I was finishing up brushing my hair while I stood in front of the standing mirror in my bedroom. Today is finally Saturday and I can not wait to see Minseok. We have decided to go bowling and have dinner for our first date. Even with the date just us going bowling and having dinner, I am so nervous. Not to mention that I have not been on a date since high school! Kind of have forgotten what it is like to go on one.

All I can remember is Minseok telling me to just be myself around him. Just like the way I want him to be around me, too. While I was finishing up, my roommate, Clarissa, was sitting on my bed as she watched. It is kind of funny to me since she usually is going out on dates and partying every weekend but tonight, she has no date or party to go to. And she was NOT happy about it. Not happy about it at all.

Clarissa and I really do not get along but there was nothing I could do about it. Even if I tried, we will never see eye to eye on anything. And there is truly no point in trying to either.

To be honest..even if I wanted to leave, I have no other place to go.

“Who goes to a bowling alley on the first date?” Clarissa suddenly asked me. 

“Well as you can see, I do. And I am very excited about it!” I replied. It has been a while since I went bowling with someone or even by myself. And going with Minseok, that made me even extra excited. Still, Clarissa was curious about the man that I am going out with tonight. 

“So..what is this guy like?” Clarissa asked me, being both curious and nosey. I did not look at her as I spoke.

“He is very intelligent, kind, sweet and just a precious human being all around.” I replied. 

“But what does he look like? Is he hot?” Clarissa asked me another question. I hate when people think like that. But I was not going to leave her question unanswered.

“To me, he is quite handsome, yes.” I reluctantly answered her. Like seriously..why do looks even matter when it is the personality of someone who makes them who they are. This time, I looked at her.

“Are the looks of someone really that and only important to you?” I asked her a question this time.

“I mean..would you rather wake up to a fat slob every morning or someone who looks like a supermodel?” Clarissa replied to me with a question. I could not believe what she just asked me. Nor do I believe that there is truly a brain in that hollow head of hers.

“Are you serious? If they have a wonderful personality, their looks do not truly matter to me!” I answered. Honestly, even if Minseok was also chubby, I still would feel the way I do about him, regardless. Clarissa made a disgusted sound. 

“No wonder this is your first date in years, Camilla! You seriously do not have any taste when it comes to men!” Clarissa told me. I took offense to that. She may not know what Minseok looks like but I was not going to show her. I was not going to let her talk horribly about him in any way.

“I do have taste. Mine is just completely different from your superficial self.” I calmly told her. Clarissa still was not having any of it. Nor was I.

“I mean, it is just my opinion. You take it or not. But I am just saying..I do not understand why going for looks is a bad thing. I just find it weird. That’s all.” Clarissa said. I found that funny but did not react to it. Honestly, I was just done at this point. I mean, I was not having any of her bull but nonetheless, I wanted this conversation to be over and done with as well. Plus, Minseok was on his way to the house and will be here soon to pick me up for our date. 

I just really put all of my focus on him and the date. NOT my hugely, ignorant roommate.

“Look, you can think what you want but people are not going to agree with you. Plus, I just beat to a different drum. Both of us do. And right now if you excuse me, I need to finish up so I am ready when Minseok arrives.” I spoke and asked her. Without a word, she got off of my bed and left me alone in my room. When I turned my head to look at the mirror again, I let out a sigh.

“Why do I even bother speaking with her? She will never understand me and my feelings. Yet..I do not have anyone else beside her and Minseok. And at this moment, I would rather just have Minseok in my life than have to deal with her at all.” I said to myself. I do not like being a negative person one bit but Clarissa just brings that out in me when I am around her. That and ignorant people in general. Yet, I am going to be stuck in this hellhole for quite some time so I better get used to it.

Outside of the house, Minseok pulled into the driveway. As he turned off of the car, he took a moment to calm down. Minseok’s nerves have been all over the place since last night. Nerves of excitement and fear. Happy to be going on the date. But have a fear of not wanting to up their first date. Minseok has not been on a date in years either. So for the both of us, it is going to be both nerve-wracking and exciting at the same time.

“I hope everything goes well. I really love Camilla so much and I just want the date to go wonderfully!” Minseok said to himself. Before he got out of the car, he grabbed something that he placed in the backseats of his car. It was a present. As Minseok headed to the front door, his heart was pounding inside of his chest. Yet, Minseok was having doubts when it came to himself.

“Why would she want to go out with anyone like me in the first place? I am such a huge dork and people tend to find me to be weird!” Minseok thought as he walked up the steps to my house. He gave it a knock and stood there as he heard someone coming towards the door. The thing is..it was not me. As the door opened, Minseok made eye contact with my roommate. Minseok gulped.

