Sadie's new co-worker is a jerk.

Lars is almost always in a sour mood. He's also kind of a slacker, clocking out early almost every day. He barely listens to her when she tries to explain a task (he always claimed 'I got it, it's not that complicated' , but she ends up having to go behind him to redo it more often than not ). When she tries to delegate duties, he always grumbled under his breath. But most days he puts in his earphones, and blatantly ignores her. It made her shifts at the Big Donut straining. She often walked home feeling annoyed.

But then one day she walked in on him in the break room, bent over an algebra II textbook with angry tears in his eyes. Her irritation for him abandoning her in the middle of the morning rush had vanished upon seeing that look of utter and complete helplessness on his face

"L-Lars, what's wrong?" Sadie had asked. She had tentatively took steps towards him. Her hand had raised to touch his shoulder, to give him a comforting pat or a reassuring squeeze, but she lets it drop back to her side.

"I'm gonna fuckin' fail!" he had whined dramatically after quickly dabbing at his eyes.

Sadie had blinked, and listened to his plight. Apparently Lars had been ditching the class, and his teacher had given him a makeup exam in an effort to raise his grade. Sadie isn't exactly a math whiz, but she gingerly offered her help. To her complete surprise, he accepted. So the two closed up shop early, and worked through the equations as best they could together. Sadie had made a few jokes in between it all, and Lars had softly chuckled. When they were done, he had meekly said his thanks. Sadie had been so shocked by it, all she could do was smile back at him.

After that day, things were a little better. He was still kind of lazy, and a bit of a grump. However, he didn't outright ignore her or brush her off when she tried to talk to him. In fact, there were days they would joke around a little and Sadie would feel light in her chest.

Today isn't one of those days.

Sadie takes a deep breath and exhales an annoyed sigh. Of course he's going to cross his arms as he grumbles complaints and something that sounded suspiciously like the b word when she asks him to clean up the vomit some over-stimulated child left by the shop's door. Of course he's going to stomp to the broom closet, and make a bunch of needless noise as he gathers the mop and bucket. Of course he's going to slosh the cleaning tools around melodramatically as he goes about cleaning it up. Of course he will, Sadie reminds herself, because Lars is just a kid.

Sure, Lars is only a year or so younger than her. But the maturity level between a high school student and a graduate is pretty vast.

That had to be it, right? Certainly it explains away most of his gruff behavior. He's a teenager.

Technically she is too until her next birthday, but still…

Sadie conjures up the image from a few weeks ago, of his crestfallen face and his glassy eyes. She thinks of how frightened he had sounded at the prospect of failing. She recalls how sweet he looked when he proudly puffed out his chest and showed her his passing grade on his exam. She had helped him, and his face alone had been worth it.

He's not that bad. He's just a kid.

And maybe she's just making excuses for him but...She keeps seeing that helpless look he had given her that day, and every fiber in her being wants to help him. Help him succeed. Help him be happy. Help him be better. Just help him in any way she can.

"Yuck! Ugh, danggit!" Lars suddenly yells. Sadie looks up just in time to see him drop the mop, letting it clatter to the floor. He walks hectically in circles, his large hands yanking on his shirt that now (somehow) had a splatter of pink chunks on it. "Ew! This is so gross, gross, gross!"

Sadie couldn't help but snicker when he gets tangled up in his shirts. Even as she abandons her place at the register to assist him, Sadie's laughing.

"Hold still," she tells him, but Lars keeps moving around frantically. He's clearly freaking out now, his muffled voice alternating from gagging to cursing. "Let me help you. Stay still!"

He doesn't listen, but Sadie still manages to help him out of his shirts without any vomit getting on either of them by some miracle. Lars takes big gulps of air, his hair messy and his tan skin flushed. Sadie shakes her head at him. Her eyes then drop to his heaving, bare chest.

Sadie's giggles die in her throat. She drops the ball of soiled fabric on the floor. Her cheeks burn red.

Oh. Wow.

Sadie closes her eyes and shakes her blonde head, but it's no use. He's still standing there like a vision when she opens them. His thin frame is rather...Um. Her dark eyes takes in his brown nipples, peaked from the cool air blasting in the store; the enticing jut of his pelvic bone, the coarse looking hairs that trails down from his belly button and disappears into low riding skinny jeans...

