Double Dating (ATTN: Gen, Hannah, Will)

[Gage Foster]

The question seemed out of the blue to Gage. Permission? And Hannah looked mad eventhough he knew she was trying to hide it. He tried to recall what he had said before and finally found the blunder. The way he had posed his sentence made it seem as though he had asked the captain of his basketball team for permission to go on this date.

"Oh...oh Hannah no. Um...earlier...after you left Ashton asked me to ask you out...as in...I think he picked up on the fact that..." he stopped himself and cast his gaze down. Should he really tell her about it? He should. He didn't want her to be mad at him. Not Hannah. Not now. "I think...maybe he picked up on the fact that I was interested in you..." he blabbed before he could think about backing out.

"Hannah please understand," Gage reached a hand out to take Hannah's and squeezed it lightly. "I wanted to ask you out the minute I met you. That is completely uncool to admit now but I did. And I was struggling with that fact until Genny convinced me that it was a good idea and I'm not saying she is the reason we're out on this date because I asked you out to get to know you on my own terms."

He let go of Hannah's hand for fear of her rejecting it. "I'm sorry if I posed that sentence wrongly. I didn't mean to. Ashton doesn't know we're on this date. But if you want me to tell him tomorrow, I would." His last words were a tad unconvincing in the small voice he emitted so he repeated himself a bit stronger this time. "I would, Hannah."

[Hannah Bell]

A torrent of emotions whirled through Hannah's head. She felt bad for assuming the worst of Gage, but she was also quite put off by the fact that Gage had been convinced to ask her out by Genny. A tinge of jealousy rose up in her, and she wondered how much influence the younger girl had over this boy. Maybe he was too much trouble. Hannah didn't want to get overwhelmed again, and this boy had the potential to be trouble for her.

This was evidenced as her anger melted away while he apologized. His smooth voice was thick with remorse and his deep brown eyes nearly broke Hannah's heart with the sadness they contained. “I don't care if you tell him... I just, I...” Hannah didn't know what to say. She could only look at the very cute boy riding a yellow horse beside her. She couldn't help but smile.

They rode the rest of the carousel in silence, but it was not uncomfortable. Hannah couldn't help but steal gazes at Gage, and she was caught a time or two. Each incident was followed with blushes and secret smiles as Hannah quickly looked down at her own pink horse. Eventually, the carousel slowed to a halt, and immediately upon touching the ground, Hannah's hand found Gage's as they walked away from the lines of people yet awaiting a spin on the carnival ride.

[Genny Bailey]

“What are are they going to Canada for? Do you have family there?” Genny asked with interest. “I have never been there, my dad likes to go to a place with beaches when we go on vacation.” She was interested in many places and always liked to hear about other places.


Genny wondered what kind of party Will would throw, he hadn’t really ever seemed like a party guy, but then he had changed a lot recently, maybe with his new friends and all, he liked that sort of thing. “I don’t think I would bring much prestige to your party Will. The only people I know are in the swim team or the environment club,” she said, feeling like he didn’t really want her there, the wording of the invite just seemed kind of off and that he was just doing her a favor by letting her come.


“I don’t really enjoy the shows as much as just watching them. "Let’s go to the next exhibit which is the seals and walruses and if we have time then we can come back,” Genny said with a smile. She wasn’t fond of watching them being made to do tricks. She preferred just silently communing with the intelligent sea mammals.

[Gage Foster]

Her mumbling and smile did it for Gage and he calmed down. Okay...so she wasn't angry anymore, kudos to Gage. But why did she even think that in the first place? Didn't she have enough faith in herself to let a guy take her out because he wanted to take her out? Gage knew Hannah had so much to offer and he hoped she wouldn't feel this way everytime he said something slightly wrong.

But Gage didn't want to ruin this so he kept quiet and left Hannah to her thoughts. She wondered how Will and Genny were doing. Hopefully Will didn't screw up with Genny at any point because he knew Genny was sensitive so he had to be careful with a lot of things. Which shouldn't be too hard. Will liked Genny. He should know what could set her off. Gage knew he would be in big trouble if he did or said anything that might make Genny upset.

Gage also wondered what Hannah could be thinking just then. Was she starting to think that it was a mistake going out with Gage? He couldn't help but turn to look at her, hoping so much that he could read her mind and he found himself just staring at her until she turned and he looked away, blushing. This happened quite a few times, Hannah catching him looking at her. He hoped she didn't think he was a freak.

But all his worries melted when Hannah's hand slipped into his and they were moving away from the crowd. Stunned, all he could do was follow. He finished his corndog and threw the stick into the rubbish bin as they passed one by. Once he regained his composure, he walked astride with Hannah and squeezed her hand lightly. "Thanks for agreeing to join me on this date. Means a lot that you trusted me enough to be seen in public with me." Part of him was joking but he couldn't help admitting to the part where he felt it was true.

He guided both of them towards the ferris wheel. "Are you afraid of heights, Hannah?"

[Will Owens]

“Not family,” Will replied, “friends. We lived there when I was young.” He recalled his youth and growing up in Canada. It was nice, and it was fun at times, but Will would never want to live there again after being in L.A. Any outdoorsy activities that he did miss were easily a few hours away, and even further would bring him to some incredible parks, such as Redwood. His parents took a detour through the park when they first drove to Southern California from Canada, and Will was absolutely amazed by the incredibly massive trees. “It was okay, I guess. A lot different than here. But you'd think your dad could get all the beaches he wants here! I dunno, I guess if I was going to take a family vacation I'd want to go somewhere that was a lot different than my home.”

