"I know, right? So weird." Arsen grinned at her, buckling himself in. He started the car, leaned across to kiss her quickly on the cheek, and pulled out of her driveway.
"So, are you okay with super fancy rich person food?" He teased her.
"Mm, as long as I can eat it, and it won't kill me." Joanna laughed a little, leaning back against the seat. She silently ran her hand over the leather in the car, seeming to be invested in it.
"I never asked, how are you doing today? Are you nervous at all?"
”Nervous about what?” Arsen asked, frightened for a moment that she might have found out that he was going to propose to her. And then he realized that logically, there was no reason that she should have. He hadn’t told anyone.
“I mean, a bit, I guess. But Luna will love you, I’m sure. Everyone does.” He grinned at her.
Joanna was completely oblivious to his moment of panic, rolling her eyes at his last comment.
"Oh shut up, that is not true." She insisted, looking over at him, before a little smile pulled up on her face. She leaned over and gently shoved his shoulder when they pulled up to a light. "But here's hoping Luna really does."
"Hey, be careful!" Arsen said jokingly. "Don't shove the driver. You could make us get into a crash!" He grinned at her for a moment before looking back at the road.
"Everyone loves you. Tell me one person who doesn't like you and I'll name ten who do." He laughed. "I could be counting forever."
"I thought you were the best of the best when it came to driving. Weren't you the one who said you could be in a car chase, for being such an excellent driver?" Joanna teased back, giving him a little smirk.
"I'm up for that challenge. Are you really serious about that, or are you all talk?" She hummed, examining her nails in a cocky way.
"Oh hush," Arsen said, laughing. "We don't need to talk about my wonderful and totally true bragging about my driving skills." To tell the truth, he was pretty good at driving, but not the best.
"I'm really serious," he said, glancing at her fondly for a moment before flicking his eyes back to the road. "I can name several for you right now, if you want."
"Alright, if you say so." Joanna rolled her eyes a little, still smiling softly. She knew he was a pretty good driver, but always insisted she was a better one. But that theory had never been confirmed nor denied.
"Fine, name five, and I'll prove it to not be true. You can't use you, or my uncle. Five other people." She hummed a bit, looking over to him when she felt his gaze on her momentarily.
"I do say so," Arsen huffed, sounding offended, although both of them knew that he was faking it.
"Not me, or your uncle? Come on, I count for at least three people, right?" He grinned at her. "There's Mrs. Robinson, the woman who lives next door to me. She loves you more than she does me. There's May and David, the people who work at that diner we always go to. There's Mr. Jac, our english teacher in high school. And basically all of the teachers we've ever had. Do they count?"
Joanna listened to him, and laughed weakly with his comment about being worth more. "Of course you do, babe. And that's why you're not allowed to count yourself." She insisted in a light tone, leaning over to peck his cheek.
With his list of people, she let a little smirk settle before she sighed weakly. "Alright, you got me. I normally wouldn't count teachers, but Mr. Jac really does seem to like me. And I say that with as little boasting as possible." She mumbled, resting one hand on his forearm gently.
"Yes! I knew that I was awesome." Arsen grinned at her in the mirror. That small comment from her, even if she hadn't meant anything by it, made his entire being warm up with happiness.
He snorted. "You can boast. They had reason to like you, not only because you actually paid attention in class, and did your homework. I swear, it's a miracle that I didn't fail high school. I should have."
Joanna rolled her eyes, sighing softly. "Do I not tell you enough? You know I think you're pretty spectacular. Guess I'll have to tell you more often." She hummed a little, giving him a sweet smile.
"Oh hush. You know I did it on purpose. Not for my own grades, but I actually tried to butter them up. I knew I'd have certain assignments I'd slip up on." Joanna admitted, a little smirk on her lips. "That's why I got to skip out on some of the Biology labs. I had my system to get through high school. Which also meant making sure you got through. I wasn't going to let my boyfriend fail high school."
"Yes, you should. I don't hear it near enough to help my self esteem." Arsen grinned at her, laughter clear in his eyes. They both knew that his self esteem was fine. If anything, it was his ego that was a problem.
