Ravi sat quietly at the table near the back of the mess hall. It was his birthday and everyone had been busy. Tiffany had gone home for the weekend to compete in a science competition her parents had signed her up for at the university where her dad worked. Jorge had a stomach bug and was sleeping in the infirmary. Griff and Zuri had gone with Xander and some other campers and counselors on a day trip to the aquarium across the lake.

So, Ravi sat at the table alone with his crafting supplies and two slices of toast. Every year he wrote a note on fancy stationery paper, decorated it and the envelope to his liking, and tucked it away into a shoebox-sized jewelry box that Zuri hadn't wanted and gave to him years ago.

"Is that my glitter pen?"

He looked behind him and saw Emma looking over his shoulder. He flipped over the piece of paper he had been writing on.

"Maybe," he answered. He smiled up at her and said, "It's a special day today."

She flicked her hair over her shoulder and said brightly, "I know! I'm having an amaze hair day."

"Yeah... sure. But it's also..." Ravi raised both his eyebrows at her and waved his hand to prompt her.

"...You want me to tell you something?" Emma guessed as she squinted at him.

"Happy..." he tried to lead her.

She squinted harder and scrunched her nose. After a moment she sighed and shrugged her shoulders. She said, "Thinking this hard will give me wrinkles, Ravi. I've got to go lead a disc golf game for the campers. Enjoy your day off."

"Thanks," he mumbled as he turned back to his note.

Emma grabbed his toast off the table and said quickly, "I missed breakfast." She was nearly out the door of the mess hall when she called out to him over his shoulder. "Oh, and happy birthday!"

His previous annoyance with his sister disappeared and he looked up in time to see her wink at him and take a bit out of his toast. He returned to writing his note. He had already decorated the paper and the envelope. Absentmindedly, he reached for his other slice of toast only to find that it was no longer there. He looked up and across from him he saw Lou munching away.

"Happy Birthday!" she greeted him as crumbs fell from her chin.

"Thanks. I see you've found my breakfast," he said with feigned anger.

Lou offered him the toast that was already missing two bites. He shook his head and she shrugged. She went back to eating her stolen breakfast as she asked, "Whatcha doin'?"

"Every year I write down a birthday wish," Ravi explained. "And put it in this box."

"Can I see it?" Lou asked excitedly, dropping the last burnt pieces back to his plate.

"No," Ravi gasped. "It's personal."

"Oh, come on! Now I have to know," Lou said as she reached across the table and snatched the paper from his hands.

"Give it back!"

His heart beat rapidly. He never showed anyone his wishes. They were meant to go straight to the box. Most of him knew it was silly to believe that if the wishes didn't go in the box, then they wouldn't come true. But it was tradition and a small part of him was unreasonably worried.

Either way it was too late. Lou was already reading it. She shook her head and grinned.

"You're so predictable," she said. "A date? That's your big secret birthday wish?"

Ravi crossed his arms and said, "It's my birthday. I can wish for whatever I want."

"How many times have you wished for a date?"

"Don't make me embarrass myself on my birthday," Ravi said as he uncrossed his arms and sighed.

It was his eighteenth birthday and he had been making the same wish for a date since the age of fourteen. He knew it was lame, but all his wishes before didn't seem as important once he realized girls were pretty and he wanted to date one.

"Can I have my note back?" he asked and held out his hand.

Lou thought for a moment before she passed back his paper. She slapped her hands on the table and stood.

"We're going on a date," she said determinedly.

Ravi raised his eyebrow at her and asked, "What are you talking about?"

"That's my present to you! We're both off duty. Unless you added your name back to the counselor schedule for today?"

"No. I'm off duty today," he said slowly.

"Awesome sauce! Let's go!"

Ravi lifted his note in the air and said, "Nowhere on this paper, Lou, does it say that I wish my friend felt so sorry for me that she would go on a pity date with me."

He never thought of himself as one to turn down a date with a willing participant, but he knew Lou was just being nice and it wouldn't be an actual date. He knew he thought of her and she thought of him as just a friend. Anything else never crossed his mind.

