Shawn sighed and held Juliet tightly. He didn't speak, because he really couldn't think of anything to say. Gee, Jules. I'm sorry you're sad, but let me throw myself at your feet again and again to make you smile? That sounded heartless. Instead, he just kept holding her, brushing her hair down with the flat of his hand and glancing around, hoping people didn't see him trying to calm her and call the cops, thinking he was some abusive boyfriend or something. That'd make my day.

"I'm sorry I'm such a contradiction... I know what I do want though... really I do. This here," Juliet began, finally getting up the guts to look up at Shawn, despite her tear-streaked cheeks, "This I like. Not the current reasoning, but I like this..." Sniffling a little, Juliet took a deep breath and wiped away the tears that had stuck to her cheeks. She realized that the current... situation could potentially raise an eyebrow or two, so she allowed herself just for that moment, to back out of his arms. "I'm... gonna try to take a risk or two. I want to dive into things blinded. I just... I'm a little scared." 'Can we still... go through with what we planned on doing? Please?'

Shawn gazed carefully at Juliet, those green eyes probing her and watching her body language for some sort of sign. After a few moments of silence, he stood, holding onto Juliet's hands and helping her up as he went. "You really want to dive into things blind with me, Jules? You want to give this a shot and hope for the best? Because... I'm willing if you are." He closed his eyes a moment, breathed deep, then opened them to look back at her pleadingly. "But no more wishy-washy? Straight yes or no, for everything, from now on."

Juliet nodded. "Yes, I want to do this, to hope for the best. Get back a bit of the optimism I seemed to have left somewhere. And no more wishy-washy. Straightforward. I promise." Squeezing both of Shawn's hands lightly, she let her blue-grey eyes lock with his green ones. 'I mean this Shawn, this is for real.' She was hoping he'd see that in her eyes. Breathing in softly, and breathing out just as soft, Juliet closed her eyes for a moment. "I'm willing to do this. I mean that." Opening them once more, she looked at Shawn with full sincerity.

Still slightly hesitant, but more than willing to go for it still, Shawn pulled Juliet into a tight hug and nestled his face into her neck, sighing softly. "Okay." Please, Jules. Let me prove to you that I'm a good guy.

Juliet rested her head softly against Shawn's shoulder and put both arms tightly around him. Sighing lightly, she closed her eyes. 'I know I can do this. I need to keep telling myself this. I want to do this.' she told herself, a gentle smile coming to her lips. "If we plan on doing anything else today, you should really go and change the jeans. You said you wanted to do that. But... that's if we're still going through with our plans or not." She liked the way his face felt against her neck, and the way his arms felt around her. There would be more time for this afterwards though.

"I'll go up and change," Shawn agreed. "You head back to your place and change. Then meet me at the jerk chicken place, okay? We'll eat and then go from there." He stepped back and kissed Juliet lightly on the corner of her mouth before smiling softly at her. "Sound good?"

Juliet nodded. "Sounds fine with me." Smiling sincerely, she finally let her arms fall from their grasp on Shawn. "Let's aim for half an hour we meet there. That give me a bit of time to think back on ways to make you blush." Her smile was more or less replaced with a slight Cheshire kind of grin now. The wheels were already turning... slightly. 'The next time you get your lips close to mine, at least let them actually touch, okay?' she thought, biting her lip a bit.

Shawn could feel the left corner of his mouth twitch into a smirk. He couldn't exactly smile all the way right now, but the idea of spending time with a new Juliet, who actually wanted to try this on for size... It made him happy, so the smile was starting to come back. "Half an hour. We'll meet at the jerk chicken." He leaned forward and kissed her again, this time completely on the lips, though soft and chaste.

Juliet could feel herself smile a bit into the kiss. 'I'm gonna do this. I need to.' she thought and let the tips of her fingers make a gentle connection with the side of his face. "I really should have made a better choice in words when it came to you and your 'very close talking' It wasn't a mistake... I just didn't take the chance... I'm kinda glad I'm doing that now..."

