"I ordered the Sony one, 32inches I think." The woman standing in front of Kyzion told him after checking her phone.

"Ok well, you wait here, and I'll go check on it and then help you take it to your car." He said, and she nodded, locking her phone.

"I didn't used to do that because the old carts were stiff and hard to push, but the new ones are smooth and fast, and I like to pretend I'm in a video game. I be right back." He pointed, going towards the back of the store to find the TV that she ordered.

Kyzion was currently at work, on the last hour of his shift at Best Buy. He couldn't wait to get off and prepare for his non-date with Nalani.

Most adults on the spectrum didn't have jobs, but Kyzion enjoyed independence and freedom, so he found somewhere that was quiet and didn't have any too many customers.

He didn't actually need the job because Amanda bought him literally anything that he asked for, but he wanted something else to do with his time rather than just sit in the house all day.

Today was Saturday, so he only worked until 12pm, and he'd been there since eight this morning. It had been a typically slow day, and he'd been fidgety-probably because he was nervous for his non-date.

"Okay, here's your TV, and so now, you can go. Because I have other stuff to do in the store. Is this okay?" He referred to how he'd positioned the TV in the lady's trunk, and she chuckled, nodding.

"It's perfect. Thank you." She closed her trunk, and he nodded as well, turning to walk back into the building.

"Ok. Goodbye." He said while facing the opposite direction, hearing her laugh from behind him, making him frown in confusion. He hadn't made a joke.

"Kazi, your shift ended ten minutes ago." His assistant manager, Todd, patted his shoulder to greet him.

He was aware of Kyzion's diagnosis, obviously, and he knew that sometimes he could need a little extra help around the store and figured that maybe the time had just slipped his mind.

"Oh, I know." He frowned, unsure of why Todd was saying something that was quite obvious. He knew how to read a clock.

"I just have a date-I mean, not a date. 'Cause she has a boyfriend, so, yeah. So I'm just working." He shrugged, gesturing with his hands.

"Oh-ohhh? Okay then. I know how that goes. You take all the time that you need." Todd chuckled after realizing that he was nervous, then patted his shoulder again before walking off.

Kyzion nodded, beginning to pull the band that was around his wrist so that it snapped against his skin, walking to grab his bag from the back of the store.

"Backpack. Don't forget the backpack." He muttered to himself, feeling his skin begin to sting as he went to the employee's room.

He opened his personal locker, grabbing his backpack and then he left out, heading for the front entrance that he'd be exiting from.

He hit the side of his thigh as the wind blew across his face, searching the parking lot for Amanda's white 2021 Range Rover.

There were so many white cars in the parking lot that he couldn't find hers, and he began to get frustrated, looking down at his watch.

"Kazi!" She called, and his head turned, sighing in relief as he began walking towards her truck.

"Hey sweets. Had a good day?" She asked, looking over at him as he got in the front seat.

"Yes. Can we go home now? I have a non date with Nalani and I don't wanna be late." He tapped his fingers on the door, and her eyes widened.

"Nalani? Like-Nene, Nalani?" She inquired, and he nodded his head, watching his surroundings as she drove.

"Oh wow. Isn't she with that one guy, um, I forgot his name."

"Sinclair." He said for her, pulling at the band on his wrist again, looking down at it so that the outside scenery didn't make his head hurt.

"It's a non-date. I invited her to the center with me, so we could watch my friends perform at the talent show. I think she thinks I'm weird though, but she said yes, so not that weird, obviously." He ranted to her, looking over to watch her reaction.

"That's really nice honey. She's very sweet, I'm sure you guys will have fun. Do you need a ride?" She asked, knowing that he didn't drive-and she wasn't sure if Nalani would pick him up or not.

"Yes. And I also need a car, because I'm too old to not be driving. Everyone else drives. I'm 22, and I'm almost dead, s-,"

"You are not, Kyzion. Who told you that?" She frowned, looking over at him once he mentioned death.

"I read about it in this book called Autism Taking Action. I memorized it. Do you want me to recite the excerpt about death for you?" He asked, and she face palmed herself, before shaking her head.

"Don't ever read that book again. You are not almost dead Kazi." She told him, and he shrugged. He didn't understand why that was such a big deal.

"Now, about a car. I thought you hated driving?"

"I do. It makes me want to close my eyes because you have to pay attention to so much. But Nalani has a car, and Elisa has one, and you have one. So I think I should too." He said, rubbing down his shirt to flatten the surface.

"Well, you can't drive with your eyes closed Kazi."

