It Started With a Whisper

I didn't know what to do with myself. I had never been so nervous for anything in my life. My hands were shaking as I desperately tried to apply a little bit of mascara to my eyelashes. I got frustrated and threw the brush down, running my fingers through my hair.

"What's got you so worked up?" Amelia asked, barging into my room. She was holding a pizza and a two liter bottle of soda, an overnight bag hanging from her shoulder, "Where are you going?" I didn't know if I wanted to tell her the truth. I didn't feel like getting the 'I told you so' speech. I had enough going on in my head without her adding to it. The problem was that she was going to figure it out either way, so there wasn't a point in lying to her.

"I have a date," I mumbled, trying to swipe some mascara over my eyelashes again. I was a little more successful this time, and I finally felt satisfied with the way that I looked. I fluffed my hair up a little, frustrated with the curls. The one day I wanted them to be at least a little wild, they decided to be the tamest they've ever been.

"With who?" The doorbell rang on cue as if the universe just had it in the stars for me to get busted. I didn't bother walking out of my room because Amelia had already bolted towards the door. I sighed and shook my hair out a bit before sliding on my shoes and grabbing my purse.

"I FUCKING KNEW IT!" I knew I was in for it the minute I stepped out of my room, so I was trying to prolong the process as long as possible. I knew I couldn't wait in my room forever. It was clear that Amelia had every intention of spending the night, so even if I didn't get the lecture now, I was going to get it when I got back, "Aria!" I closed my eyes for a minute and took a deep breath before walking out into the living room area. Amelia was grinning like an idiot, and Dave look a little embarrassed at being caught.

"I'm sorry. I didn't know she was coming over," I muttered to him, standing at his side.

"It's okay. If it wasn't for her, I don't think I would have asked you out in the first place." He smiled lightly down at me, but it didn't really make me feel better. I was still iffy about this entire situation. There was too much at stake for the both of us. I didn't think I was worth him losing his job if someone found out about us.

"Exactly. You should be thanking me," Amelia said pointedly, crossing her arms over her chest. I rolled my eyes and turned towards the door.

"Are you ready?" I asked Dave, trying to get out as fast as I could.

"Yeah." He grabbed my hand and started to pull me outside.

"Have her home before midnight!" Amelia shouted as the door closed behind us. My nervousness grew as we walked down the stairs to his car. I could feel my hands shaking and beginning to sweat.

"I can tell you're nervous. Calm down, Aria. It's okay." I stared up at him in disbelief.

"I have every right to be nervous right now," I said. He seemed to understand where my head was and nodded once.

"You're right. I'm sorry, but I don't want you to be looking over your shoulder all night. This is supposed to be fun. Can you please try to enjoy yourself?" I was going to protest and demand that he let me go back upstairs, but I thought about two different things. One, Amelia was up there probably waiting to grill me about everything, and I had agreed to go to dinner with Dave. Maybe this would be the night that we both realized things wouldn't work out with us, and we could move on with our lives.

"Yes," I mumbled as he helped me into the passenger's seat of his car. He closed the door behind me, and in the five seconds it took him to walk to the driver's side and get in, I tried to convince myself that I was okay with what was about to take place. I didn't know how long we had been driving, but my nervousness grew once again when Dave pulled into the parking lot of a restaurant. Although we seemed to be far from the school, I still felt like we were going to be seen by someone.

"You okay?" Dave asked, shutting the car off. I nodded once, but I think we both knew that I was lying. He got out of the car and walked over to open my door for me. I hesitantly stepped out of the car, letting him keep his fingers wrapped around mine. They provided me with comfort. The restaurant was a little crowded, something I was thankful for. I wouldn't feel like all the attention was on me and Dave. We were seated fairly quickly, and I took the seat so that my back was facing the door. I didn't want to constantly be looking up every time somebody entered.

"I'm happy you agreed to come to dinner with me." He gave me a smile that I couldn't help but return, despite the nervousness that wouldn't seem to leave me.

"I still can't believe you asked." I had a lot more to say, but I didn't want to open that can of worms while we were supposed to be having fun. A waitress came over to take our drink orders. She couldn't keep her eyes off Dave, and I wanted to strangle her. Regardless of if we were in a relationship or not, clearly we were on a date. The fact that the waitress couldn't respect that pissed me off. There was a reason Amelia was truly my only female friend. Girls were vicious human beings that had no remorse for the things that they did. Dave's phone began to ring, and I could see the annoyed look on his face as he pulled it out of his pocket. He glanced down at the screen and sighed.

"I'm sorry. I have to take this. Do you mind?" he asked. I shook my head and sipped at the water in front of me. I watched him walk away before I let out a breath that I didn't know I was holding.

"Aria?" I prayed that my mind was playing tricks on me. I closed my eyes for half a second, and when I opened them, I felt like my heart had dropped into my stomach.

"Hi Daniel," I mumbled, running my fingers through my hair. I hoped Dave's phone call would take a while. I didn't want Daniel to see him. That was a surefire way to raise questions, and that was exactly what I didn't want to happen.

"Are you here on a date?" I could hear the sadness and disappointment in his tone, and I didn't have it in me to break his heart.

"No. My sister is out here visiting. She just had to take a phone call." His face lit up a little, and I sighed thankfully at the fact that I had dodged a bullet.

"Oh okay. Well I'll let you get back to your evening. I'll see you at school." He leaned down and kissed my cheek before walking off. I could feel my face burning, and I knew I was as red as a tomato. Seeing Daniel made me realize just how wrong everything was. When Dave got back to the table, he looked upset.

"I'm sorry Aria, but I have to cut this night short. I have a family emergency." I nodded and stood while he put some money on the table for the drinks we never even got to finish. He led me out of the restaurant and back to the car. He sped back to my apartment, and I realized that whatever he had going was really serious.

"I promise to make this up to you." I didn't want to say anything that would upset him. He seemed to have enough on his plate, so I just nodded and got out of the car. I walked up to my apartment and unlocked the door. Amelia was screaming at the TV with popcorn in her lap.

"Why are you yelling?" I asked, dropping my keys on the coffee table and sliding off my boots. She looked down at her phone and then back up at me.

"You're home early," she noted, looking me up and down. I knew she thought I had done something to ruin the date. She opened her mouth to ask me what happened, but I beat her to the punch.

"He had a family emergency." I sat down on the couch and put my hand in the middle of the popcorn bowl, pulling back a handful.

"What's wrong?"

"I ran into Daniel at the restaurant." She got wide eyed for a second.

"He saw you with Mr. Franco?" It was weird hearing her call him that. I was so used to his name now.

"No. Dave stepped out to make a phone call. I lied and told him that I was there with my sister." I felt bad about everything. I had to stop whatever was going on with me and Dave. I just felt like it was going to end horribly.

"Aria, you're going to have to tell him at some point that you're not interested in him like that. He really likes you, and you're playing with his emotions."

"But I should be interested in him like that. There's nothing wrong with Daniel. He's a great guy. He's smart, he's got his head on straight....there's no reason I shouldn't like him." I didn't know what was wrong with me. Why was I trying to fight everything?

"But the point is that you don't, and you need to tell him that before things become worse than they already are. You can't help who you have feelings for." She was right, and I hated when she was right.

"I'm going to bed." I walked into my room and shut the door behind me. I had a lot to think about.