"Pff, you still got them done. I'm pretty sure that I have excellent luck, because I didn't fail high school, and I got you as a girlfriend." And maybe a fiance, soon, his brain added. He hoped so, at least. She might refuse - she had the right. Even the thought of it, though, made his palms sweaty. "Well, you did a great job of making sure that I got through."
"Mmm, whatever you say, airhead." Joanna teased, leaning over to kiss him once again. She had a little smirk up still, sliding back over and sitting back in her seat. She had a cocky look up, one leg crossed over the other.
"I'm nothing special, Arsen. Considering you had literally dozens of girls throwing themselves at your feet. Technically, I was just another one of those girls." Joanna insisted, resting her hands in her lap. She glanced over to him momentarily, smiling weakly. "Don't you remember? I was the one who admitted I had feelings first."
"You should really stop kissing me so suddenly," he said with a laugh. "I might get into a crash because you're so distracting."
"Eh. Well, you were the only one who stood out to me. Besides that one girl, Malorie, who spilled milk all over my shirt. But she didn't really count. I don't think she liked me in the first place." Arsen glanced at her with a soft smile. "You were the only one who had my eye, for the entire time I knew you."
"Well, what if I don't want to?" Joanna huffed, sticking her tongue out at him with a little smirk, still. Though she kept back, her smile softening.
"Aww, you're too cute. Though I still insist, I'm really nothing special. I mean, you have no real reason to pick me instead of those other girls, right?" She asked lightly, not sounding hurt, or upset at the moment. In all truth, she wasn't bugged by any of this. She was confident enough in herself. "I mean, besides liking me. Which I'm still surprised you do."
"Well, then we might just die together. Although, if it's with you, I wouldn't mind." He sent her a big, cheesy grin, one he knew would make her laugh.
"You're right," Arsen said with a snort. "You're a horrible person and I should never have dated you." He smiled slightly at her. "Sure, I have plenty of reasons. Do you want to hear them all? Because it could take all night."
As expected, Joanna laughed with a grin. "Oh shut up, we're not going to die."
"Oh, am I now? Well, I guess that's what I get." She sighed dramatically, throwing an arm over her forehead. Glancing over to him, she smirked a little. "Mm, maybe you should save it for some night we don't have plans. Then we have all the time in the world."
"We might. You never know," Arsen countered.
Soon, we may have all the time in the world, he thought, but simply smiled slightly. "You sure? I could name just a few, to spare you the agony of listening to every one of your perfections all night."
"I doubt it. But I guess I can stop, if it keeps us safe." Joanna sighed once more.
She rolled her eyes, giving him a slight smile. "I'm sure. I doubt your list has more than a dozen things on it. I can wait until later." Joanna insisted, playing with her hair a little. "Maybe tonight we can hang around my apartment. Then you could tell me about this amazing list."
"Are you sure you can?" Arsen teased. He grinned.
"Okay. I guess I'll wait until then." He glanced at the GPS. "We're almost there! Are you ready for this?" He was talking to himself as well as her.
Joanna rolled her eyes again, playing with a loose strand of hair. “I’m sure. Stop worrying so much.” She laughed weakly, smiling some.
“I’m as ready as I’ll ever be. If you’re so sure I’m loved by everyone, then this should be easy.” She replied coolly, not letting any of her nerves come through.
"Fair enough." He was startled by her tone, but he knew this was just her way of coping. "I'll be cheering you on."
He pulled into the parking lot of a fancy looking restraunt and stopped the car, unbuckling. He got out, and then walked around the car to open her door for her. "My lady," he said with a bow and a grin.
Joanna rolled her eyes some, but a smile pulled up. She got out, taking his arm when she was stable on her feet. "It's definitely a nice place. That's for sure." She whispered, quickly fixing anything she felt was out of place. Such as loose hair, or clothes that needed to be straightened out. Glancing over to him, she gave a half smile. "Lead the way, my good sir."
He grinned at her, and led her into the restaurant. He spoke to the man at the front. "Reservation for Powell," he told the man, who nodded. "Right this way."
He led the two of them to a table upstairs in the back corner, by a window overlooking the city. Despite himself, Arsen couldn't hide a smirk that threatened to break. This view was so typically Luna.