Their eyes meet when she forces her gaze to snap up, and they both blush deeper shades of red.

"What are you gawking at?" he yells, almost accusingly. His arms crosses over his chest defensively, his hands in his pits, as he shivers.

"N-nothing!" Sadie squeaks out. "Why don't you uh...Why don't you get the extra shirt that's in the break room, and I'll finish cleaning this up."

Still red in the face, Lars nods and storms off. Sadie goes about cleaning the rest of the mess on the floor. Sadie then bags his shirts, and tucks it into a corner behind the counter for him to take home to wash. She puts up the wet floor sign. She then dumps the dirty bucket water outside, and rises off the mop. Sadie puts it away, and goes to wash her hands. She does all this, and Lars has yet to come back. She doesn't go check up on him like she usually would. Sadie just stands behind the register, aimlessly scratching at invisible specks on the wooden counter.

She bites her lower lip, rampant thoughts assaulting her now that she no longer has a task distracting her. Sadie runs a hand through her hair. She snorts quietly at herself. Oh, man. Lars is...Lars is definitely not a child.

Pull yourself together, girl. It's not even that impressive of a chest.

"Sadieeee!" Steven cheers as he bounds through the chiming door.

"Oh." Sadie snaps up, forcing a smile on her face. "Hey, Steven."

"Where's Lars?"

"Oh, um...He's..."

"Right here," Lars grumbles as he finally returns from the back. The new shirt on his torso is way too big for his slender build, it sways around his knees and the collar is too wide. He adjusts the top so his shoulder isn't exposed, but it slips back down almost right away. "What do you want, Steven?"

Sadie frowns at his terse tone. But Steven just beams at Lars as he happily pulls out a few crumpled dollars.

"One creme filled doughnut, please!"

Lars goes to pick up the plastic tongs, but Sadie stops him by asking if he'd washed his hands. His slight pause at the question is enough of an answer for Sadie. She picks up the white tongs, and plucks a doughnut from behind the glass display case. Placing the pastry in a purple napkin, Sadie hands the treat over to Steven. The young boy happily bites into the doughnut, and hums in delight.

"So, how's it going?" Steven asks merrily, his starry gaze bouncing from Sadie to Lars and back. "You two having a good time?"

"Sure, Steven," Lars scoffs. "Working in the Big Donut is a grand ol' time."

"Oh, I bet!" Steven nods between bites. "I always see you guys smiling at each other, or eating lunch together. It's so nice! I wish I could work here with you guys. We'd have so much fun together!"

Lars rolls his eyes.

Sadie blushes, and shakes her head. No. Her and Lars were barely friends. If that. Sure, he can be sort of okay. Sometimes. And, well, she actually wouldn't mind if they were a little more chummy. But they just ...weren't .

Lars is such a jerk.

He had to have known it would be such a big turn out. The store's crowd is overwhelming for Sadie and makes her feel a little sweaty in the underarms. The constant chatter around her reminds her that she's here by herself, which shouldn't make her uneasy because she often is a party of one. But she's so short, it's kind of a struggle to not have people overlook her when she's alone. She had to poke and tap a few strangers that mistakenly cut in front of her. Sadie sighs. She tries to find a comfortable stance, and fails. The arch of her feet is killing her.

She takes out her phone to glance at the time, and pockets the device with an eye roll. How did she end up waiting in line for almost three hours?

Oh, you know why, she internally bemoans. Lars had went on and on about the game that's being released today. He had pouted when he realized he couldn't make it here. And he looked so happy when she agreed to pick it up for him. Her stomach flips when the image of his smile pops into her head.

"That'll be 70.95," the pimply clerk tells her. Sadie blinks, realizing she had been staring off into space for a second there. She smiles a bit apologetically at the young teen manning the register, and digs out the money Lars had given her. She counts out the wad of cash, only to discover it is twenty bucks and a dollar short. She frowns, and pulls out her little blue wallet purse.

When did games start costing so much anyway? She remembers when she was a kid, buying cartridge games for her handheld Gamepal and how the price tag was barely twenty bucks.

Either way, she pays it. She wiggles her way through the masses to leave the busy store, and heads straight to Lars's.

"Did you get it?" he asks the moment the front door swings open. She didn't even get a chance to knock. He was waiting for her. That thought makes her want to smile.

