Last chapter we hit a milestone! 30,000+ words and 40 reviews! My best yet, and I couldn't have done it without you guys! You're all so rad! c:

As Eridan had assumed, Nepeta didn't want to stay for the party. Eridan decided to head home with her, since he had nothing else to do and no one he wanted to see at the party. He was relieved to see that Feferi was absent while they were leaving, probably going to the bathroom.

Nepeta received a lot of hugs before she left. Eridan didn't, save for a short hug from Kanaya as she made her way to Nepeta. He didn't mind. The last time everyone had been gathered like this, a fight broke out between himself, Vriska, and Gamzee. Kanaya had to use physical force to get them to stop, so Eridan was pretty relieved the only physical force she used on him this time was a hug.

Several people gave Nepeta hugs and kind words as she took her leave. A part of her wanted to stay, but it seemed inappropriate as everyone was telling her goodbye. She also wasn't sure how long she would be able to stay calm as she now was. She imagined she was probably going to start crying again as soon as she got in the car. No, it was best that she left.

Eridan followed close behind her as the door to Kanaya's duplex shut behind them. As soon as the door shut, the light and joyful noise of conversation immediately stopped. Nepeta started walking to her car, but Eridan grabbed her wrist.

"Wait!"

Nepta turned around, a little startled.

"Oh, uhm, sorry." He let go of her and she rubbed the area he had grabbed with a little too much force.

"What?" Nepeta asked, trying not to sound harsh.

"I was wondering if you, maybe wanted to go on a date sometime...sometime soon...with me?" Eridan asked.

Nepeta sighed and looked away from him. For some reason, she just couldn't quite meet his gaze. "I don't know...maybe. I just-not too soon, okay? I'm just a little overwhelmed right now...I think I just need sometime alone, I don't know...I'm sorry."

Eridan was disappointed, but he understood nonetheless. "It's okay. I understand. But Nepeta, promise me one thing?"

Nepeta looked back at him with wide eyes.

"Just, don't cut yourself off. Please. I understand it's hard...I know you two were great friends...but please don't isolate yourself. Please don't cut people out of your life...especially...well, me. I really, really like you, Nepeta. I don't think I ever stopped. You're the one person I want in my life. And if you don't want me, if not just for a little while...then that's okay...but I'll still be here for you, okay? Just, promise me, you won't isolate yourself from me. Promise me you'll come back to me..."

Nepeta suddenly felt guilty. Eridan looked so crestfallen...his face some kind of sad, desperate longing. She again wondered just what he had gone through during their separation. Perhaps he liked her even more than what he led on, or what Nepeta had seen.

"Eridan, are you okay?" Nepeta asked carefully.

"Yes...yes, yes, I'm fine." He straightened up his composure and took in a deep breath. "I just...I really like you Nepeta...I don't want to lose you. I don't want you to be sad. I want you to be happy, with me, you know?"

Nepeta didn't say anything immediately.

"God I'm pretty fucking sappy, ain't I? I just...there's no other way to say it...I really mean it, every word of it." Eridan's voice quivered and his tone almost sounded pleading.

This time, Nepeta found the words she wanted to say. "No, no you're not sappy...not at all. You're honest. It's a good thing. I'm sorry. I don't know what you were going through while I was gone. I wish it didn't have to happen, whatever it was. I want to be happy with you too...and there's really nothing stopping me anymore. It's just...I'm so hurt right now...I just need some space, I think. Just for a little while, at least."

Eridan nodded slowly. "Okay. I understand. Please though Nep, please don't take too long. I can't wait any longer to officially call you mine."

Nepeta couldn't help but smile half-heartedly. For the second time in a few minutes, she gave him another peck, this time on the lips. "I'll try not to, really. I would love for you to be mine as well."

She then turned around and headed back to her car. As she walked away, she saw him still standing in front of Kanaya's door. She waved to him with a strained smile, and he slowly waved back.

A week had passed since Nepeta had seen Eridan. He texted her every day since then, just making sure she was okay. Despite spending a lot of her time crying or just moping around, she felt sort of okay. She knew it was solely due to the fact that Eridan was continuously checking up on her. All her life she had been dependent on Equius, and now with him practically gone, she had no one to turn to-except Eridan.

She just finished eating a granola bar. It was two in the afternoon, and that was all she had eaten all day. She just didn't have the motivation or appetite like she used to, and started losing weight. It wasn't like she was purposely starving herself, she just didn't feel the need to eat.

She looked at her phone. It was laying face up on the living room coffee table, and she was sitting on the floor with her head resting on the table. Eridan always sent a text at 2 p.m. It had become their little routine. The clock on her phone now changed to two o' four. Nepeta pulled herself upright and frowned. She stood up to go lie down in her bed when the screen lit up.

