Austin escorted Dez to Sonic Boom, arriving at 6:55—five minutes early. Dez was getting closer and closer to state of complete and utter panic. He started making all sorts of excuses while Austin pushed him into the store. Oh the weather's really bad, Austin. Oh snap, I've just had a vision, this will go horribly wrong. I think I'm having another allergic reaction, Austin. What a fine night it is for an alien abduction, Austin!

"Everything will be FINE, Dez!" he assured his friend. "You didn't wake me up twelve hours ago to prepare you for this all day just to chicken out at the last minute! You can do this!"

"But-but-but—" Dez whimpered, but Austin cut him off.

"And you look great, man. Trish won't be able to resist." Dez did look rather handsom, in a bit of a childish, adorable way. The only suit he owned was the poofy one he bought for Trish's quincenera, so he was borrowing Austin's suede jacket and black dress pant, which were both the slightest bit too short for him. Under the jacket Dez was wearing a checkered collared shirt and a glow-in-the-dark green tie, sticking to his essential Dez-ness. His hair was gelled and parted down the middle, which looked a bit dorky, and of course he had his formal backpack on.

At Austin's words Dez perked up. "You thin—" he blushed and pulled on his backpack straps "I mean, psht, whatever. Why should I care?"

Austin laughed at how blind Dez was to his own feelings "No reason, buddy. Look, I'm going to go hide in the piano over there and wait until you make it out safely, okay?" Dez gulped and nodded.

It was 6:59. When Austin opened the lid of the piano, he was rather surprised. "Ally?"

"Shhh! Get in! Hurry!" Ally whispered, already crouched inside. Austin obeyed hesitantly. "Trish didn't want me to be here, but I couldn't resist. I've put so much preparation into this, I just had to make sure everything went well." Austin raised an eyebrow and Ally became embarrassed of how self-absorbed she sounded. She couldn't help she liked things being perfect, especially for her best friends. "You know, for Trish." Austin nodded.

They both peered out at Dez, who was staring at his hands, seeming uncomfortable and out of place. He messed with his a-bit-too-short jacket sleeves, trying to pull them down. Ally gasped "Dez looks so precious!" she whispered.

"Thanks," Austin grinned. "I worked all day on him." Ally raised an eyebrow at Austin just as he had a moment before. "For Dez." He teased. Ally shook her head with a smile.

Seconds ticked by, which seemed like hours to Ally and Dez. Austin was fairly calm, though he might have just been enjoying watching Ally freak out adorably over something that had nothing to do with her too much to freak out himself. By 7:10 Ally couldn't take it anymore. She jumped out of the piano, screamed "TRISH GET DOWN HERE!" and hid again. It was only after she gained her composure that she realized she had completely terrified Dez. Oops. She peaked out and whispered "Sorry Dez." He nodded silently, still startled. Austin covered his mouth to keep from laughing.

Then the door to the practice room creaked an all attention was directed upstairs.

Trish emerged from the room, first timidly and then confidently. Might as well be loud and proud. She flipped her hair with one hand and put her other hand on her hip as she made her way down the steps.

She looked absolutely gorgeous. Trish was wearing zebra print sleeves, which work in her, over a strapless pink dress that hugged her waste but then flowed and ended at her knees. Her hair was half up, but curled freely at her shoulders, to provide a semblance of order while still maintaining their natural appeal, Ally had reasoned. Her face seemed to be glowing, because the girls knew how to appropriately apply concealer and foundation. Yet, Ally knew Trish was stunning without make-up and wouldn't allow her to paint her face with blush and eye-shadow. Trish's bright eyes seemed to pop even more than usual. All Trish's natural beauty was show cased.

"Wow," Austin whispered to Ally "Trish looks hot."

Ally elbowed him "I know, but shush. Look at Dez." Austin nodded and switched his focus to his best friend.

Dez's jaw had dropped so low that Austin feared he had dislocated it. His cheeks were flushed and eyes wide. He didn't look shocked, more just in awe. When Trish reached Dez, she posed. Dez could only form nonsense syllables, still finding it hard to close his mouth. He blushed and his stomach fluttered at her proximity. After a moment of no response Trish became impatient.

