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Dexter checked his watch nervously, pacing around the foyer of Poison-Applebees. He’d told Raven to get there at eight, and it was only seven thirty, but he was still worried. What if she’d gotten hurt trying to put on her shoes and tripped down a flight of stairs? She could have been trying to sew up a stitch in her dress and pricked her finger. Any number of terrible things could be happening to her right now!
But odds were that she was just fine. Dexter took in a shaky breath. They hadn’t been dating for very long, so he was always nervous about her. But he had a tendency to over-worry. And get to their dates extremely early. He just liked to be prepared, though. Like, what if it was too crowded and he needed to find a different restaurant? Or the building could have burned down right before their date because of a rogue dragon. Or any number of terrible things!
Anxiously, Dexter loosened his blue tie. He’d wanted to dress up nice for the evening, and he’d found this white and blue suit in the back of his wardrobe. But now, it felt like it was suffocating him. Maybe he ought to go check on Raven. Make sure she was doing alright. That was a thing that boyfriends did, right? Walked their girlfriends to their dates. Oh, he just wasn’t very good at any of this!
Hovering on the verge of absolute panic, Dexter felt his heart leap as he turned and noticed that another man had walked into the restaurant. A man with shiny blond hair and glittering teeth. Daring.
“Daring!” Dexter squeaked, scittering over to him. “What are you doing here?” He took a moment to look his brother up and down, and his heart squeezed up. What the spell? Daring was wearing a white suit with a blue tie. Dexter looked down at his own body. Compared to Daring, he looked like an awkward stick in his suit! Daring was making him look awful!
“Dexter! My bro!” Daring grinned flashily and grabbed Dexter in a choking hug. “You look…” Daring finally took in Dexter’s appearance, and his eyes widened. “Oh no. No, no, no. We’re in the same suit.”
“Well, since I was here first, maybe you should go change.” Dexter pushed at his brother’s shoulder, trying to herd him out of the restaurant before he paused. “And wait, why are you here anyway?”
Daring laughed charmingly, flashing his brother another knockout smile. “Well, little bro, I have a date. With Lizzie Hearts.” He put extra stress on the future queen’s name, as if Dexter should be impressed.
“I have a date too. With Raven.” Dexter gave his brother another shove. “And I was here first. She’s getting here at eight.”
“That’s funny, because that’s when Lizzie is getting here. And if either of us is changing, it should be you.” Daring gave his brother another searching look. “You know that suit is too big for you, right?”
Even more self-conscious, Dexter let go of Daring’s arm to tug up his jacket’s sleeves. “It fits me fine. I just don’t want to embarrass Raven by having you here. Can’t you go somewhere else?”
“No can do.” Daring patted Dexter’s head dismissively. “I have a reservation.”
Dexter groaned, hanging his head. It was useless. He was no match for Daring’s charm and appeal. Raven was going to take one look at the two of them and decide that Dexter was no match for his more charming brother.
“What are you two doing here?” A new voice suddenly spoke up behind them, and the two brothers whirled around in sync to see… Darling. She huffed and bounced a curled ringlet of silver hair, her white and blue suit making her look completely dashing. “You can’t be here. I have a date tonight with Apple.”
“D-darling,” Dexter stammered. “Actually, you and Daring both need to go, because Raven’s coming here at eight-”
“And are you both seriously wearing my same suit?” Darling tightened her blue tie, somehow making the outfit look that much more dazzling. “You need to change. We can’t all show up in the same suit!”
“I think that out of all of us,” Daring interjected confidently, “the suit looks the best on me. So if anyone needs to change…”
“But,” Dexter stuttered, “we can’t all be eating at the same restaurant either! And I got here first!”
“I made my reservation a whole day ago,” Daring said with a grin.
Darling rolled her eyes. “I’ve had a reservation here for weeks.”
“And I, uhh, made mine a few months ago.” Dexter smiled nervously. “I know that Raven was really looking forward to this.”
“And so was Lizzie!” Daring sighed dramatically. “This is one of our first dates, Dexter, and I want to impress her. And Poison-Applebees is the perfect place at which to do that!”
“Look,” Darling grabbed the boys and pulled them in close to her. “The girls are going to be coming any minute now, so we need to figure something out. Either you two change and then go somewhere else, or we’re all going to look like fools!”
“But I don’t want to change,” Daring whined. “As the oldest, I should have seniority over you two! And I want you to leave Lizzie and I in peace!”
“I got here first,” Dexter added, “and made my reservation first, so I think that Raven and I should be able to have our date here.”
Darling lightly knocked both of the boys on the head. Frowning, Daring pushed on her shoulder. Dexter tried his best to shove his siblings out of the door. Before any of them even knew what was happening, they were tustling like when they were in nursery rhyme school. Daring had grabbed a handful of Darling’s hair. Darling was pressing her well-manicured hand into Dexter’s face. The entire force of Dexter’s body was engaged in pressing against Daring’s back, giving him periodic shoves towards the door.
“Umm, hi, guys.”
The trio froze, quickly disentangling. Daring and Dexter tripped over one another in their attempts to separate. Darling quickly ran her fingers through her messy hair. All of the siblings bestowed brilliantly wide, slightly forced smiles upon the three girls who had just entered the restaurant. Raven, the one who had spoken up earlier, gave a nervous grin. “Sorry if we’re interrupting anything.”
“Oh no,” Dexter blurted out. “Nothing at all!”
Lizzie glanced at the siblings, giving a little giggle that she hid behind a gloved hand. “Oh dear! You’re all dressed rather similarly. Did you plan this?”
Daring dragged his foot across the ground. “No, uhh, actually-”
“Well, I think it’s hexcellent.” Apple walked forwards and laced her arm in Darling’s. “It just shows how close you three are!”
Darling blushed deeply. “You don’t mind? That we’re all dressed the same and eating at the same place?”
“Of course we don’t mind.” Raven laughed, grabbing Dexter’s hand. “Apple and I actually thought it was pretty funny, the fact that we both had dates with you guys.”
“Think of it as… a triple date!” Lizzie exclaimed eagerly, approaching Daring. “Oh, that’s actually a rather splendid idea!”
“Y-yeah.” Dexter had to laugh at the whole situation. All of the Charmings’ hair was messy. Their ties were on crooked. As a whole, they looked completely disheveled, for no good reason at all. “You’re right, Lizzie. There’s nothing wrong with a triple date. Now, Raven.” Dexter flashed her a smile. “What do you say we go find a really big table?”