Will you...

Jake sat on a bench in the courtyard. He thought about many things and Jane was in most of them. I wonder if she'll come... He had asked her to meet him here a few nights ago, and wondered if she would actually come.

So here they were.

She'd taken her time touching up before she headed off to the courtyard. You couldn't rush into these things, you know. With the Winter Formal right around the corner, and Jake's oh-so-subtle arrangement to meet here tonight, it didn't take a genius to figure out which direction things were heading. Still, she'd delayed. Not long enough to be late, but just long enough to keep him on his toes.

Jane found him sitting on a courtyard bench. She walked over with her thumbs hooked into her pockets and sat casually down beside him, staring up at the sky with a smile on her face. "Fancy meeting you here."

"Ya, nice night isn't it?" He said with a smile. She actually came. He wanted to give a sigh of relief, but didn't want to show that he was doubting. "The last week has been crazy, don't ya think" He asked, suddenly getting nervous. Usually he was fine around girls, but Jane was someone he actually cared about, for real. And now that he thought about it, he was scared to death. The student's mechanical leg made one of it's usual robotic noises as he sat there.

She had to think about that one. A crazy week? Well, maybe by either people's standards. A lot had happened, sure, but that wasn't different from any other day. Either way, Jane didn't put much thought into it. "Has it?" she answered, lounging back onto the bench and crossing her legs. "It is a nice night, but I thought I'd get away from this cold when I moved here." North Dakota wasn't much of an improvement over Maine, it turned out.

Idiot. Who asks that? He wanted to punch himself. After she was done talking, he gave a nod. "Hey so, uh, the Winter Formal is coming up..." He felt nervous as hell, choking on his words. "I was wondering if you would like to go with me? As like, a date." He said, glad to get the weight of asking her off his chest.

Ah, but where did all that old confidence go? When she looked at him, all she could think of were Letterman jackets and cigarettes and slicked black hair. Just at a glance, he reminded her every inch of an old-fashioned bad boy. From what she'd heard from here and there, he lived up to the reputation as a smooth talker. Considering their ride down to the festival with another girl, she figured that it had to be true. But he did have his gentle streaks, didn't he? A guy like that wouldn't be so nervous asking a girl out to a dance.

Jane gave a small laugh and glanced over at him. "Sure, why not?" It was delivered with all the smoothness and casual flair that he lacked. "I'd been looking for someone to drag along."

As Jake waited for an answer, he could tell she was thinking about him. Dammit. I bet I look like a lost duckling. Well, better late than never. Time to man up! Jake shook an nervous thoughts away. "Drag along?" He asked, a slight laugh to his voice. The tall student Sat back on the bench, relaxing a bit.

That seemed like it took the edge off a bit. "Sure, drag along. Who goes to a dance all by themselves? Dancing by yourself is only fun in your room, or when you're too drunk to care." There was a teasing edge to her voice. Of course, there was no question of her not going. She had to. 'Jane Grey, like the queen.' That was how she introduced herself every time. It'd almost be an insult if she didn't go and win the crown. Well, she would be a princess in this case, but it was as good as she could get. "So I hope I'm adequate enough, Metalboy. Just remember that the Prince and Princess have to dance together at the end of the night, so you better hope you win too."

Jake smiled at what Jane said. "Of course, my lady" he teased, giving a bow gesture with his hands. "I just hope what I am wearing meets your standards."