A/N: I have included my favorite Smashing Pumpkins song from when I was a teenager. Erik told me to do it. You'll see why.

~~~~~~~~

Lenny had survived her first week of high school.

Now she had to survive her first date. Ever.

She may have looked confident and put-together, but underneath her skin were so many forces at play. These forces were pulling at her, pushing her down, dragging her around, driving her up the wall with fear. Sheer, unrelenting fear.

   She had absolutely no idea what to expect on her first date. Were they supposed to hold hands? Were they supposed to kiss at the end? How was she supposed to do any of that with Erik?

On Monday morning, she had kept her cool all day long. Throughout homeroom and lunchtime and student pick-up time, she had given him mostly looks of friendly interest, nothing more. When he looked away, though, or his attention was elsewhere, she really could not keep her eyes off of him. She kept up her charade all week long.

   Len felt that everything about him was perfect. His face, his eyes, his hair, his voice, and his style. It was as if he had time-traveled to 2017 from 1997.

  He seemed to be the type of person that she could have a lot of fun with. He seemed to be the type of person that she could maybe even... fall in love with.

Whenever love, or what she thought was love, burst through within her frazzled brain, she did not know what to do with that emotion. Rationally speaking, she had known Erik for less than a week, so her feelings had to be ridiculous and even scary.

Hormonally speaking, as she knew too well by observing Jude's behavior in the past couple of years, and even Juliette's secret behavior, Len had the intelligence to figure these emotions were not only ruled by her heart. Something deeper within her was taking her head away from her. Cracking it open, laughing maniacally, removing her brain, tossing it in the air with such little regard for her own feelings on the matter.

Once her brain was good and dirty, and all messed up, it was then placed back into her skull, as if nothing had happened.

Her heart still kept beating, but now it was yearning, more and more, with every beat. Her lungs still kept breathing, but now they were failing her at times as if she could not breathe. But how could that be?

   She felt as if she were someone new. She felt as if her body was no longer hers anymore.

"Hey, Lenny," Juliette took another top from Lenny's dresser. "How about this one?"

Len, pulled out of her thoughts, looked over at the purple and black striped top Juliette was holding. She yanked it out of her sister's hands.

"I don't have anything to wear!"

"Len, you have plenty of clothes. Don't say that."

"They all suck!"

"These are all perfectly good choices." Juliette motioned to the several tops laid out on top of Lenore's bed.

"No, they're not!" Len flung them off of her bed, one by one.

Juliette let out a laugh, and then she immediately regretted it.

"What's so funny? You told me you would help me!"

"I'm trying to, Lenny. I am!" Her mouth was agape and she shut it. She was somewhere in between wanting to grab her sister by the shoulders and shake some sense into her and wanting to just laugh, again and again, wickedly, before leaving the room and saying something like, "You're crazy! It's only a date! It's only an outfit! Get over it, sis!"

But, of course, she did not do that.

"Len, come here," Juls motioned for Len to sit next to her on the bed. "Look, doodle, you have to calm down. This is your first date. You should be happy."

"Don't call me doodle!"

Juls addressed her with a firm voice. "Look. I can call you whatever I want. I'm your big sister. I have been calling you 'doodle' since you were two years old."

Len pouted, adorably, and crossed her arms in front of her chest. She sat next to her sister on the bed. She slumped her shoulders forward and looked down at the floor.

Juliette put her arm around Lenny's shoulders and looked at her flushed face. In moments like these she really wished their mother was still around.

"What's upsetting you?"

"Nothing. I am just pissed that I don't have anything to wear!"

"Baby sis, don't you lie to me."

Lenny let out a frustrated sigh, put her hands over her head, and fell backward onto the bed. Juls laid down as well and propped herself onto her side to look at her sister better. Juliette was in full inspection mode. She wanted to know exactly what was going on in her sister's head. They had to figure this out together.

Also, she could not imagine living with this version of Lenore for more than a few hours.

"If it's really your clothes that are bothering you, you know you can borrow something of mine."

"No way."

"C'mon. I have nice clothes. You could definitely add some of your own accessories and make them--"

"Shut up."

"This isn't about the clothes, Lenny."

"Huh?"

"This is about something else. Someone else."

Lenny was quiet. She covered her face with her hands.

"Erik Thomsen," Juliette breathed.

   Lenny rolled over, away from her sister, keeping her hands on her face.

   "It's quite alright liking the guy you are about to go out on a date with, you know?" Juliette remarked, with just a tad of exasperation in her voice.

   Silence.

