The Blind Date

"Wait, what?" she asked, grabbing a handful of her hair and examining it. Her eyes widened. "Oh, shit... Um, so yeah, I definitely need to get some food in me soon... like, really soon. Let's hurry." Without another word, she suddenly rushed ahead, a newfound sense of urgency quickening her pace.

"Wait up. Rose, are you okay?" I asked, speeding up to try and catch up to her.

"Yes, Matt, I'm fine," she snapped, not bothering to stop. "I just need to eat." We had gone a bit further when she suddenly stopped again and cradled her forehead in her hand. Her face was twisted in another grimace. More color leeched out of her hair as I watched, and when it finally stopped, the wave of white had crawled about halfway to her roots.

"Rose," I said, more calmly than I felt. Confusion and anxiety twisted together in my gut, and I took a few deep breaths to try and settle myself down. "Please tell me what's going on." Rose stared at me, her lips pressed into a frown.

"Fine," she said quietly, letting out a sigh. She pointed out a bench further up ahead by the sidewalk, underneath a streetlight. "You'll find out soon, anyway, but I might as well explain. Let's go sit down." I followed her over to it and we both sat down. She set her purse down and started digging around in it. Eventually, she pulled out a small device and passed it over to me. I took a moment to examine it, turning it over in my hands. It had a glass screen set into one side, and a small black oval in the center of the other. The name 'Rosemary C. Harper' engraved horizontally along the bottom edge. A charge port was situated at the bottom of the device, as well.

"Rosemary, huh? Cute."

"Oh, shush. You start calling me that and I'll have to kill you," she joked, blushing a bit. "You know what that is?"

"Nope," I said, with a shrug. "Looks a bit small to be a phone."

"It's my ID," she said.

"Oh. Fancy," I said, looking down at the oval on the backside of it. "Is this for your fingerprint or something?" Rose nodded.

"Yeah. It's one of the few things that doesn't change about me no matter what I look like," Rose said quietly, drumming her fingers on the armrest of the bench.

"Well, that and your questionable taste in books," I said, grinning.

"Hey! Asshole," she said, chuckling as she punched me lightly on the arm.

"Just trying to lighten the mood a little," I said, holding the ID out to her. "So, what does all this have to do with your hair? What's the deal there?" The question hung heavily in the air between us as Rose took back the device and held it in her hands, staring down at the black screen.

"It's my own fault, really. So, whatever changes I make to myself, I need energy to sustain them. I really should have eaten before I came out, but I...well, I wanted to make sure I looked good for tonight, and I kind of lost track of time. Anyway, changing my hair earlier was evidently a bit too much for my body to handle, so..." she said, letting her sentence die on her lips. She frowned, silent for a moment before continuing. "Anyway, the point is, you can see the result," she said.

"Well, shouldn't your hair just turn red again, then?" I asked, confused. Rose's frown deepened.

"You really don't know much about Pollies, do you?" she asked, glumly. Her eyes shifted color once more, turning a rich chocolate brown before settling back into their normal shade of blue. I was silent for a moment before I shook my head. She was right, obviously, but her words still stung a bit. After a gulf of silence that seemed to stretch on endlessly, she let out a sigh and held the ID up so I could see the screen.

"Sorry. You asked me a question; you deserve the truth. No, my hair isn't red, Matt—" she began bitterly, pausing to place her finger on the back of her ID. The screen flashed with a green pulse and lit up, revealing all of the information you'd find on a normal State-issued driver's license - including a headshot, which immediately drew my eyes. "—not even close." Her voice was small, nearly a whisper, and there was a sadness threaded between each soft syllable that made each word cut right through me. I took a closer look at the photo, my eyes flitting back and forth between the photo on the screen and the woman currently sitting next to me.

My brain didn't know what to make of her words, at first. As I looked at her ID, the face that stared at me from the screen was well past pale; in the photo, Rose's skin looked so bright that it practically glowing. Her hair and eyebrows were also stark white, shining just as radiantly as her skin. At first glance, the photo didn't look much different from any other black and white ID photo, but there was something off about it that I couldn't quite place. Still, I figured there was no way that was actually Rose; I looked back at her for a moment, trying to make sense of what I was seeing on the screen. Part of me hoped she would tell me it was all a joke before she changed her hair back and laughed it off with another dazzling smile; she did nothing of the sort, though. She simply stared at me intently, her lips curled downward into a small frown. A rosy blush had crept into her cheeks, and she was clearly uncomfortable, so I turned my attention back to the photo on the screen.

