The end is upon us. And by us I mean me.

Three o’clock rolls around. I should be ecstatic to end my shift, but there are only nerves. Today, Matt and I are hanging out. This should be no big deal, but it is. It definitely is. Especially when my nerves are amplified by a million and one when stepping out of the shop to discover Matt is already waiting.

Ah, it’s a pictorial.

Matt’s leaning against his car like every chic MC from the movies. His black shirt has sleeves that are a tad too long, reaching to the knuckles of his hands. Those that walk by tend to give a second glance, either in shock of who he is or giggling over the fact. My stomach twists into a knot because, damn it, stop treating this like a photoshoot!

When he raises his gaze and spots me, the dumb ass lingering in the doorway, he smiles.

“Dana, ready to go?” he asks, slipping his phone into his pocket. He opens the passenger door. My gaze switches from left to right, observing those on the sidewalk. Thankfully, it’s rather empty. Most are in class or have already gone home.

“I-I can walk,” I suggest again, but still waddle my way over to the car. I smell like the backroom of Subway, which isn’t pleasant. Matt makes no mention of it.

“Get in,” he says, acting as if I never made a suggestion. There’s really no point arguing either when he’s already here so I slide in. My cheeks are on fire when he closes the door behind me.

He’s been in too many drama’s. Who even does that anymore?!

The ride is silent. I’d call it awkward, but Matt appears alright. If anything, I’d say he’s a little giddy. His fingers tap against the wheel. When he happens to catch my weird staring, he smirks. That’s dangerous. He shouldn’t be allowed to do that. It’s against the rules. I don’t know who made the rules, but they’re there for a reason and that reason is to keep my heart from exploding.

“Do you want to come up?” I ask when Matt parks at the dorms. “I need to get a shower. Um, Tori has class so--”

So what? Why does it matter if he isn’t there? I don’t know and suddenly I regret asking. It’d be better if he stays here, but it’s too late to take that back.

“Ok.” Matt steps out of the car without another word.

This is very bad.

We walk side by side to the front doors of the dorm. He has to sign in under my name before taking the elevator. He’s peering about the halls. I’m going to assume he’s never been in the dorms, which aren’t all that grand. I guess I was eager when coming here for the first time too though. I end up fumbling with the keys since the door won’t unlock until I realize we’re at the wrong room.

“Oops.” I nervously laugh, going one more door down and swinging the door open easily. There’s shoes in the entryway so I kick them out of the way. “Ah, sorry for the mess.”

“It’s fine,” Matt says, following behind me. He kicks his shoes off. There’s really nothing much in here other than our beds, two small desks, two dressers and a TV stand. I gesture for Matt to take a seat wherever he wants, which ends up being the desk chair.

“I-I won’t be long,” I mutter, swiftly grabbing the clothes I laid out earlier. He already has the TV on so at least he won’t be sitting in silence while I get ready.

“What are you doing, Dana?” I whisper once in the bathroom. The shower water is running. I check the temperature with the tip of my fingers, hissing from the heat. “Stop being weird. Stop, stop.” I pat my cheeks a few times with a determined huff.

That determination fades the moment I’ve changed and following Matt back downstairs to the car.

“Is there anywhere you want to go?” Matt asks on the way down. His question stumps me long enough for him to realize I don’t get why he asked. He snickers. “It’s too early for dinner.”

“Ah, right...right.” We’re spending the whole afternoon together…“Uh, I’m fine w-with whatever.”

“How are your golfing skills?”

I choke on my immediate laughter, which is answer enough.

“Not good?” Matt asks around a smile that I can’t look at for more than a second without bursting into flames so I turn away.

“Any kind of sport, I’m terrible at.”

“Good, it’ll be a fair game then.” Matt steps out of the elevator with me running to catch up with his long strides.

“Are we going mini golfing then?”

“If you’re ok with that.”

Matt swings the car door open while I round the car. Nodding, I answer, “Yeah, I haven’t done that since I was a kid. I didn’t even know there was a course nearby.”

