Lockers and Love

Chapter Twenty

Today was the day. Today was going to be a day that Tony would never forget. Today, he was going to ask Ziva to the dance. He had thought about it for the past couple of days and practically all of last night. He had it all planned out. He would ask her to come to his house after school (and after detention) and he would take her to someplace special.

He looked over at the clock beside his bed and noticed that it was time to get up and get ready. He went through his normal routine of taking a shower, brushing his teeth, fixing his hair, and getting dressed. Today he was going to wear something that would hopefully catch Ziva's eye. He went to his closet and selected a white button-up dress shirt and black pants. He still put on his tennis shoes just so he could be comfortable during the day. He never dressed like this unless it was a special occasion. Today was a special occasion. He put some gel into his hair and made it look nice. He grabbed his backpack from his desk and headed down the stairs.

His parents had left earlier that morning as they had a big case that needed their attention. So it was just him and Tim this morning. He walked down to see Abby sitting next to Tim at the table. He wasn't surprised that she was here, as she would always come during any day of the week really.

She heard him coming and looked to see him at the bottom step. She gave him a smirk as she knew why he dressed and looked nice today. Tim, however, did not. So when he turned around, he gave Tony a look that said 'what the hell are you doing?'.

"Good morning."

"Morning, Tony. Did you hear that Sacks was suspended from school?" Tony whipped his head around to see if what she just said was the truth. Abby saw his look and smiled.

"Really?"

"Yep. Vance finally took in the complaints about him after somebody's parents threatened to get the police involved." Tony pulled a face.

"How would the cops get involved?" Abby shrugged.

"No idea. But it worked." Tony smiled and nodded his head. At least that jerk was gone for the time being. Maybe things would be nicer at school. He shook his head. That probably wouldn't happen until Jeanne left him alone. Tony looked at his watch and took a deep breath. It was time to head to Ziva's.

"I should get going. Ziva's waiting." Tim looked over at Abby and saw the smile that she was sporting. His mouth made an "O" shape as he realized why Tony had dressed so nicely.

Tony grabbed his bag and keys and headed out the door. He has never been this nervous in his life. He climbed into his car and pulled out of his driveway. As he made his way down to Ziva's house, he looked over at the park and noticed how beautiful it looked today. It had been rainy in D.C. as of late. Now it was sunny and bright. Something that resembled his mood for today. Along with the nerves.

He pulled into Ziva's driveway not too long after. He was just asking her to the dance, why was he so nervous?

He climbed out of his car and made his way to her front door. He wiped his hands on his pants as he was sweating. He knocked on the door and smiled when he saw the doorknob turn. She stood there in the doorway and couldn't help but flush a little when she looked him up and down.

"Hey." Was all he could get out as she looked even more beautiful today than she normally did. And that was saying something. She was wearing a pair of blue skinny jeans with a white top. The outfit seemed to hug all the right curves on her body and he couldn't for the life of him look away. She saw this and turned around to go and get her bag. She swayed her hips a little bit more than she usually did to give him a show.

When she returned, Tony had managed to gain somewhat control over himself and held out his hand for her. Something she gladly took. They said goodbye to her mother and made their way to his car. He opened the door for her and smiled as she got in. He went around and got in himself and reached behind his seat, pulling a beautiful batch of a dozen red roses and handed them to her. Ziva let out a small gasp as she saw what he was reaching for. What was with him today? Not that she minded. She likes this extra-gentlemanly side of him. She leaned down to smell them and sighed when the scent overcame her.

"Thank you, Tony. These are beautiful." She looked over to see him smiling at her. With a serious tone he replied:

"Not as beautiful to you." He smiled as he saw the slight blush on her cheeks. He put the car in gear and they headed off to school.

Tony pulled into his parking spot and quickly went around the car to open the door for Ziva. He grabbed both of their bags and headed inside. He noticed the many looks he received his way, as well as the looks they bestowed on the pair of them. He didn't appreciate the evil glares cast Ziva's way. They walked through the doors to the school and made their way to their first class.

Ziva noticed all the looks, she just ignored them. Seeing Tony like this was different. She liked the way he was dressed. He looked even more handsome than he normally did, not that she didn't appreciate seeing him in jeans and a sweatshirt. They sat in their normal seats, Tony pulling the chair out for her. She smiled at the sweet gestures that he was showing her. It made her wonder. What was he planning?

Classes went by quickly and before she knew it, school was over the week. Tony had been a complete gentleman all day and was excited about the weekend.

They made their way to his car and he pulled out of his space. He thought back at the day. Many girls had come up to him, attempting to flirt with him, but he didn't want their attention. He only wanted hers. Ziva. She had smiled so often today at the things he would do, the things he would say. It made him happy that she was happy. He pledged the night he admitted his feelings for her, that he would do everything in his power to keep her happy, keep her carefree, to keep her laughing. He loved her laugh. It was the sound that would get him out of his darkest times with just him hearing it. It was the sound that could make him smile even when he didn't want to.

The plan was for them to go back to his house so that they could study and do homework together. Something that did pretty much every night. Whether it was his house or hers. They both loved the time they got to spend with one another. It was like the right person had come into both of their lives but they had no idea how much the other person would affect them.

What Ziva didn't know was that he was going to take her to the treehouse to ask her to go to the dance with him.

He pulled into his driveway, seeing none of his family's cars in the driveway, and put the car in park. They both got out and before they could take their normal route to the front door, Tony grabbed her hand and pulled her to the backyard gate. She smiled as she believed to be studying outside today. It was beautiful out here today. The sun was shining and it seemed like all the birds were chirping. It's like they knew what Tony had planned and wanted to make it perfect.

She furrowed her eyebrows when they went past the back deck and her face was written in confusion as to where he planned ongoing. She smiled when he pulled her into the woods. She knew where he was going now. She recognized the water as they passed it. They were going to the treehouse.