It wasn't even that Rose looked much different in the photo, per se; I could see the similarities in her features, even where it was clear where she had made some alterations - her lips were thinner, her nose was slightly crooked, and her eyes...her eyes... were the same pools of cloudy blue that were currently trained on me. My heart skipped a beat as the realization dawned on me; the photo wasn't in black and white, but in color. Sure enough, her hair color was listed as WHT on the ID, a detail I had somehow managed to completely overlook. I knew then that the encroaching wave of white currently crawling its way up her hair wouldn't stop, even when it reached her roots. That Rose had been wearing a carefully crafted mask all night, and now that mask had begun to peel away at the edges. That she was probably scared out of her mind at what I would think of her. I thought about everything I liked about her: her kindness, her infectious energy, the way she brimmed with unapologetic confidence. And as all those thoughts mingled together inside me as I stared at the photo of Rose, I felt my heart begin to race and my dick begin to stiffen. As the screen on the ID shut off, and I saw my reflection staring wide-eyed back at me from the dark void, the redness of my cheeks and the hardness of my cock betraying the inexplicable arousal that I was feeling in that moment. My heart continued to hammer in my chest as my head shifted ever so slightly, and I saw Rose, felt the weight of her gaze as her blue eyes bored into my green ones. She was waiting for me to say something.

"You're beautiful," I said, and I meant it. I would have said hot, but I really didn't want to ruin the moment. Rose's cheeks turned an even brighter shade of pink.

"I-I didn't want you to see me," she said, her eyes downcast. "Not like this."

"What's wrong, Rose? You're so pretty. I don't care if you're a little pale." I said.

"A little pale?" she asked, her eyes watery. "It's a bit more than a little pale, Matt." She turned away from me, running a hand through her hair just as it became completely blanched. She put her head in her hands, and I heard a muffled sob escape from her. Her body trembled a bit as she began to weep softly. I hesitantly placed one of my hands on her shoulder, which had since become as pale as her hair. She seemed to relax a little bit at that, and I began to massage her shoulder gently, absentmindedly making small circles with my hand. A couple of minutes later, she grew silent, and I pulled my hand away. She let out a heaving sigh and lifted her head up, though her back was still turned toward me. "I'm sorry."

"You don't need to apologize," I murmured.

"I do, though. It's just... been a long time since I've been on a good date. Things were going so well, and I fucked it all up."

"You didn't fuck anything up, Rose," I said. She was quiet for a moment. "You just need to eat, right?"

"I do, but... I don't know, Matt. I'm...you know...me, right now." she said.

"If we go get some food in you, it won't be an issue, right?" I offered, hoping the night wouldn't end just yet.

"Well...I've been crying. My makeup's ruined," she countered, still facing the other way.

"You think I care about that? Rose, if you really don't want to, that's fine. I don't want to put any pressure on you," I said, softly. "Just... if you really want to go, then at least let me walk you home, so I know you're safe."

You're a really good guy, Matt," she said, her voice soft. She was silent for a bit, and then a small chuckle escaped from her. "You know, when I said 'no pressure' earlier, I think it was more for my benefit than yours...God, I feel like such a mess tonight."

"No way," I said, incredulous. "If anyone's been a mess tonight, it's me."

"I guess we're both messes then, huh?" Rose said, as she finally turned to face me, letting me see her as she truly was. Just like on her ID, she had snow-white hair that cascaded down to her shoulders. Thin white eyebrows hung over her steel-blue eyes. Her eyeliner was ruined by her tears from earlier, leaving little grey tracks that stood out against her ivory skin. What I wasn't expecting, though, was the changes that had occurred to her body. Her tank top hung loosely on her thinner frame, and her bra had sunk down a bit, now too large for her chest, which was less... pronounced. She finally flashed a weak smile, and her white cheeks turned a light shade of pink. "What?" I smiled back, feeling my own cheeks blaze with heat. As we sat there together, alone under the warm glow of the streetlight, I was just happy to see her smiling again. I realized that all I wanted to do in that moment was kiss her.

