What a whirlwind! Tom had gone from slightly morose that he hadn't somehow met the person of his dreams and instantly fallen in love at speed dating, to intrigued that Ella had a computer that could Potato Head a picture of Hal together. It was silly, but he liked the idea of getting to see him now and then, even just a picture from his memory.
And then nerves. She asked him for drinks. That was a date, yeah? It sounded like a date. Tom luckily only had one day to get properly nervous about it. He combed his hair carefully and went out and found a flower because that's what you did. It was a desert rose, pink and white, and he kept it carefully in a cup of water until he left home and headed to the station to pick Ella up.
He was aflutter. He'd never been on dates back where he was from, and even though he tried as well as he could it had been a bit lonely here. He loved his friends; Dob was great and Prudence was his pack but none of that was romantic.
Tom just wanted romantic.
He wasn't entirely sure of where to go, asking where he could find Ella once he'd reached the station and making his way there, peeking in shyly around the corner. He wished it was closer to the full moon. Always gave him a little more daring when it was.