It was Friday. I walked out of the L.A. Times office with a half melted iced coffee and a horrific, messy bun. I was tired, stressed, and hungry as fuck.

"Goddamn, I need some pasta."

I walked towards the parking garage when a car beeped loudly in front of me.

"Shit!" I dropped my iced coffee on the ground.

The window of the car rolled down. I peered in and saw David smiling back at me. "Hey, gorgeous."

I frowned. "David, I just spilled all of my coffee on my shoes."

"Shit, I'm sorry. I'll buy you new ones." I mean, they're only three year old Nikes. "Get in."

I sighed and stepped into his car. He sped off as I held tight onto my bag. I looked at him. "So why am I in your car? And how the fuck do you know when I work?"

He laughed. "That video you made a cameo in is currently one of my highest grossing videos. So I thought that you could be in the vlogs more, since everyone loves you and I together. I mean, they love you. And also, I asked your roommate and she gave me your work schedule."

I raised my eyebrows. "I'm gonna kill Fiona. But that didn't really answer my question. Where are we going now?"

"Well, since we'll be spending more time together I thought we'd spend the night getting to know each other."

"Like a date?"

"No, no, no. Like two friends hanging out."

"I met you a week ago."

"Can't you just go along with it?"

I smiled and tucked my hair behind my ear. I never thought I'd spend the day with David, let alone a type of date.

I looked down in the cup holder. "Hey, where's your camera?"

"I don't have it." he said, undistracted from his driving.

"Did you forget it or something?"

He glanced at me. "No, I don't need it."

My heart started racing, in a good way. David wants to spend the day with me, without vlogging it. I couldn't help but smile and blush. David saw and put the car in auto-pilot. He turned to face me.

"Why are you smiling so much?" he asked, sneaking in a little smirk.

I grew more red. "Nothing. I'm just happy."

He looked me up and down. I didn't know if he was trying to flirt or see if I look like a bum or something. "You should be happy more. Your smile is beautiful."

I cleared my throat and tried to hide my face a little. "So where are we going?"

"Downtown Hollywood," he said, "Where else?"

We parked in a parking garage outside of a glowing strip mall. I stepped out of the car laughing.

"Okay, you're telling me that you actually lied about being a fuckboy in high school, so you can get girls, to become a fuckboy?"

He laughed. "That was the plan."

I crossed my arms. "And I'm guessing that didn't work out."

He nodded. "I guess girls don't appreciate geniuses."

I followed him onto the walk of fame, a place I never thought I'd step foot on. I tried reading the names on the sidewalk, gasping at all the celebrities that had practically rubbed their faces on these stars. David noticed my staring.

"You've never been down here, have you? Haven't you lived in L.A. for awhile?"

I shook my head. "I moved in August. And I only went clubbing in the spots around UCLA. I never really like to move outside of my dorms."

"You're a hermit." he said, moving swiftly through the crowd.

"Yeah, well, you're rich, and I'm a college student that will probably have student loans."

We walked a few more minutes. David would show me the different landmarks and tourist spots as we walked and I would be more and more stunned each time. We stopped at a crossing light.

He turned to face me. "What do you wanna eat?"

"Pasta." I blurted out. I didn't second guess once.

He smiled. "Good. I know a great place that's a few blocks from here."

We crossed the street, David leading me along. We started talking again until a group of girls my age surrounded him and pushed me into the wall..

"David Dobrik!" one girl screamed.

The rest of them hugged him and took pictures. He smiled awkwardly. "Guys, I'm gonna need some space. And which one of you pushed Camila?"

They looked up and saw me adjusting my hair and wiping stone dust off my arm. "Camila Rivera!"

They immediately looked away from me and started talking to David again. I glanced at him who was too distracted to see the redness brightening in my face.

"How are you, David?" the girl who pushed me said. She rested her hand on his jacket.

"I'm doing okay. I'm very hungry. Me and Camila were about to eat somewhere."

"Ooo, where? Maybe I can join you?" She squeezed his arm and looked at him lustfully. He chuckled nervously.

"Um, I can't tell you that but I can tell you that I can take one more picture. Then, I gotta go."

The girl shoved her phone in my hands. I sighed and snapped a picture of all of them. The girls waved bye to David and left, except for one girl. She stayed behind me and carried her phone in her hand.

"Excuse me, Camila?"

I smiled. "Yeah?"

"Could I get a picture with you?"

David smiled and crossed his arms. I turned red. "Yeah, of course."

David took the picture of us and gave her back her phone. She smiled. "Thank you so much. I'm glad I got to meet you. You make my day every time you upload."

I smiled as she waved bye and met up with the other girls. David stepped over next to me. "See? You got a fan, too."