Sadie lifts up the plastic bag in her hand. Lars practically squeals. His hand takes hold of her tiny wrist, pulling her inside. The rooms of his house (his parents' house really), blur by as blotches of color as Lars practically drags her until they're in front of his bedroom. Sadie blinks, wobbling a step and threatening to fall from the sudden stop. She blushes when she looks up to see him smiling expectantly down at her. Oh, wow.

"Well, um," Sadie laughs unevenly as she fishes out the slim box case from the plastic bag, "here ya go."

"Oh, man!" Lars grins as he takes the box from her. He flips it over to glance at all the features listed on the back. "This is so freakin' cool. I've been waiting forever to play this."

He takes a few steps inside his room. Sadie shifts her weight from foot to foot in the doorway, uncertain what to do now.

"Glad I could help," she tells him with a shrug. She watches him power up his game system, inserting the shiny new disc into it. "Well, I guess I should get going."

"What?" Lars snaps his head up to look at her. "C'mon, Sades. The multiplayer is suppose to be amazing! Play it with me!"

"What? No," Sadie laughs and shakes her head, waving him off. "I've never played any of the franchise before, and it's a first person shooter."

"So? The story's not that complex."

"That's not the point," Sadie tells him. "I'm going to suck."

"So what?" Lars says with a shrug. "It'll be fun. Be my player two."

Those big eyes of his bore into her. His lips are stretched in a toothy grin. His large hand waves her over, and pats the space next to him as he sits on the edge of his bed. Sadie feels herself nodding, her feet moving forward like he's beckoning her with a siren's song.

"Okay, okay. But you can't rag on me for being bad."

"I won't," he promises. But he does it anyway. "Wow, Sades. I knew you would be bad. But not that bad."

"Oh, shut it."

She frowns at his cackling, and playfully bumps her shoulder into his arm. They laugh and joke as they play. Each round Sadie gets a better understanding of the controls and Lars would occasionally yell at her to press a certain button. Soon she didn't need his assistance at all.

"Dang, Player Two. What a come back."

Sadie smiles under the praise.

Lars gathers up some snacks. A bowl of Chaaaps to share, a little box of oyster crackers just for her (the thoughtfulness he shows makes her heart skip a beat), and some wine coolers he had hidden away under his bed. The little spread made Sadie's lips curve up even more.

"You really shouldn't be drinking this stuff, ya know," she tells him while he struggles to pop off the top of his wine cooler. He makes a dismissive sound between his grunts of effort. She rolls her eyes. Her disapproval doesn't stop her from taking the glass bottle away from him, tucking the top under her shirt, and twisting at the red bottle cap until it snaps free. He gives her an impressed look as she hands it to him. She opens another one for herself. Knowing she shouldn't be drinking this either, she smirks a bit wickedly as she sips the lukewarm liquid. It's sweet on her tongue, but burns it's way down her throat to settle in her belly.

They play a few more rounds as they eat and drink.

She asks him how his senior year is going, and he shrugs. She gently asks if he's actually attending his classes, and he rolled his eyes and nodded. He then softly admits that he doesn't really have many friends, and classes were kicking his ass. "But school is suppose to suck like this right?" he questions between a rather big gulp of his light liquor. "I mean, on tv it's all big friend groups having wild parties with red Solo cups. So like, the reality has to be the complete opposite, right?"

Sadie wants to shakes her head, but her school days had been pretty quiet and lonely too. She didn't have many people that she hanged out with back then, or now even. She wants to tell him it should be somewhere more in the middle. Instead she just shrugs.

He then starts rattling on about the Cool Kids. Sadie's seen Buck, Sour Cream, and Jenny around Beach City. They've come by the doughnut shop a few times too, and Lars never failed to do or say something embarrassing around them. She didn't really know the trio, but they couldn't possibly be as intimidating as Lars is making them out to be. But she finds the awe in his voice as he talks about them to be rather...cute.

They somehow start talking about wrestling, and how they should definitely go see Puma fight next weekend.

They talk about how Sadie felt like her mom was kind of overbearing. Always well meaning and caring, but still, sometimes her mom was just too much. Lars clicks his tongue, and mumbles about how his own oh-so-well-meaning parents just seem to walk on eggshells around him ever since he got prescribed anti-depressants.

