Death of a Bachelor

[Pippi]

Holy shit.

Holy shit.

Holy SHIT.

For what felt like the hundredth time in the past hour, Mia glanced at her reflection in the window of the Diamondback Ice Cream Parlour, and became wholly unsatisfied with her appearance yet again. She toyed with her hair a little bit, and brushed a couple stray hairs out of her eye line. She glared at the sunglasses atop her head, usually such a constant part of her ensemble. She moved them down in front of her eyes, then back on top of her head, then removed them entirely, placing them on the table in front of her. Nope. That didn't help at all. She still didn't know which looked better on her.

Mia sighed, turning her gaze away from the window, and started scanning the streets for signs of life, whilst trying in vain to look like she was doing anything but.

This was a date. This was an actual, real life, bona fide date.

It wasn't like this was the first date Mia had gone on. It was just... holy shit she was on a date! With a cute guy! It hadn't been called a date directly, but come on. It would have been taken as such by literally anybody in her shoes.

This always happened with Mia, even before the actual 'dating' part. Whenever somebody showed any interest in her, if anyone was particularly nice and kind to her, she'd get all flustered and nervous and excited around them. She fell for people easily. She knew that. There were probably some shitheads who would use that to take advantage of her. But hey, 'better to have loved and lost than... something else'. As some guy once said.

Mia nervously played with her sunglasses on the table, absent-mindedly checking the time on her phone once again, even though she knew what she would see. She had arrived early. She still had several minutes before he could even be considered late. Besides, he wasn't the sort of person to stand someone up.

Oh god, what if she had been stood up?

Mia looked at her reflection in the window again.

[backslash]

Nathan checked his watch for probably the tenth time in the last few minutes as he hurried down the sidewalk. He wasn't running late, actually, but he couldn't discount the possibility of some kind of disaster striking between his leaving rehearsal and arriving at the Diamondback to meet Mia, like road construction or a stray asteroid striking him out of the blue. Meteorite? He didn't know what they were called and when, but it wasn't entirely out of the question.

These rapid, irrational trains of thought were unlike him, but the reality of the situation hadn't really sunk in until shortly before he left. He'd asked a girl out on a date. A date. With Mia. He'd always thought she was cheery and nice, not to mention cute, but hadn't even considered the possibility of making a move until he'd already gone and done it.

Unless of course she didn't take things that way at all and he made things unbearably awkward between them for the rest of their admittedly short high school lives. The thought of that was almost enough to stop him in his tracks and make him reconsider, but if he stopped to reconsider he'd probably be late. Better late than never, perhaps, but... well, if he let his nerves get the better of him, "never" was a distinct possibility. Mia didn't deserve that, especially when any potential awkwardness was Nathan's fault.

He nearly stopped anyways when he arrived in front of the ice cream parlor and saw Mia staring out the window right at him. Dammit, was his watch slow? Had she just gotten here early? Didn't actually matter in the end, he supposed, and she'd already seen him so he couldn't let nerves take over now.

Nathan took a deep breath and oh God what if he was all sweaty and gross-looking? He'd freshened up as much as possible after dance, but then he'd rushed over here and it was a warm day and...

And well, she'd already seen him. Nothing to do about it now, yeah? She didn't look repulsed, so he took in another breath and entered the ice cream parlor, sliding into the seat across from Mia with a smile. "Hey, did I keep you waiting?"

[Pippi]

There he was!

A huge grin broke onto Mia's face as she caught sight of Nathan through the window of the parlour. She had just been about to check the time on her phone again, a second after she had set it down, and she was so glad she didn't have to check it any more. He was here! Nathan had arrived! She hadn't been stood up at all! Everything was great!

The smile faltered a little as she caught a glimpse of herself in the glass again, and a fresh wave of doubt flooded her. Did she look good? She thought she looked good. She was normally so confident with her appearance, but all of a sudden, every hair looked out of place, and every mark on the window looked like a horrific blemish to her face. She'd spent what had probably been an hour in the bathroom earlier, fretting over her appearance, and now it all seemed like it had been a waste. She hadn't put any makeup on aside from the very basic norm; would Nathan have preferred otherwise? Should she have taken her nose piercing out? What the FUCK was she going to do with her sunglasses?

Oh God, and now Nathan was inside the building and sitting next to her and he looked as cute as he always did. A little flushed, maybe, but it was a hot day outside, and he'd just come from his dance stuff, hadn't he? And despite all that, he still managed to look nice, and Mia was still completely uncertain about herself.

Mia breathed in, breathed out, and slowly, the grin returned to her face. She needed to relax. She had woken up looking the same as she had the day before, no massive spots on her forehead, no bites or scratches or anything, no... giant demon horns sprouting from the top of her head. Or anything like that.

