Kay gave him oh, the sweetest of smiles and said, "Wait for me, okay? I won't be long. I'll quickly get my stuff then we can go."

Joseph nodded, not daring to speak as he was too emotional at that point. He was sure his voice would crack and that would be too embarrassing. He watched as she headed towards another section of the bookstore and he was itching to follow.

But he did not.

Instead, he forced himself to get back to choosing the books that he came here for. It was the only way to distract himself, and from the nervous beating of his heart.

Later, they were going to have lunch together. Just the two of them.

Suddenly, his hands stilled upon the spines of the book his fingers were trailing upon.

Wait.

Can he view this as a date?!

He broke into a grin.

To heck with it.

He *was* going to treat this as a date!

He chose his book excitedly and went to pay, then waited for Kay.

Kay, in the meantime, had randomly gone to the fiction section and just took one book that had an interesting cover. She didn't even see what it was about and went to pay.

She saw Joseph was already there, casually flipping through a magazine that was beside the cashier's counter. Her heart skipped a beat, and Kay thought this was going to be something she would be experiencing quite a lot with him around.

She had to be strong and carry forth with her plans to get herself into his life without being too obvious about it. She had spent the last two years compiling lots of plans and ways in order to do so.

This was something she learned while growing up with Kyle.

Make the plans properly. Do and re-do, always have several back-ups. Change accordingly based on what new information they had learned or gathered.

Thus, Kay had chosen this moment to come up and invite Joseph out for a meal. He's always the happy-go-lucky type, and would not see too much into this. She would use this opportunity to get to know him better and create more opportunities to meet up again.

Kay walked up to him and said, "I'm done. Thanks for waiting."

Joseph gave her a smile, his eyes twinkling.

"Not a problem," he said, "Where do you want to go?"

Kay tilted her head, as if thinking hard (when in actual fact she already had the place in mind), "How about Souls?"

"Souls?" Joseph repeated, a bit hesitatingly, "It's a bit out of the way. How about Akai's instead?"

Kay smiled, hardly believing that it worked. It looks like she did manage to pick up some skills after watching Kyle all these years manipulate people to act or do things he wanted.

Kay had mentioned Souls because it was similar to Akai, in terms of food, though it was a bit of the 'high class' type of establishment with much more variety. Kay felt that if she had mentioned Akai, Joseph would have found it suspicious since it is not a place that she, Kay, would be expected to go to.

Plus, Akai served the type of food that Joseph liked: fried chicken, ala Country K's style. It had other types of dishes as well, but its fried chicken was the main part of the whole restaurant. It was neither a high-end establishment nor was it of the 'fast-food' variety; but certainly, a good place for a date.

Yes, the purpose of this whole thing *was* to go on a date with Joseph, although she disguised it as just 'two friends catching up'.

The location was important for their first date. It could not be at a place that screamed 'too casual' (like a fast-food joint) for Joseph may regard her as just another 'buddy to hang out with'.

She wanted, from the start, for him to view her as something more than 'just a friend' and this was the first step.

"Akai's?" Kay repeated, looking suitably confused, "Sure, why not? I have never been there before."

"Oh, it's a great place!" Joseph said enthusiastically, "Papa brought us there once, and it has the best fried chicken ever!"

Kay smiled, pleased with herself, "Sounds great. Let's go. Lead the way, kind sir."

Joseph laughed, feeling utterly happy and content.

Let him indulge himself in the fantasy of having a wonderful date with his dream girl. It was a good thing, too, that he had the cash to treat her. Being a secret Author had its rewards.

While Joseph and Kay were going on their first date (and a new beginning), Kay's best friend was, as well. A new beginning, that is.

✿ Author only posts on w.e.b.n.o.v.e.l. ✿

Lance sat in the coffee shop, lost in thought.

Today was the day that Kay said she was finally going to be making her move on her all-time crush.

No, not crush.

Love.

