Maybe not such a complete disaster after all

   This was a complete and total disaster. Nothing could possibly be worse than this, other than maybe an apocalypse. 

  Anna was tiring of planning her best friend Eve’s sweet 16, but she had promised to make it special and she wasn’t going to let her down. Looking down at her list of supplies and things she needed to do she scowled, she really needed to start gathering supplies. If she didn’t the party may not even happen. 

  Sighing, she slowly unfurled her aching body, wishing she hadn’t skipped today’s swim practice. Yes, she was a swimmer, and she saw no issue with that. Other than the fact that her body tended to protest if she skipped a practice. Moving as quick as she could she got ready, barely dusting on a slight layer of make-up because, for real, who wore makeup to a store? Though, if she had known who she was going to run into she would have gone all-out. 

  Anna rolled her eyes as she got a notification the moment she reached the store. If her best friend had a superpower it was knowing when someone was going shopping. So, before she walked in she figured she’d quickly check her phone in case it was Eve asking her to pick up something else. “I need you to change the cake from red velvet to ice-cream. *Pleaseeee*, I’ll owe you,” the message read. Somehow, she wasn’t even surprised, so she sent a quick affirmation and headed in. 

   If there was one thing in the world she hated the most, it was shopping. It was truly the worst kind of torture she could think of. However, this needed to be done. Anna looked down at her list and groaned, this would take forever. Picking the first item on her list she started in the direction she needed to go, and ran straight into a person.

  Horrified, Anna started apologizing before she even looked up. “I’m so sorry, I swear I didn’t see you there.” She was cut off by a deep voice, “You’re fine, Anna, I swear, it was my fault. I was looking at my phone”. Hearing a voice she knew all too well she looked up, startled to find it was Luke, her teammate from swim, and also the person she’d had a crush on for ages. “Oh, hi Luke.” Knowing a blush was already creeping up her cheeks, she looked away.

   “Hi, Anna,” he let out a small laugh. “Do you need any help? I couldn’t help but notice your mile long list.” Anna let out a small smile, surprised he offered. “Oh my gosh, that would be amazing, I’m starting to understand why Eve’s parents refused to plan her party for her,” she blurted out. Then cursed herself, could she sound like any more of a fool? 

    To her surprise though, he agreed. Splitting the list in half she handed the smaller part to him and they agreed to meet back at the entrance in an hour. An hour later Anna was completely fed up with the store, checked out, and more than happy to be leaving. Thanking Luke again she turned to leave, but was stopped when a hand rested on her shoulder. 

  Turning around, she gave him a puzzling look. “You forgot to ask me what I wanted in return for my help,” he gave her a small smirk. “Oh! I’m sorry, what do you want for your help?” Anna gave a small frown, wondering where this was going. Which is why what followed couldn’t have surprised her more. Luke looked nervously down at his hands before muttering “Will you go out on a date with me?”

  She stood there in stunned silence for a few moments before letting out a small laugh, which wasn’t awkward at all, and looking at him for a moment. She wasn’t sure if he was serious. “Are you for real?” Okay, so that was even more awkward. “Of course I am, I’ve liked you for a long time Anna, and I haven’t had the guts to ask you. Though I’m starting to question if I should regret asking or not...” his reply got quieter as he talked. “No! Don’t regret it, of course the answer is yes, and I’ve liked you for a long time too.”

  After they spoke for a few moments and decided on a day and time they parted ways with smiles on their faces. Anna, completely joyful and slightly mortified, drove back to her house to start setting things up. The party was on Friday, and she had her date with Luke tomorrow, so that only left her a day to set things up. However, she was starting to regret not asking him for help setting things up. Maybe he would have asked for a kiss as payment... She shut that thought down as quickly as it surfaced and started unloading balloons. 

  The next day Anna was woken up to both her alarm and her phone going off. Groaning, she rolled over and  wished she had thought to silence both devices before bed. That was until she remembered that today was. She had her date with Luke today, and that was all that kept her from throwing the alarm across the room. Yet that didn’t explain her phone sounding like it was going to explode from notifications. 

  Sighing, she picked up her phone and opened it to about 20 messages from Eve. The last one being “WAKE UP! ITS A SWEET 16 EMERGENCY!”, which started to worry her. So she quickly dialed Eve’s number, and was answered with a “YOU NEED A DATE!” Yep, not what she wanted to wake up to. However, the thought did have a certain appeal if it could be Luke...

  Realizing she had been silent for too long she answered “I think I might have one. Please don’t get excited okay.” Eve answered with an ear splitting squeal to rival those of fan girls everywhere. Then, when Anna told her about her date later, abruptly hung up on her. Anna gave a small frown, confused, but kind of glad she wasn’t questioned further.

  That was until Eve showed up at her house an hour later with a skirt and jean jacket in her hand with a smile on her face. Then, she was just concerned. “Eeeeep, I’m going to have so much fun dressing you up for your date later!” Eve squealed and then grabbed her hand and dragged her toward her room. “What? No!” Anna protested, even though she knew it wasn’t going to sway her best friend, who was a fashion girl to the bone. 