"Hey Nathan!" Mia's voice came out a little higher pitched than normal. She cleared her throat before starting again.

"No, don't worry! I got here early. Like, uh, super early, actually. Fifteen minutes or so, maybe? So, uh, how'd your dance stuff go?"

As Mia talked, she gradually eased back into her normal comfort zone. This was good. This was fine. She knew how to talk to people, and she knew how to talk to Nathan. It was just like back at his place, at his yard sale.

Except now they were on a date.

Yeah, that thought wasn't really helping her 'talk normally and don't be so nervously giddy' attempts.

[backslash]

Nathan breathed a small sigh of relief when Mia admitted that she'd gotten there early, rather than him being late. He really, really didn't want to screw this up. "Dance went good. Uh, well. It went well. Did you have any practices today?"

Thank God for deep breathing techniques. He couldn't very well start doing full breathing exercises in the middle of the ice cream parlor, but straightening his posture and trying to steady his breathing went a ways towards helping him calm down. Yoga saves the day again.

"Oh, and what were you planning on ordering? I can pay, if you're alright with that." He hoped Mia wouldn't be put off by him offering to pay up front, but better to get it out of the way now than to have an awkward argument later over who should foot the bill. It wasn't like the Diamondback was particularly expensive, and he'd been careful to save up a bit for this.

[Pippi]

Mia was trying very, very hard to focus on what Nathan was saying, she really was. She managed to parse out the most important bits, at least. It was just tricky to do so when her brain seemed to be getting pulled in a million directions at once.

For instance, as she attempted to listen to Nathan, she began to worry whether she was staring at him too much. No matter how much you liked someone, just... constantly staring at them was still pretty creepy. But if she looked anywhere else, how rude would that look? She didn't even have any food she could look at instead. It'd look as though she didn't care about him or what he had to say, and nothing could be farther from the truth.

Fuck, this was harder than it looked. She really needed to chill.

... Shit, she also really needed to actually respond to Nathan, didn't she?

"Uh... good. Good! Yeah, good! I'm glad dance went well. I didn't have any, like, proper practices today, but I went down to the skate park with my BMX for a bit, and just did some, y'know, general exercises and stuff, so I hope I don't look too bedraggled or anything, I did have a shower but, uh... yeah!"

Wow, okay. Definitely need to breath, that was a pretty important thing to do. Rambling like that was... kinda embarrassing, but hey, on the upside, at least she was obviously interested enough in Nathan to ramble, right?

"I mean, uh, are you cool with that? I could definitely help pay if you'd rather split it! Not that I don't appreciate it or anything!"

Mia paused a moment, then attempted to put on her most charming smile.

"Also, I don't really come here too often. I'm not really certain about the menu. You got any recommendations?"

[backslash]

"No, no, you look fine!" Seemed like they'd had some of the same worries, which was... Nathan wasn't sure he'd call it "good", but maybe reassuring. Mia wasn't snobby, of course, but he'd still had some reservations about what she'd think of him coming directly from rehearsal. Fortunately, those worries seemed unfounded.

He smiled in what he hoped was a reassuring way when Mia asked about him paying. "Yeah, I don't mind at all. I asked you out, so it's only fair. And as for the menu, I guess it depends on how hungry you are. They've got burgers and fries if you don't mind greasy stuff, but I usually just come here when I want an ice cream. The mint chocolate chip is really good, I usually get that."

[Pippi]

"Oh, phew, thank god! Uh... I mean, uh, thank you!"

Nailed it. Saved it. Spoken like a true master of the linguistic arts. God, this was supposed to get easier the more she talked! Instead, it felt as though her brain had been replaced with one of those cymbal clapping monkeys, and she was just spewing words out of her mouth without any consideration as to what they meant.

Mia tried to silence the little monkey in her head for just a moment. She adjusted her hair slightly and scratched the back of her neck, smiling at Nathan.

"You look nice, too."

Well, that was better. Why was she getting so flustered about this, though? Mia thought about that for a good few seconds as she pondered just what she wanted to order. Maybe it was just so comparatively long since she'd actually been on a date, let alone gone out with anybody. She had, however, had plenty of crushes in that time. Maybe it was the fact that one had finally come to fruition that was making her this way. That, and the fact she always got flustered around people she liked.

Shit. She had zoned out for a little bit there. Again. Where had she been staring this time? Mia tried to save face by grinning and laughing softly, even though her mind was racing.

"Well, if you're sure that's okay! Thanks Nath.-"

Nath? Nath? Really?

"-Hmmm. I guess I am a little hungry, but, like, I don't think a burger would really sit well with my diet, you know? I can always make an exception for ice cream, though! And you can't go wrong with mint choc chip. I'll take your word for it!"

A pause, as Mia went over what she'd just said in her head.

"I mean... I'll take you at your word... right? I'll take... uh..."

