Official date?

She watched the lonely bubble chat when, all of a sudden, the double check showed her he had read her message. The letter under his name informed her he was writing something back. Shit, she thought. That was fast.

A: "It's doing great." the curt reply made her flinch. She bit her lip, not knowing if she should reply or not.

Her phone buzzed again a couple of minutes later.

A: "What about you? Your ex's show sure made you have a hard time."

I: "I'm good. I knew he was an asshole, but I didn't know he was that shameless."

A: "You looked pretty cool saying all those things to him."

I: "Haha, thanks. You were pretty awesome too… Thanks again for helping me out."

A: "It's OK. I actually enjoyed the whole thing."

"What came after was way better, tho."

She blushed, grinning wider and wider as she read the last message over and over again.

I: "Same here."

Texts were flowing rapidly, but he took his time to reply this time.

A: "Are you free this weekend?"

She thought about cancelling all of her plans right at that moment. The idea only lasted a second, as she pictured her mother's disappointed face, and MJ and Cassidy mocking her about changing plans to go out with a dude.

I: "I'm going out with my mom on Saturday, and I'm going out with a couple of friends on Sunday…"

"Why?"

A: "Nothing. Maybe another time."

Isabelle felt her stomach sink. She wanted to take that chance, or actually any chance to see him.

A: "I just"

"Kinda wanted to see you."

Butterflies revolted in her belly, sending warm waves to the rest of her body. She bit her lip, trying to hide the smile spreading across her face. It's not like someone could see her, but she felt embarrassed at how happy she felt; how hopeful her heart fluttered in her chest.

Her fingers trembled as she typed back.

I: "Me too"

"To be honest, I thought about cancelling my plans."

She regretted the last message the moment she sent it. Oh my god. Now he'll think I'm thirsty or something, she thought.

A: "Hahaha"

"Cute"

"But don't, go have a good time. We can hang out another time."

I: "Can't wait! :)"

A: "Same…"

Isabelle, as it is to imagine, forgot about her homework. They didn't take long to answer back, so the conversation was flowing quite fast. They talked for hours about nothing in particular, as none of them wanted to let the conversation die.

They ended up falling asleep late at night, as they waited for the other's reply.

Sunday morning arrived in a blink.

Isabelle's wavy red hair tickled her shoulders as she had trimmed it by half it's original length. She didn't say a thing to her friends to give them the surprise, and since they were meeting at the mall, it was the perfect occasion.

She had breakfast and prepared her clothes for later: a soft, all-white dress that reaches her knees, with no sleeves, and a not-so-large cleavage. She also put out some light blue converse that matched perfectly with her large striped purse. She was happy with it. She took a picture of the whole set and sent it to her friends' chat group.

Closing their chat, her eyes wandered a bit lower, showing the last message on Allen's chat.

I: "Now that you mention it, I don't think I've ever been to one!"

He had not seen the message, sent around 2:35 a.m this morning.

Yes, they have been talking for two days straight.

It was 8:45 now and, even though she knows he won't wake up for about an hour, she's still waiting anxiously for his reply. In fact, she would still be asleep by that time, but her mother asked her for some help with work. Her mother struggles a little with technology, and the new laptop is not helping her in any way.

Isabelle left her phone on her bed and went straight up to the kitchen again. She remembered her favorite kiwi yogurt was, as far as she knew, waiting for her in the freezer. If she was not careful, her father would eat it, so it was now or never. Right when she stepped inside the kitchen, her father was taking the yogurt out of the freezer.

"Oh no, dad. That's mine!" her father turned around, putting on a shy smile."I'll buy you more tomorrow, OK?" his puppy eyes made her laugh.

"I knew you were going to take it… Fine! Tomorrow." Isabelle walked to the counter and grabbed a spoon. "For now, I'll let it pass if you give me some."

Her father just nodded, walking towards her to offer her some. She grabbed a full spoon of it and ate it in one bite.

"When is it that you're going out?" her mother appeared in the kitchen too, pouring some water into her favorite cup.

"I'll go check on MJ in 5 minutes, and then I'll come back to get ready."

"Alright. Be safe, sweetheart!" Her mother walked out again and headed to the studio. Isabelle walked towards the stairs, but stopped before leaving the kitchen.

"I'll get going, dad," she turned back. "Tomorrow!" She reminded him.

He replied with a deep laugh and a nod. "I promise. Maybe I should buy a whole box…" The last part said more to himself than to her.

