[PRIVATE] First Date

Jimmy stood outside of the dorms, waiting on his date. He'd made an effort to dress up, Ellie couldn't fully appreciate it, of course, but it's the thought that counts, right? He was wearing a black button-up shirt, dark blue chinos and a belt. Plain, but effective.

He looked at his watch, he'd gone to the effort of being nice and early, but Ellie, of course, was running late. He didn't mind, he expected it even, but her telling him not to be late and then being late herself was a little hypocritical.

Still, he was looking forward to seeing Ellie.

Ellie spent no less than four and a half hours preparing for her very first date. She'd read books about this moment, she'd talked to some of the older girls in her last foster home about it, and most important of all, "First Date" was number one on Ellie's list of things she had to do before she died or grew old. As such, everything had to be perfect. Sadly, she didn't really have a whole lot of money - the government provided her with a scholarship for attending the Tachibana academy, alongside some pocket money for food and other expenses (read: books), but it was nowhere near enough to afford proper former wear. As such, the little girl spent a lot of time trying several of Caroline's dresses until she found one which suited her. The dress, a red one with a flower pattern, was just a tad too big for the young girl, but at that point that was the best they could do. It also left her legs, arms and shoulders exposed, which meant that during her shower Ellie had to shave pretty thoroughly. The last time she shaved was right before she first met Jimmy by the pool a few days prior, and while she typically didn't like shaving more often than once a week, this time an exception was acceptable.

Then came the most difficult part - the hair and make-up. Caroline helped with both, of course, but despite that, and the fact that said make-up was minimal, as Ellie had a natural beauty to her face that didn't require a ton of beauty products to accentuate. Her hair was curled and allowed to flow freely past her shoulders, which was really the best Caroline could do - she wasn't a stylist, after all. The shoes were the biggest issue, as Caroline's feet were much bigger, so she couldn't help out in that regard. Ultimately, Ellie settled on some white heeled sandals she typically wore in summer. They looked formal enough... right? And besides, they made her look taller than she was, which was always a benefit! By the time she was ready, with her red cane in one hand and a small ladies' purse in the other, once again courtesy of her best friend, Caroline honestly stated that Jimmy would have to be blind not to appreciate her efforts. Ellie didn't find it all too funny - she was too nervous to.

Finally, at precisely 7:34 PM, the young girl stepped through the front door of the girls' dorm and 'looked' around. It didn't take her long to spot Jimmy. He was wearing some kind of new and, honestly, rather pleasant-smelling perfume, but he couldn't hide his scent. Ellie felt like a dog picking up a trail as she approached the boy and tapped him gently on the leg with her red cane. "Howdy, stranger!" she grinned. "Your date couldn't make it, so she sent me instead!" she chuckled, wondering if Jimmy would be able to recognize her by her voice.

7:34. Seven thirty-bloody-four. Jimmy was freezing, stood out in the cold February of Toronto, waiting for Ellie for almost fourty minutes. Once his date finally arrived, though, his annoyance completely faded. Jimmy rolled his eyes at her teasing.
"Come on, you're not getting that one past me, Ellie. Would some other random person be this well-presented? I don't think so... Well, you kept me waiting, but it was worth it. You look fantastic."

"So, shall we be off?" Jimmy asked, grinning uncontrollably as he took her arm in his.

Ellie grinned from ear to ear upon being complimented. Mission complete! Honestly, she was a bit self-conscious about her look, but hey, it appeared that Caroline knew her stuff! "Oh, this old thing? I just threw it on... For four and a half hours", she laughed it off, not letting him know just how true that statement was. Retracting her cane and quickly putting it in her purse (it had mostly served for the purposes of identification rather than for any practical reasons at that moment, after all), the girl wrapped her arm around Jimmy's, trying not to be too clingy, but at the same time totally letting herself and everyone know that she was going out on a date with this guy. "Of course!" she nodded to his question. "Where to?"

"You know, with how long I've been waiting, I wouldn't be surprised." Jimmy said, laughing it off. Surely no girl would go to all that effort for him, right? Especially not one that couldn't even see his looks, which Jimmy often felt was the only real thing he had going for him. Then again, feeling her tight grip on his arm could have convinced him otherwise.

