AN: Sorry about cutting the last chapter short, but things were getting long. Now we get into a bit more mischief.

Chapter 4: Date Disaster—Part 2

Eros was about ready to pull his hair out. They had been at the restaurant not even ten minutes and everything was already falling apart.

First of all, the ride to the place had been a complete fluke. From what he overheard of the conversation, Will knew how to grip onto the back of the motorcycle so she would not need to hold onto the rider. Eros tried not to let it bother him too much. Then on the ride over, the conversation was seriously lacking in the romance department. In fact, they barely talked! Anytime Puck tried to start up a conversation, Will only gave a short reply. Then when they arrived at the restaurant, the only time Will even touched Puck was to push off his shoulders to get off the bike. Then they removed their gear, packed it away, and headed inside with about a foot of distance between them.

How can such a kind girl be so stubborn?! Eros thought. He took another long drink from his Chocolate Stout to calm himself. He was sitting down at the bar watching his young couple. Regrettably, he had to change to enter the restaurant and was now wearing a white suit with red dress shirt and a black and red striped tie. He felt like Valentine, but it was a worthy sacrifice if it would help bring two souls together. If only the task were going as planned.

Once the waiter had settled them at a table, they barely said a word to one another. Puck tried to win her over with a few polite compliments. Will only responded with a mumbled "whatever" and kept her eyes focused on her menu. Past the point of aggravation with the progress, Eros was about ready to bypass all Valentine's warnings and pull out one of his golden love arrows. However, he was not about to let this stop him. After all, he had made reservations for Puck and Will at a new restaurant in town. The theme of the place was specifically designed for young couples and singles alike. The menu was of the most exquisite cuisine and, much to Eros's delight, there was live music so couples could enjoy at their tables or on the dance floor. One way or another, Eros was definitely going to make sure those two danced to something romantic and slow.

Meanwhile, there was still an ongoing awkward silence at the table of the "loving couple." Will was gazing lazily at the menu while Puck was hiding behind his own to come up with something to say. Luckily, the waiter came to his rescue.

"How are we doing tonight, folks?" the young man asked. "I'm Jonesy, your waiter for the evening."

"Just fine," Will replied. She looked up from her menu and gave the guy a pleasant smile. "I've never been to this place before. It's new, right?"

"Oh yes, La Dulce Vida has been here for almost two weeks now," Jonesy replied, "and we are working on branching a chain of restaurants. Now then, can I start you off with any drinks? Perhaps some of our finest wine? I would highly recommend the Swanson 2011 Alexis Cabernet Sauvignon, or perhaps a Château Lafaurie-Peyraguey 2013 Sauternes."

"Do you have any 2010 Bodegas Mauro Vino de la Tierra de Castilla y León?" Puck asked.

"Nice try," Will stated. "He's doing the driving tonight and I'm two years under the drinking limit. What do you have in the nonalcoholic department?"

"Oh, we provide a variety of beverages for our younger patrons," Jonesy replied, pointing to the drink menu.

"I'll have a Nojito." Puck turned to look at Will. "See anything you like, my little bat?"

"I'm gonna try the…13th Peach Fruit," Will said, ignoring Puck and turning her attention back to the menu.

"Perfect!" Jonesy replied, writing down the orders. "Would you like a few more minutes to decide, or are you ready to order?"

"What would you recommend?" Puck asked, looking up from the menu. "I noticed you serve melon, jamón, and mozzarella skewers, and you have rack of lamb with herbs de provence and roasted tomatoes. Is that any good?"

"Oh, excellent choice, sir. The Romantic's Delight is one of our more popular dishes for couples."

Will cleared her throat. "Excuse me, but we–" She pointed between herself and Puck. "–are NOT a couple. I can order for myself." Will looked back at the menu once before handing it to the waiter. "I'll have the shrimp linguini with extra garlic, and a small Caesar salad on the side," she stated, folding her hands and smirking at Puck before asking smugly, "And what will you be having?"

Puck blinked. He really had not planned for this. Eros had told him to let Will order her own food, though he never said anything about making a suggestion. He had done almost everything Eros had said, and they were things he would have done anyway. Picking Will up at her house and knocking on the door, then waiting for her to grab her keys and lock up the apartment; complimenting her each chance he got, and holding open doors. He was trying his best, but the fact she had just ordered garlic in her meal, a common vampire repellent; it was clear Will had no interest.

Puck just handed his menu to the waiter. "Filet mignon, cooked rare, with mushrooms in a wine sauce. And please, make sure there's no garlic."

