"So, what are your plans for today?" Claire asked, using a hand to shield her eyes from the afternoon sun. They had taken a short stop at Eric's house to drop off their things. Whenever they were finished, he promised to walk her back to her place. 'A pretty lady like you shouldn't walk alone'. Charming.

"I didn't actually expect you to accept the invitation," He admitted, shoving his hands into his pockets. They arrived at the city about 10 minutes ago and have been walking aimlessly since. In all honesty, Claire was getting bored. Her first time hanging out with a classmate and it turns out like this.

"We could stop by the arcade, or the mall, or…" He began to list a few things, slowly trailing off in thought. She didn't mind though; she wasn't even paying attention to his talking. There was a shop on the street that caught her interest, and she planned to go there.

"I want to look around that shop," She stated, crossing the road to where the store was located. He crossed the road with her, opening the door for her like the gentleman he thought he was. Nonetheless, she thanked him, walking inside.

It was a medium sized shop, full of strange little gadgets and toys. There was a wide selection and the items in the shop varied in size. She was mesmerized. Fascinated. Curious. Eric seemed to feel the same, leaving her side to look at the various watches and clocks they had on display. She joined him within a few minutes, deciding that she might want to replace the old, simple watch she always had on. One look over the items on display quickly made her change her mind. It was nice to look at, but far too complicated. He picked up a small watch ring, turning it a few times with his fingers, before looking at Claire.

"You think this would suit me?"

"Perhaps."

"Cool."

He bought it.

She took a look over the other things on display, coming across some cologne in really fancy bottles. She looked over each, smelling them, and grabbed a bottle of the most expensive one. Surprisingly, it was also the best smelling one.

"For your Boyfriend?" Eric asked, looking at the bottle she placed on the counter. Her face flushed slightly because, well, that was certainly a thought she didn't want to think about. Not that it was bad. No, she was fine with the thought; she just thought she would be able to avoid thinking about him like that. That was the reason, really.

"Oh. Sebastian isn't my boyfriend. I mean, I don't even have a boyfriend."

"Seriously?"

"Yes…"

"But with how you looked just then, surely you must be crushing at least."

He let out one of his signature laughs, which was more of a charming little chuckle, and pat her lightly on the shoulder. She became redder, and somewhat disgusted with herself, at the thought…

The thought of Sebastian and her together like that; it was beginning to make her dizzy.

"No, certainly not, I'm not sure where you would get an idea like that. Let's go- you mentioned the mall earlier?"

For a second, she realized that this was actually, sort of, like a date. Like, a date with a real person, going out together to have fun. Someone of another's preferred gender that may or may not have a sort of attraction for said 'another'. Her thoughts wandered once again, much to her dismay, as she put herself in the same situation, the same context, but instead of Eric, it was Sebastian, and her blush only seemed to betray her.

Eric noticed, but didn't say anything about it, other than:

"This Sebastian guy must be really lucky. Heh."

x

The trip to the mall was uneventful.

"You don't really spend a lot of money, do you?" Eric asked her as they walked back to his house to pick up her things. All she bought today was that bottle of cologne and a new shirt. Eric (barely) held a good amount of bags filled with a bit of everything.

"I don't really need to," She said, focusing her gaze on the ground in front of her. She really disliked spoiling herself when she knew that the money could go to something better. Something more worthwhile.

The rest of the walk was silent, save for the sound of their footsteps and the occasional rock as it gets kicked by them. Claire takes this time to think, to calm down, and to figure out what she is going to do for these next few days. Well, she would have if Eric didn't decide to start talking again.

"So, who do you live with?"

"My mom and dad are often on business trips. Other than that, my older brother."

"You have a brother? Cool, I'm an only child. What's he like?"

She scans her heads for words to describe him, but is only able to come up with one.

"Perfect."

Eric looks at her, looks at her face to see if there are any meanings behind her words, but doesn't seem to come up with anything.

"Like, perfect at everything? That must be pretty tiring, haha!" He does his laugh, that cute laugh of his, but she doesn't say that, only nodding in agreement at what he said.

"Yeah."

She noticed how dejected her tone is, but Eric doesn't, and that is perfect.