the date

I stifled a yawn as I watched Connell work, listening to the sound of his typing in the back of my mind.

In efforts to escape the awkwardness of my house, I decided to spend time with Connell. Unfortunately he is a workaholic, which left me with no other choice than to watch him.

I could feel myself drift away as I watched him change from writing to typing. He was concentrated on his work, paying little attention to me.

It was the last day of break, and my dog had woken me up too early to be humanly healthy.

I hadn't noticed Connells eyes shift to me, my thoughts consumed with nothing but meaningless static.

I could hear him put down his pen, and move out from his desk. Standing, he walked around his desk to come to me. I barely moved, too consumed with fatigue.

"Did you not get much sleep?" Connell asked as he kneeled down next to the chair. I blinked, focusing on his face.

Shaking my head, I yawned, closing my eyes as I turned away from him.

"Why don't you go home and sleep," Connell suggested, pulling the side of my jacket. I peaked through my hair, looking at him with a solemn look.

At my look, Connell gave me a gentle smile.

"And after, perhaps we can go somewhere," he said. I felt myself become more awake and I sat up slightly to look at him.

"Like, on a date?" I asked. He must have seen the hope in my eyes, because after a few seconds, he nodded.

Sitting up, I got a big smile on my face, reaching out to him. He let me grab him, saying nothing as he pulled me up from the seat.

"We're are we going to go?" I asked as Connell led me to the door. Connell just peered down at me, before looking forward.

"That's a surprise."

I huffed, feeling the childish need to cross my arms and stomp my foot.

"How will I dress well if I don't know where we're going," I continued, looking at his back as I trailed him down the stairs.

"Darling you'll be fine, just wear what you'd like," He insisted, stopping at the front door.

I barely registered the pet name, my eyes on him as he opened the door for me to leave.

"But-," I insisted, but I was silenced by a hush.

"I'll pick you up at four, get some sleep."

Connell shut the door in my face, leaving me blinking. I stood there for a few seconds, knowing he was on the other side, waiting for me to leave.

"You better make it good for your disrespect!" I yelled through the door, kicking it with my shoe, before yelping in pain.

Turning, I stomped down the porch stairs, hoping he could see my distain. I wasn't mad though. I was filled with excitement, since I had never gone on a date with Connell. The months had been filled with ups and downs, and absolutely no nights out.

My parents had both gone to work, leaving me alone in the house. I decided to take Connell's advice, and went straight to sleep.

The hours felt long, and my body was lulled into the comfort of a deep sleep. I was only awoken by the ringing of my phone, which I would have liked to ignore, if I didn't recognize it as Connell's ringtone.

Grabbing it from my bedside table, I clicked accept begrudgingly.

"What?" I said, the annoyance in my voice crystal clear.

"It's 3:30," Connell said simply, waiting patiently for my response. I sat, thinking about what he said, before I finally realized what he was saying.

"I- I know!" I said, sitting up. My vision went black as I tried to keep my balance, ignoring the headache that was sure to arise.

"I'm sure. I'll be there to get you in 30 minutes," Connell answered me, before cutting off the call.

I looked at the phone, blinking as I tried to keep myself awake.

Standing, I avoided the obstacles littering my floor, stumbling to my bathroom. I had dark circles under my eyes, which I covered with concealer. I didn't do anything impressive, just simple eyeshadow and mascara.

As I was looking through my dresses, my phone rang once again. This time, it was Maddie calling.

Picking up my phone, I held it to my ear as I decided between two dresses.

"Ruby!" Maddie said as soon as she could.

"What?" I asked, trying to sound more awake then I felt. I held one of the dresses, which was short and black, up to me.

"Sara passed the second stage," Maddie said happily.

"For the competition?" I asked.

"Yep, she only has 2 more levels before she wins for real."

I smiled, holding another dress up to me.

Sara was in a competition to get into CalArts, a Californian art college. So far she was doing well, and even though she wouldn't admit it, she's excited.

"Why isn't she telling me this?"

"You know how she is, if it was up to her I wouldn't know at all, I just happened to be at the right place at the right time," Maddie jabbered.

Tossing the dresses to the side, I fell back onto my bed, sighing.

