The next day, Wynona was a mess. In class she could not focus. Instead of trying to find "x" she was thinking about what she and Ferris would talk about. There were multiple instances where she embarrassed herself in class because she would be called on and had no idea what was going on. 

It was far worse in the classes she had with Ferris. While Ferris seemed perfectly fine, Wynona could barely look at him. He would try to talk to her, but she kept overthinking it. He even went as far as using her nickname but it only made her want to avoid him more. In her mind, if they talked in class they would have nothing to talk about at the diner and then it would be awkward. But then again it was not a date so there was no reason to panic. If it got awkward it did not matter. But then again she really wanted it to go well because then maybe something could blossom from their friendship. But the possibilities of that happening were slim. So it mattered, but it did not matter, either.

All in all, the school day was as messy as Wynona.

At the end of the day, her panic worsened because it was happening. She was waiting outside the school and through the gate she could see Ferris walking with Cole and Aimee. Maybe they were joining them which would definitely relieve some of the pressure, but at the same time she wanted it to just be them.

Ferris saw Wynona and waved. "Hey!"

Wynona waved back.

He stopped a few feet away from her and talked to his friends a while longer before joining her. He grinned. "Ready Wynnie Bear?"

She glared at him and crossed her arms over her chest. As much as she wanted to be mad, she could not help but break into a smile and chuckled. "Sure."

They started walking and it was completely silent. Wynona felt like she had jinxed the entire hangout with her constant overthinking. She looked down, racking her brain for anything to say, but all she could think of was the project…

"So how were your classes? The ones I wasn't in." His voice startled her. 

Wynona shrugged. "They were…okay."

He chuckled. "What? Did something happen?"

"Just had a hard time focusing." She turned away. "How were your classes?"

"They were similar to yours."

"That's–" She paused and turned to Ferris. "You couldn't focus either?"

Ferris shook his head. "I had a hard time focusing, too. Isn't that funny?"

Wynona nodded. "Yeah…very funny." She looked straight ahead. "Um, what was on your mind?"

Ferris ignored the question. "How long have you played piano?"

"Oh," She ignored his bright pink cheeks. "I've been playing since I was twelve. Elijah introduced it to me."

"Do you…guys play together?" Ferris asked. There was a hint of attitude in his tone, but Wynona ignored it.

She shrugged. "Not really. We used to, but Elijah and I have different tastes. It was easier to just play alone. Usually, he'll come over to my house, or I'll go to his and we'll play for each other."

Ferris rolled his eyes. She wanted to ask about it, but he quickly spoke before she could even say anything. "What music do you like?"

"Oh!" She lit up. "I love latin jazz! I initially played it because Andrea loves it. But I'm better at playing pop. But I mean I prefer latin jazz over pop because it sounds more bubbly and fun. But most of the music I play is pop because for some reason it's easier for me to find pop than latin jazz music sheets…" She trailed off realizing that she was rambling. Wynona smiled bashfully. "Sometimes I get really excited talking about it."

"I can tell." Ferris' smile only grew. "I've always wished I could play, but I get so frustrated and lose the patience to learn."

"I could always show you," She offered.

Ferris chuckled and shook his head. "Nah, I'd rather you play so we have a reason to see each other."

Wynona's ears were becoming warm. "I didn't know we needed a reason to see each other."

"Well, right now we obviously do." He nudged her.

She raised her brow. "What do you mean?"

"I mean someone asked me to hangout to do work." He looked at her with a smug look on his face. "You've never asked to hangout unless there's a reason."

Wynona laughed. "You never asked either."

"True." Ferris looked the other way. "I'll start then if you do."

"Deal." Wynona smiled and looked straight ahead. 

They walked into the diner and usually they would sit at the counter, but Ferris insisted on sitting in a booth. This only furthered the idea in Wynona's mind that this might be a date, but that voice in the back of her mind quickly shut that down. Ferris was quick to order food. He stopped to talk to the owner and Wynona had overheard the owner call him "Wheels." It made her laugh, but she hid it by the time Ferris returned. He had to make two trips, but he brought back one milkshake and a coke and an order of large fries with extra ketchup on the side.

Wynona grabbed a fry and smiled at Ferris. "You remembered the coke and the ketchup."

"Of course," Ferris winked and took a sip from his shake. "Still can't believe you don't like milkshakes."

"Really?" She laughed. "It's just ice cream and milk, Ferris."

He took another gulp from his milkshake. "Exactly! It's ice cream."

Wynona rolled her eyes. "Someone has a sweet tooth."

"And someone else doesn't appreciate the world's biggest advancement." He grinned and took a fry from the basket.

"Wow," Wynona chuckled. "I never thought you'd be this defensive about ice cream. You're usually nonchalant."

Ferris furrowed his brow. "I'm very nonchalant, Wynona, but this is a serious topic."

She could not help but laugh. "Hey, I overheard the owner call you 'Wheels?'" She raised an eyebrow, hoping he would be embarrassed.

"Hm?" Ferris placed his hand on the back of his neck. "Marv has been calling me that for years."

"Oh?" She asked.

He nodded. "My mother went into labor while on the ferris wheel at the county fair."

Wynona's eyes widened and she laughed. "That's why your name is Ferris?"

