At a quarter to six, Sana was already sitting outside the Parks house. She waited in her car, watching the clock, not wanting to be too early. There was also the possibility that Jihyo would make her talk to her parents or something. Not that she didn't already know them. Between Glee and a couple of study sessions, she'd spoken with them a few times. But she'd never been about to take their daughter out on a date before.

Jihyo had seen Sana pull up from her bedroom window and she grinned. She finished getting ready and then checked her email until Sana came to the door. She was not going to come out unless the blonde knocked.

After waiting in the car for ten minutes, Sana finally stepped out onto the sidewalk and made her way up to the porch. She rang the bell and waited. 

Sana was usually incredibly confident about her appearance, but she suddenly wondered if Jihyo would like her dress and absently reprimanded herself for leaving her hair with the braid on the side, the same way she'd been wearing it earlier that day. She didn't want to be boring.

Jihyo had changed into a strappy red dress with a black sweater over it since it was still cold out. Her hair was down and she wore low black heels. After a moment, she answered the door with a grin. "Hey."

"Hi," Sana replied. She was still a little nervous and not sure why. It was just Jihyo. Then again, it was Jihyo, the girl she'd admittedly liked for a over a year. Longer, if you counted the time she hadn't admitted it to herself. "You look... really good." 

"You look amazing," was Jihyo's honest reply. She looked the blonde over and flushed. "Like, really..." Jihyo hadn't been nervous before, but now she was. "So um, shall we?"

"Yeah." Sana nodded. She held her hand out to Jihyo, which was a little nerve wracking, because they hadn't held hands before. Not in the date kind of way. Actually, probably not in any kind of way outside of any Glee choreography.

Jihyo took her hand easily and moved with her. Holding hands with Sana wasn't the biggest thing ever. Really. Or that's what Jihyo kept telling herself. "I didn't know you liked me."

"I am good at keeping secrets." Sana opened Jihyo's door for her. "I didn't know you liked me... at least enough to get me something for Valentine's Day."

Jihyo smiled and got into the car. "Well, I am good at not giving everything away."

Sana smirked at Jihyo's comment, because it seemed a little contradictory coming out of the brunette's mouth. But she didn't say anything about it. Instead, she got in the car and pulled away from the curb. "So, are you gonna just keep the other person in suspense about how long we've both liked each other?" She figured it was probably better just to come out with it, instead of filling the drive with small talk.

"I think you should be first then." Jihyo said, giving the blonde an expectent look.

"O-okay." She took a breath. "Since last year, for sure. Longer, if I'm really honest with myself."

"Wow." Jihyo turned to look at her. "You were horrible to me, Sana. I mean. I thought you hated me."

"I thought I did, too. I had to. Otherwise I had to admit that I... was... gay or whatever. And I wasn't ready for that." Sana glanced at her, then back at the road. "Obviously, that's changed." Once school started up again in the fall, Sana felt a little more comfortable with herself. "You... might have the girl's soccer team to thank for that."

Jihyo laughed a little. "At least it's not softball. That would be horribly cliche." She gave Sana a small grin. "Well, I'm glad you figured it out. I mean, for yourself if nothing else. It's important to have a sense of identity."

"I really am sorry. For being so awful. Honestly, I'm not even sure why you'd agree to go out with me after that." Sana to the main street downtown.

"Because I liked you. Like you. So, of course I would say yes." Jihyo shrugged. It was simple for her.

"Well..." The blonde was dying to know how long Jihyo had actually felt something, whatever it was, for her.

Jihyo was really enjoying this and tried hard not to grin. "Well what?"

Sana rolled her eyes. "Seriously, Jihyo?" She sighed. "How long have you... liked me?"

"On and off for a while. I liked you a lot in middle school. Then you remembered I existed again and you were mean to me. So, I kinda focused on Jae. He was sweet. Kinda. Anyway, I started liking you again over the summer when we all got together for the Glee meetings."

"I noticed you seemed less Jae-centric when I saw you then." Sana cleared . "I remember, at the first meeting of the summer, you were wearing shorts. Which... I hadn't seen you in before."

"I do own clothes besides skirts, Sana." Jihyo responded with a smirk. "Summers require shorts."

"Well, the skirts are one thing, but those shorts were like... hi, legs." The blonde was making an extra effort to focus on the road. "Anyway, so, summer was when you started thinking about me, huh?"

"Yes, me and my tan legs." Jihyo replied with a smirk. "You really got back into shape. A very nice shape."

"I had to. I wanted to find a sport that would force me to stay active."

