Saturday; November 27th; Chancey Fancy; 6:46 p.m.

Dawn scribbled down the order in her palm sized notebook and smiled warmly at the customer. "Is there anything else you'd like tonight, sir?" The customer shook his head in reply. "Okay, well it'll just a few minutes," she said before walking away from the table.

She tore the paper without looking and slid it through the opening of the kitchen window. She turned around, sighing to herself dreamily. There were only a few hours of her shift left; waiting for it to be over was becoming excruciating, especially since she was really looking forward to her first date tonight. Her body was tingling with both excitement and anxiety. During her breaks, she constantly doodled in the little notebook while contemplating what to wear tonight.

Paul had mentioned that he had no idea what to expect or where they'd be going, but she assured him that she just wanted to spend some valuable time with him. She wasn't really fussy about those sorts of things.

The kitchen door opened from behind and Brock looked at the blunette with slight confusion. "Dawn?" He spoke, allowing her to turn around. "I may be wrong here, but I'm pretty sure no one ordered some names called Paul and Dawn enclosed in hearts," he said teasingly, the paper in his palm. It was filled with numerous hearts and doodles.

A blush crept on her cheeks as she quickly retracted the embarrassing possession from his grasp and realized that she obviously gave him the wrong paper. She quickly apologized and handed him the customer's order, keeping her gaze to the floor.

"Hey now, no need to be embarrassed. This Paul guy's your boyfriend, I assume?" Brock asked, after letting loose a few amused laughs.

Still a bit embarrassed, she nodded shyly. "Yeah. We're going out tonight."

The tanned man grinned in reply. "Well isn't that exciting? Well Serena and Lillie should be here in about a half hour so then you should be free to go too."

Dawn frowned. "But I took a day off last week already and leaving work early this week doesn't exactly look good, does it?"

Brock was about to reply when Mr. Rowan's loud and penetrating voice was heard, causing Dawn to slightly flinch. "Leaving work early? Hm, quite notorious of you, Dawn. I allowed you to have a day off last week under good reason. But to let you off early because of a minute reason such as a date is preposterous." He said, his voice suddenly intimidating. He then turned to Brock. "And as for you, I better not witness you steering one of my new employees into the wrong direction." With that said, he turned towards the other direction and walked into his office, closing the door behind him.

Dawn remained silent while Brock muttered, "Geez, what crawled into his ass and died?"

Dawn laughed and waved him off with her hand. "No need to worry. He's right anyway, and besides, I need the money. And it's only a few more hours left too."

Brock nodded. "Point taken. Anyways, I better get back to the kitchen as well otherwise we'll have a group of ravaging customers attacking us." Dawn laughed in reply before he walked back into the kitchen.

The last two hours had been excruciating and Dawn's feet were killing her at this point. There was a huge rush hour during this time and she just wanted to get over the remaining minutes of her shift as soon as possible. There was just one customer remaining and she had already taken her order.

When she walked back, the other two girls were giving the customer suspicious looks. Dawn raised an eyebrow. "Did you just serve that customer?" Serena asked.

Dawn looked back to see her mindlessly tapping against the table and then glanced back at the two girls, the confused expression still evident. "Yeah…?"

"She almost never pays for her meals," Lillie explained. "She came here a month ago and Mr. Rowan had to kick her out. The poor woman," she said, putting a hand where her heart was and sighed.

Serena scoffed. "Poor woman? If you don't have money, why even bother coming into a restaurant where you'd have to pay? That's ridiculous." She exclaimed towards Lillie before turning towards Dawn. "Dawn, don't waste your time. She'll probably make some sad excuse and –"

"Well, I don't think that's fair," Dawn cut in, placing a hand on her hip. "Some people are hungry and just can't afford to pay for a meal. I don't think we should just kick her out. She could be homeless for all we know."

Serena sighed in response. "Yeah but she's already done this three times and the very same thing has happened."

Dawn shrugged. She glanced back at the petite woman, who was now fumbling with her hands. She was wearing a frown on her face. "I'm gonna go talk to her," she decided just as Serena looked at the blunette with eyes wider than dinner plates.

Lillie smiled in agreement of the idea. "Yeah you should! Don't listen to Serena, she's just being grumpy."