They talk about food, getting into a heated debate over the legitimacy of pineapples belonging on pizzas, before moving on to what their favorite sweets were. Lars opens his mouth as if he was gonna say something, but he holds back. Instead he starts listing off the best flavors the Big Donut has to offer. Sadie agrees with all his choices, but adds a few of her own.

They talk about anything and everything, their controllers forgotten, their empty bottles piling up. It's...nice. Sadie feels warm all over as she snorts between peals of laughter at something Lars said. He laughs along with her, and they fall back on his mattress as their giggles keep going. Pure mirth shakes her shoulders, and jiggles her belly. Soon they're laughing because they simply can't stop. Their chuckles blend together and echoes off the poster covered walls.

When it finally dies down, her cheeks are hurting from smiling so hard and there's a slight ache in her lower abdomen. She glances over at Lars, his dark eyes shine with carefree joy as he smiles at her. They're laying next to each other, but there's a decent enough space between them. Their hands, however, are only a hairsbreadth apart. His fingers flex, causing his pinkie to brush hers. Sadie silently gasps at the little bolt that shoots through her from that light contact. Lars watches her face redden, and he drops her gaze. His pinkie tentatively brushes her again, this time on purpose. When she doesn't flinch away, it wraps gently around hers. Sadie smiles again and catches his eye. He shyly grins back.

She can't remember the last time she ever felt this close to someone.

And it's with Lars, of all people! She honestly hadn't been sure if he even liked her before, and now…

Sadie sighs, eyelids drooping, content to just lay here. But after a few minutes, Lars's hand twitches. His long fingers weave with her smaller ones. His hand is warm and kind of soft. She squeezes it, and he squeezes right back. Sadie closes her eyes. Her heart beats in double time, the heat of their joined hands spreading up her arm, through her system, and tingling her sock covered toes.

"Thanks, by the way," he suddenly whispers. "For uh getting the game for me, and all that."

Sadie nods lazily, a smile plastered on her face. She lets out another happy sigh. In days to come, whenever he did something that got under her skin, it'll be this blissful moment that'll pop into her head. He's not so bad. Not bad at all.

And then there's a light pressure on her lips.

Her eyes flutter open in surprise, just in time to see Lars retreat. Their eyes lock, and something warm seems to explode in her chest. She thinks it's her heart, cause she can feel it quiver with aftershocks as it thumps wildly. His free hand scratches at his chin in an attempt to look casual. But Lars's teeth nervously worries his bottom lip. His lips. They were kind of thin, but they were warm and had felt pleasantly pliant against her own.

"Lars?"

"Y-yeah, Player Two?"

His hushed voice cracks. Her face warms even more. Is that her nickname now? Player Two? She kinda likes it.

Sadie's thumb rubs soothing circles over his knuckle before she turns fully onto her side. He does the same, but waits for her to bridge the gap between them. She does, and he instantly responds.

It's tender and calm. They languidly suck on each other's lips. He tastes both salty and sweet, which almost makes her laugh. Instead she pulls him closer. Her tongue leisurely maps out his mouth, flicking over his and making him moan into the kiss.

His hands grasps at her ample behind, his teeth nipping her upper lip, before his fingers slink under her shirt. She feels him shudder when he touches her bare skin. She sucks in her gut when his fingertips glide around to her front. If he notices, he doesn't remark on it. He just keeps kissing her, his hand creeping higher and higher until he's palming her breast over her sports bra.

He mutters, something about her being soft, against her lips. A tiny thrill shoots down her spine.

Lars nibbles on her bottom lip, and Sadie hears herself gasp. Lars seem to chuckle proudly at her reaction. He plants warm kiss after kiss on her forehead, on her cheek, her jaw, and down her neck. Heat pools between her thighs. He then licks his way back up the curve of her throat. Sadie gasps again, but it comes out sounding like a shallow moan. Lars smiles into his kisses.

Hands still fondling her breast, he thumbs her nipples through her bra until he can feel them pucker. He pinches the little pert buds, and he swallows Sadie's hushed moan by slanting his lips back over hers. This time the kiss is more frenzied, their tongues sloppily lapping at each other. Lars groans and pushes at her until she's on her back with him between her legs.

His pelvis bucks into her, and Sadie's hips thrusts back on pure impulse. Sparks fly. Lars curses into the kiss. He grinds almost desperately into her, the hard bulge in his jeans delivering a delightful friction with each jerk of his hips. She feels her core pulse with want. He pinches her nipples again, much harder than before, tugging them excitedly.

