Date Night (Belle and Marco)

Belle sat down on a wooden bench outside the entrance to the restaurant. She crossed her legs to stop them from shaking so badly. She was extremely nervous, and it showed. Her feet ached, because she hadn't been able to find her car keys and had then had to walk down to the restaurant. Normally, it wouldn't have bothered her, but because the shoes she was wearing weren't the most comfortable, it had been uncomfortable. But she wasn't complaining, because she got to sit the rest of the night.

The blonde tapped her fingers on the sleeve of her black dress, making a point not to bite her lip as she waited anxiously for Marco. She wasn't sure if she'd ever been this nervous in her life. It was different from the other times she'd spent with Marco, because this was an actual date. And even though she'd spent a lot of time convincing Lana that they were nothing more than friends, she knew it wasn't true. Belle wasn't able to sort out her feelings for Marco, but she knew that she cared for him, and that he was more than a friend. Granted, she didn't know what he felt towards her, but she figured it must've been something if he'd asked her out. Checking her phone, it was still two minutes to six, and they'd agreed to meet at six. Belle glanced around, taking a deep breath and continuing to wait for Marco.

Marco knew he was running late, but his car wouldn't start, and his pants were in the dryer still and he was shouting curse words at the car and kicking it and he had fifteen minutes to get there. It was at this moment that he decided to grab his nicest blue jeans and run, shoes in hand, all the way to the restaurant. He arrived at 6:02, his hair everywhere and his shoes still in hand, and completely out of breath. He collapsed onto the bench, gasping for air and grinning.

After a few minutes of gasping and chocking on nothing, Marco spoke "Car wouldn't start, Pants weren't dry. I'm a disaster. Sorry I left you waiting" He kissed her cheek lightly and stood, offering his arm

Belle continued to anxiously tap her fingers on her wrist, watching as it was two minutes past six and Marco still hadn't shown up. It didn't bother her at all if he was late, but the fear of getting stood up was starting to develop in her mind. Someone sat down next to her and she jumped, taking a second to realize it was Marco. She listened to him explain that his car wouldn't start and his pants were dry, completely out of breath. The blonde opened her mouth to say something, closing it and feeling her face flush as he kissed her on the cheek. "Oh, it's fine!" Belle said, standing up as well and taking his arm.

Marco straightened his jacket and fixed his hair with his free hand before entering Notte Stellata. He gave the waiter his name, He'd made sure to make a nice reservation beforehand, and then bounced on his toes while they cleared the table. "They've got good food here, huh?" he asked, looking at Belle "I like the breadsticks a lot" He wanted to punch himself. He was being a total moron. God he was nervous. He'd been on loads of dates, but he never really... got nervous before. this was new.

Belle pushed her hair back and out of her face as they stepped into the restaurant. She'd never been before, but she'd heard it was supposed to be amazing. The inside of the restaurant was very elegant, looking like it was in Italy. "I've never come here before, but I've heard it's good." Belle responded, pushing her knees together to stop her legs from shaking. The hostess came over to get them once the table had been cleared, and the two walked over to their seats.

"Would you like my jacket?" Marco asked, pulling her chair put, and taking his jacket off, offering it to her "You're shaking...." He put the jacket around her shoulders before she could answer and sat down, smiling at her across the table. "The goal tonight is eat as many breaksticks as possible, although they may be laced with drugs. Worth it. They're addicting"

"I'm fi -" Belle started, but stopped midsentence, because Marco had already slipped the jacket around her shoulders. Even though she wasn't even the least bit cold, she didn't say anything. "Drug laced breadsticks?" She questions, laughing as she sat down. Belle took a sip of her water before adding onto her previous words. "That doesn't sound like my type of food."

"Nah, Belle. You'll LOVE these. Baked fresh, by hand... Amazing" Marco grinned as the basket arrived. He took a long drink of water and watched her carefully, trying to keep his mind moving so He wouldn't remember how fucking nervous he was "You look really nice, by the way" He added at the end, staring at the circle of perspiration his ice water had left on the table

Belle laughed softly, pushing hair out of her face. "I'm trusting you, Marco. If I don't like them, it's all on you." She said with a smile, glancing briefly at the single paged menu in front of her. She felt her face turn pink at his compliment, and she looked down at her knees for a moment. "Thank you, as do you." Belle replied, wringing out her hands underneath the table to try to stop them from shaking.

"I'll be back. I'm not- I gotta wash my hands" Marco stood quickly and rushed to the bathroom, his head down. NOW the nerves were setting in?! NOW?! He shoved the door open and walked to the mirror, breathing in and out trying to regain his cool. It took three minutes and a face full of water, But he was alright. He exited the restroom and walked back to the table, tripping over the foot of his chair before sitting hastly and grinning "Sorry." He said and looked intently at his menue

"I - alright." Belle said, nervously tapping her fingers on the edge of the table as she waited for Marco to return. She scanned over the menu, indecisively looking at everything because everything looked good. It was hard to focus on the food, though, because the fact that she was on a date with Marco Barrett made her extremely nervous and she couldn't possibly think straight. Marco returned from the bathroom, nearly tripping over the leg of his chair as he sat down. "It's fine!" Belle responded, continuing to tap her middle and index fingers on top of her knee nervously.