She'd waited long enough. Calling Van back was something she had wanted to do since their first date, but Henrietta had had no idea if she should or not. After consulting two members of the opposite sex, it was obvious that she was supposed to call him. A girl could only hold out so long and she was a liberated woman after all. A female had just as much right to call a male for a date or vice versa or kind of like vice versa, but not quite vice versa. That was more like vice vice or versa versa. Either way, she had made up her mind.

After some nervous pacing, the girl had dialed Van's number. It rang and rang and rang for what seemed like forever. She imagined him jamming out to 'Milkshakes' on the other end and it made her smile a little. Henri was about to hang up when there was a click. Nervously, the girl licked her lips. "Uhh, hello? This is Etta. I was wondering if you'd want to go out tonight or tomorrow. It doesn't matter much to me, but I figured it was my turn to spring a suprise on you." There was the hint of a smile in the girl's voice as she spoke.

Finally, there came an answer. "Well then, consider me surprised and tickled pink to accept your offer. Let's go tonight, rushing things is much more fun." Henrietta shook her head slightly as she held the phone to her ear and laughed. "Alright. That sounds like a plan. Meet me in front of the gate at 8 then, if that works. I'll talk to you later then." After he agreed, she hung up the phone and ran up to her room. Glancing around at all her clothing, she sighed. Outloud she said, "What am I gonna wear?"
---

Trying to clothe herself had become quite the fiasco, especially since she only had an hour or so. Luckily, the perfect outfit practically smacked her in the face after about 5 minutes of panicking. She decided to wear the burgandy dress she had bought while she was with Juka and Noel. It was to about her knees and showed her off nicely. To accompany the number, she wore some shiny silver sandals, dangly silver hoops, and some silver bangles. It was getting warmer out, so she put on a light spring jacket and called it in season. Her long hair was down and as curly as ever. She had on some light silver eye makeup and a little pink lip gloss.

I'm all set. Now I just have to wait for him to arrive. She was currently standing outside of the gates, looking up at some of the stars that were beginning to come out. "I love it when it gets all springy out," she said to herself.

Etta called him. Etta called him. She called him. She called him. Hahahahahahahaaaaaa. "Crap, what am I gonna wear?" He leaned down to scrounge his floor.

---

"Me too." Van had quietly walked from the corner and arrived at the gate right on time and just in time to hear Etta tell herself how much she liked things when they were springy. "I find everything is much less wintery when it is springy." The boy sidled up to the girl in the spring jacket. He could see the bottom of a dress peeking out from under it and he noted her sandals. This was the first time he'd seen Etta's legs bare and he decided that Spring was indeed a good thing. Van himself was wearing a comfortable pair of plain skinny jeans--not his tightest pair, but they were still tapered--a vintage looking suit jacket, and a tee shirt with a neon colored rocket ship on it. He avoided sandals on principle, so his shoes were classic red high tops.

"So," He bowed and held his arms out in a 'this way' gesture. "Surprise away." The boy's mouth was twisted up in a slightly nervous grin.

Van had been very excited to hear from Etta, he'd almost classified himself as a sack of thrown potatoes until he'd gotten the call earlier that night. It was interesting and more than a little intimidating that she was trying to surprise him. He still didn't know her that well, so date options were pretty limitless. Hopefully they could hit it off a second night.

If not they'd both be sacked.

Van walked up next to her and the girl turned to smile at him. “Hey Van. It’s great to see you again. I’ve thought about calling you for a while now, but I wasn’t sure if I was supposed to.” Henrietta looked at the young man and blushed a little. She’d been nervous and excited to see him again and now that they were face to face, she wasn’t sure what the emotion was. It kind of felt like bugs were trapped in her stomach again and it was like they were looking for an escape route. That didn’t seem like an emotion though.

The last thing she would’ve called it now was nervous. Now that he was there, she just felt stupid for not calling him earlier. What did I think he was going to say? I didn’t do anything to make him dislike me, obviously. He’s here now. Asking someone out isn’t that hard. Henri had that feeling she had the two other times they were together. It was like she wasn’t scared anymore. She just felt flattered to have another date with the cute, tough-acting boy.

Smiling, Henrietta asked Van, “So, what do you think of Tim Burton, Danny Elfman, and Johnny Depp? If you like them, I have a good idea for the first part of our date.” Alice in Wonderland was playing most places in the United States, as far as Henri knew. She had seen many commercials for the new film and it seemed like something both members of the pair might enjoy. Not to mention anything made by Tim Burton was a good thing. It didn’t matter who you were. You had to give some props to Burton.