Another pause.

"... I'll have the mint choc chip."

Hopefully another sheepish grin would be enough to save that one.

[backslash]

Nathan wasn't sure if he should smile or not as Mia rambled on; he didn't want to look like he was making fun of her, but most of what she did was normally pretty amusing and this was no exception. She still seemed nervous though, edging on uncomfortable.

"Are you feeling alright? I'm not making you uncomfortable, am I?"

Maybe he was coming on too strong, offering to pay and all? It had been a while since he'd been on an actual date, and will his nerves had mostly settled he still wasn't entirely sure what to do with himself. He wasn't sure if he should keep making eye contact or look away and give Mia a break, but he also didn't want to look uninterested or distracted.

Maybe he ought to go ahead and order some food so they could have something to occupy them until they both calmed down.

[Pippi]

Ugh, fuck. Fuck fuck fuck. How did people manage to do this sorta thing with a different guy or girl every other week? Mia was honestly impressed. Maybe it was easier with practice, but Mia got flustered enough when she thought someone maybe possibly liked her. Now that she was actually on a date with someone who maybe hopefully did like her, that flustered feeling got ramped up to eleven.

She had been trying so hard not to fuck this up or say anything stupid, and now because of that, Nathan was worried instead that he was making her uncomfortable, when nothing could be further from the truth. He hadn't changed a bit since they'd met at his yard sale, after all. It was her fault. She was trying too hard, but the problem was, she was too nervous and excited to just be more... Mia.

"Oh, no! No no no, it's not like that! It's not your fault, don't worry, I'm just..."

Mia sighed, and rubbed the back of her neck for a few seconds, before looking up at Nathan. That same sheepish smile was on her face, but muted, now.

"I haven't been on a date or anything for ages, and I really, really wanted this to work out great and without a hitch, and I've been trying so hard not to mess anything up."

Mia gave a small, quiet laugh at this.

"Guess that's a self-fulfilling prophecy or something, huh?"

[backslash]

"No, not at all!" Nathan rushed to reassure Mia. "You're not messing anything up. I'm kind of nervous too, actually, it's been a while since I asked anyone out. So don't worry, okay? We can just eat and hang out, no pressure."

He ran a hand through his hair while he considered the selection of food and ice cream. "It's kind of early for dinner, but I'm thinking of getting some actual food before ice cream, since I just came from practice and all. Would you want to split some fries or something?" Food was usually a safe topic that people could discuss, and he wouldn't be surprised if Mia was also jonesing for a snack after her activities.

In a way, the awkwardness made him feel better. They both wanted to make the date good without overstepping their bounds with each other, and they were communicating about it, or trying to. It felt like their first steps were going in the right direction, which was something he always worried about. Some people could make relationships work after a rocky start, but early warning signs tended to stick in Nathan's mind.

[Pippi]

Mia continued to fiddle with her sunglasses for a good few seconds. She placed them on top of her head, then on her face, then back on her head. She took them off, twirling them in her hand, folding and unfolding them. She bit her lip. Then she placed the sunglasses down on the table, pushed them out of arm's reach, and gave Nathan a big, warm smile.

"No pressure..." Mia said, before nodding once. "No pressure. Got it! I can do that!"

Nathan's comments hadn't magically stopped her from feeling completely nervous all of a sudden, but it had allowed something to click in her head, something that was making her feel more calm. Saying 'no pressure' didn't mean there really wasn't any pressure anymore; far from it. This was important to Mia, and she still didn't want to mess it up in the slightest. But focusing on that pressure, allowing it to continuously nibble away at the back of your mind, that would only make things worse. Worrying about the pressure would just heap more pressure on the thing you were doing, which would make you worry more and so on and so forth. It was a vicious cycle if Mia had ever seen one.

"Well, uh, I'm pretty sure my swim coach would kill me if they saw me eating fries; they can be kinda a hardass at times." Mia said, still smiling, but glancing down at the menu, skimming it as quickly as she could. "But hey, what the hell, they're not here, and fries are too good to pass up on, so I'm down for that!"

Mia looked down at the menu for a few seconds longer, before she pushed it to one side and looked up at Nathan. She tilted her head to the side, before softly laughing and smiling again.

"Y'know, I remember the first BMX competition I ever entered. I was standing up there at the top of the ramp, ready to go, and I was just feeling so nervous, way more nervous than I had been in any other swimming or soccer competitions. I dunno why, maybe it's cause BMX is a lot more high-octane and stuff. Whatever, anyway! I just focused on that nervousness so much that it was the only thing I could think about. I think that I put in the worst sporting performance I ever have done in my life. I didn't come anywhere near the top five spots, but, hey, still didn't come last!"

Mia briefly raised her arms in mock celebration before continuing.