"Well, there was a really fancy restaurant in the city I would take you to, if I could afford to buy you more than a quarter of a salad there... Then there's a cheap poutine restaurant which we could afford, but doesn't sound that fantastic, or there's the cinema. I thought the cinema sounded like the best option, but I figured you should have a say too." He said.

"Oh, and the cinema has screenings with audio narration to explain what's going on if you'd prefer to go to the cinema. Should have lead with that bit, really..." Jimmy added, hastily. The nerves were only just setting in now, and he'd been thrown off by not having been on a date in a long time.

Poutine, huh? Romantic. Ellie couldn't blame him, she hadn't exactly expected to be taken to a five star restaurant, but... poutine? It really said something when he thought taking a blind girl to the cinema was the best option. This date was off to a wonderful start...

"Oh, trust me, seeing movies with me is not a nice experience... Unless you want to answer the question 'What happens now?' literally throughout the entire movie", the young girl chuckled. If the movie was very dialogue-heavy she might have had an easier time following it, but ironically, dialogue-heavy movies were typically pretty boring for her. She liked superhero action, even when it didn't involve superheroes. Netflix's Daredevil series (which she was way too young to watch, but you could lie about your age on the Internet, who knew) came with the option for a narrator to conveniently explain what was going on for anyone who was hard of seeing. A few movies she'd seen also provided that option as an extra on the DVD, but whenever such a narrator was missing his role had to be taken by a living person, typically Hawke. One of the cinemas she was in, the one next to her second foster home, had a headphones jack in the seat that you could use if you wanted dubs in different languages or a narrator, which was an awesome feature, but she hadn't 'seen' this feature anywhere else before or since, so she sincerely doubted the cinema in the city had it.

"I dunno... I mean, I guess poutine sounds good? What do you think?" she asked, trying to hide her disappointment. It was her own fault for getting her hopes so high about her very first date.

Jimmy could hear the disappointment in his date's voice. It frustrated him immensely. He didn't want to let her down, but those were just about the only options he knew of that were viable for a date. He'd tried to plan something nice, but his knowledge of Toronto was still not that great. He decided that maybe planning something in a city he didn't know was not really much worse than starting from scratch.

"You know what I think? I think we should have a little wander around the city, there must be a better option somewhere. Next time I'll save up some more money and take you to that fancier restaurant. It's not easy on a student budget, I'm sure you understand that too. Worst case scenario, we go for poutine. Best case, we find something much better to do. There's a big park fairly close by, maybe there'll be something cool going on there?"

Ellie smiled at Jimmy's suggestion, but he was kind of missing the real problem here. It wasn't the money that was the issue - hell, that would've been super shallow of her, being disappointed that her date couldn't take her to a fancy restaurant, especially when she herself didn't get that big of an allowance. It was more the lack of thought that disappointed her. You don't just take out your first date for poutine! Still, she didn't want to ruin everything, so the young girl simply smiled.

"Sure, that sounds like a nice idea! I don't think I've been to the park yet, so that might be fun! Though keep in mind that I'm probably not gonna be able to point out a lot of things. Y'know, chronic blindness and all", she chuckled, slightly loosening her grip on the boy's arm to allow him to walk comfortably. "So yeah, if you spot something that looks like it might be fun, let me know! Do you have, like, a place in the city you like to visit a lot? I'm now realizing that I don't really know a whole lot about you", she stated, literally coming to that realization at that precise moment.

'Get with it, Jimmy, you're blowing it...' He told himself. Still nervous and collecting himself after throwing out every option he had been weighing up, he had to come up with something good and make the best of it. Visibly stressed and anxious, he paused to collect himself and shift his focus to conversation with his date. Perhaps he could pull it back there.

"To the park it is, then." He said, chuckling at Ellie's joke.

"Sure will. Uhh, not really; no. In case you couldn't tell by the weird accent, I'm not exactly a local. I don't know Toronto well at all, hence the lack of options for tonight. If I'm in the city it's just to pick something up at a shop, or hang around the mall for a bit. The school site has most of what I need on a daily basis, so I just come out to the city for a change of scenery if I need a good old-fashioned walk and stock up on food and such. Yeah, isn't getting to know each other what this is all about? What about you? Do you do anything in the city? Are you from around here?" He asked.