"Hence soccer." Jihyo commented. She got out once the car was parked. "You look hot in those little shorts."

"I saw you at a couple games. But you never hung around afterward." They walked toward the entrance.

"Well, that's cause I didn't want you to see my 'Team Sana' shirt." The brunette held the door open for the blonde.

"I think I would have noticed that, even if you didn't run off right as the game ended." Sana told the hostess they were there for their reservation and the woman led them back to a small table.

"Maybe I didn't want the awkward moment of 'Why are you here?' I prefer just being mysterious." Jihyo slid into the booth. "Nice table. Did you ask for this one?"

Sana nodded. "Well, I am trying to impress you. This is a first date, after all." The blonde sat across from her date. "So, why were you there? I mean, other than to ogle me in my shorts and knee socks."

"To support you. Quietly. But to support you." Jihyo shrugged a little.

She was silent for a moment, hiding behind the menu. "I thought about asking you to Homecoming. But... I obviously didn't."

"You should have. I spent Homecoming eating ice cream on my couch. Wow... that sounded pathetic." Jihyo frowned.

"Yeah, well, I was the one who couldn't get up the nerve." Sana set the menu down so she could see Jihyo. "I'm really glad you showed up at the library today. I wasn't sure what was going to happen. And, I kind of felt like a big chicken hiding behind the secret Valentine thing in the first place."

"Are you kidding, there was no way I wasn't going. It's been driving me nuts all week. And I liked it. I felt... special." Jihyo smiled at her.

"You are special," was the immediate reply. Sana looked over at her, a hopeful look on her face.

The brunette melted in her seat a little. "You really think that?"

"I spent all week leaving you presents. And, it took me a while to find all the right songs for that cd." Sana reached across the table for her hand. "So, yeah, I'd say I think you're pretty special."

Jihyo took it and glowed at her. "I listened to it all night. It was amazing."

"So, the big question on everyone's mind at this point is... what are you ordering?" Sana grinned at her.

"Ravioli." Jihyo replied with a smile. "You?"

"Spaghetti. I like to keep it simple." The server came over to take their orders, then removed the menus from the table. "Last year around this time, I was craving all kinds of weird stuff and then one night I just wanted spaghetti and Jackson couldn't believe it," she mused as she absently recalled the memory.

Jihyo nodded at that, not really sure what to say. "He was a good guy to you, right?"

"Yeah. Really good." Sana thought about her life a year ago. "He kept trying to get me to date him, but it never happened, even though I thought about it. I finally told him last August the reason why."

"'Cause you wanted me?" Jihyo said, teasing. "It was really brave of you, to come out to him."

"I wasn't trying to be brave, I was just being honest." Sana reached for her water glass with her free hand. "Plus, he's kind of my best friend or whatever. After going through all that with me, when he didn't have to...."

"Really? You should introduce me sometime." Jihyo replied with a grin. "But that's great, that you have someone."

"He's been a lot better this year, I think." Sana shrugged. "You seem to be having a good year. And, honestly, I think you sound even better than ever."

Jihyo beamed at that. "I've been working even harder. Vocal lessons three times a week, plus Glee."

"What's your plan? I mean, I know success is a big part of it... but after graduation, where do you think you'll go?" The blonde took a piece of bread from the basket the server had dropped off at their table.

"Julliard." Jihyo replied easily. "Julliard is very competitive. I am certaintly one of the best, but I'd be competing with some very strong vocalists." She smiled. "What about you?"

"I just want to get out of here," Sana said. "Even just away would be nice. But I want to go somewhere else, somewhere... bigger. Not sure what I want to really focus on yet, though."

Jihyo smiled. "I can see you going into something neat but fairly useless in the real world. Like English or Philosophy." She gave the other girl's hand a squeeze. "And I mean that nicely."

"I was totally thinking about English, actually." Sana smiled back. "You're lucky, you know, because you have this plan. I swear, trying to figure out what to to with my life has been driving me insane."

"I've had a plan before I even knew what a plan was. I don't even know if I ever had a choice in the matter." Jihyo replied. "And you'll figure it out. You're Minatozaki Sana, the world bends at its knees for you."

"Once upon a time, maybe." She shrugged. "I think it stopped bending once I toppled from the peak of the pyramid. I'm okay with that, though."

"I don't know. You still have more will than anyone else I know." Jihyo smiled at her. "I think you could take it all back if you wanted it."

