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Isabella glared daggers at the paisley table cloth while she absentmindedly picked at her mushroom ravioli. Across the table, Marcia and her date, Adam, were talking animatedly about some scool event coming up. A pep-rally, no doubt. Beside Isabella was her date, Andrew, who would not stop talking about his new car. Well... if you can call an 89' Dodge Neon new.

Damn Marcia...


"So, Bella? Having a good time?" asked Marcia.

Isabella mustered up the best smile she could manage and nodded. "Sure. Andrew is... really interesting."

Marcia grinned, clearly happy with her response, and turned back to face Adam. Isabella was highly aware of the fact that Andrew kept scooting his chair closer to hers, but, tried her best to fight the urge of 'accidentally' moving her knee so that it would collide with a certain part of his anatomy.

Andrew smiled sheepishly and slowly slid his hand across the table, hesitantly taking Isabella's in his. "Am I boring you?"

Yes. "No."

"You sure? We could talk about something else." suggested Andrew.

Isabella smiled weakly and tried to pull her hand out of his grasp. Not succeeding. "No, it's fine, Andrew. Really. What were you saying about floor mats?"

Andrew beamed and continued on into his rant of what floor mats he wanted to buy. Isabella was surprised she lasted this long into the date. She was sure that she would've set fire to someone by now. Not that she didn't think about every now and then.
There were several times that Marcia was positioned just right over the candle, so that if Isabella knocked the table, her hair would fall right in. Burning all of her bright blond locks. It'd no doubt go up in flames the second the first strand hit the fire. From the looks of it, Marcia didn't skip over on the hairspray.

"What do you think about that, Bella?"

Adams shrill voice brought Isabella back to reality. Shaking her head, Isabella smiled politely and felt the heat rise to her cheeks. "I'm sorry, Adam, what?"

Marcia rolled her eyes and interrupted Adam. "About us all doing this again tomorrow night. We could go to the movies or something. Something a little more casual. It'd be fun."

Isabella froze and racked her brain for an excuse. How could she let them down gently? Fake an illness? No. That would never work. How do you say, 'I'm sorry, but I'll be sick that day.' and expect to get away with it?

Finally, Isabella found the perfect one. One they couln't argue on. "Sorry. I can't. I'm going to visit my dad tomorrow."

Marcia pursed her lips and pouted. "Can't you reschedule?"

"No. He really busy and tomorrow's his only day off for a while so I'd like to see him as early as I can."

"That sucks." mumbled Andrew, toying with the end of his sleeve.

Isabella shot him a pity glance and returned her gaze to her plate of untouched ravioli.


_______________________


After two hours of unbearable torture, finally, the date was over. Isabella politely refused a ride home with anybody and said that she needed to get some fresh air. About halfway home, Isabella caught sight of a silhouette sitting on a park bench, hunched over something.
At first, she thought the worst. A murderer. Working over a dead body trying to cover up the mess. But as she looked closer, she noticed that the silhouette seemed familiar to her.

Isabella crossed the street quickly and stood behind the bench, lightly tapping him on the shoulder. "Gerard?"

He jumped and caught his breath, relaxing as he recognized her voice. "Bella? What are you doing out this late? It's nearly midnight."

"Walking home from a date. You?"

He furrowed his brows and cocked his head to one side. Ignoring her question. "Date?"

Isabella sighed and nodded. "Yeah. With Andrew, off all people. It was probably the worst date I ever had. He wouldn't shut up about his floor mats."

Gerard snickered and pushed further. "You went on a date with Andrew?"

"Yeah. Not by choice, though, if that's what you're thinking." Isabella shuddered at the thought of going on another date with Andrew of her own free will. "Marcia set me up."

Gerard smiled faintly and patted the spot next to him. "Wanna sit?"

"Sure." Isabella grinned and occupied the seat next to his, looking down at his sketch pad to see his work. "That's nice."

"Thanks."

Isabella could've sworn she saw a blush spread on his cheeks but she couldn't be sure. It was too dark. She smiled hugely to herself, happy with how her night ended up, and relaxed against the wood, watching him continue his drawing. Somehow, this felt right to her, and it felt nice. Being with Gerard.

If she could only get the courage to say it outloud...



A/N - Thanks to those who reviewed. I love you, too! Sorry to leave you hanging on Isabella and Gerard like this but they're going to get a chapter all to themselves next so I figured I'd end this one here. Next one should be out soon. Thanks for reading!