"Hey, Hil! What's shaking?" asked Tyson as he sat down on the grass beside his girlfriend.

"Shh! I'm thinking!" Hilary replied, not even sparing him a glance. Her head resting on her knees, she stared straight ahead, brow furrowed.

Tyson raised an eyebrow and stared at her for a few seconds, studying her closely. She continued to stare off into the distance with a glazed expression on her face, seemingly frozen. He sighed loudly, hoping to break her from her reverie, but Hilary still refused to acknowledge his presence. Fed up, Tyson reached over and flicked her on the side of the head.

THWACK! A fist pounded his hand away.

"WAAAHH! Hilary! What the heck was that for?! Jeez! I need that hand to launch my blade! Ow…" Tyson cried, holding his reddened throbbing hand.

Hilary just glared at him. "Urgh, Tyson! You do not touch me when I'm deep in thought!"

Tyson winced as he tried to bend his swollen fingers. "Well, what are you even thinking about?"

"Stuff. Besides, you never think so you wouldn't understand!"

"Oh really?" Tyson crossed his arms, his pride insulted. "Well, you know what?! I think that you're being a little grouchy right now, so I think I'm gonna go back to the house, and I think I'm gonna get something to eat 'cause I think I'm hungry, and I think it's lunchtime, and -!"

A groan from Hilary interrupted him. "Alright! Enough! God, Granger, you can be so annoying! Fine! You really wanna know what I was thinking about?" She grumbled, a sceptical look on her face.

"Well, if you wanna share…" He replied smugly.

Rolling her eyes, Hilary sighed. "Okay, well, I was thinking about how quickly these past few years have gone by and how much things have changed. And then I started thinking about what's gonna happen what my future holds for me and where my life is headed, and…..and….and, Tyson, do you think I'm getting old?"

He blinked at her. "Duh, Hilary, you're seventeen. That's -."

She groaned, cutting him off. "I'm the same age as you! Although…a slight older. You know what that means right…" She dejectedly looked at the dancing grass.

Tyson frowned. "So what are you saying, Hilary? You don't wanna go out with me 'cause I'm younger than you? 'Cause we're only like three months apart!"

"No. I don't care that you're younger than me, Tyson." Hilary interrupted again. "It's just that, before long, I'm gonna be eighteen. And at eighteen, I'll be in a college, where I'm gonna be damn occupied. I won't have time to be assisting you now and then, and slowly we'll drift apart," she lamented.

Tyson, not catching the concern, replied with as much enthusiasm as he could muster. "That is exciting, Hil! I mean there'll be so learn. You can finally be doing something your worth than sitting here and sewing Daichi's pants! You could study to be a doctor, or an engineer, or a lawyer or a stockbroker. There's so much for you to explore! Ain't it awesome!"

"Tyson! How could you say it'll be awesome, you nimrod?!"

"Huh? But you just said -."

"No! It'll suck!" She sulked, breathing through her frustration, "Cause I'll never be able to travel with you! And I'll be stuck at the library with a stack of books on my table! I hated that life because it wasn't exciting, but since you, my life has been such a roller coaster. I mean come on!"

He frowned. "Hmm….you're right! That will suck!"

Hilary threw her arms up, exasperated. "Urgh, Tyson! Don't tell me it'll suck! Don't spoil my motive to go to college!"

A big question mark appeared over Tyson's head. "Well then what the heck am I supposed to say to make you feel better?"

She sighed, tearing at the grass beneath her. "I don't know….I just don't know what I need to do. 'Cause I want more than anything to be with you, and to travel with you, just like when we were younger! Especially now that we're together! But there's no way I can't say no to college. It has been my dream to study at a big university. Ugh….I have no idea what I want…" She pounded her fist into the ground in frustration.

Tyson smirked. "Can I talk or will you bite my head off?"

Hilary turned to face him, smiling innocently. "Tyson, have I ever bitten your head off?"

He raised an eyebrow. "Uh, I'm assuming that's a joke. Anyway, I think I can offer some good advice!"

"This oughta be good…." She mumbled under her breath before turning her attention back to her boyfriend.

"Y'know, Hil, if you can believe it, there was a time in my boyhood when I had trouble figuring out what I really wanted. And so, a great, very important man in my life gave me some words of wisdom."