Ooooh, so he wasn't local after all! Ellie had assumed as much, considering his accent and the fact that he spoke to her in Spanish when they first met. She assumed that he was probably from Spain, but didn't want to state that as fact, especially if she wasn't sure. "No, not really. I'm a transfer, like most kids in the Academy. I've moved around a lot... Kelowna, Edmonton, Montreal, Vancouver... I've been all over the place! In a way, Toronto's, like, the culmination of this natural progression", she chuckled. "I've been here for, like, a year and a half. Transferred when I was eleven. Somehow, by some impossible stroke of luck, I, of all people, scored a full scholarship to Tachibana, so... Here I am! What about you, Jimmy? How did you end up here?" she asked, glancing towards the boy next to her.

"Ah. Yeah, I'm sure you won't be surprised to learn I was a transfer too. So, I take it you are Canadian, then? What do you think of Toronto by comparison to the other places you've been? I was born in Australia, but my Mom's Mexican. My parents divorced when I was about 6. Haven't seen Dad since. Mom and I moved back to Mexico for quite a while, and then she remarried and we moved to Atlanta. Then I had the aneurysm, got a spot here, and... well, that's kind of it." Jimmy replied. Answering that dredged up a lot of memories, and not all of them were particularly pleasant.

Ellie smiled as her date began talking about his story. She liked people who knew what it was like to leave your home multiple times, who truly knew. Everyone claimed that they could understand, but unless you'd experienced it yourself, repeatedly, then you had no way of knowing how it really felt. At least Jimmy had his mom with him most of the time... That must have helped at least somewhat.

"Tell me a bit more about your aneurysm... If you don't mind me asking, that is. When did it happen? What was it like?" she asked, her curiosity getting the better of her. Ellie immediately regretted picking that subject - nothing said romantic like talking about disabilities on a first date! But then again, she had to know more about his condition. What if something happened and she needed to act quickly?

Ellie's curiosity intrigued Jimmy, he felt like his aneurysm was a mundane thing that had a massive impact on his life. But as he thought about it, he had the realisation that perhaps he compartmentalised it too much. It was entirely possible for him to suffer another aneurysm, and it could well kill him, or at least leave him with permanent brain damage more severe than what he'd already sustained.

"Oh no, I don't mind at all. It happened while I was in class at my school in Atlanta. I'd been feeling off for a while, but I'd thought nothing of it. Turns out I'd been carrying this swollen blood vessel in my brain for nearly two months before it ruptured. When it did, I had this intense pain in my head, like the worst headache you could possibly imagine and then some. I collapsed immediately after, woke up in hospital, couldn't remember anything that had happened for the past week. My parents came to pick me up and I freaked out, because I didn't recognise them at all. They were like total strangers. The most surreal thing was having no memory of what I looked like. Seeing somebody in the mirror that you don't think is yourself at first is a very strange thing. Now, apparently I'm at risk of having another one, because there's a genetic predisposition to it that most people that suffer aneurysms have, but I don't know whether I have that, or if it was just a freak incident. But I'm checked on regularly, and no other swellings have developed so far. So, I could have another one, but that wouldn't be the real issue so long as it's caught before a rupture. But I know what to look out for now, so catching another one in time shouldn't be too hard."

Ellie squeezed Jimmy's arm harder whenever he went into detail about his brain. Some of the details he was explaining hit a bit too hard home for her. She didn't remember too much of the accident which had left her blind, but was perfectly aware of its specifics and what was going on inside her own brain. If external factors could damage hers so much, she couldn't even imagine what an internal explosion of blood and tissue could cause... Jimmy was lucky that all he lost was his ability to recognize faces.

"That must have been scary... Waking up and just seeing two complete strangers claiming to be your parents. I know I would've freaked too", she assured him with a faint smile. In theory, Jimmy was probably safe from any other aneurysms now that he was actively on the look-out for them, but Ellie couldn't help but be a little worried. "Just, um... Just be careful, okay? You wouldn't be too good for boyfriend-y stuff if your brain exploded from within, right?" the young girl chuckled, trying to alleviate the mood a little bit.

"It wasn't the best thing I've experienced, that's for sure. But I'm lucky, I could have had any kind of brain damage from the aneurysm, visual memory impairment is pretty light by comparison." He admitted.

