"Harper please stop emailing him and help me!" Dani cried and tossed a shoe at Harper.
"Gah! Would you relax its just George Ragan." She rolled her eyes and went back to messaging Matt. Honestly she didn't see what all the fuss was about, it seriously wasn't that big of a deal. Besides its not like it was Matt that Dani was going to dinner with.... Actually now that she thought about it, it was better that Dani be with George.
"Please Harper." Dani begged again from her closet.
Harper sighed and sent Matt a quick message saying that she had to help Dani. "Alright fine, now stop acting like Jessica." "Yeah. Got it." She said quickly, Harper gave her a small smile before wandering into her huge walk in closet to search for the perfect outfit.
"So you're meeting his parents, brother and sister right?"
Dani thought back to who George had said would be there for dinner then said, "Yes but I think that his dad won't be there until later."
Harper nodded her head to herself and pulled out a knee length navy blue dress that had a one shoulder and cut in the skirt at the hip. She remembered that Dani had wore this dress once to a movie premiere last summer when she had still been dating Bryan Ashford. He had been the nephew to some director and had brought Dani with him as a way to announce their relationship. Sure that had been all fine and dandy until his uncle had tried to get with Dani after the premier. Ever since then Dani had kinda swore off dating or even going anywhere near any place that Hollywood directors tended to frequently hang around at.
"What about this?" She asked holding it up in front of her.
"Harper you know that dress holds a bad memory for me."
"Okay so why not wear it tonight and create a good memory, besides you looked stunning in it that night too."
Dani tossed the idea back and forth in her head for a while, contemplating whether or not it was a good idea or not. Finally she decided that she would at least try it back on to see if it still fit properly. "Alright, give me the dress." She said holding her hand out to take it. Harper squealed in delight and shoved Dani towards the bathroom to get changed.
"I'm going to email Matt while you get ready! I want full hair and makeup by the time you step foot out of there missy!"
"Okay okay I got it, damn." Dani laughed and shut the door, Harper smiled feeling satisfied with herself. She hoped and prayed that Dani would wear the damn dress and just live a little for once. She was tired of having to always coax her out of her room for anything other that school, cheer practice, and body combat. Dani had been Harper's best friend since they were both in elementary school so it was always a bit heartbreaking to know that Dani would rather stare at these walls rather than go out and have fun with her like they used to. Tonight though would be the night that she got Dani out of the house and away from her mom.
Ding!
Harper turned towards the computer to see that Matt had emailed her again, a slow smile covered her face when she saw what he had typed. Call her selfish but she has always loved Matt since they were kids and she's been waiting ever so patiently for her chance to be with him.

MattyLA: crisis averted?

HarperHollywoood: lol yeah I made her put on that dress from last June

MattyLA: ......

HarperHollywood: what?

MattyLA: you know what happened in June

HarperHollywood: yes I am aware-_-

MattyLA: so why would you make her wear it?

HarperHollywood: cause she looks amazing in it and I wanted to talk to you

MattyLA: I wasn't going anywhere Harper lol

HarperHollywood: yeah ik but I just wanna talk

MattyLA: that's sweet of you but rn she needs your help okay? How about after you get her ready I'll come over and get you then we can finish that movie we started.

HarperHollywood: okay:) I'll see you in an hour <3

She signed off her email and made her way to the bathroom. "Hey are you almost ready?!" She called through the door. A muffled "yeah" came back as a response. "Well let me know when you're ready to.." Her voice trailed off as the door opened and her eyes scanned over her best friends figure. The dress still hugged Dani's curves in all the right places and gave her a more adult look.
"Holy shit Dani!" Harper yelled out and hugged Dani tightly. "You're fucking gorgeous! Oh my god..!"
Dani's cheeks burned red at Harper's obvious excitement. She had never been able to take compliments without turning as red as a radish. "Thanks." She mumbled keeping her eyes down.
"You're hair looks amazing too, how did you do that?"
Dani just shrugged and pulled her freshly curled hair onto her shoulder that didn't have a strap.
"I approve of the light smoky eye too, because George is here and you have to go, go, go!!" Harper said running out of the room and down the stairs to make sure that Dani had the right shoes ready and her bag. "Come on you slow poke!"
"I'm going as fast as I can in this thing!" Frankly she hated dressed, if Dani could have it her way she would just wear jeans and big hoodie. When she got to the foyer Harper was practically bouncing off the walls waiting for her to open the door. "Calm yourself Harper." She whispered to her harshly then opened the door.

"George Arthur Ragan!" Mrs. Ragan yelled up the stairs to her son. She looked at the hall clock and nearly fainted. "It is nearly 5:40 and you told the Rose girl that you would pick her up at six o'clock!! Get your butt in gear!!"
"I'm going as fast as I can in this thing!" He yelled back to her as he gathered up his car keys and the bouquet of flowers that his mom had picked out for Dani.
From the door Conner watched his brother run around like an idiot, he sighed and picked up George's shoes and tuxedo jacket. "You might need these dumb ass." George glared at Conner before taking the items from him and running down the stairs. He was quickly greeted by his mom and sister, telling him what he should say when he picks Dani up and to hold the doors for her.
"Alright, alright I got it!" He yelled and swatted their hands away from his face. "Don't be late George!" His mom scolded him as the door shut behind him. He shook his head, so much work just for one girl.