Will was disappointed by Genny's reaction to his invitation. He knew that being cool meant he had to try to be nonchalant, but he would be upset if Genny couldn't make it. While throwing a rockin' party would definitely make him look a lot cooler to the upper echelons of the popular crowd, the bonus was that parties were a great opportunity to have fun and be relaxed, especially around girls. Specifically, around Genny!

“The only thing I'd care about you bringing to the party is yourself, Genevieve Bailey,” Will asserted, trying to his best to sound very serious. His face then broke into a smile, and he grasped both of her hands, squeezing slightly. “I'll take care of everything else. It'll be fun, I promise!”

Keeping hold of one of Genny's hands, he led her around the back of the dolphin room towards the walrus and seal section. His hand was warm, and he was very worried it was starting to get sweaty, but the last thing in the world he wanted to do was break the physical connection between himself and the pretty girl he had known for so long. They passed a smaller pool that contained artificial land for about half a dozen otters. Will stopped, distracted by the playful creatures.

“Wow, look at those two,” he said excitedly, pointing at a pair of otters that were swimming in tandem. “It's so neat that they just instinctively can do that!” Realizing he was geeking out a little bit, he calmed himself down a little and refrained from saying anything else. But the excitement was still evident in his body and in the grasp of his hand on Genny's.

[Hannah Bell]

It wasn't necessary for Gage to thank her. Hannah was more than excited when the cute boy finally asked her out. “Well thank you for askin',” she smiled back at him. Any first date nerves she had before this point were diminished, and she felt quite comfortable as the pair strolled along, hand in hand. She hadn't dated very much at all, but she thought the night was going splendidly except for the one small misunderstanding. “We'll just have to keep out of sight of the paparazzi!”

As soon as Gage asked the question, Hannah knew exactly what he meant. “Nope,” she simply said, trying her best to contain her excitement. The Ferris Wheel was incredibly romantic, and she really hoped he would kiss her when they reached the top. Goosebumps began to cover her arms, and she couldn't tell if it was from excitement or the cool breeze that had started to blow through the park. She glanced up at the sky. It was still quite overcast, and the clouds were getting a bit darker. But it didn't seem like it was going to rain quite yet. If it did, that may ruin the Ferris Wheel ride.

As they walked, the pair passed more food vendors and various carnival games. The various carnies called out to the pair, seeing a target in Gage, as any boy passing along the pier with a girl would fall prey to these “carnie-vores.”

“Hey, you, kid! You wanna win your girlie a prize?” one man called out. It was difficult to tell if her were very tan or very dirty, but in his hand he held a hammer, using it to point to an array of stuffed animals lining his booth. Inside was the standard “Test Your Strength” game, topped with a large bell that stood nearly fifteen feet from the ground.

Hannah smiled excitedly at Gage, completely buying into the carnival worker's sell. She didn't want him to feel like he was being forced into the decision, but she knew he was strong enough to win her something, and she would love a token to remember the night by.

“That stuffed monkey is just the cutest...”

[Genny Bailey]

"Well if you're sure you want me there and aren't asking me just to be polite," Genny said, her face lightening as the invitation became more sincere. Genny had confidence, just not in the area of dating and social things. She had been considered a nerd and a geek for way too long to just take things for granted. As such she could be over-sensitive and touchy about things that other girls would just take at face value.

Genny grinned, thrilled to see Will enthusiastic about the otters. She adored the small mammals, not as much as dolphins, but they were so sweet. "They are incredible aren't they? I love their little faces and how they carry shells around to break open other shells on their chests. To me that shows intelligence, though people say it is just instinct and learning." She hated it when people considered animals stupid, lesser than humans. She had gotten into an argument with the pastor of a church about that once and had almost ended up hitting the man.

Squeezing Will's hand, Genny thought the part about swimming in tandem was pretty romantic. She turned and stood on her toes to kiss his cheek.

[Gage Foster]

"My pleasure," Gage smiled and squeezed Hannah's hand once more. He helped her up on to the Ferris Wheel seat and locked them up. As the wheel started to move, Gage looked up at the sky and mouthed a Thank You for being slightly overcast. It didn't look bad enough that it could rain so he was grateful for that. Gage brazenly pulled her closer to him when she started to shiver slightly. He put his arm around her before picking up the courage to place a kiss on her cheek. "Had to do it. Hope you don't mind." He blushed before looking away.

The rest of the ride passed rather pleasantly and before they knew it, it was done. Walking through the carnival, they were approached by some carnies but Gage turned down most of them until they were in front of a tall contraption with a bell on top. He chuckled nervously when Hannah implied that she wanted the monkey. "Uh...yeah sure." The hand that was around Hannah's waist slid out and took the hammer and went to the contraption. He paid the carnie and looked at the hammer and then to the machine. Gage wasn't strong enough, that was always Dawson and Warner's niche but he was okay, he supposed so even he was surprised that when his hammer hit the flat surface, the bell dinged loudly and lights went all crazy on the machine.

He almost threw the hammer at the carnie but restrained himself and handed it to him before the carnie, with huge reluctance and surprise, handed him a pink stuffed monkey. He grinned excitedly at Hannah before giving the monkey to her and in all his excitement, he pulled her to him and gave her a kiss on the lips, long and hard, much to the delight of the people around them as they clapped and hooted. Gage was beyond embarrassed but it felt good kissing the girl so he went on doing it, hoping Hannah would reciprocate and not slap him in the face for being so forward.