Shawn smiled against Juliet's lips and wrapped his arms around her softly, holding her to him as he considered his next words. "I'm... glad you're taking it now too. I don't know how much more I'd have been able to take. I've wanted this since the day I met you." He gently kissed her lips again, then pulled back. "Jerk chicken. Half an hour." He squeezed her hand and turned to go into his apartment building.

"See you in half an hour." Juliet said, with a wide grin. Turning back towards her car, she bit her lip and headed towards it. 'Okay, that... needs to happen again. And you, you need to go back to your house and get ready.' Slipping around the front of her car and to the driver's side, Juliet opened the door and looked at Shawn one more time. "Don't be late." Slipping into the seat and closing the door, Juliet put the key in the ignition and brought her car back to life. Checking the blind spots, she carefully pulled back out onto the street and headed off towards her house, that kiss playing on repeat in her mind.

Shawn's grin had finally returned as he climbed the stairs to his apartment on the third floor. He was ecstatic, practically dancing into the main room of his home. He moved quickly to his bedroom and began rummaging through his clothes for something a bit more presentable and far less blood-stained. He found a good pair of new-ish jeans and a red polo shirt. He grabbed up an undershirt to complete the look and set about changing, all the while grinning and humming softly to himself.

Juliet grinned the entire drive back to her apartment, and then the entire time wandered about, fussing over what to wear. Favoring something on the lines of a sundress-ish kind of thing, Juliet quickly changed. Okay, she was really, really psyched up about this whole... giving Shawn a chance thing. She'd trusted him this far, so why should she not trust him now? He'd always been a total sweetheart towards her, but she kept pushing him away. That much, she didn't understand. But, she knew she was regretting it now. Or rather, was regretting, then moving towards forgetting, because now, she was sort of going on a 'date' with Shawn. And he'd kissed her on the lips. Dancing about a bit, she took her hair down, which had been up since she got up, and shook it up a bit. 'Wavy. Perfect.'

Shawn was ready within five minutes. So, he decided to sit on his couch and catch his breath, letting his mind go back over what had happened just a few minutes before with Juliet. He certainly hadn't meant to make her cry, but he'd be damned if he didn't love the consequences of how things turned out. Smiling to himself, he flipped through some news before he settled back and sighed heavily. "Looks like I'm actually getting something I want for once," he noted.

Five minutes was all it had taken her to get ready, so she still had time to kill. Opting for a quick sit and rest to reflect on what had happened, Juliet sat down in a chair in her living room and closed her eyes for a moment, trying to remember the feel of Shawn's lips against hers. She'd like that again... like now, but she'd wait it out. Sighing quite contently, Juliet opened her eyes. "Finally stepped outside that little insecurity block I'd been hiding in. I needed to. It's not like he's gonna break my heart or anything..." she said to herself, glancing at her wall clock. "Leaving here in five minutes. I kinda wanna beat him there..."

Shawn refused to be late to meet Juliet anywhere, but he was still of the mind of showing up just in time. It was his style. He'd never been early for anything or, in many cases with his father, on time for the most part. So, he settled back against the couch and checked the time, sneezing lightly. Sunglasses, he told himself. That'll cut the glare, make your eyes less squinty, and you won't sneeze so much.

Those five minutes passed rather... quickly to say the least. Looking up at the clock, Juliet smiled and got up from her spot and grabbed her keys off the counter, as well as her purse. Sighing, she headed towards the door and opened it, pausing for a brief moment. "Please let this go well..." she whispered and headed out the door and to her car. Getting in, she started it once more, ran through all of the preliminary 'pre-driving rituals' and headed for her desstination.

Shawn slowly pushed himself up from his couch and grabbed up his helmet. He left the television on and wandered out of the apartment, locking the door behind him. He figured he'd take a liesurely pace back toward the jerk chicken place. He got out to his bike and hopped on, adjusting his helmet properly before knocking back the kickstand and starting the machine.