She reached for the phone when she noticed it didn't stop buzzing past the initial vibrate, indicating that this was a call, not a text. Fear suddenly gripped her, and she hesitated to answer. She knew it was Eridan, the caller ID solved that for her. But how would she know what he would want? Her phone couldn't tell her that he was in jail, asking for bail money or his father had tried to establish some sort of disgusting father-son relationship.

Nepeta took in a sharp breath and grabbed for the phone. She answered it, and whisked the phone up to her ear. "Eridan?"

"Hey, Nep. Was beginning to think you were going to let it go to voicemail."

Shit. She instantly regretted not doing just that. She didn't respond to him, so he continued.

"Well, anyways. There's this really nice dinner place on the edge of town. You should put on that dress I got you. I'll pick you up in two hours. What do you say? Is it a date?"

Nepeta felt as if her heart were choking her throat. She couldn't speak and she wasn't sure ifshe had a pulse. "Yeah," was all she managed.

Eridan laughed. "Okay, I'll see you soon then."

She hung up and let the phone drop to the floor. She let her head fall backwards and she covered her face with her hands. "Oh Leijon. You've really done it now dammit."

Every ounce in her wanted to curl up in a ball right there and miss her date and everything else that was happening in the world. But the hopeless romantic and sensible side of her teamed up and pulled her up onto her feet. She knew they couldn't keep up a relationship just by daily texts, and she had told Eridan she would try to not take forever moping around. With a slightly exaggerated moan she got up on her feet.

She decided to first take a shower, because she hadn't taken one yesterday or today. She didn't even know what all she needed to do, she hadn't ever really been on a date before, besides the "double date" she went on a few months previous. If he wants her to dress up, then it must be a nice restaurant, and she didn't know the first thing about the higher end of society. The fanciest she'd ever eaten was an Olive Garden.

After a half an hour, Nepeta stepped out of the shower and slipped into the dress. To her avail, it was too big on her. It was strapless as well, so she couldn't just make-do. She chewed her lip until it hurt and tried to think about what to do. She didn't have any other formal attire, and Eridan had bought this for her. It would be just plain rude not to wear it. No, she had to wear this dress. And she was going to figure out a way to do just that.

Then, she had a moment of clarity. She grabbed her phone and quickly dialed Kanaya's number. She picked up quickly after the first ring.

"Nepeta, darling-"

"EridanaskedmeoutonadateandIneedtowearthisdressbutit'stoobigpleasecomehelpmebringsewingsupplies!" Nepeta shouted with one breath.

"I...right now?"

"Please?"

"...Rose and I'll be there in fifteen minutes."

Nepeta hung up and tossed her phone aside. She then went into the bathroom and checked her reflection. She looked tired, and sick. Her hair was more of a mess than usual. She immediately regretted accepting the invitation and calling over Kanaya for help. She debated calling Kanaya and Eridan back and telling them to cancel right up until Kanaya and Rose arrived.

Nepeta was in sweat pants and a baggy t shirt when they arrived. She opened the door for them and they rushed into her room with a duffel bag in their hands each. Kanaya shut the apartment door with her hip and heaved the bag onto her back so she could give Nepeta a hug. Rose gently tossed hers onto the floor and followed after Kanaya.

"Alright Nepeta, you know you should have expected the full store to arrive when you called for help, but considering it sounded like an immediate sort of thing, we just grabbed a bit of everything. So when's the date?" Kanaya said after Nepeta and Rose pulled away.

"It's in an hour or so."

Rose gave her a bemused look. "Where's the dress?"

Nepeta quickly retrieved the dress, and upon seeing it the couple both shared hopeless expressions. Rose face-palmed and Kanaya grimaced.

Nepeta bit her lip. "Is...is something wrong?"

"Why green?" Rose blurted.

"I think that's a lovely shade of...is that really olive?" Kanaya managed.

Nepeta sunk to her knees. "This is hopeless," she muttered.

Kanaya and Rose looked at each other and then proceeded to walk over to Nepeta, and pull her up onto her feet. They wrapped their arms around Nepeta's waist and both grabbed a section of the dress and held it up in front of her.

"It matches your eyes perfectly," Kanaya said kindly.

"I like the satin look the body has. It looks cute, but still elegant," Rose offered.

"Do you think we can make it fit our tiny friend Rose dear?" Kanaya asked playfully.

"I think we can do better than that," Rose replied with a smirk.

"I agree. I think, we can maybe add a little bit to it, and take away some. We can make it look sexier and more functional," Kanaya said.

"And in the process, make our friend here look so damn cute."

"She's already pretty cute though."

"You're right. She'll look stunning," Rose said. She then took her eyes off the dress and looked at Nepeta.

Nepeta sighed and laughed a bit. She wiggled her way out of their hold. "Alright. Let's get this over with. I've got a date to go on. Do your worst," Nepeta said with a slight hint of amusement.

Rose and Kanaya gave each other a daring look. They parted, Kanaya went for their duffel bags with the dress and Rose grabbed a chair. Rose gestured for Nepeta to sit in the chair and Kanaya started measuring Nepeta's torso while Rose played with her hair.

