Disclaimer: I own nothing except for Sven.

Ben's Note of Sheer Awesome: So I have a funny story. I was sleeping the other day, because I love sleeping, and I suddenly had a thought for a story. You see, I didn't really have a set plot for the Sven/Maddie story I had promised. I mean, I knew the main antagonist, I knew some of the points I wanted to hit… but I didn't really have a theme. But, after dreaming… I realized I could do this fic in the same format as 101. So… welcome to Fifty Shades of Fear! Unlike 101, these chapters will feature exclusively something Sven fears and how Maddie gets him to overcome it. The first ten are mostly going to be funny, getting progressively more serious as we go along.

Also, this officially happens a few months after 101 and is connected into plots and characters from that story. So yes, you guys will indeed be seeing Neb, Kitty, Alistair, the twins, and Lizzie again. Such fun, am I right? Anyway, let's get this party started, shall we?

Fear 1: Popcorn

Sven was terrified of popcorn. It wasn't because it made a popping noise, although the noise certainly didn't help. Sven was always terrified because something as hard as a kernel was could not possibly turn into something as soft as popcorn. It was not natural… and he admitted that popcorn did haunt his nightmares.

"You know this is going to be a disaster, right?" Neb grumbled as he, Lizzie, Kitty, Alistair, Sven, and Maddie walked toward the movie theatre. As Kitty and Alistair had been working non-stop caring and raising Allison and Felix, Lizzie decided to treat them to a movie. Neb and Maddie both arranged for their boss, Muffin McMan, daughter of the Muffin Man, to babysit the twins while they were out.

Lizzie rolled her eyes. "We're just going out to a movie. You always look on the negative side of things," Lizzie sighed, shaking her head. "Were you always this much trouble?"

"No. I got worse when you married me," Neb smirked. "And I meant that Sven would be a disaster, not the movie."

"I'm n-n-n-n-n-n-not scared of the m-m-m-m-movie," Sven stuttered. "Maddie assured m-m-m-m-me that we were watching Sloths of Paradise. I'm n-n-n-n-n-n-not scared of sloths, nope!"

"The one movie Sven and I actually collectively like," Neb said dryly. He then turned to Maddie, an eyebrow raised. "Did you tell him before we left like I asked you too?"

"Um… if I say crocodiles, would you take that as a yes or a no?"

"No."

"Then crocodiles!"

Neb sighed, rubbing his eyes. Kitty looked at him in confusion. "What's wrong? It's just a movie, one Sven can actually sit through without having one of his episodes," Kitty said. "Why are you making such a big deal out of it?"

The group of six entered into the theater, which looked mostly busy. Neb eyed the counter and noticed that a large bag of unpopped popcorn was being poured into the machine. "You'll find out in about five seconds."

"Seriously Neb," Alistair said. "What could possibly…"

POP!

"Never mind, I know what you're talking about now," Alistair grumbled.

POP!

POP POP POP POP POP POP POP POP POP!

Sven flinched, each pop getting louder and louder to his ears. His eyes slowly turned to the source of the popping… and saw the kernels flying out of the machine. Sven paled a lighter tint of white and started to frantically shake his head. "Nononononononono!" Sven said. "No popcorn! Anything but popcorn!"

"You're kind of a jerk," Lizzie said to her secret husband. "You could have warned him."

"Yeah, but what would be the purpose of this chapter if I did? Besides, I did tell Maddie to do it before we left!"

"Which you also told me not to do it so the chapter would be eventful!"

"Not helping Maddie."

Sven, meanwhile, had retreated to outside the theater, shaking. Maddie looked over at her boyfriend outside and gave the rest of the group a small smile. "Go ahead and go inside," Maddie said. "We'll catch up!"

"You sure? We can wait," Kitty said.

"Nah! Giants didn't yak the highway!" Maddie giggled. "Trust me, we'll be right behind you four!" After reluctantly nodding a few times, Lizzie, Neb, Kitty, and Alistair all went to the counter to get some popcorn. Maddie took a deep breath and bounced outside the theatre.

"S-s-s-s-s-s-sorry," Sven said as Maddie sat down next to her. "I… I t-t-t-t-tried not to be scared… b-b-b-b-b-but… popcorn…"

"It's ok silly!" Maddie said, wrapping an arm around him. "We all have fears! It's just a natural thing for us to all fear!"

"B-b-b-b-but… you aren't s-s-s-s-scared of anything… why c-c-c-c-can't I be like you?"