Van's eyebrows knitted together as if with a pair of his grandmother's knitting needles and the rest of his face was crocheted into a very confused expression. "Well...if I didn't want you to call me I wouldn't have done the 'call me' sign last time we hung out..." His tone was just as befuddled as the rest of his face. "Is that an insecure girl thing?" There was real curiosity in his voice, Van had never been a situation like this before. He liked that she was so honest about what she'd been thinking though--lame excuses the boy could not handle, on any level.

He was pretty sure he got her angle when she asked him about Tim Burton. Alice in Wonderland was out. The two were very much related. Smiling, Van answered her. "I loooove Tim Burton--if I was going to be a director I'd want to have a fraction of his creative genius. And Danny Elfman is one of the best soundtrack composers of all time." Genuine gushing in his tone: check. The boy held out a spindly arm for the brown haired girl. "I won't be competing with Depp, will I? It seems like some girls go nuts over him. Shall we?"

He didn't know what route they were taking (or if his suspicions were even right) so the boy waited for her to take his arm and lead him to...wherever it was she was taking him. He really didn't know for sure and she'd said something about it only being the first part of their date. Whatever came next was still wrapped in the velvety folds of night and mystery and since Van's powers did nothing by way of future sight there was a lump of anticipation in his stomach. Or was that from something else? It could very well have been the Chinese food...

In any case, he'd find out eventually.

Van explained to her, with a very confused look on his face, that he wanted her to call and that’s why he gave her the sign. Henrietta laughed and still had a red tint to her face. He then asked if it was an insecure girl thing. She nodded. “I guess it is.” She pictured some of the girls from her school. They were all over boys and everyone wanted to date them. Maybe it wasn’t an insecure girl thing. “I think it may just be an insecure me thing.” The girl smiled slightly and looked at Van, embarrassed.

She was glad to hear that Van loved Tim Burton as much as she did. She was also glad that he caught her drift. He seemed a little concerned that Henri was going to get all weird over Johnny Depp. The girl giggled and shook her head ‘no’. “Have no fear. I don’t need a Depp if I got you for a date.” This time, only a small blush came to her face and she didn’t look away. She didn’t feel awkward saying it and she hoped that it didn’t freak him out. It wasn’t like she implied that they were going to be going out forever or anything. She worded it in a pretty safe way.

Taking his arm in her own, she walked him down to the bus stop. As they waited for a bus, she still had a hold of his arm. They got on the bus and Henri paid both of their fees.
--

The couple was now standing in front of a movie theater. It had a list of all the movies playing and Alice in Wonderland was, of course, up on the board. She knew it started at 8:45 and it was only 8:30. She turned to Van and grinned. “We’ll have time to buy snacks too, if you want.”

She pulled him by the hand up to the ticket booth. “Hello. Two for Alice in Wonderland, please.” The man behind the counted looked like he was probably about the same age as the pair. He smirked at Henri and then glanced at Van. “That’ll be $11.50.” The brunette dug through her pocket and pulled out the exact amount and set it on the counter. He passed the tickets to her. “That’ll be in theater 4. Thank you and enjoy the movie.”

They stepped into the theater’s lobby and Henrietta turned to Van. “Anything you need or want before we go in?”

Leading the way? Paying for his bus fare? Deciding what they were doing? Yes, Van could get used to this--or at least incorporate it into his daily routine.

"Candy! Candy, candy, candy!" Van jumped up and down at the mention of getting snacks before the movie started. "I just love overpriced candy!" A couple of people stopped and watched the teenager jump about excitedly. Some of those stopped people even shook their heads and commented to their neighbors--hooray for free attention. He kinda felt like a little kid when Etta pulled him by the hand to the ticket counter.

That little-kid-mood died as soon as Mr. Ticket-Seller-Guy smirked at the brunette. The boy felt very much like a 'man' when the strange, hot feeling bubbled up inside him and threatened to boil out of his mouth in strangely frothy and strangely possessive exclamations. What the deuce? Van swallowed the soup and settled for a quick glare before he was led away by the hand yet again.

Getting his movie paid for? Check yes once more, please.

