Caged

[Seventeen]

For someone who has never been on a proper date before, it was quite a daunting thing. There are so many thoughts and questions running through my mind, and it's almost overwhelming. My heart was beating at such an erratic rate, that it felt like I may suffocate any minute.

I was quite confused as to why I didn't feel this nervous for my 'date' with Micah. I mean, sure I had been nervous, but the questions I had now didn't even cross my mind then. I guess that says a lot about the differences between a high school crush, and actually developing proper feelings for someone.

I have been searching through my closet for something that would be appropriate for a date. I wasn't joking about wearing my Batman shoes, so all I needed to do was find an outfit.

I felt like one of those rich gils in the cliche movies who have almost an entire store's worth of clothes, yet they complain about having nothing to wear. The only difference was that I didn't own a whole lot of clothes, and I definitely wasn't rich.

My eyes landed on a black bag which was pushed back in the corner of one of my drawers. It was the dress Jaxon had bought for me. The one I wore to Micah's little prank date. I hadn't taken it out of the bag since I washed it the day after.

Maybe it was time to get it back out again. Time to wear it on my date with Jace, and attach some good memories to it, instead of the horrible ones that it already held.

The dress was still in perfect condition when I pulled it out of the bag. The long, lacy sleeves still intact. It might not be the best match for my Batman shoes, but it's what I would be wearing for the date.

I held it up against my body, and took a quick look in the mirror. For once, there was a proper happy smile reflected back at me. My eyes were glistening with a mixture of excitement and nerves.

As I continued to examine my appearance in the mirror, I took one look at my messy hair, and the small blemishes on my face, and I realised that I was way in over my head. I had no real idea of how to get myself looking suitable for a date. I never wore make-up, so I had no clue how to put it on. As for my hair, well I never had enough time to do it in any other style apart from a ponytail.

I couldn't ask Jaxon to help. He had no clue about the time I was spending just hanging out with Jace, let alone knowing about our date. My mum would be no help at all. Her dress sense was horrible, and even if she did have good style, she wasn't home anyway. There was only one person that I could think of to call.

We hadn't been friends for all that long, and it felt a little awkward asking her to come over to my house. I mean, usually only really close friends did that kind of thing. Thankfully, though, Hailey was more than happy to come over and help me. Although she did gasp in horror when I told her that she would need to bring everything she would need because I don't own any make-up or hair products.

While I was waiting for her to get to my house, I decided to do some of the cleaning that I had been putting off. My mum would be home some time tonight, and she would definitely be pissed off if she noticed the mess. I only did enough for her to notice that it was clean, but it was good enough to keep me distracted.

My nerves were running wild, and I definitely wouldn't be giving off a very good impression if I had a heart attack before our first date even started.

It wasn't long before I heard Hailey's car roll into my driveway. The moment she knocked on my door, I felt very insecure. My home wasn't the best, even though I tried my hardest to make it look as good as I could. No one besides Jax had ever seen the inside of my house.

Regardless of my embarrassment, I quickly let her in and was met with an energetic greeting. Sitting at her feet was a medium sized suitcase. I guessed that inside of it was all the stuff I asked her to bring.