Eighteen

Devon kept his promise about texting me. We texted every night up to Saturday. Most of the texts were just little things like 'Good morning/Good night' or 'I hope your day goes well,' but they all made me happy. Randomly pulling out my phone and seeing he texted made me so happy, and I actually looked more forward to my day.

Buddy noticed my sudden mood change whenever I looked at my phone. He never joked and asked if it was someone special I was texting, and he never got upset either and stayed in a foul mood for the rest of day. He was genuinely excited for me, so I at least knew he was taking the rejection well. Hopefully that meant nothing much about us would change.

Darcy was excited about the date. While most her was excited to finally be going out with Amber, there was a part of her excited to finally meet Devon. The moment I told her he agreed, she would not shut up about how excited she was to finally be meeting (in her words) the man, the myth, the legend that was Devon Quid. And when Buddy tried to shut down her overenthusiastic thoughts by explaining how he was just a regular guy like us, she refused to believe it. A part of me was worried that she would be let down by who he actually was, so I warned Devon about it in case she actually sulked about it.

While Devon found it to be a little funny, he worried about how his reputation was holding up at school. He wasn't a traditionally popular guy, but he was well known enough to be qualified as popular. It was just the bad kind with all the horrible rumors, and not the sexy kind. That was what worried him the most. Because of all the rumors, people were afraid of him, and if he went back to school (which seemed more likely each day), people would be even more afraid of him, thinking he took the time off to get better at fighting and that he had a short fuse. If Darcy didn't like him, people would find Buddy and me to be crazy for wanting to spend time around him, probably assuming he brainwashed us. So if tonight didn't go well for him, his hopes of going back to school were crushed.

"I really want for them to like me," Devon told me as we sorted through his closet together.

I was already dressed for the date: a black, long sleeved dress that was slightly above my knees. It fanned out slightly, but not by much. And I added a pair of knee length black boots with it. Otherwise, my hair and makeup were the same as always. The only shred of color on me was my dark purple lipstick.

"They will. I meant it when I said Darcy was looking forward to meeting you."

"Yes, but she thinks I'm a bad guy. If she believes it and I show it, then that confirms it. Everyone will be scared of me forever."

"Not everyone," I said, smiling as I pointed at myself. "Look, high school is full of jackasses. No matter what, we're all one in some sense."

"Some more than others," he snarled.

"That better not mean you."

He was silent, staring right at me. He meant Jett.

I turned back to the closet and pulled out a plain black t-shirt and a belt to go with the black jeans he was already wearing. "Tuck the shirt in," I instructed. I kept my back to him, but glanced over my shoulder to see he wasn't stripping. He stared at my back and blushed. "I don't care if you take your shirt off. I'm not looking."

He chuckled, still blushing. "You are if you know I'm not changing."

"I didn't hear you move."

"You just want to see my amazing body."

"All in due time," I muttered, still going through his jackets. The look would have been better without one, but since it was getting colder out, I didn't want to worry about him freezing.

Damn, I channeled my mother there.

After grabbing a long black coat that went down to his mid-calf, I turned around and saw he was dressed. He stood in front of his bookshelf, fixing his pink hair in the mirror. He pushed it back mostly, allowing a few pieces to fall across his forehead. He turned back to face me, holding out his arms shyly, his grin lopsided. He was cute.

"Is this okay?"

"Y-yes," I said, shaking my head softly.

"Good," he exhaled in relief. "I know this isn't an actual date, but I still want to make a good impression."

"They'll love you."

"Besides,"–he blushed–"this is my first date."

Huh. "Really?"

"Well, it's not like anyone's ever been wanting to go out with me."

"But... those girls..." I mumbled.

His smile faltered, but he kept up the façade. "They were just trying to get something out of me. I never took them out on any dates. They'd just come up to me and flirt, and once their boyfriend was in view, they'd kiss me. Their boyfriends were not happy, but it wasn't like they were going to challenge me. If they did, I'd defend myself. It's not like I wanted them to kiss me. After the first few times they tried to flirt, I stopped them before they could kiss me. I tried telling them to go back and settle things healthily between their partners." He sighed. "I'd get called names like 'lame' or 'wuss,' but it didn't matter. That's not the guy I want to be."