Jimmy hesitated for a moment at Ellie's mention of the word 'boyfriend'. Were they already at the stage where throwing that around was fine? It seemed to be an indicator of good things between the two of them, so he was glad to hear it, but it threw him off momentarily.

"I will, for sure. No, probably not, but it already did that on me once and now we're here. Funny how things work out, isn't it? Anyway, we should probably talk about something lighter, what are you interested in? What do you pass the time with? What makes you happy?"

As the park became visible in the distance, Jimmy saw lights and a lot of people milling around the area. Perhaps he'd been right to follow his gut.

"Huh, seems like there might be something going on. I can see the park now. I've got no idea what it is, but there's something. I'll let you know when I've figured it out."

The word 'boyfriend' always made the young girl smile with delight. It was just one of those pretty words that sounded like a jingle to her ears! And honestly, who could blame her? To her, a boyfriend was someone who would love her for who she was, and not who she pretended to be in order to be liked. He was someone who would take care of her not because he was paid or ordered to do so, but because he wanted to. And, most importantly, a boyfriend was someone who would never, ever leave her... At least, that's how she saw things. She knew that couples broke up from time to time, but surely someone must have done something wrong, right? She wasn't going to allow herself to make any mistakes... But honestly, sometimes she just couldn't help herself.

When Jimmy asked about her tastes, Ellie couldn't help but smirk. Oh, boy. That was probably the wrong question to ask. The girl told herself to take it down a notch, as her overt enthusiasm about the things she loved might have been what turned Mizo off of her when they first met. "Oh, y'know... I like reading a lot. Honestly, most blind people do, as far as I've noticed", she spoke. "I'd read anything and everything, doesn't matter if it's a young adult novel or a book about plants", she giggled. "Music's pretty nice! I like to listen to a lot of videogame soundtracks when I'm by myself and need to relax, or do homework or something. And, um... I kinda sorta really like superheroes", she almost whispered that last part, wanting to be honest with her date, but not really wishing to alienate him by seeming weird.

"So, you're not only cute, but nerdy too? I'd better make sure I do well tonight, huh?" He said, grinning.

"Books are cool, but I find it difficult to get engrossed in fiction since the aneurysm. Books try to create a picture that I'm not able to see anymore. Comics might help with that, but I wouldn't know where to start. Maybe you could help?" He asked.

Jimmy focused in on the view of the park and saw various trailers and stalls parked up.

"Hey, looks like we have a fair here tonight. I think that sounds better than poutine, don't you?"

"Yeah, sounds like comic books might be the way to go! I mean, having a colorful and hilariously impractical costume is pretty much a requirement for most characters, so recognizing their faces shouldn't be an issue!" Ellie agreed. "Though keep in mind that I haven't kept up with current comics in over a year... Before I had someone read them to me and explain what's going on, but here I don't really know anyone who cares about comics enough to do this for me. But hey, there's lots of classic runs you can absolutely check out! The New 52 'Batman' and 'Suicide Squad' are great! On the Marvel side there's pretty much anything and everything Deadpool, and not to mention the smaller team-based comics such as 'Avengers Academy' and 'Runaways', and as for indies 'Saga' and 'Fables' are definitely two of the... I'm nerding out on you, aren't I?" the girl turned her eyes towards him. "I do that, like, a lot. Most people just ignore me, but feel free to tell me to stop if it's too much! Trust me, I'm not trying to be annoying, it just comes natural whenever I start talking about this stuff", she laughed.

Ellie's face beamed when she heard the word 'fair'. "Wow, Mr. Cohen, you might actually be able to salvage this date! Come on! I wanna do that thing where I ask to play at the shooting gallery and totally freak out the guy working there!"

"You said a lot of words there, and I don't know what most of them meant. Hey, no worries, I think hearing a girl nerd out about something is cute and endearing. I like seeing that somebody deeply cares about something. Besides, if you got me started on music, I'd honestly never stop!" He said with a laugh.

"I may well do. It seems as though Lady Luck's favouring us tonight, so let's go and check it out. I'll let you know if I see a shooting gallery." He remarked, smiling gently.