   Juliette knew she had to handle this the right way or else there would be an explosion. If she chose to cut the wrong wire, the Wakelin home would be no more.

   "He must be really something. He's the one that asked you out. I'm sure he likes you, too. A lot."

   Finally, there was some movement.

   "How could he not like you? You're like this adorable little bad-ass."

   Lenny removed her hands from her face and rolled over to look up into her sister's eyes. Juliette set her hand upon the crown of her sister's head and smiled.

   "I'm certain he's just as nervous. Let's get you ready so you're not late. Just think how he'll feel, waiting, all alone, at the coffee shop?"

   With that Lenny sat herself up in bed and pointed to the red top with dolman sleeves on the floor. "That one's not so bad, I guess."

   Juliette picked the top off of the floor, handing it over to her sister, with a new and relieved smile on her face.

***

   Erik actually was just as nervous, if not more nervous, as Lenore. He had already bumped into the high wooden counter while ordering their drinks. Bumped his knee into the low table that was in front of the large, comfy, coffee house couch as they were sitting down. He sat with his legs shoulder-width apart, his torso forward, and  his forearms resting on his thighs. Lenore sat on the sizable cushion, holding onto her warm latte with both hands, her boots barely touching the floor.

He had also spilled a little of his drink onto his Radiohead band tee, but surely Lenore had not noticed that.

   He feigned the most Danish ease and confidence he could muster as he took a sip of his cardamom spiced black tea. He had placed one lemon slice into it earlier and a messy spoonful of raw cane sugar. He had quickly swept the granules off the counter while Lenore reached for a paper sleeve for her green tea latte.

   Erik was very pleased he had found someone in Blanesville to enjoy a warm drink with in the summer. Back in Denmark, having a warm cup of tea regularly made him very happy. He would put on some music, or read a magazine, or simply sit next to the window and look outside at the trees and clouds.

   He liked sharing this part of his day with Lenore. He had not thought ahead enough, though, about how he could incorporate her into something he had always done alone.

This is why he was so nervous. To an outsider, this date would look like having tea with a girl from school, but to Erik it was a lot more than what it appeared to be.

The usual coffee shop sounds of downtown Blanesville's Cup & Spoon Cafe surrounded them. The ring of the door's bell as new customers strolled in. The faint slam of the cash register shutting. Orders with no foam, skim milk, soy milk, extra hot, double shot of espresso, please. A few college students feverishly typing away on their laptops. Somber, indie tunes playing on the speakers.

   "Now you're the one with little to say," Lenny quipped before bringing her latte up to her lips.

   The tables had indeed turned. Erik was pleasantly intrigued. He remained silent and took another sip of his tea.

   "You sure did find out a lot about me this past week. Now it's my turn."

   Erik's lips curled up at the ends and he set his tea on the table.

   "Okay. What would you like to know?"

   Lenny bit her bottom lip, set her latte on the table, and turned her body to his, bringing her foot to her knee.

   "What did you do all summer long before school started? I mean, besides watching an insane amount of Netflix."

    Erik let out a small laugh and brought his hand to his mouth. "When something is that good, I just have to have more. I can not help it."

   Lenore shot him a look. Her cheeks flushed.

   "You are very beautiful, Lenore."

   He knew he would have to steer away from anymore compliments or else he may lose her. And he really wanted her to learn more about him.

   "Go ahead with your questions. I am an open book for you."

   Lenny smiled and asked, "If you were only able to listen to one album for the next year, which would it be?"

   Erik tugged at his shirt. He had asked her that same question a few days ago. They were sitting on the lawn outside during lunch. It was a particularly hot day and they were lucky to have gotten a place to eat beneath the shade of a magnolia tree. Lenny had answered with the Strand of Oaks' album Heal.

   "Smashing Pumpkins. Mellon Collie and the Infinite Sadness."

"That's almost like you're cheating."

"No. It is one album." He leaned in closer to her.

"What else do you want to know?"

A strand of Erik's golden hair fell upon his cheek as he leaned toward Len. The color of his hair reminded her of a lion's mane. She could almost hear that laughter again, in the distance. It was happening all over again. Her brain was no longer hers.

She blinked and tried to think of another question.

~~~~~~~~

A/N: Dear Reader,

I hope you have enjoyed this little peak into Lenore's first date.

Do you think it'll go well?

Which characters do you wish to see in the next chapter?

By simply voting or commenting, even just an emoji, you give me the motivation to keep on writing! (No worries, silent readers. I know you are there, too, and I appreciate you so much!!)

XO,
Leanne