Young Writers Society

Something snapped inside Jerica’s drunken mind, her two brain cells colliding off one another. Bo was perfect. Completely. Utterly. Perfect. He was so nice, catching her then getting her a chair. She didn’t even have to walk to go get it. It was just here. Because of him. She swayed, not sitting down, as she looked up at him. “Why are you like this?”

It seemed that no introductions were necessary since Bo and Rek already met Evaline. Mel could understand Bo meeting already her since he was roommates with Elias, but she didn't really know what the random connection was with Rek. Maybe some artsy student thing?

It didn't matter though, since Jerica was obviously flirting with Bo.

Mel grinned, flicking her eyes between the two. Okay, okay, okay. Sparks were flyin' and so was her drunken friend, which meant they needed some more privacy.

"Lordy! Rek! Come with me! Let's meet more people!" she said excitedly, reaching over to take both their hands and dragging them behind her as she weaved through the crowd to find Evaline and Morrigan.

Was Jerica... flirting? With Bo?

Rek blinked, staring at them. Well, that was unexpected. He'd goaded Jerica, trying to get her to admit who she had a crush on, but she'd done a remarkably good job of not clueing him in -- to the point that he'd assumed that she either legitimately didn't have a crush at the moment, or that whoever she liked was someone that he didn't know. But Bo? Bo?

He quickly considered it. And decided he liked the thought.

Bo was a solid dude. Kind. Funny. Considerate. He wasn't at all who Rek would have expected for Jerica, but now that the thought was proposed, he could see it. It'd be good for Jerica to have someone to ground her, and Bo seemed to be the kind of person who could do just that.

He just had to keep Jerica from making a fool of herself. Which was going to be a task, given how drunk she was. He just needed to make sure that she didn't say anything too stupid, and then--

"Wait, what?" Rek stumbled after Mel as she yanked on his hand. But I'm the wingman. He grudgingly followed as she dragged him away from Bo and Jerica, hoping to whatever god might exist that Jerica didn't screw this up while he was gone. He glanced at Lordy, then back at Mel, furrowing his eyebrows. He didn't like meeting new people. "Meet who?"

Mel, Lordy, and Rek all disappeared very fast. It was admittedly confusing, but he figured maybe they wanted to give Jerica space to recover. She did seem a little discombobulated, and it still looked like she was one poke from swaying on her feet again.

It took a second for her question to register, and it honestly confused him. He wasn't sure what prompted it. Usually, people said stuff like that when you did something wrong, right? Had he done something wrong?

"Like what?" he asked.

"Perfect," she slurred. This was fine. She always complimented people when she got drunk. She was being smooth. No one would ever know she was attracted to Bo -- she could play it off as drunk compliments. She just had to be dramatic about it, and she could say the truth without people realizing it was true. "Literally perfect, in all ways. How are you so perfect?"

Bo stared down at her for a moment as the words took a moment to process.

Perfect... was a bit extreme. He felt his cheeks burn a little as he let out a nervous laugh. Jerica was just drunk, right? He shouldn't take it too seriously. It wasn't like she actually thought that way about him -- that would be overthinking it. He would just act like things were normal. He didn't want to make her uncomfortable by making it weird. Right? He shouldn't make it weird.

"I mean, I'm not perfect," Bo said. "Nobody is."

"But you are," Jerica answered. She could still get away with drunk compliments. She was slick. "You're nice, and you're funny, and you're tall, and you're nice, and you're a bomb-ass cook-er man, and you're nice, and you make everyone else feel nice, too."

Bo laughed a little again, and he reached out to very gently pat her on the back.

"Tall, nice, funny, cook," Bo said, trying to keep it light and add humor. "I'll put that in my insta bio."

"You should." She was getting away with this. "And I bet you'd get fifty hundred billion followers because everyone knows how perfect you are." She swayed slightly, leaning against him. She looked up at him. Even at this awkward angle, he was attractive. "And you're fucking hot."

