Double Dating (ATTN: Gen, Hannah, Will)

[Gage Foster]

Gage was getting ready for the double date when the computer on his desk gave out an alert for a new message. He grinned when he saw it was from Warner. Their mother must have tipped him off. "Good luck on your date, you're gonna need it. Don't screw it up. You know you have nothing to offer." Warner signed off with a winking icon. Stupid brother.

He recounted how he had asked Will and Hannah to join Gen and him for the date at the Santa Monica pier.

Will was trying quite hard to contain his excitement, Gage knew. It was pretty obvious the guy had a thing for Gen and Gage was pretty glad someone saw her for the great girl she truly was. But a part of Gage felt...jealous? No...more protective than jealous. Will was a good guy. The best for Gen, Gage reckoned. He was actually one of the nicest cool guys he knew. The fact that he was a big geek made Gage feel that Gen was in good hands.

Asking Hannah was a tough one. Gage was a nervous wreck. He'd asked girls out before so he was kind of surprised he was this much of a bundle of nerves asking out Hannah. So far, she hadn't stood out from the girls he had met before but something about her attracted him to her.

Smiling at his cleanest t-shirt and the pair of jeans which didn't have any holes in them, Gage grabbed his wallet and checked the amount of money he had and reckoned that he had enough to last him the whole date and then some. Not that he was going to pay for everything. Will was paying half of it. Or more if he so insisted. No guy, Gage thought, who liked any girl should ever make her pay unless she wanted to and even then, he'll try his best to persuade her not to. So if Will was any form of a guy, he should know that he should pay at least a bit of the bill.

Once he tucked his wallet into his jeans, he opened his door and announced to his mother that he was going off already. He logged out of his computer and got out of the fire escape before closing the window and sliding down the stairs to Gen's place. Once in front of her window, Gage tapped three times and waited for his best friend to open the window.

[Genny Bailey]

Gen had changed her clothes about ten times and still was undecided. She looked at the clock and squeaked in dismay when she saw it was almost time to go. She finally pulled on a pair of black skinny jeans, a long gauze shirt, her brown leather half boots, and her tie-dye slicker as it was calling for rain. She grabbed her umbrella and there was a tap at the window. She waved and pulled a heart locket on a long chain over her head.


Genny then climbed out to join Gage. "We going this way or through the hall way?" she asked, used to doing either, though they were less likely to tear or stain their clothing going through the halls.

"Do I look okay?" she asked nervously. Genny told herself she didn't care that he should like her no matter what she wore, but she knew that was a crock and she was nervous as hell that he would think she was just a nerd and spend all night wishing he was the one with a cheerleader for a date.

[Gage Foster]

Helping Gen out her window, Gage smiled at her outfit. It was one of those things that look just right on a girl with Gen's petite figure. Once Gen was outside, Gage leaned back on the railing and looked at her while she asked the questions. "Through the hallway. Your outfit looks way too delicate to go through this rusty contraption." He answered with an affectionate tap on the railing behind him. The fire escape had been a sanctuary for the two teenagers ever since Gage fell from his level down to Gen's. She had patched him up quick and good and had been inseparable since.

As to the next question, Gage gave Gen an innocent once over and shrugged. "You look great like always." Over the summer, Gen had gone through a make-over. She got contacts, her style turned from drab to fab and she was filling out the places she thought she never could. And as a boy, Gage thought his best friend was amazingly hot.

"And if Will doesn't see that, he's not as smart as I thought he was." Gage said before climbing through Gen's window. "Come on let's go." He smiled, extending a hand to Gen.

The journey to the pier was a considerably short one since their condo was located near it and they filled their walk with small chatter. The pier came into view and Gage could see both Hannah and Will at opposite sides of the entrance looking around aimlessly. Hannah looked so pretty. "Gen...there they are." Gage smiled before pulling her towards their direction. "Hey Hannah, Will!"

[Genny Bailey]

Genny waved to their dates with a warm but nervous smile. This was her first real date since she didn't count her Valentine's Day date with Gage since that had been accidental. She vaguely recognized Hannah as one of the cheerleaders who normally would never deign to notice someone like her, but she tried not to let that color her behavior. She was doing this for Gage and obviously he was good enough for Hannah.

