Important authors note at the end; Please read!

Chapter 26: Planning the Unplanned Date

I sat in my room, staring at the ceiling. I have no clue what Grayson would want to do on a date. Although I know him, I don't know him. Would he want a cliché movie date? Or would he want to go out bowling, even though I absolutely abhor bowling? Or would he like a super unique karaoke dance party date? I groaned aloud before taking out my phone. I know exactly who to call.

"Hey, little player." Shane greeted me.

I groaned. "Shane. What does your best friend like?" I asked him.

"Who? Grayson?" He asked me.

I snorted. "Yeah, Grayson."

He thought for a minute, humming in concentration. "He likes long walks on the beach, puppies, online dating websites, and calendars."

I sighed. "Seriously, Shane, this is for important business. I need to make this date the best one ever."

I was greeted with silence. "That's why he didn't want me to tell you!"

I furrowed my eyebrows. "What?"

"You guys have a date! He said not to tell you anything about him!" He laughed. "So you finally got up the guts to ask him out?"

I huffed tiredly. "I did, now can you please do me a favor and tell me what he likes?"

"Didn't you hear me before? He specifically told me not to tell you anything." Shane replied.

"When are you one to listen to rules?" I tried to persuade.

"Touché but because I want to see what you come up with on your own, I'm going to let you go so I can tell everyone about your date." He told me.

"Don't do this to me, Shane! Come on! Please!" I cried but he hung up. I slammed my phone down on the bed beside me. We have a date in two days and I have yet to plan anything. I know for a fact that he won't like anything fancy, so I don't have to worry about booking a restaurant; but I still want to seem confident in my plans, which is hard to do when there aren't any plans to feel confident about!

Deciding to make a list of all the things that I know about Grayson, I grabbed a notebook and slammed it onto my desk. I gripped a pen in my hand as I made the list.

1. Loud music

2. Strawberry ice cream

3. Motorcycles

4. Football

5. Dogs

6. Singing

7. Dancing

8. Insulting me

9. Eating

I groaned when I realized that it was all I could come up with. Listening to loud music isn't much of a date and strawberry ice cream is just stupid. There aren't any motorcycle shows in our town and I doubt he'd find a football game interesting if I were there. I know nothing about the sport other than the basics. Big dogs scare me, although Finster is okay. I'm not good at singing or dancing so I'd rather not embarrass myself on a date with my crush. I don't want to endure being insulted more than I am on a daily basis. I plan on eating but just going out to dinner isn't exactly a five star date.

I took out my phone and called Carson. "Hey."

"Hi, Carson, I need your help!" I exclaimed.

"No." He replied. "I already know what you want and I've been given specific orders to keep the information away from you."

"Carson." I whined. "Please, don't you want to make this the best date for your best friend?"

He snorted. "I doubt Grayson will care if you guys eat at a homeless shelter, Grayson is Grayson and he obviously likes you if he said yes to a date." He giggled as he said the last word. Shane kept his promise about informing people about our date.

"I don't care about that. I want him to have a good time and in order to do that; I need to know more about him." I explained.

"Oh, did you hear that? That's the sound of me not caring." I tossed a flat look at the ceiling.

"Fine, you're no help." I muttered.

"You're welcome!" He shouted before I hung up.

Okay, he also has jerk friends. I decided to try my luck one last time and call Kyle. "Hey, Kyle."

"Audrey?" He asked.

"Yeah, can you give me some information?" I asked him.

"Yeah, sure, what about?" He replied.

"Grayson." I told him.

He thought for a moment. "He likes football and food."

"That won't help me plan a date." I muttered as I raised my legs up into the air, staring at my feet.

"That's what you guys were hiding! You guys have a date together?" Kyle asked excitedly. I groaned. This is why we didn't tell them. Just in case the date goes bad and we decide never to speak of it again, it'd be easier to keep between the two of us. It was my idea to keep it from them.

I huffed. "Yeah."

He continued to hum aloud, thinking of more information about his best friend. "He likes dogs."

I groaned. "You're no help either!"

I quickly hung up and stared at the ceiling. I'd have to go to someone who has a lot of information, more than the average person. Grabbing my coat, I stood up and walked downstairs. "Where are you going?"

