Belle left the office and headed straight for the music shop, as had become her routine every Thursday night for the past several weeks. Adam's uncle greeted her warmly as the bell above the door jingled to signal her entrance. "Hello, Belle. Is it video game night again? Or do you two have other plans tonight?"
Belle smiled. "Hi, Mr. Prince. You were right the first time."
Adam's uncle shook his head. "I told you, you can call me Vinnie. All of Adam's friends do. And speaking of Adam, he should be around here somewhere. If you just give me a minute, I'll go find him for you." Belle wandered around the front of the store, admiring the guitars mounted on the wall as Vinnie disappeared through the doorway behind the counter.
He returned from the offices a few minutes later with Adam, who grinned at Belle. "Are you ready to kick some butt?"
Belle laughed. "I'm ready to hopefully not drag you down while you kick some butt." Although her skills had improved over the last few weeks, she still had a long way to go before she considered herself a competent gamer.
"You could never drag me down," Adam responded, an uncharacteristic blush creeping over his face as the words left his mouth before he had time to think about them. Belle went equally red as she smiled back at him gratefully. Vinnie looked from Adam to Belle in amusement. Adam cleared his throat. "So, uh, Lumiere asked me if we could pick up the pizza on our way over. Do you mind stopping with me?"
"Oh no, that's fine," Belle agreed. "Should we get going then?" Adam nodded, and they bid Vinnie good night before setting off for Lumiere's and Cogsworth's apartment. Vinnie watched Adam hold the door open for Belle, his lips quirking up into a knowing smile as they exited the shop together.
Cogsworth had selected another vintage game this week, a fact for which Belle was immensely glad. The controls were so much simpler for the older games; the complicated sets of operations that accompanied most of the more modern games tended to confuse and frustrate her. She was able to play this week's game without having to focus too much of her concentration on it, which allowed her more opportunity to appreciate the company. She was really starting enjoy these weekly affairs. Cogsworth and Lumiere had welcomed her into their circle as easily as if they'd always known each other. Plus, they provided another excuse for her to see Adam during the week, though it was an excuse she hardly needed. As it was, they had started spending an increasing amount of their free time together. She couldn't quite explain it, but when she was with him, she felt less lonely. And it had nothing to do with the fact that she was no longer technically alone.
"Oh," Lumiere said suddenly, as a new game began to load. "Adam, I meant to tell you, I can't make it to the Robert Plant show on Saturday. The station needs me to cover for another DJ that night. I'm sorry for the late notice; I only just found out this morning."
"You're kidding," Adam groaned. "We bought those tickets months ago!"
"I know," Lumiere grumbled. "But there's no way to get out of it. Believe me, I tried. Is there anyone else who can go with you?"
Adam looked at Cogsworth, who held up his hands. "You know I would, but the mayor has an event that night. Otherwise, I would have bought a ticket when you guys did."
"Right," Adam sighed in disappointment. The list of people he could think of to replace Lumiere was fairly short. In fact, he was pretty certain he had just exhausted it. He supposed he could still go by himself, but it wouldn't be nearly as much fun. On the other hand, it was better than missing the show completely.
"Robert Plant ...," Belle murmured, frowning as she tried to place the name. "Isn't he from Led Zeppelin?"
Lumiere nodded. "He was their lead singer, but he performs mostly on his own now. He's doing a solo show on Saturday night, and Adam and I were supposed to go. But ...," he shrugged helplessly, "duty calls."
"Well, I like Led Zeppelin," Belle said. "Does he still play any of their songs?"
"Some ...," Lumiere responded, slowly grinning as if he had just been struck with a brilliant idea. "Are you busy on Saturday night, Belle?"
"Uh-uh," she replied, shaking her head as a smile crept across her face.
"Would you like my Robert Plant ticket?" Lumiere offered.
Belle bounced in her seat enthusiastically. "Sure!" The biggest concert she had ever attended was, well, the one at which she had met Adam, Lumiere, and Cogsworth in the first place. And she had had no idea who they were when she had gone. The idea of going to see a musician she knew and of whom she was already a fan was kind of exciting. Plus, it would be fun to share that experience with Adam. She had found that his company improved even the most mundane events, like grocery shopping and waiting in line at the bank; going to a rock concert with him would be even more thrilling.
"There you go, Adam!" Lumiere announced triumphantly. "You've got a date for the concert. And a much better-looking one than you had originally." He winked. Adam's mind was still trying to process what had just happened, but he did know one thing: he liked the idea of taking Belle to the concert. In fact, he couldn't believe he hadn't thought to offer the ticket to her.
"How much do I owe you for the ticket?" Belle asked, turning to Lumiere.
Lumiere waved his hand magnanimously. He had a smile on his face that struck Belle as slightly calculating, but she couldn't imagine why or what he might be up to. "Don't worry - I've got it covered. It'll be enough for me to know that the two of you had a good time. In fact, Adam, you can still use my car if you need it. I can drop it off with you before you leave."
"Thanks," Adam nodded gratefully. "That would be great."
"Why, where is the show?" Belle asked curiously.
"The club's about an hour away from here. It was the closest show on his schedule," Adam explained.
"Ah," said Belle. A concert and a road trip? Saturday was shaping up to be more of an adventure than she had expected; suddenly, she felt almost giddy. She began to mentally make a list of things that she could bring to help them pass the time in the car, and that was when her phone began to ring. She grabbed for her purse, and then fished around inside until her fingers closed around the phone. She pulled it out and glanced at the display. "Oh, excuse me, guys. It's my dad - do you mind pausing the game while I take this?"
"Not a problem," Lumiere answered. "You can use one of the bedrooms if you need some privacy."
"Thanks," Belle smiled as she made for the nearest room, shutting the door gently behind her.
Once he was certain she was out of earshot, Lumiere turned to Adam excitedly. "This is your chance!"
Adam gulped. He was looking forward to Saturday, but he'd had a feeling that Lumiere had had an ulterior motive for offering his ticket to Belle. "Hang on ...," he cautioned his friend.
"Hang on!" Lumiere exclaimed in a loud whisper. "We've been hanging on all summer! How long are you planning to pine away for this girl before you say something to her?"
"Well I hadn't really thought about it ..."
Lumiere rolled his eyes. "Well start thinking about it. This is the perfect opportunity to tell her how you feel."
"And if she doesn't feel the same way ...?" Adam countered.
"She does," Lumiere answered confidently. "Didn't you see how excited she is to be going to the show with you?"
"She's excited to see Robert Plant," Adam corrected.
"It's more than that," Lumiere insisted. Adam looked at him skeptically. "You don't mean to tell me that for all the time you spend looking at her - and you spend a lot of time looking at her by the way - you've never noticed the way she looks at you?"
"Why? How does she look at me?" Adam asked curiously.
"Like your mere presence makes her day. She lights up every time she sees you, even if you've only been gone for a minute."
Cogsworth looked up from a slice of pizza. "She does do that," he agreed.
"Really?" Adam asked doubtfully, trying not to allow himself to hope too much.
"Really," Lumiere responded dryly. "If the two of you were any more obvious, I'd be tempted to invite you to my next poker game. But seriously, there's definitely something there. The two of you just need to stop moping over each other like lovesick puppies and do something about it. And Cogsworth and I are going to help you do it."