Jack was taken back almost immediately, “I…” Then Lewis followed it up demanding to know WHY he asked her out on a date… Then he followed it up once more. “I just said ‘Simone, would you go on a date with me.” The boy crossed his arms. “She’s far too pretty to be constantly locked up in that room of yours hidden away from everyone.”

He narrowed his eyes on Lewis, “Unless you like keeping her all to yourself… As for the why I did it. She is nice and pretty. I think she would make a good wife to someone someday. I like the way she smells when she opens the door. She smells like lilies." Which was flat out wrong which means he had never smelled her perfume at all. At this point, he was simply trying to say he might know her better… If only he knew that the Simone in front of him was only the tip of the iceberg.

Jack was acting confrontational, but for the most part, that went over Lewis’ head. Either that, or Lewis didn’t seem to really give a damn about it. No, the young man was far more interested in what Jack had said. He had asked her out in such a simple way.

“It’s that stupidly simple?” Lewis blurted out. He paused, though, and gave Jack a deadpan stare. “Lilies?” But when he had come home, she smelled of the same orange blossoms. And Lewis had never gotten her lily perfume. She had never asked for it. What…is he trying to say? “Are you…just stupid?” Or was he trying to make Lewis jealous? Lewis thought for a moment. “What would you have done if she said yes?”

If Jack was trying to make him jealous, it was barely working. Lewis could tell he was lying about the perfume. That meant Lewis was winning…

“Yes? You just ask someone out. If they are interested they say yes if not you move on.”

Jack narrowed his eyes at him. “Why would I be stupid?” It was a weird thing to say. What exactly was stupid about what he said about Simone. “I was going to take her to the beach at night. You know romantic under the stars with fireflies. She’s never been to the beach at least not since you brought her across it. She doesn’t stop asking about what it looks like.”

Out of the corner of his eye, he spotted one of the young librarians on her way back, “Anyways, I’m over Simone now.” It wasn’t really worth the hassle of Lewis killing him. "She's nice but really plain."

The beach? Lewis thought about it for a moment. She had been asking quite a bit about it. That did make for a good idea. He nodded, “The beach. That sounds…about right.” It was interesting that Jack was so smart about these things, yet couldn’t tell the difference between lilies and orange blossoms. He really was a special boy…

There were rumors of Jack around the castle…that he was a skirt chaser. Lewis never really understood the term, but when he drifted off to go see the librarians, the assassin wondered if that had something to do with the name. ‘Chasing’ a skirt…chasing a woman, the one wearing the skirt. Human emotions and idioms were weird…

As he skittered off, though, he called Simone plain. Without thinking, a dagger launched itself and implanted itself in the wall, mere inches from Jack’s face. It made him stop dead in his tracks. Lewis walked up, and grabbed the dagger, giving the poor boy a look.

“I was going to kill you,” Lewis said with a sadistic smile, one of the few emotions he had under control. “But…you’ve been a big help. So…I’ll let you go this time… but I recommend you change your attitude over my Simone…she’s not very plain…right?”

Jack shook his head, shaking. “NOPE. NOT AT ALL. MOST INTERESTING GIRL I’VE EVER MET. SUPER LUCKY TO HAVE MET YOU.”

“That’s…what I thought…” Lewis sheathed his dagger. “And clean yourself up…you’re a fucking mess…”

—

Lewis wandered into his room, noticing that Simone was sitting on his bed, a concerned look on her face.

If Jack had known anything at all… He probably could have found out that before the dream dive that Lewis also thought Simone was plain. There was more to her than what the surface showed, a terrifying reality wrapped up in a pretty little package.

That being said… The girl was sitting in Lewis’s room having a freak out when he came up. “What if he misunderstood me?” Her voice carried. She was flailing about and the sound of an almost temper tantrum was going on as she gets her legs on the bed and threw herself around like a child who didn’t know how to fix something. “What if he thinks I like Jack?” She let out the name with a scream almost as she pulled at her own hair.

“I’ve really… REALLY done it this time.” They had their misunderstandings in the past, big ones. Ones that caused them to fight for days only to realize it was something stupid or they were saying the same thing. This was different.

“Oh, Mone… You really fucked up this time…” She threw herself back but once she heard the door click she shot up with a concerned expression on her face. Her eyes were drilling holes into him. Her breathing had all but stopped. She was frozen at the moment waiting for a reaction. Waiting for the yelling to start again.