Serena glared at her co-worker while Lillie giggled in response. "I'm not grumpy, I'm just telling Dawn to not fall into her trap."

Dawn waved her off with a hand. "I'll be fine," she said before walking towards the woman. Serena shook her head in disapproval.

Dawn sported a vivacious and enchanting smile towards the woman, who seemed surprised as she widened her purple eyes. "Hi, I just wanted to introduce myself. I'm Dawn," she said, holding out her hand.

The woman slowly stood up, as if she was hesitating, but then shook her hand with hers. "Yeah…I noticed your name tag."

Dawn looked down at her chest, seemingly forgetting that it was part of her work attire and laughed. "Mind if I sit?" The woman looked surprised at such a gesture and the blunette only laughed once more. "I know this is odd for a waitress, but I think we need to be friendlier towards customers. But that's just my opinion." The woman nodded and slowly smiled before gesturing for her to sit across from her.

"So, do you like eating here? I know I do, it's my favourite restaurant!" Dawn exclaimed in excitement. "Though working here can be a pain sometimes."

The woman grinned in reply. "Yeah that's what I would assume. I love eating here as well, the food is amazing. It's just…too bad that I can't afford it sometimes," she said, drooping her head down in disappointment.

Dawn figured she was too embarrassed to speak up but then decided to encourage her. "It's okay, you can tell me what's going on. I won't judge you. We all have stuff that we're going through."

The woman smiled shyly as she brushed a strand of her hair behind her ear. "You're the only person that's ever asked me this." She realized, before sighing deeply. "I've been having family problems for a while now and it's just gotten so bad that I feel like I can't do anything."

Dawn was intrigued to hear more, as her voice started to break, and her purple eyes started to fill with tears. "What happened?"

She frowned in response. "I made a huge mistake and instead of trying to fix it, I ran away like a stupid coward. Once I realized that I shouldn't have ran away, it was already too late. Months have already passed and I'm pretty sure everyone's already disowned me –"

"Why don't you try and go back and fix your mistake now?" Dawn suggested.

"I tried," she responded with a tone of despair. "I really did, but nothing good came out of it and I just feel completely worthless now. And I don't even blame them for not taking me back. I wouldn't take myself back either."

Dawn pressed her lips into a thin line. She didn't even fully know this woman and she felt nothing but sympathy for her. Just as she was about mutter something, a plate of food was being set on the table. Lillie smiled at the two. "Enjoy your meal," she said, placing a hand on the woman's shoulder as she smiled in response.

She kept looking at the food with hesitation and that's when Dawn decided to speak. "You don't have to worry about the money. I'll pay for your meal," she offered.

The woman immediately shook her head in reply. "No way, I can't allow you to do that–"

"No, I want to do this, so please let me. I completely understand you. Family is the most important thing for me, so I empathise with you. I feel like people should see each other in an emotional sense rather than in a financial nature. And I don't wanna be that person that just judges you for not having money. So just let me pay," she pleaded, her sparkling blue eyes practically pleading as well.

The woman sighed. "Oh, alright, but on one condition: I pay you back."

Dawn smiled. "No need to worry…just don't tell my boss about this," she whispered and the two laughed.


City Mall; 8:55 p.m.

Paul's shift was over for the day, but he still found himself fumbling with his fingers, the nervousness getting to his head. Of course, he had no idea how to conduct himself tonight, since he had never been in this predicament.

Once he closed up, he saw Drew walk up to him with a relieved look on his face. "I'm so glad the night's over. I can't believe how many people were here tonight 'cause of Endgame, it was mad crazy." He exclaimed, but then noticed his friend looking lost. "Hey, you alright?"

He broke out of his stance and sighed, nodding in reply. "Just a bit nervous tonight," Paul confessed. "I don't even know what I'm supposed to do or how to carry myself."

Drew laughed in reply and placed a hand on his friend's shoulder. "Come on man, Dawn likes you. Just be yourself."

Paul scoffed in reply. "Yeah but easier said than done. It's my first date tonight. I don't know what a guy usually does in situations like this. What do you say? How do I not act like an idiot?"

Drew nodded in understanding, seeing where he was coming from. "Fair point, but ask yourself this: Do you think Dawn really cares about that stuff?"

