Rebecca was at wit's end. With each time spent in Agnes's presence, the more Rebecca felt like there was a crush growing on her friend. This was, of course, preposterous; Agnes had a girlfriend, and Rebecca was not a lesbian. It was just a simple example of Agnes being the first person she connected with, which could obviously lead to infatuation and confused emotions, right? Either that, or Agnes really was the first person for Rebecca to be interested in romantically and she was making excuses.

It would be easier to figure out if not for the almost kiss, or the kiss in the dark closet, or the honey kisses. They all clouded her mind.

She could go no longer wondering if she liked Agnes or if the closeness and the kisses just made her feel that way. She had to go on a date with a boy.

No. She would have to kiss a boy.

That would be the only way for her to figure out if Agnes's kisses were something more, or if Rebecca just enjoyed kissing and crossed her circuits. She just needed to find a boy she would be interested enough in kissing.

Thankfully for her, there was a perfectly good one lying around somewhere. Handsome but shy, he would not take the initiative and ask her on a date, and it was not usually in her nature to take the initiative in anything. Still, she could not afford to wait any longer. She picked up her phone and found Drew's name in her address book.

"Good day Drew, it's Becca! Um, Ah was wondering-- th' girls were tellin' me abit sushi, an' Ah've ne'er tried it, an' Ah was wondering-- well, there's a place in walkin' distance an' Ah thought Ah'd ask if yoo'd like tae go fer dinner." She took her first brief pause for breath before adding, "Ye know, like a date."

She got Drew to agree to the idea, and they set plans. The next evening, she waited for her date (it was weird to refer to Drew as such,) in front of a nice sushi place-- not too expensive, but nothing cheap or low-quality.

She had asked Gina to help her pick out an outfit. (She considered enlisting Agnes's help, but deemed it a bad idea. This was an Agnes-free date.) She rested against the wall in a light blue wool sweater over blue cotton dress. This was her first date and she was nervous, but she had to keep confident, because she wanted it to go well.

And she would be getting a kiss out of the boy.

He hadn't been expecting the invitation to a date. Truthfully Drew had been focused on other things. Between his job and his various other duties he'd let nearly anything social slip by the wayside. He still saw people and talked with them but it was usually in the course of doing something else. Having Rebecca ask him out for sushi had therefore startled him. Maybe he should have let her down gently instead of accepting. It would have been kinder than going out with her while his attentions were on someone else. But considering that that person was never likely to return those affections Drew had thought perhaps that he could at least enjoy a night out with a pretty girl.

So he'd accepted. The fact that she'd seemed so determined had played no small part in the decision. Drew recognized something about the way she'd spoken over the phone. He wasn't sure what it was but it had been enough to reinforce his decision to accept and go on a date with her. For her sake, if not his own. So the plans were made and Drew got himself ready for a date. The place they'd agreed on was nice but not overly expensive. Accordingly, Drew grabbed a pair of black slacks and a dark red button down shirt to look a bit more presentable without over dressing.

The bus ride was uneventful, even if he did catch a couple of eyes when he got on. Drew shrugged them off as the standard curious people that they were. After disembarking he made a quick stop at a flower shop he noticed on the way. Sure he didn't need to big Rebecca a flower but it seemed like a good idea. One bright yellow daffodil later he was walking down the sidewalk again. Upon catching sight of Rebecca he smiled and walked over, presenting the flower to her.

"Hey there."

Waiting for Drew to arrive, Rebecca remembered that this was going to be her first date. She had been so focused on the Agnes situation that she failed to realize how unprepared she was. Was there supposed to be a difference between hanging out with Drew and being on a date with him? Maybe she was supposed to flirt more? She barely knew how to do so to begin with. It turned out it was easier to stop analyzing her thoughts of Agnes when she was busy being anxious about her date.

>> "Hey there."

Rebecca returned from her introspective panic, noticing Drew's arrival with a bright yellow flower. The anxiety subsided as a blush arose in her cheeks. "Hi Drew! Ye shouldnae 'ave!" She took the flower and inhaled the sweet scent. "It's beutiful."

Okay, so it was a good start to the date. "After ye," she gestured to the door, ready to follow his lead into the restaurant.

