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Alrik Rey had never been on a date in his life.

Signing up for the artsy-fartsy Valentine's Event had been a whim of a decision. He'd seen a sign for it on the way home one weekend from school and being the fresh ripe new age of eighteen, he'd decided to take advantage and sign up for the very adult-required date night at the museum. All of his school chums had girlfriends and went on dates - maybe he'd had his nose stuck in his video games for too long to remember to acquire that kind of social life before high school ended? Whatever the reason, Alrik had yet to actually talk to a girl outside of the classroom and now that the Big Day had arrived, he found himself more nervous than he cared to be.

One foot scuffed against the carpet as fingers rose to readjust the tie around his neck for the twentieth time since his arrival. He'd intended on showing up in his favorite t-shirt and jeans, but once his mother caught wind of her baby's first date night, she'd forced him into a nice, crisp dress shirt with his best pair of black slacks. His tie was emerald in color, a stark contrast to the ruby-colored DS that sat safe and secure in his pocket. He'd intended on playing it while he waited for his blind date - a Galla Valeria (how fancy sounding) - but he found it impossible to video game while holding onto the plastic container his mother had also forced him to bring.

Glancing down at the box, he hoped to Gott that his date would be into red roses. Alrik found it personally cheesy, but his mother had insisted that every girl deserved at least a corsage, if not a full-fledged bouquet. Alrik's allowance hadn't allowed for that, so a corsage was the result of nearly an hour's worth of deliberating at the local flower shop.

His other shoe began to shuffle, the teenager turning to look up at the painting he'd been assigned to stand by. Although it boasted being the art of gaming, Alrik had absolutely no idea what sort of game the piece was trying to express. Who came up with this sort of thing, anyways?

He'd just spotted a hidden Triforce in the painting when he heard a soft voice addressing him. The woman drawing near had the most beautiful sapphire colored hair that he'd ever seen - almost like a princess's from a fantasy game. Brown eyes met his turquoise ones before he turned his entire body in her direction, freezing in place.

Was he supposed to bow?

Was he supposed to kiss her hand or something??

Instead, he loosened the figurative knot in his tongue and finally responded, if maybe a little meekly, "Galla?"

Oh shoot, what if he was pronouncing it all wrong?

The hand holding the corsage trembled slightly, the teenager thrusting the container forward in her direction as his eyes fell to the box. "This is for you."

The clear plastic held within it a simple red rose, surrounded by baby's breath flowers and other small, white flowers. The entire set rested on a bed of lace, tied together with elastic to fit over a date's wrist with easy. Alrik was very glad it didn't need pinning like a boutonniere did because he'd struggled enough alone with his tie, much less with the idea of having to pin something on a girl's chest.