They wind was brisk and there was moisture in the air. She hoped it wouldn't rain, more for Hannah's sake than her own. She had no problem with water obviously since she was on swim team and wanted to be a marine biologist. Plus she had dressed for it. Nana would never have let her out without rain gear.

They ran over to meet them and Gen held out her hand to Hannah. "Hi, I'm Genny Bailey," she said with a smile, determined to be pleasant no matter what got thrown her way that night. She turned the smile on Will. "Hey Will," she said and hugged him. They had known each other for a long time after all, though as friends. She didn't really believe Gage's assertion that Will liked her in a special way. She had never seen it anyway.

[Hannah Bell]

Hannah was glad that Gage had finally gotten around to asking her out. It had definitely made what had started as a horrible day much, much better. So much better than the rest of the day flew by and before Hannah knew it, school was out and she was at home getting ready. She wanted to look her best and really knock Gage's socks off. She wasn't too concerned with his friend or her date. They were both freshmen from Silver, and she had no idea who either Will or Genevieve was.

The date was supposed to start at four, and Hannah did not wanted to be late. She absolutely hated tardiness! She flew through the shower and started to look for something to wear while her hair dried. Jeans seemed a good versatile choice, but she really wanted to do something special. After a bit of digging, she was able to find a nice dress that she hadn't worn in quite some time. It was white with big, different colored polka dots, thin straps over her shoulders, and she really liked that the bottom poofed out a bit. That being decided, she finished her routine, found a nice pair of heels that weren't too high, and called the taxi to take her to the pier.

She arrived shortly before four, but did not see Gage anywhere so she took a seat on a bench near the entrance. The sky was slightly darkening, and she kicked herself for not checking to see if it was going to rain. At least she had thought to grab a pink cardigan to wear over the dress in case it got chilly. She pulled out her purse to recheck her make-up as she waited.

[Will Owens]

Will Owens, superstud! The young boy checked himself out in the mirror one last time before heading to meet up with Gage and Genny, and Gage's date. He wasn't sure what to wear or how formal of a date it would be, but the fact that it was at the pier made Will assume it would be more relaxed. Of course his parents wanted him to dress nice, but Will knew if it were up to them he'd look like a giant dork.

He had found a nice looking plaid cowboy shirt hanging in his closet that was Hollister, so he knew it was cool. He'd seen a lot of the cool senior guys wearing the cowboys shirts lately, so they must be coming back into style. Style was something Will knew very little about, but he was trying his hardest to learn. A pair of tan cargo shorts (also from Hollister) went very well with the shirt, and he grabbed a pair of no-show socks so that he could wear his Puma sneakers instead of sandals. He remembered with a smile how he and his friends in the seventh grade used to call them inviso-socks, but that was something he had outgrown. It was most definitely not cool to call them inviso-socks anymore.

His dad insisted on giving him a ride to the pier, so Will insisted back they leave early so that none of his friends would see him get dropped off. Parents were such a drag sometimes. After a little fatherly advice in the car (the fifth time Will had now heard that speech before a date) they arrived at the destination and Will dashed from the car, hoping no one saw him get dropped off. He walked over towards the entrance and stood near the pole, making sure to keep his eyes peeled for anyone to arrive.

It wasn't too long before he saw Hannah Bell exit a taxi cab. He wasn't exactly who she was when Gage had told him who he was going on the date with, but he recognized her as a Gould cheerleader the instant he saw her. She was, however, a year older than him and much, much cooler, so he did not want to risk a social faux pas by attempting to speak with her just yet. Instead, he remained as patient as possible and waited. Genny was a really pretty girl, and though she was a bit shy he had known her for a while and knew she was cool. It would only be a matter of time before everyone else started to notice.

[Hannah Bell]

Gage approached Hannah and smiled. "You look really nice." He said before extending his hand for her to take. Gage wondered how it was with Will and Gen. "I'm so sorry this was all last minute. I hope I didn't impose too much on you." He said before guiding her to Will and Gen. "Genny, this is Hannah. Hannah, this is my best friend Genny and that over there is Will." Looking over at Gen, Gage smiled encouragingly. "So we have plans. Hopefully you guys are cool with the aquarium?"