Lou picked up a thin marker from his crafting materials. She made her way over to his side of the table. Without a word she took the note and down a paraphrase of his words.

"It does now," she declared. "Let's go."

He read the paper she discarded on the table. He said, "Did you really have to write the actual words 'pity date'?"

She ignored his question and tugged on his arm until he stood up from the bench. "We'll take my truck," she said.

"Your truck smells like goat feed and makes that ticking sound," Ravi said as he followed her out of the mess hall.

"It's called rustic charm," she corrected.

*******

It was a nice summer day, so Lou drove slowly and they let down their windows to let in the fresh air. Ravi relaxed in the passenger's seat. He scratched his nose. Her car did have an animal feed smell, but it also smelled like the lemon-scented air-freshener hanging from the rearview mirror.

"I'm glad you can hang out with me today," Ravi said. "I was sort of disappointed that everyone was busy on my birthday."

"No prob," Lou said with a smile. She drummed on her steering wheel and said, "And don't forget: it's a date! That's the only way your birthday wish can actually be counted as coming true."

"It's not going to feel like a date," Ravi replied. "We're not trying to date each other."

Lou nodded and said, "True. But I can at least try on your birthday. Especially when you're saying sad stuff like everybody ditched you today."

"I didn't say ditched."

They made a left turn onto a dirt road. Ravi looked up ahead. There was a farmhouse and a big field of something he couldn't see yet.

"Where are we going on our, uh, date?" he asked.

She grinned at him. He could see a mischievous glint in her eyes.

"Oh, no. I'm going to hate it," he sighed.

She laughed and he couldn't help but chuckle along. When they parked the truck, he could finally see what the field was planted with: sunflowers. They walked up to a booth with a sign beside it for a sunflower maze.

"Two tickets, please," Lou said to the peppy old man operating the booth.

"Here you go, miss. Now y'all have fun. And take this whistle if you get lost," the old man said.

"Thanks." She pointed her thumb at Ravi, who was standing beside her, and said to the old man, "We're on a date."

"How sweet. The maze is great for dates, honey. I remember when I was your age and I... well actually, I don't remember much. Anyhow, have fun," the old man said. He gave them a polite wave and then went back to arranging the packets of whistles.

"Why'd you tell him that?" Ravi whispered, embarrassed. He eyed the maze skeptically as he took small steps toward it.

"I've got to make it datey somehow."

"By announcing it to people?"

Lou shrugged and opened up the map she had picked up from the booth.

"Mazes," Ravi said in a tone that made clear his obvious dislike of them. They both stopped in front of the entrance to the maze. "Not my ideal pick for a date. For one, I'm terrified of them."

"I know!" Lou said. "Which is why it's perfect. What better way to get over your fear than to confront it head on?"

"Or we could just not go," Ravi said. He turned on his heels and began to walk away.

"Wait!" Lou ran in front of him and put her hands up for him to stop. "The flowers are so pretty, Ravi. And they only bloom for a certain period of time. We can't miss this. Here, if you get scared, just hold my hand."

He thought for a moment, looking over his shoulder at the maze. The flowers were big and bright and filling his stomach with dread. He sighed and turned back to Lou. "I'm already scared, so I'll already be holding your hand," he said. He took her hand and added, "Let's go before I change my mind and scream in terror."

"Yay!" Lou bounced on her toes and led them into the sunflower maze.

They wandered around the massive, green leaves as yellow petals towered above them. They loosely held hands without their fingers interlocking. Lou noticed that even though Ravi was walking closer to her, he no longer had a look of terror on his face. He had also only jumped slightly this time when a small child ran past, playing and laughing in the maze, as opposed to the way he had yelped ten minutes ago.

"Have you been here before?" Ravi asked Lou.

"Nope. I saw an ad for it when I was out with Jordan last week," Lou replied as she admired the sunflowers.

"That's right. You had a date with Jordan. Did it go well?"

Lou rolled her eyes and said flatly, "No. He's just like so many guys I've gone out with at camp. Ugh, boring and wimpy."

"But Jordan's so... Well, he is sort of dull. However, I can't imagine that he's wimpy."

