Hallie went to work the next day, but didn't see any sign of Randall around. She didn't see him at lunch either.

Randall was there, but he was busy in the basement in the morning, at lunch, and after work. Otherwise, he had avoided Hallie. He was just nervous about starting a relationship.

Hallie tried to find him after work, but nothing at that time either.

She ran into Celia on her way out the door. "So, do you know where Randall is, by any chance?"

"No. Afraid not. He's so mysterious in his ways." Celia said.

"Who is?" Mike asked, coming up.

"Randall."

"Oh, him. Yeah, he can be. But more than anything, he's a jerk." Mike said.

"And you are?" Hallie asked.

"Mike Wazowski. And Celia's boyfriend."

Hallie could see the resemblance of them both having one eye.

"Hallie Norman. Randall did tell me some things about you."

"He did? And what did he have to say?"

"Well, he thinks you and your friend stole the top scarer title from him. And he knew you from back in his college days. He says he lost to your team in the scare games."

"Yeah, he did. Randall was my roommate first and we were friends then. But then he joined the RORs and he changed. So he's not my friend anymore. He tries to scare me any chance he gets." Mike said.

"Hey Mike." Sulley joined them. "And who's this?"

"I'm Hallie Norman."

"James P. Sullivan, but everyone calls me Sulley." The big blue one said.

"Nice to meet you." Hallie said.

The two boys saw that this female lizard was Randall's species, but she was nothing like him.

To Hallie, Sulley and Mike seemed nice. Maybe Randall had them all wrong. But then, Randall may just not like them because they were guys. Guys had that jealous and too competitive streak all too often.

"Are you waiting on Randall?" Sulley asked.

"I was looking for him, but I can't find him." Hallie said.

"Don't know where he is. He left the scare floor, leaving in the opposite way. Our boss might have been wanting to see him or something. Who knows."

"You shouldn't even associate with him, Hallie. He'll only hurt you." Mike said.

"There's more to him than you know. I talked to him last night, and he let me into his world. I can't say much right now. I still just barely know him."

"We could go to dinner just as friends." Sulley suggested.

Hallie did want to see everyone's point of view on each other. She might be able to make Randall understand, or to make them understand him more if she heard all of their point of views.

Randall was too busy working on the scream extractor right now to be there noticing what had been going on. Fungus came down and helped him. As much as this project was thrilling to think about, ending the energy crisis, Randall really wanted to go home and get some sleep. Plus his mind did drift to the girl on his mind too. He did want to see her again, but knew he had work to do.

Hallie, Celia, Mike, and Sulley went to dinner as friends and talked about their jobs, Randall, how they all met and knew each other, and their interests and families.

Hallie wished Randall had talked about his family. Maybe he would in time.

By the end of the evening, Hallie was glad to have some more friends in her book. They all seemed nice enough to her. She figured Randall had them all wrong. But she still wanted to be there for him. He needed her.

Sulley was like a gentleman, but had talked how he was such a jock in college. It might have been easier to see why Randall didn't like him then. Mike hadn't liked him either at first.

But Hallie did see that Mike could be such a know it all. That could make him a jerk too. But she did see that he and Celia were in love.

"You two going to get married?" Hallie asked them.

"Someday." Mike said.

"Any kids planned?"

"When we are ready." Celia said.

To Sulley, sometimes the love between Mike and Celia was just disgusting, but he didn't let on. He was happy for Mike, that he had scored the love of his life. But then, he looked at the lizard girl next to him. Hallie was a nice girl.

Though everyone was nice, Hallie still had her sights on Randall. She really wanted to know him better.

….

The rest of the week went by fast. Hallie didn't see much of Randall at all the rest of the week. Something must have been going on. But she did see him twice for lunch. He didn't talk to her though.

Saturday finally came and she went to Harry Hausen's like how it had been arranged.

He was a little late, but Randall did show up as promised.

"Hi, sorry I ran late." Randall said.

"It's okay. As long as you came." Hallie said.

As was a custom at this place, couples had their pictures taken together either when they walked in, or at their table. They smiled and went along with it.

Randall was nervous just being around her. He was glad he hadn't forgotten their date.

"I saw you in the lunchroom a couple times, but you never talked to me." Hallie said.

"I just had a lot of my mind. I've been really busy when I'm not scaring." He said.

"With what?"

"It's something that's going to be a big surprise. That's all I can say about it."

"Oh, okay. Like I said, you can tell me things you want to."

"Well, so what things do you like to do in your spare time?"

"Watch movies, go walking, seeing my family or friends, cooking, helping out on an animal farm outside of town, playing games. What about you?"

"I barely have time outside of my project anymore, but before, I like truck rallies, the big bikes, movies sometimes, and occasionally cooking too. I might be up for playing games with the right person. If something is arranged, I'd be willing to see what it's all about." Randall said.

"I'd be willing to go with you to what you want to. I like to try new things." Hallie said.

"There's a bike show on tomorrow evening, if you want to go to that?"

"I know they can be noisy, but sure, I'll give it a try." She said. "What time?"

"Five. Meet me at the bus station down the street and we'll go from there." He said.

"Thanks."

"Randall, I'm just curious, but can you please tell me about your family?"