Gen blushed as they approached the other students. She smiled at Hannah in greeting, thinking she looked beautiful, but her clothing was impractical. She was better, but it was hard for her to give up comfort for fashion's sake. "That's a pretty dress, Hannah. If it starts to rain I will lend you my umbrella it would be a shame if it got ruined," she offered, hoping she would take it in the spirit it was given and not get sensitive. She had a hood on her slicker so she would be fine without it and had only brought it to please Nana.

“Hi Will,” Gen said, blushing yet deeper. She was having a hard time thinking what to say so reverted to swimming. “You did great at the last meet. Didn’t you beat your times on two of the events? I think coach was about to burst with pride,” she said quietly, not sure Hannah would be interested in such talk, most cheerleaders acted like Swimming wasn’t a sport.

Hannah smiled at Gage and his friend. She was quite pretty in the face, but it was too hard to tell if she had a nice body since she was wearing a rain coat. Hannah thought it made her look kinda frumpy, so she felt okay. She was glad Gage's friend wasn't crazy hot or anything, though she could be very attractive with some help. If she had a nice body to match, she could be trouble. Hannah decided to keep an eye on her and see if there was anything odd between the two.

“My hero!” she exclaimed as Gage got closer. “You look quite handsome yourself.” She gladly accepted his hand. It was warm, and she could tell he was a little bit nervous. That made her a tiny bit nervous as well, but the good kind of nervous that is all exciting. The kind that you feel right in the bottom of your tummy, and Hannah was definitely feeling it.

“Oh, it was no imposition at all.” She smiled. She loved her accent. It was one of the few things that she felt really made her stand out. She always tried to cheer super loud so that the audience could hear her voice stick out. “Hi, Genny. It's so nice to meet you!” Hannah smiled the whole time she spoke to Genny. She was so used to being polite and proper that meeting just about anyone was easy for her. She glanced over at Will when Gage pointed him out. He looked like a nice kid, though she didn't recognize him at all. She had never been to a Gould swim meet, let alone one of Silver's. “Hi Will, nice to meet you as well,” she said to him, offering her hand.

Will saw Gage and Genny approach, and so started to meander towards the group they formed. Once Gage pointed over his way he felt more comfortable in joining them. He couldn't help but grin at Genny. She looked like she was ready for the log ride at Hurricane Harbor. It was kinda goofy looking, but Will already knew she was pretty.

“Hey Gage. Hi, Gen...” he started, but was thrown off a bit by her hug. Not that it was weird she hugged him, but now that they were on a date he wasn't quite sure how to interpret the move. Was it a friendly hug? Was he stuck in the friend zone? Boy, would he feel like an idiot if that were the case. She had never really seemed to respond to his flirting, so he wasn't sure if it was just her shyness or if she didn't like him like that and was just trying to be nice and save his feelings.

He had no time to stay focused, as he was introduced to the older cheerleader. Up close he saw that she was even prettier than he thought, though he wouldn't trade his date for her for anything. Still, he wanted to impress her. Hopefully she'd think he was cool and tell all her Gould friends. That would be a lot of good street cred at the new school. “Hey, Hannah,” he said, shaking her hand. “Cool to meet you.”

A slight shade of red came to Will's cheeks as Genny started talking about his swimming times. “Thanks, Genny. I only beat one time, though, I only tied on the butterfly. But yeah, coach said I was improving pretty rapidly, so that's cool.” It was interesting that she was paying attention to such things. Maybe she was into him.

[Hannah Bell]

"Let's hurry," Genny said, hoping to see the dolphin's before five o'clock. Then she remembered that Hannah was wearing heels. "Gage is it okay with you if we walk ahead?" she asked knowing that it wouldn’t really matter to him and he could have alone time with his cheerleader.

By default, Gage didn't see swimming as a sport but he kept quiet as they talked between themselves. When Genny posed the question, Gage nodded. "Yeah totally. Hannah you're okay with that right?" Gage turned to the girl in question and smiled. "I'm okay if you're okay with it."

Hannah smiled, liking the idea quite a bit. Hopefully it meant there would still be some alone time later, as well. “I'm very okay with it” She turned to Will and Genny and playfully shooed them away. “You kids run off and have fun. We'll be right behind you!” There was a definite smile in her voice to match her face as she spoke, and she clutched to Gage even tighter.