"Music, huh? Sounds like you've got a lot to teach me too! I love music, but I don't really know where to begin with it. I mean, I feel like there's, like, this endless universe of bands and tracks and musical styles and everything, and it's just a bit overwhelming. There's a few artists that I like, but as I said most of what I listen to is videogame soundtracks. Maybe in exchange of me recommending you a few comic books you can recommend me some good tracks?" she suggested as the two approached the fair.

Even though they hadn't properly entered yet, Ellie could hear the sounds of the fair clear as day. Grinning like a kid on Christmas day, the girl inadvertently pulled her date towards it, her heels clicking loudly on the tiles leading into the park. She'd never been at a fair before! Freya, her bestest friend ever whom she knew from her first foster home and still sent her letters - in Braille, no less - every week had once told her in length about her experience at a town fair back in Kelowna, and ever since then Ellie had been kinda wanting to visit one herself. Maybe she could even convince Jimmy to win her a cute prize to bring home? But first things first.

"We should probably get something to eat first, though. I'm kinda starving!" she admitted, turning her head around. "Do you see any stand selling something we could actually consider dinner?" the girl chuckled.

"That sounds like a deal to me. You feel like that because it is an endless universe, but that's what makes it so incredible. If you can imagine any soundscape in your mind, I can almost guarantee you that it exists somewhere within the world of music." He said, smiling.

The fair was pretty close now, and it looked massive. Jimmy himself had only been to a similar event once in his life, but it was a cheap, rickety affair that was laughable compared to this. Bright neon lights flashed everywhere, bells rang, and Jimmy could hear a blend of chart-topping songs playing at once from different locations around the park.

"Yeah, me too actually." Jimmy looked around, hot dog stand, burgers, jacket potatoes, meat sandwiches... cheap junk food was all he could see.
"Uhh, that depends on your definition of dinner, because they're probably playing loose with it. I'd better call today my cheat day, because I'm not exactly seeing any wholesome, balanced meals." He said with a laugh.
"Think down the lines of literally every kind of junk food that could possibly be cooked in a trailer, anything you might be inclined to go for in that regard?"

"Oh, don't worry, my metabolism's, like, Flash-levels of fast. I don't seem to gain anything no matter how much I'm eating! Which kinda sucks because I'm also not growing like I ought to, but hey, I've got that cute loli look going for me, so I guess it could've been worse", the young girl laughed.

When Jimmy mentioned food, Ellie rolled her eyes in thought. "I'm not actually sure... I don't have a whole lot of experience with trailer food, so I'm probably gonna leave that up to you! What can you see that looks somewhat appetizing?" she asked.

"I'll say, you're like a stick figure! I suppose that angle works, give you a uniqueness." He said, chuckling.

"Tell you what, I'll call out what I see as we go, you tell me which you prefer. Right, so we have hot dogs and burgers, because of course we do, jacket potatoes, meat sandwiches, fried chicken, and uh... pizza." Jimmy announced, craning his neck to see some of the signs.

"Told you there wasn't anything wholesome here, but it sure as hell beats poutine, huh?" He said with a laugh.

"Hey, give me a few years and I'm gonna be very three-dimensional! You know what they say about late bloomers!" she laughed. Sure, her (mostly) flat chest had been a sore point for her for a while, both literally and figuratively, but hey, she was slowly, but surely, growing there! Given a few years, Ellie could even get to a B cup! Hey, no one said she was growing much...

When she heard the choices, the young girl rolled her eyes in thought. Man, this was hard! Pizza and fried chicken were always great, but they were also the 'safe' options, not really something special worthy of being eaten on a first date at a fair. Same went for meat sandwiches and burgers, so there were really only two options. Hot dogs, while common in the US, were relatively rare in Canada - Ellie had only had them a handful of times, and they were always really great despite how simple they were. On the other hand, jacket potatoes were pretty new to her, as she knew what they were, but hadn't actually tried them. She thought about leaving the final choice to Jimmy, but figured that being indecisive wasn't the sexiest thing she could think of, so she just had to call it.

"Hmmm... Let's go with hot dogs! Been a while since I've had a good one!" she ultimately selected almost at random. "Though if you'd prefer something else that's fine with me, really! Honestly, all of those options sounded really friggin' good!"

"Hey, I'm not complaining. You look pretty good to me anyways." Jimmy replied with a mischievous laugh.

"Hot dogs it is, I'm not opposed to that. Want me to order for you? They're my treat." Jimmy offered.