First Date

Marco's bag slumped to the floor as he lazily flung himself onto his bed, not even bothering to take off his shoes. Looking up at the bland beige of his ceiling, he sighed and looked over to his phone, the ambient glow of the screen occupying his eyes as he swiped through his contacts list, looking for a specific number. Stopping the scroll, his throat dried out slightly as he gazed at the number.

"Jackie"
(474) 373-1413

Marco's other hand subconsciously unzipped his jacket to cool as he began to perspire, the phantom taste of iron swelling in his mouth as his heart began to pound. With a finger that seemed to be made from lead, he pushed the call button.

A torturous four seconds passed by, the dilation of time stretching out Marco's anxiety, until he heard a voice from the other side.

"Hello?"

"H-Hey Jackie, it's Marco."

"Oh, sup man? You don't usually call, like, ever."

"W-Well y-yeah, I guess not. Hey um, yeah, so-"

"Marco, are you okay? You don't sound too good, man."

Marco pulled himself from the phone for a brief moment and breathed deeply.

'Just say what you want to, Marco. That's it,' he thought to himself. Turning back to the phone, he pressed the cool plastic back to his ear.

"Sorry Jackie, just a little distracted, that's all. So, hey, you know that little roller rink that's opening up by the hibachi place downtown?"

"Quad-Wheels? Yeah, I've seen the signs."

"You wanna check it out on Friday?"

A blistering second went by before Marco heard her reply.

"Sure, why not?"

"Cool. Meet you there at 6?"

"Sure."

"Alright then. Bye."

"Bye!"

Before Marco had time to do anything else, Star rammed herself through the door like an elephant on Thorazine, her eyes dilated like saucers. Zooming over to Marco, she allowed him no time to react as she began blurting.

"OMIGOSHOMIGOSHOMIGOOOSH! I can't believe you finally did it! Oh, we've gotta get you clothes, and a gift, and a semblance of skill at roller skating-"

"Whoa, slow down Star! I can barely understand you!" Marco interrupted. "What's with this "finally" stuff?"

"Oh, like you don't know, stud," Star crooned out with a suggestive sashay of her hips. "You finally landed your first date with Jackie!"

"Wait, how do you know what I was talking on the phone about, and to whom?" Marco inquired.

"I listened through the door. Your Jackie stutter is so obvious it's almost a signature at this point," she bluntly replied. "Now come on, that date outfit isn't gonna put itself together!"

Before he could protest, Marco found himself pulled by the arm out of his house and into town, towards the nearest strip mall by his hyperactive friend, her maniacal giggling ringing all the way there.

The week rolled by faster than Marco wanted it to, with Star drilling him on date talk and decorum and Jackie looking at him longer and longer as they passed in the hallways. His evenings consisted of his father reminiscing about courting his mother at the dinner table and Star drawing up her self-dubbed "battle plans" in his room. It seemed like everyone but him was more invested in his date than him.

As the clock ticked towards 6 on Friday afternoon, Marco looked over himself in the mirror. He'd settled on a dark blue pair of jeans and a collarless button-up in a striking black that accentuated his gray belt buckle. A pair of semi-formal laces adorned his feet, their polished surfaces gleaming. As he combed his hair back, Marco thought back to the general plan Star had hammered out.

His thoughts were interrupted as Star slammed open the door and fired herself in front of him, her mouth moving like a blur as she rattled off the plan for him.

"Breath mints, elbows off all tables, talk about her, try not to look stupid in skates, hold hands at EVERY chance possible, no pushing for the kiss let that come naturally, and do NOT talk about any other girls. Got it?"

"Yes, Star." Marco sighed out, his exasperation flowing through his voice.

"Good! Now knock her out, bucko!"

Before Marco could protest, he found himself in the skate rink, teleported by Star's magic. Looking around, he saw Jackie leaning up against a wall in a cute burgundy cardigan and a denim skirt with yoga leggings. Swallowing the hard pit of fear and teenage hormones in his throat, he walked over to her and casually waved.