"I can assure you, sir, we don't use garlic for this particular dish," Jonesy insisted, smiling pleasantly.

"I'd listen to him, if I were you. He's highly allergic," Will said with a cruel giggle. "The hives make his skin turn red, and then his throat and tongue swell up like a balloon before the itching and burning, followed by projectile vomiting."

Puck felt his eyes widen and a soft tint of pink warmed his cheeks. "H-How did you know about that?"

"After you tricked me with that dare, I stopped by your dear old uncles' house for a little help," Will replied. "I wanted to know if the garlic thing was real, and by telling me about your reaction to it, they started going on and on about their favorite nephew. By the way, did you really think you could get away with a mullet perm while dressing like Hollywood from Mannequin? Though the dangly earrings were a nice touch!"

Suddenly, the light pink color on Puck's cheeks bloomed into a full, bright red facial flush. Will just laughed as Puck sunk into his chair.

"Okay… Well, I'll be back in a few with those drinks," Jonesy replied nervously. He could feel the awkward tension at the table. All he knew was that he had to get out of there fast.

Back at the table, things had fallen back into silence. The only sound was the subtle conversations going on around them and the soft music the band played. Time passed by—though rather slowly in Will's opinion, as she counted the hours until she was free—and eventually the waiter brought them their drinks and Will's salad. The whole time they were silent. Puck did try to start a conversation, but each time he opened his mouth, he quickly shut it.

"Excuse me," Will said after a few more minutes passed. She pushed her empty plate aside for the waiter, and then got up from her seat. She started walking away when Puck stood up, blocking her path.

"Where are you going?" he asked suspiciously. "The agreement was you remain by my side the entire evening."

Will rolled her eyes. "Chill out Mr. Possessive," she said dryly. "I'm just going to the lady's room. Do you have a problem with that?"

"Uh…"

With no actual reply, Will slipped away while Puck sulked, head down, at the table. Eros watched in total shock. There were less complications in a teenage romances, the epitome of drama relationships. It looked like his young buck was going to need more coaching than he thought. Eros was about to walk over when someone else beat him to it.

"I thought that was you!"

Puck looked up and was shocked to see two of his friends walking up to his table. "Zack, Al. What are you doing here?" he asked them.

"Well, it's Valentine's day. This is the most romantic place I could think of to take my girl," Zack replied, clapping Puck on the hand.

Al smiled. "We had a little trouble with Ol' Rusty stalling so we nearly missed our reservation," she said, looking around. "Don't mean to sound awkward, but where is my Little Willy?"

"She's run to freshen up," Puck replied.

"Ooo! I'll be right back!" Al quickly ran off toward the restrooms.

"Well, it would appear both our dates have run off on us," Puck sighed. He turned back to Zack. "Oh man, I'm completely botching everything, Zack!" Puck slammed his head down on the table in defeat.

Zack furrowed his eyebrows before taking Will's vacated seat. "Wanna talk about it, brother?" he asked, folding his hands. "Not that I'll be much help when it comes to understanding how any girls', let alone Will's or Al's, minds work but, sometimes, I stumble onto some insight."

Puck just groaned. "I've tried doing everything by the book, but nothing I do works," he explained. "I've opened doors, tried giving her compliments, and I tried to impress her with my knowledge of culinary cuisine. And still, she acts like I've taken her hostage or something."

Zack chuckled softly. "There's ya problem," he said, leaning back.

"How so?"

"You aren't being yourself," Zack explained. "Look, if the gentleman thing is you, then there isn't much you can do. Now, I'm not saying be a jerk to her but be yourself. If she's into you, then she's into you. If she isn't, she just won't be and there's nothing you can do about it."

"That's not the point," Puck moaned, finally meeting his friend's eye. "When I'm around her, all I can think about is not messing up and looking like a total idiot in front of her. When Cupid hit me with that arrow, I'll admit I went overboard. That's why I needed everything to go well tonight! I wanted a clean slate so Will could see the real me. But nothing is going right."

"It can't be that bad, man," Zack encouraged. Clearly his friend was just exaggerating and letting his nerves get to him.

Puck gave him a deadpan glare. "She talked to my uncles, Zack," he nearly yelled. "I love them but darn it, if they don't blather every embarrassing mount you never want told. As if that wasn't bad enough, they told her how garlic affects me AND showed her pictures from my college days! She saw the merm. The MERM! There's no coming back from that!"

Zack stared in disbelief. "Bro, you had a merm? And you didn't burn all evidence of it? Are you insane?!" Zack rubbed the bridge of his nose. "You may be plum outta luck, Puck."