Lou gave him a look and said, "The guy hid his face in my shoulder for almost two hours. It wasn't even a scary movie! He made me walk him back to his cabin and check for monsters."

Ravi tried to come up with a redeeming response for Jordan but couldn't. He didn't really know the guy, and if Lou hadn't had a good time at the movies with him then there was no point in defending a stranger.

"It looks like your dating streak will continue with me. I'm sure holding my hand inside a sunflower maze to calm my fears falls into the wimpy category," he said.

"Yeah, it does. But you're not boring." She swung their hands gently and asked, "Why are you so afraid of mazes anyway?"

"I got lost in one as a child," Ravi answered.

He paused. Lou shifted her gaze from the flowers to her friend. His eyes looked sad for a moment before he blinked and looked up at the sky.

In a quiet voice, he said, "It was the first year I was adopted. My new grandparents had taken me, Emma, and Luke to a corn maze near their summer home. I got separated from the group."

"That had to be really scary," Lou said in a tone to match his own. She had walked closer to him to make sure he was heard.

"I thought they were abandoning me. That everyone had changed their mind. And didn't want me anymore," he said.

Lou felt like her heart was frowning. She was surprised by the look on Ravi's face. She knew he was a highly emotional person, but the only hint of sadness he had shown was that initial look in his eye before he blinked it away. He looked unfazed now.

"I know now, of course, that my family loves me tremendously. And mazes don't make me sorrowful. But I was also terrified of those looming stalks of corn and was sure, even as a child, that anything without a clear exit was madness."

She felt bad for bringing him to the maze. She squeezed his hand to comfort him but he looked at her confused.

"What's wrong?" he asked.

"Nothing," she said quickly. "Uh, I think the exit's this way."

He nodded and followed her lead. Guilt lingered in her thoughts. She didn't know that he had had a legit reason to hate mazes. She was supposed to be granting his birthday wish, not reminding him of childhood trauma. He was her friend and she wanted his day to be special. She decided that their next destination had to be better than the maze.

*******

Ravi clicked on his seatbelt and looked over at Lou. She tossed the map and the whistle from the maze onto the dashboard. Her keys jingled from all the keychains she had with her truck key.

"I had a wonderful date," Ravi said politely. "Thanks for granting my birthday wish."

"Psh, the dates not over," Lou said. She turned on the car and pulled out of the lot.

"It's not?"

"Oh, no. We're still in full date mode."

"Okay then," Ravi said with a shrug. He propped his elbow on the opened window. "Where to next?" he asked.

"It's a surprise," Lou answered. She hadn't come up with anything, yet. But she figured she could buy time by driving. "We need music," she said.

She turned on her radio. For the next few minutes, they took turns flipping through the stations, but it was non-stop advertisements and news. Finally, Ravi took out his cellphone.

"You brought your phone?" Lou asked.

"Of course. Whenever I leave camp, I bring my phone now. There are way too many types of emergencies we could run into. Plus, Gladys doesn't take them away now."

"You city folk and those phones. I still think it ruins the camp experience."

"But what if we get lost?"

"I've been coming here since I was nine, Ravi. I know my way around."

He didn't respond. He opened a music app on his phone and scrolled for the playlist he wanted.

"Music appropriate for our drive," he announced. "It's a romantic song playlist that I curated."

A love song played from his phone and Lou's face lit up. She exclaimed, "I love that song!"

"Me too," Ravi agreed and nodded enthusiastically. "I'm a sucker for a 'friends to more than friends' theme in the lyrics."

Lou rolled her eyes and grumbled, "I know. You're the one who put all that nonsense in Emma's head last year about me and Xander falling for each other."

Lou turned onto a backroad with a rickety sign indicating the distance to the next town. She picked up speed, so it became windy in the car. They both rolled up their windows some, so they could still hear the music.

"I apologized for that," Ravi said. "And can you really blame me? Best friends make great couples as do people with much in common. Xander and Emma have barely anything in common."

"They're crazy about each other. That's what they have in common," Lou argued. "And I think you're wrong."

