Chapter Eight

Charming

As Elliot slept, I played with his golden locks. When he finally stirred, I grinned and whispered, "Good morning, beautiful."

"G'morning," he mumbled. "Have you been awake for long?" Through heavily-lidded eyes, he gazed into my face.

"No, just an hour or so," I answered, nipping his ear.

Squirming, he apologized. "I'm sorry. You should have woken me up."

"It's no big deal. I liked watching you sleep; you looked so peaceful."

Reassuringly, he said, "That's okay. You can always wake me up."

"All right, thanks. What do you want to do today?"

"I don't know. What do you want to do today?"

After a moment of thought, I responded," Well, I have no plans for today. And I can assume that you have none?"

"Right."

"In that case, I want to go on a date with you. A real date, except without kissing and holding hands and stuff."

"Not that I've ever gone on a 'real' date, but I'm pretty sure that's not one."

"Well..." Realizing that he was right, I stumbled. "I guess we can do that stuff. But we'll have to wear disguises. Well, you don't. But I should. Would that be all right with you?" Mentally, I kicked myself for treating Elliot so childishly.

"That's fine. What are we doing on this date?" he asked, not seeming to have noticed my wince.

"I was thinking that we could get breakfast and then go shopping. But if there's something else that you would rather do, we can do it. That would be fine with me."

Uncertainly, he looked off to the side and murmured, "I don't know. That's fine, I guess."

"Is something wrong with that?" I questioned concernedly.

"No, of course not. Anything would be great with you. But... I have no money." He ducked his head in embarrassment.

"Don't worry about that. Think of it as an early birthday present from my father. Anyway, I'd better tell him that we're going out. You can get ready or something while you wait for me to come back."

"Okay."

As I left to find my father, I couldn't help but fret. What if he said no? Before stepping over the threshold of his study, I took a deep breath to settle my nerves.

"Good morning, Charming," he greeted me.

"Good morning, Father. I came to ask you-well, tell actually- that I'm going to go into town with Elliot."

"Didn't you just go yesterday?"

"Yes, but I need some new clothes. And other things as well."

"Is there something wrong with your personal tailor?" he inquired sarcastically.

"No, Father. I just want some more casual clothes."

Raising his eyebrow, he echoed, "Casual?

"Not t-shirts and shorts or anything. Just... not suits and tuxedos."

"Did you kiss and make up with Elliot?"

"I did the latter half, yes."

"All right, then. That's fine."

"Thank you, Father." Letting out the breath that I didn't know I had been holding, I left.

The butterflies ceased their fluttering in my stomach as I walked back into my bedroom, to see Elliot standing there, toweling his hair dry. "Aw, did you bathe without me?" I teased.

Glowering, he answered, "Yes, I you have a problem with that?"

"No, but you realize that you're going to have to help me bathe, yes? And if I recall correctly, you got quite soaked the last time. So you'll probably have to change."

Stonily, he said, "That's fine.

"In fact, it might be better if you didn't wear any clothes-"

"Just shut up," he growled. "As long as you don't pull me in again, I won't get wet."

Snickering, I said, "Yes, Elliot. I promise I won't pull you in." Grabbing his hand and pulling him into the bathroom, I mischievously added, "But I can't guarantee that you'll stay dry."

As he started the water, he asked, "What do you mean by that?"

"Nothing," I replied innocently.

"Liar. Why do you have that glint in your eyes, then?"

"What glint?"

Elliot

Half an hour and hundreds of splashes later, we were both dry, dressed, and seated in the back of Charming's fancy, expensive-looking car. Elliot was wearing a scarf that covered all of his face except for his eyes and mouth. I had on an old, work-worn outfit. I felt shabby sitting next to the suited prince in his grand car.

"Elliot?" he whispered.

"Yes?" I said just as lowly.

"I still love you." I took his hand.

"I still love you too."

"So what do you want for breakfast?"

"I don't know. Anything besides oatmeal," he replied, half-smiling.

"... All right. We can eat at a cafe or something." Charming leaned forwards and slid the screen separating the front from the back open and told the driver, "Could you drive us to Cafe Coffee?"

"Yes, sir." The car started to move.