"I meant what I said before, Rose; you're beautiful. In fact, right now I...I think you look...really fucking hot," I said. Her eyes widened, and she looked taken aback by my words. After a brief moment of deliberation that somehow seemed to last an eternity, her lips curved upward into a deliciously devious grin.

"Oh, yeah?" she asked, her voice husky. "Prove it." I leaned forward, shutting my eyes as my face drifted closer to hers. In an instant our lips met, and we kissed each other ravenously. Our tongues collided, exploring each other's mouths greedily as the outside world fell away, leaving just the two of us alone in that singular moment. It was as if we were trapped in a paradox, with time somehow managing to be both miraculously infinite and hopelessly fleeting in equal measure; by the time we came up for air, I had only two things on my mind: the fact that I wanted to do it all over again, and the unmistakable tightness in my jeans. Rose bit her lip as she pulled away from me, still grinning from ear to ear. My breath caught in my throat when I saw her eyes: her irises were ablaze with color, shimmering brilliantly as they strobed erratically between various colors and shades.

"Your eyes are going crazy right now. They're beautiful," I said, awestruck.

"Yeah, those would be my, erm, bedroom eyes," Rose said, blushing.

"Please tell me your mom doesn't call them that, too," I said, with a smirk.

"Jesus, Matt!" she said, breaking out into a fit of giggles. "Way to ruin the moment." After she finally stopped laughing, she spoke up again. "Alright, I'm seriously fucking starving."

"Did you want to go get some cookies, then?" I asked, standing up.

"Yeah, I think I do. Let's go," she said, grinning. We walked the streets together under the hazy glow of the moon, the cloudless night sky revealing a scattered sprinkling of stars suspended in the darkness overhead as we made our way once more toward the bakery. The night was warm, but the occasional breeze drifted through the night, making me shiver. Rose hummed softly as she walked beside me, her hands hanging listlessly at her sides. My left hand was so close to her right one, and I felt an overwhelming desire to reach for her hand. Tentatively, I inched mine closer to hers, but soon as our fingertips brushed together, I suddenly chickened out and took a little half-step away from her. Rose looked over at me. "Did you want to hold my hand?"

"Y-yeah," I said, blushing. She smiled and gently clasped my hand, weaving her fingers through mine. Butterflies danced in the pit of my stomach, and I felt giddy and nervous at the same time. I looked over to find that Rose was beaming as her eyes flashed a vibrant green.

"Well, this is mine now," she said, giving my hand a squeeze. "At least till we get to Night Owl. Then I'm gonna need mine back."

"I think I can live with that," I said, smiling. We weren't too far from our destination, anyway, but I would have gladly held her hand all night. We continued to walk, turning onto the street where the shop stood, but there was a little bit to go yet.

"Hey, I was thinking... After we get something to eat, did you maybe want to...come back to my place? Maybe we could...pick up where we left off earlier?" Rose asked hopefully, her cheeks blazing as she finished the sentence. She was nibbling on her lip, and her eyes were doing that kaleidoscopic strobing thing, making my dick rise again. My brain went into overdrive trying to decide if it was a good idea. Of course I wanted to. I wanted nothing more in that moment, but I couldn't get the words out, and I knew exactly why. My mind had drifted back to my breakup with my ex, and any confidence I thought I had vanished along with my erection. "Matt?" The sound of Rose's voice suddenly snapped me out of my mental turmoil, pulling me back to reality.

"I... want to..." I started to say, but I couldn't bring myself to say anything more. The sentence just hung there, filling up the space between us as the seconds marched on.

"Do-do you...not want to...?" Rose asked hesitantly.

"No, I do!" I blurted out. "I do, I just..." Fuck, I hated this. I knew I needed to say something, but I couldn't bring myself to tell her what was actually bothering me. I looked over at Rose. She looked hurt. "I'm...just feeling pretty tired," I choked out through the catch in my throat, hoping she wouldn't question it. Rose studied me for a bit, staying silent. I felt my hands start to sweat as she scrutinized me, her blue eyes boring into mine.

"Oh," she said, finally. "Okay, then... that's, um...okay." The disappointment was clear in her voice. My hand started to grow hot and uncomfortable within hers. I started to try and wriggle it free, and Rose mercifully let it go. Her hand hung limply in the air for a moment before she dropped it to her side again.