Genny sucked in her breath, trying not to show that the kids remark upset her. Gage was the same age as she was after all. "The nerve," she muttered and grabbed Will's hand, almost running to get away from them. She had also not greeted Will, which Genny had noticed immediately and added to her list of grievances. "I wouldn't worry if she ignores us, she is the one that loses out, you're too good for her anyway," she said as they moved swiftly down the boardwalk.

“Oh, it's okay. I think she's just a bit preoccupied,” Will said, trying hard to not beam like a goofball. The fact that Genny thought he was too good for anyone was a pretty good sign, as was her grabbing his hand. They had not let go and so now were actually holding hands. He decided then and there that he would try to kiss her at some point in the evening.

He was much too focused on Genny anyway to care about what Hannah and Gage were up to. He and Genny walked ahead to the aquarium. He could tell Genny was excited for it, though he would have figured she'd been here before. He knew she was pretty into fish and stuff. He stepped forward and opened the door for her. “After you...”

Gage smiled when Hannah's hand squeezed his as they walked a considerable distance behind Will and Gen. "So Hannah, sorry about this morning..." Gage said a bit softly. He wasn't sure about what exactly but he knew he should apologize. "I hope you found something to cover up?

Hannah blushed heavily. She was hoping that the morning's events would not be talked about, though they worked out somewhat well. At the very least, the captain of the basketball team would remember who she was! “It's not your fault, hun, but thank you.” She smiled, then thought about what she wore afterwards and the smile turned slightly devilish. She had to tell Gage. “Well, I had clothes all right, a shirt and jeans. But...” She leaned close to his ear, wanting to tease him as much as possible with the last part. “I had to go the whole day without wearing any underwear...”

Genny smiled thinking Will was way too nice for his own good. She was glad they were doing this even if it wasn't his idea of a dream date. "Do you like the aquarium, Will? I am a bit dotty about it, but I will try to restrain myself if you find it a yawn," she offered generously, not wanting to torture him with her obsession.

“I was here once right after we moved, and it was neat,” Will replied. He thought animals in general were fairly interesting. Just thinking about how any living thing functioned was incredibly interesting to Will, though he would never admit it. “But you have fun, I promise I won't fall asleep in here.” He followed Genny into the building, and they entered a large open lobby with tons of signs pointing to different areas. The line was thankfully short, and he bought two tickets, giving the suggested five dollar donation and hoping Genny was paying attention to his generosity. He didn't have a lot of money, but his parents told him they would help if need be, and he had a credit card in his pocket for just such emergencies. He turned to Genny. “Where would you like to start?”

[Gage Foster]

Gage balked at Hannah's words. His next reaction could only be chalked up to him being a boy. "Uh..." His eyes glazed over and for a moment all he could take in was the area below her neck. Underwear and boy just don't mix well.

Clearing his throat, Gage started to laugh deliriously before smacking himself in the head and looked up to Hannah's amused face. "Thank you for that information and uh...thank you for...uh...well you know...pfft...no underwear...underwear's overrated."

Why he said that was beyond him but it was already out so he couldn't take it back. Hopefully Hannah would chalk it up to him being nervous for their first date instead of him being an idiot. He scratched the back of his neck sheepishly as color rose up his cheeks. "I'm sorry that was a bit obscene. I...you want corn dogs? Gen and Will seem to have gone to the...aquarium. Um...we could get corn dogs and uh go on the carousel if you like...or did you have anywhere else you wanted to go?"

Gage had been told by his brothers to be aggressive and take control of a situation no matter how gorgeous or how willing the girl was but Gage couldn't do that to Hannah. He had full respect for the girl and didn't want her to think he was a complete douche.

[Genny Bailey]

Genny looked around and then up at Will. "Well I love the whole place, but our time is limited so maybe we could go to my favorite? That's the Dolphin exhibit. I just adore dolphins. They are why I want to become a marine biologist," she answered, her face shining with happiness.

"Do you have any idea what you're going to do after graduation?" she asked Will, for it wasn't something kids talked about usually at swim meets, plus she was too shy to join many conversations. They began to walk and Genny looked through the glass walls at the many fish, but she remained very aware of her companion, nervous for this was all so new to her.