  Hours later Eve finally deemed Anna ready for her date. “I think you look beautiful, I don’t know what your talking about.” Anna glances at herself in the mirror and scowled at the frilly white skirt and ripped-in-the-sleeves jacket her friend had forced on her, hating to admit she kind of liked the outfit. Eve had a keen eye for fashion, and she supposed it was coming in handy. She smiled at Eve and replied “I don’t know what I’d do without you, weirdo.” 

  Then the doorbell rang, and Anna froze. She couldn’t help but to be freaking out inside just a bit, but who would blame her? Rushing to the door she barely stopped herself from running into it as she thrust it open. Pretending she wasn’t totally out of breath and grinning like a fool she said “Hi, Luke.” As he smiled back and said his hello, she knew it was going to be a good date. 

  When they reached the small cafe and Luke got out to open her door she smiled at him before saying “Thanks, but you didn’t have to do that.” Like was undeterred however and took her hand to help her out., “You know I did,” he responded. Anna leaned on him a bit as they walked into the cafe, oddly happy about how that little moment turned out. Of course, when they reached the table Luke pulled out her chair and waited for her to sit before taking his own.

  “What do you think you want from the menu,” he asked in a joking tone. Anna laughed a little, answering “Hmmm... coffee, coffee, or coffee?” Considering the cafe only served coffee it was starting to sound like a good idea. Luke let out a small laugh and smiled back at her before heading to get them their coffees. When he came back however he held both the coffees and a rose. At that moment Anna knew she was beginning to fall for this guy, and she wasn’t sure how to feel about that. 

  Later when Luke dropped her off she walked into the house with a large smile on her face only to be stopped dead by a voice she wasn’t sure she would hear again. “Anna, where the hell have you been?” Her hands shaking she slowly turned around, wincing when her suspicions were confirmed. Letting a small frown slip onto her face she said “Hello, dad. It’s nice to see you after such a long time. I could ask you the same thing.”

  Her father looked shocked for only a moment before throwing his hands in the air and stalking off to find his next drink. Anna shivered, wondering why her luck would have it that her father who had been who knows where with who knows who for months came back a day before her best friends party. She slunk back to her room before slumping onto her bed and letting out a sigh. 

  “I’m so sorry Eve, I don’t know what we’re going to do. The party was supposed to be here, but I swear I’ll figure something out.” Anna has called her friend Eve and was now waiting for an answer, simultaneously hoping she would have a location and dreading it at the same time. “It’s okay Anna, you didn’t know your drunk of a father would come back. I know you’ll figure it out. I hope you’re okay, CALL ME LATER!” Anna let out a sigh and rubbed her eyes before calling Luke, needing a distraction. 

  “What’s up Anna? And are we still okay for Eves party? If not I totally understand.” Luke answered the phone with a cheery-and depressing, for her at least-, greeting. Anna let out her millionth sigh for the day and answered him in a small voice, “I don’t know, Luke, my dad just showed up and I don’t know where I would even find a new place for Eves party. I’m so sorry.” She could hear Luke suck in a breath on the other side “I’m sorry, that’s horrible. However, I may have some good news, my parents won’t be back until Tuesday and you could set it up at my house, if that’s okay with you.” 

  So that’s how an hour later Anna and Eve were at Luke’s house setting up streamers and fairy lights. The large shelves lining the living rooms walls made great places to hang things, and the couches were perfect for holding balloons. In the kitchen the stools at the bar were pulled out and Christmas lights were wrapped around the legs, while the table was covered in a spotted table cloth. Steps leading to the pool room were covered in a red carpet, whilst the pool table was temporarily moved to the basement to make a dance floor. 

  Anna and Luke stood back while Eve took the final steps- organizing a playlist to dance to and setting up a disco ball. Luke let out a small laugh at her enthusiasm and Anna elbowed him. “Stop that, you’ll hurt her feelings, I’m sure you were just as excited for yours!” At her comment Luke laughed harder, finally getting out a gasped “Are you forgetting I’m a guy!?” Then Anna broke down laughing as well and Eve just stared at them with a smile. 

  When time came for people to show up they trickled in at first before the house was packed and the music started blaring. Anna smiled at Eve as she grabbed her around the neck in a hug. “You so kept your promise! Now go dance with that hunk of yours,” Eve let out one of her infamous squeals before bounding off to go speak with everyone, which appeared to be the entire school. 

  Anna walked back over to Luke and let out a small smile, “Want to go dance?” Luke nodded at her before dragging her to the dance floor and letting out a huge smile. This time Anna laughed at his enthusiasm and started dancing with him, and when after a few songs he changed the song to a slower one she knew she was lost. For once she didn’t have to think about her father, or her next meet, and everything was perfect when he kissed her softly for the first time. 

So maybe everything wasn’t a complete and total disaster after all.