I promise I will have at least 10 chapters for this by the time Nightfall comes out. I WILL ACTUALLY DO IT. I was going to do NaNoWriMo but then though nah. I also have to get to a Halloween party after this because my friend is dragging me along with her and it's not even Halloween?

It had started off as a good day. One, because finals were over (and he was fairly certain he hadn't flunked them.) And two, he would ask out Sophie- for the millionth time. It had started as a joke, to her at least, but now was more like him begging for a date while she looked on annoyed. Obviously she was getting attracted to his charm and charisma.

Like always she declined. And like usual, he pouted and hoped for pity.

"Fosterrrrrrrrrrrr. Why not?" He could tell she was getting agitated, mostly because she looked ready to wring his neck.

"Because I don't want to." She stepped away from him, her eyes daring him to challenge her answer. He knew there was more to her answer than that.

"Ohhh...you're afraid, huh?"

Her hands went to her hips as she glared at him.

"I'm not afraid of anything." Oh, but she was. He wasn't an Empath for nothing.

He leaned in closer, "You can tell me anything. So what are you afraid of?"

She threw an eyelash to the ground. "Stop it Keefe. This is getting old, you've asked me at least 10 times over the past year, and I've always said no. So what makes you think I'll say yes this time."

He didn't mention that she changed the topic on purpose. Or that it was technically 11 times that'd he'd asked her out.

"I don't know! What do you want me to say? Are there some word that'll make you instantly swoon? Or do I need to suddenly have teal eyes or something?"

He knew he struck a nerve there.

"Maybe not by harassing me over and over!"

With the loud outburst, half the prodigies in tower the turned to look at the pair. Sophie clamped a hand over her mouth and lowered her voice.

"Instead you could maybe show some commitment. We both know you're a player."

He wanted to tell her, no. That it wasn't true, because it wasn't. If she'd seen his homework she'd know that he'd had points docked off for drawing her in the margins. She'd know if she'd seen him make a crush cuff for her every year but stash it in his closet instead. She'd know if she'd heard his 3am Imparter ramblings to Fitz. She'd know if she gave him a chance.

"I'm not," he frowned, defensive.

"Mmmm, sure. But my answer is still no." She walked away from him, not even looking back.

She was getting desperate to try and convince him, that he did not in fact like (or love) her. But all he needed was to show her that he really did care.

"Give me a chance, please." She looked back at him, her eyes softened by his tone. "Fine, I'll give you thirty days to win me over. If you do, then I'm yours. If not, then...you won't ask me again. Deal?" "Deal." Thirty days? Oh yeah, he could work with that.

He took a step towards her. "Then how about this for the first day?"

She rolled her eyes at him, "How about what?"

He raised her hand to his lips and kissed it. "Just so you know that I can be a gentleman." 'And pretend I'm not panicking on the inside,' he added silently.

Then he ran off, leaving a flustered Sophie behind. When he took a quick glance back— just as he had suspected—she was staring at her hand with a growing blush.

Now all he had to do was think of something for tomorrow.

It had started off with a good day, and ended up even better.