(Maddy's P.O.V)

Kuma was adorable, but I was still confused about the sign in his mouth. Realizing that Brittany was too busy squealing over his cuteness to do anything, I reached toward him. "What do you have Kumajiro?"

He looked up at me for a minute, then blinked. "It's from... a friend."

I finally looked at the message on the sign and gasped. No way.

Brittany read over my shoulder. "That is absolutely flippin adorable."

"Kuma..." I paused, my heart pounding "Can I see that pen?" I grabbed it and opened it, suddenly finding it hard to think.

Check yes! You know you want to!

No! Check no! So many things could go wrong!

Taking a deep breath, I finally drew a line in the "yes" box and handed both the sign and marker back to Kuma. "Is that all Kuma?"

He nodded and walked away. "Brittany-"

"I didn't do anything-"

"You were about to say something." I said, cutting her off

"Do I have the right to say it?" she asked

I slowly exhaled. "Maybe." That depends on what you were going to say.

"Can I?"

"Fine."

"I told you to chill." she muttered

I glared at her. "Shut up! I know that's not what you wanted to say."

"Do I-"

"Just say it before you explode." I said chuckling

She squealed, which turned to a yell as she talked. "Ohmygod! Oh my god! OH! MY! GOD! He just asked you out! I knew it! I knew it! I knew it!"

"Brittany! Shut up!" I buried my face in my hands, attempting to hide the blush I knew was starting

"Nope! I'm in fangirl mode!"

I blushed harder and groaned, knowing we were probably getting weird stares from bystanders. "Brittany... I hate you sometimes..."

She laughed. "I know you love me!"

I wished the bench would magically open a portal and take me to another dimension. "Brittany, please calm down..."

She opened her mouth to reply, only to be cut off by a loud "YES!"

I looked up sharply, staring at the bushes. Has Matthew been there the entire time?

Brittany giggled "What time Matthew?"

"Brittany!"

She looked at me sharply. "You weren't willing to do it!"

"Yeah but what if he's near by?" I whined How could you do this to me?

"All the more reason to ask." she argued

I groaned, but didn't reply.

"Matt?"

"Brittany please shut up!" I begged

Matthew stood up and scratched the back of his neck. He laughed nervously. "Around eight?"

Brittany grinned and turned to look at me. I bit my lip and looked away from the two of them, but finally nodded. Around eight.

He cleared his throat. "I'll see you then... then."

"Ok." I smiled, watching his face as he smiled and walked away

Brittany smirked at me and grabbed my arm. "Come on."

Out of habit, I dug my feet into the ground and leaned away from her. "Where are we going?"

"Shopping. Alfred told us to entertain ourselves and he gave us money. We're going shopping." Brittany explained

"I don't consider shopping entertaining. I think of it as a means of torture." I mumbled and pulled my arm away from her "Besides, I don't see the point in going. The outfit will just end up looking stupid later."

"Well then, what do you suggest?" she snapped

"Why can't I just wear this?" I asked, gesturing to my current outfit. I didn't think it was that bad.

"This is why Michael laughed when you went to him for dating advice."

"Why are you bringing Michael into this? I only went to him once. And that didn't turn out very well."

Brittany laughed and grabbed my arm again. "Maybe we should just go to the house."

I walked after her, my mind racing. Did I really just agree to go on a date with Matt?

Time skip

I looked at the shirts laid out on my bed, then at the clock.

7:15

A mirror hung on the back of the door and I grabbed a white shirt, slipped it on and looked in the mirror.

No good.

"This one looks stupid." I mumbled and changed into a dark blue shirt. I looked again.

"This one looks stupid too." Groaning, I collapsed on the floor and stared at the pile of shirts, feeling defeated.

"Stupid shirts." I muttered, glaring at the pile "Why can't you look normal? Any other day, I wouldn't care, but right now..." I trailed off, knowing the shirts wouldn't answer and that this wasn't a matter of them looking stupid.

Standing, I snatched the first shirt off the top of the pile and slipped it on. I looked in the mirror.

Still no good.

There was a knock at the door. I opened it a crack and peeked out. "Yes?"