"Well?" she asked, tapping her foot.

At the sound of Trish's voice, Dez returned to reality enough to close his mouth. "Uh… erm… ah…"

Trish rolled her eyes, annoyed. "Let's just get this over with so I can stop looking at your freckled face." She slung her purse over her shoulder and began to exit Sonic Boom, with or without her "date."

"Okay, let's—Wait!" Dez ran to catch Trish before she left. He then reached into his backpack. "I got you something!"

Trish turned, excited and hoping for money. "Really?"

Dez nodded, smiling when he found the gift and handed it to her. "Here!"

Trish crinkled her nose as she looked at her present—a bouquet of crushed flower stems. They had been destroyed in Dez's backpack. "…Why are you holding a pile of weeds?"

"They're roses!" Dez said, as if it was obvious. "I guess they got a bit hurt in my backpack…"

"A bit?" Trish asked, incredulously.

"But I got them for you because your name's de la Rosa! Roses, Rosa, get it?" Dez smiled proudly, as if it was a connection of great genius. Austin and Ally mouthed "Aw!" to each other inside the piano. "Don't you like them?"

Trish used as few fingers as possible to take her gift from Dez. "Um, of course not you moron. They're hideous, you killed them in your backpack." She threw the plants into a nearby trashcan. "What am I supposed to do with dead flowers?"

Dez frowned. "Hey! Do you know how many cuts I got picking those for you?" He held up his scratched and scarred hands, then hid them behind his back, embarrassed and hurt. "I thought you'd like them…"

"Yeah, maybe if they weren't—"Trish started angrily, but stopped when she saw Dez's dejected expression. She sighed. "Look, let me fix your hair. I am not going out with you looking like that." Trish pulled Dez down to her level and used her fingers to slick Dez's overly gelled hair back, out of his face.

"Hey hey hey!" Dez protested like a small child, squinting.

Trish ignored his complaints. "Suck it up, you whackadoodle," she scolded. "There," she removed her hands and stepped back. Wow, that made a difference. He looked far more mature, and his eyes weren't half bad either. Trish rolled her eyes at her own internal observations. She then looked down at her hands and found something had smudged on them. "Are you wearing… make up?" she asked.

"Yeah!" Dez responded, not shy at all.

Trish shook her head. She wasn't even going to ask. "Come on, we have reservations or something waiting, and I'm pretty sure Ally is hiding in that piano." Trish began speed walking out. Dez turned toward the piano, which Austin peaked out of to give him a thumbs up. Dez nodded before skipping after Trish.

When the coast was clear, Austin and Ally climbed clumsily out. Ally immediately gained her balance and began running off. "Let's follow them!" she said, excitedly.

Austin reached out and grabbed Ally's shoulder before she got too far. "Not so fast, matchmaker. I love spying on my friends as much as the next guy, but we have to write a song, remember? That's why they're on this date in the first place."

Ally sighed. "You're right, Austin, I'm sorry. Wow, since when were you so responsible?" she teased.

"I guess I've been hanging out with a good influence lately," he winked. Ally blushed and went to grab her songbook.

Trish and Dez were seated on an overly romantic outdoor balcony. Thanks Ally. Trish tried to hide herself behind a menu, not wanting everyone to see her on a date with Dez that didn't look platonic at all. A waiter came by and lit the candle in the middle of the table. Trish turned to yell at him as he left "WE AREN'T A COUPLE!"

She turned back grumbling and saw Dez staring at her expectantly. "What do you want?" she snarled.

Dez was unfazed by Trish's aggression. "Aren't you going to blow out the candles and make a wish?"

Trish gave Dez her standard 'you're insane' glare. "That's just for birthday candles, you dingbat."

"So… you're not going to make that wish?"

"No," Trish replied, exasperated.

"Awesome! More wishes for me!" Dez proclaimed. He stared above the candle at Trish with a puzzled expression, trying to figure out what to wish for. He then grinned and blew out the candle, blowing spit in Trish's face.

"EWWW!" Trish shrieked, grabbing a napkin and wiping her face. She then threw the crinkled napkin at Dez, who blocked his face but otherwise remained calm. Trish made a disgusted face, sticking out her tongue. "What did you even wish for, jelly brain?"