I looked at my mother, smiling. "I'm going to visit Emily."

~~~

"Why do you need to know?" Emily asked me as she handed me a cup of hot chocolate.

I pursed my lips and shrugged. "I just want to know."

"Then why don't you ask him?" She caught me there. She laughed before raising her eyebrows. "Now are you going to tell me the truth?"

I sighed. "We have a date."

A slow smile spread across her face and I furrowed my eyebrows, waiting for her to give me tips. "Well, he likes a lot of things, most of which you already know. I'm surprised you don't know as much as I do. You work with the kid and you go to school with him. You also live down the street from him. If you'd watch him, you'd notice the odd things that he does." Little does she know, I watch her son like a hawk, does that make me weird?

Suddenly, the door opened and Grayson walked in. He was grinning widely until he turned and saw me talking to his mother. He sighed loudly, shaking his head playfully. He walked over and looked down at me. "Mind if I join in on the conversation?"

I laughed awkwardly and shook my head. "You're supposed to be planning the date on your own, you know?"

"But I don't know much about you!" I replied.

He laughed. "That's what dates are for."

"How am I supposed to plan a good date if I don't know enough about you?" I asked as he motioned for me to follow him outside. He stuffed his hands in his pocket and closed the door behind him.

"You can always plan a movie and dinner date." He told me.

I scoffed. "Any girl can plan that."

He laughed again. "You can always ask me what I like."

"Fine, what do you like?" I asked him, sighing in defeat.

"Animals." He told me with a shrug.

I groaned. "Because that helps me so much."

He rolled his eyes at my complaints. "It's actually a very good tip."

"What kind of animals?" I asked him.

He thought for a moment, wrinkling his nose adorably before sighing. "I like all animals, really."

"What's your favorite animal?" I questioned while we crossed the street.

He smiled in triumph. "That's easy: dogs."

I groaned. "If we want to see dogs, we can go to a dog park."

He raised his eyebrows at me as if suggesting that we visit the local dog park. I shook my head. "I'm not bringing you to a dog park."

He sighed. "I don't care where we go, honestly."

"But I want you to have fun. I mean, I am dragging you out on this date." I muttered, staring at the sidewalk as we approached my house.

"You're not dragging me out on a date. I'm coming willingly." He told me and I shrugged, awkwardly staring at the ground as my feet slapped against the cement. "Why aren't you confident?"

"What?" I asked, still not bothering to look up from the fascinating sidewalk. I was avoiding pieces of chewing gum left and right, like a ninja.

"You need to be confident." He told me. "If you want to ask a guy out on a date, just say it. Be confident. If you want to know something, be confident. Just be confident, Darling."

I groaned. "That's easy for you to say."

"What's that supposed to mean?" He asked me.

"You're practically perfect. You play sports, you're smart, you have a nice family, you have friends, people love you, and you're funny. You never have problems getting a date, while I, on the other hand, am lucky if I have a date a year." I muttered in response.

"Confidence is key. If you walk into the school with confidence, I bet half of the guys would drop at your feet." He informed me, earning a disbelieving snort from me. I don't want that though. I just want you to like me.

"Are you encouraging me to enter the school and become a player?" I asked, trying to lighten the mood.

He shook his head as we sat down on the steps of my porch. "No, I'm just saying that if you wanted to- you could rule the school. But I don't want you to."

I gaped at him, my eyes narrowed. "You don't think I'm queen bee material?"

He laughed, rolling his eyes. "I didn't say that. You probably won't like having guys throw themselves at you."

Deciding to mess with him, I grinned evilly. "I wouldn't mind a bit."

He rolled his eyes. "You wouldn't be able to keep up."

I furrowed my eyebrows, scoffing. "Yes, I would. I would be a player, just not a physical player but an emotional player. I would twist their heart strings and snap them, breaking their hearts without even being involved. I'll seek revenge for all of the girl's hearts that they've broken and in the process, I'll earn the happiness of my female peers, although the odd pair would be upset that I'm occupying the male population. I'd just make it better, though, then I'd let the girls lose onto the broken hearted boys. The rebound would turn into an actual relationship and they'll be happy."

Grayson stared at me with widened eyes. "Where do you come up with this stuff?"

I shrugged. "I pay attention."

He rolled his eyes. "Of course you do. Now go to your room, we have school tomorrow and you need your beauty sleep. You obviously haven't been getting enough"

I glared at him as I stood up. "What happened to the kindhearted, nice Grayson?"

"That's before I knew what you were planning to do with the male population at Rodencia." He told me, staring at me for a moment. I want to kiss him. Or hug him. I ended up just walking towards my door step, not as disappointed as I could be. Hey! I managed to ask the guy out, that takes guts. I no longer have guts; they're currently being rebuilt along with my confidence.

I shrugged. "They deserve it."

"Good luck on planning the unplanned date." He told me.

I laughed maniacally. "Don't worry, it's planned." I wasn't exactly lying either.

~~~

I can't wait until tomorrow. At around five, I'm taking Grayson on a date. I still can't get used to the words. They seem so... odd coming from my mouth. A few months ago, if you ask me if I would think about dating Grayson- I wouldn't even hesitate to start shouting at you that you're absolutely bonkers. People change, right? Apparently.

"Earth to Peanut." Carson laughed, throwing a peanut at my face. Rather than letting it drop, I caught it in my mouth. Everyone at the table laughed. It's been happier ever since Natalie decided to up and leave the table. I'm glad because it was awkward when she was here, honestly- and I'm not saying this because I socked her.