"See what I mean! I'm royally screwed." Puck slammed his head against the table again.

"Oh, this has gone on long enough…" Eros muttered. He got up from his seat and marched over to Puck and Zack. He caught Zack's attention but his focus was on Puck. "You lazy little lump, why are you giving up so fast?!"

"Go away…" Puck moaned.

Eros huffed. "Are you really going to sit there and pout without putting up a fight?"

"Um... who are you?" Zack asked, pointing at Eros.

Eros rolled his eyes. "Really Zackary, your attention span is lacking exponentially," he commented. "I realize my change of dress is drastically different from my traditional attire, but you honestly cannot recognize me in a suit jacket and pants? I just visited you hours ago, and gave you that cologne of Al's favorite scent!"

Zack blinked. "Oh yeah!" He snapped his fingers. "Sorry bro, I lost my memory when I heard my man Puck was seen by his potential lady with a merm. Hey, that cologne works like a charm by the way."

"Naturally, I do know what I'm doing when it comes to relationships."

"You're certainly doing a crappy job helping me out," Puck added, head still pressed to the table.

"In any case…" Eros continued, "We don't have much time to debate. The girls will be arriving back here shortly, so we must use this opportunity to make Puck presentable. It won't be easy given the circumstances, but perhaps we might be able to work something out."

Zack cracked his neck. "What's the plan, Winged Man? Because I think that Puck here should be himself. Will is the type to see through any facade pretty dang quick."

"Hmm… We could, uh…" Eros retained the posture of one in thought, however, he was deathly silent.

Zack frowned, his eyes narrowing in on the angel. "You got nothin' other than what I've been sayin', have ya?"

"Well…"

"Zack, get your fine butt out of Will's seat!" Al's loud call announced the arrival of the girls.

All three men turned as Al practically raced back to the table. She was dragging Will by the arm and in her other hand, she was holding some kind of object. Al stopped running once she reached the table, but she refused to release her best friend.

"Okay Al, that's enough," Will protested. She tried pulling her arm free, but it only made Al tighten her grip. "Argh! Why don't you just put a bridle on me. You're squeezing my arm off."

"I would love to use a bridle, but I don't think Cesario would appreciate tasting your spit," Al said with a cheeky grin. "Besides, you should know better than to skip out on a date, even if it's going down the toilet. Trying to use your door key, for shame!"

Will finally wrenched her arm free, rubbing the sore area. "I was not trying to dine and dash, Al!" she argued. "I told you, the water from the faucet splashed my collar and I was drying my key so it wouldn't rust."

"Yeah sure. I totally believe you, girlie girl," Al said crossing her arms and giving her a sarcastic look.

"I believe that answer as much as the time you blamed Crepe for eating all my cookies for the church bake sale, and you still had crumbs and chocolate all over your face," Will retorted. She crossed her arms over her chest and looked away, only for her gaze to fall on Eros. "Ugh, you again? Can't you just leave me alone!"

"I was just checking in on my favorite couple. For your information, sweet lady, this is my holiday and I happen to have business to attend to at the other end of the room," Eros huffed and began walking away. "Adieu, my little lovebirds!"

"That smug jerk…" Will muttered under her breath. She waited for Zack to move before taking her seat. "So, do we need to ask the waiter for an extra set of chairs? I have a feeling Al wants to make sure I don't try to accidentally-on-purpose have the waiter spill water on me, and end this torture by needing another pair of clothes."

"I don't think ya need another pair good lookin'. Besides, I always knew you'd be a star at a wet T-shirt contest," Zack teased, throwing a wink at Will.

"Real cute, Zackary, but remember I have a knife." She threw him a wicked grin. "So keep those roaming hands to yourself, or Al will need to find a new back massager."

Zack rubbed the back of his neck awkwardly. "Can't blame a guy for trying, Love," he joked, though he did cast a nervous glance at Will's silverware.

"Since when did our flirting game include giving our players pet names?" Al asked, crossing her arms and glaring slightly at him.

"Since you started flirting with that waiter the moment we got here, Alley my love," Zack replied, crossing his arms in response before a tense moment passed which ended with a tiny peck on the lips between the strange couple.

Al was looking around when suddenly her eyes went wide and she jumped. "Well, this was fun, but we gotta bounce," she said quickly, turning to pull on Zack's arm. "Let's leave these kids some alone time."

"But babe, our table?" Zack protested. He eyed his girlfriend suspiciously as she continued trying to drag him toward the exit.