"I know. I won't close my eyes because then I'd crash and die. I can drive fine. I just maybe need my glasses." He grimaced at the thought; he hated his glasses.

"Okay. If you take some more lessons at the DMV, then I'll buy you whichever car you want." She chuckled, and he nodded to show that he understood.

"I think I want a 2022 Kia Stinger. Black, with dark tint and black rims too. Ok?" He looked over at her, and she laughed.

"2022? How much does that cost, Kazi?" She inquired, knowing that he knew.

"Starts at $42,000."

"Oh wow. That's a lot of money. You're a pretty good kid, I think you deserve it. We can go to the dealership on your next off day to see if they have it." She pulled into their driveway, turning the truck off.

"I'm 22 Ama. I'm not a kid. Adolescence ended at 18. I'll be 23 soon, you know?" He got out of the car, and she laughed again, holding her hands up in surrender.

"You're totally right. That's my bad, Mr.Adult." She wrapped her arm around his torso, and he nodded, letting her lead him into the house.

"Ama, what should I wear for my non-date? I read that I sh-,"

"Kazi, stop reading chile. You don't have to research everything, just do it. Wear what you think looks nice, not what statistics say other people think is nice." She chuckled, and he frowned, watching her walk towards her bedroom.

"Let me know when you ready to go!" She called out, and he ignored her, heading up the stairs to his room as well.

"Hey Ted. I'm back from work. I wonder if Nalani's boyfriend has a turtle. What if she thinks I'm weird because I got one?" He greeted his turtle once he closed his door, hanging his backpack up.

He checked the time, seeing it was 12:47, and he had to be at the center at two, which meant he had an hour and 13 minutes to get ready-including the fifteen minutes it took to get there.

After his shower, he held his towel around his waist, making sure his body was dry before he left the bathroom. He hated getting dressed in there.

Unsure of what to wear, he pushed his entire bed away from the wall so that it was in the middle of his room, and then he began to pace in a circle around it.

"Z, Y, X, W, V, U, T," He began to say the alphabet backwards, hitting the side of his thigh as he continued to pace.

He was hoping that an outfit idea would come to him, because he didn't want to wear one of his ordinary outfits. He didn't know if she even liked his regular choice of clothes.

He usually wore jeans and a white polo shirt-and he had hundreds of both. He hated change-in all aspects, so he made sure to buy multiples of his favorite outfit.

He didn't want to wear that today though.

Kyzion walked over to his dresser, pulling it open to his colored shirts. He pulled out a tan colored sweatshirt, laying it out on his bed.

Then, he took out a pair of black jeans instead of his normally blue ones, laying it near the sweatshirt. And finally, to complete the look, he grabbed his Off White Jordan 4s from the shoe box they were in.

"Ok. This is fine." He muttered to himself, beginning to get dressed in the outfit that he picked out. This was really out of his comfort zone, but he wanted to make a good impression on his first non-date.

He opened his jewelry drawer, and picked up a pair of one carat diamond solitaire stud earrings to put in his ears.

Once he was done with that, he opened his closet doors, walking inside and over towards his hat and beanie rack. He picked up a beanie that matched his outfit the most, and then put it on.

After spraying a few pumps of Burberry cologne, he packed his daily essentials in a tan backpack so that it could match his outfit as well.

Kyzion could feel himself becoming dizzy, so he sat down on his bed, catching himself just in time as he passed out.

Due to having orthostatic intolerance, whenever he moved too fast it caused him to either become lightheaded, or just flat out faint.

That's why he didn't bend over too much, because his blood flow wasn't like the average person's. He had to remain cautious because if he fainted on the ground, he'd give himself a traumatic brain injury.

He came back to, and he laid there to let himself adjust to being back conscious, releasing a deep breath to calm himself down.

"Kazi?!" Amanda called from downstairs, and he slowly sat up, standing from the bed a few seconds later.

He grabbed his backpack after putting his phone in his front pocket, and then he walked out of his room, closing the door behind him.

"Ew. You look gross." Elisa said as she passed him to go downstairs, and he frowned, following her.

"Wait, foreal? 'Cause I got time to change." He flattened his sweatshirt in the front, rubbing over the off white logo.

"Elisa, he does not. You look very handsome Kyzion." Amanda told him after pushing Elisa's shoulder.

"Where are you even going?" Elisa asked, reaching in the refrigerator to grab the jug of lemonade.

"He's going o-,"

"Nowhere. Ama, come on." He pulled her towards the door before she could tell Elisa where they were going, then closed the door once they made it outside.

