Teenage Dirtbag

Haley’s POV
I was sitting on my bed, which was covered with clothes. I had no idea what to wear to my “date” with Alex. I wasn’t even sure if it really was a date, but I was freaking out nonetheless. I hadn’t been on a date in like 6 years and even though it was with Alex who I had known for years, I still wanted to look nice. The one thing I was sure of was that I would wear high heels, because it made me feel more ladylike. I had already tried on multiple combinations of clothes, but still hadn’t found the right outfit. It was already 5 PM and I would still have to cook and eat dinner so time was ticking. I decided to throw everything I would definitely not be wearing back in my closet and see what I could do with the clothes left on my bed. I tried on a black skirt with a dark gray top and a black jacket. I looked at myself in the mirror and sighed.
“Well, it won’t get better than this…” I muttered to myself.

​​​I took a picture of myself in the mirror and sent it to Jack, asking him if he thought the outfit would do for a date with Alex. I had already called Jack to fill him in about our date as soon as I got home yesterday. I was still looking at myself in the mirror, suddenly feeling very self-conscious, when my phone beeped. I unlocked it to read Jack’s reply.

Trust me, Alex will still think you’re beautiful if you show up in your pajamas. It’s fine.

I sighed. This wasn’t helping. I knew Jack was probably right, but I still wanted to look pretty for our first date. I decided to send the picture to Cassadee, she would probably be more helpful. I had been on the phone with her for an hour yesterday talking about tonight, since it had been so long since I last went on a date and I was pretty nervous. Within minutes she replied.

You look great, Alex will love it! :)

I smiled and decided to just go with this outfit. Time to do my hair. I plugged my straightener into the power outlet and waited for it to heat up, which didn’t take very long. I divided my hair into sections and straightened all of them. I usually couldn’t be bothered to do anything more than just brush my hair, but I wanted to make a bit more effort today. When my hair was done, I did my makeup. Then it was time to cook dinner, so I went downstairs.

Alex’s POV
I was sitting on my bed, staring at my clothes. I had no idea what to wear to my date with Haley. All of the clothes in there suddenly seemed so boring. I wanted to impress her, but I didn’t exactly have the right clothes to do so. I figured Haley would probably just put on the first thing she found in her closet and still look amazing. We were just going to the movies, so I didn’t want to overdress, but I didn’t want to feel underdressed either. I sighed and decided to call Jack. It was 6:30 PM and I really had to get ready. I dialed Jack’s number and he picked up pretty quickly.
“Hey” I heard his voice.
“I don’t know what to wear” I exclaimed into my phone.
“You’re such a girl” Jack answered.
“I wish I was, then I would probably have something to wear to a date” I answered.
“What is it with the two of you asking me for clothing advise?” Jack asked.
“Haley asked you for clothing advise?” I asked surprised.
“Yeah” Jack answered. “It might be Haley we’re talking about, but she’s still a girl that wants to look pretty for a date.”

​​​I smiled. It made me feel better about my clothing crisis that I wasn’t the only one who had one.
“What is she wearing?” I asked, so that I would know how casual I had to dress.
“Yeah, I’m not telling you that” Jack answered. “You’ll find out when you pick her up.”
“But I don’t know how casual I should dress” I whined.
“Dude, you’re going to a movie, it’ll be dark in there anyway” Jack answered.
“But…” I started.
“Just throw on some jeans, a shirt and a hoodie and you’ll be fine” Jack answered.
“But won’t that look like I didn’t even try?” I asked.
“You’re putting way too much pressure on yourself, man” Jack answered. “You’ve known Haley for years, don’t make it more awkward than it has to be. There's no need for good first impressions, you already ruined that chance. Don’t try to hard. Just be yourself, wear the clothes you would usually wear.”
“I guess that makes sense…” I answered hesitantly.
“Yes it does, so go get dressed, relax and have a fun night” Jack said.
“Okay” I answered. “Thanks.”

​​​I hung up and grabbed my favorite jeans, a light gray t-shirt and a black hoodie out of my clothes and changed into them. I spend a little more time on my hair than I usually did and went downstairs for dinner.
“Ready for your date?” my mom asked when I entered the kitchen.
“As ready as I’m gonna get” I answered.
“I’m sure it’s gonna be okay, Haley seems like a nice girl from what I always hear from you and Jack” my mom said.
“Yeah” I muttered.
I wasn’t exactly concerned with Haley not being nice, but more with me making a fool of myself. On the other hand, Haley was probably used to that. My mom then served dinner and although I felt like I couldn’t eat anything, I did it anyway as I didn’t want the night to be ruined because I was so hungry.

Haley’s POV
I put the dishes in the dishwasher, while my father had returned to his usual spot on the couch to watch some football game. Rachel was helping me by cleaning the kitchen table.
“You ready?” she asked me.
“I guess” I answered.
“Well, at least you look nice” she complimented me.
I smiled. “Thanks sis” I answered.
“I’m sure you’re gonna have a great night” she said encouraging.
“I’m still so nervous though” I replied.
“Yeah I can understand, Alex really is hot” Rachel joked.
“Oh shut it” I said laughing. “He’s too old for you anyways.”
“Don’t tell me you don’t think he’s hot” Rachel dared me.
“Fine, I won’t then” I answered. “Okay yes, he is “hot”, but he’s also just a great person okay?”
​​​I didn’t exactly like to describe Alex as “hot” since I felt it made him sound like a sex object or something.
“Okay, okay” Rachel said laughing. “I was just joking, calm the fuck down.”
“Yeah that’s easy for you to say” I muttered.
“Hales, you’ve known the guy for years, I’m sure you’ll be fine” Rachel tried to calm me down.
“I hope so” I answered.