Sadie hisses, but not in pleasure.

"Shit, sorry." Lars quickly whispers, his face contorting into a grimace when Sadie jolts back. "Sorry."

"It's um. It's okay," Sadie rushes to assure. Her own hands, which have been fisting the bedspread for the most part, now shakily slide into his graphic tee. She caresses soothing circles onto the warm canvas of his back. She smiles at him. He's so thin. She can feel the bumps of his spine. She kisses his chin. Then his lips, again and again, until she coaxes him into another heady makeout session.

His groping hands moves away from her breasts, however. He squeezes at her cushy thighs and wide hips instead, as he steadily starts rocking against her again.

When his clumsy fingers start fidgeting with the fastening on her jeans, she kisses him harder. She lets him tug down her pants and underwear to her knees, and she kicks them off the rest of the way. Lars fishes out a small foil packet from his back pocket. He rushes to unzip his own jeans, only pushing them down enough to free himself. He rips the packet open with his teeth, and rolls the condom on in seconds. It all happens so fast she doesn't get more than a glimpse of him before Lars settles fully between her legs again.

She's never done this before. She feels like she should say something. But his lips feels so good on her neck, and his palms sliding over her bare thighs make her skin tingle. She couldn't string two words together now if she tried. And then there's a slight pressure at her entrance, and Sadie gasps when he eases his way inside.

"Fuck," Lars hisses in her ear. "You're so fuckin' tight, Sades."

She has no response to that other than to blush. Her whole body feels on fire. The feel of him, firm and thick, inside her is so… Wow.

Her breathing becomes erratic.

When he starts to move, her body trembles beneath him. Her short legs lock around his slim waist. Their shirts drag uncomfortably against each other, sliding up and down their torsos. Whenever the bare flesh of their stomachs grazed, so warm and soft and intimate, Sadie quivers all the more.

Moisture breaks out across Lars's brow. Sadie rolls her hips to meet his unmeasured thrusts as best she can. He grunts through gritted teeth, his face still hidden in the space between her neck and shoulder.

Sadie once again feels sweaty in her underarms. Her purple and blue ankle socks seem to insulate her body heat, and Sadie suddenly becomes aware of the fact that her feet can perspire. This isn't exactly sexy, and she might have started to worry that Lars would notice and be grossed out but...But nothing but pleasure registers when he bumps into a spot inside her that has Sadie forgetting her own name. Her nails dig into his skin when he hits it again. Wow wow wow.

Her walls pulse around him. His strokes become even more jerky, and he grunts an array of swears into her neck. The rough texture of his jeans rubs her tender flesh raw. His breathing goes ragged. His body stiffens. A garbled sound that might have been her name is whimpered hotly on her skin. And then it was over.

Sadie blinks up at the ceiling, catching her breath as Lars grunts and pulls out of her.

It...It hadn't been mind blowing or anything. Certainly not the toe curling experience she sometimes read about. But it had felt nice. It felt nice being close to him. And when he returns from disposing the condom, his pants pulled back up but still unzipped, he curls up beside her. She snuggles into him, and Sadie relishes in just being swaddled in his arms in the afterglow.

An alarm starts beeping. Lars grumbles in her ear, his hot breath tickling her skin. Sadie opens her eyes in a mild daze. The face of the blaring clock says it's five thirty in the morning.

She had fallen asleep.

The arm resting on her midsection lifts to shut off the alarm clock, and she smiles when his arm returns. Her grin widens when he pulls her closer. She cranes her neck to look at him.

"Morning, P-Two," he greets her with a lazy, crooked grin. Sadie grins back, her insides fluttering.

"Morning."

They crawl out of bed after a few minutes, and Sadie blushes as she tries to step into her panties and jeans as quickly as possible. Lars laughs, mumbling about how he already had seen her butt.

They take turns washing up in his in-suite bathroom. She exits out his window, not really wanting to risk running into his parents. Lars follows behind her, already dressed for work, as he silently walks her home so she can change into her uniform.

The two then head toward work. Sadie's knuckles brushes his as they walk in unison. His hand takes hold of hers, dwarfing it as he squeezes it with his long fingers. Sadie leans her head to rest slightly on his arm. This is so nice. She can barely believe it. Her and Lars...Together.