Isabelle went upstairs, throwing herself on the bed.

She was still a little sleepy since she went to sleep late and had to wake up early. She closed her eyes for a couple of minutes, when her phone buzzed a couple of times. She was almost asleep when Allen's face stepped in her mind. Her eyes darted open, her body lifting from bed at full speed. She stretched her body to reach her phone and check the notifications.

A: "We should go together."

"Maybe next weekend?"

His text was hanging on her screen, but not for long. She opened the chat with a smile on her face, quickly replying something back. She wondered if it was a date, but shook the thought fast when her heart started to flutter. Without wasting time, she grabbed all she was going to wear and threw it in a big beach bag. She grabbed her keys, said goodbye to her parents, crossed the street and knocked on the neighbor's door.

"Isabelle, honey!" A chubby, black-haired woman greeted her, a broad smile reaching her lips as her big blue eyes opened in surprise. "Oh my god! You trimmed your hair!" She reached out a hand to touch Isabelle's hair, caressing it carefully. "You look gorgeous."

"Thank you, Sarah!" Isabelle smiled shyly. "I was a little scared at first, but it looked good in the end!"

"You're still young, and you have a pretty face. Any haircut will suit you." The woman winked, making Isabelle's smile wider.

"Thanks."

"Oh, James is upstairs, but I think he's still asleep. Can you please wake him up?"

"Of course! Leave it to me, mam!" For her, this was like a second home, so she just got inside and head to the stairs right away.

"Breakfast?"

"No, thanks! I had to wake up early today, so I already got something." Isabelle smiled.

"I'll make pancakes." Isabelle stopped in her tracks, looking back at her.

A sheepish smile crossed her face. "I can make room for that!"

MJ's mother laughed, heading to the kitchen.

When Isabelle reached MJ's room, she made sure to do it quietly. She left her bag on the floor and approached his bed like a ninja. His beautiful features looked even better as he was sound asleep, a peaceful look on his face. She climbed on his bed and laid down flat over him; her weight making him shift uncomfortably. She stood there for a couple of minutes, but he didn't wake up. She started bouncing a little. He groaned, lifting his head and opening his right eye barely enough to let him see who it was.

"What the fuck," his hoarse voice made her laugh. He let his head fall down again, irritated.

"Wake up, sleepy head." She rolled to one side and landed beside him. "Sarah is making breakfast." She paused for a second. "Pancakes."

His eyes fluttered open. He loved those pancakes as much as Isabelle did.

He stretched his body, then landed his arm over hers. He pulled her closer, hugging her tiny frame compared to his.

"So? What happened that was so important you wanted to tell me so badly it made you come here?" He knew her pretty well. She smiled shyly.

"If I tell someone that I've never been to an amusement park, and that person tells me we can go together next weekend… Is that a date?" Her voice came out more like a whisper, a sudden blush on her cheeks.

MJ's dark eyes watched her carefully, studying her face. "It looks like that to me. Why? Mr. Hotness asked you out?"

She nodded. "But maybe it's not a date…" her voice trailed off.

"If he's going just because you told him, then he wants to please you. And to me, that's the whole point of a date." MJ smiled. "Besides, you've been talking every day. He's obviously interested."

"But—" she started, but he bumped his forehead against hers to stop them from talking. "Ouch!"

"Stop it." He narrowed his eyes and looked at her seriously. "I love you, Iry, so you know I want what's best for you. So just go with it. It's just a date…" He kissed her forehead. "Just… My advice, I guess, would be to not sleep with him again?"

"Why are you asking me that? You're the one giving advice." She pouted.

"I know, but I also know I'm weak and would probably do it again," he laughed. "For real though. I know you can handle a heartbreak, but I'm the one who can't see you heartbroken… So please, be smart about it? Don't miss things out, but be smart."

Isabelle nodded, feeling safe in his embrace.

They have always been very close, they were brothers given by life. They embraced each other the way they were, and were always side by side in each good or bad moment of their lives. She was happy to have him around.

"Nice haircut, by the way. It suits you."

"I know," she smiled.

"You're taking it seriously, huh? Your date."

"I cut it before knowing about the date!" She defended herself, rolling her eyes up.

"Hmm… You'll have him drooling, that's for sure." She blushed a little, but didn't say anything.

The thought made her heart flutter inside her chest, so she wanted it to last a little longer.