"What?" I asked him as I sipped my drink.

"Did you choose a location for your date?" He asked me, laughing along with everyone aside from Grayson and me. I nodded in response, despite my growing annoyance. They've been laughing about the fact that I have a date with Grayson. They kept saying that I 'finally did it.' He almost heard them about five times. Sam was the only one who wasn't harassing me and she's the one who made me do it!

"I did." I told him, earning the attention of everyone at the table. Grayson was smirking at me, his hand placed under his chin as he stared at me.

"Where to?" He asked.

"Weenie Hut General." I replied, shaking my head playfully at him. He scowled at me before going back to his sandwich.

"You're telling us later." Lola and Sandra nudged me, winking playfully. Can they be any more obvious?

I snorted. "No, I'm not."

Lola pouted, crossing her arms while Sandra had a mischievous look her face. "Why won't you tell us?"

"Because you'll tell them and they'll tell him." I informed as I pointed to Carson and Kyle before turning my finger in the direction of Grayson, who gave me an innocent smile.

Shane grinned at me. "You can tell me!"

I snorted. "No!"

He laughed. "I'll know it by tonight, I can promise you that."

"I'll tickle it out of you." Sandra threatened. My eyes widened slightly. I hate being tickled, more than I hate strawberry ice cream. I have yet to reveal the fact that I hate tickling because people always seem to hold it against me, like Sandra is doing right now.

"You wouldn't." I snapped at her, unintentionally covering my sides.

"You're ticklish?" Grayson asked me and I shook my head, scoffing as if trying to play it off.

"No, I'm not." I replied, rolling my eyes. "She's talking crazy."

"I'm not. You're ticklish in your stomach." She told me, reaching out to poke my stomach but I jerked backward.

I clutched my stomach. "Don't touch me."

She laughed, pointing at me before looking at Grayson. "I thought you weren't ticklish."

I scowled. "I'm not. Now stop."

Sandra put her hands up before going back to her food. I sent her one last glare before finishing my food. I suddenly squealed out as someone poked me in the side. I turned to glare at Grayson but he and Shane were laughing extremely loud. Kyle and Carson soon joined in. I hesitated to tickle Grayson. It'd be odd if he weren't ticklish and I'd just be wiggling my fingers into his side. I decided against it and continued to glare at my empty tray, urging for the day to be over.

~~~

Work is terrible. All of the girls are talking about the cutest guys in the middle school and I'm forced to listen as I check their papers. "I think Chauncey is definitely the cutest."

"He's in 8th grade, you're in 6th grade. It's not going to happen, get over it Bridget." One of the older girls snapped. I have a feeling that she liked Chauncey more than a friend.

"You never know! I mean, you dated Tom and he's in 6th grade." Bridget exclaimed, earning a sour look from the older girl.

"Don't bring him up." Looks like we have a queen bee within the group.

"You guys have to check out a book now. Find a book and bring it to Grayson." One of the girls was complaining loudly about not how stupid reading is. Rolling my eyes, I walked over and slumped down onto the couch, heaving a sigh. My job is over. I closed my eyes and kicked back, allowing my hands to curl up against my chest.

"Excited about the date?" I nearly jumped a foot into the air at the sound of Shane's voice. When had he gotten here? When had I fallen asleep? How long was I asleep?

"What?" I asked, my eyebrows furrowing. I began rubbing my eyes as a yawn took over my body. Removing my hand from my mouth, I waited for a response from Shane.

"You were sleeping on the job." He chided, dropping down onto the couch beside me. He tossed me a bottle of water. I furrowed my eyebrows. "I figured this was yours, it was in the fridge."

"And that bottle was mine, too, wasn't it?" I asked as I motioned to the bottle in his hands. He nodded, slugging it before grinning, a droplet of water in the corner of his mouth.

"It's great. Thanks for letting me have it." He told me. "Now, Audrey, where are you planning on taking my best friend for your date?"

I shook my head. "I'm not telling you."

He laughed before placing his hand under his chin. "Tell me, Audrey."

I shook my head again, standing up and stretching slightly before bringing the drink up to my lips. "I'm not saying a word. You'll find out tomorrow if Grayson decides to tell you."

I walked down the steps, grabbing my jacket from the counter. I waved at Grayson who smirked as Shane chased me out of the library. "Tell me! Tell me, Audrey!"

I quickly got into my car, locking the doors so he wouldn't be able to get in. He pouted outside of the car before walking away. As he reached the door, he sent me the finger and I gaped. He entered the library with a satisfied smirk on his face. I drove home, curious as to why Grayson was still at work. Its half past seven, our shift ends at seven. He could've left thirty minutes ago. That's another story for another day, all I know is that I need to go home and print my tickets for me and Grayson's date.