First Dates

The girl looked at her date nervously, her mis-matched eyes going from him to the nearby window and back again. She seemed to be a mixture of excitement, surprise and worry all at the same time. Flash, who was largely oblivious to these feelings she had, reached forward, offering her a milkshake.

"Here. I got one ready for you before you arrived."

Grateful, Derpy accepted it, smiling back to him.

"Th...thanks."

She took a quick slurp of it, then got back to her prior look of concern. And here, Flash finally noticed.

"Is something wrong?"

Derpy raised a hand to her cheek, scratching it slightly.

"Well...this was kind of a surprise. I didn't really expect you to ask me out like this."

Flash chuckled briefly.

"Hey, why wouldn't I? You're a great girl, Derpy. And we've known each other since we were kids."

Derpy smiled to that, recalling fond memories of their days playing as children.

"Yeah...but I never expected you'd want to be more than friends, Flash."

The boy sighed, giving a quick nod.

"If I'm being honest, it's only recently that I started to think of you that way."

He took on a thoughtful look.

"Whenever something went wrong in my love life, you were always there, ready to help lift me up with a smile or a pat on the shoulder. After a while, I started thinking..."

Slowly, he looked right back to her.

"...maybe I was wrong to look to other girls all this time. Maybe the one I should have been paying attention to...was the one who was always there."

Derpy blushed to that, taking another slurp of her milkshake while desperately trying to avoid looking at her date.

"That...that's really sweet of you. But I was just trying to be nice. I never did it because I thought you'd notice me or anything!"

Flash's smile returned.

"Maybe not...but I did notice you, Derpy."

Calmly, he reached forward, carefully placing his hand upon hers and holding it gently.

"And I'm glad I noticed you."

As expected of a girl like Derpy, this romantic gesture on Flash's part caused her blush to grow even more, to the point where her face was almost entirely red. She struggled to get her head in order, instead just babbling incoherently.

"I...well...er...you see..."

Flash laughed in a good-humoured way, giving her hand a quick pat before releasing it.

"It's okay, Derpy. You don't need to say anything if you don't want to."

The girl looked to him, frowning slightly.

"But I do want to say something. Flash, you..."

She hesitated again, but only for a moment.

"...you've always been nice to me. Even when others made fun of me for...well..."

Raising her hand, she pointed to her eyes.

"...for this. You were there, telling them to leave me alone. I don't think I've ever had a better friend than you."

Her blush returned, but this time it was far less pronounced.

"And...maybe, deep down, I sort of have been hoping that something like this might happen between us."

Flash smiled sweetly to her.

"Well then, I'm glad I could make that happen for you. Sorry it took a while though."

The two shared a laugh, and Derpy, if only a little, felt better than she had been so far. Then, as the two of them enjoyed their quiet moment together, Derpy glanced to the side, seeing a few other teens enter the café. While most didn't really pay them any attention, there were one or two that looked over to them, seeing that Flash was dating Derpy, and actually laughed among each other because of it. Derpy, understandably, seemed upset by this, and Flash, having picked up on that, looked to her with worry.

"What's wrong?"

Derpy sighed.

"It's just...I'm sorry."

Flash took on an expected look of confusion.

"Sorry? What for?"

Holding herself, Derpy gave a shrug of her shoulders.

"I...I know that you're pretty much the eligible guy of Canterlot High. I know in the past you've been out with girls like Sunset Shimmer and Twilight Sparkle."

She grimaced for a few seconds.

"And now, you're...you're dating me."

Again, Flash didn't understand, and so Derpy continued to explain.

"I'm just...sorry. After being with so many other incredible and pretty girls, you're...you're with someone like me now."

Here, Flash finally understood, and he cast a quick glance at the teens who had entered, many of whom now looked away, lest he realise that they'd been looking in their direction. The boy's frown deepened, but then his expression softened shortly afterwards, as he once more looked to his friend and date.

"Derpy...look at me."

Slowly, Derpy did just that, and Flash looked to her with warmth.

"Yes, I've dated some great girls, and I've had fun with both of them."

He smiled.

"But you and I can have fun too. This, what we have right now, it can be just as special as any relationship. We've been close for as long as we can remember, and I can think of no reason why this can't work out."

He again reached forward, taking her hand into his own.

"You may think you're some kind of downgrade...but I assure you, you're anything but."

Derpy was naturally touched by this confession on his part, but even so, she still seemed doubtful, and looked away from him, almost ashamed for some reason.

"But...but...my eyes..."

Flash shook his head slightly.

"Derpy...your eyes have never been an issue for me. They didn't bother me when we were playing together as kids, and they don't bother me now."

With the same gentleness that he'd been holding her hand with, he reached up, placing his fingers under her chin and guiding her face so as to be looking at him again.

"And for what it's worth...you are pretty, Derpy. Don't ever let anyone tell you otherwise."

Derpy was at a complete loss on how to respond to that, and she again struggled to speak.

"I...I...I...I don't know what to say."

Flash smiled.

"Well...let's have a fun date together. I think that's all either of really wanted out of this, right?"

Sighing, Derpy smiled warmly at him, giving a nod.

"Yeah...I'd like that."

Flash nodded.

"Good. Now, you were telling me about a new recipe you wanted to try out at the baking club?"

Derpy's face lit up, and she spoke up with more enthusiasm than before.

"Oh! Right! Yes, I wanted to try this new type of cake I saw on that cooking show a week ago. I think it'll be pretty good."

Flash gave her a thumbs up.

"Neat! Next time we're baking together we can try it out."

Derpy, in a clear display of nervousness, poked the ends of her fingers together.

"And...you'll be okay with that?"

The boy gave a determined nod.

"Derpy, you have never baked something I haven't enjoyed eating. I have total confidence in you here."

His date blushed again, nodding right back at him.

"In that case...I look forward to it."

Flash's smile widened.

"Good. Now..."

He again took her hand.

"...would you say you're enjoying the date so far?"

In complete contrast to the hesitation she'd been feeling so far, Derpy gave a confident smile, raising her own hand and placing it over Flash's.

"Oh yes...I am."