Penny waited for Sebastian in front of the bathhouse. The sun had set while they'd been inside. She didn't know what time it was now, and she didn't want to check her phone.

Sebastian came out combing his fingers through his hair roughly, trying to get it to dry. His long black hair was usually styled straight, but now it waved and curled wildly around his face, and Penny couldn't help but think he looked like Urugon in the second Solarion movie after he'd climbed out of the lake.

They walked down the path to his house, but cut around behind the back to get to the garage without running into anyone. Sebastian slid the garage door up as quietly as he could, revealing a blue vintage motorcycle. He tossed her a helmet.

"I don't know about this," Penny whispered, holding the helmet like it might hurt her.

Sebastian just chuckled as he pulled on his helmet. "We'll be there in no time. Don't worry."

He took her helmet back and pulled it down over her head for her. Then he straddled the bike and waited for her to climb on behind him. She did, though she couldn't figure out where to put her feet at first, and her skirt hitched up uncomfortably.

Penny grabbed the sides of Sebastian's jacket gingerly. Without turning around, Sebastian pulled her hands off his sides and drew them in front of him, wrapping her arms around his stomach. Then he raised a leg and kicked down on something, bringing the motorcycle roaring to life.

Penny tightened her arms around him, just in time for the bike to jolt down the road into town, and then up to the highway. If they passed anyone in town, Penny wouldn't have known, since she had her eyes shut tight the entire time.

They went faster on the highway, but it was smoother, and eventually she was able to open her eyes. There was no one around. The road was all theirs, and they flew down it. Only the bike's headlight lit up the road in front of them; otherwise they were in complete darkness. She could hardly hear out of her helmet, but she could hear the wind rushing and the roar of the engine.

It drowned out her thoughts, and Penny let her mind clear of everything that had happened that day. She felt sort of empty.

Tomorrow they could pick up the pieces of their friendships. For now, she just focused on the purr of the engine, the cool wind sending goosebumps up her arms and legs, and the warmth of Sebastian's back.

The road rose up out of the valley, running over and cutting through mountains until it reached Zuzu City. She didn't go to the city often, and now that she thought about it, she had never been at night. All the buildings and streets around them were lit up and glowed and sparkled warmly.

They pulled over in front of an older looking building with grecian pillars.

"Is this a museum?" Penny asked. "Sebastian, they're going to be closed this late at night."

Sebastian helped her off the bike and took her helmet, patting down her tousled hair. "Don't you know Zuzu City never sleeps? Almost everything is open all night here." He grinned, then glanced down at Penny's bare arms. "Oh shoot, you must have been freezing." He pulled off his jacket and handed it to her.

Penny felt awkward accepting, but she was cold, and the inside of the jacket was warmed from him wearing it. They climbed the steps into the Zuzu Museum of Art and found themselves in a brightly lit foyer with an information desk. Sebastian went ahead of her to pay for their tickets.

Any other day she would have protested and insisted on paying herself, but they had left so suddenly that she didn't have any money on her. Accepting so much from Sebastian felt wrong, but he was treating it so casually that she was able to put that aside. And he seemed to be enjoying their impulsive trip. And being there with her.

"Let's go to the café first so we can warm up some more," he said as he got back. He bought her a cup of tea and himself a coffee, and they began to walk around the exhibits.

In each room Sebastian stayed close, but gave her space. And she didn't know if it was intentional, but he seemed to always be ready to move to the next room when she was. She liked the historical works the best, so they spent a long time exploring those exhibits. The collection of works from the Ferngill Republic's founding was extensive.

"This is one of my favorite pieces," she whispered to Sebastian in front of a painting. It was a field full of poppies done in oil paints. "I can't believe it's on display here."

Sebastian took it in, then read the plaque beside it. "It's a battlefield," he said in surprise.

"There's a sad story behind it. But I think it's also sort of hopeful."

"Like, life growing where there was death?"

Penny nodded. "That's why it's my favorite flower."

"Ah, the bookmark!" Sebastian said.

Penny looked down at her shoes. "I really should just get rid of that."

"What do you mean?

Penny blushed and laughed half-heartedly. "Sam gave me that flower ages ago. It's stupid that I even kept it in the first place."

"Ah, sorry I brought it up." He rubbed the back of his head. His hair was totally dry now, but still wild, and it looked enticingly soft. Penny was struck by the sudden desire to touch it, so she turned away. Then she noticed a glow through a far window.

"The sun's coming up!" she said. "What time is it?"

"I should really get you home." Sebastian checked his phone. "It's past five."

Penny rubbed her forehead anxiously, but laughed. "This is probably not how you wanted to spend your night. Sorry about that."

"Sorry? This was my idea. I don't know about you, but running away from home in the middle of the night is my idea of a good time. Do you think you'll get in trouble with your mom, though?"

Penny shrugged. "If she's awake when I get back. But to be honest...normally I'd care a lot more than I do right now."

"I knew you had a delinquent somewhere inside you." Sebastian grinned happily. "Are you hungry?"

"Starved," Penny admitted. "If we're going to get in trouble anyway, we might as well face it with a full stomach."

They left the museum and walked to a nearby diner. Penny was exhausted, but sitting at a booth surrounded by all the customers who were just starting their day, she felt like she was in on some secret, just her and Sebastian. She smiled as she watched him pour an absurd amount of maple syrup over his pancakes.

"What?" he said, looking up and catching her watching.

"Nothing."

"Pancakes are all about the syrup, Penny. That's the whole point of the dish."

She laughed. "Hey, I didn't say anything."

"Just try it." He cut off a triangle of pancake completely saturated with syrup and pushed it onto her plate.

She ate it tentatively, careful not to drip syrup all over herself. "Alright, it's pretty good like that."

Sebastian held out his hands proudly as if to say, 'See?'.

A season ago, Penny would have never imagined having such a normal conversation with Sebastian. He'd been sort of a mystical figure to her; not a real person who did normal things like go out for pancakes. For so long he'd just been Sam's untouchable friend. And now he was here, and he was her friend, too.

That night, every action, every word of Sebastian's was said and done with her in mind. It was a kind of care and attentiveness Penny was not familiar with, so much so it almost felt wrong. But if she'd been angry at him at all for revealing her secret to Sam, the anger was long gone.

When they got back to the bike, Penny was reluctant to go home. In Pelican Town, there'd be Sam and Maru and her mom to deal with, and she'd have to tutor this afternoon on no sleep, and Jodi would definitely notice something was up.

She felt so far away from all that. The fight that had happened just last evening felt like forever ago. Zuzu City was a dream. It was just her and the museum and cups of tea and pancakes and... Sebastian.

Penny wrapped her arms tightly around him as they took off. This time, she kept her eyes wide open, taking in every bit of the city and this day as she could.