Arriving at the jerk chicken place, Juliet parked her car and sat for a moment. 'Yes, this is real. Not a dream. So, up and at 'em.' Opening her car door, and killing the engine, Juliet took her keys from the ignition and stepped out of the car. 'Now comes the fun part of waiting for him...' she thought as she closed the door and brushed her hair away from her eyes. Humming softly, she stepped up on the sidewalk and looked up for a brief moment, then looked back down. 'Bright... shoulda brought sunglasses.' Chuckling lightly, and headed to one of the tables outside to sit. "You're gonna show up at the last minute... I can already tell."

Shawn got to the restaurant and saw Juliet's car. He swung around and circled the block before parking next to her car and pulling his helmet off, still astride the bike. "Hey Jules!" he called, running a hand through his hair. After a moment, he killed the bike's engine and dropped the kickstand as he got off the bike. He reached into his jacket's inside pocket and put his sunglasses on before settling his helmet down on the bike and striding toward Juliet. "Long wait?" He really was a couple minutes early, just because he'd driven quicker in his anxious manner.

Juliet smiled a little. "No, not really. I've only been here a few minutes myself." Rising from her seat, Juliet smiled a little more and fussed with the edge of her sundress a bit. 'Okay, now I'm either gonna hug you, or you're gonna hug me... or something.' she thought and moved a bit towards him. "Y'look good."

"Not nearly as good as you look," Shawn smiled, walking up to Juliet and pulling her into his arms for a hug. "Have I ever told you how cute you are? Gorgeous too. Beautiful... Stop me if your ego gets to big." He smiled wider and looked at Juliet a moment before kissing her softly on the lips. "I'd been wanting to do that again since you left my apartment complex."

"Don't worry, my ego won't change. Only the color of my cheeks..." she said, hinting at the fact that she was blushing. Juliet smiled and hugged him back, leaning out of the hug for a moment. "It's okay, I'd been thinking about when the next time it would happen would be." Grinning, Juliet lightly kissed him back. "So, um, should we grab a table and order now? Or what should we do?"

"Let's snag a table and eat," Shawn suggested, motioning to one of his favorite tables in the place. He waved at one of the waitresses and led Juliet to the table. "We can eat, talk, enjoy the view... Whatever." He held out the chair for Juliet, because he was just that much of a gentleman... today at least.

Juliet smiled sweetly at Shawn, and took the seat that he'd held out for her. "Thanks Shawn," she began, that smile still on her face. Looking up at him, she couldn't help but smile more. "That all sounds wonderful to me." Tucking her hair back behind her ear, she took a light breath in and let it back out. 'This is going to be great. I know it is.'

He couldn't help it. Shawn bent down to kiss Juliet one more time before going to his own seat, where he spoke with the waiter-person and ordered for them, because there was really only so much you could order at this place... He then sat down and clasped his hands on the table in front of him. "So... how's things?" He smiled wickedly, chuckling at his tone.

Juliet looked across at Shawn and mimicked his actions, just for a chuckle. "Oh, well, you know... the same things as... 'How's things?' 'Things' is good for me I suppose. And for you?" Shaking her head a bit, Juliet chuckled, and let her eyes rest on that wicked smile of his. Goddamn could it melt a heart. Then again, his looks alone could melt a heart. 'Keep that smile for me...'

Shawn chuckled and leaned back in his seat, draping one arm over the back of the chair and affecting a casual stance. "Well, I helped the local police department with a murder case. One of their cuter detectives asked me to find a clue to put a guy in jail. I did it. Coz I'm nice like that, you know?"

"Really now? She's cute huh? Well, tell me what she's like..." Juliet inquired, quirking an eyebrow and smiling at Shawn. She loved where this conversation was going. "Oh! But I should also say that I had help solving a case myself today. Quite a good looking guy with a connection with the spirits helped me find something..."