Bo let Jerica lean on him because she had clearly forgotten the chair existed, and it seemed like she needed the support. He laughed at the 'billion followers' comment because the last thing he needed in life was to be an internet sensation...unless that could be his big break and he'd be like Gordon Ramsay or Guy Fieri?

But his brain stopped with a record scratch a few seconds after that.


Wait... so that meant... wait... did... did she... like him... too? Was this real?

"Oh..." was what accidentally came out involuntarily in response as his face turned beet red.

Jerica had never regretted anything as much in her entire life as she regretted that. So much for being smooth. She hadn't meant to say that at all. It just... she didn't even know where it came from. Well, she did know where it stemmed from -- the truth, obviously. But why had she said it?



"I didn't mean to say that!" Jerica said quickly, words slurred. "Out loud. I didn't mean to say that out loud. I mean. It's true. But it's. I-I..."

Jerica yanked away from Bo and stumbled through the crowd, doing her best to get away from him. She was absolutely mortified. It seemed to sober her up, ever so slightly.

She'd just ruined her entire life.

And his entire life.

And everyone's entire lives.

Why would she say that?

Jerica had never been so embarrassed in her entire life.

Bo didn't get a chance to give a real response before Jerica suddenly flung herself away, quickly getting lost in the growing crowd. He stood there, frozen as he stared off to where she disappeared into the dimly-lit Halloween frat-house maze, and he had a sinking feeling that she was probably going to try to hide from him.

Clearly, she hadn't meant to let that slip, and she was embarrassed. He didn't want to jump to too many conclusions, but he knew that she probably felt bad and wouldn't want to face him just yet. He figured he should at least give it some time. Time for her to calm down, at least, and time for her to sober up so she didn't end up saying something she didn't mean to again.

He couldn't help but feel bad, even though he didn't think he actually did anything wrong... right?

Bo stared off into the distance with his face creased with worry for too many long, drawn-out seconds before he glanced around the rest of the room. Everyone else looked like they were consumed by their own conversations, or otherwise consuming food, and he couldn't spot any of his friends in the room.

Maybe... maybe he should go ask for advice, or something. He wasn't sure how to handle this, exactly, and he wanted to make sure he treated it gently. He'd never really said it out loud - and maybe he'd always been too afraid to really go there, in his head - but he did really care about Jerica, and he thought she was really attractive too.

It just felt very sudden for all of it to be coming up now, like this. Life never really happened how he expected it to, anyway, though, so... it was time to roll with it. And do his best.

After hesitating for a few more seconds, he stepped out of the kitchen towards where he'd seen Mel, Lordshire, and Rek go. They had to be somewhere...

James had only been at the party for maybe thirty minutes, and he was already getting antsy to go home. He knew he wasn't helping by literally isolating himself in the backyard where people had yet to venture, but he didn't really want to go back into the suffocating house again. He could hear the noise and chatter just from sitting in his secluded chair, under the shade of a tree, in the darkness.

Okay, so maybe he felt a little childish and dramatic. He would survive if he went back in to talk to people, he just didn't feel like he would enjoy it. It was always so hard to filter people's voices through all the noise. It was so much work, it was exhausting.

He found himself idly scrolling through different apps on his phone, and he could already hear Carter teasingly calling him lame for doing something at a party that he could just do at home.

James wasn't really paying attention to the pictures on instagram, so he noticed the moment someone started walking out onto the back porch. It took a moment for him to make out who it was, but as they got closer and stepped into the residual red light of the pool, he could see it was Jerica.

She was scrubbing her face with both hands and he could hear her groan, clearly thinking she was alone out here.

"Hey, Jerica," James said, projecting his voice just a little more than normal so she could hear him.

Her body language changed in an instant -- going from distraught to confident. She lifted her chin and looked around. When her eyes landed on James she deflated again, relaxing a bit as she answered, "Oh, hey! What are you... doing... out here... by yourself?"

"Just chilling," James said, though the word felt weird in his mouth, because he didn't usually talk like that. He kept himself from making a face at himself. "Are you alright?"

