Everything seems to be back on track with the guild and everything has been quiet lately. It's a chance for people to relax and just try to take it easy. That's certainly what Mary is trying to do at least, but she seems a little agitated. She sat at the bar and appeared to be annoyed.

"Everything okay, Mary?" Yukina said with her sitting with Mary.

"Just feeling a little restless. With all that has gone on with us, I'm actually expecting something crazy to happen." Mary said. "Maybe I'm the one that's going crazy."

"Have you tried going on a job to keep your mind occupied?" Yukina said.

"Maru and Sandy weren't available." Mary said.

"You wouldn't go without them? That's sweet." Yukina said. That was when something came to Mary. "You know, maybe that's what is needed. Maybe you should go on a date."

"A date? You mean like get a boyfriend?" Mary said. "I don't think so. The boys around here are too old, uninteresting, or probably don't know how to handle a woman like me."

"Well, what about Maru?" Yukina said. "You two are the same age, he's certainly interesting, and you two do seem to have a good connection. Plus, you have to admit that he is handsome."

"Maru?" Mary turned to where Maru was with him just sitting back and enjoying the time with his friends, but nothing really clicked with her. "I don't think so. I'm just not interested in looking for a boyfriend right now."

"Well, what if Maru is interested in you? You never know, he could be." Yukina said, but Mary just glared right at her. "What's with the evil eye? I'm just teasing, joking around."

"Whatever. I'm just not interested in dating, so let it go." Mary said with her thinking that was that.

...

Mary's Apartment

"That Yukina... She thinks I need to date to keep myself occupied? As if." Mary said. Mary made it back to her apartment, but she was in for a surprise.

"Hey there." Maru greeted.

"Maru?! What the hell are you doing in my apartment?! How did you get in this time?!" Mary said.

"You gave Yukina a spare key, remember?" Maru said. "She let me have it because there's something I needed to talk to you about. It's important and going to be really special."

"Is that so?" Mary said. She didn't sound like she cared, but then a thought occurred to her. Maru wants to talk to her about something "important" and "special"? Yukina gave him her spare key? Not to mention what the girls talked about earlier was still fresh in her mind. Mary has an idea what this might be about and it caused her face to turn red. "Wait. Did you say you needed to talk to me about something special and important?!"

"Yeah." Maru said. Mary suddenly got nervous with her slamming her back into the wall. "Are you okay?"

"Uh... Now might not really be the best time. Could we talk about this tomorrow?" Mary said.

"But I don't think this can wait." Maru said. Mary was getting really nervous now. "Are you feeling okay? You don't look so well. You're shaking and turning red." He said with him moving closer to her and checked her temperature. "You feel like you got a small fever. Maybe this should wait."

"Yeah! Yeah! Just get out of here!" Mary said with her practically shoving a confused Maru out the door and slamming it shut, but her body wouldn't stop shaking with her heart pounding. "What's happening to me?"

...

The Next Day

Mary went to the guild again, but she couldn't get what happened out of her head. She started thinking she jumped to conclusions and tried thinking more logical and reasonable conclusions.

"Okay. Last night was pretty strange." Mary told herself. "I should have heard Maru out. After all, there was no way he was going to confess some hidden feelings to me after my talk with Yukina. The whole thing was just in my head."

"Hey, did you hear? Someone has something special planned for his special lady?"

"Yeah? I heard Maru is a part of it. Maybe he's the guy planning something for a lady. Hahaha."

"I heard that myself, and I heard it's someone he's pretty close with." Mary could overhear a few guild members talking. Based on what she heard, she was thinking what she thought just the other night had some merit to it.

'What?! No way! Maru might actually have feelings for someone?! It couldn't be me, could it?!' Mary thought. 'Then again, they said it was someone he's close with. The only other girl he's close with is Yukina, but he was in my apartment just yesterday. It couldn't be, could it?' This whole thing was making her feel a little anxious. "No. There's just no way." She closed her eyes and shook her head around, but then her imagination went wild. She started picturing Maru looking all handsome with eyes shining like the stars and surrounded by rose petals. "What the hell?! Why did that image appear in my head?!" It didn't stop there as she could just imagine those two being like a couple, getting cozy, maybe even a little intimate. "What hell is with me?!"

"Hey, Mary. There you are." Maru said with him suddenly appearing behind her. "Is everything okay? Are you feeling okay?"

"More or less." Mary said with her starting to feel like butterflies are in her stomach.

"Well, could you come by the park near the lake later tonight?" Maru asked.

"What for?" Mary asked.

"It's about what I wanted to talk to you about the other night." Maru said. "All I can say is that it's really special and really important. So please there. It's going to be great." He said and couldn't stop smiling.

'What is he smiling about?!' Mary thought with what she was feeling getting worse.

"I'll see you tonight! Be there at eight! Don't be late!" Maru claimed before he took off. Mary couldn't believe this was happening to her.

"Hey, Mary!" Yukina said. "You want to get to work now? If Maru isn't available, I be happy to go on a job with you."

"Actually, I think I need to go home." Mary said and then just took off with Yukina thinking that was weird.

...

Mary

Mary went on home, but she was a little nervous and anxious. She believes Maru is planning to confess his hidden feelings for her and wants to do it in a special way. The whole thing has her insides doing backflips.

