Date Night

"Well, how about this one?"

Jade emerged from her closet wearing a sleevless, elegant, but casual black dress that hit a few inches above her knees. Her shoes were black 2.5 inch strappy black heels that showed off her newly pedicured toes. On her bed were two other discarded outfits laying in disarray.

"I think that looks great," Ruby replied with a smile. "But I also thought the other two outfits looked great too."

Jade walked over to her vanity mirror and began to fuss with her freshly washed and curled hair, but Ruby quickly got up from off the bed and stopped her. "Stop it Jade. You look fantastic. You shouldn't be nervous. This is James, not a blind date. You two already know each other and you told me you two have already kissed so there is nothing to be nervous about. You know you like him and you know he likes you."

Jade sighed and nodded, but then looked at Ruby. "But what if it doesn't work out and it screws up our friendship."

Ruby picked up a perfume from a tray on the vanity and handed it to Jade to spritz on. "Nothing is going to happen Jade. You two are supposed to be together."

Jade spritzed on a little of the perfume, being careful not to overdo it and then glanced at the time.

"James is probably already downstairs waiting for me. How do I look?"

Ruby smiled at her friend. "Like I already told you, you look fantastic. Now go."

Jade grabbed her coat and put it on and smiled at her. "Thanks."

She then walked out of her room and headed downstairs to meet James.

He smoothed the front of the maroon shirt chosen for the evening, a little bit of nerves kicking in, knowing that a relationship with a person was changing would do that, but he tried to follow an old bit of advice, using the nerves to not let him feel too complacent. It was true they had a good base friendship, but this was another twist, if it was going to stick he had to treat it like a date, not dinner with a friend.

Lifting a grey jacket off the back to a chair, he swung it round and shrugged into it. One thing he was sure of was his choice of eating places, he enjoyed eating there, and it had the advantage of being unique, something he was confident Jade would like.

He walked out onto the landing and was thankful it was empty, as he went for the stairs, walked past Logan who stopped for a moment shook his head with a smirk and then carried on. He desended the stairs and stood by the door, he was few minutes before they had agreed to meet, but good impressions and all that.

Then she appeared at the top of the stairs, he smiled, watching her walk down the smile broadened. "You look gorgeous." He said simply and sincerely, taking a step towards her and giving a hug. He head that for a few moments, giving her a kiss on the cheek as he pulled back. "Shall we?"

Jade blushed profusely at James’ compliment and smiled at him. She returned his hug and felt her face flush at his kiss. She told herself not to be nervous, but she was. This was a date...with James...her best friend. She knew they would eventually get past the nervousness stage, but she couldn’t help but wonder if James was as nervous as she was.

“I’m glad we’re doing this,” she told him honestly as she got into the car.

"Me too" James replied before closing the doore, the nerves were still there just below the surface, but they were a good thing he reminded himself as he moved around to his own side. As they set off, he moved on to what he considered safer and familiar ground. "So after the excitement of a couple of days ago how's the last few days been for you?"

Jade slipped into the passenger side and allowed James to close the door for her. She was nervous, but also happy. She looked over at James and smiled at him.

"It's been going well. I'm very relieved and happy that we got Kaia to the mansion and she seems to be settling in. She's been keeping mostly to herself, but neither my uncle or I want to push her. She did demonstrate her powers for me today though. It's energy manipulation and creation. So she can create energy blasts, orbs, and shields. It's pretty cool."

"Sounds like it." He agreed with a smile, "I caught up with her in the kitchen the other day, to tell you the truth she had a rabbit in headlights expression when I walked in but we talked a little before she disappeared with a sandwich, I think that the cautious instinct is going to take a while to shift." He added his own little encounter with the young woman they had rescued, for want of a better word, a day or two before. That honest willingness to try and help a person was a quality that he always liked about Jade, it seemed all the more attractive now. "She's got people like you to help, can't get much better help."

Jade smiled and blushed a little at James' compliment. "I couldn't have done it without you James." She was quiet a moment before looking back over at him. "What do you see for yourself at the mansion in the future? I mean, do you want to teach or do something else?"