He grinned. While his heart may not be entirely in this date at least Drew had done well with the flower.

"Pretty flower for a pretty girl, if you want to be corny."

Drew grinned a little at that and then entered the restaurant, making sure to hold the door for Rebecca. There were a couple of groups before them, one couple and one party of five but the hostesses were handling things well so they didn't have to wait long before it was their turn to be seated. Soon enough the two of them were seated and waiting on a waiter.

"So, how are you today?"

Small talk, the bane of his existence. With a mental shrug Drew glanced around at the people around them before returning his gaze to their table and to Rebecca in particular.

>> "Pretty flower for a pretty girl, if you want to be corny."

Rebecca smiled, giggling at Drew's self-awareness. "Ah think Ah dae, thank ye. Ah never had many boys aroond, so th' corniness is still cute tae me." Flirting of any kind still got her pink in the cheeks and hot under the collar, but flattery and cheesy lines still had a charm to her.

>> "So, how are you today?"

A rather innocuous question, but she supposed small talk was the easiest start to the date. "Oh, a really typical day. School, a day off from work, hanging out wi' Gina." Normally that would have also involved hanging out with Gina's sister, but lately, Agnes was a rarity in Rebecca's life for whatever reason. This is not about her. A lie, but it got the job done. "Ah needed a regular day after th' costume day at work."

Just as Rebecca was finished mentioning her work experience, the hostess returned and pointed them to a table near a window. Rebecca stood up with a polite smile. "Thank ye!"

She led the way to the table and took her seat, looking at the menu in front of her. Reading the unfamiliar names and looking at pictures that she had never seen until her very brief experience googling "sushi" the nigh before, she remembered how clueless she was. "Have ye ever had sushi before, because Ah must confess, Ah have nae idea what tae get." She liked fish, and she saw names like "salmon" and "tuna" but they were often followed by words she did not know. What was the difference between a "roll," "maki" or "sashimi?"

Drew chuckled a little at Rebecca's statement.

"Then shall I tell you that your eyes are like stars in the heavens or some such line?"

Shaking his head, Drew eyed the menu while Rebecca gave a brief summation of her day. Two things stuck out to Drew but only one bore questioning.

"Costume day?"

Where would she work that would have a costume day? They certainly hadn't had anything like that at the school. Well save for the X-Men uniforms and all that.

"Nope, can't say that I have. It'll be an adventure for the both of us."

And the best part was that this was an adventure that came injury free. At least Drew thought so anyway. Wasabi, whatever that was, was supposed to be pretty spicy but beyond that what could go wrong?

>> "Then shall I tell you that your eyes are like stars in the heavens or some such line?"

Drew was quite the joker, but he had the wit and charm to get her to chuckle at the cheesiest of lines. Then again, Rebecca was not going to turn down a a compliment because it was corny; it was cute and silly and just fine by her. "Do whatever ye'd like," she joked.

>> "Costume day?"

Rebecca glanced up from her menu before she realized why Drew was confused; there were only a few people at the mansion that knew where she worked. "Oh, tha's right. Ah work at a wee comic shop in th' city, an' we had a promotional day this week. That means employees had tae costume up." She thought back to her Miracle Girl costume, with it's yellow mask and just-a-tad-too-short dress. "It wasnae as bad as Ah thought it'd be."

She thought about telling him about the costume and how shy she was in it initially, but a young male waiter approached the table. He introduced himself as their server and asked if they would like to start with a drink or an appetizer.

Rebecca scanned the drink options, (leaving appetizer selection to Drew if he wanted one.) She noticed something that sounded exotic and (hopefully) delicious. It was a day to try new things after all. "Can Ah have a glass of mango juice?" The server nodded and turned his attention to Drew.

Rebecca told him what she'd meant and Drew grinned just a bit. Costumes and comic books and all that? She didn't precisely strike Drew as the type for that but who was he to judge?

"Well you'll have to let me know when the next one is. Don't want to miss out on you in a costume again."

They grew quiet as a waiter appeared to take their drink order. Drew glanced over the drink selections again before responding.

"Uh, just some green tea I guess."