Paul realized that she probably wouldn't, but he had no idea why he himself was stressing about making a good impression. Dawn was the first girl he had strong romantic feelings for and strangely, as cheesy as it sounded, he wanted to make sure the date tonight was flawless. "Probably not, but…I do."

"Just relax. We all get nervous. Don't stress too much. If anything, I bet Dawn's nervous too, so I think you just have to be natural. That's the only way tonight is gonna be good. Alright?"

Paul nodded in response, feeling a bit relieved. "Thanks."

"No problem," Drew replied, "And if you ever feel–"

"Excuse me?" A foreign voice was heard, interrupting the two. Drew recognized him immediately, feeling his veins pop with anger as he curled his palms into fists. "I'm looking for a guy named Drew."

Drew walked up to Brendan as he sneered. "You're looking at him," he sneered.

Paul raised an eyebrow at Drew's odd behaviour and could only wonder what the hell was going on. Brendan grinned in reply. "Oh, good. Then you must know where May lives. I've been wanting her address for a while now so I could properly talk to her alone."

Drew looked at him with disgust. "Are you fucked in the head, dude? You're literally asking for my girlfriend's address after you tried to rape her?! What the fuck is wrong with you?"

He raised his hands in a defending manner. "Hey man, watch the tone. I only wanna talk to her and make her realize that what she's missing out."

Drew's anger was only accelerating at this point. He couldn't believe he had the nerve to do this. "From what I know, you already talked, and she has no interest in you anymore. Can't you get that in that tiny little brain of yours? And I know exactly what you wanna do at her place and I know it's not just to talk."

"Woah, woah, woah, man. Seems I've touched a nerve there," he exclaimed, feigning innocence, which just made Drew glare at him like a murderer would before they strike. "I'm hurt that you think that way," he continued, placing a palm over his chest dramatically.

Paul had a bad feeling growing in the pit of his stomach. He had never seen this side of Drew before and he could sense a fight was about to break out.

And that was when Brendan smirked. "Though…you're not wrong. I still need to get a taste of that pussy–"

Drew, who was fuming at this point, suddenly grabbed the collar of his shirt and glared at him again. "Listen you piece of shit, I don't care who you are or whatever the hell your authority is. Don't ever come close towards May again or even talk about her, or else I will literally cut your dick off so that other girls don't have to deal with disgusting predators like you, understand?"

Brendan didn't seem fazed by his threats, but he grew angry as he pushed him away. "I don't know what the hell May sees in you. You look like some gay anime character with lettuce growing on their head." He said, chuckling a bit, before turning around and walking away.

Paul noticed Drew's hands still curled into fists and his teeth was still clenching in anger. He didn't blame him though. From what he witnessed right now, he could pretty much tell this Brendan guy had no respect for girls or people whatsoever. He straightened his lips into a thin line and daringly followed Brendan.

Once he got close to him, Paul tapped his shoulder from behind and Brendan turned around. And that was when Paul snapped and done something probably Drew should have done to scums like him.

He punched him in the face.

Brendan was pushed back a little and looked at Paul in awe. He touched the corner of his mouth. "Dude what the fuck? Who the hell are you?"

Paul's hand was throbbing a bit; he couldn't remember the last time he had ever resorted to violence. "Doesn't matter. I don't appreciate people like you who have no respect for others. That goes for my friend as well."

Brendan scoffed. "Wow, that pussy couldn't defend himself, so he sent you? Typical, very typical."

He narrowed his eyes, not fond of the way he was talking. Without hesitation, Paul kneed him in his private area and Brendan screamed loudly, falling to his knees, groaning as he held onto his package. "Keep talking and that won't be the only place you'll have pain."

Brendan kept shouting profanities as Paul turned around, walking away, with his hands in his pockets. He then saw Drew look at him, appalled, with his jaw threatening to drop on the floor. Drew rubbed his eyes in disbelief. "Am I dreaming? Do me a favour and pinch me so that I wake up. No wait, I'll do it myself," he said, proceeding to pinch his skin on his arm. "Wow, I'm not dreaming?" he asked himself in disbelief.

Paul rolled his eyes in response.

Drew chuckled. "I can't believe this. You defended me, man. You actually showed Brendan his place and whooped his ass!"

He chuckled a bit. He was a bit surprised himself, if he had to be honest. He removed his hand from his pocket and glanced at it, feeling a bit of pain.

