I'm making him wait a bit for that part." They laughed. "Okay?"

She smiled and wiped her eyes. "That sounds perfect. Now go! Go have fun on your date."

"Do I look okay- clothes and make-up aren't too much?"

"Where are you going?"

"I have no idea. All Eric told me was 10AM and to wear comfortable shoes."

Topanga gave her the thumbs up. "You look great."

"Thanks."

/

/

A couple hours later Angela and Eric were roaming the streets of New York City. He still had given her no details about his plans, so she was following his lead. She tried to catch a glimpse at the piece of paper he kept checking- she assumed they were directions- but he was quicker.

"Eric, come on. Give me something; a hint, a clue…something. Where are you taking me?"

"New York."

He'd been acting weird since he picked her up; quiet, jumpy, clumsy…not the way he normally acted when they were together. "Well, duh. I can see that. But where?"

"Just have a little patience. We're almost there….at least we should be."

"We should be? Eric, do you even know where-"

"Will you just be quiet and let me think for a minute," he snapped. "I'm not as smart as you. I can't try to read directions and listen at the same time."

She stopped walking and grabbed onto his arm. "Did you just tell me to be quiet?"

"Only so I could focus and not-" She turned on her heel and started walking away. "Hey, wait a second!" He rushed to catch up with her. "Wait. Angela, I'm sorry."

"Forget it."

"No...just…will you wait? Where are you going?"

"Home. I didn't come here to be yelled at." She spun back around to face him. "If you're having second thoughts about us just say so."

How the hell was he blowing this already? Before the date even started? This was a record even for him. "What are you talking about? I want to be with you." She seemed unmoved by his words. "Can we sit down and talk for a minute?" He gestured to a bench a few feet away. "Please?"

Angela was tempted to leave him standing in the street, but she also wanted to know why he was acting so odd. She walked over to the bench and sat down. "If you don't want to be here there's no one making you."

"I do want to be here."

"Then why have you been acting like a freaking weirdo?"

"Because I like you and want to be with you."

"You have a real funny way of showing it."

Eric sighed, unable to look her in the eye. "I'm sorry. I'm nervous. I'm not normally like this before a date, but this morning I woke up with thousands of butterflies that morphed into hummingbirds in my stomach. I guess the nerves turned me into sort of a jerk."

"Why are you nervous?"

"This is a date. I'm dating you. You're dating me. We're dating."

"And?"

"I suck at dating! I've been on dates with countless girls and most of them were over pretty quick. If I had a relationship last a month it was a miracle. I wasn't nervous before any of those dates. But with you I had nightmares all night of all the possible ways I could blow this."

She slid a little closer to him. "Go on."

"I really care about you and I don't want to do anything to screw this up. And then Cory and Shawn were-"

"What about them? What did they say to you?"

"To me? Nothing. I overheard them. It doesn't matter. I was an idiot for taking them seriously."

"Eric-"

"Really, let it go. But they were in the dreams watching me wreck this with sodas and popcorn like they were at a movie."

"Do you want to know what I was thinking last night and this morning?"

"Were you wondering how I'd screw it up, too?"

"Will you stop that self-deprecating, putting yourself down crap? I don't want to hear you talk like that."

"Sorry. I guess it's one of those self-preservation things they covered in the one psychology class I took. You know, make people laugh with you before they can laugh at you?"

She closed the gap between them. "You don't need to do that with me."

"I know. I'll try to remember."

"Can we get back to what I was thinking?" He nodded. "I was thinking about how, for once, I wasn't nervous."

"Really?"

"Yes. I was completely happy and looking forward to today."

"Until I ruined it?"

She ignored the comment. No need to further feed his fears. "I think there's something empowering about going after what you want. It's freeing. For the first time in a long time I'm putting my wants and my needs first. I'm not worrying about Shawn or what will make things easier and less dramatic on the group of us. I'm getting what I want and going after what will make me happy."

"And that's a relationship with me?"

Angela clasped his hand between hers'. "Yes. You make me happy and I can't wait to explore and see where this goes."

He squeezed her hand in return. "Me, too."

"And do you want to know the fastest way to not screw this up?"

"What?"

"Talk to me. If communication goes down we fail. Tell me when you're nervous or insecure because I can almost guarantee that I've been there and totally get what you're feeling. Relationship insecurity is a neighborhood I've visited often. Hell, I could give you the guided tour."

"You really haven't been nervous at all?"

"Of course I have, but mostly it's been good nervous, anticipation nervous."

Eric wrapped his arms around her and held her close. "I think what scares me most is losing our friendship if things don't go the way we want them to."

"Me, too."

"What do we do about that?"

"We put our friendship first. Don't get me wrong, we know all the perks of kissing and the hints of physical intimacy we've shared, but that's not a whole relationship. If we continue to work on our friendship in addition to everything else I'd like to think we'll be okay."

"And if it seems like we stop being friends?"

"Then I hope one of us is able to recognize it and we can sort things out-even if it means ending the romantic part-before we end up hating each other."

They sat quietly together for several long moments, ignoring the looks of passersby. "I'm sorry," he said, breaking the silence.

"You don't need to apologize anymore."

"I hate that I turned our first date into the day we also had our first fight."

"At least we got it out of the way. That's one less thing to worry about."

"I suppose."

"We've still got the whole day ahead of us. What was your plan?"

Eric dug the folded piece of paper out of his pocket. "I was going to take you to The New York Public Library."

"You were?"

"You said you've always wanted to go."

She grinned. "You remembered?"

"Of course. I wanted to do something you'd like, but leave it to me to get lost," he grumbled.

"Maybe I can help. Thanks to my dad I'm pretty good at directions." Angela took the paper and took turns looking at it and examining their surroundings. "You're not as lost as you think."

"What do you mean?"

"It's that building right there across the street."

"Oh…I knew that."

"Sure, you did," she remarked, growing serious when something occurred to her. "Are you sure this is where you want to go? We don't have to. We can find something else to do."

"But you've always wanted to see this place."

"I know, but you're not much of a library guy. This is our first date. Not just mine. I want it to be fun for you, too."

"Are you kidding me? We'll soon be in the same place Peter Venkmen and the other Ghostbusters stood. I know most of it was filmed in a studio in L.A., but some of it was here. Trust me, this is sacred space."

"Well, if you're sure…" She really did want to go inside.

"I am."

"Okay."

"So?" He stood before extending his hand to her.

"So what?"

"Would you like to continue this date with me? I promise it gets better."

She linked her arm though his. "There's nothing I want more."

"Then what are we waiting for?"

"You know," she began as they crossed the street, "I'm sure there must be other Ghostbusters sights nearby that we can check out. We can print them out on the library computer."

"Really?"

"Sure. I liked the movie, too."

"Promise me something?"

"What?"

"Don't roll your eyes if I tell someone, "Back off, man, I'm a scientist." I've always wanted to say that."

She chuckled, holding his arm tighter as they ascended the stairs. "You know it's going to be true one day, right?"

"What is?"

"You're majoring in environmental science. That means when you graduate you will-"

"-I'll be a scientist," he exclaimed, finishing her thought.

"That's right."

"That's so cool!" As they continued up the stairs, a man on his way down accidentally bumped into Eric's arm. "Back off man," he said, "I'm going to be a scientist."

Angela buried her face in his shoulder to hide her giggles from the poor, unsuspecting man as he hurried away. "Worth it?"

"This is the best day ever!"

Why Ghostbusters? Why not? :-)