"How about this one?" Shay grinned, holding up on of my dresses.

It was one I bought quite recently and neglected to wear it. The top was made of a white, lace material and the bottom was faux denim covered in red roses. I frowned at it.

"What do you think?" Shay directed her attention to Oli.

He was laying across my bed with his feet on the floor. He was reading the latest X-Men comic and he tilted it slightly to glance at Shay. She waved the dress at him and raised both brows.

"It's cute." Oli said, casually.

"God, you're as bad as her." Shay groaned, motioning to me.

"I don't get why I need to dress up. This isn't a date, Shay." I sighed, and she looked shocked.

"It so is a date. He asked you, a girl, to get a coffee. Ergo, it is a date. End of discussion." She passed me the dress.

I couldn't fail to notice she had bought along her trusty make-up bag and was probably planning to turn me into a painted clown.

"Hurry and get dressed. I have to do your hair and make-up." She waved her hands about, frantically. "Oliver, do you mind?"

"No, do you?" Oli grinned, and Shay motioned for him to cover his eyes. He lay the comic over his face.

I glared at Shay and she turned around, allowing me to strip and change into the dress. It did look cute, but I didn't want to waste it on Jake. My tummy was still doing back-flips at the thought of him.

"You dressed yet?" Shay was clearly becoming impatient.

"Yes, Mum." I laughed when she spun round.

"Wow, you look so pretty. Oli take a look," Shay rushed over, hitting Oli's arm.

He removed the comic and hit Shay with one of my pillows. For a few minutes they hit each other with pillows until Shay demanded they stop and 'get serious'.

"You look nice." Oli smiled.

"Nice? Bitch please." Shay scoffed.

She pushed me to sit down and combed out my hair. She had always been good with girly stuff like this. She brushed my hair to the side and plaited it so it would hang over my shoulder.

She moved round to stand in front of me and started applying base to my face. I kept flinching and she kept holding my face still with one hand.

"It's like I'm torturing you, or something." She sighed in exasperation when I squirmed away from the eye shadow brush.

She was very careful and once finished, she grabbed a small mirror and showed me. She hadn't gone crazy, thank goodness. Shay's own make-up was always elaborate and over the top, but she'd toned it down for me.

"The light purple brings out your eyes." She grinned, making me stand.

"You look nice." Oli chuckled, knowing it would aggravate Shay.

"Nice, again? Bet you tell your gran she looks nice." She threw a book at him, which he dodged, laughing.

"You study English. Think of a better word than nice." She snapped.

"Fine, you look sexy, Kota." He rolled his dark eyes.

Shay still hadn't finished turning me into 'model material' as she called it. She rushed to my closet and pulled out a pair of ankle boots and a small bag.

"Put these on." She snapped.

I did as I was told and stuffed my feet in the boots. I slung the bag strap over my shoulder and she made me twirl around.

"Look at you," Shay dabbed her eyes. "All grown up and going on dates."

"It is not a date." I retorted.

They both ignored my protests and ushered me out the door. Shay hugged me before I left and Oli wished me luck. I started walking and glanced back. Shay waved and blew me a kiss, like she was sending me off to sea.

I really hoped everyone was still in bed, but I could hear voices down the hall and I edged closer to the wall to avoid anyone. Sadly that didn't work.

"Look who decided to leave her room." Alex Gaskarth was sitting on one of the plush chairs.

"Wow, you look good, Kota," Taylor, his girlfriend grinned. "Going on a date, maybe."

How many people had Shay told? I reminded myself to kill Shay when I got back later. I felt my face flush, unused to the attention.

"It's technically not a date. It's just a meet-up between two people, one that happens to be a guy and the other a girl." I replied, shuffling nervously.

"So, a date then." Alex laughed.

He was writing something in a notepad and I peeked across to see it. He covered it over, grinning.

"My last piece of coursework. I wanna impress Nick this time." He grinned, showing off his perfect teeth.

Alex studied Theoretical Physics and was incredibly bright. He was constantly trying to get higher marks and liked to bore people with different quantum theories. Taylor seemed to listen to him a lot.

"You'll do great, babe." She smiled, cutely.

Taylor studied Social Sciences, although she barely even mentioned it. She was very quiet and often kept to herself. She and Alex were usually together though, often with Jack Barakat and Vic.

"Hey, you should hang out sometime." Alex glanced at me. It didn't feel right interfering in their little group.

"Maybe, I dunno." I shrugged, noncommitally.

"It'll be fun." He teased.

"I'll get back to you." I smiled, turning to leave.

"That's what they all say," Alex shouted after me, laughing as he did. "Then everyone runs away."

I walked down the hall into the foyer and passed a few others. Ben waved at me and I smiled. He looked exhausted, but he had probably been up watching horror movies most of last night.
I got to the steps five minutes early and sat down. There weren't many people around and I felt the nerves setting in the longer I waited.