"I can't tell you. My wish won't come true!" Dez replied, adamantly.

"Just tell me, freckles."

Dez shook his head, but before Trish could abuse hum a waiter came asking for their food orders.

Trish surveyed the menu for the most expensive item. Ally was paying, and Ally wanted the date to go well, right? "I'll have the lobster dipped in caviar," she informed the waiter, who nodded and turned to Dez.

"And for you, sir?"

Dez coughed, clearing his throat and making a big show out of ordering like a grown up. "Um, yes, I'll have the chicken fingers and french fries, please. Nice and crispy."

The waiter gave him a strange look. "Are you sure…?" he asked, in a condescending and pompous tone.

"Yeah…" Dez replied confused. He never difficulty ordering anywhere else…

"It's just… Chez Pierre is a very high-end restaurant," both Trish and Dez snickered at how the waiter spit his R's, the same way Ally did when she said the name. The waiter glared and continued. "We don't normally get orders for… kids meals." His nose was practically sticking up in the air.

"Oh…" Dez looked down. He was already messing up things…

Trish looked from upset Dez to the despicable waiter. "Look, Mr. Fancy Pants," her tone was biting. "Get that stick that out of your butt and get my friend what makes him happy or I will leave and tell your manager how you chased out a fifty dollar order for lobster and insulted your customers." She fumed. Trish knew a thing or two about customer service from her many jobs, and this was the type of service that would get her fired. Besides, the only person who was allowed to look down on Dez was Trish!

The waiter was taken aback, especially by the butt comment, and took the hint. "Right, I'll be back with your drinks shortly."

When he left Trish rolled her eyes. "What was with that guy? I'd rather have Mindy as a waitress; at least SHE values her customers. I mean, what a jerk! Right freckles?" No response. "Freckles?"

Dez was still looking down at his hands. He knew he would ruin this. He knew he didn't know how to act in such a fancy place. Now all Trish will remember is how he ordered kiddy chicken and and kiddy fries and she'll want to stop being friends when they only just started. Dez slouched, trying to become smaller. He told Austin this was a bad idea!

Trish glared, frustrated that Dez had been silenced by such a buttface. She was fine with sitting in silence, but this was an awkward silence. She looked down at the white table clothe, wanting to destroy its perfection in some way. "I wish I had some markers or something. These table clothes are just asking for defacing."

Dez heard Trish and instantly perked up. "Hey, I have just the thing!" Dez reached into his backpack and pulled out a handful of half-broken crayons.

Trish giggled evilly, "Perfect. Now do you think our waiter was more of an angry red or alien green?"

"Alien green, duh!" Dez grinned.

Trish nodded "Good choice, freckles." She grabbed the nub of a green crayon and began scribbling.

Dez grabbed a few crayons himself and started coloring carefully. The tip of his tongue peaked out of his lips in concentration. After a minute of silent drawing, Trish held up her crude drawing for Dez to see.

"Hah! Look, it's me pulling the stick out of pompous waiter's butt," Trish grinned satisfied.

Dez looked up from his art and laughed. "Nice, looks just like him. You even drew his super huge nose!"

"Thanks. I thought that was an important ugly feature to spotlight." She flattened her cloth drawing to the table. "So, what did you draw doodle brain?"

"Wait! Almost done, just don't move," Dez said, examining Trish's face.

"Okay," Trish crossed her eyes and made a face to ruin Dez's drawing and concentration.

Dez laughed. "Heeeyyyy!" Trish just stuck out her tongue.

Dez put down his pen triumphantly. "Done! Voila, my masterpiece." Dez kissed his fingers like an accomplished artist and held his work up for Trish's scrutiny. The drawing was two stick figures, one very tall and one very short. The tall one had a backpack and was smiling, while the shorter one had crazy hair and was scowling. Their arms seemed to be linked.

Trish laughed at the juvenile picture "Is that us?"

Dez nodded proudly "Yup!"

"Are we… holding hands?" Trish gagged.

"Well, yeah! Because we're friends!" Dez said as if it were obvious. His eyes were bright with happiness.