"Oh, uh, yeah, totally," she answered with a nod, like she was trying to convince herself. "I mean, like... I wanna go die... but otherwise, never better. Heh."

"Ah, yes. The casual desire to die. Sounds like a great place to be," James said with light sarcasm, but even that sounded like the wrong thing to say.

He didn't know what was going on, but he knew he needed to stop being... whatever he was doing.

"Really, though," he said. "Do you want to talk about it?"

"I just... and then there was... and..." Jerica balled up both her fists in frustration. "I can never show my face in this school...for the rest of my life."

"The rest of your life is a long time," James said. "Did something embarassing happen?"

"Yes," she hissed, stalking towards him and lowering her voice. "I'm a... a... a... I... oh my godddd James, I can't believe I did that. And he's sober! So he's going to remember! Ahhhhhhhhh."

"Who's 'he?'" James asked, getting up from his seat slowly. He gestured to it, freeing it so Jerica could sit.

"Bo," Jerica groaned. She didn't sit. Instead she started pacing back and forth, furiously running her fingers through her hair and tugging on it. "He hates me."

"That sounds highly unlikely," James reasoned calmly, standing with one hand on the back on the chair as he watched Jerica pace. "Bo really likes you, from what I gather. And he's a really laid-back guy. I doubt you could've done anything that would make him hate you."

Jerica groaned loudly and rubbed her face again. "Well I hate me anyway."

"Now that's an entirely different subject," James said. "But just as important. Though I have a feeling you wouldn't really want to discuss that in depth either."

"Why can't I ever just shut up, James?" she groaned. "Why? Always running my mouth."

"It probably doesn't help that you're more than a little drunk at the moment," James said gently. "I don't think you should beat yourself up too much over it."

"It doesn't matter that I'm drunk!" Jerica growled, slurring her words slightly. "You can't... I said... you can't say what I said. It... he hates me."

"You never said what you said," James reminded her. "I still don't know what it is you said to him that made you run out here."

"I called him hot," Jerica said emphatically, looking at him intently, as if she expected him to be as horrified as she seemed to be.

James simply watched her with a calm expression. He did have to intentionally work to look unfazed, but he didn't want Jerica's embarassment to escalate. Besides, he thought she'd said something much worse. This was rather mild compared to the worst-case-scenarios he'd imagined.

"How did he react?" James asked.

"I don't know," she growled. "I ran away before he could tell me how much he hates me now."

"Sounds like you didn't stick around long enough to find out what he might've said in response," James said. "I doubt it would've been what you think. He was probably just flustered, if anything."

"Yeah, flustered cause I just ruined the entire friend group forever," Jerica retorted.

"That's a big assumption to make," James said. "I know it probably feels like you ruined everything right now, but life will keep moving forward, and I'm sure Bo will still want to be your friend."

James paused, considering if telling Jerica that it probably wasn't the first time Bo got called "hot" would be helpful or just make matters worse. He decided to keep that on the back shelf of his mind for the moment.

"But... you can stay out here with me until you feel comfortable going back in," James offered.

"Why am I so stupid?" She rubbed her face, defeated, finally sitting down. Her shoulders sagged. "You can't have a crush on... it ruins everything. And now everyone knows."

James was quiet for a moment, letting the puzzle pieces fall into place. Jerica had called Bo hot because she had a crush on him, and she was afraid that it would ruin their friendship. It was a completely reasonable fear, especially since Bo was a good friend, and it would be a shame to lose him. Of course, James had known Bo for almost four years, and he knew Bo wouldn't just cut Jerica out because of one comment like that, but he understood why Jerica would be worried. Especially with all of her emotions being heightened.

"I'm sorry that it happened that way, Jerica," James said gently.

Jerica pulled both knees up to her chest and buried her face in them. Her words were muffled when she continued. "I want to go die in a hole."

"Understandable. But please don't," James said, sitting down next to her on the ground, mirroring her posture a little by tucking up his knees. "I think we'd all miss you too much."

