"So? How was your date? Tell me all the juicy details!" Danielle gushed as she slid another safety- pin into the torn bed sheet that she was transforming into my costume.

"It was... nice."

"Nice? That's it? Nice? You went on a date with one of the hottest seniors at our school, and all you can say is nice?"

I giggled, and tried to sneak a glance at my costume in the mirror, but Danielle had a firm grip on my ensemble and I couldn't escape, "We got dinner, saw a movie and then he brought me home."

"And?"

"And nothing! He kissed me good night. And said, 'see you tomorrow, I'll pick you up at 8." I glanced at the clock, and my stomach fluttered slightly when I realized that was in less than two hours from now.

"So there was a kiss?"

"A cheek kiss- nothing more."

"A cheek kiss?"

"What?"

"Nothing..." Danielle shook her head and moved around to the back of my dress. I twisted my head around to see her.

"'Come on- not nothing."

"Really, it's nothing. It sounds very... Sweet." Ever since she had started dating Blake, she had started acting like she was some sort of dating expert, "Where did he take you for dinner? What movie did you see?"

"We went to that Italian place, Luigi's, and we saw that new Comedy with that guy..."

"Descriptive..." Danielle shook her head at me. She was already in her costume, a 20's Flapper. Apparently Blake would be going as a 20's Gangster. Matching couples costume. How... Adorable. Apparently the whole hockey team was doing it with all their girlfriends.

"Do you think James asked me out just to have a couples costume?" I asked, as I stared at the makeshift toga wrapped around my body. Yeah, you guessed it, Roman or Greek something... And James would be dressing to match. It had seemed like a good idea when he brought it up at dinner. At least Danielle already owned the Gladiator sandals. "Did you have to make it so short?"

"Stop fidgeting, you look great. And no, I don't think so. I have it on good authority that apparently you've been mentioned on multiple occasions in the locker room."

I made a face, "Lovely."

Oh well, could be worse. Apparently Veronica had decided she wanted to be a police woman, so Nick had to be prisoner. I smirked as I thought about the photo he had sent me of himself in the orange jumpsuit.

"Alright, you're done. Let's go fix your hair." I had bought a bunch of fake ivy leaves and twisted them into a sort of laurel wreath to wear on my head. I had made a matching one for James. I hoped he'd like it.

*******************************

When the doorbell rang, Danielle was still putting on her finishing touches. She had found these fake eyelashes with feathers on them, and was attempting to glue them onto her eyelids, so I was ordered to do doorbell duty.

I hurried down the steps and opened the door. Blake and James were standing on the porch. Blake had on a pin stripe suit with these ridiculous shoulder pads, and a fedora hot tipped at a cocky angle. James was wearing a toga, but I could only see the bottom half of it, he was wearing his Varsity Jacket on top, and he was staring at me.

Blake grinned at me, "You look like a little wood nymph."

I glanced at James, who smiled reassuringly, "You look great."

"Thanks, Danielle's still getting ready."

Blake rolled his eye, "Of course she is- Dani! Hurry it up!" He put his hands on my shoulders and moved me to the side, and pushed into the house and pounded up the stairs.

"So..." James looked me up and down, "Ready to go?"

I nodded, "Yeah, I guess..."

"You look really good." He said reassuringly.

"Thanks, so do you... I think..." I eyed the jacket.

"Oh right," He laughed and slid it off, so I could admire his toga. It only covered one shoulder, so I could clearly see his muscular pecs, and his big shoulder muscles and biceps. For some reason I thought of Tyler, the last guy I had seen shirtless, and Tyler's six pack. I'm sure James had one too, but it looked like it had been insulated by a six pack of another kind. Okay, maybe several of them.

********************************

"Hey guys, Danielle..." Alice turned and looked at me, "Loser. How's it going?" Her eyes went back to Blake and James.

"Hey Alice," James put his arm around my waist and guided me past her. "What did you do to her?" He whispered in my ear as we pass by.

"I don't even remember anymore." I shrug my shoulders as we pass by a bunch of kids and head into the kitchen.

"Cool, want a beer?" He rifled through the fridge.

"No thanks,"

"You sure?"

"Yeah I'm good."

"Okay," He pulled out the beer and popped the top off against the marble counter top.

"Watch it jerk," A female voice snapped. Victoria appeared in her cop outfit. It's amazing how little material was there... And yet, she was definitely a cop. She had the hand cuffs and everything. She looked James up and down. "So what are you..." Then she saw me, "Two."

