Hi guys! It's almost that time of year~ Gosh I love October. But right now it's time for more of our lovely couple's day out! Enjoy~

"Well, it certainly looks interesting."

Sandy tugged on my sleeve, looking up at me with pleading eyes. I sighed. I'd been doing that a lot today.

"If you want to."

We headed into the arcade at corner of the street. It was a big, cutout place with two floors and deep purple coloring. Stepping into it was like stepping straight into a movie or the fading memories of my childhood. I had grown up in a big city full of entertainment venues, from concert halls to pizza parlors. I was no stranger to the neon flashes of the old gaming house. Sandy, however, looked all but reverent. He was just standing there, open-mouthed, gazing around without blinking.

"Interesting. You've never been in an arcade before?"

Sandy closed his mouth, swallowed almost nervously, and tapped something into his phone.

Not like this

"I see. Perhaps you've seen the boardwalk, pizza-place variety?"

Sandy nodded and ambled over to the closest booth. I watched as a smile grew on his face, so slowly and gleefully that it was almost frightening. I shook my head in amusement.

Sandy was back beside me in a second. He tugged excitedly on my sleeve again, and before I could respond he was leading me further into the arcade. We passed rows of games and a few people playing them, all the way to the back where a collection of larger consoles rested. I found my eyes being drawn to one with two plastic guns attached by a cord. Sandy flashed a smile at me and picked one up. Oh, the things I get roped into.

I hadn't played one of these in ages. My skills were rusty to say the least, and Sandy quickly began racking up points against me, blowing up monster after monster. It was surprising to see such a cute and gentle soul so bent on demolishing enemies. A small, strange mixture of annoyance and excitement rose in me, and I found myself focusing harder on the scenario on the screen, moving my character quickly and deliberately, striking as many enemies as possible and trying to take less damage myself. The level wasn't that long, and a few minutes later it was over, with only a couple hundred points between our scores. Sandy turned and grinned at me, putting the gun down to give me a hug. I froze for a moment, lost in the innocent gesture, but my mind stuttered to life again when Sandy stole a quick kiss.

You're really good! I didn't know u could play so well (\(^o^)/) he typed into his phone. I shrugged, rubbing the back of my head. Sandy put his phone back in his pocket and gave a small yawn.

"Are you tired? Do you want to go back soon?" Sandy shook his head but yawned again, this time rubbing his eye.

"You are tired. We can go back now."

Sandy shook his head furiously. He pulled his phone back and, suppressing yet another yawn, he typed out another message:

Let's at least get lunch together first! You saw that café at the other side of the street right? Please?

"What's gotten into you?" I asked, raising an eyebrow at him. Sandy pouted at me. After a long moment without an answer, I caved to him once again. He hugged me gratefully and all but dragged me out of the arcade.

We went into the café and were greeted with soft music and the warm smell of coffee and cakes. A young woman was wiping down the counter; she looked up and greeted us cheerfully. She paused in the middle of it, looking at us curiously for a moment before grinning.

"Oh my gosh, it is you two!"

"Pardon?" I looked at Sandy, but he seemed considerably less confused. The woman put away her cloth and stepped into the open.

"Sanderson and…Pitch, right? Thalia's friends?"

I watched Sandy give the woman a happy wave. Not wanting to make the situation too awkward, I did the same.

"I'm Brielle, on the swim team," she started. "I was sitting with you guys on the day Thalia introduced us to you."

"Oh…nice to see you again." I hoped my voice didn't sound as awkward as I thought it did. Brielle merely smiled and nodded.

"You guys havin' a fun day? What can I get ya?"

Sandy went up to the counter, looking through the glass at all the cake and pastries. While he marveled at the selection, Brielle sidled up to me.

"So, this a date or what?"

"W-what?!" I jumped away from her in shock. Brielle giggled and winked impishly.

"He was hanging on your arm when you walked in. Don't tell me you didn't notice?"

"I…I…" My face was burning, but Brielle only seemed to relish my embarrassment. She nudged my arm with her elbow.

"Wait till Thalia hears about this~!"

"What? D-don't tell her that!" I protested. Out the corner of my eye I could see Sandy look up bemusedly. I lowered my voice and repeated what I'd said. Brielle laughed again.

"She's gonna have to put you through the wringer," she said. "She's real fond of Sandy, if you haven't noticed. Not in a romantic kind of way, but like a little brother, you know? She's going to flip if you make any sort of move."

"It's not…like that," I said carefully. "We're just…well, I don't know."

Sandy was walking over to us. He had a small frown on his face, clearly having overheard our conversation. Brielle gave a low laugh at Sandy's expression of, Just what is that supposed to mean?!

"I'm just saying what we agreed on, right?" I raised my hands in defense. "That we would try a relationship with each other! I mean, I really do like you but Brielle's over here talking about 'making moves' and things…"

"Oh god, this IS a pair," Brielle laughed. "Now I'm imagining it! Oh my god~!" she stumbled back to the counter, laughing to herself while Sandy, who had begun to catch on to Brielle's innuendo, and I turned red in the face. At the counter, Brielle finally gathered herself and looked back at us.

"So, you guys still want something?"

Good ol' Brielle! Yep, we'll be seeing more of her and the swim team girls. I'm trying to get these chapters to a good length again, and I'm also working on some new fics to put up, currently a horror story just in time for Halloween. Please leave what you thought in a review, and thanks for reading!