Time ticked by slowly and I got my phone out my bag. It had just gone twelve and I looked around. What if he wasn't coming? What if this was some kind of prank? My palms felt slick and I stood up. If it was a prank then I wouldn't be sitting down. I could run away if I was standing up.

"Hey." A voice halted my freakout session. I glanced round to see Jake approaching me.
In the daylight I could see more. He was wearing the leather jacket again and a pair of skinny jeans.

"H-hey, I was just, um." I faltered.

"Freaking out." He finished for me.

"N-no, shut up." I retorted. It was a stupid come back though.

It must have been because I saw Jake laugh. I walked down the steps towards him and we started walking together. Not much was said on the way to the cafe.

When we got to the small cafe down the street, he opened the door, motioning for me to go in first. I walked in and was accutely aware of him behind me.

I chose a seat near the window and we sat down. There weren't many people in here this morning. A girl was sat across the way, her fingers were tapping across the keys on her laptop.

Another couple was across the way and snippets of their conversation floated over. Something about needing a break and seeing other people. I couldn't understand why people choose public places to have domestic disputes.

"You look pretty," Jake said, surprising me.

"Eh, um, thanks." I stammered. I wasn't expecting the compliment and I felt my face heat up.

"You look nice too." Great I was becoming Oli.

"Thanks." Jake chuckled. He took compliments a lot easier than I did.

A waitress sauntered over and took our orders. She disappeared and I was hoping she'd come back. I was still nervous and my mouth felt dry.

"So, how have you been?" Jake asked.

"Yeah, good," I smiled. "What about you? I didn't realise you went to UCL."

"I don't," He laughed, resting his chin on his hand, leaning forward. "I can't believe you think I'd go university."

"Well, what do you do then?" I found myself easing into this conversation.

"I'm a tattoo artist. I own a shop a few streets away." He smiled, and my heart skipped a beat.

"So," I took the time to notice the tattoos peeking out from where his collarbone was. "Are you covered in them?"

He smiled again and pushed the chair back. It scuffed against the carpet and he stood up. His leather jacket was already undone so he slid it off his shoulders, laying it against the chair.

He sat back down and held out his arms, resting them against the table. The tattoos were everywhere. It was tricky to know where to look first. He gripped the collar of his t-shirt, pulling it down just enough to reveal the text below his collar bone.

It was a name that had been very familiar to me growing up. I bit the inside of my cheek when I saw his mother's name. He seemed to notice my apprehension and removed his hand. The t-shirt collar sagged a little, but covered the tattoo again.

"Wow, they're everywhere." I was amazed by them.

"Everywhere you can see." He smirked, winking at me.

"Shut up." I laughed.

"You seriously need to think of better come backs, Kota." He chuckled.

Our discussion was halted by the waitress reappearing and setting our drinks in front of us. This time I really wanted for her to go away. She smiled and rushed over to greet someone walking through the door.

"So, how's your dad?" I asked, curious as to what had happened after Carolyn's death.

"He's good. If it's all right with you, Kota, I'd rather not discuss my parents." He stirred his coffee, staring into the drink, watching as it swirled.

"Yeah, that's fine. I'm just sorry is all." I felt nervous again.

"I know and I really appreciate it," His eyes met mine again and I was struck with how dark they were.

This wasn't a date. This really wasn't a date. I kept having to remind myself. We were just two people that went school together and were reconnecting, perhaps becoming friends.

"I was hoping we could be friends." Jake said, shocking me again.

"Yeah, that'd be great." I mumbled. See, it totally wasn't a date.

We chatted some more about what we'd both been up to. Once we'd finished our drinks we both got up and went to the till. I fished around for my purse.

"H-hey, what're you doing?" I shrieked when Jake handed the girl some money. More money than just his drink was worth.

"Chill out, Kota. You can get it next time." He grinned.

I was still protesting when we left the cafe. He sighed and turned to face me. My complaining was cut short.

"I have to go work now," He said. "I'm working this time next week so maybe the week after we can meet up again."

"Yeah, I'd really like that." God, why did I say that.

I wasn't sure how to end this meeting. I could shake his hand or just wave. Jake stepped closer, causing me to step back. He laughed and reached out, pulling me into a hug. My entire body tensed momentarily and then I hugged him back, slipping my arms round his waist.

He smelt amazing and I marvelled at how warm he was. It lasted for about a minute then he pulled back. I was still standing there, feeling like a fool.

"See you in two weeks," He turned, and I watched him go.

I caught myself and turned, walking in the opposite direction. I sighed, letting out a breath. My phone buzzed and I groaned. Shay must want to know how the the 'date' went.

Notes