"Sorry," I said quietly, silently praying that she understood how much I meant it.

We walked the rest of the way to Night Owl in silence, and after a mercifully short walk, we arrived at the store. It looked pretty empty inside, from what I could see. None of the tables set up in front of the large bay window were occupied. The door made a soft chime as I held it open for her, and she walked in, flashing a weak smile as she passed by me. I followed in after her and let the door shut behind me.

Immediately I was enveloped by the sweet scent of freshly baked cookies. My mouth watered and, almost as if on cue, my stomach growled. It smelled so good that it almost made me forget about how awkward things had just gotten between us... almost. Sure enough, no one else was in the store at the moment. Behind the counter, a bored-looking clerk scrolled through his phone, one ear bud stuck in his ear. He looked up at us as we stepped up to the counter, and his eyes widened for just a moment when he saw Rose. His phone slipped out of his hand, hitting the counter with a loud thud. I looked over at Rose; her lips were pressed in a slight frown.

"H-hey guys. Um, what can I get for you?" he asked. Rose turned to me.

"How hungry are you?"

"I could eat a couple. Maybe three, at the most," I said.

"What kind?"

"Um, just chocolate chip is fine with me." I said, shrugging. I started to pull out my wallet, but Rose stopped me.

"Don't. I've got this," she said. I opened my mouth to protest, but she shook her head, then turned back to the clerk. "We'll take a dozen. Six chocolate chip, three double chocolate, and...three peanut butter." The clerk's mouth hung open stupidly as he looked between the two of us, his gaze resting on Rose for just a bit longer before he started ringing up the order. The seconds seemed to drag on forever as Rose fished her wallet from her purse and got her card ready. When the order was done, she shoved the card into the reader and finished paying.

"Um, we'll get that ready for you...two. I'll call your number when it's ready." The clerk said, handing Rose her receipt before stepping over into the kitchen, where another employee was pulling a fresh batch of cookies out of the oven. Rose let out a sigh and made her way to one of the tables set up in the back corner of the building by the restrooms. Rose put her purse on the floor between us and we both took a seat. Neither of us said anything for a bit, the silence growing uncomfortably long until Rose finally spoke up.

"Look, if I made you uncomfortable with my question earlier, I'm sorry. I just thought that...," she let her sentence die on her lips as her mouth curled downward into a frown. "Did I misread the situation?"

"No! Not at all, Rose. It's nothing you did. I just..." I opened my mouth to speak, but I stopped myself as I considered my next words. She deserved to know what was going on, that much was true. I didn't want Rose to think any of this was her fault. I took a moment to compose myself before continuing. "Look, honestly, I'm just... nervous, that's all. Like I said before, I haven't done this in a while," I said. I looked up at Rose. Her frown had lessened a bit as she stared at me silently, waiting for me to continue. "My last relationship...didn't end well. I'll spare you the details, but long story short, my ex left my self-esteem in a pretty bad place, and...Anyway, about your question from earlier, the answer is yes. I've had a great time tonight, and I don't want it to end just yet." Rose finally smiled a bit at that. "But when you asked me earlier, all I could think about was... well, the point is, I just don't want to disappoint you, Rose."

"You should have just been straight with me, Matt," Rose said matter-of-factly.

"Yeah, I...should have," I said. "I'm sorry."

"First of all, everyone's got baggage, Matt...including me." Her voice dropped to a hushed whisper as she leaned in a bit closer. "And as far as... disappointing me goes... well, if our little make-out session earlier is anything to go by, I really don't think you need to worry," She flashed a mischievous grin and winked at me, conjuring up an all-too-familiar tightness in my jeans. Suddenly, as if on cue, the clerk called out our number. Rose and I stared at each other for a moment.

"Could you go get it?" I whispered. "I'm a little, um...you know," I said, subtly pointing down at my pants. Rose rolled her eyes but smiled all the same as she went off to grab our order. She came back with the box in hand, plus a couple paper plates and a bunch of napkins. set the box and the stack of napkins down on the table between us, then passed me a plate before taking her seat across from me once more. Once she was settled in, she wasted no time wrenching the lid off the box and grabbing a couple cookies. She grimaced as she pulled them out of the box, and sort of half-dropped-half-threw them onto her plate, wincing at the molten chocolate staining her pale fingers.