"Candy! Candy, candy, candy!" the jumping was back in full force and this time Van was the one who grabbed Etta's hand before skipping over to the candy counter. "I'd like some of those, those, and...those." He pointed at three random boxes while digging around in his pocket for the money. "Oh, and a medium Coke." Turning to Etta he asked her "Wanna split it?" If he remembered correctly she drank Coke...unless of course she'd been appeasing him at the club or something. She did seem like she'd do that if she had to. The last time he'd thought that Van had ended up face first in a pile of mud.

But she'd called him. Hahahahahahaaaaaa.

Van jumped excitedly at the mention of candy and now that they were in the lobby, that’s where they were headed. He towed her along to the counter and she stood next to him as she listened to him list off what he wanted. Turning to him, she smirked. He asked the girl if she wanted to share. Henrietta nodded. “Sure, that’s fine with me. I do like sugar quite a bit.” She wondered if he remembered when they went out for coffee and she dumped tons of sugar into her small cup. She certainly remembered that day because it was when they had met.

The bored looking woman behind the counter took Van’s money and passed the candy and a cup to him. “The soda machine’s over there.” She gestured with her hand to across the room. “Thanks,” said the brunette. Henri glanced and saw the machine. She laughed and grabbed the cup from him. She walked quickly across the room. Turning around to check if Van had chased after her, she began to fill the cup with their drink of choice until it was all the way to the top. Grabbing a lid, she popped it onto the cup and stuck a couple straws into it. She put one of the straws to her mouth and began to drink from the Coke.

When Van got to where she was, she took a hold of his hand and held onto it. “Are we almost ready then?” She glanced at the boy’s choice of candy. “You’re gonna get hyper.” Henri laughed and took another sip of pop. “I might too though, so I shouldn’t be talking.”

What just happened? One moment the cup was there, ready for the taking by the Van man and then suddenly it was gone with a laugh and a whoosh of air caused by swinging hair. Swinging hair that was swinging away from him and towards the other end of the room where the soda machines were humming mechanically. Without so much as a 'How do you do?' Etta had stolen his cup and begun to fill it from one of the fountains. She'd better be getting Coke. The boy thought to himself, only half upset.

The other half of him showed on the outside with a grin and speedy strides that landed him behind the girl in time for her to finish filling the cup and take a drink or two out of it. "Filthy cup thief." He muttered when she grabbed his hand. It was rather difficult to remain upset at someone who had no qualms against randomly grabbing a hold of you and smiling at you the way Etta did. It was still intriguing to Van how she could be so comfortable with touching him when she seemed like such a shy and quiet girl. He'd realized on their last outing how much on an enigma she was and as they stood by the soda machine he remembered how much that had driven him crazy. She just didn't add up and that kept the young mutant on his toes.

"Oh I suppose we could adjourn to the theater. He said four, right?" Van's gray eyes searched for the number above the black double doors of each theater. "Don't make me get my hopes up, tease." Add her laugh to the list of things that drove Van crazy. An image of a hyper Etta filled the boy's mind and it made him grin. Maybe she'd be easier to figure out if she was high on sugar? He watched her take another sip from her straw before he set out in the direction of theater number four. When they got to the door her tucked his candy boxes under one arm and opened the door for her. "After you, mum." He said in a random and very poor British accent.

Van came over to where she was and the girl was relieved to see he didn't look upset. They walked over to 'Theater 4' and Van began to use a British accent as he held the door open for her. She curtsied and walked in ahead of him, also using a British accent. "Thank you, kind sir. I am forever in your debt and all that..." Henrietta laughed a little and led her date to the middle of the back section. She put her left hand on her hip and then turned and looked at him to gauge his reaction. "We can go closer if you want, I just figured I might be kind of giggily if I get hyper and I'm sure the children would not appreciate that." The brunette gestured at a group of kids toward the front.

She smirked and glanced at his candy. "And I don't know how you'll react to all that sugar either." Actually, I'm mostly thinking that it's gonna be dark and if I kiss you, I don't want small children to see. The girl's face turned a faint red color in the dark theater. She figured it wasn't enough color to notice, but still. Okay, Henri-old-girl. Get your mind out of the gutter and onto the movie, if possible. Henrietta glanced at Van and all his cuteness. Okay, easier said than done, but we can handle this, hopefully. The girl had a sneaking feeling, that even if she didn't kiss him, that's most of what she'd be thinking about. Forget Alice and her Wonderland!