"Well I'm in quite a predicament," I said, scanning the mess of my closet in anguish.

"What?"

"I have nothing to wear and Connell and I are going on a date," I said unhappily.

Maddie was quite for a second, before letting out a excited squeal. I should have known it was coming, but it still made me pull the phone away from me, a wince on my lips.

"This is your first date," Maddie started happily. "This is so excited."

She seemed to be hyperventilating, and I could imagine her pacing around her room as she talked.

"Calm down, it's me going on the date not you," I soothed, and she let out a sigh,

"I'm not nervous, I'm excited. Sometimes those emotions get mixed up."

I rolled my eyes, sitting up. Looking at my room again, I sighed.

"I need to pick out a dress, but I don't know what to wear," I told her, standing so I could see the options I had picked out better.

"The red one that ties at back and makes you look hot."

I furrowed my eyebrows, looking at my options.

"Red?" I asked, looking at the dresses, none of which were red.

"Mahogany?" She responded, unsure.

I paused before responding. "Mahogany is a wood."

"Maroon," She tried once more.

"Burgundy?"

"Yes! Burgundy!"

I looked through my hamper, clutching the phone to my ear as I pulled out clothes I hadn't seen in ages.

Finally I saw it, the dress she wanted. It was a deep burgundy, stopping a few inches before my knees. It cinched in at the waist, and had a delicate top.

"Found it," I told her, brushing the dust off the dress.

"That's perfect, wear it."

"And if I freeze?" I asked, tossing the dress on my bed before climbing next to it.

"Beauty is pain Ruby," she responded in a humorous tone. Rolling my eyes, I looked to the clock, which indicated I had less than ten minutes left.

"Shit, I have to go. Tell Sara Congrats," I said quickly.

"Why do I have to tell her?" Maddie asked.

"She's mad at me because I accidentally took some of her paints," I answered innocently.

"I'm honestly sure you're secretly a bank robber, because you steal all the time,"

I smiled. "That's my secret."

Hanging up the phone, I look for my deodorant, carrying the dress around. Once I had everything on, I shrugged the dress on. It was a size too small, but that wasn't too much of a disservice.

Connell was annoyingly punctual, and I was still not ready. I had to shove my shoes on, before grabbing my phone and running downstairs.

My mother was in the kitchen, chopping some vegetables. I had mentioned earlier that I was going out, but had failed to mention that I was going out with Connell.

She was just about to put down her knife, to answer the door, when I ran past her.

"Who is it?" My mother asked, looking back down at her vegetables.

Opening the doors, I gave Connell a small smile, before looking back at my mother. She was busy cutting up carrots, that she didn't even notice Connell.

"No one," I answered, taking note of how unaware she was.

"I don't like lying Ruby," My mother said, glancing up. She wasn't surprised to see Connell, who let out a small wave.

"Sorry ma," I said sheepishly, walking forward towards the kitchen island.

"Come in Connell," My mother said, looking at Connell.

Connell came in slowly, closing the door behind him. Now we were both locked in with the beast.

"Where are you going? And for how long?" My mom asked, looking between us.

"It's a surprise for her, but we'll be back within a few hours," Connell answered honestly. He didn't seem worried, his hands in his pockets. It made me notice what he was wearing, which was a nice button down and dark brown coat, which looked incredibly worn.

My mother still had an unsure look in her eyes, but she just let out a deep sigh as she looked between us.

"Fine. I expect back before eleven," My mother said.

I was surprised my her acceptance, but just smiled as I took Connell's hand and led him to the door.

My mother was glaring at Connell, giving him the look. Connell frowned, watching my mother as I pulled him to the door.

"Just ignore her, she's protective," I whispered, though I knew my mom could hear.

Pulling open the front door, I waved goodbye to my mom once more, before leaving. I shut the door behind me, sighing.

"That could have gone so bad," I said. Connell put his hand out to me, interrupting my thoughts.

"Ready?" He asked.

I smiled, taking his hand before going down the front porch steps.

Authors Note

Hey guys! I know I just posted like a million chapters, but this is one of my updating days, and I thought i'd actually update so you guys are caught up with my other website that I update on. Thanks for reading.

Love,

Elle Kay