"They're Romans, what else?" Nick came up behind Victoria. "Costume looks great!" He grabbed me in a hug. "Danielle did a great job."

"Yeah," I stand back and look him up and down, "And orange is definitely your color."

"You like?"

"If I say no... Will I get arrested?"

Victoria just tossed her hair, "James, watch the counters. Nick?" She started to walk away.

"Sorry- gotta obey the warden." He shrugged and followed her out. I shake my head after he walks away.

"Wow, that boy is whipped." James laughed and took a swig of the beer.

"Seriously."

"You sure you don't want one?"

"Alright, why not. Just... Do me a favor, don't let me pass out on the couch..."

"Oh right, I heard about that." He laughed.

"Yeah, well."

"Alright, here you go, and I'll keep an eye on you."

"Thanks," I grinned as he handed me a beer from the fridge.

So, three beers later... Okay, yeah, totally didn't learn from the vodka incident. Anyway, three beers down, suddenly I'm telling James what I overheard in the bathroom the other day.

"Why is she like that, do you think?" I ask.

"Huh? Like what?"

"She like hates me... An' I don't know what I did."

James laughed, "Really? You don't know? You're hot. That's her problem."

"I'm not that hot."

"You really think that? You know, when you walked into the party tonight, every guy in the room was staring at you."

"Huh... Weird." And I started to laugh.

I was dancing with Danielle, when Nick suddenly walks up to me and grabs my shoulder. I turn around and started to dance with him, only to see that he's not smiling. He looks... Pissed. "What are you telling everyone and me and Victoria?"

"What? Nothing..."

"Nothing? Really? Because there's this weird rumor going around the party that apparently you started, that Victoria's only dating me, to get back at you. Why would you even say something like that?"

"Nick I- It was... I heard her say it!"

"Whatever Iz," He sighs and turns away from me.

"Nick!" I try to grab his arm, but he just pulls it away and turns his back on me. Danielle is staring in horror.

"Who'd you tell?" She asks.

"No one except you! And James." James! I glance up at the clock at the wall. It's almost 11pm. I can talk to him on the way home. Maybe. It was my own fault for even telling him in the first place.

I find him in the kitchen, a half empty- beer in his hand. He's watching the game of beer pong that's happening on the kitchen table.

"Hey, can we go?" I ask.

"Huh?" He looks down at me. "Oh yeah, sure." He drains his beer. "Hey guys, I gotta bounce." Then he winks. What was that about? We say our good byes, I give Danielle a hug, and we leave.

"So, where to Princess?"

"Uhmm, home?" I glance at his car clock.

"Oh yeah..." He mutters, "Awesome." His breath smells like beer.

"Hey James..." I ask as we head back to my house, "Why did you tell everyone what I said?"

"What did you say?"

"You know, that thing that Victoria said."

"Didn't realize it was some big secret..."

"It wasn't.. It's just... Well, Nick's kind of mad at me now and stuff..."

"Whatever, you talk about that kid too much."

"Sorry..." Wait, why am I sorry? And why are we heading this direction? This is not towards my house. I glance at the clock. 11:05. "James, I told my parents I'd get home by eleven."

"Don't worry, I'll get you there soon, and that clock's fast. There's just something I want to show you."

"Okay..." We pull into an empty parking lot.

"C'mere..." He wraps his arm around me and pulls me towards him and starts to kiss me.

"James, wait..."

"Oh come on, you know you want it..." Alright... The kiss is... Nice. I let myself relax, as his lips press against mine, and then slowly part. He pulls me closer. His tongue slides inside my mouth. It's kind of gross, and I want to pull away, but I don't. Then I notice his hand. First it was just on my waist, now it's working it's way higher, and towards my chest. I try to keep kissing him as I push his hand away. A minute later he tries ago. I push it away.

The third time, he tries, I finally break the kiss, "James, please stop."

He pulls away suddenly, and stares at me angrily, "God, you are such a little cock tease. Should have known not to take out the Virgin Mary." He glares at me.

"I'm sorry..." My voice is trembling slightly.

"Yeah, sorry. Whatever." He starts up the engine, and I shiver slightly. The car had cooled off a lot. I'm glad when the heat kicks back on.

He spins the car around and heads back to the road. There's another car coming.

He can't be thinking about making the turn. He guns the engine.

The headlights fill my window. A horn blares. I hear someone screaming. And then... Silence.

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So after all the feedback I got (thank you everyone who reviewed!) I was going to include Tyler in this chapter, but then I couldn't really come up with a place for him.