The Rush of Something New

"He sure jumped on dating her quickly. None of us stood a chance, either. Did you see the way they were yesterday after school?"

Gossip spread pretty fast, I thought as I walked into school the next morning. I could feel everyone's stares as I walked towards the lockers, and kept my head down. Until I walked right into someone and a familiar cologne drifted into my nose. Davin was here; I knew without raising my head. I looked up into familiar green eyes and everything else fell away. I had a boyfriend. It felt like a rush, yet time stood still, and I almost glanced around to see if we were the only ones here.

"Morning." He greeted, his trademark dimple appearing and sending my heart into overdrive. "Did you hear all the gossip?"

"Yeah…" I stuttered, scratching at my cheek nervously. "You don't think it's too much?"

"Nah. I love everyone knowing you're mine." Davin grinned mischievously, before leaning against the lockers, his arms crossing over his chest, expression growing serious. "How did your parents take the news?"

I told him from the start that I would tell my parents everything. They were important to me, my family, and I loved them. It was my good fortune that he understood it. I unlocked my locker to put my backpack in and pulled a few notebooks out as I sank into thought. They seemed very supportive of the idea. I would have to remember to ask them about how they met when I got home today.

"Okay… I think?" I replied with a shrug before glancing at him. "How did yours handle it?"

"My Mom handled it well. Dad's not around." He stated as though it didn't bother him. "We lost him last year. Car accident."

"Oh, I'm so sorry." Averting my eyes to the bottom row of lockers. "I can't even imagine how that must feel."

"Crap, no, I didn't mean to start off with that." Davin said, turning to face me. "But I suppose it's better to mention it ahead of time."

Awkward silence fell, reminding us of where we were. Time always slipped by when I was with him, and since we had a lot of classes together, we were always near each other. It felt right. Just as I turned to start another conversation, I felt warm fingers pressing against my left cheek, drawing my gaze back to him. His beautiful green eyes were glazed over with a tenderness I have never seen before.

"You are my girl." He smiled, kissing my cheek again. "There are so many things adorable about you."

~~~~~

My parents shared a look before looking back at me with worried smiles. What? I did not think my question was all that strange. Annoying, maybe, but strange? Maybe they thought they could use reverse psychology, so I would talk myself out of it? No, my parents loved me; of that, I was positive. There were so many questions I had, and some answers my mom gave had my father turning pale in the face.

"How did we meet?" My mom wondered, glancing over her shoulder at my dad. "Well, honey? Do you want to tell her, or shall I?"

"Fine." Dad said, expression growing very serious. "I was a little younger than you when I first met your mother. In high school. I knew the minute we met; she was my forever. My life would be dedicated to her smile." He leaned forward, pressing his elbows against the bar near the kitchen. "If this… Davin… cares for you in the slightest, he will do everything he can for your smile first. Remember that on your first date."

"Hah. He makes it sound less romantic than it was." My mom sighed as my dad stood to leave the room. "Look. Your father worked hard to prove how much he loved me. Davin will do the same if you let him. It doesn't take much to reject someone, but placing your trust is hard. Whatever you decide will be what's best for you, sweetie."

My phone chimed, showing a text message, and I glanced at it to see Davin's name on the screen. Mom gave me a knowing wink before she stood and grabbed our teacups. I left the room, too, to return to my room. We lived in a gated community just outside the city in a nice Victorian Era manor. My parents loved the columns and arches of our home, and I loved it too.

I walked up the elaborate staircase to the second floor, which housed at least five bedrooms. They wanted to have a big family, I thought, walking past the empty guest bedrooms towards my room. When I turned fourteen, my mom asked me how I wanted my room decorated, and I ended up going with different shades of blue and white as my colors. A plaque with my name hung on the door, making me smile as I opened it.

"Davin…" I whispered, looking away from the soft blues of my still girly room to my phone.

"What did his message say?"

'Is it a good time to talk?' It read, and almost as soon as I said yes, my phone was ringing. "Hey Lulu."

"…Hi…" I mumbled, not used to talking to someone I liked like this. "What's up?"

"The weekend is taking too long and I wanted to hear your voice." Davin stated, voice honest, and my face flushed. "I miss you. Though I wanted to ask, are you free tomorrow?"

"I," Hesitating, I wondered how to answer. "I don't have any plans. Do you want to come over?"

I facepalmed, because I knew he was trying to ask me on a date. Why did I deflect and invite him here? My teeth sank into my lip as I mentally searched for a hole in the floor I could hide in. Tomorrow would be Saturday. We could go to a movie, or go out to eat. Maybe even go to a local park and talk. He didn't have to come to my house. Would he not feel out of place in a neighborhood like this? The last thing I wanted to do was make him uncomfortable.

"Sure! I have some movies I wanted to watch with you, anyway." He replied in a cheerful tone. "You'd probably feel more comfortable at your place, right? Will your parents be home?"

"Yeah, my parents are off on the weekends. It's usually time they spend with me, but we can do that on Sunday." I smiled, comforted that he understood what the heart of the problem was. "Thanks, Davin."

"You don't have to thank me. You're my girlfriend, so your comfort is my top priority." Davin continued, and I leaned back against my bed. "Did you finish your science homework?"

"No way! Science is my weakest subject. I'll be working on it tonight, though." I countered, laughing as I thought about it. "The important thing to me is to have my work done on Friday so I can relax the full weekend."

"Hey, if we video chat, I could help you. Science is actually one of my favorite subjects!"

