Hey everyone! So yeah, I am so sorry I was not able to update last week :( School just started, and already it's hectic (I have GAZILLION responsibilities this year, literally) but fear no more! For the next chapter has arrived! Heh. I hope you guys like it :))

And also, I'm starting to draft the next chapter now :) If I could finish it this afternoon after my day off with the guyfriends, I'd post it hehe :) Anyways, enjoy!

Chapter 12- Operation Star Gazing

It was going on eight thirty in the evening. Eileen and Rigby were nearly the only customers left at Julian's Place. They just finished their dessert. Eileen was having a great time with Rigby. It was the first time she had so much fun in days.

"I really had a great time tonight, Rigby. Thanks a lot," Eileen said as she took a sip of the wine. After feeling funny finishing her Coke up, she decided to have some Wine with Rigby. It was a nice wine, a Carlo Rossi.

"Eh, no problem," was all Rigby could say. He drank four glasses of wine already, and he was starting to feel a little funny. Afraid he would say something that would upset the mole, the raccoon simply responded to her with a few words.

As soon as Leo arrived with their bill, Rigby pulled out the exact amount, and he and Eileen went out of the restaurant.

"So what do you wanna do?" Rigby asked. "It is still eight thirty."

Eileen looked up and stared at the beautiful stars shining in the night sky. She noticed her star, and the satellite Rigby wanted to name. Rigby noticed her concentration in the stars. Then he thought…

"You wanna go stargazing? I know this great spot at the park."

Eileen blushed. "Really? That sounds great, Rigby!"

Rigby smiled. It was time to execute operation star gazing.

…

"So how are your studies going?" Mordecai asked Margaret. "Did you get called or anything by those universities you applied to?"

"Well, I got one reject so far, and I got accepted into this university in the next city, but I don't know. We can't really afford the tuition, and the scholarship they offered me was not enough. So that means I have to wish for the best for that big university at the other side of the US."

"Wait, what?" Mordecai asked. Disappointment filled his face. If Margaret got accepted into that university on the other side of the country, he'd never see her again for the next few years.

"Yeah, I know. It's a big bummer, huh?" Margaret said as she took a bite of the muffin she bought earlier this morning. "But, you know, it's for the best."

Mordecai didn't respond. He was trying his best to imagine a life without Margaret. What if she meets a dude there? What if she gets together with him? He didn't want that to happen.

"Mordecai?" Margaret said.

"Yeah, I'm sorry. It's just that… It just won't be the same without you."

Margaret blushed and said, "Really?"

…..

"Uhh, Rigby, are you sure we're allowed up here?" Eileen asked. Rigby took her to the rooftop of the park house. She had to admit, the view from up there was spectacular. But would this get Rigby trouble? She didn't want him to get in trouble just because of her.

"Of course we are," the raccoon replied. "Mordecai and I do this all the time."

Eileen shrugged and sat with him. It was nice just spending one on one time with Rigby. They barely spent a moment together because of Mordecai and Margaret.

"So, Rigby, I've been meaning to ask you," Eileen asked. "Was this the first time you ever took someone out on a date?"

Rigby froze. A sudden rush of emotions went to him. Amelia, the first date, the moment he knew it would never work. It struck him hard like a pounding hammer.

"I'm sorry. I shouldn't have said that," Eileen murmured after a while.

"No, it's okay," Rigby replied. "I'm sorry. I was just taken off guard, that's all." He stared at the nighttime sky, hoping Eileen would drop the subject.

"So, will you answer the question?" Eileen asked much to Rigby's dismay. He thought for a moment and decided that he will answer the mole's question.

"It's my second, actually."

Eileen nodded and said, "Well, who's your first?"

Rigby sighed and answered, "It was Sophomore year High School. I met a girl in my Homeroom, her name was Amelia. She was kind of what Bailey is to you. She's a great girl. She'd help me with my homework, she'd patch me up when I'm hurt or something, and she'd pick me up when I'm down."

"What about Mordecai?"

"Mordecai was there for me too, he was just too busy sometimes drooling over this freshman called Margaret Haddad." He shuddered when he heard the name.

"Margaret?"

"Yeah, for him it was like love at first sight. We still hung out every day, but he was distant. He just seemed like all he can't talk about was Margaret. I mean I like Margaret, she's a nice kid, but Mordecai needs to learn and seal the deal before anyone else gets her."

"Hmm. So go on."

"Well, it was a week before Homecoming. Mordecai was trying his best to forget about Margaret and ask another girl to the dance. I did my best to try and win Amelia over, so I asked her out on a date." Eileen started feeling uncomfortable, knowing that she wasn't the first girl he ever asked out. But that was okay, she tried to say to herself. He did ask you out, after all. Amelia was his past, after all.