Finally after a half hour of driving he finally pulled up to a gated community that had a guard booth out front. He rolled down his window and told the guy that he was there to pick up Dani, the security guard gave him a disgusted look but still called her house. As the guard talked to whoever had answered, George leaned forward to try and get a better look at all the houses. They all had nice green lawns, fancy cars, and some of them even had their own huge brick walls in front too. Well damn if this is how she normally lives she's gonna be disappointed when she sees my house.
"You can go on through." The guy told him then opened the gate.
George quickly drove through towards her house at the end of the block. "Damn..." He said to himself as he looked up at the huge three story home. All previous feelings of confidence seemed to go right out the window as soon as he made it to the front door. On the other side he could hear two sets of voices, one was obviously Dani while the other he couldn't figure out. When the door opened all air left his lungs in such a rush that he was left almost gasping for air to come back to him. Dani looked absolutely gorgeous in her dress, he loved the way that the color seemed to brighten her eyes.
"Hey, yo-you look amazing." He finally managed to force out. Her face turned a bright shade of red.
"Oh, these are for you." He said handing her the flowers.
"Thank you, they're beautiful."
"Not as beautiful as you Dani." He told her holding his hand out, she took his hand then shut the door and followed him to the car. Just like his mom had told him to do he held the car door open for her then shut it once she was in.
Alright George you can do this, your just bring a very beautiful girl home for dinner...that's it. Nothing complicated about that. He let out the breath that he had been holding and began to drive back to the his house.

"So how was your day George?" Dani asked quietly, not entirely sure what to even say. He smiled and ran his hand through his hair.
"It was chaotic actually. My mom had the whole house running around trying to clean, cook the food, and make sure that I looked presentable."
He always looks good though, a smile broke across her face.
"Oh just a heads up, my house isn't like yours... It's not all big and cool looking. We don't have cool cars like you and your neighbors either."
"That's perfectly fine George." She really tried to keep the hurt out of her voice when she spoke. Dani wasn't hurt by what he had said, but more at the fact that she knew that George didn't have what she does, and that she never wanted him to see how she lived in fear that he would think that she's stuck up like all the other girls. But what George never seemed to know was that she had always known about him, how he lives in Inglewood, and what people would say about him; she didn't care about all that though. To her she always saw more than just his exterior look. She saw the side of him that he would be when he was alone in the library with the stacks upon stacks of classic novels and poetry books. For years she had always been intrigued by this side of him that he kept hidden from his friends and teachers.
"Two roads diverged in a yellow wood and I took the one less traveled by,"
"And that has made all the difference." He finished the quote and pulled his car into the driveway. He smiled softly and picked up her hand in his, a little piece of him felt that she would be the path that would make a difference in his life. "Come on, my mom's waiting to meet you." He said happily, Dani nodded her head and followed him inside.

"Just a warning, my mom likes to compliment people so be prepared." He said loud enough for his mom to hear him. "And when is it bad to compliment- oh look at how beautiful you are!" Mrs. Ragan gushed and quickly pulled Dani in for a hug. "You are just so adorable!" She turned to face her son who had already slipped out the tuxedo jacket. "You better treat her good George, she's a beautiful girl." To Dani she said, "Come on in dinner is ready and on the table."
George just laughed at his mom and wrapped his arm around Dani's waist, "I told you."
Dani nodded her head unable to find the right words to describe how she felt about what just happened. "Is she always like that?" She finally managed to say. George shrugged and led Dani to the kitchen.
"It may take a while for her to get used to just how stunning you are."
"I'm not stunning George." She turned her head away so that he couldn't see her blush. "Dani, one day you'll realize just how wrong that is." He said tilting her head up with his fingertip. "And I'll be there everyday to prove how wrong you are until that day comes." Both of their eyes locked onto each other until Conner came up behind them and said, "What's for dinner?"
"Lasagna for us and I think cat for George." Molly, George's sister, said sarcastically from the table. He rolled his eyes at her and flipped her off before his mom turned around.

The rest of the evening went by perfectly, well except for when his mom broke out his baby album. He sat on the counter while both his mom and Dani gushed about how cute he was, blah, blah, blah. He couldn't wait for this to be over so he could talk to her himself.
"You gonna stop them?" Molly asked her brother.
"I want to but if I do mom is not going to let me live any of this down."
Molly completely understood what he had meant by that, she shivered and passed him a cup of coffee.
"Need me to help?" She asked taking a sip of the hot liquid.
"It would be appreciated."
"I got this; hey mom!"
Mrs. Ragan set the album down, "Yes Molly?"
"Why don't we go pick out a movie and have a little movie night like we used to, that way George can actually talk to his date."
She smiled at her daughter's attempt to keep her from further embarrassing George.
"Alright I understand, time for me to leave you two alone." She hugged Dani one last time before exiting the kitchen with Molly

"You were so adorable as a kid." Dani said coming up to George. He leaned down and kissed her forehead lightly, causing her to blush again.
"I'm just glad that she didn't break out the pictures of me with my ass showing," he laughed and pointed at one of the newer albums. "Those were taken on my birthday last year."
"What?!"
He nodded his head, "Me and the guys got drunk and I ended up naked, Jordon had took some pictures and now my mom has them saved as a type of blackmail I guess."
"That's just mean." Dani said around a laugh, she had to cover her mouth to keep from laughing too much.
"My moms cool though, she's always supported me with things and always defends me even when I act up. Also she approves of you so that's an added bonus."
He smiled down at her and pulled her in for a hug, "But then again what's not to like? You're perfect."