“Do you….” Lewis looked at her big, stormy grey eyes. They were panicked. She was scared about something. Concerned. Worried. All of those emotions. Normally, Lewis wouldn’t have picked up on it, but the dream dive had given him an insight to her that he wouldn’t have on anyone else. But…he couldn’t let that distract him.

“Would you like to…” It was harder to ask than Jack had said. The butterflies. That was an apt word for the feeling. What if she said no? She was probably going to say no. She told Jack no, so why not him? After all, it was just sex. But…that intimacy that they shared. Together. It felt better than the brothels…

“…Do you want to go on a date?” There. It came out finally. The words. They sounded right. Or did they? Had he said them wrong? Why was she staring?

Her eyes got wide a bit and it came out in a yelp like she couldn’t help herself, “YES.” It was like a yip. When she realized how she answered him she got quiet suddenly and her face flushed. She held her hand to her mouth and looked away from him ashamed. “I shouldn’t have answered like that.” Her eyes held wonder in them as she thought of the possibilities.

However, she realized what she said, “I DIDN’T MEAN IT AS I TAKE IT BACK.” She waved her hands as she stared at him. “I just… didn’t want to make myself… sound…” She looked away from him in shame again as she frowned. “Desperate for your attention.”

She let out a sigh as she flopped herself backward on the bed covering her face. She was so embarrassed and she didn’t move for what seemed like a few good moments. “Wait.”

She shot herself up. “Did you just… ask me on a date? But why? I'm boring. There are more interesting girls in the temple that probably deserve your attention." Again she had that sad look on her face as she looked away. Lewis did say he was only going to keep her here until he knew what to do with her. So at best, she was temporary.

Lewis was surprised at her immediate answer. And then the retraction. That was a gut punch. But, then, her retraction to the retraction. The assassin felt almost dizzy from the emotional whiplash that he had just endured, all from Simone. But, that was neither here nor there. She had said yes.

“Yes…” Lewis repeated the word back. It was hard to believe. But wait…desperate for his attention? Was she? Was that why she acted the way she did? Was she…desperate for his attention? His approval?

Then, came the weirdest thing of all. Her confusion. “Yes…I…asked you out on a date.” That was obvious. It had just happened moments ago. Was she reeling that much? “Simone…you’re…anything but boring. I…” There it was. That emotion. That blinding, overpowered emotion that shot all of his reason to hell. “I…” He wanted to say it. But…he couldn’t….

“…you deserve at least one date…” Lewis muttered. Before you die… Another, unique feeling. A pit in his stomach. The butterflies were more like wasps in his chest. “I think it would do you good…and…I…at least get along with you…”

Simone leaned back and looked at the whole Lewis in front of her. It was so weird compared to their other moments. Their shouting. Their fighting. Lewis’s indifference to her existence. These moments were why she liked him. At least, that was what she told herself though it felt so much deeper than that. She couldn’t tell why though.

Lewis was hesitating to tell her something and instead of speaking to coax him, she turned all of her attention to him in anticipation of what he would say. He… what? He never did finish and her heart sank a bit but still… A date.

“We do get along…” Sometimes. A lot of the time… Mostly.

“When… Did you want to go?” It was curious as she thought about it. The question rolled off her tongue and if she was breathing it honestly didn’t look like it as she took a big breath finally. She got up and straightened out her skirts before getting a bit closer to him. “What are we going to do?” She was curious and that curiosity was making her akin to a tigress as she stalked him for an answer.

“You won’t ditch me, will you? You aren’t playing a joke on me to get me back for something?” Her insecurities were vast and she didn’t understand it but Lewis having seen the depths of her… He probably knew it better than she did.

Lewis thought about her question. When would they go? The assassin had not thought the whole plan through, and thus…

“Uh…t-tomorrow?” Lewis quickly ran through the list of things he needed to do. Plan a quick meal and make sure that there were no jobs, and if there were, finish them quickly. And, of course, find the perfect location. It had to be perfect. They might not get another chance before her death. Oh…that’s right. I haven’t told her yet.

“I was…thinking we could go to the beach,” Lewis said softly. When she made the suggestion that he might abandon her, he shook his head. “Why…why would I do that? It serves no purpose.” His words rang true. There was no real valid reason for him to ditch her.

“Just…be prepared. I have a…job to do tomorrow, but when I get back we can go.” At least she was asking more about that date, and less about the awkwardness beforehand. The other Simone…that Guide…she asked for it to remain a secret until the end. That was the least Lewis could do…