He shut the screen before saying quietly, "He can't see us, but if we talk too loud, he might hear us. And I'm sure that my father would be pretty interested in what we have to say to each other."

I nodded. "We can just talk later."

"All right."

Suddenly, I had a realization. "Charming... don't you think it might have been a bad idea to say what you said earlier?"

"I was quiet. Don't worry so much. This is a date. A romantic date. Just relax, yes?

"Okay." The car came to a half and the driver's door and my door consecutively opened.

"Cafe Coffee, sirs. What time would you like me to pick you up?"

"Around noon at the Market Place."

"Yes, sir." He got back into the car and sped off.

The instant that the car was out of sight, Charming pulled me near for a bone-crushing hug, and then a kiss. "You have no idea how much I love you," he breathed. He finally released me. "Let's go inside."

The restaurant was a small but extremely nice establishment. "Table for two," Charming told the host.

"Right this way."

I followed Charming and the waiter. Once he left, Charming inquired, "Is something wrong?"

"It's nothing. I've never..."

"Oh. Don't worry, it's not much different from last night's dinner. Except, of course, we won't be yelling at each other. But you can order whatever you want to. Don't think about the price or anything."

"I guess... I'll just have whatever you have."

"And what if I order oatmeal?" I

"Are you going to?"

"No. It was just a hypothetical question," I laughed. After reading over the menu, I announced, "I'm going to have the Belgian waffles."

"Okay."

Charming raised his hand to signal the waiter over. "Yes, sir? Are you ready to order?" he asked, pen poised above his pad of paper.

"Yes, Belgian waffles for two," Charming ordered.

"Yes, sir. Would you like something to drink?"

"Elliot? Is tea all right?"

"That's fine," I said.

"One pot of English Breakfast Tea, please," he told the waiter.

"Yes, sir. Anything else?"

"No, that's all."

"All right, then. Your drinks should be here shortly."

Once the waiter went back into the kitchen, Charming said, "After breakfast, we are going on a shopping spree for you."

"Okay."

"No complaints," he warned.

"I'm not complaining!" I laughed.

"Good, because I'm going to buy everything that looks good on you. Which would be everything."

"I think that nothing would look best on me." I struck a ridiculous pose.

"You would!" he agreed.

Charming

"no. You're not buying all of this," Elliot fumed, seeing the price. He tried to wrestle my credit card out of my hand, but I quickly thrust it into the cashier's hand before he could.

"First of all, you said you wouldn't complain. Second of all, yes I am. Now go wait outside."

"Charming!" he whined.

"Prince?!" exclaimed the cashier. "Is that why you're wearing the scarf?"

"No, I'm not the prince! I'm just named after him," I lied.

"Are you sure?"

"Yes, I'm positive. Could you hurry up? I need to get home."

"Okay..." she said disbelievingly. After scanning it, she presented me with my card and bags. I took them and gave Elliot five to hold.

"Not fair," he muttered, taking them. "I'll hold more if you want."

"It's all right. Let's just go home." I smiled at how sweet that sounded.

A/N: Firstly, I must apologize for being such a bitch last chapter. Secondly, I must also apologize in advance for slower updates. Now that school has started, and I'm in all honors, three of which are language classes (English, Latin, and French if you actually care), my time will be consumed with lots of homework. Thirdly, thanks to Misplaced Admiration for teaching me that word and for his wonderful writing playlist on his profile. And Chariline for her music too. And Poptart Guava Kid… you're just awesome. Enough said. And a new reader! Saamf44. OH! Before I forget, I did this new thing with my sentences. I rearranged the words. Now there are fewer sentences that start with the same word, but I'm not sure if the extra commas are really worth it. AND is there too much dialogue? By the way, Cafe Coffee is a made up place. I just thought it was funny since it technically says coffee coffee. However, Market Place is a real store in Bermuda. It's actually a grocery store though. And I couldn't remember if it was called 'Belgian waffles' or 'Belgium waffles' so feel free to tell me if I screwed that up. I WROTE ALL THE WAY TO THE SECOND SECTION OF THIS THREE SUBJECT NOTEBOOK!

Five hours, a box of Pocky, and half a honeydew melon later, I'M DONE! And if you review, could you please pick a number between twelve and twenty? That would be lovely.