For her to be able to hold on to those feelings for two years meant that it was more than just a crush.

Lance envied Kay for her dedication and steadfastness for the little one, and how she remained positive throughout the years. While Kay was busy making plans to woo her little one, he had spent the past two years trying to forget that particular someone.

It had not been easy, but now, he could say that the pain has lessened. It would never go away, really, for he had been holding on to that feeling for such a long time.

Turns out Mark did end up with that girl after all. She truly was 'the one' for him. It was a good thing he had Kay, for she helped him get over the pain of seeing Mark making plans to propose.

Kay never scolded him for his feelings for Mark, but she did scold him for hanging on like that. She told him that he needed to let go and heal, and find someone else, rather than wasting his time on someone that would never return his feelings.

She had some hope, he did not.

So why was he hanging on so much?

Lance knew he shouldn't but how could he explain to Kay that even though he knew he shouldn't, he couldn't quite let go? Mark had become such an integral part of him that he could not imagine a life without him by his side.

Lance's hands were wrapped around the huge mug of latte, feeling its warmth in his hands and he wished it could seep into his heart. He found himself feeling rather empty, and dead inside. He truly did not believe that he would ever be able to find someone to fill in the hole in his heart.

"I'm sorry, but is this seat taken?"

Lance broke out of his thoughts and he looked towards the source of the voice.

An elegant man, in a business suit, was standing there politely, waiting for an answer. When he saw Lance look up at him, he was struck by those rather dead eyes. There seemed to be an unfathomable sadness within them even though his face had a wisp of a smile.

The man was intrigued.

"There isn't an empty seat around and I really need my java fix," the man patiently explained.

Lance looked about and it was true. Every single table was full and his was the only one that only had him taking up a table that could seat two. Although Lance would have preferred his solitude, he couldn't deny the guy's request.

He noted the tiredness on that stranger's face, and he didn't have the heart to say no.

"Sure, help yourself to a seat," Lance said, "I'm alone."

Saying those two words struck Lance harder than he thought. Yes, he's alone.

Forever alone.

The guy sat down in relief, "Thank you. You're a lifesaver."

Lance laughed a bit at that, "That's a bit exaggerated, don't you think?"

"Not at all," the guy said earnestly, "You wouldn't believe the sort of day I've had today and it's not even over yet! Without this coffee, I'll be like the walking dead, believe you me."

The man raised his hand and a waiter came over.

He made his order and then glanced at Lance, "Do you like sweets?"

"Sweets?" Lance asked, puzzled.

"You know, cakes, ice-cream, that sort of thing," the guy asked.

Lance hesitated.

Guys do not normally like eating such stuff and he didn't want to 'give it away' that he did have quite a bit of a sweet tooth. The guy in front of him was a stranger. Would he think that he, Lance, was weird for liking it?

Wait. That shouldn't be the question here

Why did he even want to know?

As if sensing the question, the guy said, "I just have this craving for this slide of cake, but I don't think I can finish it. I was wondering if you don't mind sharing."

Lance raised an eyebrow, "I find that hard to believe."

"What? That I like cake?"

"No, that you can't finish it," Lance said with a gentle laugh, "It's hardly a big slice."

The guy pursed his lips, "You got me. It's not a slice. There's three here that looks absolutely divine and I can't choose but I don't have the heart to waste it either."

Lance shook his head as he looked in disbelief at the rather pleading look on the stranger's face. Yet, somehow, he wasn't annoyed by it.

He smiled, "Fine. We can share."

The stranger was ecstatic.

"You're a life-saver!" the guy said, happily making his order and handing the menu back to the waiter.

"I'm here for a business trip so I may not be able to come back and try out the cake here," the guy explained, "So I just had to get them but I hate wasting. Thanks again."

"Not a problem," Lance replied, "I like cakes."

"Where are my manners! Sorry, I'm Gareth. Nice to meet you."

"Lance."

They shook hands, and a spark seemed to pass between them.