"Well no one is ever going to see me ever again in my entire life," Jerica grumbled, but it seemed like she was starting to merge into her usual faux-drama than the utter defeat of before. "I need to go... change my name or..."

"What about a change of outfit?" James posed, and at that, he took off his cowboy hat and set it atop her head. "There. Now you're barely recognizeable."

Jerica choked on a laugh. "Cowboy frat boi."

"It works," James said with a smirk. "Though, I don't think Carter would ever wear a cowboy hat. Maybe ironically, but not seriously."

"Yeah." She rubbed her face and took a deep breath. "I still don't think he's seen me yet. I want to see if he notices I stole his clothes."

"Oh, I'm sure he will," James said with a little smile. "He has this surprisingly detailed catalogue in his head of every little thing he's ever owned. He doesn't really act like he's detail oriented, but he notices those sorts of things. He probably noticed his clothes were gone already... he might just not care too much."

"Hopefully," she agreed. "I don't want him to hate me too. I thought it was funny but now I... I don't know. Do you think he'll be mad? I can go change."

"Oh, I don't think he'll be mad," James said with an assuring smile. "He'll probably just think it's funny. And if he makes a fuss about it, I'll..."

He paused, shrugging a little with a forced smile.

"I'm sure it'll be fine," he said.

"Gah, this night." Jerica tipped her head back and stared straight up at the sky. "Didn't think Halloween was supposed to actually be scary... but there's that uhh... well when I go back inside... you see my problem?"

"Do you want me to go with you?" James offered. "You could uh, hide behind me. Human shield."

He didn't exactly look forward to going back in either, but with a newfound purpose as Jerica's shield, maybe that would preoccupy him.

Jerica cracked a small grin, then sobered and sighed. "I'mma have to talk to him eventually... unless the dying-in-a-hole thing is still on the table."

"I think that's off the table, now," James said gently. "But... you will have to talk to him eventually, yes. Doesn't have to be right away."

Jerica sighed again. "I hate that I put this on him. He probably feels so awkward now."

"Maybe," James said. "I think everyone gets a little awkward, or at least feels it on the inside, when talking about things like this. But you'll never know until you talk to him again."

"I don't wanna," she whined. "I want a do-over."

"Unfortunately in life, we don't get do-overs," James said with a small sigh. "But at least with this situation, you complimented probably the nicest guy at the party. I'm sure he'll be cool about it."

"I just hope he's actually cool about it and not just lying to spare my feelings," Jerica answered.

"I've known Bo for longer than you have," James said. "And I think I can say with certainty that he would never do that."

Jerica took a deep breath, then blew it out and nodded. "Yeah, hopefully."

James nodded, letting a small silence pass between the two of them as he stared off towards the pool, and the eerie glowing red water. Even though the color was meant to be haunting, something about the quiet flow of the water was calming.

"So," he said after a few seconds dragged on. "Do you want to keep the cowboy hat? Or no?"

"I... gosh." She pulled the hat off and stared down at it for a long moment. "I mean I want to, but I probably shouldn't. Not until Carter sees my impersonation." She held it out to him.

James hummed, taking the cowboy hat back and slipping it back on.

"Fair 'nuff," he said in a southern drawl.

Jerica cracked up. "Well howdy-do, cowboy."

James laughed a little too, and he couldn't help but smile, glad he was able to get her to laugh.

"Howdy t' you as well, miss," he replied, still keeping up the thick accent. "Yer lookin' mighty frat-boy like this evening. That's quite the costume ya got there."

"What costume?" Jerica asked, dropping her voice an octave to slip into character. "This is just how I dress, dude. Don't be throwin' shade my way."

"My deepest apologies," James continued. "I didn't mean to offend. Only meant that ya look a whole lot like my good friend Carter 's all. You sure yer not his twin?"

Jerica grinned broadly, clearly pleased that her costume was getting complimented. "You look dope too, my man. Dat hat tho."

"Thank ya kindly," James said with a tip of his hat.