"Oh man, that looks bad. Better get that treated."

Paul nodded in response.


May's Residence; 9:15 p.m.

Dawn had frantically tried over fifty outfits before finally settling on a perfect one. The room was a gigantic mess, with clothes lying recklessly all over the bed and floor. She glanced at herself in the mirror. She was wearing a sleeveless pink top with a black jacket, black skinny jeans and white sneakers. Her hair had been curled aside from her bangs and she secured a white beanie over her head.

Smiling to herself, she sighed satisfactorily as she grabbed her phone to text Paul.

8:25 Dawn: Hey I'm ready

She got a reply soon after.

8:26 Sour Plum: I'll be there in ten minutes

Grinning excitedly, she placed her phone in her purse and was about to exit the room when the room door opened. "Hey, have you seen my…woah, what exploded in here?" May asked, noticing the chaos of clothes than ensued. She looked at Dawn, glancing at her up and down. "Going somewhere?" she asked, crossing her arms.

Dawn gulped. She forgot she still had to keep the façade up. She cleared her throat a bit awkwardly. "Uh, yeah, you know, just…out."

May raised an eyebrow. "Just out? You made a mess of our room with your clothes just to go out?"

"You didn't let me finish," Dawn nervously said. "I'm going out…with someone. Which is why I've made a mess of our room," she said and to her relief, it seemed May bought the lie. Well, technically it wasn't a lie, she just didn't specify whom she was going out with.

May gasped. "What?! You're going out on a date and you didn't tell me? What kind of best friend are you?"

Dawn nodded. "I know, I know, I'm terrible! But I was just so busy with work that I forgot," she said, trying her best to sound dramatically convincing.

May glared at her playfully but then smiled in response. "Fine, you're forgiven," she said, resulting in Dawn to grin as well. "So, who is the lucky guy?"

"Pa-" she suddenly paused, internally cursing herself for almost revealing his name. "Patrick." She blurted.

May furrowed her eyebrows in confusion. "Huh, I don't know a Patrick. What class is he in?"

Dawn unconsciously twirled her hair in her fingers. "Oh, um, I don't know, he was…lurking in the hallways and he saw me and started to talk to me. And then….he asked me out, hehe." May looked at her, the confused expression remaining on her face. "Well I'd love to stay and talk more, May, but I gotta go, okay bye!" She exclaimed before walking out of the room and running downstairs frantically.

Max, who was currently seated on the living room couch, noticed Dawn as she was fumbling with her purse. "Hey where are you going?"

Dawn didn't have time to talk much, so she just responded with, "On a date with Paul–I mean, Patrick!" She facepalmed and internally groaned to herself.

Max snorted before standing up. "Let me guess, Patrick is the fake name for Paul."

Dawn was surprised he caught on so fast. She sighed exasperatingly. "Okay fine, yes. But whatever you do, you cannot tell May."

"My lips are sealed." He made a zipping motion across his lips. "I can understand, my sister is definitely crazy."

She sighed a breath of relief and opened the door. "Thanks, Max. Well I'll see you in a few hours!" She waved towards him before closing the door behind her.


Dawn saw him a few feet away and ran up towards him with a grin on her face. Paul stood up from the bench to take a good look at her and when he did, he found himself speechless. He had grown even more nervous, if that was even possible. Dawn noticed he was wearing a white long-sleeved shirt with black pants and her breath hitched. He had looked even more attractive in that colour, just as he did at Daisy's party.

The two found themselves staring at each other, probably with the same reasoning of not wanting to speak. Dawn eventually cleared her throat and broke the spell, "Hi."

Paul let a small smile grace his features. "Hi." For some reason, he was a bit relaxed now as his shoulders loosened.

Dawn wanted to laugh at the awkwardness, but she bit her lip to prevent herself. "Sorry that we had to meet a few blocks away from May's place. You know how she can be. I had to lie to her just now and tell her that I'm going out with someone named Patrick."

Paul looked at her in disbelief. "Patrick?"

"What?" Dawn asked innocently.

"You couldn't have found a better name to give me over a dumb starfish?"

Dawn rolled her eyes. "It was the only name I could think of the time. Plus, I'm a terrible liar." Paul was about to protest when she continued. "Here, I'll prove it: That shirt is really ugly and looks terrible on you." Paul glanced down at his shirt when she said, "Actually, no, it's a great shirt and you look hot in it," she said before covering her mouth with her palm.