"Zack, we gotta go, like now. I may or may not have started a flood in the ladies room," Al said with a cheeky grin.

"But Alley Love, we just got here and the reservations were near impossible to get at such short notice–" Zack began to say when a loud, irritated scream was heard.

"WHAT'S WITH ALL THIS WATER?!"

"Time to go. Come on, sugar lumps!" Al said. She grabbed ahold of her boyfriend's hand and sprinted to the door. As she fled, Al began waving about Will's key, which she had tucked firmly in her hand, and called out, "This comes with me, so Will, behave yourself!"

Will and Puck just watched as two of the staff fumbled to catch up to their friends. "Well, that was…interesting," Puck commented.

"Yeah, only Al could cause a scene like that," Will said. Things were quiet for a moment before she added, "I really wasn't trying to ditch you."

"We did have a bargain," he reminded her. "Though the fact remains you did have your key and your friend spotted you with it in hand. It does make the whole thing a tad suspicious."

"Okay, first of all, that key happens to be a portal to anywhere in the world, or worlds as the case may be. It's not exactly something you leave lying around where anyone can get their hands on it." She smiled but then she let out a small sigh. "Look, I know I'm not being the best of company, but can you really blame me? Being tricked into going on a date is not the best way to impress a girl."

"You didn't have to accept," Puck reminded her. "You could have said no."

"You didn't really give me the option," she added, pointing at him. "You were the one who said I had to either be stuck on a date with you or be forced into kissing you. Both sucked, but at least I can have a say here than a dark closet. You do the math."

Puck did not have a response for that. They both went back into a silence until the waiter brought out their food. Puck winced from the potency of Will's dish. He had to reach for his napkin and cover his nose as the garlic stung his sensitive sense of smell. They went halfway through the meal when Puck finally broke the silence.

"You're right, I've been an idiot," he said, not looking up from his plate. He waited for Will to say something, but when no response came, he continued. "Ever since the New Years party, I've been acting like a total louse. I thought the only way I could impress you was acting like the kind of guy you would respond to. Eros told me you had a type, so I…"

"Wait a minute!" Will held up her hands and waited for Puck to let her talk. "You talked to Eros? About what my type is?"

"Uh, yes?"

"Dude, are you really that dense?" she asked, looking at him incredulously. "If you want a girl to like you then you need to be honest with her. Don't go asking someone else what to do, especially a bonehead like Eros. You know, I actually liked you until you starting acting like a total jerk."

"But Eros told me you liked bad boys with an underlying kindheartedness and you also liked the romantic, princely type," Puck countered. Suddenly, his eyes widened as he recalled her words. "Did you just say you liked me?"

"You big idiot…" she muttered, "of course I liked you. When we first met. Granted, I thought you were a bat, but you were actually sweet. I even thought you were kinda cute. And then when you agreed to help me stop Oogie Boogie, and you even got all your bat friends to help, I was really amazed that you would help a total stranger, especially twice in one day."

"But when you woke up after the battle, you wanted nothing to do with me."

"Duh! That's because I just woke up from a near-death experience, and you were hitting on me. Not to mention you were acting like girls should swoon at your feet when doing it."

Puck chuckled a bit. "I guess my timing was a bit off…" he admitted. "In my defense, I was under the spell of a love arrow."

"And what's your excuse for New Years Eve?" Will retorted, crossing her arms. "I distinctly remember you saying the arrow had warn off, yet you still kissed me."

"Again, another poor judgement on my part," Puck admitted. "That was when I found Eros. He told me to be spontaneous, and after telling me you are interested in a rebel, I thought I was being someone you would like. Each time you told me that you didn't feel that way, I thought you were being coy. I guess… I suppose that was another fault on my part."

Will did not know what to say. For the first time since the incident, she was starting to believe Puck was being honest with her. Really, truly honest. It was surprising. Seeing the distraught look on his face, Will reached her hand across the table and placed it over his. He was startled by the action, and looked to her for an explanation.

She smiled. "Puck… How about a truce?" Will suggested. "We spend the rest of the evening together, but this time, no acting like someone else. I would prefer to be the Puck and Will that met in the Hinterlands, and not the disgruntled girl about ready to stake the whoreson vampire. Deal?"

Will held out her hand toward Puck. He looked at it, and then at her. She was really willing to give him another chance. His heartbeat quivered at the thought. Yes, he wanted another chance. He was not going to follow anymore advice other than the one he knew he should have done from the beginning. He was going to be himself.

Puck gently took Will's smaller hand in his own. "We have a deal."