Victoria’s parents weren’t very surprised when she told them she had a date with the boy across the street. Her dad had already called it since the time Victoria had asked how to get a boy’s attention. They patiently agreed to the date after a few days, not knowing that Alex was the boy she went to the party with before. They were totally in the clear.

At exactly seven PM, Alex had knocked on the door. Victoria ran down the stairs, almost tripping over her own feet even though she was only wearing her old Converse. She hastily opened the door, flashing him a big smile as he handed her a single red rose. Victoria appreciated it more than anything, seeing as she knew that Alex was literally shit-broke.

Victoria’s mom took the rose away to put it in a vase, hugging Alex in the process. Victoria was even more surprised when Alex confidently shook her father’s hand. He stared at Alex more than it was needed, causing Alex’s hands to sweat and slide away from her dad’s grasp. Just because her father agreed to the date didn’t mean he wasn’t suspicious of his attentions. “Home by ten,” he growled at Alex, only receiving a nervous smile.

“Okay, we’re leaving now.” Victoria chuckled, grabbing Alex’s sweaty hand and waving her parents goodbye.

The car ride was quiet, the soft sounds of The Ramones playing through his speakers. The windows were all down, letting Victoria hang her arm by the side and watch the town fly by. “So tell me,” he finally spoke. “How does one say ‘you look very pretty tonight’ without sounding like a prick?”

Victoria bit her lip while trying to hide her dopey grin. She couldn’t help it. He was complimenting her when she probably looked like complete shit in her plaid blouse and shorts. “I don’t know; I’ve never really gotten a compliment like that before.” She shrugged.

“You should,” he said, grabbing her hand.

“Enough with the cheese, doofus,” she chuckled. “Where are we going?”

“You’ll see,” he smiled.

They soon pulled up to the town’s “world famous” old-fashioned diner. Victoria remembered her father always taking her to the place when she was little. She looked at Alex as he opened her passenger door for her. “How did you―?”

He snapped his fingers. “Magic.”

“You such a liar, Gaskarth. You asked my parents about it, didn’t you?”

“A magician doesn’t reveal his secrets.” He locked his arm with hers. “So shut up and enjoy this.”

She chuckled as they walked inside the 50s styled restaurant. They took the simple red booth in the back of the diner, the waitress already walking over and taking their orders. Victoria looked around the familiar place, remembering the days when she used to come there every Sunday morning with her father. She could almost see her and her dad’s name’s etched into the wood on the wall.

She looked up and noticed Alex staring at her. She felt the red creeping up her cheeks as she looked down. It was so odd―blushing. She had never really done that before. Let alone she had never liked someone as much as Alex before.

Victoria felt her hands begin to shake throughout the dinner, her nerves getting to her. Alex kept looking at her and smiling. No one had ever did that to her before. Seeing as she was already nervous enough, and she had the tendency to blurt when she was nervous, nothing could stop her incoming statement.

“Are you a virgin?” She blurted.

He almost spit out the French fry that he was chewing on.

She covered her mouth with her hands. “Fuck! I’m so sorry! I just― When I’m nervous, I―”

He sucked down a bit of his water to stop his choking and breathed out. “It’s okay, Hamilton.” He then smirked. “I knew someday you’d be curious enough to wonder about my sex life.”

Her head fell into her hands. “I just ruined our date, didn’t I?”

He pulled her hands away. “No, you didn’t. We all get nervous sometimes.” He shrugged. “Besides, I have nothing to hide: I’m not, actually.”

“Why did you admit that? Why couldn’t you have just lied?” Her hands found their way to her face again.

He lofted a brow. “Why would I lie about that?”

“It makes me look like a total loser.”

“If anything, I’m the loser.” He spoke softly, her eyes roaming to his again. “It happened when I was 15 and it literally meant shit to me. I barely even knew the girl and I had to break her heart the next day.” He then glanced at her. “Now I seem like a dick, don’t I?”

“No, it’s understandable.” She nodded, popping a fry in her mouth.

“Victoria, you should know that I would never do that to―”

“It’s okay, it’s okay,” she soothed, actually grabbing his hand from across the table.

He smirked her way. “You have a curious mind, Hamilton.” He said, causing her to chuckle. “You’re lucky I like that in a girl.”

Even though Victoria still felt like she ruined the date, she tried to enjoy it the best she could. They chatted on as they shared a burger plate, Victoria scolding Alex for enjoying the radishes that came on the burger. (Her one pet peeve about the diner: their burgers came with radishes on them.) He told her that the band was going great and they might get their first gig soon at the upcoming dance.

It was when Alex pulled up to her house that she felt the sadness creep on. She didn’t want the day to end. She didn’t want any day with him to end. It was almost as if his presence made this shitty town alive again.

He walked her to the door, something Victoria never expected a guy like Alex Gaskarth to do. She didn’t know what to say. She clearly didn’t want to let the words “good bye” slip from her lips, so she stayed quiet. All they did was stare at each other as the words “remember when you hated couples?” snuck into her mind. She was such a hypocrite sometimes.

“You’re beautiful,” he whispered then, cupping her cheek with one hand.

“No, I’m not.” She looked down. No one had really said that to her before. She was used to the name-callings and people saying she was ugly since freshman year so much that it was hard to believe someone could ever call her beautiful, as gloomy as it sounds.

He could see the disbelief in her eyes as he lifted her chin, softly speaking, “I’ll make you feel beautiful.”

It was almost as great as their first kiss. He pulled her in by her face and connected his lips with hers. He could feel her smiling into the kiss, making him smile himself. He wanted her like this: happy, always happy. Because if she was happy, he was happier.

He pulled away after a minute, giving her a small smile and saying goodbye. She waved lightly as she watched him get into his car and park it in the driveway across the street. She saw him get out of his car and look her way, still standing in the same place. He cupped his hands around his mouth, shouting, “We’ll always have tomorrow, Hamilton!”

“Don’t flatter yourself!” She retorted before unlocking her door and stepping inside the house.

Notes

This was super cute to write x3 Still trying to map out the full story, but I think I got it!
Rock on \m/ :D