"I'm not wrong. Yes, they care about each. Yes, they are a great couple. But, no, they don't have anything in common," Ravi said. He balanced his phone on a cupholder.

"They're both super friendly. Heck, they'd talk trees! Actually, I'm pretty sure I've caught each of them on separate occasions sparking up a conversation to cut the silence with a spruce."

"Xander's a nice guy," Ravi agreed. "Emma's meh."

Lou chuckled. She said, "And neither of them can lie to save their lives. They probably have the most honest relationship in history."

"Fine, fine. You win. They have things in common."

"Thank you," Lou said, beaming from her victory. "Besides, not all friends have things in common. You and I are friends and we have like nothing in common."

Ravi frowned. "You don't think we have anything in common?" he asked.

"No," Lou answered honestly. She spotted a grocery store up ahead and smiled. She knew exactly what was next for their date.

"I've always thought we had much in common," Ravi said.

Lou glanced at him and asked, "Really? Like..."

"We both love animals. We both love kids. We both take our responsibilities seriously. We like the same movies. We like the same music--with the exception of jug bands. Which I'm sorry, but I just can't. We like the same flavor of ice cream..." he counted out on his hand.

Lou parked the car in the lot of the grocery store. She responded, in deep thought, "Huh."

She hadn't really thought about all the things she and Ravi had in common before. There was never a reason to because she had always thought they were so different. But now that he'd listed so many so easily, she realized they really weren't so different.

"Huh," she said again.

Ravi had a confused expression as he searched outside the windshield. He asked, "Part two of our date is a grocery store?"

Lou broke free of her thoughts and said, "No, silly. We're going to have a picnic. I always keep a picnic basket in the back. All we need is food."

"Good," Ravi said as he patted his stomach. "I'm starving. Some scoundrels stole my toast this morning."

"The nerve of some people," Lou said jokingly. She hopped out of the truck and he followed.

*******

They filled the picnic basket with bottled water, fruits, cheese, and prepackaged sandwiches. Lou insisted they get a small birthday cake as well. They got back into the truck and Lou drove for another eight miles. Ravi furrowed his brows when she turned off the road into a forest with no dirt or gravel road. She parked beside a random tree and turned off the car.

"Are you going to murder me on my birthday?" he asked in a joking tone as his eyes searched the forest.

"Get the basket and get out," Lou said. She got out of the truck and reached for a bag she had tossed in the back once they had exited the grocery store.

They walked through the forest, stepping down a gradual slope and over fallen tree trunks. Once they reached their destination, Ravi gasped. Rocky terrain surrounded a gushing waterfall of modest size.

"Wow," he said in awe as if it were several feet taller than it actually was.

"I know, right," Lou said, happy with his reaction. She took the picnic basket from his hand and made her way up a rock adjacent to the waterfall.

He took in the scene of his surroundings: lush trees, the calm pool of water at the base of the waterfall, the jagged rocks. He inhaled a breath of fresh air. His stomach grumbled.

"Time for lunch," Lou shouted from her place on the rock. She waved him over.

Ravi hadn't had breakfast, so he focused most of his attention on a prepackaged sandwich and a mini bag of oranges. Lou mostly ate cheese and complained about how gassy she was going to feel later.

"I have something for you," Lou said in a sing-songy voice. She took a bouquet of wilted flowers out of the bag she had brought.

"Aw, thanks," Ravi said with a smile. "I've never gotten flowers for my birthday."

"No, the flowers are for our date," Lou said. "The date is for your birthday."

"Right," Ravi said as he facepalmed. "I keep forgetting it's a date."

"That's why I bought the flowers at the grocery store while you weren't looking. I thought it'd help make it an official date." Lou leaned over and picked at the dying petals of one of the flowers. "This is a pretty sad bouquet."

Ravi chuckled and said, "It's not their fault. We've literally just seen flowers taller than human beings."

Lou frowned. She fiddled with the ends of her hair and said, "I'm sorry about that, by the way. I didn't know why you were freaked out by mazes."

"It's okay. I never told you, so how would you know," he said good-naturedly. He put down his bouquet and looked over at the waterfall. "This is spectacular, though."