~~~~~

Davin Robertson was unbelievable. He wore a white polo shirt and khaki pants to my house for our little 'date' today. And he looked unbelievably good. I stared at him until he walked in, then introduced himself to my mom and dad before averting my gaze. I could tell they appreciated his show, but why were they so insistent on being at the door when he arrived? When his green orbs flew to me, I forgot where we were. And my parents.

"He is cute!" My mom whispered, dragging my father behind her by the hand. "Well, you two have fun!"

"WHAT?!"

I don't know why I didn't notice my mom or dad getting ready. Or that mom grabbed the keys and her purse. Why were they doing this? They knew I did not know how to host someone and was counting on them to help me. I wanted to cry out of embarrassment, but did not want Davin seeing me so flustered. As they walked out of the door, locking it behind them, I slowly turned to find Davin already focused on me.

"Movie time?" He questioned, looking as calm as ever while holding up a paper bag. "I brought snacks too. Chocolates, popcorn, and some chewy treats like licorice and caramel." In his other hand was a CD case. "And this is a small selection of the movies I have I thought we could watch."

How could he be so calm? I was a nervous mess, anxious to be alone with him. But I nodded, motioning for him to follow me to the home theater we have. We walked side-by-side in a semi-awkward silence until I glanced at him. His cheeks were just as red as mine, maybe more so, which helped me relax a little.

Then we stepped into the home theater room and his jaw fell. One wall was a floor to ceiling screen with full surround sound. Stationed in front of the screen was a coffee table loaded with all the gaming systems ever released, organized on top of it, as well as three large curved sofas. It was my most favorite room in our entire house.

"Woah." That reminded me; this must look wild to him. "This room is incredible! Whose systems are these? Look at your Movie Wall. Holy cow, this is the biggest home theater I've ever been in. And I thought Amber's was huge."

"My father gets to know his clients by watching their movies, and my mom just loves movies. She could never be an actress, though. Mom said she had a hard time speaking in front of video cameras." I stated with a laugh, walking over to the middle leather sofa to take a seat. "Which is funny, considering she's a model."

"What does your dad do?"

"He's known as Hollywood's Lawyer. Most of his clients are people you see on television and in magazines." With a shrug, I patted the sofa next to me. "Make yourself at home. Would you like something to drink?"

He shook his head, still gazing around as he stepped forward to take a seat next to me. Everything in this room was remote controlled and it was in the very center of the house with the only lights being the square sky-light with inset dimmable LED lights in the ceiling. This room was designed for comfort and relaxation while being extremely functional. And it was the room she helped design with her parents. A bright smile lifted her lips as she pressed the button to close the skylight.

"This room is insane! I mean that in a good way. But seriously! The end tables have built-in mini-fridges. I see a popcorn machine against the wall." He looked around some more, squinting his eyes as I turned up the interior lights. "Woah! Full surround sound. Was this house made like this?"

"No, actually. This used to be the courtyard of the house, but it looked really depressing. So, my parents had a room built. We all decided together that it should be our home theater. Then we picked everything else out. This room is the culmination of all the hobbies my family and I enjoy together." I was proud, even though I knew it could be overwhelming, so I tried to backtrack a little. "Sorry, we have smaller rooms if you would be more comfortable in one of them. The study next to the kitchen has a television we could use. I know this can be a little overwhelming."

"Oh no, this is great." Davin smiled as he glanced at me, then down at his selection of snacks. "Though I guess bringing snacks and movies wasn't that helpful."

"It saves us a trip to the snack bar and Movie Wall." A giggle left me, and I pressed the button on the remote for the DVD player, making his eyes widen. "All we need is right here, so the bag of snacks is perfect."

Much to my surprise, all the movies were action-packed fighting movies. It was soothing to know I wouldn't have to feel awkward over super romantic movies or scared during horror flicks. But that kind of made me want to watch them to see what he thinks. Though what would I do if he hated them? Sometimes I could be so indecisive, a trait I disliked about myself. I could almost feel Davin getting impatient with me.