"Because you aren't me! You're Sven! If you were me, you'd be in a dress!" Maddie giggled. She was quiet for a few moments before speaking again. "Why are you afraid of popcorn?"

"W-w-w-w-well… it's hard… b-b-b-b-but… then it's soft… and it's n-n-n-n-not natural!" Sven said.

Before Sven could do anything, Maddie quickly kissed him. Sven still wasn't comfortable with kissing, but he normally let Maddie do it when she was trying to prove a point. When Maddie parted, she smiled at him. "What did my lips feel like right now?" Maddie asked.

"Um… s-s-s-soft and warm… and tastes like tea," Sven admitted.

"Whenever you eat some popcorn, pretend you're kissing me."

"W-w-w-w-what?!"

"My lips are soft, right?" Maddie asked. "Instead of focusing on the fact that the popcorn was once hard, focus on it being soft. Then, picture it as something you're used to, like my lips. When you eat the popcorn, you'll always remember my lips, and instead of focusing on it being popcorn, you'll be kissing it instead! Only, eating it and not really kissing it. Unless you like kissing food, then yay!"

Sven blinked a few times. "I'm n-n-n-n-not sure if I u-u-u-u-understood that," Sven admitted to her. "B-b-b-b-b-but…I'll try to do it y-y-y-y-your way. W-w-w-w-will you… um… be s-s-s-s-supportive if I can't handle it?"

"If you can't handle the popcorn, then we'll watch the stars out here," Maddie said with a smile. "No popcorn out here to bother you. If you try you're hardest and really can't handle it, I'll be right there with you, ok?"

Sven nodded, lightly smiling. He took a deep breath, stood up, and followed Maddie back into the theatre. As the others had already bought the popcorn, Maddie led Sven to the showing room and quickly found Neb, who had somehow found a sloth hat between the time Maddie had left. Maddie and Sven walked up to them and sat down, Maddie next to Neb and Sven next to Maddie.

"A sloth hat?" Maddie asked.

"Another version of me has a girlfriend who likes sloths," Neb grumbled. "Sue me. I love sloths. Did you take care of it?"

"We'll see. Buy my popcorn?"

"You said it as if I was a normal human being," Neb grumbled, giving Maddie some popcorn. "Did you forget who writes these?"

"You haven't written me in a while!" Maddie giggled. "People forget things Neb! Like a certain someone forgetting whose birthday it is in a few days."

"Ugh… I don't know what to get her," Neb grumbled. "I could die again and give her a fancy letter, but I don't think she'd like that."

"Maybe a turtle?"

"I'm the one who likes turtles."

"Well, I'm out of ideas," Maddie shrugged. "Good luck!"

"You need it more. Sven's your responsibility."

Maddie nodded and took a deep breath, turning to her boyfriend. Slowly, she gave Sven the tub of popcorn. Sven shakily grabbed it with his hands and looked inside, seeing the many, many kernels inside. Sven shivered, staring at the terrifying thing in front of him.

"Remember. Picture them like my lips," Maddie said.

Sven took a shaky breath and grabbed the popcorn. No… not popcorn. Maddie's lips. Feeling the kernel, Sven realized it did feel soft like Maddie's lips. Sven took another deep breath and slowly popped the kernel into his mouth.

Maddie was right. The kernel wasn't that scary when he pictured kissing Maddie. Sven chewed the kernel and swallowed, giving Maddie a small smile. "N-n-n-n-not that bad," Sven said to her, making Maddie giggle.

"See? I told you unicorns could tap dance!"

"B-b-b-b-b-but…"

"What?"

"Your l-l-l-l-lips are softer."

Maddie froze for a moment… before bursting out in laughter. "Well then," Maddie said, getting close to Sven. "Maybe I should give you a reminder." Maddie kissed him, making Sven blush… but also inwardly smile. While he was still uncomfortable kissing Maddie… that was a fear for another day.

BN: For the first chapter, I think this one was sweet. As you can see, this fic is focused more on the things Sven fears and how Maddie is influential in his life. She's still bouncy and fun, but she knows how to treat Sven as well, which is kind of a sweet balance. Also, I wanted to try something different. In 101, Alistair was the supporting role and Kitty was in the needful role, like a typical stereo-typical couple normally is. With this couple, Sven's the needful one and Maddie's the supporting role. I just wanted to try a different type of couple, which I think is going to be fun.

Like? Hate? Meh? Let me know via review!