Frankie, Tom & Dan were sitting around the caf deciding who to take to the Villiage premiere & afterparty in NY. Frankie dialed up Ashley Olsen's cell phone number on his own cell.
"Hey, Ashley? It's Frankie Muniz"
"Hey Frankie! What's up?"
"I was wondering if you'd like to be my date to 'The Village' premiere in NYC on the 30th."
"Lemme check my palm," she replied, checking her calendar.
"I'm free. That would be great."
"Cool. Do you want to meet me at the Mansion, or should I pick you up?"
"Why don't we meet somewhere, and grab a bite to eat first. The food at the after-parties is always so gross."
"Plus you never know what kind of drugs they're laced with."
"Exactly."
"How about Tavern on the Green, 5:00? I'll make reservations."
"Sure," Ashley agreed. They spoke for a couple minutes more before hanging up.
"Alright," Frankie said. "I have a date, now you two. Dan, why don't you ask Hilary? You're both going, and it would be great publicity for you."
"I don't know . . . " Dan said slowly.
"Come on, Danny boy," Tom prodded. "Everybody knows you like her. Just ask her." Dan took a deep breath and headed over to where Hilary was eating her lunch.
"Hey, Hil, what's up?"
Hilary
Hilary looked up from where she'd been studying a script and smiled.
"Hey Dan, not much, just looking over some stuff. What's new?"
Daniel
Dan took a deep breath.
"I was wondering if you'd like to go to the Village premiere with me," he asked. "I thought it might be fun if we went together." When Dan actually asked the question, he couldn't see Tom handing Frankie $10, signifying that Frankie one the bet.
Hilary
Hilary smiled.
"Yeah, sure, why not?"
She paused.
"What times and all that?"
Frankie and Daniel
"Well, the movie starts at 8, but we have to do the red carpet and all of that, so I figure we want to get there around 6:30 or 7," Dan coughed, trying to get up the courange to ask her to dinner. "Do you want to go to dinner beforehand?"
Back at their table, Tom and Frankie were high-fiving each other. "So, Tommy-Boy, who you gonna take?"
"I don't really know yet. I've narrowed it down to two people. If I invite Lindsay, not only will she and Hilary be growling at each other all night, but the tumours will fly. You know I know her from YIRAAS, and she's a pretty cool girl. Or I could ask this girl Martha, who I kind of like, from here, and the publicity will be less."
"You have to invite Lindz. I love it when she and Hil let their feathers get all ruffled. And it would be fun, just watching them get all flustered."
"I'll think about," Tom decided.
Hilary
Hilary thought for a moment.
"Um... yeah, sure, why not? Should be fun."
Daniel
"SOunds good to me," Dan said, smiling.
Hilary
"Cool, so what are your plans for today?"
Hilary lazily reached around and loosely braided her hair, strands of blonde falling out and framing her face.
"I feel like going into the city. Want to come?"
Daniel
"Sure," Dan said. "I don;t really know my way around, but I'd love to have a look. I haven't really seen New York much." Dan confessed.
Hilary
"New York is kinda like London but not," Hilary said.
She paused.
"That didn't make a whole lot of sense."
Daniel
"That should be fun. Um, I'm thinking we might want hats and sunglasses? Though we'll probably get recognized no matter what." Dan wrinkled his nose.
Hilary
"Yeah, let me go grab my stuff."
Hilary turned and headed for her room, grabbing her sunglasses and her bag, before coming back to Dan.
"Ok, ready?"
Dan
Dan grabbed a baseball cap and a pair of Ray-Bans, and they headed out.
"So, what are the best places to see around here?" Dan asked..
Hilary
"Hmmm, Greenwich Village? Just general touristy stuff, I guess. Shops and all that jazz."
Hilary paused.
"How are we gonna get into the city?"
Daniel
"Well, if we were in London I'd suggest the tube, but we're not. I suppose we could take a taxi," Dan suggested.
Hilary
"Yeah, cabs are quicker than buses and stuff anyway. So I'll call one."
Hilary did that thing, then led Dan out the front.
Daniel
When the cab arrived, Dan held out the door for Hilary, hoping that the cabbie didn't have any young children and would recognize them.
Hilary
They made it into the city with a minimum of fuss, and hopped out into the street.
Hilary adjusted her baseball cap and sunglasses.
"Where do you wanna go?"
Daniel
"Hmmm, some of these shops look interesting, let's check them out," Dan suggested. "Tom's birthday's in a couple months, and I need to start thinking up gift ideas."
Hilary
"What about a kick in the ass?"
Hilary followed Dan into the shop.
Dan
"He could definately use one of those once in a while," Dan agreed. Dan spotted a box of novelty rings.
"OH Hilary," he said, feigning a romantic proclamation, "Won't you marry me?" he even got down on one knee to make her laugh.
Hilary
Hilary giggled.
"Yes! Oh my gosh! We should sooooooo go back to the mansion and tell everyone we're engaged!"
Dan
"That would be very amusing," Dan agreed, laughing. Suddenly he looked over Hilary's shoulder to see several teenaged faces pressed against the window.
"Um, Hil? I'm thinking that maybe we should leave."
Hilary
"Damn," Hilary said, pulling her hat down a little more, and tucking more of her hair under it.
"Let's make tracks."