"Don't worry, Lake! We won't stop until you find someone right for you!" Poppy said to her best friend cheerfully.

"No, no, it's totally fine, Pops!" Lake reassured her, smiling warmly. "I really appreciate the help, I really do. But maybe I can take it from here. Besides, I'm sure you're very busy as queen," she said.

Just as they arrived at Lake's house, Lake turned to Poppy and gave a warm hug. Poppy hugged back and laughed. "It's not even Hug Time yet!"

"I might be considered a big hugger," Lake chuckled awkwardly, pulling away and smiling back. They both waved their goodbyes and headed to their homes.

Lake opened the door to her pod, sighing in relief. She felt so free from the heavy shackles keeping herself down. She was relaxed, now.

She truly felt like herself at home.

She plopped down on her couch, groaning out her frustration. She sat up and hugged a pillow. She sighed and looked down at the floor.

She look to her right where her telephone was. She hesitantly picked it up, dialing a number.

A voice spoke up through the phone, "Hello?"

"Hey Aster, can I ask you something?" Lake asked, bringing the telephone along with her to the kitchen.

She gently put it down, keeping the phone next to her ear.

Aster, from the other side of the phone, smiled and continued reading his book, sometimes writing some notes. "Bring it on,"

"So I met this lady," she replied. "We met at the Speed Dating party? You know, the one Poppy hosted?"

"Yeah?" Aster closed up his book, organized his notes and looked up at the clock; 9 pm.

"Turns out, she became my date and... I got nervous," Lake replied, staring at the door of her fridge. It held pictures of her and Poppy, a few with her and Branch. She smiled warmly at them. "I panicked. Im not really used to, you know, liking a woman..."

"Do you think it's wrong?"

"What? No! Definitely not, I'm not saying it's forbidden, I'm just saying that..." she sighed and took a deep breath. "I'm just saying that it's new to me. I actually... kinda like it."

Aster nodded in approval, getting up from his desk and picking up his bow and arrows. He looked out through the window, seeing the fireflies lighting up the night with a soft melody.

"Y'know Lake, what you're feeling is completely normal, you're gonna have a lot of questions in your head and they might just lead you to somewhere interesting. Anyway, I gotta go meet up with somebody. You're gonna be alright, bud," Aster turned off the lights to his room.

"Cya, Aster," Lake replied just as he hung up.

Aster ran out his pod, making his way to the forest through a hidden path. He has never told Lake about any of this, he knew that she didn't need to know. But perhaps he was wrong. He didn't know.

Lake suddenly felt regret telling Aster about Seana. He didn't need to know about her.

But Lake felt so relieved to tell him.

But she made sure to keep her emotions to herself next time.

"That was close," Seana let out a deep sigh, brushing the strands of hair out of her face. She was hiding behind a tree, slightly peeking to make sure no one saw her.

She shook her head with a smile and walked further into the forest.

She liked the village, but she decided that the music was getting to her head. She couldn't stop humming that one song from the party. What was it called again? Oh right, it's that "can't help falling in love" song by that Elvis guy.

She hummed that song non-stop.

Seana thought it was this curse, this aching feeling of never getting away from something so addicting. It's almost like pain, but the aftermath is just so worth it.

No, it's not the peer pressure of getting through an obstacle, it's more of an itchy feeling.

Imagine being there, just living. Just breathing. Everyday is the same, painful, slow. But at the end of the day, at least you're there for someone who you love, who you admire, who you trust.

But that person takes one look at you and suddenly doesn't even notice you're there.

What if you were to perhaps end everything, stop breathing, stop being there that they'd finally notice you?

No, that's stupid. They'll only forget you further.

I mean, what if you survived a little longer and then they'll finally appreciate you? Besides, you love them. They mean the world to you.

You'll only hurt them if you give up. But you don't know that.

"Crazy day, huh?" A familiar voice to Seana said, laughing.

Seana snapped back into reality, turning to him and laughed as well, nodding. She walked up to a bench with a wooden table, analyzing the arrows laying there. "Yeah, say, what's been going on?"

"Nothing much, honestly, I didn't think you'd make it over here," he said, carefully carving his wooden bow.

"It's a miracle, I guess," Seana replied and took one of the arrows and examined it.

"These are handmade... did you make these?" Seana asked, looking up at him and seeing him aiming at a target.

He didn't answer her question at first, he was focused. His eyes on the center, his breathing was controlled, his arms were relaxed but steady.

The light of the lit candles near him guided his aim, so were the fireflies that sang a soft harmony.

He released the string and the end of the arrow.

The arrow struck right near the center. He sighed and mumbled a few words. He turned to Seana and said, "Sadly not, my friend made them."

"Did your friend teach you how to use a bow and arrow, too?" She joked, tilting her head with a teasing smirk on her face.

"Yeah, actually. She's an amazing tutor," he said, sitting down in the other bench across from Seana.

"How old is she, exactly?" She asked, suddenly finding interest in this lady.

"She's turning 24 actually," he replied, smiling and seeing the conflicting emotions in her eyes. He smirked.

Seana raised an eyebrow.

The two stared at each other for a while with a sly look. But it didn't take long for Seana to groan in defeat. "Darn it, Aster! What's her name?"

"Lake Rosewater, a very close friend with the Queen and her companion," Aster grinned. He teased her further. "I'm surprised you haven't heard of her."

Aster drank from his bottle of water, slightly smiling.

Seana ticked, but just as she heard the name she felt a huge rock smack her in the head and knock her out with realization.

"I have heard of her, in fact I met her at a party. And to make things more interesting, I had a "date" with her." she slammed her fist on the table.

Aster felt like he got smacked with the same huge rock and spat out his drink.