He considered the question for a moment, to be honest it was quite a big question, but one he had give a little bit of thought to recently. "I guess teaching could be good, I enjoy the little hands on sessions that come up every so often, and I was studying engineering myself, so I've got a good grounding in math or physics." He considered, but their was somthing about his current situation he found appealing, it was hard to explain he thought, but gave it a go, if anyone would understand Jade might. "But I like being the maintenance man around the school, I get to handle the routine and the unexpected, and their especially the satisfaction of seeing a job done, am I making any sense."

Jade smiled as she listened to James speak and she nodded when he asked if he was making any sense. "Yes, you are. I didn't mean to put you on the spot like that. My uncle was talking to me this afternoon about my future at the mansion. He's been working on his will...there is nothing to be worried about, he just wants to be prepared, and he told me he is going to give me the school. I guess that just got me to thinking about the future and I wanted to be sure you were doing what you wanted to do."

"Wow thats quite something, but I guess the school and such are his life's work, makes sense he'd want it in good hands." He replied with a smile, they could still talk about anything it would seem, which was good he felt. "I'm going to be sticking around at the school a while yet, theirs still work to be done it would seem, work that actually means something." After a pause he added somthing he had yet to share with anyone else. "It's funny I went to collage because I thought I was supposed to, because my grades were good enough, I hadn't a clue what I was going to do with that degree. Here it feels like I have more of a use and a purpose

Jade listened to James and then when they came to a stop at a traffic light she reached over and took his hand for a moment and gave it a gentle squeeze as she looked into his eyes. "I would understand if you ever felt like you had to leave, but I hope that you will stay. I...I need you there with me James. You have no idea how much you help me and support me. And everyone else at the school needs you too. The school without you would be a much lonelier place."

"So no pressure." He replied at first with a short if slightly nervey chuckle. Twisting her hand so they were palm to palm he held onto her gently. "You mean a lot to me, too. It's hard to imagine life without you." He added sincerely, as they pulled away and across the junction. A short distance away he pulled the car into a left turn and a short distance down the road a restaurant at a corrner of a building, some outside seating was in use and the place gave of a mederteranian vibe. "Here we are, it's a little Spanish place I found last year sometime. Ill just park round back. You ever had tapas? "

"I didn't mean to put any pressure on you," Jade replied with a smile and a little blush. "But I do mean it when I say that we all like having you there."

A short time later they arrived at the restaurant. Jade's smile widened and she looked over at James. "No, I've never had tapas before, but I have heard about this place and have been wanting to try it."

OOC-Any thoughts on things that maybe could happen now or in the future or additional characters we could bring in?

"It's great, we can get five, six, or more things, they're really tasty." He explained with a grin and a touch of enthusiasm as he parked up, got out, he moved a little quicker round to Jade's side, not that she needed help but it felt like the right thing to do. He pushed the door closed, curling an arm around her shoulders and gave her a squeeze.

After a short wait they were seated, the table for two was next too a large window whose view took in part of the outer seating area, with a stately tree to the right, softly lit with leaves turning to yellow and brown, provided a great atmosphere. "Some good choices here, how about we pick three thing each we like the look of see if they taste okay, 'tis the night for new flavors I feel." He suggested with a smile over the menu as he caught her eye, the hint of the look he saw a few days a go was obvious now and it felt good.

OOC - I reckon itdo be interesting to encounter Dr Doom, sometime soon, maybe a little mad at having Kaia plucked from under his nose, he could know it was them two or maybe just one of them and try sending a goon or two to catch or harm either James or Jade.

Jade smiled warmly at James as he rushed around to her side of the car to open the door and help her out. She knew that he knew it wasn't necessary, but she admired the gesture all the same. As he put an arm around her shoulders she smiled at him and leaned more into his touch as they walked up to the front doors.

They were seat fairly quickly and Jade began to look over the menu with obvious interest and delight at the choices. When James suggested they each pick three to try she nodded and smiled at him.

"That's a great idea. The problem will be choosing only three. Everything looks so wonderful."