​​​The door bell than rang. I took a deep breath.
“Come here!” Rachel exclaimed, pulling me in for a hug. “Have fun sis.”
I smiled at her, after she let me go. “Thanks.”
I headed for the front door and opened it.
“Hey” I said still very self-conscious.
I shouldn’t have put on this skirt. What if I have to bend over for whatever reason? And what did I straighten my hair? Should I have worn it up?
“Hey you” Alex said, doing that really cute half-smile he always did. “And Rachel.”
I turned around to find my little sister standing in the doorway between the hall and the living room.
“Beat it” I hissed and Rachel went into the living room and closed the door.
“You look beautiful” Alex said, blushing.
I smiled. “Thanks, so you do” I answered, eyeing him up and down.
“Ready to go?” Alex asked.
I nodded, and we got in his car and Alex drove to the cinema.

Alex’s POV
I could tell Jack was right. Haley had indeed put a lot more effort into her appearance than she usually did, which made me feel a bit more confident. We were both silent for the first five minutes in the car.
“You’re nervous?” I asked Haley.
“What? No!” she exclaimed.
I turned my head to look at her.
“Okay maybe a little” she admitted. “I don’t even know why.”
“Well, Jack told me not to put too much pressure on this whole thing” I told her. “We’re just two friends going to a movie together, it shouldn’t be awkward.”
She was silent for a moment. “We’re going as friends?” she then asked.
“I honestly don’t know” I answered. “Are we? I wasn’t sure if this was just us going to see a movie or if it was a date and I didn’t want to assume anything.”

​​​I suddenly felt pretty self-conscious, despite Jack’s advise.
“I suggest we call it a date” Haley said, smiling sweetly.
“Then a date it is” I answered. “I was hoping you would say that.”
“I know you were. But Jack is right though. We’ve known each other for years and now it suddenly feels awkward because we put the “date” label on this night, so let’s just not think about what this night is or isn’t and let’s just have fun” Haley suggested.
“Okay” I answered smiling.
I had to admit I felt less self-conscious, now that I knew we both thought the same about tonight. I drove onto the parking lot near the cinema and we both got out and walked into the building.

​​​“So, what movie are we seeing?” Haley asked.
“I don’t know, let’s see” I answered, looking at the screen that displayed the movies playing tonight.
“So, what kind of movies do you like?” Haley asked.
“Anything as long as it’s not too girly” I answered. “But if you want to go to some girly movie I’ll watch it anyway.”
“I don’t usually watch girly movies either, so don’t worry about that” she answered laughing.
“What about a thriller?” I suggested.
“Fine by me” she answered. “As long as I get to hide my face in your chest when it gets gross.”
I smiled. “You can hide you face in my chest whenever you like.” I winked.
“Good to know” she answered smiling.
“How about 88 Minutes?” I suggested.
“Okay” she answered and we went to get tickets.

​​​Despite Haley’s protests, I paid the tickets.
“I’ll tell you right now, you’re not gonna be that guy that pays for everything on a date” she warned me.
“Why not? I asked you out didn’t I?” I shrugged.
“Yes and I said yes, didn’t I?” she replied stubbornly. “I’m paying for the food and drinks. Not negotiable.”
“Okay then” I agreed and we went to get food and drinks and headed for the room in which 88 Minutes played and took our seats.
“My sister was pretty jealous of me” Haley suddenly said.
“Oh yeah? Why’s that?” I asked curiously.
“Because I’m out with you, obviously. She thinks you’re, and I’m quoting her, really hot” she said smiling.
“Yeah I get that a lot” I answered arrogantly.
“I bet you do” she answered smiling.

​​​God, she was so beautiful. I still couldn’t believe she actually said yes when I asked her out. I was convinced she’d say no. When she did say yes I figured she would think we were just going out as friends, because let’s face it, why would she say yes to a date with someone like me?
“What are you thinking?” Haley interrupted my thoughts.
“How lucky I am to be here with you” I said bluntly.

​​​I could tell Haley was blushing and didn’t really know how to reply to that. The room then went dark and the screen in front of us lit up. I gave Haley a quick smile before we focused on the screen. The movie already started with quite a lot of blood, causing Haley to, as she had already announced, hide her face in my chest. I didn’t mind it though; I thought it was pretty cute. When we were a bit further into the movie, I wondered if it would be too much for me to lay my arm around her, so I decided to go with the move you’d always see in movies. I stretched out my arms, pretending to yawn, and lay my arm around her. I noticed a smile form around her lips. She turned to look at me. I was kind of scared she was gonna tell me to keep my hands off. Instead of telling me to keep my hands off, she shot me a sweet smile, leaned into me a little and laid her head on my shoulder. I couldn’t help but smile. So far this was going a lot better than I expected.