"So he asked you out on a date-date?" Mae asked me as I rummaged through all my clothes.

"Yeah. He's taking me to dinner on the Sunset strip," I replied. I pulled out a pair of dressy black jeans.

"No, you are not wearing jeans on your first real date since high school," Mae said, getting up and yanking the jeans from my hands. "I'm picking out your outfit. You looked totally hot the day I picked your birthday outfit for you. I was meant to do this," she said.

"I'm not letting you dress me," I said, trying to push her out of the way. She was stronger than me so she stayed put. Instead she shoved me onto the bed and examined my closet. "Nothing too dressy!" I cried as she pulled out a fancy white dress that I had worn once in my life.

"Hush your face," she snapped. "What about this?" she asked, pulling out a plain black, strapless dress that had lacing on the sides. I pursed my lips. "We're going with this," she said. "It'll look super cute with your short hair," she added. I sighed, knowing it was useless trying to argue with her.

"Fine. I have to go to practice. Pull out some accessories for me," I said, getting up. I grabbed a blue hoodie and threw it on and walked out the door.

                                                                            ~~~~~~~~~

"So now I'm breakin' out. I'm throwin' it all away!" I sang.

Ian and I were sitting at a table in the corner, writing the lyrics to a new song we were working on. I was trying to put a beat to it.

"So then the chorus is, 'I never should have given you up--pause--Now I think I've got to make a move--pause--I never should have give you away--pause--Now it's too complicated--Woah Oh--I'll be se unforgettable--Woah Oh--Make sure I'm unforgettable'," Ian read off. I snickered. "What?" he asked.

"Nothing. It just sounds funny because you read all of that in such a monotone voice," I remarked. He gave me a look.

"Would you stop fooling around?" he asked, throwing one of the balled up pieces of paper at me.

"Hey, how's the song coming along, kids?" Caleb asked, coming over.

"We're almost done!" I announced.

"Awesome. Let me see," he said, pulling over a chair. He looked over it. "It's a two-person song?" he asked. I nodded.

"You and me babyy," I said, nudging him. He shook his head at me.

"You're so weird," he muttered. I punched his arm. "I think a fly just ran into my arm or something," Caleb told Ian, who laughed.

"Hilarious," I said sarcastically.

"So you guys are going out tonight?" Caleb asked, lowering his voice. We nodded, looking down at the papers. "When are you planning on telling Liam and Camron?" he questioned.

"Once we figure out how to tell them," Ian whispered.

"Better do it soon. The longer you wait, the angrier they'll be when they find out," Caleb instructed. We nodded.

"Hey, what are we whispering about over here?" Camron asked, coming up behind us.

"Nothing, we weren't whispering!" I said in a high pitched voice. Ian and Caleb gave me a look.

"We were looking over the lyrics. The new song's almost done," Caleb said, handing Camron the first sheet of music. He scanned the music and then handed it back.

"Sweet. This looks awesome," he said. "Is this one of the songs we're playing at Hilton's party?" he asked.

"I think we should. But Ian thinks it's too new and we won't be able to practice it enough before the party," I answered.

"I think it's a good up-beat song," Caleb agreed.

"Yeah, me too. Liam and I were talking while you guys were working. We think it'd be a good idea if we practiced a few cover songs of popular radio songs. At least that way the audience will be familiar with some of the music," Camron suggested. I nodded.

"That's a good idea. The people at her party aren't going to know any of our songs. It'll just be background music. We should do some cover songs so that it'll get their attention," I agreed. "Good-thinking, homeboy," I said, poking Camron's arm. He smiled at me sweetly and then I turned my face away.

"Where'd Liam go?" Ian asked, glancing at the studio.

"He went to get something to eat," Camron replied. At that moment, Liam clambered down the stairs, a glass of soda in his hands. He walked over to us.

"What's going on? Band meeting?" he asked. We shook our heads.

"Just talking. We're almost done with the new song," Ian explained.

"Wow, look at you two. That was fast. Since when did you guys start getting along?" Liam asked, smiling at Ian and me. We both exchanged glances. Caleb nodded his head slightly at us.

"Ummm, we actually kind of needed to talk to you guys about that," I began.

"Vanessa and I are going out," Ian said bluntly, getting to the point.

"Going out?" Camron asked, a look of disappointment on his face.

"As in, you guys are a couple?" Liam asked. We nodded.

"You knew about this?" Camron asked Caleb. Caleb shrugged.

"I sort of figured it out by myself," Caleb mumbled.

"And you kept it from us?" Liam questioned.

"No! No, we just didn't want to tell you until we were completely sure that this is what we wanted," I tried to explain.

"We haven't even gone on our first real date yet. It hasn't been that long," Ian added. Liam and Camron didn't look too happy.

"So this is what you guys were whispering about?" Camron asked. I looked down at my hands, feeling guilty.

"We're a band. We're not supposed to keep things from each other," Liam said.

"We just didn't want to involve you guys in all the drama. There really wasn't any point in anyone knowing until we were completely sure of what was going on," I told them. They still didn't look satisfied.

