Peach's life became quite different now that she had a new friend. A friend that only she could see, and one who seemed to be unpredictable.
Throughout the past few days, she would occasionally see him in reflections. Although not all the time, she would see him at least a few times a day. And each time would be quite interesting.
She also noticed that he was becoming a lot nicer to her. Sure, he was still scary. But somehow he still managed to be sort of genuine towards her.
One day, she was getting ready to hang out with her friends. She chose to look a little nicer, wearing her usual dress, but without the apron. She also decided to tie her hair up.
"I have to say," he told her. "You look pretty today."
"You're just saying that to convince me to let you out." she responded.
"Maybe..." he replied. "Or maybe I do think you're pretty."
Peach blushed a bit. "Oh? Well... thank you?"
"So who are these friends you're going out with?" he asked.
"Well, there's Mario and Luigi, who are brothers. Then there's my friend Daisy, who's dating Luigi. And both Luigi and Daisy are dating a guy named Peasley." she explain. "The three of them are together."
"You seem to have a lot of friends."
"Do you have any friends?" she asked.
"Before I was trapped here, I had many associates. But none of them were really considered my 'friends'." he revealed. "You probably have noticed, but I tend to intimidate people."
"I have noticed." she stated.
"Why, thank you." he replied with a grin. "I try my best."
Just then, Toadsworth came into the room. "Peach, your friends are here."
"Okay, I'll be there in a moment." she answered.
"So where are you going?" he asked, slightly curious.
"We're going swimming at the lake." she told him.
"Swimming?"
"You've never gone swimming?" she questioned.
"I have, but not in the past hundred years." he told her.
"Oh, well it's loads of fun." she said. "Well, I'm going, see you later."
"You're going to leave me behind?" he teased. "How unfortunate. Seeing you in a bathing suit would have made my day."
Peach blushed. She didn't really know how to respond to that. Did he just compliment her or?
"I'm kidding." he assured. "Seeing you in anything would make my day." Oh. Well she still appreciated the compliment.
"Why, thank you." she smiled. "But I'm still not letting you out." she teased as she left to go see her friends.
"So, Peach..." Daisy asked, swimming around. "Are you going to that party at the Pauline's?"
"I don't know, are you?" Peach replied. She wasn't much of a party person, and she didn't know Pauline that well either.
"Of course we're going!" Peasley exclaimed, tossing his blonde hair before jumping into the lake.
You should come, too." Mario told her.
"I don't have a date, though."
"Maybe you'll find one soon. The party's in three days. That's enough time." Luigi added, before accidentally stepping on a sharp rock. "Owee!"
"Be careful, Luigi!" She floated around in the water. "Are you okay?"
"It's fine." he assured her. "It was just a sharp rock. Nothing big."
"Thank goodness." she sighed in relief. "Are you going with a date?" she asked them.
"Daisy and I are going with Luigi." Peasley replied. "And Mario's going with Pauline."
"That's nice." she mused. She felt a bit left out being the only one without a date.
"Don't sweat it, girl." Daisy said to her. "You'll find someone."
"Thank you, Daisy." she smiled, knowing her friends still had faith in her.
After they were done swimming, they walked back to Peach's house. As they made their way through the village, someone walked up to them.
It was a large and muscular man, with firey red hair and spiked clothing. He seemed to have a confident yet cocky vibe.
"Heya, Mario!" he greeted loudly.
Mario seemed kind of annoyed to see him, but hid it well. "Hello, Bowser. What brings you here?"
"Well," he grinned. "I couldn't help but notice that really cute chick with you." he gestured towards Peach. "Is she your girlfriend?" he teased.
"Oh no, we're just friends." he told him. "I'm dating Pauline, remember?"
"Oh! That's right!" he replied with a laugh. "Speaking of which, are you planning on showing up at her party this weekend? They say every cool person in the village will be there."
"Of course I'm going." Mario said. "Why wouldn't I be?"
"Is she going?" he asked.
"I was thinking about it." Peach explained. "Why?"
"I think you're pretty cute. And you know what goes great with a cute girl? A tough guy like me." he told her. "What's your name?"
"My name is Peach Toadstool." she introduced herself. "And you're Bowser?"
"The one and only!" he gloated. "And I was wondering if you would like to be my date for the party."
Peach gasped with delight. "Really? Me?" She could believe it, someone was asking her out on a date!
"Yeah, you!" he said. "Whaddya say?"
"Yes! I will!" she exclaimed. Luigi was about to say something, but decided not to.
"Great! I'll walk you to the party! Is 8 o' clock good?"
"It's perfect!" she said with a smile.
"Then it's settled!" he agreed. "I'll see you at 8 on Friday!" he walked away. The rest of the group stood there in shock.
"Well, that was extremely lucky." Daisy commented. "Looks like you've got a date after all."
"I know!" she replied, trying to contain her joy. "I'm so excited!"
"I'm happy for you, but I'd watch out. Bowser and I don't really get along that well." Mario mentioned.
"How come?" she asked, a bit concerned.
"It's just... we've had some rivalry in the past, that's all." Luigi explained.
"I'm sure it won't ruin your chances with him, though." Peasley assured her.
"I hope your right." Peach said. She didn't want to get involved in any drama, but she still really wanted to go on this date.
They eventually made it back to Peach's house. She waved her friends goodbye before she went in to prepare herself for her first date.