“Neither did I,” he says when slipping into the car. It isn’t until I’m in the passenger seat and we’re pulling out of the lot that something clicks in my head.

He didn’t know there was a course nearby? But if he brought it up then that means he had to research it…

Nope, don’t think about it! If you think about it you’re going to get your hopes up, or something. I don’t know, but no over-analyzing! Get it together, Dana! I’d smack myself in the face again, but I rather not frighten Matt so there’s none of that.

I’m thinking about how badly I’ll lose at mini golf when Matt’s phone rings. The caller ID pops up on the dash Michelle.

Who’s that?

I don’t get to ask though. Matt clicks a button on the steering wheel and the call is cut off. He’s about to say something when there’s another ring. The dash lights up once more, this time the caller ID says Marcy.

“That’s cheating,” he whispers then gives an apologetic smile. “You mind if I take this?”

“Huh? O-Of course not, go ahead.” Although I admit I’m a little taken aback he is letting me listen into the conversation.

The moment he answers, a young girl squeaks, “Mattie, where are you?”

I bite my lip to stave off a smile at the nickname.

“I’m going out with--” he hesitates. “A friend.”

I refuse to admit that I’m a little disappointed.

“You’re not coming to the apartment?” she asks. There’s voices in the background. “Mm, we came over to visit.”

“Huh?” Matt’s brow furrows. “Are you already there?”

“Yep! Mandy’s eating all your gummy worms.”

“Tattle tail!” another girl shrieks in the background while Marcy giggles.

“Why didn’t you call before you came over?” Matt grumbles. I catch him glancing at me, but he quickly focuses back on the road. “I have plans.”

I point to the dashboard when mouthing, “Your sisters?”

Matt nods so I quickly whisper, “We can go another time.”

“Just bring your friend over then,” a new girl’s voice chimes in. I faintly hear Marcy whining in the background about having her phone taken. “You never let us meet your friends anyways.”

“That’s because he doesn’t have any!” shouts Mandy, at least I think it is based on her voice.

“I’m not forcing anyone over to put up with you three,” says Matt, but the words are out of my mouth before I can stop them.

“I’m fine with that,” I say, resulting in both of us going wide-eyed.

“Oh, is that your friend?” the oldest sister laughs. “Hi, I’m Michelle! Have Matt bring you to the apartment. We’ll order some food, what do you want?”

All M’s; Matt, Michelle, Mandy and Marcy. Wow!

“Uh…” I look to Matt for guidance. If he really doesn’t want me to tag along then I understand. This is his family and maybe he doesn’t want me around them. However, all he does is give a shrug to tell me it’s up to me.

Maybe this isn’t a good idea though. Meeting his sisters, that’s delving further into Matt’s life, more so than most it seems. But there’s denying that I actually would like to go. What does his apartment look like? Is it filled with movie posters and odd movie related memorabilia? What is his family like? I want to know more even when I know that I shouldn’t.

“Pizza?” I end up suggesting since I can’t think of anything else.

“Pizza it is,” says Michelle. “Oh, and Matt.”

“What?”

“Clean your room. It’s disgusting.”

“You’re one to talk.” Matt snorts then bristles. “And stay out of my room!” He swiftly cuts off the call just in time for me to double over with laughter. Tears build while Matt asks, “What’s so funny?”

“I’ve been on the receiving end of that!” I holler, thinking of all the times I snuck into Brigette’s room purely to piss her off. Oh good times, good times.

Matt waits until I’ve calmed down enough to breathe again before he asks, “Are you really ok with coming over?”

“Are you?” I return the question, peering over at him. He’s focused on the road, but he gives a brief glance from the corner of his eye. “They said you don’t really bring friends over, so if you don’t want me to come along-”

“I do,” he interrupts with a clear of his throat. “But...we had plans.”

“We can try this another time?” I suggest only to realize that by doing so I’ve promised to spend another day with Matt. There’s no taking that back though.

He smirks when saying, “Ok, another time then.”

Dana, why do you do this to yourself?