#but then part of me says ‘noo don’t do that cuz you’ll be falling asleep in class and not understand anything’

[kotorinz]

I’m actually going to fucking hate PE

[ericsonclan]

First Dates are the Hardest

Summary: Brody and Mitch go on their first date to a coffeeshop <3

Read on A03:

“I’m excited we’re doing this,” Brody said cheerily as she and Mitch made their way toward the coffee shop.

“Definitely. I’m glad for any chance to get some of Briarwood coffee,”

Brody felt her spirit deflate a little. She wished Mitch had said he was excited for their date. This was a date after all, wasn’t it? Asking a boy out to coffee wasn’t a thing a girl would simply do out of friendship, right? It meant something. Brody nervously pulled her sealskin tighter round her shoulders. She didn’t really need the warmth, rather she needed the assurance of knowing it was there. It wasn’t like she was planning to flee in selkie form mid-date or anything, but the fact that the option was there was comforting in itself.

As they approached the Briarwood Coffeeshop, they could see that the line was already long today, curling its way out of the shop and along the sidewalk.

“Ohhhh noo…” Brody groaned. “I didn’t know it would be this bad! I’m sorry! We can go somewhere else if you want. I know you don’t like waiting,”

“Nah, it’s fine,” Mitch said, his tone relaxed. “It’s always like this. Briarwood Coffee is worth the wait, believe me. Have you never been?”

Brody shook her head. “I haven’t seen much of the town yet. School and swim team take up most of my time, so if I’m not at Ericson, I’m usually at home, asleep in my tank,”

“You sleep in seal form?” Mitch asked in surprise.

“It’s the form I’m more used to. My dad wants me to stay in my human form for most of the day, but at night I get to do what I want,”

“Man, I envy you,” Mitch sighed. “I’d give anything to be able to change into some sort of sea creature that could descend thousands of feet under the sea and fuck off from all the shit life throws my way,”

“Well, it’s actually hundreds of feet, not thousands,” Brody corrected. “But yeah, it is peaceful down there. Everything so blue and serene… unless a shark attacked of course,”

“You’ve fought off shark attacks!” Mitch gaped at her in awe. “That’s fucking sick! I’ve never met anybody who’s done something as badass as that!”

Brody blushed at the praise. “Most of the time we end up running away, but we do have special maneuvers in case of emergency,”

“You’ve got to teach them to me! God, I can’t wait to sock a shark right in the mouth!” Mitch enthusiastically imitated the motion. “That’s where we should go next time, the pool!”

There’s going to be a next time? Brody felt herself growing warm at the thought. She was quickly pulled out of the moment though by the feeling of something tugging on her sealskin. Pulling away, she quickly realized it was one of the boys standing behind them who’d been doing it. He and his friend sneered at Brody as she quickly turned away from them. They seemed to be human boys, probably attending Delta High, the local school for their species. Brody glanced up at Mitch. He was distracted by the fact that the line was moving forward a couple feet. They were pretty close to the entrance now. Maybe if she just stayed quiet, then nothing else would happen. She and Mitch could find a seat in a quiet corner of the coffee shop and…

“Hey,” the boy reached forward, tugging on her sealskin again. “You’re one of those freaks from Ericson, right? What kind of a monster are you?”

“What’d you just say?” That had caught Mitch’s attention. He turned round to face the boys, his face glowering.

They didn’t seem to take the hint. “I think she’s a selkie,” the other boy commented, eyeing Brody up and down. “That sealskin’s like her wedding veil. If you take it, then she’s forced to stay with you and be your wife forever.

“That’s not-” Brody started.

Before she could finish, the first boy reached forward, grasping playfully at her sealskin.

Mitch grabbed his wrist and angrily flung it away. “You’d better back the fuck up if you don’t want to get obliterated,”

“Oh, yeah? The boy taunted. “You know just as well as I do that any altercation between the two of us will end in my favor. Monsters aren’t allowed to use any of their abilities to harm humans, and that includes your freakazoid muscles and horns. You can’t lay a finger on me,”

“But I can,” a voice boomed beside them. The four kids turned to see a massive man standing before them, his arms crossed and his eyebrows set in annoyance. His hair was pulled back in a short ponytail and he had a barista apron on.