Lou smiled at the view of the waterfall. She said, "A few summers ago, I came to Camp Kikiwaka early and spent days just exploring every part of the forest not connected to the camp. And I found this."

"I suppose this feels datey. I mean, it's a waterfall. Waterfalls are romantic," Ravi said.

"Sure," Lou said in agreement. She hummed one of the songs that had played from Ravi's phone in the truck as she admired the scenery.

Ravi picked up an orange to peel. He said, "You've been on a lot more dates than I have. Which one was the most memorable?"

Lou grimaced and said, "I've had plenty that stunk worse than horse manure. Let's see. We've got Marcus, who threw up on me after a hot-dog-eating contest. Noah, who used me as unpaid labor to build furniture for his business."

"I remember that jerk," Ravi said with a hint of anger in his voice. "Emma should've let Zuri sneak those squirrels into his truck like she wanted."

Lou giggled and it made Ravi smile. He never understood why any guy would take advantage of someone as sweet as Lou. He hadn't thought about dating her, but he always figured anyone who had the chance to date her was lucky.

"When I had said memorable dates, I had actually been looking for happy experiences. But don't worry. I've had some terrible dates as well," Ravi said. "You remember Sasha, whom I broke up with shortly before crashing into a tree after foolishly agreeing to skydiving."

"Yeah, I had to cut you down from the tree," Lou giggled.

He noticed that she looked pretty when she giggled and the thought put a small knot in his stomach.

"Also, there was Renee. She was in my AP English class. She used me to impress her parents and basically be a cover for her hot, bad-boy boyfriend. I, of course, had no idea until I picked her up from her parents' house for what I thought was a date and she asked me to drop her off at her boyfriend's place and pick her up in two hours," Ravi said. "And I actually picked her up too. Nothing could be worse than that."

Lou put her hand on his shoulder and said without looking at him, "When I was fifteen, a guy I was dating, Dustin, kicked me out of his car when it was pouring rain outside just because I wouldn't kiss him. My cellphone was dead and I had to walk home alone."

Ravi's heart sank. Gazing at her, he couldn't imagine how someone could ever be so cruel to someone so sweet and kind. She had a hurt expression on her face and she was staring down at her half-eaten slice of cake. He cleared his orange peels out of the way and wrapped his arms around her shoulders to embrace her in a hug. He felt her arms close around him as she hugged him back.

*******

They had packed up their picnic and headed for the truck after Ravi accidentally sat on his birthday cake. Lou had given him an old sweater that she kept in the truck to tie over his frosted shorts. His romance playlist played as she drove down the road at her slow, steady, summer pace.

"Sorry our date ended with a cake accident," Lou said apologetically as she glanced over at him in the passenger seat.

"It's over? Our date?" He asked.

Lou felt a flutter of excitement from the disappointment that she detected in his voice. She didn't think too much about it.

"You've got frosting all over your tuchus," she said.

"I do," he said with a nod. He sighed and slouched slightly in his seat. He stared out the window and said, "Even when I'm on a date with the one person I can be on a date with and not have to worry about being myself around her, I end up looking like a fool."

She grinned and wiggled her eyebrows. "You said it was a date. Lou, you've done it again. Making wishes come true," she said.

"Yes, you did it," Ravi admitted. "And thanks. I really appreciate it. Even if I ruined it by falling into the delicious cake you purchased me."

Lou searched the outside of the windshield to get an idea of her surroundings. She thought for a moment and then suggested, "There's an outdoor market not far from here. I'm sure they sell shorts."

She watched him sit up from his slouched position. His eyes brightened and made butterflies flutter in her stomach. She returned her attention to the road.

"Do you know this song?" Ravi asked, pointing at his phone as a song played.

"It sounds like something sad that Gladys would listen to in her cabin," Lou replied after listening to some of the lyrics. "Talk about awful dates. I'm sure she's got some stories that make our garbage dates seem better."

"Definitely," Ravi said as he skipped to the next song. "It's wrong, but sometimes I see her creeping on the delivery man and I think to myself 'At least I'm not that desperate.'"