"It's overrated, being top dog. Still, it's kind of nice getting what you want all the time." The waiter delivered their orders and they slipped into a little small talk while they started eating. "Why'd you pick Jae? To focus on?" Sana was curious and hoped it wasn't too weird of a question.

"Jae is Prince Charming. Attractive, talented, a little dumb. He was never a threat to my own abilities, and would have looked good on my arm." Jihyo answered, then paused. "And he was nice to me, when no one else was."

Sana nodded. "I know what that's like. Having someone who reaches out to you when you have nobody else." Her thumb the back of Jihyo's hand. "I know I technically had a couple people around me at the time, but the fact that you even cared..."

"Of course I cared. Listen, you were a to me. But that didn't mean I hated you. And you were in trouble and that made me sad."

"God, I was awful." Sana didn't want to bring the date down by reminding Jihyo of a time since passed. They'd gotten past it through Glee and over time. She'd even apologized profusely. "I'm sorry I was such a jerk," she put up her hand, because she was sure Jihyo would insist she didn't need to apologize again, "and I'm really glad you're here now. I think you're special and amazing and I'm grateful that you proved to be the bigger person."

"It made me feel better about not having friends, forgiving people." Jihyo said softly. "To always feel like I'm better than them because I forgave them. I don't feel that way anymore."

"You're better than most people, Jihyo. You're sincere and you don't play games." Sana looked up at her. "It's one of the things I've always admired about you. Even when I thought I couldn't stand you. Actually, back then it drove me kind of nuts. But it was because I knew you didn't mess with people like I did."

"I like honesty. I'm not good with lying. Which is why I can't keep an important secret. I just like honesty and upfrontness." Jihyo smiled at her. "It's why I liked you. You were always honest and upfront about hating me."

"Then, I should be honest and say that I really, really hope this date continues to go well." Sana knocked on the table, as if to avoid jinxing things.

Jihyo grinned. "Your chances are good."

They finished eating and the waiter bought over the dessert menu. While Jihyo studied it, Sana said, "Tell me something I don't know about you Jihyo ."

"There's a lot you don't know about me. Firstly that I have wanted a pet cat since I was five but my dad is allergic, so I can't have one. And I compulsively journal."

"Like a real paper journal or a blog? Because I can totally see you lying on your bed, writing about your day with some big obnoxious feathery pen or something." Sana smiled at her. "And the journal probably has stars on the front, right?"

"No it does not." Jihyo paused. "I use regular composition notebooks for them, because I go through them so fast, I need something cheaper."

"You really write that much?" Sana was impressed.

"I have been since I learned how. It relaxes me." Jihyo responded.

Sana nodded. "That's how I feel about this piano." She glanced at the dessert menu. "Did you want to get anything?"

Jihyo chewed her lower lip. "I think I'm kinda full. What else did we have planned? Maybe we can get something after." The brunette offered. "And you're an amazing pianist. I took lessons of course, but it never stuck to me like singing did."

"Well, there's always the option of heckling the community theatre players." Sana blushed a bit at the compliment. "You think I'm that good?" She was proud of her musical abilities, and she knew she was good, but to hear Jihyo confirm it gave her butterflies.

"Oh yeah. You're much better than me. I really like hearing you play. I wish you would more." Jihyo said, smiling at the blonde.

"I usually just play for me. Like, to get everything out, you know? Playing for Glee was the first time I really started doing it with any purpose." Sana shrugged. "We could go ice skating. If you want. It's Friday, the rink's open till ten, I think."

"I like ice skating." Jihyo said with a smile. "Let's do that." When the waitress came back by, she asked for the check and there was that moment of confusion when she asked if it was one check or two.

"One," Sana said to the waitress, then looked at Jihyo. "I asked you out. It's on me."

"Are you sure?" Jihyo asked, trying to be polite.

"I'm always sure." Which wasn't really true, especially at this point in her life. But, still. When the waitress brought the check, the blonde stuffed her money into the small padded folder, then rose from the table. "Skating?" She held out her hand.

Jihyo took it with a grin and followed her out of the restaurant. "Are you any good at ice skating?"

"You don't remember, do you?" Sana let the question sit for a moment while they made their way back to the car. "Winter break? First grade? When that Olympic coach came out to teach a class?"

Jihyo blinked. "And you completely wiped out?" She grinned. "I remember that."

"I did not wipe out!" Sana protested. "Okay, I did. But before that, I was doing really well. The ice was just... slippery."

Jihyo laughed. "It was cute. You skinned your knee. I kissed it better."

Sana actually blushed. "So, you do remember."