"Sup?"

Jackie visibly jumped out of her zone-out as she whipped her head over to Marco, revealing a pair of modest cerulean studs in her ears. "Oh, hey Marco! I thought you wouldn't be here for a bit longer. I didn't really have much to do, so I just went ahead and came here."

"Yeah, pretty much the same with me," he replied, trying his hardest to not lose it over the scent of her perfume. "The rink looks pretty nice, actually. Wanna take it for a spin?"

"Sure, just let me make a quick text," she said.

As Jackie got out her phone, Marco headed over to the skate kiosk and paid for two sets of skates. As he laced up, memories of Star's "training" rushed through his head, eliciting a shudder from him. Never before had he realized just how many places a roller skate could kick him in. Clearing the traumatic flashbacks from his head, he turned to Jackie, who had laced up in record time, and offered his hand. Color stained his ears slightly as he heard her flattered giggle, and felt her soft hand slip into his.

The pair wobbled out into the rink, the sensation of hard plastic wheels under them taking a bit of adjustment. Marco separated from her and immediately went into what Star had called his "opening set." Taking the curved edges of the rink under him, he thrust himself along, sashaying and half-turning in a smooth rhythm that turned some heads from other skaters. More color found its way onto his face from the stares, but he continued, adding a few dramatic postures in for good measure.

'Just gotta hope she doesn't want to dance together,' Marco thought as his routine began to cause him to perspire. 'If I do anything outside of these sets I worked on, I'm screwed.'

His train of thought was sharply derailed when Jackie grabbed his hand and flung him around to face her, the muted green of her eyes sending a spike of mild panic into him. Less than a foot away from him, she giggled and pulled him along, setting the two of them into a rhythm.

"Nice moves, Marco," Jackie said, twirling around him effortlessly. "I didn't know you skated."

"W-Well, you know, I k-kinda dabble," he blathered out, trying to ignore the rush of hormones that swelled up at the feeling of her against him. "N-never skated with a partner before though."

"Yeah, me too," she replied, seemingly unaffected by the rather personal nature the skating had shifted to. "I've always wanted to learn. They say that skating in pairs is way more fun."

As if fate was listening, the music in the rink changed from the casual hip-hop beat down to a sultry flamenco guitar, and the lights dimmed. Marco looked upwards to find that fate had nothing to do with it, as he saw Star in the AV control booth, a cartoonish smile on her face as she gave him a thumbs up. Trying to ignore the fact that her other hand was busy holding a terrified DJ at wandpoint, he turned his attention back to Jackie, who had fully pressed herself against him and closed her eyes. The pair slowly twirled throughout the rink, as older skaters gave them a wide berth, a few couples smiling and whispering as they watched them.

Marco inhaled, and took her hand in his, recalling Star's emphasis on physical contact. Jackie looked up at him, a serene smile on her face as she gripped his palm back, blushing for the first time that night. Marco briefly wondered how much color was in his face before Jackie spoke up.

"You know Marco, I never thought you'd be that kind of guy."

"W-What do you mean?" he replied, terrified that he'd done something horrifyingly wrong.

"Well, I always thought, ya know, since you and Star hang around so much, that you might've been an item."

Marco sputtered a tad bit and almost lost balance at her bluntness, but managed to reign himself in enough to respond. "Nah, we're just friends. I don't think I could ever see Star that way. At least, not after the arm incident."

"Arm incident?"

"Long story. Anyways, no, I'm not going out with anybody."

"Well then, I guess I don't have to feel bad for this."

"Whaddya mean-"

Marco was abruptly cut off as Jackie's lips brushed against his, the sensation stopping all thought processes as he instinctively pushed back. Jackie pulled away, looking at him with an amused grin at his hot cheeks.

"Never thought that the safe kid would ask me on a date, but you surprised me, Marco. New clothes, new moves, Star up there in the booth setting music- you really went all-out, huh?"

