*Thanks to everyone who commented, favorited etc. the last chapter. This is my first Rowaelin fanfic, so I was really happy to get such positive feedback! Please keep reviewing!*
As she flew down the street towards the Italian restaurant Rowan had suggested, Aelin called her best friend and often partner-in-crime, Lysandra. Picking up on the third ring, Lysandra purred into the phone "This wouldn't have anything to do with a certain girl's night I had no knowledge of?" Aelin stifled a groan as she hurried down the street. Of course Aedion had called her. "You didn't say anything to him, did you?" She knew, of course, that Lysandra wouldn't say anything to her cousin, but she had to be 100% sure. The last thing she needed was to see an angry Aedion barrelling into the restaurant like a freight train. "Of course not!" Lysandra's indignant tone was enough to make Aelin snort with repressed laughter. "But, if you're not on the phone to me by ten a.m. tomorrow, he might just get a call….." "Fine, you demon. I'll call you first thing tomorrow. Now, goodbye."
As Aelin hung up on her curious friend, she spotted her date strolling towards her. Not that it's hard to spot him, she reflected, he's even taller than Aedion. As she waited for him to approach her, she idly wondered how he managed to look like he was contemplating the best way to eviscerate everyone who stepped within a foot of him. With his looks Rowan could have any woman on campus if it wasn't for his ever present, menacing scowl. As he approached her, Aelin suddenly felt self-conscious, before forcing her spine to straighten. She was Aelin Ashryver Galathynius, and she would not be afraid. She forced a jaunty slant to her lips, and purred "Hello handsome."
Rowan's only reaction was to look her up and down, before informing her "You're late." Aelin bristled. She looked gorgeous and he knew it, and a complement would be appreciated. As if he could read her mind, Rowan glanced back at her. "You look….. nice." He said, his lips moving into a half smile that made his eyes sparkle. "You don't look half bad yourself," she offered him, before strutting through the open doors of the restaurant. The fragrances of spices from every continent mingled to create a warm, homely atmosphere. She turned to see Rowan staring after her. "You coming?" He started, before allowing the half smile to blossom into a grin that made her blush despite herself. As they walked into the restaurant side by side, she breathed a sigh of relief that he hadn't left, despite her tardiness.
As the night progressed, Aelin and Rowan never stopped talking, with Aelin asking him about karate (he was a black belt), while he questioned her on taekwondo (so was she). The conversed about classes and lecturers and the university, about their lives and what they had done and wanted to do. The laughed until their sides hurt, and when they had finished eating, they walked until their feet were sore. Rowan didn't push her to talk about what had happened to her parents, or Nehemia, the car accidents that had killed them, and she didn't question him on how his girlfriend Lyria had died. The each accepted the other had a history and respected it to be just that, their history. As they strolled back towards Aelin's house to continue their conversation, they spied a couple sitting on a park bench, talking quietly. They gasped. "That's not…" "It can't be…" "It is!" It was with disbelief in their eyes that they saw Lorcan, Rowans long-time friend and Elide, Aelin's best friend after Lysandra, laughing and talking quietly together. They kept chatting, oblivious to Aelin and Rowan behind them, until Lorcan suddenly looked up. The males stared at each other for a moment, until Lorcan broke the silence. "You're with HER?" Aelin, who had been gaping at Elide, mastered the power of speech enough to ask Elide "You're with HIM?" The four regarded each other for a moment, before simultaneously exclaiming "HOW?"