Cheerio, good chap. Top o' the--that last one was Irish. Etta replied to his accent with one of her own (hers was decidedly better). "Forever in my debt, really?" He followed her into the dim theater, where she stopped near the middle of the last section of seats. This area was pretty much deserted with most patrons and movie goers preferring the middle section and the waay front. "Nah, this is just fine. We wouldn't want to disturb someone else's Alice experience, not even the texting tweens in the front." And the kids up front were texting, you could see the blue light from their phones even from the back.

"Oh, I become a regular public nuisance when my sugar capacity gets peaked." His smirked mirrored her own as Van slid into a seat on her other side, successfully bumping into her on his way to seat in the middle of the section before he sat down and relaxed in his plush, red seat. "Etta, major score--cup holders." A cherubic smile played across the boy's thin face as he smiled up at the still standing girl. In the dim light he could barely make out her form.

And then something occurred to Van. Something exciting, nerve racking, and intriguing.

It was going to be very dark in the theater and he and Etta, for all intensive purposes, were going to be alone. The boy got the feeling that the brunette hadn't picked their particular section just because she didn't want to bug someone else--as if she'd think that Van would care if he caused a ruckus by being hyper. Did she have other plans? Did he have other plans?

Probably, on both counts.

Suddenly the boy very much wanted the stupid previews to be over and the movie to start.

((OOC: After she sits feel free for the movie to start!))

Van told Henrietta that the spot she picked was fine, so the teens sat down. He seemed pretty excited that there were cup holders and it made the girl laugh quietly to herself. Henri leaned back in her seat and was more than a little suprised when it went backwards on her. "Huh. That's awesome." She sat up and then leaned back. Sat up and then leaned back. Sitting up for more than a second this time, she turned and whispered to Van. "Do you think they hand out peanuts and those little drinks with the umbrellas?" Leaning back away from him, she had a smirk on her face.

All of a sudden, the lights in the theater dimmed even more. Henri could still see the girls' cellphone lights. She almost suggested that they throw candy at the small squad, but thought better of it since the credits started rolling. Though the girl was genuinely interested in the movie, there was a really hot teenage boy next to her. Her mind began to race for a moment as she tried to figure out what she was supposed to do. Umm...Oh man! What if he doesn't want to kiss me? She turned and glanced at Van and then quickly looked away again. But..wait. Why wouldn't he want to kiss me? He seems to like me and I know for a fact that most boys' hormones are raging at this time in their lives.

After contimplating the situation for a minute, she looked for Van's hand and then took ahold of it. Okay, I'm sending you a telepathic wavelength. The girl stopped and rolled her eyes at herself. This would probably work so much better if I was actually a telepath. All I have is moving hair and I'm pretty sure it doesn't have any brain to send wavelengths out with. Henrietta decided to go with the safe route and waited to see what his reaction was to the small, flirty move.

"I feel fancy." Van's pinky shot out as he opened a box of Dots. "Oh waiter, I'd like the escargot and a sparkling mineral water please." He half called to a couple walking down to a section below them. The couple didn't even glance his way. "No, Etta, I think we're going to have to get our own fancy drinks and peanuts." He smirked, but in the rapidly dimming light he doubted that she could see it. He certainly couldn't see her, although her warmth next to his leg and shoulder was getting more and more hard to ignore. The lights went out totally and the credits started rolling. The boy's mind was not on the pictures movie across the screen--he'd never kissed Etta before and he found his mind wandering towards her lips in the dark. Focus, freak, focus. Movie... Did the fact that she'd asked him on a movie date open them up to some kissing action? Was that what she intended? Was that what he intended on doing?

The boy was staring straight ahead but he wasn't making sense of the part scene in front of him. Suddenly his hand was taken hostage in hers. The gesture was familiar but at the same time totally new in the dark. Did that mean something or was the brunette just being her usual, hand-holding self? He'd just have to find out.

The hand she was holding gently eased out of her grip and snaked around the back of her plush seat. It was a LAME move, but Van wasn't totally sure how to execute something of this nature. Sure, he'd kissed girls before, but never in movie theaters and never girls with an IQ higher than their shoe size. Lameness would have to do until he discovered finesse. His free hand found the one its partner had been holding on the arm rest and held it. "I like the costumes." He murmured somewhere near Etta's hair in the hopes that if he was totally off in his pathetic come-on that she'd be distracted by some conversation.

