I looked in Nircoel’s sparkling eyes as we walked on the trail.

“...What is it, Ezyn?” they asked.

“Mm…You just look beautiful again today.”

“You said that yesterday!”

“It’s true today too.”

Our hands, delightfully intertwined, swung in tandem as we walked. The flowers looked even brighter today, and the busy streets of Shoals weren’t as crowded as usual. 

Standing at the door of the cafe once again, I squeezed Nircoel’s hand, then entered.

“Hey, Nircoel baby, darling. Are you -”

She stared at our hands.

“Did you…Are you…?”

“You see…we’re dating now,” I clarified.

Khlo shrieked in happiness. “I knew you two were a good match from day one!”

We stared blankly at her, mouths agape.

“Khlo, did you set us up?” I asked.

She winked at us. “You’ll never know. Anyways, my news is…” She held up her left hand, showing off a large diamond ring on her ring finger. “He proposed!”

“Congrats, Khlo!” Nircoel exclaimed.

“Yeah, congratulations. I didn’t think it would happen so soon.”

“But it did,” she said smugly. “And you two are next.”

“Wha-But we’ve only been together a few days!” I protested, cheeks flaming.

“Oh, not now, darling. But when you decide to do it, you have to be the one proposing, Ezyn.”

“Why me?!”

“‘Cause it would be hot if a detective proposes, right, Nircoel baby? Speaking from experience.”

Nircoel nodded shyly.

“If there isn’t anything else, Khlo, we’ll be leaving now,” I said, exasperated.

“Okay, see you later, darlings!”

We waved goodbye and left.

Once out of the cafe, Nircoel said, “She’s never called me ‘darling’ before.”

“She’s probably on an engagement high or something.”

We stopped in at a convenience store, hoping to get at least a few groceries. Delivery could only last so long. Grabbing a basket, we got milk, cereal, some meat, and some snacks before getting what we were really here for -- eggs.

“Ooh, lucky! We got the last package, Esi.” Nircoel quietly celebrated as I reached for it.

But my hand was intercepted by another reaching for the same thing. Feeling non-confrontational, I pulled my hand back.

“Oh…were you getting that?” a slow, deep voice asked.

“Yes, but don’t worry about us. We can get some another day.” 

I turned, signaling with my head for us to go check-out.

“You know, you should probably face someone when you speak to them,” another voice said, lighter than the previous one.

I. Just. Want. To. Go. Home.

“Ah, sorry about that. I have a lot on my mind.” 

I faced them. One of them was short, although taller than Nircoel, with messy blond hair and narrow blue eyes.

He struck me as one of those princes nobody liked.

The other one was almost as tall as me, with brown narrower-than-the-prince’s eyes and short green hair resembling a spiky lime.

A delinquent maybe?

The lime had three piercings on his left ear and four on his right, along with two above his right eyebrow. The prince had a gleaming diamond nose ring.

Maybe my thoughts about them weren’t the greatest, but in my defense, I was hungry.

“Babe, let’s just go,” Nircoel whispered.

“Anyways, we have to get going now…”

Nircoel and I booked it to the cashier. There were two people at the counter. One helped us while the other struck up conversation with the two guys we had run into.

“Drew, Liliph,” she called, quite loudly, “how’s university been?”

I cringed. “Crap, I forgot about uni,” I muttered.

Nircoel gave me a thumbs-up, silently letting me know that he had done the same.

“Geez, don’t ask about uni while we’re on break, Cass! Liliph and I are making the most of our summer break, knocking off all the things on the bucket list.”

Liliph was the lime and Drew was the prince.

“Your total comes up to $75.89, sirs,” the lady at the cashier said, seeming anxious to join the conversation.

I paid and we left.

“Ugh,” I groaned, “I wish I didn’t have to go to uni. How am I supposed to pick up any cases if I’m stuck there?”

Nircoel seemed more disturbed than I was.

“What, you don’t want to go to uni?”

“No…not really.”

“Well, you--”

“--Don’t have to go, I know. But I--”

“--Don’t want to stay home alone, I know.”

He leaned on my arm, just below my shoulder. “What uni are you attending?”

“Pacifica Razor University. You?”

“The same one! I got in on a full scholarship.”

“A full scholarship? You must have done something pretty impressive to get that.”

“Someone I know granted it to me…”

“A good friend of yours?”

“Yes…well, he used to be. Can-Can we move on? I don’t like talking about him.”

The look in his eyes convinced me to change the subject.

“What’re you making for dinner, my love?” I asked.

It was surprisingly easy to call him by a pet name.

“Isn’t it your turn to cook?”

~.~

I later found myself in the kitchen making stew.

“Babe,” Nircoel called, making their way into the kitchen.

“What’s up?”

“When does school start again?” 

“Like, Monday.”

Their head rested on my back, and they let out a cute sigh. “I hope I get to see you every day.”

I turned off the fire and hugged them. “I love you too, Nir. I’m sure we’ll see each other. If I recall correctly, second- and third-years share the same cafeteria and lunch period.”

“So we’ll have lunch together?”

“Yes, just like usual.”

“And you’ll kiss me after lunch?”

I leaned down and gave him a soft kiss right then. “Yes, like always. Only in a secluded place though. I don’t need any unnecessary stares, just me staring at you.”

“You’re a hopeless romantic,” he squealed. 

“And you love me for it. Now, am I gonna stay here all night or will you let me finish dinner?”