Chapter 02

Steven

I watched Fran obliterate a giant darkness creature like it was nothing. Was I really going on a date with this girl? The TV showed Fran blowing a kiss to what seemed like the world, but maybe she was blowing it to me? Either way, it was super cute. I hugged my pillow tight, thinking about that kiss being for me. Wait, would we kiss tonight? I quickly scrubbed the thought from my brain—this is our first date. I'll just try holding her hand or something. My heart was pounding at the thought of seeing Fran tonight. I couldn't sleep at all last night; I was too excited and too happy that I finally asked her out... though she kind of helped it happen...

I called the restaurant and made a reservation for 6 p.m. I was thinking Italian? That's a pretty safe bet, probably, but honestly, I don’t think Fran cares what we eat, just as long as we eat something. I have never seen her turn down food, hahah. Oh man, I'm so excited... wait, what should I wear? Do I wear a suit, or should I dress how I normally do? What is she going to wear?

I quickly searched: "what to wear on a first date" and settled on wearing a button-up shirt, a tie, and some slacks. I looked at the time—5:30 p.m.—probably time to go get her from her house. Fran lives next door to me, thankfully. We were going to have to walk to the restaurant, though. Hopefully, she doesn’t just pick me up again. I would love to enjoy a slow walk with her for a change.

I walked up to her door and knocked three times. What was taking them so long to answer? I could tell my mind was going a mile a minute because I had literally just knocked, and I was already thinking about them being too slow. I should probably wait at least 30 seconds after I first knocked to even think like that. I was nervous. My palms were sweaty. The weather was perfect tonight—not quite sweater weather, but it still had that smell in the air and that gentle breeze. The streets were quiet in our neighborhood. It was perfect. Focusing on the scenery helped my heart calm down, and then suddenly, the door opened.

"Steven! Come on in! Fran should be ready soon. Can I get you a glass of water? Oh, look at you all dressed up. I just knew you guys were gonna get married som—"

Mrs. Starling was cut off by Mr. Starling walking up to the door, probably for the best. I could feel my collar squeezing around my neck.

"Hey there, kid. What have you been up to lately? Doing any fun projects?"

Mr. Starling was a pretty kindhearted man, always trying to inspire self-growth and improvement. He always liked to hear about my projects, even though they probably weren’t very interesting to him.

"Nothing too crazy. I’m just working on some devices I’ve been coming up with."

I didn’t want to tell them that I’d been working on devices for Fran to use during her superhero stuff. I still wasn’t sure if they knew about it yet. Mrs. Starling brought me a celery stick with peanut butter and raisins that she quickly whipped up while I talked to Mr. Starling about my projects. Mrs. Starling was also very kind, but she tended to get ahead of herself a little when talking about Fran. Apparently, she had big dreams for Fran—doing dance and theater in college, as well as learning three new instruments. I had to keep myself from laughing because Fran hadn’t even tried out for any plays this year, and her rhythm was totally messed up from her super speed.

I heard a bedroom door upstairs close, and Fran quickly tapped her way down the stairs. She was stunning, with a royal blue dress and glittering diamonds shining off her shoulders. Her blonde hair was tied up in a bun with some curls coming out, giving it a natural look. This was a big problem, though. I was super underdressed.

"W-w-wow, that dress is amazing!"

I stammered, worried that Fran might kill me for dressing down.

"Oh shoot, did I dress too fancy? Let me go back up real quick. It’ll only take a second!"

I quickly stopped her and said,

"No, wait! It looks really good on you! Plus, we are already going to be five minutes late for the reservation, so we should probably get going. Thank you, Mr. and Mrs. Starling!"

********* Francine

How could you do this to me, Steven?! This is my first date ever, and you dress in a white button-up only?! At least put on a jacket! Ugh, whatever—the important thing is that we are here now, together, at the restaurant.

We didn’t say a word as we left my house and walked to the restaurant. It was pretty peaceful, honestly. I was enjoying the quiet. Steven kept fidgeting, though, like he didn’t know what to do with his hands. Oh my gosh, he smells so good. I can smell him from here. He smells like salted caramel ice cream. I didn’t take much time to get ready because I was pretty exhausted. It seemed like there were lots of boogies wreaking havoc today, but I really wanted to come. There was no way I was canceling this. I’d been waiting for Steven to ask me out for so long... though I guess I ended up helping him do it... We arrived at the restaurant and were seated.

"So, Fran, how was your day?"

"Oh, you know, same old, same old."

I didn’t know what to say. I really couldn’t think, to be honest. My brain was dead. I needed some food quick. Help me, food man, serve me the food!

"I noticed you blew a kiss to the camera today. That’s pretty neat. I bet that will boost your popularity—nice touch!"

I couldn’t tell him that it was actually just for him. I knew he was watching me fight, so I couldn’t help myself. I could imagine him blushing at home, thinking about it. 100% worth it.

"Oh yeah, gotta keep up the image. So, what did you do today?"

I already knew what he did today. In between fighting boogies and eating, I was usually sitting in the tree in his yard, just watching him... though I probably shouldn’t tell him that.

"Oh, nothing much."

Liar. You were pacing in your bedroom all day.

Silence again. This is harder than it looks. What are we supposed to talk about?

"I’m going to the bathroom real quick. Just a moment."

I figured while I was in the bathroom, I could probably look up some tips on the internet. When I pulled out my phone, I saw some bad news.

Another monster terrorizes the town.

I guess I have to go help... I would have loved to stay, though. I walked back to our table, and Steven quickly put his phone away.

"Steven, bad news, I—"

"I know, Fran. It’s okay. You should go."

His face looked so sad and disappointed. My heart ached.

"I promise I’ll make it up to you next time!"

I ran out the door, down the street, as tears filled my eyes.

This sucks.