"Sorry," he said still blushing. "Ya know me, no good with words..." He dug in his pocket and retrieved that little block box and handed it over to her. He thought he might be able to get it all out if she had the option of looking at something else.

"Truth is El, I've never felt like this about anyone before," he admitted, his big hands shaking. "I uh... I r-really like you. And I know that this is kinda scary and different but I wanna try it out if you wanna try it out."

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Ella was taken completely off-guard and stared at Hendrix dumbfounded. Her eyes flickered between his and the box, her brain trying to process this information. "Are you proposing to me?" she blurted out, clasping a hand over her mouth right after she said it.

"I kinda like you a lot" she mumbled around her hand, staring up at him and blushing furiously.

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Hendrix's face flushed entirely. "Oh!" he laughed, the tension finally breaking. "I wasn't proposing," he giggled pulling her into a hug. "I'm uh... I'm askin' if you wanna go out with me?" he mumbled into her hair.

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Ella wrapped her arms around his middle, unable to stop her laughing. One day the two of them might have a tender moment that she didn't ruin. "I thought you were never gonna ask!" she admitted, nuzzling her face into his chest, part embarrassed and part relieved.

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His stomach did a little flip at her response. Hendrix closed his eyes and continued laughing gently. He was just so relieved that it hadn't been terribly disastrous. "You know me," he said kissing the top of her head. "Nervous nelly over here. I was having a hard time putting my words together in my head," he admitted. "I just... I'm gonna stop talking," he laughed.

"Do you like the locket?" He had been nervous about that too but the stress from the fact that he was about to ask her out overpowered until just that moment.

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She had been so surprised she hadn't even opened the box. Squeaking excitedly she opened it and cooed over the locket inside. "It's so pretty" she gushed, picking it out delicately and grinning. "Will you fix it for me?" She pulled her hair up and turned around for Hendrix to do the clasp.

"No ones ever bought me a locket before" she giggled, even her neck flushing pink slightly.

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"Of course!" Though his hands were shaking he complied and with a little tinkering, he clasped the locket for her. When he was finished he put his hands on her shoulders and gently turned her around.

Looking down, he took a deep breath. He leaned down and gently pressed his lips to hers.

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In the brief moment before their lips touched, Ella knew this was it. She hardly had time to register that she was about to have her first kiss before it was happening. Okay, it was quite nice. Really nice actually. She made a note to apologise to Jenny for ragging on her about kissing all the time before she applied a small pressure back on Hendrix's lips. She couldn't help smiling, even if this was a totally serious moment.

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Hendrix got caught up in the moment, momentarily forgetting everything else. Forgetting his nerves, his normal fumbling, and all the other norms. He didn't want to pull away but he finally did. Looking down at her, completely flushed from his neck to his hairline, he smiled and pushed her hair behind her ear. "So," he said, getting back to that awkward routine. "Um... yeah," he laughed gently.

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"Yeah.." Ella replied a little breathlessly, a dorky expression on her face. "So does this mean you're gonna be my date for the formal?" she asked, catching his hand and enclosing it in both of hers.

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Hendrix covered her hands with his free hand and grinned. "Of course," he nodded. "Um... my mom is gonna wanna take a million dorky pictures of us," he laughed.

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"How do you feel about video calls" Ella joked. Her own mom was going to flip her shit if she caught wind of this.

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Hendrix snorted. "Oh dear," he said. He leaned down and kissed her forehead. "Whatever makes you happy," he said sweetly. "I'm just glad my mother hasn't even figured out how to turn on a computer."

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"Hey, I'm always happy, it's just my mom" Ella teased, standing on tip toe and hanging her arms loosely around her boyfriend's neck.

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Hen wiggled his nose against hers sweetly when Ella stood on her tippy toes. "I know you are," he grinned. "You're like a tiny little ball of sunshine," he laughed gently and pressed a small kiss to her lips.

"I suppose an old man sweater won't do for this dance," he smirked.

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Ella pecked him on the lips, marveling at how easily they slipped into couple mode. She never thought she would be a girl for PDA, but now she was having second thoughts.

"But I like your old man clothes" she pouted. "I think you should wear whatever you like" she said. "But perhaps a suit would be super cute" she added quickly on the end.

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Now that the anxiety had melted away with Ella's acceptance, Hendrix was more comfortable than ever around her. He felt like he could finally just let go. He sighed contentedly and pulled her into a comfortable hug.

He smiled at her comment. "Aw shucks," he said, his cheeks turning into little rosy apples. "I think a suit would be nice too," he grinned. "Are you gonna wear, let me guess... pink?" he grinned.

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