"Have you had your hair cut in a while?" Rose asked her.

"No. I can't really afford it. Besides, I don't do much with it anyways."

"I can trim it now if you'd like. I cut mine and Kanaya's hair. I'm going to be doing your hair anyways so might as well."

"I really only asked you guys to fix up my dress...you don't have to," Nepeta said bashfully.

Nepeta was a little startled to hear laughter behind her. "Dear, we're going to do so much better than fix your dress."

With that, the girls were off. Kanaya cleared out Nepeta's kitchen/dining area and made it into a make shift studio. She sewed madly on her dress while Rose tugged and snipped at her hair. Once they had gotten to work, there was hardly any talk, besides the occasional sassy remark from one of the halves of the couple. Nepeta couldn't have been bored, watching them work. They were the perfect pair. Nepeta even felt the tug on her hair match the pattern at which Kanaya was sewing. When Rose was finished with her hair, she did her makeup and finished her part on Nepeta as Kanaya finished on her dress.

"Now, quick, go change! We want to see you before we book it to beat Eridan," Kanaya said, handing her the dress.

Nepeta quickly put on her dress in her bedroom. Her anxieties were starting to disappear and were being replaced with excitement. She was grateful for friends who cared about her so much, and excited that she was about to be on an actual date.

She emerged from the bedroom to find that the girls had completely packed up. They both gasped and looked at her with adoration.

"You look marvelous."

"Absolutely beautiful."

Nepeta blushed and smiled. "Thanks. I feel...great. You guys are awesome."

She went to pull them into a hug when Rose whipped out a bottle of perfume and sprayed her a few times. "Sorry, you smell like hair spray."

They laughed and the three embraced briefly.

"We've been about an hour. We should really leave before we cross paths with Eridan. Good luck tonight, Nepeta," Kanaya said as she headed to the door.

"You look absolutely stunning. I hope you have fun," Rose said with a wink.

Just like that, the girls left as soon as they'd come. Nepeta went to the bathroom to check her reflection in her mirror. When she saw herself, she nearly cried. Never had she looked so pretty, or at least felt this pretty.

Kanaya had edited the dress so that it was still recognizable, but more fashionable. It was now a slim silky dress that ended a little bit above her knees and had the sparkly mesh that consisted of the skirt made into sleeves that rested flat on her arms. Rose had given her a light pink lipstick accompanied by a very impressive eyeliner job. Her hair, however, might have been Nepeta's favorite part. It had a bump in the front and curled on the side, was how she'd best describe it. She'd hadn't ever had her hair styled like this, and admired it until she heard a knock at the door.

She froze. She quickly looked over every inch of her appearance in the mirror and ran to her room. She put on a pair of black flats she saved for occasions that called for formal attire and carefully threw her purse over her shoulder. She didn't want to ruin her hair, after all.

She made her way to the door, twiddling her fingers the entire short walk. She gently patted Pounce as she walked by him. She got to the door and looked through the peephole. It was Eridan, as she expected. He looked just as nervous as she felt. He was wearing a tux, and had flowers in his hand.

She couldn't hold back a squeal. He got me flowers?

She opened the door and he had put on a relaxed expression. He took her hand in his and kissed it.

"You look stunning Nepeta. I...I am a little bit at a loss for words, honestly."

Nepeta blushed. "Thank you. You look handsome," she said, and meant it. His tux fit him nicely. He had really sophisticated facial features that were brought to attention by his attire.

He smiled. "And um, these are for you," he handed her the flowers, which were arranged decoratively in a vase.

"You're adorable," she said, giggling. She took the vase and looked at the arrangement. She didn't know anything about flowers, but they looked pretty. "These are so beautiful, I'll go set them down, then we can go."

She quickly set them down on her kitchen counter and grabbed her phone from where she had thrown it aside earlier. When she returned, she locked her apartment door behind her and he offered his arm. She latched onto him and leaned into him close, and for the first time, she noticed just how tall he was compared to her.

"I have a table reserved for us. I hope you like it, and that it's not a bit...much. They have a dress code, so that's why I asked you to wear that," Eridan said. Nepeta could tell he was desperately looking for something to say as he escorted her, but she didn't mind much. She loved being in his presence, she loved hanging onto him and smelling his cologne. She didn't care much for what they did or what was said.

"I really do appreciate it...you've done a lot for me in such a short time. Sometimes...it's almost unbelievable how much someone cares about me. I had Equius who was...you know what? Let's not bring him up," Nepeta said, biting her lip. She looked down sadly.

Eridan kissed the top of her head, even with all the product he knew was in her hair. "I'll always care about you, Nepeta. Don't forget."

They exited the apartment building and walked to his car. He opened the door for her, and as she climbed into the car she gave a look up to her apartment window. Here we go. She thought nervously.