A small laugh escaped his lips, his eyes filled with amusement. Dawn shyly played with a strand of her hair. "Remember when you spilled soda on my shirt?"

Dawn rolled her eyes. "It's hard to forget when you keep reminding me." He smirked at her, a new-found confidence swimming in his stomach. "Well, I complimented you. So…how do I look?" she asked, her voice dropping a few octaves.

Paul looked at her again and stepped closer towards her, as his heart started beating. He traced her arm slowly as her breath hitched when his hand reached her shoulder and he whispered in her ear, "Amazing."

Dawn felt her knees go weak and felt herself melt into a pile of goo. She started to breathe heavily, feeling her face hot.

Suddenly, Paul grew worried. "What happened?" he placed both his hands on her shoulders again. "Did I do something wrong? You're not having another panic attack, are you?"

Dawn shook her head. "No, no I'm fine. C-can we go now?" she asked, still feeling a bit shy.

"Oh," he said in realization as he sighed, relieved. He took out his car keys. "Yeah, let's go."

After around fifteen minutes of driving around with some mindless music playing on the radio, the vehicle was parked in front of Lumoise's art gallery. Paul had mentioned that he had wanted to take her there but was afraid that gawking at statues and paintings wasn't her cup of tea; she probably had other interests. He wanted her to enjoy this as much as he did.

"Are you sure this is alright?" he asked once again tentatively as the two stood in front of the large marble building.

Dawn stood beside him, her eyes sparkling with thrill. "Of course! I've never been in an art gallery before. It'd be really cool to see other pieces of work." Paul nodded in response, as he thought how understanding she was. "What if you get one of your works in the art gallery one day? That'd be awesome, don't you think?"

He raised an eyebrow; he had never thought of that possibility. Painting had just been a natural hobby he'd developed during Reggie's absence. He had never thought of it as a full-time profession. "I doubt it. I don't think my paintings can compete with these professionals."

Dawn scoffed in response. "No way! You painted Reggie to perfection–"

"After you screwed it up?" he pointed out with a ghost of a smile.

She narrowed her eyes. He always got amused at her clumsy antics. "My point is that you could totally have one of your paintings featured here," she said before adding, "Well anyway, let's go inside," she said before grabbing his hand as the two walked side by side into the building.

As they walked inside, they were greeted by various sculptures, pictures and paintings by different artists. Paul instantaneously grew fascinated and intrigued as he walked over to a painting on the wall. It was a picture that displayed melted watches. There was also an odd rubbery creature in the center. As he reached out his free right hand to inspect it, Dawn gasped harshly, and he winced in response as he glanced at her.

"Your hand!" She exclaimed loudly, pointing towards it, noticing it bandaged up. "What happened?" She grabbed his injured hand and looked at him worriedly.

He noticed her expression and attempted to make her relax. "Nothing, it was just a small accident at work."

She looked at him incredulously. "Accident? What do you mean by that? You work at a movie theatre in a mall, not wrestle mania!" She exclaimed. "Who did this, Paul? Did you punch someone?" She spat out several questions.

"Dawn, relax." He told her, unconsciously placing his palms on her cheeks, cupping her face. She immediately stopped her rambling as he bored his onix eyes into her sapphire ones. All of a sudden, she wanted nothing more than to feel his lips on hers again. As if realizing what he had done, he embarrassingly cleared his throat and removed his palms from her cheeks. "You worry too much."

She crossed her arms and pouted. "Well excuse me for being concerned about you."

He stared at her, his lips threatening to form a smile at her mannerisms. "Come on, quit your stupid cute pouting, I wanna show you around."

She sighed, uncrossing her arms. "Fine," she said, just before registering his words in her head. "Wait, did you just call me cute?" He ignored her as he walked to another statue in the midst of the gallery, as she rolled her eyes but smiled at the compliment.

The next forty minutes or so consisted of Paul showing her the different paintings he was fond of, including some of his favorites. Dawn noticed that whenever he talked about the various pieces of art he liked, he'd grow excited as his eyes would pop and he'd talk for longer than usual. His voice would also get a bit deeper as he continued talking.