"Look, we're three days away from our biggest performance ever. We can't risk that by fighting over something stupid. From now on, we won't keep secrets. Understood?" Caleb said. I glanced over at Ian, who didn't meet my eyes.

"Fine," Camron said. We all agreed.

"I think, on that note, we should end practice early," I suggested. The others nodded in agreement.

As I walked out to my car, Ian stopped me.

"I'll pick you up at your place at 7," he said. I smiled softly.

"See you then," I said.

                                                                     ~~~~~~~~~~~

"Remember, if he acts like a jerk to you, forget him," Mae said.

"I'm not a baby, Mae," I said, putting mascara on my eyelashes.

"And no sex on the first date," she instructed. I stood and faced her.

"Mae! I'm not a slut!" I cried.

"I know. But you never know what can happen. You both go to his house afterwards. Make out a little. Things get intense. And then in the moment--" she started, but I cut her off.

"Stop it! I'm not going to have sex with him!" I said firmly. She smiled at me.

"Good," she said. I rolled my eyes at her. I finished applying my make-up and turned around.

"How do I look?" I asked, placing my hands on my hips in a mock-pose. She grinned and pinched my cheeks.

"My little baby is all grown up and going on her first date," she cooed. I slapped her hand away.

"It's not a first date!" I exclaimed.

"Well, first date since high school. First real adult date," she clarified.

"Ugh, whatever," I said, putting a mirror, lipstick, my phone, and my wallet in my black leather clutch bag.

"Hey, when did you get this?" she asked, snatching my bag from. I took it back.

"My parents sent it in the mail for my birthday," I replied.

"It's Chloe?" she asked. I nodded. She whistled. "Must be nice to have rich parents," she sighed. I threw a pillow at her.

"You have rich parents, too! Shut up!" I said. She laughed.

"Yeah, but not nearly as rich as yours," she said. I rolled my eyes at her and glanced at the clock. Then my phone buzzed.

"He's here," I said, reading the text. Her eyes lit up and my stomach flipped. She walked me to the door.

"Be careful. Have fun. Go to the bathroom sometime during the night and text me an update," she told me. I laughed and she grinned.

"Bye!" I called as I walked out the door. I walked gingerly in my heels to Ian's car. He was leaning against the passenger side when I came up to him.

"Hey, you look amazing," he said in a smooth voice. I smiled. He looked really good, too. He was wearing a white collared shirt, black slacks, and a black skinny tie.

"Oh, thanks!" I said, waving my hand clumsily.

"Shall we go?" he asked, opening the door to his car. I nodded and sat down.

"Mae picked out my clothes for me," I told him as he drove.

"Yeah, I figured. You would never dress like that on your own," he said, smirking at me.

"Why does everyone say that?" I asked.

"Because you always wear hoodies or t-shirts. What kind of girl are you?" he asked. I hit his arm playfully and he laughed.

"Table for two?" he asked the waitress when we got to the restaurant.

"Right this way," the waitress said, smiling sweetly at Ian. I rolled my eyes. Why did girls always try to impress another girl's boyfriend? Whatever happened to girl code? The waitress seated us at a table next to the window that overlooked the beach. She handed us menus and ordered our drinks for us and then walked away. I smiled.

"This is nice," I commented. Ian looked around.

"Yeah, it is," he agreed. We looked at our menus, scanning the selections. Everything was so expensive. I knew Ian would  want to pay the bill, so I made sure I didn't pick anything too pricey. The waitress came back with our wines.

"Ready to order?" she asked us. We nodded. Ian told her what we wanted. "All right. It'll be out in about 10 minutes," she said.

"Thanks," I said as she walked away again. We both looked at each other awkwardly.

"Let's play a game," I suggested. He raised an eyebrow.

"What?" he asked.

"Yeah! 20 Questions. I ask 10 and you ask 10. You can ask any question and you have to answer it. And no repeats," I said. He looked at me. "It's a good idea!" I exclaimed quietly.

"Fine. You first," he said.

"Ok," I said. I thought for a moment on what I should ask him. "Who is your all time favorite artist or band?" I asked.

"Easy. Coldplay," he answered.

"Hmm. Good choice. Your turn!" I said.

"Ok, ummm," he paused, thinking. "If you could have one superpower, what would it be?" he asked.

"Hmm...probably channeling the magic of Harry Potter. Because that pretty much covers everything," I said. He laughed and I smiled.

"All right. My turn. Who is your favorite member in our band?" I asked.

"That's not fair," he said.

"You have to answer it!" I told him. He bit his lip.

"Probably Caleb," he answered finally.

"Well thanks," I said sarcastically.

"You don't count," he told me.

"I'm in the band!" I argued.

"You're also my girlfriend. Obviously I like you," he said smoothly. I smiled and blushed slightly.

"Ok, why Caleb, then?" I asked.

"You already got to ask a question. It's my turn now," he said.

"No, but this is a follow-up! The whole point of the game is to have something to talk about," I said.

"Fine. Caleb, because he's the only one that doesn't take any crap from me. He never did, even in the beginning," he explained. I smiled.

