Getting Over Matt

22 - "You've always had me."

Chapter 22 - "You've always had me."

I was stressing over what to wear. It was silly, really, because this wasn't a normal date. Nathan and I already knew each other, so it wasn't like I desperately needed to impress him. Nevertheless, I wanted to look good. I wanted to make him proud. More than anything, I wanted to impress him. Nathan had spent so long waiting patiently for me, making no secret of his feelings. Now that I'd agreed to take things further, I wanted to show that I, too, wanted this just as much as him.  

After much deliberation, I settled on a skirt with a long-sleeved top. Reminding myself that we were in October, I grabbed a jacket, too.  

"You look nice," Mum commented as I headed down the stairs.  

"Thanks," I replied.  

"Going anywhere special?" she asked suspiciously, her eyes resting on my legs. It wasn't the shortest skirt I owned, but there was still a lot of leg on display, and I could almost see the cogs turning in her head. 

"Not really. Nathan and I are going to the cinema." 

"Oh, right," she said, instantly relaxing. "That's nice." 

I knew I'd have to admit that we were more than friends at some point, but I didn't want to just yet. I was happy that Mum trusted Nathan. She'd always had a problem with Matt coming up into my room but I knew she wouldn't have a problem if it was Nathan. My main concern would be that she might change that attitude if she thought Nathan and I were up to no good in there... 

Before she could interrogate me further, there was a knock on the front door and I leapt to answer it. 

"Hey." I grinned at Nathan, my heart lurching upon seeing him. 

He didn't usually have this effect on me; if anything, he usually had a calming effect on me. This was different, though. This was a date.  

"Hey yourself," he said, returning my grin. "You look great. Are you ready?" 

"Yep. Bye, Mum!" I called, and then I shut the door quickly after myself before she could drag Nathan into a conversation.  

As Nathan drove us to the cinema, we immediately fell into natural conversation about how our days had been. He was telling me a detailed story about two guys who'd spontaneously started fighting in the middle of an English lesson over a girl.  

"That's so pathetic," I said. "What is fighting gonna solve?" 

"It doesn't solve anything," Nathan agreed, "but it does make you feel a hell of a lot better." 

I smirked. "Like you've ever cared enough about a girl to fight over her." 

He smiled, and glanced quickly across at me. "Not until now." 

I bit my tongue, realising what I'd said. Then I mulled it over more. Nathan and Matt would never fight. It wasn't in either of their natures. Matt wasn't confrontational–incident at the party aside–and Nathan's fighting days were over. As well as that, though, Nathan seemed too mature to engage in physical combat over a girl; he might tease me a lot, but that was about as far as his immaturity stretched.  

Nathan pulled into the car park and took out his wallet as we walked into the cinema.  

"This can be my treat," he told me.  

"Your treat? Everything is always your treat," I said. "And besides, I'm the one who asked you out."

He didn't reply to that, just chuckled slightly. However, he refused to let me pay and we were still bickering about it as we took our seats.