Her heart raced as the park came into view, and it had nothing to do with having run most of the way here. The picnic blanket rolled up under her arm felt heavier, and she almost wanted to turn back, to retreat to the world of rules and organisation.

Meeting Teddy, doing this favour for him, it was unknown territory for her. He'd pleaded with her to bring a picnic blanket, saying that he really needed it, that he would owe her. She'd heard him discussing today's date nervously with others.

She'd put the pieces together.

She was going on a date with Teddy.

She felt freaked out by the idea, her mind buzzing with everything that could go wrong, and she wanted to turn back every ten steps towards the park, but her feet kept carrying her forward.

She spotted Teddy, standing on the edge of the park, hesitant and nervous. He spotted her, beamed and she felt herself stop, but he was already jogging over to her.

"Lucy, you are a godsend," he said, kissing her on the cheek. "Remind what I would do without you?"

"You'd be in a hell of a lot of trouble," she mumbled back. She felt herself slipping back to how quiet she had been, years ago, before they had met and become close friends.

Maybe that was a good thing. A fresh start to this new relationship.

"Yeah, yeah, I know," Teddy replied, his usual exuberant self. He cracked another grin, looking around them. He'd been so nervous a moment ago, before seeing her, but that had all slipped away. "I woke up this morning, had everything ready and realised that I didn't have anything for us to sit on." He shook his head, his cheeks flushing.

"I-" Lucy tried to find a word to help him relax, smiling back at him a little. He'd never been hard to get along with.

"Oh, god, she's here!" Teddy said, his cheeks getting redder.

Lucy blinked, followed his gaze to spot Victoire, walking towards them in a sundress. A moment of confusion, and then everything clicked together. She'd come to Teddy's picnic date, but it wasn't her date. It was Victoire's.

Teddy turned back to her, his cheekbones sharpening, his hair morphing to something sharper and stylish, his nose short and cute. "Quick, how do I look?" he asked.

"You- you look perfect, Teddy," Lucy said. She prayed that she kept the sadness out of her voice.

He looked at her, then grinned. "Surprised, huh? I'll explain everything later when I drop this off!" he said, indicating the picnic blanket. "Wish me luck."

Lucy watched him walk towards Victoire and tried to suppress what was going on inside. The two met, stood awkwardly a foot apart and smiled at one another. She watched him lead the two of them into the park, wandering between five different spots before finally settling down by the river.

Victoire laughed at Teddy's nervousness and Lucy left.