"–This one brings about more charm because it's hand painted. The amount of energy and vibrant colors in this painting is amazing," he said, before looking at Dawn, who had an unreadable expression as she stared at him. He narrowed his eyes suspiciously. "Are you even listening, Dawn?"

"Huh?" She broke out of her trance and blinked stupidly. When she realized she was indeed lost in her thoughts, she embarrassingly laughed. "O-of course I am!" She sputtered indignantly.

"Hn," he said, not sounding convinced. "What did I just say?"

She was at a loss for words. He knew it too, as he began to smirk. "I don't know, okay! You keep distracting me!" She accused.

"I'm literally only talking," he defended, rolling his eyes. "I've showed you enough. Do you like any?"

She looked around for a few, spectating a few pieces of art. When she noticed a familiar one, she walked up to it on the wall and pointed at it. It was a portrait of a young woman sitting upright, with her face and chest turned slightly towards her. "I've always liked this one."

Paul nodded. "Yeah, it's a classic. The famous–"

"Mona Lisa, right? Painted by Leonardo Da Vinci. It really is amazing."

He raised his eyebrow in slight surprise. "Huh. Impressive."

She winked at him in response. "Hey, I may not look like it, but I know some stuff about art too."

He smiled in response, his stomach feeling warm. And unlike before, he knew why. "I don't doubt it."

They walked out of the art gallery after a few minutes, the chilly wind piercing their skin. It had stopped snowing a few days ago. Dawn rubbed her arms with her hands and slightly shivered due to the cold. She noticed Paul tugging onto his jacket tightly and she cleared her throat. "You know," she said, as he glanced towards her, "The guy on a date usually gives the girl his jacket when she's cold." She stated matter-of-factly.

He raised an eyebrow suspiciously. "I'm cold too," he stated.

She crossed her arms and continued to rub her forearms, her teeth shivering. "Well, that doesn't apply to guys."

He huffed. "I'm not giving you my jacket. I'll be cold too."

She furrowed her eyebrows together and whined. "Oh, come on, Paul! I'm freezing!"

"You should have brought your own jacket," he told her.

She sighed exasperatingly. "I didn't know it would be this cold."

"It's winter." He rolled his eyes. He briefly recalled the time she had been shivering in the cold heavy rain a few months ago in the parking lot. He let out a small smile as he recalled him giving her his umbrella out of pure pity and considered her annoying. Things were so different back then.

They really had come a long way.

Dawn looked at him curiously when he started to remove his jacket and started to approach her slowly. He gestured for her to put her arm through the left sleeve, while he placed his arm through the right sleeve. She smiled at the kind gesture and at the warmth of their bodies radiating heat with a simple touch.

They started walking again under the starry night sky, watching the moon light illuminating from above. Dawn soon spotted a small coffee shop and stopped. "Oh, I could use some coffee right now."

Paul nodded instantaneously before the two walked into the little shop, the bell chiming as the door opened. They removed the jacket before the two walked in line to order. She watched the menu as she contemplated what type of drink she should get. She looked at Paul curiously. "What do you usually have?"

He shrugged. "Black coffee."

She rolled her eyes. "Why am I not surprised?"

He snorted in reply. "It's an acquired taste. And I suppose you like frappucinos?"

"Not always!" She defended. Paul chuckled, the attractive sound making her breath hitch. She smiled as an idea struck her and she snapped her finger for emphasis. "I know! We should try something totally different. I'll try your black coffee and you can try my favourite drink."

Paul wasn't exactly fond of the idea. He usually never preferred sweet drinks. "I'm afraid to know what it is."

Dawn laughed. "Caramel macchiato. So, are you up for the challenge, Mr. Shinji?" She put her hands on her hips and glared at him playfully.

His lips twitched upwards, his eyes filled with amusement. "Do I have a choice?" Dawn grinned mischievously in reply before walking up the barista to take their order.

After a few minutes, the two gathered around a table and sat across from each other. Dawn stared at the black liquid in the cup and internally cringed imagining the sour taste. Paul noticed his drink had whipped cream on top, which was probably enough to make him decide that he wouldn't like it.

"Okay, so…no milk, no sugar, just plain black coffee," she stated, as if she was preparing herself. Paul looked at her, amused as he nodded in reply. She sighed before she took the cup in her hands, slightly blew on the black liquid and cautiously took a sip. Paul watched her carefully, taking note of her every move.