"Oh…" Trish muttered. "Well, uh, nice job on my hair."

"Hey, thanks Trish! It was my favorite part to draw! It's really pretty!"

Trish raised an eyebrow. "Did you just call my hair pretty?"

Dez's face changed to a color that matched his hair. "What! No! I meant my drawing! I mean, I guess your hair is pretty. Erm, I mean, not just your hair, I mean, the rest of you is—Erm, wait, no, AHG!" Dez closed his eyes and tried to disappear.

Trish smirked to herself. "Look, our food's coming," she informed him. Dez sighed with relief.

The waiter silently placed their drinks and food on the table. He then crunched his face and pulled some ketchup packets out of his pocket and tossed them on the table. "Enjoy your meal," he said as if he really wished the opposite. He then left, without noticing the coloring utensils Dez and Trish were previously using.

Trish starred at her food. In her quickness to get revenge on Ally, she had forgotten that she hates seafood. Lobster and caviar did not appeal to her in the slightest. She looked across at Dez, who was making a picture of an alien with his ketchup. His food actually looked pretty good for chicken nuggets and french fries. Her stomach growled.

"Dez, give me your food." Trish ordered.

"What? No! Why?" Dez complained, about to eat his chicken.

"Because I don't want my food, duh." Trish said, pushing her own plate to the side.

Dez glanced at it. The caviar did look pretty gross. "Okay…" he agreed reluctantly, passing his plate to Trish.

Dez sat silently, looking absent-mindedly to the side, trying to ignore his hunger. This wasn't very fun. His stomach roared.

Trish started eating without care for Dez. She happily beheaded Dez's ketchup alien, then took a bite of food and looked up to taunt him. However, she then saw how quietly miserable Dez looked. Trish frowned, suddenly the food seemed less appetizing.

She held up a fry. "Here, have some food you silly whackadoodle."

Dez glowed. "Really?"

Trish rolled her eyes and nodded.

"Thanks Trish!" Dez leant forward and ate the fry right out of Trish's hand. Trish screamed and pulled her hand back.

"What are you doing! I wasn't feeding you!" Trish was horrified. Dez said nothing, he just starred at Trish with wide, puppy-dog eyes.

"Stop that!" Trish ordered, but Dez did not comply. Trish closed her eyes, yet when she opened them Dez was still giving her the same, adorable face. Trish groaned dramatically and held out a chicken nugget in front of her. "Fine!" Dez clapped happily and took a bite while Trish looked away, embarrassed.

The night had started with a clear sky, but as Dez and Trish shared food and teased each other under the stars, clouds quickly rolled in. Oh Florida, your weather is always so unpredictably sudden. Before either of them could notice the ominous weather there was a crash of thunder and it began to pour.

Trish squealed and ran under the restaurant's patio cover. Dez just laughed, standing up and spinning around in a circle. He opened his mouth and tasted the rain. Trish began ringing her hair, freezing cold, as she yelled at him.

"Get out of the rain, crazy! You'll get sick!"

"No I won't!" Dez protested. He loved the rain.

"Yes you will, you idiot! Get over here now!" Dez sighed and followed orders, walking over to Trish. He shook his hair like a dog, spraying Trish. She scowled and shook her own sopping hair in Dez's face. Dez just grinned, until he noticed Trish was shivering.

"You're cold." He frowned.

"No shiz, Sherlock," Trish rolled her eyes and hugged her arms.

Dez took off Austin's too short jacket and draped it onto Trish's shoulders. It was suede, so even though the outside was still wet, the inside was nice and cozy. He didn't mind getting a bit wet. Trish was confused at first. She looked up at Dez, whose bangs had fallen back in his face from the rain, and who was staring outside hypnotized by the falling water. Trish felt her stomach flutter but quickly dismissed it. "Uh, thanks…"

Before Dez could reply the manager came up to them, looking extremely apologetic. Their food had been ruined in the storm and he had actually noticed the rudeness of their waiter. He promised their meal was on the house and offered them free hot chocolate. They both eagerly accepted, and decided it was time to head home. It was getting pretty late, not to mention they needed to change out of their wet clothes before they got sick. Dez had an umbrella in his backpack, and so he escorted Trish through the rain.