"She said yes. So we had the date. Bla, bla, bla, long story short, I realized it would never work." He didn't want to go through the details. He just wanted to forget about her.

"Oh." Eileen let the subject drop and stared at the stars. They were beautiful, like always. There were almost a million of them from here, but she knew that there would be a hell lot more than a million. She thought they were an amazing thing, and studying them was art.

"So, astronomy, huh?" Rigby said, trying to ease her into a less-awkward conversation. Eileen smiled and said, "Well, yeah."

"So, have you found anything?"

"Well I did find an Astrophysics program at the Community College. I'm not sure about it yet, so that's why I'm aiming for the colleges outside the city."

"I think you should go for it," Rigby quickly said. He couldn't imagine a Coffee Shop life without Eileen. Mordecai would be all Margaret-crazy, while he would sit there beside him sulking. That was not a life he envisioned for himself.

Or was it just more than that?

He sighed to himself and looked at the stars even more. People say that when you look at them, you begin to wonder who you are, if this is really who you think you'd be.

That's exactly what happened.

Rigby began to ask himself. Is this really all he'll be with Eileen? Is this just how he wants it to be? Friends?

"Eileen?"

"Yeah?"

"Have you ever looked into the stars and thought that there's still something about yourself that you haven't found yet?"

Eileen sat up and looked into the raccoon's eyes, which were fixed on the beautiful stars. "Well, sometimes. I mean, I'm really happy with my life, really I am, but sometimes I just feel like there's something else inside me that I need in it, something that'll fill some sort of hole."

"Hmm," was all Rigby could say.

"What about you?" the mole asked a few moments later.

"Mm, I've never actually looked at the stars this long, so I never really knew how much it'd affect me. It's kinda weird, actually. One minute you know for sure that you have the perfect life, and the next thing you know, you're staring at the stars wondering who you really are."

"Ha, yeah. The stars not only have a Scientific impact on us but a Psychological impact as well. That's what fascinates me about the stars. They always seem to have that kind of impact on people."

"I do have to admit, it is pretty cool."

"Yeah, it is."

A moment of silence fell between them. Rigby's mind started becoming blank as he stared at the stars once again.

…

"Well, yeah," Mordecai said. "I mean, it's just that we've been hanging out for so long, and we've been through a lot together, so it's hard to let all of that go."

"Hmm, yeah," Margaret replied.

Silence fell between the two. Moments later, Mordecai started thinking and asked the robin, "Do you remember the time we first met?"

Margaret sat up and giggled. "Of course, I do. We were in the art club together. To be honest, I never expected a guy like you to be in an art club."

"Hmm, yeah. I guess I just don't look like the art-type of guy. But you know, art is great, you can make anything with it. You can just be yourself."

Margaret smiled. "So back to what we're talking about; we were in the art club together," she said.

"Yeah, then we were partnered together for that painting activity," Mordecai recalled. "I have to admit, that activity was really fun."

Margaret giggled again. "Yeah, I mean we had all those special lessons on light theory and all that. It was really fun learning."

"Hmm," was all Mordecai could say.

…

Ten minutes have passed and Rigby still found himself staring at the stars with Eileen. She was right beside him, staring up, just as lost in thought as he was. He admitted she was beautiful tonight, and the blush on her cheeks were lovely and stood out. There was also something different about her eyes, an expression he had never before seen. They were a mix of worry, bewilderedness, and lovestruck. He couldn't explain it as he had never seen that look in any girl's eyes- not even Margaret's- before.

"You thinking about something?" he asked her.

"Oh, yeah," she replied. "I was just thinking about how we met."

"Hmm," was all Rigby could say. He didn't want to remember how they first met. He wasn't very nice to her. "I know it was a really long time ago, Eileen, but you know… I'm sorry."

"Aw, it's cool, Rigby. We're friends now, that's all that matters."

Friends, Rigby scoffed in his head. He tried shaking the thought off, but it stuck. He couldn't get it out.

What? Eileen might leave, Margaret might leave? Why the sudden leaving? Hehe, it had something to do with the 'Friend Zone' thing in Meteor Moves (still couldn't get over it) and the idea came from a new guyfriend. :) Hehe, anyways, I hope you liked it! Please leave a review if you did!

And oh, thank you so much for those who left reviews! I really appreciated it :)) I never imagined that so many people would love the story! Haha, I thought there were more Morderet fans around. Thank you so much!