The Coffee Date

Haley walked into Starbucks and self consciously patted her hair down. It was a rainy day and she was paranoid that the rain flattened her curls. She spotted a table and quickly sat down.

Ben hurried inside as the rain began to pour harder. He looked around until he spotted a familiar face and made his way over to her. "Sorry if I kept you waiting." He apologized as he took off his coat and hung it on the back of his chair.

Haley shook her head and smiled. "You didn't. I just got here a few minutes ago. Thanks for meeting me on such short notice."

"Not a problem.' He shrugged. 'I havn't got a busy agenda. At least, not yet. Only a few people know that I'm back."

Haley nodded, "Yeah. Apparently even Krista didn't know you were back." She laughed and stood up. "I'm going to get a latte. I'll be right back."

Ben nodded as Haley left, and when she returned he said. "You know, my Mom's hosting a party for me on Saturday, you should come."

"Really?" She said as she sat down. "Sure. That sounds great." Haley took a sip of her latte and smiled at him. "Count me in."

"Cool,' He grinned, 'I know you're good friends with Serena, you can bring her if you want. I think my mom invited Mrs.Bass anyway."

Haley nodded, "I'll pass the message along." She reached into her bag and pulled out a notebook. "So a lot of this stuff Serena's already taken care of but there's still a few things that are up in the air." Haley paused, "Like a band or DJ or something."

Ben thought for second. "Well, I prefer live bands.' He said. 'But it depends on who we can get."

"Is there anyone in the school that's related to a record company executive?" Haley asked. "Maybe they can pull a few strings."

"Not sure about record companies, but, Taylor's father is in the film business. Could that work?" He asked.

Haley rolled her eyes, "You know that she would want the Jo-Bros or J-Biebs." She shuddered. "Doesn't exactly inspire thoughts of Saint Patrick's Day with me. It only inspires me to think of Halloween."

Ben laughed. "Yeah, I guess that's true. Looks like we're on our own."

Haley thought for a second then her eyes went wide. "Wait a second. What if we did karaoke? Then we'd have music!"

"If you want to sacrifice your hearing,' Ben replied. 'It could be a fun idea, very different." He thought.

"It'd be cheaper than hiring a band or dj and you know it'd be fun to watch people like Chuck make a fool of themselves." She laughed, "I can't believe I didn't think of this before."

"Looks like you didn't really need me at all." He grinned.

"Don't think you're off the hook just yet." Haley said with a mischievous grin. "We still have to plan where we're going to get the decorations from. Serena's great at decorating, not so much at how we get the decorations."

"Who am I, Ty Pennington? ' He laughed. 'We could try a party store, they'll probably have something." Ben shrugged.

Haley looked at him for a second before closing her book. "You know what, Serena can figure this stuff out. She's mainly in charge of the decorations and stuff anyway." She took a sip of her latte.

"Alright. At least we figured out something for the music.' He paused. 'How do we get a karaoke machiene?"

Haley waved her hand in dismissal, "I'll talk to Miss Hastings about it tomorrow. If not, I'm sure AV can put something together."

"Right.' he said leaving a minute of silence. 'So, do you have a date?"

Haley winced. "Actually, I do. But we're going as friends. Nothing more. Why? Do you?"