“Who are you?” the first boy asked, looking nervous now that another human had gotten involved.

“Name’s Tripp. I’m the owner of this establishment and as the owner I reserve the right to refuse service to anyone I please. I believe you snot-nosed whelps have worn out your welcome at Briarwood. You get while the getting’s good, and if I ever see your sorry faces here again you’ll feel your asses hittin’ the pavement before you can call for your mommies,”

The boys looked shocked and more than a little intimidated by the speech.

“I won’t repeat myself!” Tripp bellowed.

That had them scurrying for the hills. The boys didn’t even dare to look behind them as they made a beeline across the street and as far away from Briarwood as possible.

“Thanks, Tripp,” Mitch offered his hand, taking the storeowner’s in a firm handshake.

“Nothing I can stand less than a bully,” Tripp said, shaking his head in disgust. “They were trying to get you to blow your top, but you didn’t. Came awful close though. You’ve got to watch that, Mitchell,”

“I know,” Mitch sullenly scratched the back of his head in embarrassment. Suddenly his eyes brightened. “Hey, I want you to meet somebody. Tripp, this is Brody,”

“Pleased to make your acquaintance,” Tripp said, his smile warm. His hand dwarfed Brody’s when he took it for a handshake. “Glad to see Mitchell making some friends at Ericson,”

“He calls me Mitchell ‘cuz I grew up next door to him,” Mitch explained. “He would let me hang out at his house when my mom and dad were late getting home from work,”

“Thank you for all your help, sir,” Brody managed, her voice weak.

“No need for any ‘sirs’ or ‘ma’ams’ here. Just call me Tripp. You know what?” Tripp said, taking Mitch’s shoulder and guiding the pair past the line and into the coffee shop, “As apologies for the altercation you two just went through, your orders are free today. Anything you want, on the house!”

“Thanks, Tripp!” Mitch grinned at Brody. “What do you want to try?”

“Oh, whatever you think is best,” Brody responded, her chin sinking underneath her sealskin. “You’re the expert,”

“Alright. You find a table and I’ll get the drinks,”

 Brody was able to find a table in the corner after all. She wasn’t alone for long before Mitch came back, arms loaded with drinks and all sorts of pastries courtesy of Tripp. He’d picked something sweet and frothy for Brody to try. He called it a frappucino. According to Mitch it was a good gateway into regular coffee. Brody wasn’t sure if she wanted any more coffee flavor than what the frappucino had, but she certainly did enjoy it. They talked and snacked for quite a while, neither of them really paying attention to the time as the afternoon passed. Eventually the colors of the sky began to take on an orange hue though, and Brody knew she had better head out before her father wondered where she was.

“Sorry to be the one to cut things short, but, um, I’ve gotta get home,” she managed, feeling guilty. She saw Mitch’s face fall a little at the news, but he quickly recovered, offering her a smile.

“OK. Sorry the date started off so whack, but it was fun in the end, right? I had fun at least. I hope you did too,”

“W-what?”

“What’s wrong?”

“A date?”

“Shit, is this not a date?” Mitch’s eyes dropped in embarrassment. “I just figured that going to a coffee shop together was a bit more than normal friend stuff, but-”

“No, you’re right!” Brody exclaimed. “It is a date. Was a date. I had fun. A lot of fun,”

“Awesome!” Mitch’s face had lit up in excitement. “Does that mean you want to go out next week? We could go to the pool or visit the aquarium, or maybe go to the movies...”

“I’d love that!” Brody’s face was so hot she was sure it had turned completely pink. She wished she could hide away under her sealskin, but at the same time she didn’t want to break away from Mitch’s gaze.

“If.. if it’s not too much trouble, could I walk you home?” Mitch asked quietly.

“Umm…” Her father wouldn’t be happy at all to have a minotaur show up at his front door. “How about we walk part of the way together? That’d be nice, right?”

“I’d love that,” Mitch stood up from the table, offering her his hand. Brody thought she’d just about die when she took it.

They split up the trash between their free hands, dropping it off before moseying out of the coffee shop, giving Tripp a final farewell as they left. As they walked along the sidewalk together, fingers interlocked, Brody felt an abiding joy bubbling deep within her. This really had been a perfect date.