"Well damn. I didn't know it was a secret." Amanda chuckled, watching him stride towards the Range Rover, pulling the door open to get inside.

"I don't want her to know. She's just going to make fun of me and I don't feel like hearing her." He told her, crossing his seatbelt over his chest.

"Aww honey. I'm going to talk to her, okay?" She pressed the push to start button, and he didn't respond because it wouldn't make a difference anyway.

He pulled at the band on his wrist, now feeling bad about his choice of clothing. He should've just stuck with his normal outfit.

The time read 1:32 on his diamond watch, and he sighed to himself, his leg bouncing in place out of slight irritation.

After stopping to get food, Kyzion was dropped off at the community center, and instead of going straight inside, he waited on the front bench for Nalani.

A part of him figured that she would probably stand him up, because who would want to go on a non-date with an autistic person at a building full of more autistic people?

He hoped that he hadn't weirded her out, because those weren't his intentions. He just wanted to step out of the box a bit with how he interacted with others, but he was beginning to regret that.

"Kazi?" A voice called, and he looked up from his wristband, his expression softening after seeing Nalani in front of him.

"I didn't think that you would come." He flattened his shirt in the front, standing up from the bench.

"Why wouldn't I? You look-different." She said after scanning over his outfit, and he looked down at it as well.

"I know. I'm sorry. I was trying to be more-regular, I don't know. I didn't want you to think I was weird or anything." He nervously rambled, and she met his gaze.

"You don't have to change for me. I think you looked good before, and you look good now too. I love those shoes, I've been trying to find them everywhere but most places are sold out in my size." She told him, referring to his Off-White Jordan Retro 4s.

"Thank you. My Ama bought 'em a few days ago. This my first time wearing 'em." He put his hands in his pocket so that he didn't fidget, walking with her towards the building.

"They compliment your outfit well. So, what kind of talent show is this?" She asked, strolling on the side of him.

"Um, I don't know. A regular one, I guess. We've never had one before. This is basically like a daycare center, but for adults with neurological disorders. So we don't usually do stuff like this, we normally just read or something." He shrugged, his eyes twitching as he explained.

"Um, I need to sit down really quick." He mumbled, and she turned her head, watching him sit down on another bench that was near the entrance of the building.

"Shit," She tried not to panic, catching his head just before it could hit the wood after he'd passed out. She knew that this was a frequent occurrence, but this was her first time actually witnessing it, and she didn't know what to do.

As she was pondering on calling Amanda, Kyzion came back conscious, slowly lifting his head from her hand.

"Are you okay? Do you need water or something?" She asked, still unsure of what to do or how she could help.

"Can you u-um, can you take me home, please? I can call my Ama if you don't w-,"

"I can take you. Come on, be careful." She helped him up from the bench, wrapping her arm around his torso to support his body weight.

"I'm sorry." He mumbled, his tongue clicking in his mouth because he could feel himself becoming overwhelmed.

"That's okay. You don't have to apologize, you didn't do anything wrong." She told him, opening her car door for him, and then she helped him inside.

He leaned his head back on the seat, his right leg bouncing in an attempt to calm himself down before he had a panic attack. He was finally understanding what embarrassment was.

"Why are you frowning? Are you okay?" She asked, looking over at him while cranking her car up.

"I'm embarrassed, I think. Do you think I'm weird?" He mumbled, and her eyebrows furrowed.

"You can't help how you are Kazi. I don't think you're weird. Stop being so hard on yourself." She told him, and he looked down at his hands, flicking his right thumb over his left one.

"Okay. I'm sorry, I don't mean to be." He fidgeted with his hands, talking in a low tone because he had a headache now.

"You don't have to apologize. If it makes you feel better, I'll come up here with you next weekend?" She suggested, and he looked over at her.

"Really? Why?"

"Because you made me miss the talent show, so I want a redo." She nudged his shoulder as she backed out of the parking spot, and he cracked a smile.

"Okay. Ok, we can do a redo. I'm going to get a car, and then I'll come and get you. And do you like flowers?" He asked, and she chuckled, glancing over at him.

"I love flowers."

"That's cool. You look like a rose kinda girl. Or do you enjoy sunflowers? Peonies are really pretty, like you. They're pink, and a bunch of them come in a bouquet. I can get you some if you'd like." He continued to play with his hands, stopping himself before he could rant.

"Pretty, like me?" She rose an eyebrow, and he nodded his head.

"Why did you repeat that? I'd already said it." He frowned in confusion, and she smiled, holding her hands up in surrender.

I never have anything to say down here anymore