"Hey, Lars!" someone cheers, piercing through the peaceful silence of the early morning.

Sadie's barely able to register the chipper voice before Lars's hand yanks out of her hold. Sadie's smile falls away, and she turns towards where the shout had came from. It's Jenny Pizza, lagging behind her sister Kiki, on a morning run. From across the street, the cute slender yet curvy girl waves at Lars, and Lars looks ecstatic as he frantically waves back.

"H-hi, Jenny! Hey! What's...What's crack-a-lackin'?" he hollers excitedly, but winces a bit at the words that fumble unthinkingly out of his mouth.

"Whaaat?" Jenny calls back, still jogging in the opposite direction.

"I said," he starts to yell but Jenny turns away from him and speeds up her pace to catch up with her twin. Brown hand raised in the air, her fingers wiggle goodbye.

"I'll see ya later, Lars," she shouts before calling after her sister to wait up.

"Y-yeah! Cool! See ya later!"

Sadie blinks, brows furrowing at the exchange. She reaches to take his hand again, but Lars flinches at her touch. His eyes dart around them, like he's worried someone might have seen them. Sadie frowns, but doesn't say anything when he tucks his hands into his pockets.

They finish the trek to the store in stiff silence, a little more space between them.

But Lars makes a few wisecracks while he sets up the paper cups into neat stacks. Sadie laughs weakly at him as she makes a fresh mug of coffee. They fill in the gaps in the display case. They get through the morning rush without any major incident. The work day goes on like any other, which is...weird, right?

It doesn't feel weird, exactly. But it definitely didn't feel right. There is no secret glances, or playful love taps, or sneaky kisses sprinkled in throughout the day like she halfway expected (or maybe hoped is the better word).

Near closing time, she wipes down the counter and she glances at Lars. He's standing beside her, leaning on the closed glass case as he plays Cookie Blitz Saga.

"So, last night..." she gently prompts with an ease she did not feel. Lars looks up from his phone to smile at her. Her cheeks instantly flame.

"Yeah?"

"Do you...um..."

"Wanna repeat performance, eh?" he snickers. His tone makes her face heat up for a different reason. He seems to notice her irritation, dropping her gaze. His smug grin wanes. He straightens up, and scratches at his chin before inhaling deep. "Last night was fun. It's cool having someone to chill with."

Sadie nods in agreement, head slightly bowed. The game night had been fun, even before things escalated. But her brows knit together as she watches him bite his lower lip. His eyes rake over her, and his smile turns suggestive. Wait.

"Wanna chill again sometime?" he asks, tone colored with innuendo.

Was he...Was really writing off them having sex as something so casual it could be deemed as chilling?

She snorts, and shakes her head. Sadie opens her mouth, but the bell above the door chimes.

A pretty girl, all long legs and red lips, waltzes in. Lars openly shows interest in her, heavily flirting with the girl as he bags up a few doughnuts for her. The girl giggled airily when he asks for her number. Though she declines, she does smile sweetly at him. It seemed to be enough of a victory for Lars, grinning like an idiot as customer singsongs her farewell.

Sadie's heart drops.

He glances Sadie's way, brow quirked before they both swiftly avert their gazes from one another. Oh. Wow. Tears prick at her eyes, and Sadie forces herself to swallow the thick lump that has formed in her throat. She sighs through her nose, and shakes her head.

He's a jerk. She knows he's a jerk. But...He had laughed so freely last night. He hand touched her so tenderly. He had looked at her so yearningly. He had kissed her so passionately. He had...They had...She was so certain that he had wanted...that they were going to be…

Stupid, stupid, stupid!

She hurries through the motions of shutting down the shop. She doesn't look at her co-worker as she puts on her jacket, and leaves without a word.

Lars doesn't follow.

She's such a jerk.

Sadie stares at her bedroom ceiling. The house is quiet. Truly quiet, with no white noise of the ocean lapping at the shore or bugs chirping from bushes. Her bandaged arm lays across her stomach. Her bed is so soft beneath her. After days of sleeping on the ground, it's a wonder that she hadn't instantly zonked out the moment her head hit the pillow. But those nights resting on the hard island ground were also spent snuggled up against a slender frame, an arm wrapped over her waist. She shivers at his phantom touch on her hip, and frowns.