Lou let out a hearty laugh and slapped the top of the steering wheel. She saw the sign for the outdoor market up ahead and continued toward it.

They soon discovered that the outdoor market consisted mostly of produce, handmade jewelry, and knickknacks. Only one vendor had clothing for sale and that clothing was tie-dyed t-shirts and leggings with cat designs all over them.

"Don't say anything," Ravi said sternly once he stepped out of the bathroom in his new cat leggings and tie-dyed t-shirt.

Lou tried to stifle her laugh, but it was difficult. She turned her back to him and said, "You look great!"

"Why'd you turn around?"

"I don't want to lie to your face on our first date," Lou said with a chuckle.

She felt him slide his arm under hers and link their elbows. He said, "Laugh all you want. But people are going to think that you're the crazy one for dating a guy with cats in sunglasses on his pants."

Lou giggled and leaned closer to him. She said, "You're right. I can't have that. Let's go hang out at the truck. It smells like leather and homemade soaps out here."

In the parking lot of the outdoor market, Lou let down the tailgate of her pickup truck and they sat in the back with comfortable silence between them. A group of old ladies were chatting and laughing loudly a few cars down from them. There was a food truck with a barbeque hitch parked in the middle of the parking lot that made everything smell like charred meat.

"Hey, you know when you asked me about any positive experiences?" Lou asked.

Ravi nodded. He was sitting across from her, leaning against a tackle box.

"It wasn't really a date. But do you remember when we caught Big Whiskers your first year at camp?"

"How could I forget! That catfish was massive!"

"I know! I had been after that behemoth for years. And we tried all day to catch him," Lou said, recounting the day. "Finally, after I stopped acting crazy, we did. And instead of stringing him up and feeding the camp for a week, you convinced me to let him go."

"And we lost the competition," Ravi said as he scratched his leg from the itchy cat legging material.

"True. But we had so much fun. And I was so happy that I asked you," Lou said. She hadn't told him or herself that before. It had just been something that had happened. But looking back on it, she realized that was the moment they became friends instead of just two people connected by Zuri and Emma.

"Me too," Ravi smiled at her.

Lou felt her face heat and her heart speed up from his smile. She looked away and watched a kid throwing a tantrum over a balloon floating away as his mom tried jumping to catch it.

"I've got a memory like that, too," he said. "When we helped Griff discover the magic of Christmas by having that big celebration in the mess hall and inviting those kids over for donated presents."

She looked back at him and said, "That was so fun! We made a lot of kids happy."

"We did! And we worked so well together. Figuring out what was going on with him and coordinating the party with the other counselors," Ravi said. "We're a really good team when we're not competing against each other."

"But competing against each other is so much fun," Lou joked. Her eyes widened. Was her tone flirty? She hadn't meant it to sound flirty. Did he think it sounded flirty?

"You normally win, so it can't be much fun for you," he laughed casually.

Lou relaxed. She reprimanded herself for being so weird. It was Ravi. She didn't get weird about Ravi.

"There's a theatre on the way back to camp. Want to see a movie?" she asked as she fidgeted with her necklace. "No good date's complete without a movie."

"I hope it's something cheesy and romantic," he said with enthusiasm. "I could use a good cry."

His comment made Lou feel normal again. She laughed and rolled her eyes as she shuffled out of the back of the truck.

*******

The theater only showed two movies at a time and the next showtime wasn't for another half hour. So, Lou purchased their tickets and ordered a bucket of popcorn, and they sat in the air-conditioned lobby. It was late in the afternoon and oddly the lobby was empty except for a couple sharing nachos by an action-movie poster and the concessions staff.

"So, why do you wish for a date every year?" Lou asked as she munched on buttery popcorn.

"Because girls are pretty and smell nice," he said, taking a handful of popcorn. "And I'd like to spend time with a pretty, nice smelling person. Why do you date?"

Lou thought for a moment. She shrugged, embarrassed by her answer. She mumbled, "I don't know. I kinda want someone to look at me the way Gladys looks at pictures of your dad."

Ravi winced. He tossed some popcorn kernels at her and said, "That's such a disturbing visual."

