On Saturday night, Nolan came to meet me at the movie theater.

"Oh, he's here," Ashley said, breaking off from the conversation we were having about movie snacks.

Excited, I whirled around faster than you could ask 'who'.

There was only one person she could be talking about, anyway.

"Hi," my boyfriend said, looking handsomer than ever in a denim jacket I'd never seen him in.

It was fully open, showing the V-neck cut black T-shirt he had on underneath. It went well with the gray jeans and black sneakers he was wearing. I bit back a smile when I realized he had on the navy-blue snapback cap I'd gotten him.

The ensemble was pretty simple, all things considered, but he looked so, so good.

"Alright, we'll get going now." Derek's voice sounded far away.

My eyes couldn't drink in the sight before me enough. He cleaned up way too nice.

Nolan looked good normally, but I'd never seen him in anything other than a black hoodie and jeans. Well, apart from the time he lent me his hoodie when it rained in the forest, that is, and I barely got to take in the sight because I was too preoccupied with the rain.

"See you tomorrow!" That was Ashley's voice.

"Have fun, guys," I heard Melissa say.

Still focused on Nolan, I gave them an absent wave. "Later."

"Where are you going?" Nolan asked them.

"To the arcade! See ya!"

"What?" he said.

I was still staring at him with my mouth slightly agape. Closing it felt impossible.

"Where's your hoodie?" I managed to voice out.

Nolan shot me a weird look. "It's in my room. Why? Should I have brought it?"

"I-I mean, why aren't you wearing it?"

He just didn't get it! Nolan without his hoodie was like me without my hair. Sure, it was still me, but I would look totally different.

"Because I'm already wearing another jacket?" He gestured at the one currently on him.

"That's not—I mean—you always wear a black hoodie," I said.

"Yeah, but that doesn't mean that I don't have any other clothes," he said, still eyeing me in obvious confusion. "So ... I'm not even going to get a 'hi'?"

"Oh." Warmth enveloped my face. "Sorry. Hi, Nolan."

An uncertain smile crossed his face. "I don't look that bad, right? I thought I looked okay."

"'Okay'? You look hot," I blurted out.

Immediately, my hands flew up to cover the sides of my face.

"No," I moaned, looking towards a nearby promotional poster. "Please tell me I didn't just say that. I didn't, right? Right?"

"Sorry, you did," he said.

I groaned some more at the amusement in his voice. He didn't sound sorry at all.

I turned my gaze back to him with great reluctance. To my surprise, Nolan looked less entertained than he looked pleased. Although I'd seen his face reflect a lot of different positive emotions, it was my first time seeing this expression on him.

It wasn't quite the same as affection, which I regularly saw on his face.

Right now, he just looked happy.

Maybe I did the right thing saying that, but I had a hard time connecting my compliment to his current reaction.

He had to have known that he was good-looking. I mean, there were mirrors in the bathrooms and everything. There was no way he wouldn't have seen his face at least once a day while getting ready for school.

"Don't tease me," I whined.

"What's so bad about giving me a compliment?" He draped an arm over my shoulders. "I always tell you that you're cute."

"I'm embarrassed." Dragging out the last syllable in that final word made me feel the tiniest bit better. "Also, you only tell me that in response to my actions—you're only talking about my personality, so it's different!"

"My bad," he said. "I hadn't realized. Hey, Chelsea?"

"What?" I said, still pouting as I looked up at him.

"You're the most beautiful girl in the world." His tone was soft. "I can barely take my eyes off you sometimes."

I was so done with the heat that kept flaring up in my cheeks.

"Oh. Thank you," I mumbled.

He had never really called me pretty or anything similar before. Actually, he'd just never made any comments about my looks. It probably shouldn't have come as a shock that he thought I was attractive, since I was his girlfriend, but I still hadn't expected him to call me beautiful.

I felt light enough to float off the ground.

"So, you really think I'm hot?"

His question sent me crashing right back to Earth.

I flailed internally, trying to keep a lid on my embarrassment.

"It's not like you don't already know what you look like! And yes. I like looking at you, okay?"

"Hey, I've seen and heard you drool over our English teacher countless times, but this is the first time you've ever said anything about me. Can you blame me for asking?"

I spluttered. "I do not drool over Mr. Jameson!"

"You haven't been doing that since we started going out, I'll give you that," he said. "Which is good, otherwise I'd really get jealous."

There was no denying the delight that flooded through me at his words. "You would?"

"Well, yeah. Would you want me to drool over some other girl?"

The image that conjured up in my mind left my stomach in uncomfortable knots.

"No." I scowled at him.

"You get my point." His hand left my shoulder and started playing with my hair. "You won't have to worry about that, anyway. You're the only girl I'll ever look at."

"Okay." I couldn't stop smiling.

He grinned back and kissed me on the cheek.