Her taste buds were hit with a bitter taste as she cringed. "Ugh!" Paul chuckled at her reaction before she set the cup back on the table. "This is so sour and probably has no taste! How can anyone like something so bitter?"

Perhaps taking the initiative for the first time, he interlocked her fingers with his and looked at her with a mischievous look in his eye. "You like me, don't you?"

Dawn felt her cheeks burn and her heart hammering in her chest wildly. She never would have imagined he would have said something like that. She tried to look anywhere except in his direction but it was extremely difficult, especially since he kept his gaze on hers. "Y-your turn now," she said, stuttering on her words.

He took a sip of the drink before setting the cup down on the table. It was way too sweet for his liking. "I can see why you like it."

"Of course!" Dawn exclaimed. "It's sweet, just like me," she giggled before he rolled his eyes but let out a small smile. "Let's play twenty questions." She randomly suggested, as he raised an eyebrow in response.

"Okay?"

"It's a way for us to get to know each other better," she clarified. "Are you up for it?"

He shrugged. "Sure."

Dawn smiled and started to think. "Hmm…oh! Did you hate me when we first met in the elevator?"

He shook his head instantaneously. "No. I never hated you, I just thought you were annoying." Dawn gasped dramatically. "You asked," he pointed out. "…What about you? I know I probably made your life miserable."

She smiled, rubbing her thumb against his palm affectionately. "No. I never understood you at first and just didn't like you, maybe loathed you, but it slowly diminished and then we started to become friends…" Paul nodded in understanding. She cleared her throat. "Uh…favorite color?"

He shrugged. "Purple or black."

Dawn grinned. "Pink and white."

"I'm so surprised," he commented sarcastically.

Dawn glared at him as she narrowed her eyes before grabbing a pack of cookies and attempted to throw it at him. Unfortunately, her aim missed by a considerable amount as the item knocked over the cup of coffee, the contents spilling over Paul's shirt yet again. Paul stood up from his seat immediately while Dawn did the same, covered her mouth with her palm in shock at what she had accidentally done.

Thankfully, the coffee wasn't burning hot, but Paul stared at her when she removed her palm from her mouth. "I'm so sorry, I never meant to do that!" She defended, feeling embarrassed. People around them started to look towards their direction. Paul was about to comment that it wasn't a big deal but was cut off when Dawn took his arm and dragged him to a near bathroom.

Guilt coursed through her veins as she grabbed a napkin and dipped it under the running water in the faucet before walking towards Paul. She lost count of how much she had clumsily spilled something on his shirt as she tried to wipe the stain off and hopefully cool his chest down. "Are you okay? I'm sorry, I swear, it was an accident. I just meant to hit you, not the coffee."

But Paul couldn't register what she was saying due to their proximity. He wasn't concerned about the stain at all, but at how suddenly the air in the room got thinner and how heat caressed his neck. He touched her forearm, and she paused, as if she realized it too. She slowly looked up to meet his eyes, suddenly forgetting about the napkin, as it fell to the floor.

His hand trailed up slowly to her shoulder and the side of her neck before his eyes dropped to her lips. Her eyes closed unconsciously as they leaned towards each other, only a centimetre away. Their lips touched for a brief second before a ringtone was heard, and the two split apart. They were both out of breath, but still craving for more.

The ringtone blasted again, and Paul slightly growled as he realized it was his phone when he took it out from his pocket. "Hello?"

Dawn stood there awkwardly, fumbling with her fingers a bit nervously as she heard chattering across from Paul's phone. She found herself wanting so badly to feel his lips on her own again and internally blamed his ringtone for interrupting their moment. After a few more seconds, she noticed Paul hang up.

He looked at her, before sighing. "That was Reggie. He was just asking what time I'll be home."

"Oh," she said, before looking at the time in her phone. "Yeah…it is getting kind of late. Maybe we should go?" she suggested but was internally hoping there was an excuse to spend some more time together. She was really enjoying the night with him and didn't want to leave.

He looked disappointed; it seemed he didn't want to leave either. Despite himself, he said, "Yeah."