"Anyway, maybe because of that, next race, I just... felt so much more different. Like, I hadn't done well previously, and yet the world hadn't ended. People didn't suddenly hate me or thought I sucked at BMX. I stopped thinking about the pressure and just tried to focus on cycling and... well, hey, can you guess what happened next?"

[backslash]

Nathan smiled back, feeling the last little bit of tension slip away as Mia brightened up. "It was better, right? It always is, once you remember it's not the end of the world. The first time I fell down during a recital, I thought I was going to have to quit forever because I'd always be that guy who fell onstage and messed up the show. And you know, people still do bring it up sometimes, but nobody decided that I was terrible just because I tripped."

He rubbed the back of his neck, laughing a little as he remembered. "I still get nervous sometimes before a performance, but I try to remind myself of that when I do. Just to keep in mind that it won't be too bad if I do mess up, you know?"

"So, how about those fries?" He waved to a loitering server so that they could make their order. They were talking and seemed to be getting into the groove now, so that was the first obstacle out of the way. Promising start, and even though Nathan had told himself that he'd be okay with whatever happened today as long as he and Mia were still on good terms by the end of it, he couldn't help feeling a pleasant little bubble of excitement and anticipation at how they were getting along.

[Pippi]

"Err, well, actually, that's not quite what happened for me..."

Mia gave Nathan a sheepish grin, unintentionally mimicking him as she, too, rubbed the back of her neck, thinking back to that competition. It was a fairly fond memory, all things considered, despite what had happened during it. She had a poster board in her room, covered in newspaper clippings and medals relating to noteworthy sporting events she'd taken part in, and the brief section of the article covering that competition that mentioned her name was firmly nestled in the top right corner.

"I, uh, was actually in the middle of a six-person pileup on the first turn. Wasn't my fault at least! But, still, got a 'Did Not Finish' for that race, and that was me out of the competition. Didn't let it get me down, though! Even Olympic BMX cyclists get into crashes, after all. And, hell, if I gave up then, that's what my legacy would have been; a middle of the pack first race and a DNF second race."

That first competition was still a sort of running joke amongst her BMX comrades; not malicious in the slightest, just teasing between friends and rivals. 'Hey Mia, make sure you don't wipe out on the first turn again', that sort of thing. It wasn't an insult towards her current skills, more a comparison between where she'd started from and where she was now.

Besides, if the jibes became actually vindictive, she'd been a first-hand witness to enough of their crashes to have plenty of retaliatory ammo.

"I think it's good to be nervous, though! I mean, not as nervous as the first time you do something, but a little bit of nerves means you're worried about messing something up, right? And that just means you really care about whatever it is you're doing! At least that's how I see it."

Mia smiled, looking down at the table, then back up at Nathan.

"Anyway, uh, fries! Yeah! Maybe that'll be enough to stop me rambling and stuff..."

[backslash]

Nathan couldn't help but wince, both in sympathy with Mia's story and a bit of embarrassment at his mistaken assumption. Still, it wasn't all bad. If anything, it spoke to Mia's determination and chipper attitude, both things that he liked and admired about her. "Heh... yeah, that's pretty much how I see it. If you didn't feel a little nervous about how things would go, your heart might not really be in it, you know? It motivates you to get better."

"But yeah, food. Now for the really important stuff." He grinned and turned to wave down a loitering server to place their order.

"And, uh, I don't mind you talking. But I guess I could find something to ramble about too, if it would make you feel better. There's always something going on." That last part might have been a little more true than he wanted it to be, and in a somewhat less pleasant way, but, well... There were plenty of fun and good things in with the bad, usually. Right now was a pretty good time.

Both in the general sense and the much more immediate, given his company.

[Pippi]

((WHOOPS, I AM TERRIBLE))

Mia smiled broadly at Nathan's response, happy that he'd managed to keep up with her less than succinct... anecdote? Opinion? Whatever her story had morphed into by the end? And not only that, but he'd managed to understand what she was trying to convey and agreed with it too. She opened her mouth to reply, then instantly closed it again, remembering she'd said she was going to try not to ramble just a second ago. Dummy.

Instead, she leaned back into her seat a little, her slight shift in position causing the sun's rays to hit her perfectly. She was warm, she was comfortable, and most importantly, she was happy. Sure, there had been a small blip, but that was about as much to be expected, really. Confident she normally might be, but whenever she thought someone might like her, she turned into a big old pile of emotions.

"Y'know, I can't actually remember the last time I had fries," Mia confessed, smile now permanently fixed on her face. "Like I said; my coach kinda has some irrational hatred for them. Maybe he had some sorta traumatic childhood incident with them? Maybe he has a recurring nightmare where he's chased by giant fries or something! Or... um..."

Whoops, rambling again.

"Anyway! I think that's enough about me for the moment. Your turn now! So, what has been going on, recently?"