A Date in Paris:

Seba was getting dressed up nicely as he was preparing for a date. His hair was helped back spiky, yet a strand of hair was sticking out. He was wearing a white dress shirt and a black leather jacket that match his jeans. His shoes and necktie were also black. Plus, his stud was visible on his left ear.

"Oh, one more thing," Seba muttered as he took a cologne bottle to spray himself with it. "There we go!"

"It seems that you are getting dressed up," a voice said. Seba turned around to see Colette with a huge smile on her face. "You never get dressed up like this. That must mean that you are going on a date!"

"Yeah, let the whole world know about it, will you?" The human snarked.

"Did someone say date?" Pamela's voice rang out as she and Nicky popped out.

"Lookin' good, Seba!" Nicky exclaimed with a thumbs up.

"What is going on here?" Violet questioned as she and Paulina walked in to the commotion.

Seba facepalmed. "Me and my big mouth."

"Seba is going on a date!" Colette squealed. "Ooh, I wonder who the lucky mouseling is!"

"She must be a real beauty!" Pam exclaimed, chewing on a cheese baguette.

"Who is he going out with?" Paulina asked. She had never been on a date before.

"Seba, are you ready?"

Everyone turned to see Julie...and dropped their jaws. Julie wore a really slim sky blue dress that brought out her beauty even more. Her make-up was light yet it still accentuated as such.

"Sure, Julie. Let's go," Seba answered as he locked in with Julie's arm as they left the apartment.

Once they left, everyone's jaws had dropped to the floor. They could not comprehend what just happened.

"WHAT?!"

XXX

"This is the first time I've ever been on a moped," Seba remarked as he sat behind Julie. Both of them were on their way to a restaurant.

"Enjoy the ride?" Julie asked.

"Yeah," he admitted. "Though, it feels quite different from a motorcycle."

"While motorcycles are meant for speed, mopeds allow you to feel the breeze and take in the scenery," she explained the difference.

Well that explains the slowness. Still, it was no less enjoyable.

XXX

"I don't we should be spying on them," Violet muttered.

"But we must!" Colette exclaimed. "Julie is my cousin and Seba is our friend. I cannot shudder the thought of their date ending in heartbreak!"

"Maybe it's only a friendly date," Paulina reasoned.

"But this is Paris! The city of romance!" The fashionista shot back in worry. "And if they were to become lovers, then such a long distance to could hurt both of them!"

The rest of the Thea Sisters could only look at each other. With of sigh, they sagged their shoulders in defeat.

"Fine, we'll keep an eye on them," Nicky conceded.

"On the plus side, the restaurant they're going to must have really delicious food!" Pamela brightened at that.

XXX

The restaurant was a five-star one as the mouselings spotted Seba and Julie in one of the tables. Many other mice were looking at the human in amazement and bewilderment. However, both of them did not care in the slightest as the only ones that mattered were each other.

"Let's find a table and get something to eat," Pamela suggested. "I'm really starving."

Nodding to each other, they put on their disguises and went to get a table at the host.

Seba gave the entrance a glance and frowned before hiding it with a smirk.

Once they got a table, the mouselings saw Julie giggling at something that Seba might have said to be a joke.

"I never knew that you had that kind of humor," Julie commented.

"Believe me, people say that I'm quite sardonic," Seba remarked before digging into his escargot. "This is pretty delicious."

"Seba, can I ask you something?"

"Hm?" Seba looked at her.

"When my work was stolen, you were the most passionate of helping to find it," Julie looked at him. "We have only met recently and you were as determined as Colette, which slightly surprised me."

"It had made me wonder if you went through the same event like that before," she concluded.

Seba smiled. "You got me there."

Julie frowned. She hit the nail on the coffin with that hypothesis.

"I actually know what it's like to have your work stolen for any kind of reason," he said as he idly played with his food, using his fork. "At least you both reconciled after that."

She looked at him. "And you didn't?"

He shook his head. "My ex-partner refused to do so. He still blames me for everything."

"Why would he blame you?" she wondered, looking confused.

"Well, I better start from the top," Seba muttered, feeling dread as he relieved his memories.

"I guess when I was a novice graphic novelist, me and my partner were collaborating on a series of comics for the school newspaper. Soon, a big publishing company wanted us to work for them. However, they only wanted one of us."

His face turned grim.

"Me and my partner went on to work on our own submissions for our own comics. That's when things got as rotten as cheese."

Seba was scowling. The days that Julie had known him, she thought of how relaxed and easygoing he was. To see him frown was rather startling to say the least.

"You know how there are four weeks in a month?" Seba asked. Julie nodded. "My partner told me that we had to submit our work in to the company by the end of the fourth week."