James paused as he lifted his head again, and he found his eyes catching on the back door. It opened, and a very familiar face stepped out onto the porch, still dressed like Linguini from Ratatouille. James felt a small pang of anxiety for Jerica. She hadn't seen Bo just yet, but Bo had spotted them pretty easily. They were just sitting on the ground by the edge of the pool.

"So uh," James said, dropping his accent. "How soon were you thinking of having that talk, would you say?"

"Definitely not tonight," Jerica answered. "Tonight's too--" She drifted off as she glanced around and her eyes locked on Bo. She whispered under her breath, "Fuuuuuuuuck."

James gently set his hand on Jerica's shoulder.

"Just take a deep breath," he said quietly. "It's going to be okay."

Jerica scrambled to her feet, swaying precariously at the edge of the pool for a moment, before correcting her balance. She looked like the soul had left her body as she looked over to where Bo was, then back down at James with a slight pout.

"Do you want Carter to see a soaking wet version of himself instead?" James whispered quietly as Bo drew near.

"That could be my hole I crawl in to die..." Jerica commented, looking at the pool.

"I thought we said dying holes were off the table," James whispered back.

"The table has now changed," she shot back.

"Hey, Jer!" Bo said as he skipped up towards them, stopping short of a few feet with a slightly awkward wave. It would be too difficult to whisper back and forth now that Bo was within earshot.

"Uh, I just wanted to check on you, since you disappeared and all," Bo said. "But it looks like you found James, so I assume that means you're okay?"

"I'm so sorry," she blurted out.

Bo blinked, staring at her for a moment as if he genuinely did not know what she was apologizing for, and then it looked like it registered as his eyes lit up with realization. His expression quickly turned apologetic, and he took off his chef's hat, revealing a little rat stuff animal on top of his head.

"What? Oh! Haha, no, Jer, like, that wasn't -- it's ok! I mean, I uh, I mean, thanks, for uh, the compliment. It's chill," Bo said with an earnest smile. He held the hat in his hands up at his chest as the beanie babie rat seemed to stay perfectly balanced on his skull. "I mean, I'm uh, I'm flattered. In a good way!"

James suddenly felt like, maybe, he wasn't supposed to be present for this conversation. But for the sake of being a support for Jerica, he was going to stay.

"I, uh, okay," Jerica said awkwardly. "Good. I mean... are you uh... like... sure? That you're not upset?"

"I'm not upset!" Bo said with a sudden quick nod, sending the stuffed animal rat flying forward off his head, and his eyes widened as his hands shot out to catch it just before it flew into the pool.

He stood frozen for a moment with the rat in his hands and let out a little laugh as he stood up straight again.

"Close call," he said, tucking the rat instead in his shirt pocket. "Almost lost Remy. But uh. Seriously, though, I'm really not upset. Honestly, uh, it just kinda surprised me more than anything. I didn't think you, uh..."

Maybe it was just the red lights reflecting off the pool water, but it looked like Bo's face was turning red.

Bo scratched the back of his neck.

"I guess I just didn't think you really noticed-- or I mean THOUGHT about me or-- like--" Bo cut himself off with a loud clearing of his throat, like he was trying to start over. "Like, I think you're pretty too. I don't know if-- I mean, I hope I'm not assuming too much. Uh..."

Bo trailed off, looking at Jerica for a reaction as he nervously wrung his hat in his hands.

"Wait, what?" Jerica looked stunned. "You mean you... actually... like... I mean..." She cleared her throat, also flushing. "Like, I... but then you... and I... fuck it. I meant what I said." She flushed an even deeper shade of crimson. "I do find you very attractive."

James really felt like he should leave at this point, but it felt like it would be more awkward to get up and walk away in the middle of it. He decided that staying still was as close as he could be to being invisible as he watched it play out.

Bo looked like he flushed an even deeper red, and he smiled shly as he looked at the ground.

