Practice-Date
1277 Words
I went downstairs to Zane who was chatting with Danna. Well, he was talking, and she was doing whatever she could to ignore him.
When I entered the room, he stared at me for a second then stood up from the couch. He cleared his throat and walked up to me.
“I’ll be leaving now, just wanted to make sure you’re okay.” He murmured, pushing his hands into the pockets of his jeans.
“Don’t be creepy Zane, it’s not a big deal.” He shrugged, taking the hint and leaving it as it is. He nodded towards the couch Danna sat, eyes glued to her screen.
“ Danna told me Elena was working till midnight. Want me to hang out and keep you company till then? ” Zane asked with a playful smile.
I chuckled, bumping my shoulder into his arm as we headed toward the kitchen. “ Aw, what a sweetheart. How is Mia not seeing this? ”
He grinned, resting an arm on my shoulder…almost crushing it in the process. “Good question,” he muttered, his voice dripping with pride.
“She must be blind,” I teased, trying to lift his spirits. But under the joke, I meant it. Zane was a sweet guy.
“Maybe you could help with that,” he said. “ We could…practice. Get better at this whole dating thing before prom.”
I paused, grabbing a plate and reaching for the jam on the top shelf. “Wait, what do you mean?”
He cleared his throat. “I mean, we could practice…dating. With each other. Maybe get some experience and land real dates by prom.”
I furrowed my brow, trying to wrap my head around the suggestion. “Like…pretend? Are we that desperate?”
“Hey, you were with Justin for a month, and he ended things by saying he ‘wasn’t ready for commitment,’” he pointed out bluntly.
I groaned, smearing way too much jam onto my bread. “Ugh. No wonder my mom doesn’t bother about my jerk of a dad. Men are the worst.”
Zane didn’t say anything for a bit, just played with a plastic knife he found on the counter while I ate. Then he opened his mouth, closed it, and finally shook his head. “Forget it. It’s stupid,” he said casually.
“No, it’s not,” I replied, shrugging. “There’s no harm in a little practice, right?”
He raised an eyebrow, watching me as I took another bite of my sandwich. “You’re sure?” he asked, moving a step closer. “I mean, you don’t have to do this just because I suggested it.”
“Oh, shut up.” I rolled my eyes. “I’m not doing it because you said so. I’m just bored. And besides, you’re someone I can push around.”
He scoffed, standing over me with a smirk. My eyes locked with his, and for a split second, I felt a weird flutter in my stomach. Something sharp, like excitement. Or nerves.
“We’ll see,” he muttered. Instinctively, I raised my sandwich to my mouth, though I had no idea why.
He snatched it out of my hand before I could take a bite. “See you later, Poppy.” He waved as he walked off.
I watched, glaring at his back as he disappeared into the other room.
“Good night, Danna,” I heard him say before the door clicked shut.
The door closed, and I stood there for a moment, staring at the empty doorway, still a little stunned. The idea of “practicing dating” with Zane felt…strange. Exciting, maybe. But strange. I mean, we were best friends. This was supposed to be easy, right?
I shook my head, trying to laugh it off as I finished my sandwich. But the more I thought about it, the more I realized what I’d agreed to. It was Zane. Someone I’d known forever, who’d seen me at my worst and my best. I trusted him. If anyone could help me improve my dating skills before prom, it was him.
But as I replayed his words in my head, I couldn’t shake this nervous flutter. Did he think it was a weird idea, too? Or was I just overthinking it?
The next day, I walked into the homeroom and found Zane lounging in his usual spot by the window, earbuds in and eyes closed. I slipped into the seat beside him and nudged his arm with my elbow.
“Hey, sleepyhead.”
His eyes opened, and he gave me a lazy grin. “Morning, Poppy.”
“So, about last night,” I said, trying to sound casual. “You really want to do this? Like, actually practice dating?”
He shrugged, giving me a little half-smile. “Why not? Unless you’ve already changed your mind?”
“No, no,” I said quickly. “It just…I mean, it’ll be kind of weird, don’t you think? Us ‘dating.’” I put air quotes around the word and cringed, waiting for him to laugh it off.
But he didn’t. He just watched me with that easy, confident look that drove me crazy sometimes. “If it’s weird, it’ll only be because you’re overthinking it. We’ll keep it chill. Grab coffee, do whatever. We’re just practicing.”
“Right. Just practice,” I echoed, feeling a bit silly. “So…where do we start?”
“Um,” Zane said, leaning back against the lockers, a smirk tugging at the corner of his mouth. “How about being my date to the party Saturday night? You know, first practice run. Prom prep.”
I rolled my eyes, though I couldn’t keep from smiling. “Your date, huh?”
“Yeah, think of it like a test drive before prom.” He gave me a cocky grin. “You know, just to see if you can handle all my dazzling date skills.”
“Right, because that’ll be a huge challenge,” I teased. But the idea made my heart do this weird fluttery thing in my chest. “Sure, why not? But actually, there’s one thing.”
He crossed his arms, watching me with that curious, raised-eyebrow look. “Go on.”
“So, Mabel, the librarian? She asked me to look after her niece, who just transferred here. She’s new and, well, she’s in our class now. Would you mind if she tagged along with us?”
Zane shrugged easily. “Fine by me. If she doesn’t mind watching us act like awkward wannabe daters, she’s welcome.”
I laughed, nudging him. “Maybe she’ll learn something about what not to do.”
“Hey, speak for yourself.” He grinned, nudging me back. “But fair warning, you agreed to this, so if I end up doing something actually charming, you’ll owe me a real compliment. No sarcasm allowed.”
“Oh, the pressure,” I said, rolling my eyes. “We’ll see if you’re up for it.”
He leaned a little closer, holding my gaze for a second longer than usual. “We will.”
For a moment, I forgot to breathe. Then he broke the tension by grabbing my notebook and heading down the hall with it tucked under his arm, waving over his shoulder.
“Saturday night, Poppy,” he called as he walked away. “Don’t keep me waiting.”
I stared after him, feeling that flutter in my stomach again, trying to shake it off. Okay this was genuinely getting me creeped out. Will I survive it?
- Writer
