Dating Disaster Credability

If it fits with Sarena's personality, maybe she was really shy/quiet during the beginning of the date, and that coupled with her disappearance, made Kesyl think she doesn't really like him and ditched him. And yeah, I think her getting held up rather than leaving by choice makes more sense.

Without knowing the story better I can't really say more.

I'd say that like Becca above said, she could be shy, reserved and maybe that gives the impression she doesn't like him.

OR make her screw up the date even more, make her do some meanish kind of things?

Sorry, not much help lol I sure didn't have a lot of dating experience either

You can show him overreacting--it happens all the time with teenagers and adults, especially when a date gets caught up after she or he says be right back.

She says she'll be back, he waits for her, watches the movie, but she's still not back. He doesn't know that Sarena got held up by a couple of friends she originally turned down. They're probably going to ask here a bunch of questions like why she would do that, corner her, or something (then again, I don't know much about the story). Anyway, he may think she ditched him and doesn't like him. Sure it's assuming, but it's justifiable if she doesn't come back.

If he sees her with the friends, he might realize she was held up and ask her what happened. I don't know if she goes back and sees him mad and says "I'm so sorry" and he just ignores it because he's angry or if he sees her with the friends. She could try to explain herself when they drive back and he just says he doesn't want to hear it.

In any case, it's fine. You don't need to up the stakes to ruin the date more. She can tell her friends she needs to get back to someone (she could lie and say her brother). *Note: this might ruin her chance of being popular, if that's what she wants.

For him, it depends how much he likes her. Something like this, it can go both ways. You can make him mad at her and go so far where he stops liking her (which can happen) or have him be mad at her, she tries to apologize, he wants none of it, they don't talk for a few days, then have her try to apologize after a certain amount of time. It depends where this story goes, though. Do you want him to not like her around the end, or do you want them to be together?

ETA: You could have a misunderstanding go way overboard (it won't necessarily mean she makes the date worse). If you want him to blow it out of proportions. It's not easy trying to explain a misunderstanding when the other doesn't want to hear it. The girls could pull her away and do stuff with them while she's quite aware who asked whom on the date. It creates conflict with wanting to fit in and being with Kesyl. She KNOWS she needs to get back, but they're popular girls. She wants to fit in. She's been trying for two years and just doesn't want to say no to them, only to mess things up.

Whatever you do, it's all up to you.

I am not an expert on teen dating, but it seems like she would have to have realized it might be a date. "Dinner and a movie" is pretty much the quintessential dating experience, and if she doesn't at least think about whether it is a date, then I'd be a little surprised. If neither of them officialy call it a date, she can be unsure, but to have no suspicion at all seems unrealistic.

I'd personally go with the "cornered" angle. It adds tension to the scene. However, I don't know your whole story. There are good reasons to go with both. You mention her wanting to get in with the popular crowd. Perhaps she stays by choice, and then is mad at Kesyl for interfering with her life. It really depends on the kind of character she is. She could decide to just have a quick chat, and then get caught up, which is completely reasonable and happens all the time.

If he comes out of the movie to see her chatting with her friends, this could make his reaction perfectly reasonable. They're supposed to be on a date, and she ditches to chat with friends for half-an-hour(or an hour--not sure how long the movie is). I'd definitely sympathize with him if she missed half of the movie to chat with her pals. Having him hate her friends is a very good reason for him to be more angry.

How long he stays mad would depend. If he doesn't stay for th rest of the holiday, it could make it hard to get thngs sorted out, and thus he stays mad for awhile. But if they're in any sort of contact, then it seems more like a short term issue. Maybe a week or two.

Here are some dating generalizations, based on the story and character information you provided.


-- Should she be fully aware that he asked her on a date or not?

Yes, she should. Unless a girl is completely in the dark about dating, being asked to "dinner and a movie" by a male who's shown and demonstrated interest in her, no matter how awkward he is about it, implies a date.

Also, if a girl doesn't like a guy in some way, if there's no attraction there, then she's not going to go on a date and be alone with him, unless she's looking for a free meal or has some other ulterior motive, such as peer pressure, she feels sorry for him, etc.

If they're just friends hanging out, this should be understood by both parties, otherwise hijinks ensue.

Also, dinner and a movie is a very sterotypical first and last date, in many cases a boring one at that. Since most of your time is spent watching a movie in the dark theater, there's no real time to get to know each other. Mini-golf, a theme park, bowling--something with more physical contact and interaction would be a better choice.

But since this is an awkward date, maybe a movie is the best choice.


-- Should she remain with her friends by choice or should there be some form of conflict that is keeping her there?

What's more important to her at this point? The guy or her friends?

If the girl likes the guy, and wants to explore this further--to ultimately be together with him--then she'll find a way out of having to stay with her friends and resume the date.

If she's bored, nervous, or doesn't want to be there, then friends taking her away is a great excuse for a girl to cut the date short--like getting a "surprise" phone call about a "sick relative" on a blind date.

But if her friends are more important to her, then why is she out with this guy right now and not hanging out with them instead? Is this supposed to be a secret date and she's embarrassed about it? If she knew her friends would be at the theater, and she opted out of going with them to be with the guy but didn't want them to know about it, then she shouldn't have gone to the same movie on the chance she'd run into them.

Or maybe she really wants to head back to the movie, but just loses track of the time spent talking to her friends. It happens.


-- Or is my setup not strong enough to justify how angry I am describing Kesyl as being? Should I up the stakes and make her screw the date up even more? Suggestions here would be helpful.

I'm more for subtlety than over-the-top dramatics in this situation.

First off, a guy that gets angry and greatly overreacts to a misunderstanding on a date stands a chance of not having another one, unless the girl has some issues and doesn't think she can find another guy who she thinks would like her.

These are not attractive traits and can make both come off as being whiny and needy.

What makes it so that the guy can't ultimately keep his cool about a small misunderstanding? If he wants to pursue the girl, then he can't blow up on her without understanding that doing so will drive her away from him. He has to cool down and let that incident go, or just talk to her about it if it upset him so much.

So let's say he plays it cool and doesn't blow up. But because of his inner conflict about being socially awkward, he withdraws from everyone to sort himself out. This aloofness comes off as if he's giving the girl the cold shoulder, but he's really just trying to make himself a better person for her, so that he won't blow up when small things happen again.

There's your natural break that keeps them apart until you decide how to resolve it and have them come back together.

Alternatively, if you do want him to get angry, then perhaps he had high expectations for the date, things didn't go as planned or expected (he's a perfectionist, he's royalty and shouldn't be treated like this, whatever you like), and this perceived slight causes him to get upset. His reaction drives her away, maybe just as she was getting to realize how she felt about him. Oops. Now he has to find a way to patch things up.

Your story, your call. Best of luck with it!