"Well, I guess that's mutual, then," Bo said. "That's good. Would it, um, would it be too forward then... I mean, since we're talking about it, to uh -- well, would you want to go on a date sometime?"

Jerica gaped for half a moment before she recovered. Well, kind of recovered. She closed her mouth and nodded. "I, uh... yes." She laughed nervously. "I mean, like... for real?"

"Yeah!" Bo said with a bigger smile, looking relieved at her answer. "Yeah, of course for real! I mean, we don't have to plan it all now. But um... are you free next Saturday evening?"

"I am!" Jerica also looked relieved, though still nervous. She grinned at him. "I... I would really like that."

Bo's smile grew even more, and he nodded again.

"Okay! Great! Ah, that's great! Yeah," Bo said as a long string of affirmations.

Evidently, they were both nervous. At least it was a positive outcome, though.

"Um, I guess, I don't want to uh, keep from... whatever you were doing, and I do need to make sure the snack table stays fully stocked, but um, yeah! I'll see you around the party and stuff," Bo said with an eager smile. "I'll text you more with a time and place once we're both a little less uh, tipsy."

"That sounds great!" Jerica said, her grin getting more relaxed. "I'll be looking forward to it."

"Me too," Bo said with a little bow of his head before he spun around and darted back up onto the porch, back into the house like a giddy little kid.

James blinked, watching as the big man disappeared, leaving him and Jerica alone again.

"Huh," he said quietly. "Well. I'd say that went a lot better than your initial theory."

"I..." Jerica blinked, looking down at him. "How is that what just happened?"

"I don't know if I can explain that one for you," James said with a little grin.

"I..." She stared at him dumbly for a long moment. Then she smiled bashfully, a nervous giddiness bubbling up in her demeanor. "I'm going on a date. With Bo."

James let out a small, relieved sigh and offered Jerica a small smile.

"Looks like you are," he said. "I'm glad for the pleasant turn of events."

Her smile grew. "Me too. I... I... didn't think he'd like me back."

"Sounds like he thought the same about you," James observed.

"Guess running my mouth isn't all that bad afterall," she said sheepishly.

"I guess not," James echoed, slowly (and finally) getting to his feet, walking up beside her and staring down into the pool. "So... do you want to stay out here for a while? Or..."

"I, uh... dunno," she answered. "Haven't thought that far. Still can't believe that... that just happened."

"I'm a little surprised too," James said. "In a good way, of course."

"About me or him?" she mused.

"Well, mostly Bo," James said. He paused, wondering if he should say much, since half of the people in their friend group didn't really know Bo in the early years of school. "I guess I'm just happy for him that he found the courage to ask you, is all."

Jerica smiled, cheeks getting a little red again. "Me too."

James nodded slightly, growing quiet. He was content with the silence, but he didn't know if Jerica was. She was likely still buzzing with anxiety, though now just one of a different kind. James just kept telling himself that at least it didn't go even remotely how Jerica had originally imagined.

"Wonder what he's gonna plan," Jerica said, like she was thinking out loud.

"He did say he'd get back to you after the party," James reminded her. "He probably doesn't know yet either."

"Oh I know," she answered. "I said gonna plan, not planned planned. It's gonna be good no matter what it is... get the feeling it's not gonna be a dinner date though." She laughed.

"Unless he's the one making the dinner, yeah," James said with a little laugh. "Probably not."

"It'll be good," she repeated. She hesitated a moment, staring straight ahead. It was clear that she was deep in thought, seeming vaguely distraught. "Gosh, this is gonna be awkward going on a date with a friend. I've never done this before."

"Who do you normally go on dates with?" James asked with a little tilt of his head as he looked over at her.

"Oh, I usually say no." She shrugged. "I don't... wanna... be that girl, you know?"

James shrugged. "That's fair."

He decided not to add any personal input, even though some instances popped up in his memory where he knew he could understand. This was about Jerica.

"So, have you ever been on a date before, then?" James asked.

