p style="text-align: center;"The room was on fire. It seemed that the chemistry between these two red-headed rascals was unbreakable. They danced until they were tired, then talked until they were ready to start again. Truly this was the epitome of young love. The girl —Wendy— brushed aside her luscious, fiery hair to get a better look at her handsome partner: A baby-faced boy with cute freckles. Together, they were in a moment, a beautiful moment, and neither of them wanted it to end. Wendy, putting on a confident facade, leaned in beside the boy and whispered as softly as possible in the overbearing volume of the room. "I think we should get out of here." The boy shivered as one of Wendy's pigtails brushed over his bare neck. Beginning to blush, we tried to find the words, but instead, they were replaced by an inane studdering—"Come on!" the girl called out as she grabbed at the boy's wrist; this time, she wasn't going to let him slip away. As she skillfully maneuvered the dense crowd, with the boy close behind, she tried to ignore all of the stares. After all, she knew what they must have been thinking: "What is she doing? How could THE Wendy be going through all of this for some nobody? Maybe its a faze." Her delicate face shrunk as she finished the thought; "Ugh, faze. What an ugly word." This discomfort was interrupted by the relieved sigh on the boy whom which she was holding. The crowds had faded into the background before being consumed completely by the sounds of the night. Outside was cooler, and the moon visible above put Wendy and her friend at ease. Even if the stars didn't seem to agree, hidden away by a sheet of cloud. "Pretty cloudy today. All the stars must have gone to sleep or something" the boy joked awkwardly as the matching couple made their way down the quiet street corner. There was a long silence before the boy again decided to speak up. "What do we do no—" Wendy was already wrapped around him, her lips pressed against his. Slowly, the sudden shock that filled the young man dispersed as he fell into the kiss, draping his own arms around her. One hand firmly grasped at her blue-stripped dress while the other explored her soft velvet hair. When their bodies were reluctantly separated, she looked up into his deep eyes. Biting her lip as her entire body quaked in anticipation. "I'm not finished yet, we're going to have to head over to my place." Squeezing his hand before running down the street towards her familiar bus stop. The boy followed suit. Waiting for him to catch up, she went over everything in her head. She might be hiding it well, but she was trembling with anxiety. "This is it." She thought "after all this time, things are gonna work out between us." as she finished her thought her red-hair-cohort caught up to her, standing, panting, beside her. Quickly, she put back on her cocky smile, but, as quickly as it came, it went. Her friend was looking sternly at his feet, completely still. Oh no. Did she do something wrong? Had she been too forward? Should she have been truer to herself? Doubts flooded her mind, and tears crawled across her vision. She tried desperately to blink them away before he looked back up at her but failed. She shot her head to the side, putting her hand on her temple to avoid eye contact. This only exacerbated problems, causing her to let out stifled sobs. She was confused, but mostly, she was scared. She had been scared of this moment for a very, very long time. "No no no no, please look at me." a warm hand embraced her cheek. "It isn't what you think." he tried to reassure her as he turned her face towards him. "Whaaa—" she mumbled through her tight face. "I love you. I am so, so, so, incomprehensibly in love with you Wendy." he said, suddenly pulling her into a long embrace. Her hand pressed against his chest. Tears began to soak the top of her strawberry head, as she felt the young boy's chest convulse and shudder with sobs. "I am, so sorry. Oh my god, Wendy, I am so sorry. I shouldn't have gone this long without telling you." At this point, thew both knew what came next, was going to forever d-determine the fate of their relationship. "My name... it's not actually Herald. It's... The Hamburglar" Wendy gasped in surprise, freezing completely still against the Hamburglar's shaking frame. This... this was impossible... its, it's not true. What could this mean? Was all of this time they had spent together rendered completely worthless? "You know-*sob-what this... what this means for us? Right?" he choked. "I know what it means. It means... that if I'm found with you; someone from another chain. Let alone you. I... I'll be completely ruined." Wendy paused for a second, as she fidgeted nervously with her long braids. Suddenly, a look of sheer terror crossed her face. "Oh my god... If... Oh no... If you're discovered, think of what R-Ronald will do to you" The rest of her thoughts were drowned out by immense sobs. "Fuck Ronald!" the Hamburglar screamed, nearly cowering under the sound of his own voice "Fuck McDonalds, Fuck all of it." Together, they were a mess; unable to think clearly or with any sensibility. It was a pure catharsis. Calming down as his voice finished echoing down the street the Hamburglar looked into Wendy's eyes, as their tears flowed slowly in tandem. "Besides," he said, "your status had never stopped us before." he joked, awkwardly. "This... this is different. We... we're from different worlds, you and I." Wendy said, carefully. "Then maybe what we need is a change of scenery. Then we will be in a different world together, right?" the boy replied, looking sheepishly off to the left as he nervously ran his hand through his hair. "let's run away" What!?" Wendy replied the Hamburglar clarified: "It doesn't have to be forever, I just think we should spend some time away from it all; all the drama and the politics. That way we can get a clearer image of how we truly feel for each other before making any irrational decisions." Wendy thought about it, she thought about it long and hard. but she already knew what she wanted. She wanted him, and spending time alone, away with him, sounded like the greatest most sensible thing she had ever heard. In fact, she had wanted to ever since he had told her he was the Hamburglar in the first place. But this, this was a decision. not just a wild fantasy. This was going to be her life, as she knew once she had him, she would never let him go. "I would like that." She sighed. "I just want you to know, I'm not as confident as I've been leading you to believe." She laughed at this, trying to regain her facade, but the boy simply held her closer. "I know. But, as long as you're with me, you don't need to be. Trust me." whispered the Hamburglar, as he welcomed Wendy's aching heart into an intimate embrace. Wendy had never been so vulnerable, so exposed, and yet, so sure. She had opened up entirely to this boy, and, instead of using her, as so many before him had, he had decided to save her. She knew she was ready. "Let's do it." she nodded, and the Hamburgler nodded back. Both turning towards the empty void of the black street. Wendy leaned over and rested her head on the Hamburglars shoulder as his red curls intertwined with her ponytails. "I love you Harold" she joked, awkwardly. She could feel his warm breath against her face as he said: "I love you too Wendy."/p