"I can't believe this is happening! Is Maru really going to confess to me?" Mary said. "What do I do?! Do I even want to be like that with Maru?! I don't even know what to do!" Mary was really freaking out about this. The truth is she's never had a boy actually like her before so this is uncharted territory for her. Mary was freaking out until she saw how crazy she looked in a mirror. "Wait. What am I even freaking out about? I mean, I don't blame Maru for being interested in me? I'm hot on a daily basis. Still, I've managed to charm a few guys before, but that was so I could rob them, get something out of them, or I was just simply teasing the boys. They make is so easy, but maybe I did too much of that with Maru and that's why he suddenly fell for me. I guess this is different for me because Maru isn't just some other guy to me that I wouldn't give a damn about. I just need to calm down and breathe." She tried to do just that, but her imagination just keeps running away from her with Maru looking all kinds of handsome.

"Mary... Let's get married and have thirty-three babies."

"Why would I imagine that, and who in their right mind wants that many kids?!" Mary said with her face burning red. "Okay, calm down. At the very least, this gives me the perfect chance to try out my new dress." She said with her quickly changing into a satin black dress that went down to her knees and with cleavage. "Oh yeah! I look smoking hot in this!" She said with her feeling good, but then realized what she was doing. "Wait! Why am I getting so dressed up for this?! I don't even know if I'm going to say yes or whatever!" This is going to be a long night for Mary, but is that going to be a good thing or a bad thing?

...

Later

The hour was almost upon Mary. It was also no wonder why Maru wanted to do this at night. It's a beautiful night with a full moon and bright stars. With how the moon was positioned over the lake, the lights reflecting off the lake made it look...beautiful. It looked...romantic. Despite her being unsured on what she was going to do once Maru reveals his feelings, she still got herself cleaned up with her skin looking flawless and her hair tied back in an elegant tail. She took a moment and used the lake as a mirror with her checking herself out.

"Boy, do I look hot. Of course, I still have no idea what I'm going to do." Mary said. "Okay. Just try to stay calm. It's not exactly the worst thing to date Maru, would it?" She's just so confused and not sure what to think. She's never been in a position like this before. It's one thing to charm a guy just to get what you want, or to just simply tease them like she often does, but it's another when it comes to actually dating. "Just try to stay calm. You look good, and heck, Maru already knows you like to tease the boys. Maybe if he likes the dress, I'll give him a look and... Wait! Where the hell did that thought even come from?! That is way too soon, and this isn't some adult romance novel!"

"Hey!" Maru called. Mary turned to him and felt like her heart was going to beat right out of her chest. "Wow. You look amazing. I wasn't expecting you to come all dressed like that."

"Well... I..." Mary wasn't quite sure what to say.

"Anyway, I'm glad you're here. I wouldn't be able to get this all set by myself. A few others should be here soon." Maru said.

"Wait. What? Others?" Mary questioned as she didn't really get it. Then she noticed there were boxes with him that had fake petals, lights, and other items. Normally, this stuff would be considered romantic, but they're usually setup BEFORE the date.

"Yeah. I've got a lot of stuff to get in place, and there should be a few others on their way to help with all of this. You're just the first to arrive." Maru said.

"Hold on. You didn't say anything about others coming." Mary said. "What exactly is all of this? You said it was important and special."

"A friend of mine asked me for help to set all of this up. He'll be here soon with his girlfriend." Maru explained. "He's planning on proposing to her." That was not what Mary was expecting to hear. Maru seemed to have neglected to mention any of this sooner.

"That's what's going on?" Mary said. "All of this is for some other couple? Why didn't you just say so sooner back at the guild?"

"Well, the girl doesn't know anything about it, so it obviously has to be a surprise." Maru said. "I didn't want word about it getting around. I did try back at your apartment, but it looked like there was something going on with you, not to mention you practically threw me out."

"But...I think that's already happened." Mary said. "Back at the guild, some people were saying someone was planning something special for his lady, but they thought it might have been you. They said you had a part in this and that it was someone you're close with. You also said this was special and important"

"I don't know anything about that part. I don't have a girlfriend or anything like that." Maru said. "Although, that first part about someone planning something for his lady was right. It might have been about them. This is important to my friend, and it's a marriage proposal. Of course it's special." Mary suddenly felt like an idiot now. Good thing Maru doesn't know what she was thinking. "So, are you going to help? Hey, are you okay?"

...

Later

Despite what was going on in her head, Mary still stuck around and helped out. A few others showed and helped with the decorations as well. They all kept themselves hidden as they watched the man proposed to his girlfriend, and it looked like it was an obvious yes. Even though things didn't go the way Mary thought, she was glad she got to witness something like this.

"You know, this actually was nice." Mary said.

"Yeah. Looks like everything went perfectly." Maru said.

"Maru, do you ever think that's going to be you one day?" Mary asked.

"Huh? You mean proposing and being engaged? Maybe, but I'm not really focused on dating." Maru said. "I don't think that's going to happen for years." That made a lot more sense to her.

'What was I thinking? I drove myself nuts over this for nothing. I don't even know what got into me.' Mary thought as she could finally feel herself calming down, but she certainly felt silly over this whole thing.

"By the way, you do look great. You've got a hot date later?" Maru asked.

"No. I think dating is going to be the last thing on my mind." Mary claimed since this whole fiasco has her thinking she should stay clear of that for a while.

"Well, at least things worked out for Haru and Carrie." Maru said.

'Haru and Carrie? Those names sound like... Nope! I'm not even going to think about that. I probably just misheard him.' Mary thought as she certainly doesn't want to go back there so soon. Love is really never an easy thing.