They had to stand pretty close for the umbrella to cover them both. Trish gripped her hot chocolate with both hands to absorb the warmth, while Dez held the umbrella dutifully. Everyone once in a while they would shove the other outside the umbrella playfully, or Dez would run and jump into a puddle without warning Trish. Even Trish had to admit that it was a fun walk home, and that even as a whole she had enjoyed her time with Dez.

When they got to Trish's house Dez walked her to the door. She stood on the front step, under a dry roof while Dez stood in front of her still exposed to the rain. Even with the step Dez was taller. "Well, I have to hand it to you freckles, that was not as bad as I thought it would be."

Dez grinned "Yeah! I had fun! We didn't even need to tip the waiter!"

Trish laughed, then remembered. "Oh, uh, here's your jacket. Thanks again I guess."

Dez took it with one hand, though honestly Trish hoped he would keep it off until he left. The way the checkered collared shirt fit Dez and shaped his skinny waste, well… She shook her head. "You're welcome!" Dez replied. "I'm just glad I totally didn't mess this up! I was afraid that I would mess everything up and you'd never want to hang out with me again. And that would suck!"

Trish blinked. "What? Why wouldn't I want to—that would suck?" Trish didn't know which part of that statement surprised her most, but she mostly wanted to hear why it would suck for Dez to not hang out with her anymore.

Dez blushed. "Well, uh, yeah... You're really, uh, fun and stuff... I'm happy when I'm with you…" he looked down.

Trish felt her heart skip a beat. Did Dez mean that in the way it sounded? She internally yelled at herself for getting excited. "Well, I don't think this would be a very good date then if you don't tell me what you wished for?"

Dez eyes grew wide in a panic. "What I wished for!"

"Back at the restaurant," Trish looked at him demandingly.

Dez blinked. He didn't want the date to go badly! He looked down as he told her "I just wished you'd have a good time…"

"Me?"

"Yeah…"

Trish looked at Dez, remembering how she threw away those flowers he'd gotten her, how he instantly got out those crayons, how he had let her mess with his hair, how he had given her his chicken. He really had been trying to make sure the night went well for her. She felt the need to show him that all his efforts weren't in vane, he deserved to know his performance was a splendid one. Trish glanced around the both corners of her street. Okay, no one around. She then quickly as possible gave Dez a peck on the cheek.

Dez immediately looked up in shock. Trish smirked and then turned to go inside. "Night Dez,"

Dez shook his head. "Uh, night Trish." And then the door closed behind her and Dez was left standing alone in the rain. He stood there for a minute in silence, before he burst, throwing his hands in the air and spinning around. "WOOHOOOOOO!" he yelled at the top of his longs.

"I can still hear you, stupid!" Dez heard Trish yell from inside her house. Dez quickly picked up the umbrella and jacket he had thrown during his celebration and ran home as fast as possible.

The next day at Sonic Boom Ally had found the bill for Chez Pierre and was lecturing Trish. Trish rolled her eyes "Chill, Ally. It ended up being on the house anyway."

"I will not chill, Trish! You don't even like seafood! Why would you order something so expensive knowing I was paying! That's completely irresponsible of you! What if this had been the opposite situation or what if I didn't have 50 dollars to spare? You are so lucky tha—Trish are you listening to me?" Ally stopped mid-lecture, noticing Trish wasn't even looking at her. Instead Trish was staring right past Ally toward the doors where Dez and Austin had walked in.

The guys would normally stop and walk over to the girls, but they seemed to be in the middle of a shoot. They must already be working on the new song Ally and Austin had written last night. When Dez noticed Trish across the store, he smiled and waved. Trish stuck out her tongue and crossed her eyes. He returned the silly face and laughed. Trish rolled her eyes. They then both turned back to their work, or lack of it. Ally watched the entire exchange.

"Yes Ally, I'm definitely listening," Trish said dismissively.

Ally opened her mouth to speak, but then smiled. "So, um, tell me about your date with Dez."

Trish's face seemed to flush. "Oh, that? Psht, boring."

Ally grinned, "Really? Tell me more."

Authors note: Sorry it took so long guys! I hope it was worth the wait!