"It's just me." Brittany replied

I stepped back and opened the door enough for her to get it. She came in and sat on the edge of the bed. I shut the door and looked at her.

"Having trouble?" she asked, glancing at the pile of shirts and the other two thrown across the room.

I nodded. "I don't know what to wear. This would be so much easier if I knew where we were going."

Brittany smiled sympathetically and tapped her chin. "Dark blue's a nice color on you."

"I've already tried that." I muttered, picking up the two shirts on the floor. I sat on the floor and looked up at her.

She smiled again. "Try purple then. Blue's and purples look nice on you." She stood up and walked out the door.

"You're not helping." I said under my breath

"Since when am I ever helpful?" she asked

I rolled my eyes and grabbed a purple shirt once she left. Changing into it, I looked at the mirror. This actually doesn't look half bad. But it could be better. I changed into a green shirt and looked again. I glanced up at the clock.

7:30

Not like I have much of a choice. I can't believe I actually checked yes.

I gulped and sat down, forcing myself to breathe normally. Calm down.

Grabbing my book, I read a few pages and put it down. I couldn't read it right now. I fidgeted, smoothing down frizzy bits of my hair, tugging at my shirt. Calm down!

There was a knock at the door and I froze, heart pounding. Taking a deep breath, I stood and opened the door. Matthew was standing there, looking at me shyly.

"R-ready to-to go?" he asked, smiling

I smiled. "Yeah Matthew."

I followed him out of the house and to the car. The ride was silent and I ran through the different things I could say. He might be trying to work up the courage to say something... "Where are we going?" I asked finally, the silence becoming unbearable

"A place that's a little off the map, but totally worth seeing. So far it seems that I'm the only one who knows where it is and I thought I'd share it with you." he smiled

I was touched by this statement and I couldn't help blushing. "Matthew, that's so sweet!" I looked out the window, smiling slightly to myself

I saw him reach toward the radio out of the corner of my eye and blinked. "I'm only gonna break, break, b- break, break, break your heart!"

"GAHH!" Matthew blushed and quickly reached out to change it. I giggled.

"No way, no how, I won't say I'm in love-"

"Are you serious?!" he changed the channel again

"Run, run, runaway, runaway baby! Before I put my spell on you-"

"You know what?!" he said, switching the radio off. I laughed, watching as he pulled into a parking spot. "Stupid radio stations." he muttered

"It was still funny." I grinned, getting out of the car. He didn't answer, but instead, grabbed a basket "What's that?"

"Just a... just some food and supplies." He locked the car and turned toward a trail "Follow me."

I nodded and went after him. Don't walk too quickly, but don't go so slow that he thinks there's something wrong.

We came through the brush and I stopped. It's amazing. "Matthew..." I trailed off, putting my hand to my mouth. Words refused to work correctly.

He looked at me and bit his lip. "Well... do y-you like it?"

I nodded slowly, still not being able to talk.

Matthew grinned and put the basket on a nearby log.

"The lake is frozen over." I stated Oh you're fucking brilliant. Can't think of anything to say, so you just state the obvious.

"Yes, indeed it is." he replied, pulling ice skates out of the basket

A feeling of dread settled over me. "You brought ice skates."

"I did." he pulled out a second pair and handing it to me "H- here."

I took the skates and stared at them. "How is the lake frozen over?"

Matthew chuckled. "Magic." He tied the laces on his skates and looked up at me, resting his elbows on his knees. "They don't bite."

I sighed, knowing I couldn't stall any longer. "I know... I just... never been ice skating before."

"I can teach you."

I smiled. "I'll suck at it though."

"Don't say that." he replied softly

"It's true." I argued, plopping down on the ground

"No it's not, it's not written in stone." he said, coming and sitting next to me

"It might as well be." I sighed, realizing I was being difficult without really meaning to

"You don't know if you don't try. Come on..." he took the skates from me and undid the laces. "Put them on."

"Oookk..." I traded my shoes for the skates. "I trust you."

He stood and helped me up, once I'd gotten the skates on. We almost fell a couple times, but made it to the lake without dying. Matthew stepped onto the lake first and held out his hand. "Come on."

I kept my hands close to me and bit my lip. "I don't want to fall."

He bit his lip. "You won't, I promise."