"Why did the others go to the arcade?" he asked. "I thought we were going to watch a movie."

"Ah, that ..." I reached up and touched the side of my neck. "I told them I wanted to spend quality time with you, so it's just me and you this evening."

I wanted the first time that we were outside of school to be kind of like a date, so I asked them to give us some space. Melissa and Derek understood, of course, and were happy to oblige.

His smile widened. "Nice. What are we going to watch?"

We joined the line at the ticket counter.

"Is there anything you want to watch?" I asked.

"It's been a while since I've been to a movie theater," he said. "You can choose. I'm not picky."

"Really? There's this comedy that's supposed to be hilarious. I really want to watch it."

"Then let's watch it."

"Great!" I beamed at him.

After we got the tickets, we went to get the snacks.

At the counter, I ordered a large bucket of buttered popcorn and a coke. I didn't bother asking Nolan, since he didn't eat. However, right as the cashier stated the total amount, he passed her the money before I could even get my wallet out.

I stared at his hand.

"Um," I said, finding my voice as he got his change back, "what are you doing?"

"It's my treat," he said.

"Are you sure? I mean, you're not going to be eating it. It's not like we can share."

After I'd made that statement, it was the cashier's turn to stare at me. Hastily, I swept the popcorn bucket up into my arms, grabbed the drink, and strode away from the counter.

I hoped she didn't think that I meant I planned on hogging all the food to myself. I kind of wanted to shout that I wasn't a greedy pig at her.

"I'm sure," Nolan said, when we had gotten a few feet away. "I just want to treat you. Is that okay?"

"I didn't mean to make it sound like—of course, it's okay," I said. "Then, thank you, Nolan."

Likely because we'd been in school all this time, there had never been an opportunity where Nolan could pay for me. This really felt like a date. I couldn't stop smiling.

-------------------------------------------

I laughed for what was probably the hundredth time during this movie. Around me, I could hear others chuckling as well.

Wanting to comment on how ridiculous the situation the protagonist had found himself in was, I turned to Nolan only to find him staring blankly at the screen.

Didn't he think it was funny?

I snatched up a piece of popcorn from the bucket that was sitting on the armrest between us.

I leaned over and whispered in his ear, "Are you bored?"

He whispered back, "No."

His breath tickled my ear, sending a shiver down my spine.

"But you don't find it funny?"

"Not really. I like the story, though."

Good enough, I guess. At least he wasn't bored out of his mind.

I wondered if Nolan was saying that just to please me. I would've felt bad if I ended up picking a movie that he hated watching.

I brought my cold hands up to my mouth to blow on them.

The anticipation of watching a movie alone with Nolan got me spending all morning picking out my outfit. In the end, I had forgotten to bring a jacket out with me.

"Are you cold?" he whispered.

My heart thumped when he took my hands in his. They were warm as usual, bringing me a wonderful reprieve from the freezing cold. After a few seconds of warming them up, he released my hands.

I was a little disappointed, but before I could say anything, Nolan was taking off his jacket.

"Here."

He gestured for me to lean forward, and then he hung it over my shoulders.

In an instant, I was covered in warmth. His heat patches were so handy.

"Thank you, Nolan," I whispered.

"I thought it would warm you up faster."

I put my arms through the sleeves, sighing quietly in contentment. Wearing his jacket as his girlfriend versus as just a friend had a completely different feel to it.

After the movie, it was just about time for us to start heading back to school, so we did.

We walked to the dormitory together, and Nolan stopped when we got to his floor.

"Well, I'll see you tomorrow," he said, brushing my fringe out of my eyes.

"Okay," I said. "Thanks for today, Nolan. I had a really good time."

Wow, now that really sounded like we were just on a date. I didn't think I had stopped smiling since he'd told me he thought I was beautiful.

"Me too. Good night," he said, bending down and kissing me.

I floated up the next flight of stairs.

It was only when I entered my room and started undressing that I realized something: I was still wearing Nolan's denim jacket.

I stared down at it. Why hadn't he asked for it back or said anything? Unlike me, who totally forgot that I was even wearing it, he could clearly see that it was on me the whole time.

I grabbed my phone to text him.

'Hey, I forgot to return your jacket! I'll pass it back to you tomorrow, okay?'

'It's fine, you can keep it. You looked like you really liked it.'

'What?!'

Wait, did he notice the way I kept sniffing at it?

'You seemed to really like the smell. I rarely wear it, anyway. You can pass it back to me when I want to wear it again.'

Another message came in almost instantly.

'Maybe on our next date ;)'

I closed my eyes and tried not to die from the embarrassment that swept through me.

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AN: HAPPY MONDAY! yastmt is at #8 in humor! it's never ranked in romance before until now, too! thank you all SO MUCH for reading! it really brightened my day. have a great week ahead, everyone! love you all .+:｡(ﾉ･ω･)ﾉﾞ