The day of Keon's first date with Aria, he felt skittish and fidgety; and Cash was getting tired of seeing him pace around their apartment, struggling to believe he was actually going on a date with Aria, especially after having met her only two weeks before.

"Could you please calm down for a second?" Cash glanced back at Keon before continuing to play his video game. "I'm trying to play Grand Theft Auto V, and you're distracting me."

"I can't keep calm, okay?" Keon held his head. "What if she said yes to avoid hurting my feelings? What if I asked her too early? What if she's not interested in me?"

Cash paused his game and told Keon to sit by his side.

"Look, Keon, if she weren't interested in you, she wouldn't have blushed when talking to you. She wouldn't have even given you her number. Do you guys text each other?"

"Yes, we do. We text every day, even if it's just to ask how we are."

"Well, that must let you know that she does care about you in one way or another."

"I hope you're right," Keon pursed his lips together.

"I'm always right," Cash looked at him and smiled.

When there were around two hours left before the date, Keon did a little bit of everything to get ready. He took a very long shower, moisturized his skin, wore a fancy buttoned shirt with jeans; he did whatever he could to make himself look handsome enough for his date.

"I'll be going now," Keon told Cash. "See you soon, alright?"

"Alright, bro, I'll see you soon. Call me if anything happens."

"Okay. Take care, Cash."

"You too, Keon," he waved.

Some time later, Keon went to buy flowers for Aria. At first he didn't know which flowers to buy, but then he found a beautiful bouquet of colorful flowers and decided to purchase them, hoping she would love them.

Before he knew it, it was already time for him to pick her up at her house. As he drove, the only thing he could feel was his heart thumping like snare drums in a marching band. Fifteen minutes later, he was already at Aria's door. After ringing the doorbell, he was greeted by her mother, a blonde woman who seemed to be in her late forties.

"Can I help you?" the woman asked him.

"Good evening," Keon cleared his throat. "My name is Keon Chappelle, and I'm here to pick up your daughter for a date."

"Oh, you're Keon, the handsome boy that Aria told me about?" her face lit up.

"That's me," Keon replied. She told her mom I was handsome? he blushed.

"Okay, come in! Aria is almost done getting ready."

Keon walked inside the house, noticing the red loveseats that were in the middle of the living room. The walls were filled with pictures of Aria and her family, and there were also a lot of porcelain figurines in the coffee table that was placed by one of the walls. He sat down on one of the loveseats, making small talk with her mother until Aria came walking down the stairs.

As Keon stood up to greet her, he stared at her in awe. She looks beautiful even without makeup on. But right now... fuck, he thought. Aria wore a long sleeved navy dress with a floral pattern and black heels that made her appear almost as tall as Keon. Moreover, her eyeliner was applied in a way that enhanced the beauty of her eyes. It's safe to say that he was having a hard time trying not to pull her close and kiss her right on the spot.

"You look..." Keon spoke. "Wow... you look gorgeous."

"Thank you," Aria smiled. "You clean up nicely too."

"Thanks," he giggled, looking into her eyes. "Shall we leave now?"

"Yes, we shall," she told him before facing her mother. "Bye mom!"

"Bye honey! Take care!" her mother waved.

After telling Aria to stay put, Keon went to his car to get the bouquet of flowers he'd bought earlier.

"These are for you," he gave her the flowers. "I hope you like them."

"Keon, I love them! They're so beautiful," Aria awed and pulled Keon in for a hug. "Thank you so much, I really appreciate this."

"You're more than welcome," Keon hugged her back.

"Let me put these in water and then we can go, alright?" Aria beamed.

"That's perfect, go ahead then."

Keon waited for her to return, which she did less than a minute later.

"Can I hold your hand while we walk to my car?"

"Are you kidding?" Aria giggled. "Yes, of course you can!"

He gently held her hand as they walked towards his car. He opened the door for her and went to sit in the driver's seat, turning on his car and driving away to their destination; a classic Italian restaurant.

"What kind of music do you listen to?" Keon asked her.

"To be honest, I listen to a little bit of everything," Aria admitted. "What about you?"

"Same," Keon laughed. "You can play any radio station you want, that's fine by me."

"Are you sure?"

"Yes, I'm sure."

"Okay, then," Aria turned on the radio and set it on a pop station, where the song 'Ocean Drive' by Duke Dumont was playing.

"Oh my gawd, this is my song!" she squealed.

"No way," Keon gasped. "I love it too!"

And just like that, the two began to sing their hearts out to the song. I could get used to this, Keon thought as he kept driving. Around ten minutes later, they were already seated in the restaurant, waiting to order their food.

"What will you get?" Keon inquired.

"I'll get an Alfredo pasta with chicken and mushrooms," Aria looked at the menu. "What about you?"

"I'll get a mushroom personal pizza."

"Are you a mushroom lover?"

"Yeah, I am."

"You know, mushrooms are underrated," Aria leaned back against her seat. "There are many people saying they don't like mushrooms because they're 'bland' or because they have a weird texture, but honestly, I think they're really good."