"You get what I mean," she said seriously. "I want to be someone's... everything."

Ravi felt his heart doing cartwheels again. His hands felt sweaty. He stood up from the bench they were at by the poster of dancing soda.

"I need water," he said loudly.

Lou gave him a strange look. "Okay," she said slowly. She pointed across the lobby. "There's a fountain right there," she said.

He groaned internally at his outburst. As he walked to the fountain, he reprimanded himself for being so weird. It was Lou. Why was he being weird around Lou? He took a sip of water from the fountain. The water was cold and crisp. He sighed and looked back over at his friend. His stomach filled with butterflies.

"When did she get that pretty?" he whispered to himself. She looked up from a poster she was reading and her gaze shifted to him. He turned away quickly, pretending to take another drink of water. "No, no, no," he whispered frustratingly to himself. "Don't you dare. She's your friend. You're friends. This is a pity date."

He took a deep breath and faced her again. She gave him a tiny wave from across the room and he felt time stand still.

"Too late," he said to himself. "I'm a goner."

They were mostly quiet as they waited in the lobby after Ravi returned from the water fountain. Both were lost in their own thoughts about the person beside them. Lou kept asking herself when did Ravi get so cute and how did she miss how much they had in common. Ravi kept asking himself when did Lou get so cute and how did she manage to smell so good when her truck smelled so strange.

"The movie's about to start," Lou said as she stood from the bench. "We should probably get going."

"Right," Ravi replied.

They sat near the front, closer to the screen. Their popcorn bucket had nearly been emptied as they stress snacked in the lobby. Most of the rows were empty. The lights lowered until the room was covered in darkness except for the exit signs.

Ravi leaned over and asked in a whisper, "What's this movie about again?"

"Two friends that fall in love," Lou whispered back.

Ravi wished he hadn't asked. He cleared his throat and leaned away from her. He slouched into the theater seat and tried not to think about how they were sharing an armrest. He watched as on screen the lead characters were introduced. He felt Lou shift beside him. He looked in her direction at the same time she was leaning over to tell him something. Her face stopped mere inches away from his.

"Sorry!"

"Sorry!"

They both scooched as far away from each other as possible in their theater seats, which wasn't very far. Neither paid attention to the first act of the movie. It was like a switch had been flipped on in their brains and all of their friend thoughts turned into more-than-friend thoughts. What didn't feel like a date a few hours ago, for both of them, felt like a date now. When the other wasn't paying attention, one would sneak a glance. Every cheesy line in the movie made them think more about the person beside them. Time dragged on until finally the movie ended and they walked back to the truck several feet apart.

"Cute movie," Lou said as she started the truck.

The sun had lowered in the sky and the air was cooler, so they kept the windows rolled up.

"Yes. Very cute movie," Ravi agreed with his focus out the window. "What was your favorite part?"

"Ugh," Lou said dumbfounded. She could feel his gaze shift over to her. "I give up. I have no idea what that movie was about. I couldn't pay attention."

Ravi let out a breath he had been holding and smiled at her. He said, "Good. Cause I have no idea what happened either."

They both laughed and the awkward spell was broken. Lou glanced at her friend. She thought about all the fun they always have together. Ravi looked over at his friend. He thought about all the laughs they always have together. Internally, they both decided that they didn't want to be uncomfortable with their friend.

"I've really enjoyed our date, Lou," Ravi said sincerely. "Even my new itchy cat leggings have been great."

Lou chuckled and turned on her headlights as the sky turned orange.

"I don't know why any guy lucky enough to date you would ruin it by being a jerk because you're amazing. You totally deserve to be someone's everything," he said.

Lou didn't even try to hide how his words affected her. She let her eyelashes flutter and all her teeth show in her smile and her face and ears heat up.

"How many times did you wish for a date?" She asked. "I'd be interested in making those wishes come true too."

His heart upgraded from cartwheels to backflips. His eyes lit up with joy and excitement. He had so many things that he wanted to say, but all he could manage was, "Happy birthday to me."

"Happy birthday to you," Lou grinned back.