I held the phone in my hands. Staring at it as if it were from another planet. Christy elbowed me, and gave me a supportive look. I looked at the piece of paper beside me, and took a big breath.
"Go on!" Christy urged. I looked at her. She rolled her eyes playfully.
"Why are you so nervous? You're just calling him!" She said with a laugh.
"Calling him to ask him out!!" I retorted. I threw the phone on the bed. "I can't do this!" I whined. Christy rolled her eyes again, grabbing the phone and the piece of paper. She started dialing. I sat up quickly.
"What are you doing?" I asked apprehensively.
"What does it look like i'm doing? I'm calling Nick, since your too chicken to do it!" She teased. I grabbed the phone from her, turning it off. "Hey!" She squealed. I held it tightly to my chest.
"You are not calling him. I'll do it...." I declared. Then looked at her uneasily. "Later..." I assured her. Christy crossed her arms over her chest and huffed.
"You know you're just trying to get out of this. Just do it now, and get it over with!" She reasoned with me. I bit my lip.
"What if he says no?" I asked wearily. Christy gave me an assuring smile and shook her head.
"He will not say no to you." She snickered.
I looked at the phone again. Slowly I reached over taking the paper out of her lap. And set it beside me, once again. With my fingers shaking, I dialed, taking my time. Christy forced a sigh, signalling I was taking way too long. I glared at her and continued dialing.
I held the phone up to my ear as it began to ring, and grabbed onto Christy's hand for support. She squeezed it supportively. I held my breath as I heard someone pick up.
"Hello?" A male voice greeted. I looked over at Christy once more, before speaking.
"Hi..is this Nick speaking?" I asked quietly.
"That would be me! May I ask who this is?" He asked.
"Um, It's Laurel. The Girl you-" He cut me off.
"Hey Laurel! How are you?" He asked brightly. I smiled to myself, at least he still remembered me.
"Pretty good. And yourself?" I replied politely.
"Just great..." He trailed off. I opened my mouth to speak again. But quickly closed it, too nervous for words.
"Sooo......" He continued on. I swallowed hard.
"Well, I was just wondering if.." I stopped, and bit my lip. "You don't have to if you don't want to. I mean, you can say no. If you want..." I heard Nick laugh on the other end.
"Whatever it is i'm sure I won't say no." He chuckled. I blushed, even though he couldn't see me.
"I was just wondering if you wanted to go out to dinner, or something like that. Tomorrow, tonight, whenever you're not busy." I blurted out.
"Absolutely! Tomorrow sounds good for me, just because tonight I have to.....work." He replied. I let out a huge breath, and then smiled when I realized he said yes. I looked at Christy, and gave her a quick thumbs up.
"Alright, no problem!" I chirped. "Where would you like to eat?"
"How about...the Rainforst Cafe?" He suggested.
"Sure...sounds good." I agreed, even though I had never been there before. "Can you come pick me up? Or should we just meet there?"
"I'll come pick you up. At, how does around sixish sound?" He questioned.
"Sounds great. I'll see you then I guess." I concluded.
"Yep, looks like it." He murmured. I crossed my legs, not knowing what else to say.
"Okay, See you then." I finished.
"See you....hey, Laurel?" He said suddenly.
"Yes?"
"I'm looking forward to it already." He said shyly. Or at least that's how he sounded. I looked down, to stop the smile from covering my face once again.
"Me too Nick. Take Care, Bye!" I said exctiedly.
"You too, See ya."
I pressed the 'off' button. And leaned over to Christy and squeezed her in a tight hug. She giggled.
"I told you he would say yes!" She said smartly. I smiled and simply nodded. Then my face dropped. "What?" She asked quickly.
"I can't go out looking like this..." I whispered, touching my face. It had been about a week and a half since Peter took me, and I looked a whole lot better, but scars and a couple bruises were still apparent on my face.
"That's what concealer is for! And I have some nice clothes you can borrow!" She said reassuringly.
***************
I ran a stray hand through my hair, as I waited for my latest customer to pay me. He sorted through his wallet, counting cash. Before handing a few bills to me. I looked at them, and smiled at him approvingly before making my way towards the door.
I pulled on my coat, as I stepped out of the elevator, and outside. Stuffing my hands into my pockets, I smiled at myself thinking about my date tomorrow with Nick. I didn't even blink when a guy ran into me. Normally I would be pissed off but when he apologized I just gave him a big smile and said: "Don't worry about it!"
I was way too giddy for a nineteen year old. At one point, I even started skipping as I walked. But when I received some strange looks, I stopped. I felt like I was sixteen all over again. But the only thing was, I didn't even have dates when I was that age. I didn't have dates ever, actually.
I realized this would be my first date. And suddenly I became extremely nervous. What if I messed up? What if I act like a total idiot? What if he doesn't like me after this date? A million other 'What Ifs' ran through my mind.
I shook the thoughts out of my head quickly.
***************
-The next day-
I opened my eyes, sleepily. And saw Christy shaking me repetatively. I pushed her arms off of me, and rubbed my eyes.
I glanced at the clock. '7 a.m.'
"Why the hell are you waking me up at seven? I don't have anywhere to be right now!" I said huffily. Christy jumped up.
"I know! But you have a date at six, that leaves us only eleven hours to get you ready!" She smiled. I groaned.
"Okay I need to start getting ready like two hours before six. God, I don't look that bad!" I defended myself.
Christy grabbed my arms, pulling me up and out of bed. I whined as she dragged me to the bathroom, and pushed me inside.
"Have a nice, long shower. Very long!" She said urgently. You would think she had a movie premiere to attend.
I sulked as I peeled my pajamas off my body, and stepped into the shower. Preparing myself for a long day. A very long day.
***************