I raised my eyebrows. "Don't boost your ego so much. I get that all the time in Chicago."

We sat inside a fancy Italian restaurant with privileged women and men dressed in formal clothing. I felt insecure in my ripped jeans and floral blouse. David, however, was completely comfortable and shoving bread down his throat.

"So," he began, "you're from Chicago?"

I nodded. "Born and raised. I know you're from Chicago, too."

"What part?"

"I grew up in South Shore, but moved to Clearing after my brother was born."

He raised his eyebrows. "South Shore?"

"Yeah, I know. The ghetto."

"No, no. I mean it's not a bad neighborhood. Well, it is. But it's not."

I giggled. "No, it is. I'm glad my parents got me and my brother out while they could. Both of my grandfathers and grandmothers are Mexican immigrants, so obviously they didn't have the money to live in a fancy suburb like Vernon Hills."

He looked down. "I mean, Vernon Hills wasn't always so fancy. Hell, it was like South Shore. Then, a lot of American families moved in and it somehow turned safe. That's when my parents moved my siblings and I in."

"Oh, yeah. You're from Slovakia, right?"

"Born and raised."

"On the DACA program?"

He looked down and nodded. "Yeah, the big national emergency."

I could tell he felt embarrassed and a little nervous after I mentioned his immigration situation, and I felt guilty for it.

"My grandparents got shit for being immigrants when they first moved in. Unlike Vernon Hills, South Shore started out good. When immigrant families started moving in, American families moved out since they thought the neighborhood was unsafe now. My parents got shit for being Mexican, even in the late 80s. And I get shit for wanting to support my people when they're trying to have a better life in the states."

He looked at me with a deep look of understanding. "People don't get it. I just wanted a good life, and I have it here. I make money. I have a lot of friends. I have a huge ass house. And it's not like I'm just using the advantages of Americans. I give back to people. I help my parents financially. I'm called an illegal even though I don't do anything illegal."

"Besides living the American dream."

He pushed the food around his plate. "Yeah. Well, it's not the original American dream I snuck in for."

I knew what he meant. All the violence and the hatred. The new laws taking away human rights. People being treated like animals. And then I couldn't think of anything else other than the bombing.

I looked down and frowned, sadness dwelling in my chest. David looked up and saw my expression. "Shit, Camila. I forgot. I'm sorry. We can talk about something else."

I nodded. "Okay."

After dinner, I was still down. I wouldn't talk a lot. I didn't smile as often or laugh at much at David's jokes. He knew I was in pain, too.

"Hey, how about a little shopping?" he said with a smile on his face.

"Oh, I would, but I don't wanna spend the rest of my budget for this week. I have to keep saving for the room and board at the end of the semester and I have personal debt to pay for university." I paused. "Ya know, I didn't mean to get into it. I'm sorry."

"No, it's okay. I'll pay for you."

I raised my eyebrows. "What? No, no, no. That's okay. I'm okay. I don't need you to get me stuff. And you already paid for dinner."

He chuckled. "I'm serious. It's fine. Anything you want."

"But-"

"Nope. No buts. I'm paying."

My parents taught me to never accept expensive gifts from friends or quests, unless it's a special day. I didn't think that David would get me anything expensive, but I still felt guilty.

I followed him along a strip full of tattoo shops and hot dog joints. The busy commute began to slow and we passed stores with bright, white lights. We walked into a tall black building with four floors. I look around at all the crystal chandeliers.

"David, where are we?" I whispered, afraid my loud voice might disrupt the overly rich taste of the environment.

"Saks Fifth Avenue. It's a department store that carries only designer brands."

I stopped in my tracks. "No, David. I can't. I can't let you buy me designer."

He laughed. "I told you it was okay. Just pick a store and I'll bring you there."

I looked around the extravagant interior. I had only recognized two brands: Gucci and Balenciaga.

"Um, Gucci?" I said nervously.

He smiled. "Anywhere else? Fendi? Tommy Hilfiger? Marc Jacobs? LV? CK? BBs?"

"Okay, I only recognize like two of the stores you just said."

"It's alright. I'll bring you to all of them."

I walked out of Saks with four shopping bags filled with three thousand dollars worth of stuff. David held my purse. I looked behind me. "David, I can carry my purse."

"You're already dealing with that situation. I'm fine."

We walked back to his car and drove home. He pulled up in front of my dorms and unlocked the car.

"Hey, thanks so much for this. Next time, you aren't buying any of this for me."

He laughed. "I love how there's a 'next time.'"

I blushed. "Well, we're getting to know each other, right?"

"Right."

"Okay, then." I looked down. "Bye."

I walked into my building and watched as his car pulled out of the parking lot and drove away.