His smile faded. "My parents are dead. I have an older brother and he has a son. My brother's name is Ned. His son's name is Rex. I just don't have anything to do with them."

"Why not?"

"I'm too busy to be around them. I just want my own life. My brother has tried to control what I do all my life, at least since he became an adult and then raised me out of foster care."

"Sorry about your parents. How old were you when they died?"

"Seven. I barely remember them. Hard to say if they would have supported my job decision."

"I'm lucky I had mine to raise me. I don't even want to imagine what it's like in foster care."

"Being bullied all the time just for being what you are. Not getting the right kind of attention. Foster parents that are mean."

"I'm sorry. But lucky that your brother was able to take care of you eventually."

"He was like my friend, but he could be very controlling. Once I got out of his home, I was glad to have my own life. He got married and had his son. He just doesn't have time for me anyway, so I don't have time for him."

"Your brother might have a new family, but he could still make time for you if you give him a chance."

"No. He pays more attention to his son than he would ever have time for me. Kids have just never been my thing."

Hallie did feel like she wanted kids someday with the right guy.

"Why's that?"

"I just didn't have a father role model in my life. Kids are a big responsibility. They can be so hard to take care of and I just had a really bad childhood. I just think that because of what we are, any kid of mine would face the same mean bullies and such that I did. My nephew is sure to be facing them soon too." Randall said.

"Yeah, I know what it's like to be picked on, but we can't let that deter us from having what we want to make us happy in life." Hallie said.

Randall smiled at her. She did have a good point.

Hallie did tell him about her parents. Her dad was a lawyer, and her mom was a cook at a local school nearby. No wonder Randall could see why Hallie loved being a cook.

"My mom's name is Cassie. Aside from cooking, she is also a botanist too. She loves flowers. My dad's name is Mason. I also had a baby brother too, but he had complications and died as a baby."

"Was he named?"

"Nathan."

"Sorry."

"It's okay. Thanks. Sometime though, you should be able to meet my parents."

"Maybe after awhile. Let's get to know each other more first." Randall said.

"I'm fine with that too. My parents have been a little controlling all my life too. Especially my dad."

Randall was up for meeting her parents, but didn't want to dive into the choice right away. He wanted to know if he could truly trust this girl first. She seemed to be likewise.

They had a nice dinner and went to a movie after. The night ended on a nice note and they both went home for the night.

The next day, Randall met up with her and they went to the bike show as promised.

Hallie thought the colors on the bikes were impressive, so shiny. But it was the noise that bothered her.

Randall liked to see them on the track. And he liked their mechanics.

Hallie stayed because of their date together. They had dinner at the show and judging.

She was willing to try things for him, just as she hoped he would be willing to try for her.

It was a weekend of mostly fun for them spending time together. She saw that he did know how to be a nice person, at least away from his job. She got to see a side of him that no one else never got to see. She could tell it was all a show.

…

Randall and Hallie began spending time together on a regular basis, on some evenings after work, and on weekends.

One day, Mr. Waternoose noticed Randall talking to her and they were smiling at one another. He had noticed that the male lizard had seemed to be slacking in his work on the big project lately. Maybe this was the reason. He saw them separate to go do their jobs and he took that moment to approach Randall.

"Randall, what were you doing just now?" The crab monster asked.

Randall's smile faded when he heard his boss talking. "Oh, I was just talking to her."

"I've noticed you've been slacking off on your important project. Is that the reason? Does she know about it?"

"No! I haven't told her anything about it. Just when I'm away from here, we hang out, that's all."

"Well, Randall, you had better start stepping up the work on the project. Or your little girlfriend is going to pay a high price for your meddling with her." Waternoose threatened. "I expect that project to be done soon."

Randall hated it when his boss threatened him. He deserved to have a life outside of work too. A fun side.

"Sir, when I am working on it, I work very hard. I'm trying to get it done on time. But I do need breaks too."

"Yes, but then, take shorter breaks. I expect it to be done faster!"

"Yes, Sir."

Randall hated this. Why did Waternoose have to be so impatient with him? He was trying his heart out on that thing and he was getting no help with all the criticism and lectures. He never lectured his rival.

Randall went to Fungus later that day and took him to a private area and had to ask a big favor. He asked for his help on a special project that could help with the energy crisis.

Fungus was surprised that his partner had even started something like this, but said he would be glad to help him out.

Randall was glad for the help. It would hopefully mean it would be done sooner. The scream extractor almost looked like a done machine, but there was still a lot of wiring to go through.

He hated having to question his relationship to Hallie over this.

All this was taking place ten months before the final say from Sullivan and Wazowski.

Randall began working on his Sundays so he could spend Saturdays with Hallie on the weekends, other than a few weeknight evenings. He would eat lunch a few times in the lunchroom, but not always.

Hallie saw that Randall was becoming more estranged. She really wished she knew why. What was so special that had to cut into their relationship? Didn't he work fulltime days already? She noticed some slight stress levels beginning to escalate.

When the stricter shifts started, Randall began to eat less and sleep less. It was really taking it's toll on him. The machine was getting closer to being done.

He hoped this stupid machine would help out the city. He really wanted to have a life again outside of work.