“He-hello. Does Camilla Baker live here?” Minseok asked Clarissa, feeling a little more nervous than excited right now. It did not take long for her to figure out who he was. 

“You are her date, aren’t you?” Clarissa replied with a question of her own. Minseok nodded.

“I-I am.” Minseok answered back. As I made it downstairs, I saw that Clarissa was talking with her. My mind began to fill with crazy thoughts.

“!” I quickly thought to myself over and over as I quickly made it down the rest of the staircase. As I stepped off of the last step and into the living room, I calmed myself down as much as I could as both Clarissa and Minseok looked at me. He smiled.

“Hi, Minseok! Sorry that I am a tad late. I got caught up in something that I lost track of time for a few.” I said to him, Minseok did not mind it. 

“It is okay! You do not have to rush. By the way, you look beautiful, though..you always do.” Minseok said and complimented me. I blushed. Clarissa was not sure how to feel but I did not care. I was just happy to see Minseok. I gave hima smile

“You look quite handsome yourself.” I said back then walked over and stood in front of him. Before I could say anything, Minseok held out a stuffed animal with a small box of chocolates attached to the front of it.

“I got you a surprise! I know it may not be much but I could not think of what to give you for our first date.” Minseok explained. I was truly surprised..and loved it so much. It was a stuffed animal of a sloth. One of my favorite animals. I even have a picture of it included in a collage for a photo decoration I made for my space at work. It may seem like such a small gift and gesture to Clarissa but for me, it means so much more to me because Minseok got it for me.

And for me, that was enough for me to love it. I gently took it out of his hands and held it in mine. I looked at him, still with a smile on my face.

“It is so sweet and adorable. Just like you.” I told him then leaned down to give him a kiss on the cheek.

“Thank you.” I spoke softly before standing back up.


“You are very welcome.” Minseok said back. Before he decided to leave, I went to put the gift up in my room before heading out the door with him. Clarissa did not say goodbye to either of us nor did I say it back to her. I still had what she told me before Minseok got her still a bit fresh on my mind. When we got into his car, the two of us looked at each other.

“I hope you love the gift. I seriously did not know what to get you. Plus, not going to lie, I am so nervous because it has been years since I have been on a date.” Minseok told me. I understood him.

“I really do love the gift you gave me so much. And do not worry. Just be yourself, Minseok. Because that is why I love you.” I spoke to him. Minseok felt so happy.

“And I love you the way you are, too, Camilla.” Minseok spoke back. That also made my heart happy, too. As we pulled out of the driveway then headed to the bowling alley, I still had a small feeling of worry deep inside of me. I looked at him again as Minseok was driving and had his eyes on the road.

“I am sorry if my roommate gave you a hard time or anything. She can be a bit ignorant.” I said. 

“Well, she did look at me with disgust but I just really don't care what she thinks about me. I am not here for her anyway.” Minseok suddenly moved a piece of my bangs out of my eyes so he could see both of them.

“I am here for you and you only.” Minseok added. I smiled back.

“And I am here for you, too.” I said back to him. As we got comfortable in our seats again, I felt like I needed to explain why I said that to him.

“My roommate is very superficial and quite judgemental a lot of the time about a lot of things. That is why I do not speak a lot about her at work. I know it sounds like I am being mean but I am just speaking the truth.” I explained to him.

“I noticed that you felt a little uncomfortable around her when I was there.” Minseok piped up. I could not deny that.

“I was. She said some stuff before you go there that just does not settle well with me. She basically told me that I was weird and have no taste in men because I go for personality and not looks.” I explained. 

“I do not think it is weird at all to go for personality more than looks. I am the same way.” Minseok said. But I did not want Minseok to feel like he is not handsome, which he truly is very handsome in my eyes.

“By the way, I do think you are truly gorgeous inside and out, Minseok.” I added. 

“I feel the same about you as well, Camilla. You are truly stunning both on the inside and on the outside. Also..people think I am weird. ..Would it be okay if we were weird together?” Minseok also said and asked me, which made me smile again. It also gave me a bit of comfort to know that he felt that way about me like I felt about him as well. After a minute of silence, Minseok and I changed the subject. We ended up talking about videogames and upcoming ones that we are looking forward to.

Just like he is, I am also a bit of a huge nerd, too. That is actually how we got to know each other first. I was reading a gaming magazine in the breakroom during lunch one day and he saw then asked about it. After that, we connected and now..we are going on our first date. Who knew that things like that could make two people fall in love! And I am glad that it happened, too.