"He lied. Not only was it due on the middle of the third week, but he also stole my work."

Julie gasped. "That is horrible!"

He nodded solemnly. "In the end, he won not only the offer but also the rights to the comic series. So I decided to do after moving on."

"And what is that?" she asked.

"Start a new chapter," Seba answered. "While my ex-partner had quit the school newspaper to work part-time for his new company, I eventually went on to work on a new series. Eventually, one of the students was related to a magazine publishing employee and told about me."

"They wanted me a guest spot on one of their daily pages and I accepted," he continued. "While it was a one-time deal and the pay was good, I earned myself a reputation afterwards."

"So what happened to your former partner?" Julie asked.

He sighed as he sat back.

"The series tanked and he was out of the job. He wasn't able to get his old position back and held a grudge towards me for taking it from him."

"What a hypocrite!" Julie scowled. Such a nerve to accuse him!

Seba shrugged. "It went on until high school graduation. Once I was out of school, I went freelance to work for commissions until I was accepted by Mouseford Academy to take the entrance exams."

Then, he was in thought. "Maybe if all of that never happened, I wouldn't have met the Thea Sisters and you."

She smiled. "I am glad that you have met my cousin and her friends."

"Oh, don't get me wrong. I'm a realist," Seba affirmed. "But it feels nice and refreshing to have friends like them. I feel...some sort of lightness when I'm around them."

"Happiness?" Julie guessed.

"Is that what it's called?" Seba questioned with an eyebrow raised. "Whatever it is, I like it."

She giggled at how accepting he was.

Seba looked over and saw that the sisters were already gone. They probably heard everything, so he was glad that he didn't have to repeat again.

XXX

Colette was crying at such a tragic story as she and her friends were back at the apartment.

"It is still a wonder that Seba could still be smiling after that," she said, blowing her snout into the handkerchief.

"There, there," Pamela said, gently calming her friend down. "It all worked out in the end, right?"

"Still, I can't believe someone would backstab him like that," Paulina muttered in disbelief.

"And yet, he managed to keep going strong," Violet added.

"We can't do anything about his past," Nicky said. "But what we can do is support him now as friends."

Each one of the Thea Sisters nodded in agreement, immediately forgetting the main purpose of the spy mission.

Suddenly, they heard the sound of an engine from outside the window. Paulina looked out of the window.

"They're back!" she exclaimed to them.

XXX

"Tonight's date was pretty fun," Seba said as they walked to the door.

"It was," Julie agreed with a smile. "Seba, about us..."

"I know that a long-distance relationship might not work between us," she said, worried that this might hurt between them. "But I was hoping that we could still be friends even after you return to Mouseford."

"Sure," Seba replied. "I know that it wouldn't work out between us, but meeting you is really awesome."

Julie smiled as she hugged him, one which Seba himself returned.

"I hope that I meet someone like you one day," she said.

"You will," he assured. "Maybe even better."

She shook her head. "Do not put yourself down like that. You are one of the nicest guys I have ever met."

He smiled as they entered the apartment. "We're...back?"

The couple were baffled to see the Thea Sisters waiting for them, forced grins plastered on them.

"Welcome back!" Colette was the first to greet her. "So how was your date?"

Colette, Violet and Paulina went to talk to Julie while Pamela and Nicky stayed back with Seba. This was going to be a long night.

XXX

It was time to return to Mouseford, as Julie was saying her goodbyes to Seba and the Thea Sisters. Colette was glad that they were still friends despite not getting together.

"Will you be coming back on the next visit?" Julie asked.

"Of course!" Colette confirmed. "We would not want to miss your first ever exhibit!"

She smiled as she gave her cousin kisses on the cheeks. Julie went on to do the same to the rest of her friends. Once she reached Seba, however...

SMOOCH!

Julie gave him a huge kiss. On the lips! Seba's eyes went wide, though he didn't resist. The Thea Sisters' jaws dropped in shock to see them kiss.

Julie had let go with a smile. "You better be off now! You might miss your plane."

Violet was the first to step out of her stupor. "R-right! C'mon, girls!"

The sisters pulled Colette and Seba as they walked towards the entry.

Julie giggled as she waved goodbye to them. Once they went into the plane, she turned to walk away with a blush.

XXX

Seba sighed as he took his seat, still feeling overwhelmed by the kiss.

"Oh, Seba~"

Slowly, he turned to see Colette give him a dangerous smile.

"Care to explain what was that just now?"

He noticed that the rest of the Thea Sisters were staring at him in curiosity.

'Oh, boy...' he thought.