None of it was real.

She had only been trying to help him. He had been so stressed recently. The memory of his smile had become foggy in her brain, it'd been so long since she'd seen it. It hadn't been her intention for things to turn out the way they did. How could she have ever predicted that he would...That they would...

Her lips tingle as she remembers the feel of his, warm and slightly salty from tears, press onto hers. The forefinger of her undamaged hand traces over her bottom lip in mild awe. His tongue had swept over it so frantically before it delved into her mouth. It had been so different from the kisses they shared during Game Night all that time ago. This kiss had been pure, heart thumping desperation. But, just like their first kiss, her stomach had erupted with butterflies that spread a tingly warmth throughout her system. Now, however, Sadie's stomach churns. She can hear Lars's angry and disgusted voice echo in her head. She sighs and shakes her head at herself.

She's so tired. Her body aches. She tries to sleep it off, but she still feels like shit when she wakes up.

"I'm sorry," she softly tells him the next time she walks into the Big Donut to open shop. "I shouldn't have kept the warp pad a secret. I wasn't trying to..." She trails off, and shakes her head. "I was just trying to help. But good intentions, and all that. So, I'm sorry."

Lars gawks at her. His sour frown and the crease between his brows had disappeared the second she spewed out an apology. He actually looks shocked that she gave one. His hands tuck into his front pockets, and he shrugs and glances to the dusty floor that they'll definitely need to mop before too long.

"Whatever," he mumbles and walks away.

Sadie sighs. She had kind of hoped that he would apologize too. Or, at the very least, he would accept hers a little more gracefully. But she knows better. This is as good as it'll get for now. Eventually things will settle. They'll go see wrestling matches on Saturday nights. They'll watch lame B rated horror movies in her room on off days. She'll snicker at his wisecracks, and he'll roll his eyes at her puns. And may she'll take his word on it, and stop trying to constantly help him.

But she still wants to. She really, really do.

"Maybe I should focus on fixing my own life," she had said.

Lars, bless him, wasn't a jerk. He was a coward. She's not certain if that's worse or not. However, upon this realization came another.

Sadie can't help him.

No matter how much she tries, or how much she wants to, she can't help him. There's nothing she could do that'll make him walk into a party with a cake he created with his head held high. There's nothing she could say that'll make him stand up and fight, instead of flee. There's not a single thing in her power that'll make him brave enough to hold her hand in public...if she even still wants that. She's not really sure. It feels like an eternity ago when she last let her thoughts float into that direction about Lars.

It doesn't matter, she realizes. She can't help him, and it's probably a good thing that she knows that now. She needs to focus on helping herself. She's been ignoring her own problems for too long.

However, she's too distracted to start on that just yet.

She'd been worried sick the past few days, especially when Steven returned without him. Any residual anger or disappointment about Lars ditching her to hide on that spaceship had been eclipsed by gut wrenching fear.

Where is he? Is he safe? Will he ever make it back to Beach City?

Despite everything, he was her closest friend. She just wants him to be okay. So when she spots Lars standing outside her house as she walks home from work, Sadie finds herself running full force into his arms.

"Umph!"

They topple over in an embrace. Lars stiffens, moreover in surprise, beneath her. Sadie laughs into his chest, but it comes out as little sobs. Her eyes are watering as she hugs him tight. He laughs a bit weakly too, long arms encircling her with just as much strength and affection.

"I didn't think you'd be this happy to see me," he chuckles unevenly into her hair.

"Helpless jerk," Sadie mutters. "I was so worried about you."

She hears him sniffle, and he tightens his hold on her. Sadie finally lifts her head to see the tears in his eyes. Sadie blinks. She rubs away her own tears that's slightly blurring vision. She blinks a few more times as the sun begins to set, golden light highlighting his features. Oh. Wow.

"You're pink," she gasps, dumbstruck.

He blinks back at her, and his pink skin burns crimson.

"Y-yeah," is his nervous reply. "You can blame Steven for that."

"It looks good on you," she finds herself saying as she pinches his cheek in disbelief. "Like, weirdly good."

"Thanks?" he chuckles wanely.