Just take his hand. It's not like you'll die if you go ice skating.

Finally, I gave him my hand and stepped onto the ice. I slid and flailed my free arm in an attempt to regain my balance. Matthew put a hand on my back and pulled me closer. I laughed nervously. "H-hey."

He blushed and moved away. "Ok, we're going to start now."

"Ok." I looked at his feet as we went around the lake. I copied his movements and held onto his arm. I tripped, but caught myself and cursed as we continued.

"I'm going to go a little faster, ok?" Matthew said, smiling at me. I bit my lip, but nodded.

As promised, we started going faster and I tightened my grip on his arm, but kept up.

"You ok there Maddy?" he asked

"Yeah... I think I got it." I loosened my grip on his arm. "It's kinda like walking."

He grinned. "See! I knew you could do it!"

I rolled my eyes. "I never said I couldn't! I just said that I would suck at it..."

"Well practice makes perfect."

"But nobody's perfect."

Matthew rolled his eyes. "Well aren't you just little miss positive."

I put my free hand on my hip (which wasn't the best idea). "I can be positive if I want to be." It's just kinda hard.

He grinned and let go of my hand. We talked for a while, going around the lake again and again until he said. "You want to eat what's in the basket or stay out here a little longer?"

"Stay out here..." I replied "I want to try going faster without crashing into anything."

He smirked and started skating away. "You do that, I'm going to go eat a sandwich."

"Matthew!" I cried, grabbing the back of his shirt. I meant to grab his arm/shoulder. "Don't just leave me out here!" He'll think you're clingy!

He turned and grabbed my hand. "We both need food and you know it." He poked my nose and pulled me toward the basket. "Besides we can always go back to skating... let's just take a break for a while."

I looked at my feet. "I suppose you're right." Idiot.

He chuckled and opened the basket. I sat next to him, not really wanting to take the skates off. "What..." I bit my lip and looked away from him "What do you have?"

"Mmmm... I didn't know what you liked so I played it safe and brought my signature pancakes and hot chocolate." he pulled out the food and a thermos.

"You didn't." I said, starting to feel intensely happy

He grinned. "I did."

"Matt... you're the best!" Suddenly, feeling kind of impulsive, I rested my head on his shoulder

He opened the thermos and poured a cup of hot chocolate, handing it to me. I took it and took a sip. I looked at Matthew through the corner of my eye. How could people push him aside so easily? And how had he noticed me? Other than Brittany, no one really did. My own family didn't notice me. So how had he? And why?

"Matt this is absolutely incredible." I set the cup down. "Let me guess... there's maple syrup in this?"

He chuckled. "I did make it... you guess correctly."

I laughed. "Either way it's delicious! Can I have a pancake?"

"Of course." He took out a few pancakes on a plate and handed them to me. "Syrup?"

"Please!" I held out the plate and he poured syrup over the pancakes

"You know Matt..." I went back to leaning on him "The night you picked to come here is absolutely beautiful."

"Y-you r-really think s-so?" he asked. I felt him rest his head against mine.

"Well... yeah. I mean, look at all the stars. It's a clear night, the moon lights up the scenery beautifully."

"There are a lot of stars out tonight." he said quietly

"There are... I really wouldn't mind coming out here again." I murmured, closing my eyes

Matthew didn't respond for a while. I felt his shoulder rise and fall as he took a deep breath. "Maddy..." he sighed "I have something to ask of you."

I sat up and looked at him. "What is it Matthew? Is there something wrong?"

"No... nothing's wrong. But I-I was just... just wondering..." he paused and seemed to change his mind about what he was going to say "...thank you for coming with me tonight."

"There wasn't much of a problem, I should be thanking you for thinking of a way to get me out of the house. But what is it you wanted to ask me?" Idiot! You make it sound like he was just a way to fight off boredom.

"I-I-I... w-would you-u... uhhh..." he blushed

"Matthew?"

Wouldyoubemymapleleaf?" he muttered

I blinked and didn't respond. Did I hear him correctly? Did he just...? Oh my god. Oh. My. God. "Sure Matthew."

"Wait, what?" he looked up

I smiled, knowing my blush was obvious. "I'll be your maple leaf..."