"Yep. It would have been Andrew otherwise." He laughed.

"Wow." She slowly stopped laughing. "So do you do anything on campus? Like a club?"

Ferris nodded proudly. "I'm on the varsity baseball team. In fact we start meeting up again around February so I gotta start working out again. I've been slacking off lately." He grabbed a fry and waved it in front of Wynona jokingly.

"I never knew you played baseball." She never even knew he worked out.

"Mhm," He smiled. "My position is shortstop. I do a lot, but I'm kinda like the guy who runs around and helps first and second base."

Wynona nodded with a blank stare. "Okay? I don't know what you're talking about."

"I'm going to take that as you're not into sports?" Ferris asked.

"No, never." Wynona laughed. "I'm more of a going out to concerts and the library type of girl." She looked down, slightly embarrassed.

Ferris chuckled. "That's fair. Maybe you'd understand it better if you came to one of my games?"

She turned to him. "Is that an invitation?"

"It is. I'd like you to go." He grinned and took a sip from his drink.

"Well," Wynona smiled back. "If I have time I'll be there."

The grin on his face grew and his cheeks flushed a bright pink. "I look forward to it."

The rest of their conversation consisted of random topics or Ferris teasing her, but it was never boring or awkward. Wynona felt stupid for worrying so much. Ferris was very good at keeping the conversation going for someone who claims to be bad at talking to people. Everything was great until Wynona crossed a line. 

"Hey," Wynona looked out the window. It was dark out. It must have been hours even though it did not feel that long. "I wanted to ask about what Angel was talking about the other day. About your dad?" She turned to Ferris and saw that his smile had disappeared and his face had gone pale. 

He shifted in his seat and avoided her gaze. "It's none of your business."

"I–I know, it's just you looked really uncomfortable and–"

He snapped. "I'm uncomfortable now." He glared at her. "I told you I didn't want to talk about it so why would you bring it up?"

Wynona was shocked and immediately felt bad. "I–I was just worried about you. I wanted–"

"Wanted to what?" Ferris quickly got out of the booth. "Pry? It's none of your business, Wynona."

Suddenly, she wished he would use her nickname again. "I know, I just wanted to make sure you were okay." She got up, hoping he would stay. "I don't need to know. I–I don't want to know. I just want to know if you're okay. I'm sorry for bringing it up."

Ferris was quiet for a while before sitting back down. As Wynona sat back down he muttered, "You should call your mom to pick you up."

Wynona looked at him. His expression was cold. A completely different person from the one she was just with five minutes ago. She wanted to object, apologize more, but she had already ruined so much like she always did. That voice in the back of her mind was only making it worse. You ruin everything…Screw up…

She slowly nodded and called her mother. They both waited in awkward silence. Wynona tried to talk, but Ferris hardly responded. Once Andrea showed up, Ferris was quick to walk Wynona to the car.

Andrea rolled down the window and called out to Ferris, "Do you need a ride? It's dark out."

"No, that's okay." Ferris forced a smile. "Thank you, Mrs. Henriquez."

She frowned. "I insist, Ferris, get in–"

Wynona cut her off. "Just leave him, Andrea." She forced a smile. "His grandmother is coming soon," She lied.

Ferris nodded in agreement. "Yeah. Bye."

Andrea seemed hesitant, but she finally left. "So how was it?"

Wynona shrugged, looking out the window. "It was okay."

"That's it? What did you guys talk about?" Andrea asked.

"Nothing special." She crossed her arms over her chest.

Andrea sighed. "You know, I can tell when you're upset, Bear. What's going on? What happened?"

"I don't want to talk about it."

"Wynona…"

Wynona sunk into her chair. "Please stop."

Andrea sighed again, but she stopped asking. 

Once they were home Wynona went straight to her room. She fell on her bed and groaned into her pillow. She felt like such a jerk. "I should've known better, dammit." She sat up and punched her pillow. "I'm such an idiot…" She threw the pillow at the door and groaned. She grabbed her phone and stared at the blank screen. "I should apologize again." As she turned on her phone there was already a message from Ferris. She was surprised and opened it. 

Today

Ferris:

Hey, sorry for getting mad earlier. I just don't like the topic. Please don't bring it up again.

Wynona felt relieved that Ferris was still talking to her, but she still felt bad. 

Me:

You had every right to be angry. I won't bring it up anymore.

She thought about asking about the weekend. She did not want to seem like a jerk, but she really wanted to know if Ferris would still want to see her. Wynona could not help but let curiosity get the better of her.

Me:

Do you still want to come by this weekend?

There was a long silence and it only worried Wynona more. She really wanted to see Ferris, but she also could not blame him for not wanting to come anymore. She was so anxious while she waited she started looking for other things to do. She started cleaning her room and when she finished that she got ready for bed, brushed her hair, and took a shower. When she came back there still was no message so she washed the dishes. By the time she finished, it was late and there was a message from Ferris. Wynona panicked and immediately opened it.

Ferris:

Of course Wynnie Bear.

A giant wave of relief washed over her as she fell on her bed and sighed. "At least I didn't screw up that bad…" She could finally sleep peacefully knowing she still had plans to see Ferris. This time, she was not going to mess it up. She was going to make sure it was perfect.