"Aw, that's sweet," I cooed. He rolled his eyes.

"My turn now. How did you and Mae become friends?" he asked. I sat back.

"I can see why you'd ask that. We're two completely different people. We became friends freshman year of high school. I knew her in middle school, too, but I didn't like her. She was apart of the popular crowd and I predicted that she'd be a future slut. I would always hang out with the skaters and stoner kids, although I didn't do the drugs myself," I began. He stopped me, laughing. "What?" I asked.

"You hung out with the stoner kids?" he asked.

"Yeah, so?" I asked. He started laughing again. People turned to look at us. I kicked him under the table. He bit his lip to stifle his laughter.

"It's just...I just can't imagine you, a goodie-two-shoes, hanging out with the stoner kids," he snickered. I rolled my eyes.

"I said I didn't do the drugs myself! They were actually really chill people," I said.

"Yeah, because they were stoners," Ian said, laughing again. I rolled my eyes, a smile playing at my own lips. "Ok, keep going. I'll stop laughing now," he said, though his lips twitched at the corners. At that moment, our waitress came back with our food. She set our plates down in front of us and we thanked her. Once she walked away, I continued with my story.

"Ok, so we were in the same English class and we were reading King Lear, the play. We were both put in the same group to do an interpretation of a scene. She was a little bummed out because her grandmother had passed away. But she wouldn't show it, because she had to keep up an image of a bubbly happy girl. I noticed that she was hiding something and later on I asked her if she was all right. That's when she completely broke down and spilled all of her feelings and emotions on me. And...I don't know. I guess we became friends. Just like that," I said.

"Oh. That's not that great of a story," Ian commented when I finished. I was tempted to throw a shrimp from my plate at him, but didn't because we were at a nice restaurant.

"Shut up, jerkface," I told him.

"Honestly, the best part was when you told me you hung out with the druggies at school. That's priceless. I'm never letting you live that down," he said.

"You're such an ass, Ian. My turn to ask a question, now," I said. He was still smiling. "If you weren't doing music, what would you be doing right now?" I asked him. He shrugged.

"I started off with a biology major before I dropped out of college to do the band. So I guess I'd probably be doing that," he said.

"Would you have gone to medical school?" I asked.

"Maybe. But probably not. I kind of wanted to do research, as weird as it sounds. That way I could be independent and not really have to interact with anyone," he said. "I like being on my own," he added.

"Why?" I asked. He shrugged.

"It's easier that way. Less room for disappointment," he replied. I sat, a little stunned by this information. No wonder he was always pushing people away with his aggressive attitude.

"Then what's this?" I asked.

"What's what?" he questioned.

"This. You and me," I clarified. There it was again. That look. The one I kept seeing flash through his eyes. What was it? What was he thinking?

"This is me taking a chance," he answered simply. As I looked into his eyes, I couldn't help but feel as if there was more to it than that. I pushed the little feeling of dread out of my mind and tried to focus on our conversation.

"Your turn," I said, taking a bite of my food. The rest of the dinner, we exchanged questions back and forth. We both found out things about each other that we would have otherwise not known. We laughed and we joked and I was having a lot of fun.

"Want to take a walk?" he asked me after he had paid the bill. I nodded. I put my sweater on and we walked outside. He wrapped an arm around my waist and pulled me closer to him.

"One more question," I said after a few minutes of walking in silence.

"You already asked me like a million questions! What else is there?" he asked me. I stopped once we got to the water's edge. I turned and faced him, my hands around his neck.

"Are you happy that we're together?" I asked him. I saw a flash of emotion run over his face. He looked...guilty? Was that what it was? I blinked and he was smiling. No, I had imagined it. I had to stop being so paranoid and trust him.

He leaned down and kissed me deeply. There were so many emotions running through the kiss, the biggest one being passion. I moaned slightly at the feelings and he pulled me closer to him. I ran my fingers through his hair as he caressed the small of my back.

"Oi! Get a room!" we heard a drunk voice say. We broke apart and saw a bearded old man stumble by us, shaking a skinny fist. We looked back at each other.

"Well, that killed the moment," I said. He laughed.

"Ready to go home?" he asked. I nodded. It was getting late, anyway. We walked back to his car, hand-in-hand. On the way back, we were both silent, lost in our own thoughts. When we got back to my apartment, he walked me upstairs. We stood slightly away from the door as we said our good-byes.

"Did you have fun?" he asked. I nodded.

"It was quite possibly the best first date I've been on," I said quietly. He smiled and leaned down to kiss me again. When we pulled away, he smiled at me, running his thumb along my cheek and then down along my jawline to my neck. His touch sent tingles down my spine. I kissed him again.

"Good night, Nessie," he whispered in my ear when we broke away.

"Good night, Ian," I answered. I opened the door to my apartment, turning around to see him walk down the stairs. I sighed and closed the door, leaning against it.

Best. Date. Ever.

______________________________________________________________________________

A/N: Woo! This one was long! I better get lots of comments and votes!

=)

XOXO