The two were at the front of May's place and Paul walked with her up to the porch. They said nothing again, as Dawn turned around to look at him. She immediately noticed the stain on his white shirt and sighed. "I can't believe I did this for about the gazillionth time! I'm so embarrassingly clumsy," she said, frowning in the process.

He placed a hand in his pocket. "Well, at least you finally admitted it." His tone was filled with amusement.

"It's embarrassing!" she exclaimed. "No wonder you found me annoying."

He shook his head, chuckling a bit before stepping closer to her. "It's not embarrassing. At least to me it isn't."

"Then what is it?" she asked, curiously raising an eyebrow.

He hesitated, looking for the right word. Saying it sounded so foreign, but it described her perfectly in his opinion. "It's…cute. Almost everything you do or say is eccentric to me. It's as if you're a ray of sunshine."

Dawn couldn't help but to blush, and for once, didn't care that her pink cheeks were on display. She smiled at him warmly, feeling her heart beat yet again. "Well, I guess I should call you sugar plum instead of sour plum, cause you keep being nice to me."

He shrugged in reply. "What can I say? You're rubbing off on me."

The smile on her face widened into a grin. Without warning, she closed the distance between them and hugged him tightly, bringing her arms around his neck for support, as she felt him being pushed back a foot or two. He buried his head into her hair and shoulders as he tightened his arms around her small waist. He could inhale her scent that made his head spin slightly.

Then they pulled back, but didn't let go, their arms still lingering on each other.

Before anything or anyone could interrupt them, Dawn bravely slanted her lips against his. Paul was caught by surprise but didn't hesitate to reciprocate as his hand awkwardly moved towards her hip. Dawn moved her hand towards his purple locks and slightly tugged on it. Their lips moved sloppily but slowly against each other, as if they wanted to savour the feeling of this for a lifetime.

She grinned again, feeling lightheaded and her knees about to give out. "Did we just make out?"

"Probably," he muttered, his lips brushing hers again and she almost groaned.

Dawn pulled back slightly and gave him a smile. "I better go. Goodnight, sugar plum," she teased.

He took a step towards her again and kissed her forehead, her eyes closing in the process as she exhaled. "Goodnight, sunshine."

"Sunshine?"

He coughed, rubbing the back of his head a bit nervously. "Yeah…I think it suits you. Your name means light, and like I said before, you're–"

"A ray of sunshine," she finished for him, as he nodded, straightening his lips into a thin line. "I like it. Sugar plum and sunshine." She giggled.

Paul rolled his eyes. "Never mind, I think annoyance suits you better," he teased. Dawn glared at him and playfully knocked him on his shoulder, resulting in him letting out another chuckle. "Kidding. Goodnight."

Dawn smiled for the umpteenth time that night and bid him goodnight while watching him as he turned around to leave to his car. He looked back at her when he approached his vehicle, before she waved at him. A small smile graced his lips when he raised his hand in the air before he opened the car door and sat in the driver's seat.

After he drove off, she turned around, unlocked the door, entered and closed it behind her, sighing dreamily. She bit her lip, thinking what an exhilirating night this was.

She nearly jumped as someone broke her thoughts. "So, how was your date with Patrick?" May asked, her arms crossed, as she looked at her narrowing her eyes. "Or should I say sugar plum?"

Dawn widened her eyes and gulped.

Crap, she thought.


Hey guys, I hope you all enjoyed this chapter! It was veryyyyyy fluffy and cheesy, but you know what? I don't care! I've been wanting to write stuff like this for ikari for a long time and now that they're finally together, why not? Also, I'd like to thank DancerGirl826 for giving an idea for their date, I just thought it was perfect, so I couldn't help but incorporate your idea!

Also, in other news, I got a job recently which starts in August, so yay! I don't know how busy I'll be though, so I'm not sure whether or not it'll impact the story's updates too much.

Speaking of which, this story is on the verge of ending soon. There's roughly about…eight chapters left? Maybe less than that and I am so sad to even type this out. I've been so invested in these characters for about two to three years that it's hard to say goodbye. I was 18 when I started this fic and I'm going to be 21 soon. This probably sounds dramatic but again, I don't care. I've really come to love this story and the characters a lot.

Well anyway, let me end this long AN. Thank you guys for reading as always, and send in a review. I wonder if we can break in 100 reviews in a couple of months? Let's do it guys!

See you next time!