"Oh, yeah! Dude, for sure," Jerica scoffed. "I dated Akie for like two years. And, like, I'll go on dates sometimes. It's just... I don't want to be the girl that all the popular dudes pass around, you know? Feels gross."

"That's completely understandable," James said. "I'm glad this time you're going on a date with someone you actually like, and who likes you back. And, well, Bo's a great guy. So I'm sure it'll be great."

"It'll be great," Jerica echoed.

There was a small pause.

"...It was kind of funny though," James said. "When he nodded and Remy almost fell into the pool."

Jerica laughed a bit. "I think we were both a little nervous about how... how that was gonna go. Remy, too."

"You think Remy helped give him the courage to come out here?" James said. "You know, with the uh..."

He made tugging motions in the air, miming how Remy would tug Linguini's hair in the movie.

Jerica laughed and shook her head slightly, grinning. She squinted a moment later. "It was probably Rek, honestly. That boy..." she scoffed and shook her head, then smiled slightly. "You should get him to wing man for you. He's good at it."

"I'm sure he is," James said. "But I'll pass."

"You mean you don't want a date with Bo?" she asked playfully.

James laughed with a huff through his nose.

"What, and steal him from you? What kind of friend would I be?" James replied, joking as well.

"True," Jerica answered with a smirk. She hesitated a moment, then continued hastily. "It's not like... it's just like casual, you know? Just... yeah. Casual."

"You and Bo?" James asked with an eyebrow raised.

"Yeah," she said firmly, nodding once. "It's just a date. No pressure... heh... heh."

"That's right. It's just a date. No need to overthink it. Just enjoy it," James said with a small smile.

"Yeah." She started picking at her hands, staring straight at the pool water in front of them with her brow furrowed. She was visibly overthinking it.

"It's just a date," James said again, emphasizing the words. He reached over and gently patted the back of her shoulder. "You're going to be okay."

"Yeah!" she said, a bit too loud. "Yeah, I uhh... yeah." She cleared her throat. "Gosh, now I'm nervous. What if I screw the date up?"

"You won't," James said with certainty. "You've hung out with Bo dozens of times before. Just be yourself."

"I..." she nodded uncertainly. "Yeah. It'll be fine."

"Yes," James repeated, though he could hear in Jerica's voice that she didn't really believe that.

"I don't know how to act on a date with a friend," Jerica said, suddenly turning toward him with wide eyes. "James, help."

James stared at her for a moment as he met her eyes.

"You... I don't think you need to do anything different, Jerica. I mean, how do you act around Bo normally? Or around me?"

"Like a frat boy," Jerica said, still seeming distraught. "It's my whole personality--"

"But if Bo likes you, that means he likes your personality," James countered. "He knows how you act. And he still chose to ask you on a date."

"But you're supposed to act like a girl on dates," she countered.

"What is a 'girl' supposed to act like?" James asked with air-quotes. "You're a woman, and you act however you act."

"No," she emphasized, like he was missing something obvious.

"No what?" James asked, challenging her.

"You're supposed to be all girly on dates," she argued.

"Says who?" James asked pointedly. "Society? Who cares what other people think you're supposed to act like. Bo likes you. Not whatever 'girly' version of yourself you feel like you have to conjure. If anyone expects you to change your personality for them for a date, they don't deserve you, Jerica. You should be free to be however you want to be, not how you feel pressured to be by whatever erroneous standard you're holding yourself to."

"I..." She scoffed. Then she hesitated a long moment, finally looking up to meet his gaze again. "Maybe you're right. I don't know."

"I am right," James said. "Be yourself. Not the 'girly' version, or any other version. Just be you. Okay?"

"This is gonna be the world's weirdest date," Jerica said matter-of-factly.

"Maybe you'll be surprised and find out you like weird," James said.

"It's not what I like," Jerica snorted. "It's what your date likes. That's why you've gotta be all girly and ask a bunch of opinions 'n shit. Make him feel manly."

"Jerica," James said firmly. "Where on earth are you getting this dating advice?"

"I don't know, dude," she said. "I don't make the rules. I just follow them."

