"Aw, geez, sis! You can't give him another fruit cake!" Kurt sighs. "What am I going to do with you?"

I look at my creation: a rectangular-shaped hunk of bread with bits of fruit and nuts scattered inside. "But Pierre likes it! D-don't lecture me about dates! You're just as socially awkward as I am!"

Kurt flinches. "Well, I guess I can't argue with that."

I fix my skirt and straighten my hair. "How do I look?"

My brother studies me for a second. "You look alright. Better than usual."

I sigh. "Okay. Wish me luck!"

I head out towards the restaurant I'm supposed to meet Pierre at, the fruit cake clutched in my hands. Nervousness rises up inside my throat. It's just a little date. You'll be fine.

When I reach the place, Pierre is waiting right outside the door. "Hey, Chloe! What's up?" He eyes the fruit cake. "Oh! Is that for me?"

"Uh, yeah. H-here." I hand it over.

"Thanks! Do you wanna go in?"

I nod.

We walk inside and take our seats at a little table.

"So..." Pierre starts, but he can't think of anything to say. Awkward.

"Uh, how's the weather?" I try.

Pierre scratches his head. "Well, the window's right there. How does it look outside?"

I facepalm myself. Stupid! What kind of question was that?!

I look at the menu. Maybe if I got something in my stomach, it would help me think better. I skim through it. "The special pasta dish sounds good."

Pierre looks at his own menu. "Yeah. You're right. It does. You wanna share it? It seems pretty big."

I freeze for a moment. Share a meal with him? "Uh, sure. Okay, I guess."

When the waitress comes over, we order, and then wait in awkward silence. I fidget in my chair, crossing my legs, twiddling my fingers, fixing my hair. Pierre just tries to keep his cool, attempting to be the flirt he always is.

"You look mighty fine today," he says.

The blood rushes to my cheeks. "Oh, uh, thanks."

I'm bad at this. Really bad. Kurt is right. I don't know how to talk to people.

However, Pierre is better at this than I am, so he seems to be having an easier time. "So, I watched you in the simulation yesterday. You were pretty awesome!" he says.

"Well, you're not so bad yourself," I say back. "That kick of yours is pretty terrific. It's much more useful in battle than my telepathy. That's why I don't really partake in combat as much as you and the others."

"You kidding? You're just as good as us when you're on the battlefield!"

I look at my lap. "I don't know. It's just not my thing. Although I must admit, merging is pretty amazing."

Pierre chuckles. "That's true! I should know! I was addicted to it!"

We both laugh. Maybe having "people skills" isn't so bad after all.

Our food comes and we eat, still chatting about stuff. It's so much fun talking to him! I never realized that I was missing out on so much! I've always been withdrawn. I only really talk to Kurt telepathically, and I study a lot, but I know now that it's good to be social and get out there. After all, what's the point of living if you don't live your life to the fullest? And right now, Pierre is making my life even better.

"So wait, you're saying that you and your brother would talk to each other through your minds and make fun of everyone?" Pierre laughs. "What have you said about me?"

"Nothing much about you," I lie, smirking.

"Oh come on! I know you've said something!" He sighs. "Fine. Don't tell me. What have you said about the others."

"I might've called Apollo a wild, air-headed dog freak." We laugh even harder. I add on, "And I think Kurt has made fun of Silvia's brother complex more than once."

"Man! You guys are so bad! I like 'bad'." Pierre winks.

Once we finish eating, we pay the bill and take a walk through town.

"So, you wanna go see 'Giselle' with me tomorrow? If you're not busy..."

I think for a moment. "Uh, sure. Why not?"

"Sweet! So I'll see you tomorrow then?"

I nod and smile. "Yeah. Sure."

Pierre leans in to kiss me, but I take a step back. "Uh, are you sure about this?"

He raises his eyebrow. "What? You don't want me to kiss you? Fine. At least let me give you a peck on the cheek!"

"Um, okay."

He presses his lips to my cheek and I immediately start blushing. When he finishes, he winks. "See you tomorrow!"

A warm and fuzzy feeling fills me up inside. "Yeah. I can't wait."

.........

AN: This was short, but cute. I mean, who can resist these two? Seriously! They're adorable!