You Shine Brighter Than Anyone

Delilah looked in the mirror and took a deep breath, carefully analyzing every detail of her outfit. She ran her freshly-painted, black fingernails through her brown hair, wiped at the corner of her mouth where her lip-gloss had smudged, and tugged at the hem of her dress, hoping it wasn't too short. She didn't want Noah to think she was a slut.

She turned around to face Penelope, who was sitting on her bed, "How do I look?"

Penelope stood up and looked over Delilah's outfit, "What shoes are you gonna wear?"

"I was thinking either those flats that I got for Christmas last year or those black Converse you got me for my birthday," Delilah replied, her lips pursed in deep thought.

"Go with the Converse, most definitely."

She scurried over to her closet and shoved on her Converse, "Well?" she asked Penelope.

"You look gorgeous, Lilah," she smiled.

Delilah smiled in response. Her smile soon turned to panic as she saw an unfamiliar car pull up in her driveway, "Oh, God. That must be him."

"Well, hurry then!" Penelope said, right as the doorbell rang. She grabbed Delilah's arm and pulled her to the front door, "Don't be nervous; you look amazing. He's gonna love you."

Delilah smiled at her friend, hugged her, then took a deep breath. She opened the door.

"Hi," Noah smiled.

"Hi," Delilah smiled in return.

"Well," Noah said, exhaling deeply at the same time, "Shall we?" he offered his arm to Delilah.

"We shall," she laughed, linking her arm through Noah's, "Bye, Penny!" with that, they hurried out the door and into Noah's Honda.

"Where are we going?" Delilah asked as they pulled out of the driveway.

"Dinner and a movie, if that's alright with you."

"That sounds good," she smiled, trying to get over her nerves. She took in his appearance; his curly, brown hair tousled to perfection, gray skinny jeans, bright blue Vans, and a pale green button-up shirt with the sleeves rolled up. The fact that nothing matched only made him more flawless, "So, what movie are we seeing?"

"I was thinking that one with Johnny Depp in it." he said.

"Ah, a man with good taste," Delilah smiled, "Johnny Depp's the best."

"Well, duh. I mean, did you see him in Sweeney Todd? It's a masterpiece."

They went on talking about various Tim Burton films until they arrived at the movie theater.

They walked through the glass double doors at the entrance, and bought two tickets to Alice in Wonderland. After getting popcorn, Sour Patch Kids, and two Cokes, they found two seats in the very back.

They giggled the entire movie, pissing off a number of Tim Burton fanatics to the point where one girl threatened to "slap that smile right off your little face."

After receiving a few angry glares, they left the movie early and went to Waffle House.

"It's really early," said Delilah, "Do you want to go somewhere else after we eat?"

"How about the beach?" Noah suggested.

"Okay," Delilah smiled, "Sound good."

They both only got hash browns because they were full from the popcorn. When they had finished eating, they hopped in the car and drove to the beach.

While they were walking towards the ocean, Noah offered Delilah his hand. She gladly took it, getting butterflies in her stomach in the process.

They sat down, hand in hand. Noah leaned in, and kissed her. Delilah kissed him back, loving the fact that she could feel him smiling against her lips. She could've stayed like this forever, and she'd be happy.