In truth, Fee had been too anxious to get any real work done that evening. She'd had trouble falling asleep, too, and eventually had to resort to taking a melatonin. Of course, that meant she was groggy in the morning, but that was better than having bags under her eyes.

Still wearing her pajamas, Fee headed downstairs and grabbed the phone from the kitchen. She dialed the number for Tine's house, and was relieved to hear her friend answer.

"Hey Tine, have you got a sec?"

"Fee? What's up? Did you feel like working on trigonometry again?"

"N-no." Fee squeezed her eyes shut and took several deep breaths, trying to quell the butterflies in her stomach. "I—Tine, I don't know what to do," she stammered.

"Wait, did something go wrong?" her friend asked, alarmed.

"W-we're going to c-coffee today... me and Mr. Chalphy."

"What?! That's great!" Tine exclaimed. "How'd you manage that?"

Fee didn't know what to say, so she simply remained silent.

"Anyway, what's the problem?" Tine asked, confused.

She groaned in response. "I don't—what do I do? I don't know what to wear," Fee explained, her eyes stinging with tears.

"Hmm," Tine pondered. "What time are you meeting him?"

"9 o'clock."

"Huh, that's lucky. We've still got time. Can I come over and help you pick something out?"

"Tine, you shouldn't have to worry about something so dumb."

"Fee, this isn't dumb at all, it's important. Besides, even if I don't have to, I want to. That's what friends are for, right?"

Despite her mounting anxiety, Fee couldn't help but smile. "Thanks, Tine. Y-yeah... I'd really appreciate your help."

"'Kay, I'll be over in about five minutes. See you soon."

The five minutes Tine had promised felt like an eternity, but she did finally arrive. Fee let her friend in, and Marth promptly came over to inspect their visitor.

"Aww, who's this guy?" Tine asked, stooping down to pet the happy mutt.

"That's Marth," Fee explained. "I usually just call him Mars Bars or Marzipan, though."

"What a sweetheart," her friend cooed, scratching behind his ears.

"Y-yeah, he's pretty great," Fee agreed halfheartedly. Despite the whirlwind in her head, she tried not to sound as panicked as she felt.

Tine gave her friend a rueful glance. "Sorry, we should go figure this out, huh?"

Fee nodded and led the way up to her room.

"It's just that we haven't got any dogs at home. Mom is allergic, you know? But I've got a soft spot for them."

"Maybe the next time we work on trig, we can do it here," Fee offered with a nervous smile. "I bet Marth would enjoy the company."

Tine tut-tutted in response. "Fee, this is your day. You can't be so glum, you know? I might take you up on that offer, though."

"R-right, I get it... still, though."

"How do you feel about this guy?" Tine asked, glancing sidelong at her friend.

"I-I like him," Fee barely voiced the words.

"And this is your chance to tell him how you feel. You get to put your radiant maiden's heart on display for him to see. Let's make the most of it starting right now, okay?"

Although she wasn't quite convinced, Fee took a deep breath and forced herself to smile. "Alright," she agreed.

In Fee's room, Tine started sorting through all the potential options for the coffee date, explaining as she went. "So you want something mature, and of course you want to look cute. So it boils down to how dressed up you want to look. You know, it's just coffee, so you don't want to look like you're making too much of it? But girls can wear comfortable things that also happen to look nice."

"Okay, try these on," Tine said, indicating a pair of brown knee high boots and a denim A line. Fee obliged, quickly putting them on. The skirt didn't quite meet the boots, leaving the lower part of Fee's thighs exposed.

"Very sexy," Tine said, grinning wickedly. "I'm sure he'll be very impressed. Here, try this with it," she continued, handing her friend a cream turtleneck.

Fee accepted the sweater and donned it. She walked across her room to the standing mirror and did a double take as she saw her reflection. Tine seemed to have a talent for this, as Fee admittedly did look good.

"Well?" Tine asked, her lips curled into a satisfied smirk. "Starting to feel confident yet?"

She took a deep breath and counted back from five before replying. "Yeah, I do... I never really get to look this pretty, you know?"

Tine's voice was effervescent as she replied: "Girl, you could rock way more than this look. I'll have to take you shopping sometime so we can get you some new clothes."

Fee's cheeks reddened at the compliment, but she flashed her friend a grateful smile. "Thanks, Tine."

"No problem," Tine replied. "So, you should probably be getting going over there soon. Do you want me to give you a lift?"

"Do you think my hair will be fine like this?" Fee asked, wishing it was longer.

"It's fine, Fee. Very cute, I promise."

She glanced to her friend, pouting. "I... I wish I had hair like yours."

Tine giggled before sticking out her tongue. "It takes work to be this beautiful," she said, flouncing her silver locks.

Fee laughed in turn, then walked over to her dresser. In a small jewelry box atop it was a silver ring. She placed it on her left thumb and smiled thinly to herself.

"Jewelry?" Tine asked, tilting her head curiously.

"Yeah," Fee agreed. "It's mother's wedding band."

"Perfect," Tine beamed. "Shall we, then?"

"Sure, let's go."

The two headed downstairs, and were promptly met by Marth. The mutt walked over with his favorite toy, tail wagging.

Fee crouched down, giving him a big smooch on the forehead. "I can't play right now, Marzipan, but definitely later. Thanks for the good luck wishes, though."

With that, the two friends left. Tine's car, a blue SUV, was parked on the street in front of the parsonage. The two climbed in and Tine drove them over to the mall.