"Oh, she's attractive. Blonde, beautiful. I've been after her for a while. Funniest thing... Today, she just up and agreed to... Well, to try things out with me. Try the whole relationship deal. God, I couldn't be happier. But, uh. Tell me more about your psychic friend. Is he undeniably hot?" Shawn smirked lightly, locking eyes with Juliet as he spoke. Oh this is fun.

Smiling Juliet let her eyes stay locked with Shawn's. "He's very attractive. He's got such beautiful dark green eyes that can take my breath away, a wicked smile that could melt even the most icy heart there is. He's funny, undeniably sweet, and he seemed to have talked me into giving things a shot with him. He made me open my eyes and see that sometimes you need to make a mistake." Smiling quite charmingly, she rested her chin on her hands after setting her arms on the table. 'Too cute...'

Shawn put a hand over his heart, fluttered his eyelashes and made a soft, "Aww," noise. "That's so sweet. Whatever are you doing here, with me? Why aren't you with him? He sounds like such a sweetheart. I don't think I could ever measure up to that."

"I could ask you the same questions though. How come you're not off with her? And why are you sitting here with me?" Smiling flirtatiously, Juliet lifted her chin from her hands and chuckled a bit. "Y'know Shawn, that was kinda cute... okay, it was really cute." Blinking those blue-grey eyes of hers, she lightly bit her lip.

Shawn smiled and reached out to Juliet, taking her hand in his. "It was fun," he admitted. "Always is fun to do stuff like that, though." He lifted her hand to his lips and gently kissed her fingertips. "What do you want to do after this?"

Juliet thought for a moment, closing her eyes. "Well, let's go down to the boardwalk. We can maybe play a couple of games of skiball, walk around a bit... take a ride on the ferris wheel?" 'That would be pretty... romantic...' Juliet thought, cracking a smile. "And after that, maybe we can head to the beach and walk along the water's edge as the sun sets..."

Shawn smiled and entwined his fingers with Juliet's, rather than the Romeo-style of holding her hand. "That sounds... great," he whispered as the waiter brought their chicken-foods. "Sounds like a perfect plan."

"I'm glad you like that idea. Not too bad for just throwing random words and places together..." Juliet whispered back, feeling the butterflies in her stomach again. The way Shawn had laced their fingers together made her smile. He'd been right. Some mistakes were worth making. Juliet was finding out that this one was totally worth it.

Shawn smiled again before he lightly released his hand from Juliet's. "Well, it was a good plan. I like it. Now, let's eat... Before I pass out." He smirked and took a piece of chicken or whatever it was and took a bite.

Juliet nodded and smiled, taking a piece of the chicken herself, taking a bite. In the back of her mind, she was already thinking about that beach walk. That would be the highlight of the day. The setting sun casting it's orange glow on the water and the sand? Heaven in Juliet's mind. She wouldn't mind sharing that with Shawn at all.

Shawn ate in silence, his eyes darting around the restaurant as he took in everything, the way his father had always taught him. He picked up a second piece of chicken as he stared at a certain couple, taking in every detail about the guy's messed up clothing and woman's ruffled hair. Just screwed? Or just broke up?

Juliet also ate in silence, more or less just running all the things that could come with this little date through her head. Okay, it wasn't a little date. More or less, it was just one of those things that couples did together. Still, all the thoughts she had kept her quiet, and kept her busy. 'Skiball, we could play on bets. And the ferris wheel... he could hold me protectively in his arms... Gosh, this is all just really exciting.'

Shawn thought about the different things they could while they were out and about as well, a small smile widening across his lips. That walk on the beach is going to be the best. She'll probably get cold, only wearing a sundress like that. Then I can hold her while we walk...

It was then that a soft, yet totally 'filled with romantic thoughts' sigh escaped the perky blonde, causing her to smile and to look over at Shawn. Those butterflies came back again, causing her cheeks to turn a soft shade of rosey-pink. Nibbling a bit at another piece of the chicken, she took a deep breath in and let it back out. 'This day just can't get any better than this...' she thought.