He wrapped an arm around Hilary's shoulders, the other stretching out to encompass the landscape before them. "Y'see, the man pulled me into his lap, looked me in the eye and said, 'Tyson, m'boy, you should always live in the now. Try not to worry about the future or the past. If you focus on what you want in this moment, you will find true happiness….'" Tyson smiled faintly as he shared the memory.

Hilary smiled too, cozying up to him. "Wow, who told you that, Tyson? Your father?"

He turned to look at her, grinning widely. "Nope! Santa Claus at the mall! I was having trouble telling him what I wanted for Christmas so he told me that! Heh, I guess I was just a little starstruck!"

"Yeah, I'll make you starstruck!" A vein popped on Hilary's forehead as her fist was raised in agony.

BAM! Once again, Hilary's punch whacked him to kingdom come.

"Dang it, Tyson! Here I thought you were confiding in me with one of the few happy memories you have of your father, but no! As usual, you were just babbling about nothing! Man, you suck! I don't know why I even bother coming to visit you! Sheesh!"

Tyson sat up, rubbing the lump forming on his head. "Is it 'cause you think I'm great?" He flashed her a smile and a thumbs-up.

Hilary couldn't help but giggle. She sighed. "Unfortunately, yes. Unfortunately, whenever I come to see you, it's like I'm in some sort of dream world that I never want to wake up from, where time just passes us by and everything is perfect!" She flopped back onto the grass.

Tyson did the same. "Ouch, that is unfortunate!" He said with a smirk.

"Tyson, do you even know what time or what day it is when you're out here?" Hilary asked, rolling over to face him.

"Nope." He replied, closing his eyes.

"And doesn't that bother you? Being so far away from reality?"

"Nope." He repeated.

"Huh…." Hilary frowned slightly.

The two lay together in silence for a minute. Tyson opened his eyes to see Hilary seemingly deep in thought once more.

He chuckled. "Hilary, relax!" He reached over, taking her hand in his and squeezing it. "Jeez, you never used to freak out this much about stuff! And I know you think it was just gibberish, but if you think about what Santa told me, I think it could help you!"

Hilary raised an eyebrow. "You know that guy was probably high on something when he told you that, right?"

"At the time, no. I thought he was the real deal. But so what? After all, there is that saying, 'Drunken thoughts are sober words' or something like that, right?"

Hilary just smacked her forehead.

"What!" Tyson sat up. "Aw, come on, Hil! Cheer up! Santa was so totally right, and you know it! I mean, there's even a song about livin' in the moment! You know how it goes! It's got that tune….and the other part…..and then there's singing…..then the beat picks up and….uhh…..well, you know!"

Sitting up too, Hilary blinked at him, her voice oozing with sarcasm. "No, I don't know. Why don't you sing it for me, Tyson, if you know it so well!"

Tyson glared at her smug expression. "Urgh, fine. There's no song….at least not that I know of….but sheesh! I'm just tryin' to get your mind off stuff that's not gonna happen for a really long time! I mean really! Just thinkin' about what I'm gonna wear tomorrow makes my head hurt….." He mumbled, glancing down at his lap.

Hilary laughed. "Tyson, you wear the same outfit every day!"

"Nuh-uh!" He pouted. "I've had two outfit changes since I started my journey, I'll have you know!" For further emphasis, he popped the collar of his red vest.

"Whoa there! Those outfits were in the past! And thinking about the past doesn't really go along with this carpe diem lifestyle you want me to live by!" Hilary teased.

He frowned. "'Carpe diem'? What's that? Hilary, you know I don't speak Spanish! C'mon! All I want you to do is seize the day! Starting now! Tell me what you want to do in this second!"

The next thing he knew, Hilary had tackled him to the ground, kissing him hard. Tyson immediately kissed her back, holding her close. A few seconds later, the two pulled apart.

Tyson smiled, laughing breathlessly. "Heh, what was that?"

Hilary laughed too, a mischievous grin spreading across her face. "Just a little carpe diem for ya!"

He snickered. "Ohh, so that's what carpe diem means! Why didn't you just say so? And here I was talkin' bout seizing the -!"

She rolled her eyes. "Tyson, just stop talking!"

He grinned. "Sounds good to me!"

Hilary giggled as their lips met again, continuing to live in the moment.