The costumes were cool, but they were totally lost on the boy as he sat in the dark next to his date.

Van called out to a couple and the girl laughed. "Really, Van?" While they were sitting there, she felt his hand disappear out of her's. She was wondering what he was doing until she felt his arm across her back. Henri's face turned red. She'd seen people do that to girls in TV shows and on movies. That was usually a sign, right? It had to have meant something. Usually people would start making out after a guy did that, or so that was her experience. The girl thought back to her first kiss in middle school. It hadn't been great and he'd been kind of a jerk, but she wanted to get her first kiss out of the way. Some people made such a big deal out of it. She didn't want it to turn into something huge and complex.

He whispered something about the people's costumes close to her ear and she shivered slightly. "Uh, yeah. They're very cool. I like Alice's dress." It was true, she did like the girl's dress, but that wasn't exactly what her mind was focusing on currently. She leaned her shoulder against his. Teenage hormones are so not fair. Henrietta looked toward the direction of the boy. She really did like him, even if this was only their third time hanging out. Besides, she knew plenty of people who kissed when they first met, so kissing on a third meeting wasn't that nasty, was it?

Okay, I'll just see what he does before I try anything else.That was a safe move, right? He had put his arm around her and then she leaned toward him. Their faces were closer together now because their shoulders were touching. She was pretty sure this was a decently obvious sign, but she couldn't be sure.

When she replied to his random comment she sounded distracted. Van could relate, and how. He barely registered that she spoke at all--and then she leaned forward. Hello. Incoming mother ship. Prepare to--prepare to what? Dock? Did that mean kiss? Did he care what it meant?

Yes. He cared more than he wanted to let on. Van didn't want to mess up what he had with Etta, whatever that was. She was the only sane person his age that he interacted with and she was pretty and cute and funny and random and adorable and she understood him (or at least pretended that she did when she didn't). Etta was all the things he wanted in a friend and the crush that was growing inside the boy wanted as a girlfriend. Guys kissed their girlfriends--some more than others. But she wasn't his girlfriend--she was Etta and they were dating...It was all so exciting and confusing. Bottom line:

Van needed the friendship that the adorably strange girl from Springfield gave him.
AND
There was something growing deep in his belly that needed to kiss her in that moment.

The two ideals fought for a second and then one won out. "I'm so glad that Depp isn't hot in this movie." He whispered, his lips seconds from her own. He could feel her breath coming from her slightly open lips on his own and it made his face break out in goose flesh. The boy wanted this and in that moment nothing else mattered--not even tweens that were still ruining the experience with their giggles and their stupid blue screens. A pause in which he searched the face he could barely see for any signs of hesitance. None were found.

Here goes nothing. The young mutant thought as every pore in his body screamed to be stretched. He could even feel his shirt meld into his arms in places--the nerves and excitement making his powers tweak out. And then the boy in the skinny jeans, with the facial piercings kissed the sandal-footed girl in a spring jacket and a dress while the Mad Hatter and Alice just watched from their place on the giant screen in front of them.

Her lips and his lips were now touching. Victory! Score one for the home team! Goal! Touchdown! Other stuff that had to do with winning! She felt herself blush and shiver at the same time. When they paused a minute, Henrietta let out a small sigh, but it was a happy one and it sounded like it. She glanced at the screen just in time to see the Mad Hatter and Alice having some sort of weird encounter. He was putting her in a teapot. For some pretty obvious reasons, her mind didn't pay attention to the screen long or even continue to think about Wonderland.

Leaning towards him, she gently put her lips to his again. She could feel her heart beating hard in her chest and she closed her eyes. Henrietta kissed him again, but this time it was a little stronger than the first one she planted. Her breathing began to feel weird and she wondered what it was from. She'd never kissed anyone like this before. It was so much different that just a peck, but it felt right to her. The brunette liked Van and was glad that she had met him. Not just because of this, but because he was funny and nice. Being cute didn't hurt him either, of course it probably didn't hurt anyone.

Her hair lifted slightly off her shoulders and she pulled back a little so their lips were barely touching. The words were formed and she felt their mouths brush lightly against each other. "My hair and I like you." She laughed slightly as she felt his breath on her lips. "Thanks for coming to the movies with me." Henri leaned in and kissed him again, this time wrapping hers arms loosely around his neck.