"I know, right?" Keon widened his eyes. "But looking at it through the bright side, at least there will be more mushrooms left for us in the world."

"That's right," Aria giggled, making Keon smile and laugh along with her. My gawd, she's so adorable, he blushed.

"Let me tell you something, Aria," Keon held her hands. "This is a bit off topic, but... even though I've only known you for about two weeks, I think you're a wonderful person."

"Thank you..." she smiled. "I feel the same way about you."

Not long after that, the waiter walked in.

"Good evening, are you two ready to order?"

"Yes, we are," Keon replied.

"So, Aria, tell me a bit about yourself," Keon began after the waiter walked away. "What are your goals, your aspirations?"

"My goal is to become a pharmacologist," Aria grinned. "I'm currently majoring in Chemistry at Florida Atlantic, and I'm in my second year. After I graduate, I think I'll buy a house in California."

"That's amazing," Keon smiled.

"Now, tell me about yourself, Keon," Aria told him, leaning forward.

"I'm gonna be an accountant," Keon mentioned. "I'm in my third year of college at the University of Miami, and I sincerely have no regrets about choosing this career path for myself."

"I'm glad to hear that."

"Thanks," Keon grinned.

Not much time had passed before the waiter brought their food. Both of them were laughing and sharing stories about their childhoods, embarrassing moments from their lives, and many other things as they ate. A quality Keon loved about Aria was that he felt free to tell her anything. In addition to radiating positive energy, she was kind, and understanding; he enjoyed the feeling of being able to talk to her as if she had been his lifelong friend. The moments they shared together made him realize that even if Aria just wanted to be friends, he wanted a closer bond with her nonetheless.

When they were done eating their food, they ordered a cookie and brownie dessert pizza, which was already out of the oven in less than ten minutes. As they proceeded to eat dessert, Keon saw that Aria had a small, but noticeable brownie crumb on her lips. He hesitated for a bit, but then decided to brush it off with his thumb.

"Sorry about that, you had a crumb on your lips," Keon laughed awkwardly.

"Thanks," Aria giggled.

They both gazed into each other's eyes once again. Even though this was only the fourth time they had seen each other, they had already made eye contact with each other more times than they could count. Keon felt that he could spend hours and hours looking at her eyes without ever getting tired of it; and it seemed that the feeling was mutual.

"You have some mesmerizing eyes," Keon told Aria.

"Do I?" she smirked.

"Yes, yes you do."

"You have beautiful eyes too, Keon."

"Wait, me? But my eyes are brown, they're boring."

"Don't say that. Brown eyes are beautiful too."

"You really think so?"

"Why wouldn't I? Brown is an amazing color. Brown is the color of chocolate; and I'm a chocolate lover. Besides... there's nothing boring about brown eyes."

"T-thank you, Aria," Keon blushed. "That means a lot to me..."

"There's no need to thank me, I'm just stating facts," Aria smiled.

After they paid for their meal, Keon took Aria back to her house, feeling happy because they both enjoyed their date, but at the same time, he felt a bit sad because he had to leave her.

"Thank you so much for this, Keon," Aria gushed, holding Keon's hands. "Tonight has been a night I will always cherish and remember."

"You don't have to thank me," Keon gave her a joyful look. "In fact, I would love to have a second date with you... I mean, if you want it."

"You're so adorable," Aria giggled, running her hands through her hair. "I'd absolutely love a second date too."

"I'm glad to know that," Keon told her.

"Anyway, I have to go inside. I hope to see you soon, Keon, thanks again for this," Aria kissed Keon's cheek, making him feel butterflies inside his stomach.

"I... I hope to see you soon too," Keon kissed her cheek as well.

On his way home, the events of the past few hours were playing over and over in Keon's mind, as if it were a song stuck in his head. From the conversations they had at the restaurant, to seeing how happy Aria was after they were back from the date, Keon couldn't bring himself to think about anything else.

Keon arrived at his apartment at about seven thirty, and saw that Cash was not in the living room. That's strange, Cash would definitely be playing Grand Theft Auto V at this hour, he thought, feeling an eerie sensation around him. He searched for Cash around the hallway, and even inside his bedroom, but he could not see him anywhere in the apartment. That's when Keon decided to check the bathroom.

When he tried to open the door, he noticed that it was locked. He attempted to unlock the door with a knife and a dime, and even jammed the door knob with a hammer, but it was all in vain. As a last resort, Keon tried to kick it down. After six kicks, the door had loosened from the hinges and fallen on the floor. He pushed the door away from his path, and when he went inside, he was stricken with the smell of fresh blood. He felt a knot forming in his stomach, and looked around the bathroom to see that the bathtub's curtain was closed. As Keon slowly opened the curtain, he found something that would traumatize him and change his life forever.

A/N: What do you think Keon saw at the end? You will find out this Friday!

As always, thank you so much for reading my first story. If you enjoyed the chapter, please support it by voting. Merry Christmas and Happy Holidays!