"Is that how you had your first kiss?" I questioned. "It was just stolen from you."

He nodded. "Like I said, it's not like anyone's actually looking to be with me. Back in middle school, it wasn't like I wanted to date anyone either. Yeah, puberty was a bitch. All the feminine ones were really cute to me, but I wasn't emotionally ready to be with someone. I think people deserve better than that. And once I was ready in high school, I had a reputation that caused people to be scared of me. Only girls wanting to get rises from their boyfriends came to me. There isn't anyone that I feel like I'm ready to be with." He sat up, slapped his knees, and squared his shoulders. "But I want tonight to go well so that when I am ready, I'll know what to do."

There was a reality check, as Devon said all that. What he said was incredibly sweet, but it reminded me that tonight wasn't an actual date. I had been reminding myself of that all week, because all it would only ever be fake since Devon admitted he didn't like anyone. He wasn't ready to be in a relationship, and I didn't want to be in one either. While I was slightly disappointed (stupid crush), it was for the best. I still wanted this night to go well too, for Darcy's sake, but I also wanted it to go well for Devon. I wanted to give him a great first date.

"That's smart. I should keep this in mind for mine as well." I chuckled.

Devon gawked. "This is not your first date, too?"

"It is," I replied as I tossed him the jacket. "Remember? I'm the creepy goth kid who hovers around her best friend and cursed him to only ever love me. No one wants to date me."

"I know someone who does." I would have assumed he was talking about Buddy, but there was no joking in his eyes. He was either being serious to show me that if someone like Buddy could like me, anyone could, or he knew someone who wanted to date me.

"Who? One of your cousins?"

He smirked, and I rolled my eyes. "Come on. Darcy will be here any minute."

He pulled on a pair of black ankle boots and followed me out the front door. He called out to tell Rena we were leaving, and she replied with a 'have fun.'

As Devon locked the door, he glanced up and asked me, "Am I supposed to hold your hand?"

"I don't know," I said, looking down at my right. "I don't care if you do."

"I was wondering if that would make our date look more realistic."

"Again, I don't care if you do."

"So," he smirked, "if I grab your hand like this, you don't care?"

I didn't care. In fact, I didn't want him to let go at all. "Nope."

He wrapped his arm around my waist, pulling me in front of him. With a laugh, he asked, "What if I did this?" He kissed my hand and up my arm, laughing as he did so, which made me laugh right back.

"What the hell are you doing?" I asked, pulling away as he crept closer to my neck.

"Being romantic," he said, dramatically rolling his 'R.' He placed his hands on my waist and said, "What if I do the same thing I did at the batting cage?"

I cackled loudly, doubling over as Darcy's car pulled up outside his house. He smiled as he wrapped his arm around my waist and led me to the car, opening the backseat for me. "What a gentleman," I smirked as I crawled to the far side, and he sat down next to me.

Darcy, dressed in a white t-shirt with a black sunflower dress over it, and her date Amber both turned in their seats to face us, surprised to see us so jovial. "What is going on with you two?" she chortled.

"Just joking around," I said, pushing my hair behind my ear. "Darcy, Amber, this is Devon."

"It's so nice to meet you both," he said as he shook both their hands.

"It's nice to meet you, too," Darcy smiled radiantly. "This is Amber. My girlfriend."

The moment she called Amber her official girlfriend, I'm sure I gawked. Amber chuckled. She was a beautiful woman with dark skin, black hair, and chestnut eyes. Though she was sitting, I could tell she was curvy. Her lips were dark red, and she had a mole near the left corner of her lip. Her ears were pierced three times in her left ear, but I couldn't see the right. She wore black leggings and a gray top. Instead of a jacket, she wore an unbuttoned, blue button-up dress with tiny black flowers.

The way Darcy looked at her was enchanting. It was obvious how much she liked Amber, and if Darcy liked anyone this much, she was something special. I knew about all the girls she occasionally dated, and she never looked at any of them the way she was looking at Amber.

"Ready?" Darcy asked.