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Vinny wrote down the address quickly, before voicing his disbelief. "You live in a castle?" He was instantly envious. Being a child of greed, and knowing the stories about castles that his mother had told him, he had quickly thought 'treasure'. He decided to ask questions about it later, since it might have appeared rude to ask over the phone.

"Okay, I'll see you in a few minutes. Bye!" He hung up the phone carefully, before racing over to his mother. He quickly explained that he had a date with a girl, and that he needed a ride to her house.

Thali was quite happy to give him a ride. She was positively beaming. Uh-oh.

Now in the car, Vincent was decidedly nervous. Did he look nice enough? His siblings had assured him that he did. Would Ebony like him? Josh had pointed out that Ebony had seemed to like him while she babysat them. Once or twice his grip on the rose he was holding got so tight that he crumpled a leaf. "Poor thing," Thali said conversationally. "With your nerves, it'll be dead by the time we get there." She wasn't wrong, though Vinny seemed to calm down after that.

After what seemed like forever to the preteen, his mother pulled over. He unbuckled his seatbelt with a shakey hand, and got out of the car. His face was a pnk color, which was spreading to the very edges of his scales.

Vincent blushed, and handed her the rose. "Some of the leaves are crumpled, but it's still pretty," he felt the need to explain the crushed leaves where he'd been clutching the plant. "Water would be nice, thank--" his voice went an octave higher, and he frowned. He cleared his throat, blushing again. "Thank you."

He looked back at his mother and waved, before turning back to Ebony. "Do you like the flower?" He was really trying hard not to sound stupid. And the sad thing? He didn't think it was working.

"It's been like this for a week," Vincent complained. He hated how his voice sounded, too. It made him even more self-concious. "Mom says it'll be better soon." He hoped it would be, anyway. Sometimes it was normal, and he thought it was fine, but the next moment he was sounding like Mickey Mouse again. Frusterating. He sat down gratefully, glancing around.

It wasn't exactly what he'd expected when he'd heard the word 'castle', but it was nice. "Thank you," he said, taking the water from Bailey and taking a swallow. Surprisingly, it did seem to help his nerves. Why hadn't he thought of drinking something before? "Yeah, I'm Vinny. Nice to meet you, Bailey," he said, offering the older boy--man-- a smile. He gave a sigh of relief. "Do you know how to make your voice stop changing?" He asked hopefully.

Vincent looked disappointed for a moment, he'd been hoping to make it stop during the date. He took another swallow of water. "I'll try that," he promised, before another question came to mind. Here was a guy who'd probably been on more dates than Vinny had (but what teenager hadn't been?), and probably knew more about this dating thing, anyway. He leaned closer to the older boy, as if to make sure Ebony didn't hear him. "Hey, Bailey? Uh. What exactly do you do on dates?"

Of course, he didn't bother to tell Bailey that his older brother had pushed him into this in the first place.

Vinny's eyes widened. He couldn't believe it. So there were people older than he was that hadn't gone on a date! Joshua had lied to him. He silently decided to set his brother straight when he got home. "Oh, I've hung out with girls before, too." He silently thought of 'Zuba. "So it's like hanging out... Only not?"

Confusing concept. "Okay, that makes me feel better. If it's just like hanging out, I don't have to worry so much." He gave the older boy a grateful smile, before finishing off his water. He was feeling decidedly more confident.

Vincent nodded, looking to Ebony. "Sure," he said, trying his best to control his voice. He smiled and stood up. "Thank you for the water, Ebony, it really helped." He went by her side. "Um, so we're going to the movies first, right? Or lunch?"

He hoped there was a good movie playing.

"I hope so too," Vinny said, giving Ebby a smile. At least he hadn't squeaked that time, and he was starting to feel more comfortable. "You know, I think my parents need to hear that rule," he muttered. "Mom's always buying candy at the movie theaters..." He secretly thought that if she could waste so much money on candy, she could raise his allowence as well. "I think your brother wants to go now, though..."

He followed Bailey out obediently. "So," he paused, and looked from Ebby to Bailey. "Um. Where do you want to go to lunch?"