"W-W-Well I mean uh, I-it's just, I mean yeah, the clothes a-and-"

Jackie giggled and pecked him on the cheek, silencing him as another wave of blush washed across his face. "It's sweet. Not many guys do all of this just for a casual skate, ya know?"

Marco, after a brief second of getting his breathing back under control, responded. "Well, I just thought that I should try my best, yeah? I mean, you could have any guy in the school if you wanted to, so I couldn't just act nonchalant about it."

Jackie pressed herself into him once again as the guitar music floated around them. "I don't need some big elaborate setup to have a good time, Marco. I'm flattered that you went so far for this, though. How long did you practice those moves for?"

"I don't wanna talk about it," Marco said, repressing the memories of flying roller skates and internal bleeding.

"Too many kicks to the butt, huh?"

"Among other places, yes."

She giggled again, a sound that Marco found he was beginning to quite like, and started moving again, slowly spinning around the rink with Marco. Marco pressed himself to her in reciprocation, and the pair stayed locked that way for who knows how long. Marco spotted Star up in the booth furiously working a camera, the flash photography creating a strobe light effect of sorts. Turning his head back to Jackie, he rested his head on hers, content to remain this way for as long as she wanted.

Marco didn't look up from his position until the music abruptly changed back to the standard kinda-Muzak-kinda-pop beat that roller rinks were notorious for. Looking around, he saw a frantic Star glitter-rocketing away from two security guards, and chuckled. Jackie took her head off his chest and looked at him with the doe eyes that he adored.

"You wanna get out of here?" She asked.

"Yeah."

As he ditched the rather restrictive skates in the changing area, Marco's phone buzzed to life briefly. A lone text from his father reminding him to get home soon flashed across the screen. He paid it no mind as he slipped his own shoes back on and headed for the exit. Jackie followed behind him, a sly little grin on her face as she observed him walking with his back stiff straight in a vain attempt to look masculine.

'He's so cute when he tries too hard,' she mused to herself. Silently sashaying up behind him, she tucked both her arms around one of his, giggling at his blush as she let her head fall on his shoulder. The night sky and cool autumn wind caressed the pair as they walked back to the bus stop outside of the strip that the rink was nestled in. Sitting down under the lights of the bench, the two stared out into the California valleys, neither saying a word for a bit as they simply enjoyed each other's warmth and presence.

"I had a great time tonight," Jackie spoke up, drawing Marco's eyes to her. "You really did put in so much work to pull it off, huh?"

"Well, it's just a habit of mine to be thorough," Marco replied offhandedly, his blush firing back up for the umpteenth time that night.

"Yeah, I noticed. Still though, it was really sweet. Were you planning this for a while?"

"Not really. I just kinda called you up out of the blue on a whim, but I'd be a liar if I said that was the first time I'd considered it."

Jackie giggled and looked up to him, her face drawing ever so slightly closer. "It's good that you're honest. I think that deserves a little something."

"Whaddya mean-"

Marco found that particular question cut off for the second time as Jackie pushed her lips onto his fully, with a strong, warm press that set off all kinds of klaxons in his head. His arms instinctively found their way to the small of her back, as he pushed back against her, his head turning slightly as both of their eyes closed. For one hot, longing moment, they stayed connected, savoring the contact, before Jackie pulled back with a bright smile.

"W-W-Wha jus happened?" Marco slurred out, the feeling of his first real kiss seared into his mind.

Jackie laughed and got up from the bench, heading towards the bus that had come into the station during their makeout sesh. Marco noticed more than a few grinning passengers flashing him fist pumps and thumbs. Jackie turned to him with a wink and a flourish of her skirt, adoring his bluster.

"Same time next week?"

Though his mind was occupied with keeping itself coherent and repressing his hormones, Marco managed to stutter out a single word. "Y-Yeah."

"Cool. See ya in class!"

Jackie hopped onto the bus and gradually pulled away from the station, Marco's eyes following the navy vehicle until it disappeared over a hill. Laying back against the bench, a wide smile came across his face as he reviewed the events of the night in his head.

"Yeah, this was a good idea."

FIN