Pocahontas sank down in the booth next to John. It was six o'clock Saturday morning. Pocahontas, Thomas and Sally were working the morning shift at the shelter and had to start at seven o'clock. They usually worked the afternoon shift and were not used to being up this early on a Saturday. They decided to meet at Mickey's beforehand for coffee and breakfast. John always drove Thomas to work, so they invited him to have breakfast with them as well.

Ariel hurried over to their table and poured them all some coffee.

"Would you like anything to eat?" Ariel asked them.

Each of them told her what they wanted, then Ariel left to put in their order.

"You two are half brothers, right?" Sally asked, taking a sip of her coffee. John and Thomas nodded. "So, you have the same mom and different dads?"

"Same dad, different moms," Thomas said.

"Our dad was married to my mom, but having an affair with his mom," John explained. "He got them both pregnant about the same time. About a year after we were born, Thomas' mom showed up and told our dad about him. When my mom found out, she left. Our dad then married Thomas' mom. I haven't seen or heard from my mom since."

"Oh, I'm sorry," Sally said.

John shrugged. "Don't be. I was only a year old, I didn't really know her. Thomas' mom is the one who raised me. She's more of a mom to me now."

There was no one else in the diner, so they got their food pretty quickly. They ate in silence, then asked for their checks.

John put his arm around Pocahontas. "You wanna go out to dinner after work today?"

"I'm working a double today. I don't get off work 'till seven tonight," Pocahontas said.

"That's all right. We can get a later dinner," John offered.

"I wish I could, John. But I have so much homework to get done. And then I have to work another double shift tomorrow."

John nodded. "So, then you'll probably be too tired to hang out after work tomorrow."

"I'm sorry." Pocahontas saw the look of disappointment on John's face. She felt bad; she definitely wanted to spend time with him.

But, Pocahontas really needed the money. Her dad didn't have enough money to send her to college, and her aunt and uncle had Kocoum and Nakoma to worry about. Pocahontas needed all the hours she could get at work; veterinarian school was not cheap. John understood all of this. But, sometimes he felt like he was no longer as important to her as he had been when they first started dating. That wasn't true, but Pocahontas didn't know how to show him just how important he was to her.

Pocahontas rested her head against his chest. "Ya know, a lot of the homework I have to do tonight is math and I don't really understand it," she said. "Do you think you could help me?"

John smiled at her. "Yeah I can." He kissed her forehead. "I can also make us some dinner if you'd like."

Pocahontas nodded and snuggled closer to John. "I love you."

"I love you, too."

XXX

Belle stared at the clock anxiously. She only had a few more minutes until she got off work. The day had been going by agonizingly slow, and she couldn't wait to get off so she could go on her date with Adam. Now, Belle only had five more minutes until she could leave.

Just then the bell above the door rang, signaling that someone had just walked in. Nooo! Why does a customer have to come in now? Belle thought. But, when she looked up, she saw that it was actually Adam.

Belle smiled at him. "Hey, Adam, what are you doing here?"

Adam walked over to the counter. "I realized that I never got your address."

"Oh." Belle wrote down her address and handed it to Adam.

"Thanks. I should get going," Adam said.

"I still have a couple minutes 'till I get off. Stay and keep me company?" Belle asked.

"I would, but I have a date to plan." Adam winked at her. "I'll see you in two hours."

Belle nodded and waved as he left the store. When it was finally time for her to get off, she practically ran out to her car and hurried home.

When Belle got home, her dad was working on some project in the basement. She shouted a quick hello down to him, then went up to her room. Belle and Aurora had gone shopping after school on Friday to get Belle a new outfit for the date. She put it on, then walked over to her full-length mirror. She was wearing a yellow off the shoulder top, skinny blue jeans and brown high heel boots. She pulled part of her hair back, and put on a little make up. By the time she was done getting ready, it was almost seven o'clock.

Adam showed up right on time. Belle let him in and introduced him to her dad. Maurice was a bit distracted, so he just said a quick hello then went back down to the basement. Belle grabbed her denim jacket and followed Adam out to his car. Belle was nervous and ended up talking about school the whole car ride.

Adam took Belle to the Pleasure Island Amusement Park just outside of town. It was a huge amusement park with rides, games, go-karts, a house of mirrors, mini-golf and bowling. They got some pizza first, then went to the mini-golf course. Belle was surprised at how good he was at mini-golf. He got a hole-in-one at almost every hole, or he got it in two strokes. Belle had never played mini-golf before and averaged five strokes at each hole.

"I didn't know you were a closet mini-golfer," Belle said as they returned their putters.

"When I was a kid my nanny, Mrs. Potts, used to take me here all the time," Adam said.

Belle beat Adam at bowling, then they went on some rides. As they walked through the mirror maze in the House of Mirrors, Adam reached out and took Belle's hand. Belle's heart raced and she couldn't think of anything else. At the end of the night Belle and Adam played some games and Belle won Adam a teddy bear. When they were leaving the park, a woman selling flowers stopped them and Adam bought Belle a red rose.

The ride back home went by too fast for Belle and they next thing she knew they were pulling into her driveway. Adam walked Belle to her door and they stopped outside.

"I had a really good time tonight," Belle said.

Adam nodded. "Me, too."

They stood there awkwardly for a few seconds.

"Um, good night, Adam." Belle reached for the doorknob, but Adam grabbed her hand.

"Belle, I really like…" Adam paused. "…my bear."

Belle smiled at him. "And I really like my rose."

They weren't fooling anyone. They both knew they were actually talking about each other. Adam brushed Belle's hair off her face, then bent down and kissed her. Belle's heart was pounding so hard it sounded like fireworks were going off. She felt a little light-headed and put her hand on his chest to steady herself. His heart was beating just as hard as hers. They slowly pulled apart, but Adam kept his hand on her cheek. Belle slowly opened her eyes and smiled at him. Then, Adam smiled at her for the first time.