"Whoever made these rules you're following has really weird ideas of what dating is," James said. "A date is for both of you to have fun and enjoy spending time with one another and getting to know each other a little more. There are no 'girly' requirements and you don't have to try to 'make him feel manly,' whatever that even means."

She stared at him for a moment, then smirked slightly. "I've never seen you so... so... opinionated about something."

James froze for a moment, blinking at her. He furrowed his brows and narrowed his eyes at her.

"I have opinions," James said slowly. "I just save it for moments where it really matters. Like now."

"I never said you didn't," Jerica said with a shrug. "Just... you're probably right. I'll give you this one."

"I'm not looking to win an argument," James said. "I'm trying to..."

James closed his eyes for a moment and let out a deep sigh.

"I just want you to feel free to be you without the stress of societal expectations breathing down your neck on a date that you're actually looking forward to," James said. "That's all."

"I appreciate you, James." She put a hand on his arm, then hesitated, clearly trying to decide if it was reassuring him or just annoying him at being touched. She left it on his arm uncertainly. "You're a solid friend."

James was a little stiff as he awkwardly looked down at her hand, but he forced himself to relax a little bit.

"So are you," James said. And then, though it wasn't something he enjoyed, he lifted his arms and gestured for Jerica to bring it in. He didn't need the physical reassurance, but she probably did.

She blinked at him, furrowing her brow slightly. "James -- you -- doesn't -- don't like hugs." It was clearly a mantra she'd drilled into herself for when she was drunk.

"True," he said. "But I know you do. It's okay."

"Aww." She stepped forward and wrapped her arms around him.

James returned the hug, lightly patting her back.

"You'll have to let me know how it goes," James said. "The date."

"Will do." Jerica stepped away from him, swaying slightly. "If I remember."

"If you don't," James said. "I'll make it a point to ask."

"Saturday after next," she said, a giddy grin creeping back to her face. She took a deep breath then sighed contentedly and nodded once. "It'll be good. I will it."

"That's the spirit," James said, and as the words left his mouth his eyes landed on a ghost figurine on the porch. It was a good thing the pun wasn't intentional. Jerica probably didn't even notice.

"Do you wanna go back inside?"

James hummed, looking at the porch. It looked like a group of people were gathering in one of the porch corners, and more people would probably be soon to come. He couldn't hide forever.

"Sure," he said with a little smile, nodding his head towards the back door. "Let's go."

Daniel stiffened when Elias called him Dan. He didn't mind nicknames, but that was one he had never been fond of. It made him think of Dan in Lucifer. If Daniel remembered right, he did get a redemption at some point, but it was hard to be fond of the name when he associated it with someone who was nicknamed "Detective Douche".

But then the rest of Elias's comment registered.

"Why didn't I think of that?" Daniel said, eyes widening as a grin spread across his face. "That's perfect. We should do that next year-"

Benji gave Daniel a look. "I'm not dressing up as ice cream."

"But it works," Daniel protested.

"Ice cream is a great costume," Carter defended.

"Yeah, you'd look cool," Kayla said with a little smirk.

"Nice," Carter said.

"Consider, you don't even have to dress like ice cream," Kayla continued. "You could actually just dress as Ben and Jerry on the ice cream cartons. So like, old men, basically."



When bo re-entered the main room he found himself a little overwhelmed. While he had always had the advantage of being the tallest person in the room and having something of an "aerial view" of things, he still couldn't seem to spot Rek, or Mel, or any of them. You would think it would be easy to spot a giant rat costume, but apparently, Bo was a little more frazzled than he thought. That, and all of the dim, spooky red lighting didn't really help.

Bo found an empty spot on an outer wall to lean back and take a deep breath, trying to think, still scanning the crowd. Maybe he just needed to take a moment to himself, too. He didn't really know.

Really, he just wanted advice. He was a little too anxious at the moment to think straight.

After a moment's thought, he decided to pull out and shoot a friend a text.

hey, Kart

r u busy