His hair looks like cotton candy, but it feels the same as the last time she touched it. He winces when her finger curls into his tresses, and look of confusion and then relief twisting his face. She tilts her head at that, but she gets distracted by the red line on his face. Her finger gently traces the new scar that starts above his left eye. He sighs into her touch, closing his eyes so her finger can glide down the lid to the top of his cheek where the scar ends. His eyes flutter back open. His hands runs up and down her sides, causing her to shiver. It's only then, as streetlights start to flicker to life, that it dawns on Sadie that she's lying on top of him in the middle of her lawn.

She scrambles to her feet, and helps him up. When he's standing at his full height, he doesn't let go of her hand. Even when people walk down the street, his hand stays in hers. In fact, his grip strengthens. Her cheeks are just as pink as him.

"You uh wanna come in?" she asks, tilting her head towards her front door. "You can tell me about whatever had happened. Or we can just binge some of the shows you missed, if you'd rather do that instead?"

"Y-yeah. Yeah, I'd liked that." He nods. "There's um. There's a lot I want to talk about actually."

She nods, and they walk into her home. But the moment the front door shuts, he stills. Sadie's steps are halted by his hold on her hand. She turns to look at him, but he's staring at the floor.

"Sadie, I..." He sighs. Lars squares his shoulders, and his eyes snap to hers. "I'm sorry about -"

"Hey, it's fine," Sadie cuts him off. "Things were pretty intense on that spaceship. It's called fight or flight for a reason, ya know. Plus it's not like you had a weapon or something to be of any real help. I shouldn't have just expected you to dive into a fight for me. And I know you were scared. And-"

"No, Sadie," Lars interrupts her slew of excuses with a firm shake of his head. His dark eyes stare intently into hers, and her stomach flips. He's...different. She can see it, and she doesn't mean the obvious physical change. "That's not good enough. I've never been good enough."

"Lars," she sighs in contradiction at his words, but Lars cuts her off again by squeezing her fingers.

"No, Sades. I've been thinking about this a lot while I was gone. And, ya know, I really hated myself. I was such a coward. I was also a jerk, to a lot of other people, but no one more than you. You didn't deserve that. So, I'm sorry. Not just for what happened when we got abducted, but for everything. Everything. I've...I've been a pretty shitty friend...person...whatever."

Sadie stares up at Lars in mild astonishment. Her mouth forms a small 'o'. Tears wet her lashes. She hadn't...She hadn't been expecting this.

Maybe this is some kind of a dream. Maybe this is actually another evil Gem that's just pretending to be Lars. They can shapeshift, right? And he is randomly pink now. That theory could check out.

But those big brown eyes boring into her? Those were definitely the eyes that once looked at her helplessly, looked at her lustfully, looked at her with so many emotions she could identify his mood from just the glint of his iris. Hot tears trickle down her red cheeks, and drips from her chin.

"Oh, wow. Lars..."

"Sadie," he sighs, still looking directly into her eyes. He lifts his free hand to cup her jaw, his thumb sweeping away the damp trail on her round cheek. "I um..."

His lips slant over hers in a warm, chaste kiss. It makes more tears leak from her eyes, but her quivering lips are smiling.

"I mean it," he whispers, pecking her lips again for emphasis. "I always meant it. I know I didn't always show it, but I...I lo- ...lo-" He flushes, kissing her again before clearing his throat. "I mean it. Just know I mean it, okay?"

He presses another kiss onto her mouth, just as tender and sweet as the last one. But it lasts a little longer, and he ardently pulls her back into an embrace.

"Sorry," he says when they break apart, though she isn't completely sure why. He rests his forehead atop hers, and she wonders how long he can stay like this before his neck and back starts to hurt. He's so much taller than her...He surrounds her. Sadie can feel herself slipping into a familiar bliss just from being here in his arms. She sighs at herself.

"I don't know if I can," she softly confesses. She feels him go rigid, but he tightens his hold on her. "I want to, but...I'm just not sure if I can believe you after...well, everything."

She kind of hates that she said it aloud, that she's ruining the moment. But there had been other times where she felt like they were moving forward, and she never wants to experience that soul crushing torment ever again.

He pulls back just enough to catch her gaze once more. Those eyes. She sees that change within him once more. Sadie's dying to know what had happened to him out there, what caused this shift to happen. But right now the whites of his eyes are red, and she can tell he's struggling to keep his smile from faltering. She sighs into another kiss, letting him hold her snug against him.

"Well," he chuckles somewhat weakly over her lips. "I'll help you believe."