Drew didn't recall having had it before so it would be another unique experience. As for appetizers...well he just wasn't going to risk them. Not at the moment anyway. It would be interesting enough just to try the sushi. With their drink orders written down the waiter departed to retrieve the drinks and left them to studying their menus. Drew was studying his menu at least. Mostly because he wasn't entirely sure what to say next. Hmmm...

"So, how did you meet Agnes and Gina?"

That was as good a question as any.

>> "Well you'll have to let me know when the next one is. Don't want to miss out on you in a costume again."

Rebecca giggled, which was a good defense mechanism to hide nervousness, which was what came with the idea of people she knew seeing her in costumes with itty-bitty skirts. It was somehow easier to manage handling it when it was for a group of strangers, which allowed her more distance than friends, not to mention a boy like Drew. She would wonder every other time she saw him if he was thinking about the Scot in the green skirt or the red spandex. "Maybe, but ye better nae tease me!"

>> "So, how did you meet Agnes and Gina?"

An innocent question about her friends, even if he unknowingly brought up the one topic she wanted to avoid. Still, she replied, "Well, ye know Gina. She was th' first one Ah met here. She basically walked intae mah room an' took me on a tour ay th' mansion." Gina was, after all, predictable in one sense: if you were a person, there was a good chance Gina was going to be your best friend, or at least she'll try like hell to be so.

As for Agnes... "Ah met Agnes in th' garden when she was working. Ah helped tend tae th' plants. It was a good day." She remembered the first meeting, with her innocence as she accidentally unashamedly flirted with Agnes. Still, it was certainly a nicer day than most.

She decided to get off the topic as naturally as she could. The flower Drew gave her caught her eye, laying neatly on the table. "Thanks again fer th' flower. Definitely worth a couple ay brownie points." It was certainly a good opening, at least to the inexperienced girl. For all she knew, giving a flower might be required by social norms. "Ye seem tae know yer way aroond thes whole datin' thing." She was slightly embarrassed, but she decided that being honest might even cut her some slack if she was awkward or just bad at the date. If Ah'm bein' honest, thes is actually mah first date. Ah hope Ah dornt seem tae nervoos!" She joked, hiding how truthful that concern was.

The waiter returned shortly with their drinks, placing them on the table. Rebecca swiveled the straw in her direction and took a sip of the beverage. The sweet and tangy flavor excited her taste buds. If this was how the juice tasted, she would have to get her hands on a mango at some point.

The server asked if they were ready to order. "Um, Ah think Ah am, at least." To be truthful, she had not settled on a set-in-stone choice, being more occupied with Drew. She looked back down at the page hastily to choose between the options she had been mulling over before. "Uh, can Ah have tuna maki rolls and... unagi?" She spotted the word and her curiosity compelled her to take a chance on it.

With her order scribbled down on a paper, the waiter turned his attention to Drew.

Drew simply smirked as Rebecca protested that he'd better not tease her.

"Now why would I tease you? I bet you look simply stunning in costume."

He was laying it a trifle thick and he knew it but Rebecca seemed to enjoy it. The date might as well be enjoyable since he didn't plan on making it a repeat performance. She was cute but so far he wasn't much interested beyond that. As Rebecca related the tale of meeting Gina, Drew grinned. That sounded like Gina. The girl he considered something of an unofficial little sister was very kind and energetic like that. For a moment he thought about relating the tale of his own meeting with Gina but then thought better of it. It wasn't the most pleasant tale and at least one part included the short bout of mental instability he'd gone through during the changing of his mutation. So it was better not to mention it.

Come to think of the way he'd met Agnes was the same. Despite her closeness with Gina, Drew didn't really know the girl that well. Drew gave a mental shrug over that and moved on at about the same time Rebecca changed topics. He smiled as she thanked him for the flower.

"I just thought it would be nice. Truthfully I haven't dated much myself. I'm just making it up as I go along."

That sounded like a nice excuse for any nervousness of hers. Or his. Not that he was nervous but it was a date. The last time he'd had anything similar had been Tasean. Drew forcefully pushed aside the uncomfortable emotions that brought up. There would be no thinking about that man. Not tonight.

He looked over the menu as Rebecca ordered and spotted a sampler platter of various sushi rolls and what not. He ordered that once the waiter was ready to take his order. After the waiter shuffled off to give the orders to the chef, Drew relaxed back into his seat.