Benny called Fayette the next day at noon, setting a date for later that night.

Sarah's advice the previous night rang through his head as he waited for Fayette to answer her phone. "Remember, keep the phone call short enough to make the date. You'll do all your talking while you're on the actual date. And don't tell her the plans. Surprise her. Just have her meet you somewhere."

"Hello?" Fayette's voice answered.

"Hi. It's Benny."

"Hey, soldier. How are the wounds?"

"I almost thought I wouldn't make it through the night. How Harry Potter did it, I'll never know."

"Well, his was also a scar. Girls dig scars more than bumps." He heard the smile in her voice.

"That explains it all. Anyway, I was hoping maybe we could meet at the park around five o'clock. Then we could go from there."

"Go where from there?"

"You'll just have to meet me at the park then and see. See you there?"

"Are you planning on kidnapping me?"

"It's not kidnapping if you agree to go with me."

"Ooh, way to reel me in. I'll be there. Five on the dot. Bye, Benny."

"Until then, Fayette." They hung up, and Benny felt himself smiling.

"Get her flowers. Sweet flowers. Nothing pretentious, like roses. I'm guessing she likes daisies, so get her those. Not wrapped in plastic. In a ribbon. And then tell her how nice she looks. Take her places that make you comfortable and happy. No scary haunted houses or movie theaters. You want to be able to talk with her, about her, learn who she is. You also want her to learn about you. Always be a gentleman. Open doors for her. Buy her coffee. Sorry, I mean chocolate milk. And whatever you do, don't kiss her unless she wants you to." Sarah explained to Benny the night before.

"How will I know?" Benny felt as though he should be taking notes. There was no way he would be able to remember all of that.

"Trust me, you'll know." Benny just gaped at Sarah. "Sorry, I forgot who I was talking to. Okay, if she flirts with you a lot. Like, finds reasons to touch you. Maybe she nudges your arm or holds your hand a little longer after you've handed her something. And she gets close to your face a lot. And this is the key right here: if she keeps looking at your mouth. Not just, 'Oh, I'm watching what he's saying as he's saying it' kind of looking at your mouth, but looking at your mouth as if it were a new pair of shoes, her size, on sale, and she's got money to spend. Got it?"

Benny nodded uncertainly. 'So if she looks at my mouth like she looks at shoes, I kiss her. We're gonna need to pass by a shoe store,' he thought.

Benny walked into the park, holding a handful of daisies wrapped with a purple ribbon behind his back, approaching a sitting Fayette on a park bench. She had a small book perched in her hands, flipping through the pages. Wearing a yellow dress and a bow in her hair, just the sight of her brought butterflies to Benny's stomach. No, these weren't butterflies. These were fire-breathing dragons, flapping around, doing their best to cause destruction.

"How long have you been sitting there?" Benny asked, sitting down beside her and placing the daisies in her lap.

She closed her book, looked down at the flowers, then up at Benny's grinning face. "I've been here for an exhausting five minutes. Another second and I would've pegged you as a no-show." Smiling, she picked up the flowers and smelled them. "These are lovely. Thank you. How did you ever guess I loved daisies?" She said in faux shock.

"Well, they were out of Venus Flytraps, so I went for the next available plant. You look very beautiful, by the way."

"Thank you. So do you. The stripes really bring out your eyes."

Benny sat up from the bench, holding out his hand to help Fayette up. She placed the book in her bag, and took Benny's hand, letting go once they were standing.

"So where are we off to now?" she asked, taking a daisy and putting it in Benny's shirt pocket.

"I'm taking you somewhere important," he replied.

They strolled through the park, telling stories and talking about different things they enjoyed. Benny kept glancing over at Fayette, noticing how she used her hands a lot to talk. He wondered why he even worried at all about impressing her. Things were comfortable with her, and the conversation seemed to flow quite easily.

Suddenly, when things appeared to be going so well, Fayette stopped right in her tracks. "Benny, stand very still." She sounded frightened.

Not but two steps in front of her, he stopped. "Don't turn around," she whispered.

Benny, knowing the dangers of the town and all the weird things that happened, knew to listen to her. "I want you to grab my hand. No, don't come closer. Just reach your hand out. I'll come to you."

She took the tiniest of steps towards him, and took hold of his outstretched hand. The weirdest sensation spread through Benny's fingers when she touched him, almost like static. "Benny, close your eyes."

He looked at her, wide-eyed for a moment, and then shut his eyes. "I will lead you, just promise me you'll run, but keep your eyes closed."

Benny nodded, then felt himself being dragged by Fayette back through the end of the park they'd started. He could've sworn he heard a male voice say something somewhere to his right, but he dared not open his eyes.