Chương 17: A Pleasant Date (3)

Approaching Mouse, she was screaming in frustration about how bad the game was. Even though everyone in the world knew that it was a skill issue, the correct way to handle this was to understand and empathize with her. Of course I wouldn't do that!

"Hehe, you suck!" I teased. Mouse turned at breakneck speed and shot me a nasty glare.

"You!" She growled.

"Hehe." …

"Haah, whatever, this game sucks anyway." Mouse complained as we walked away from that 'terrible' machine.

"Huh? It looked pretty-" I started.

"It sucked." Mouse cut me off.

"It didn't-""It sucked."

"It sucked." I replied.

"Good." Mouse nodded with satisfaction.

"Hehe," I chuckled at that. She was so easy.

"Oh yeah, I've been meaning to ask, where does your name 'BinLover' come from? I forgot to ask earlier."

"I like raccoons," I replied without hesitation, "But instead of choosing something simple and boring like 'Raccoon', I used the concept. You know how raccoons are known as trash pandas or trash thieves?"

"Mhm." Mouse nodded, listening along.

"I chose 'BinLover' to insinuate I love trash, hence a raccoon."

"Interesting. So, raccoons are your favorite animal?"

"No?" I shook my head. We stopped walking and she looked at me with weird eyes,"They're not your favorite animal?"

"No? Why would they be?"

"…You just went on a rant about how you chose your nickname because you like raccoons and their concept. Why wouldn't they be your favorite animal…?"

"They're cool but not 'favorite' cool." I shrugged, "I like how they look and their actions are cute."

"…I see…So what is your favorite animal?"

"Snakes." She blinked at me a few times.

"Snakes?" She asked,"Snakes." I replied.

"That's like the complete opposite of a raccoon?? It's like me liking mouses and hippos. It's so random?"

"You like hippos?"

"Well, I do, but it's more of a 'don't mind'…Ah! Stop throwing us off topic! Why do you like snakes?"

"They're cute?" I tilted my head, "Why do you like mice? Is there a need for a reason to like something?"

"Not really…" Mouse shook her head, "It's just surprising. You look like someone who would be extremely scared of snakes."

"…" I furrowed my brows and shot her a glare.

"Haha, I suppose that's not right." She laughed. We continued walking and chatting about random stuff, eventually, I stopped and stared at a specific machine. It was the machine most people know, love, and hate. A key part of any arcade. Some restaurants even kept these near the entrance. A claw machine. Mouse's eyes followed my gaze before we looked at each other and nodded. There was a variety of claw machines. Some held jewelry or miscellaneous objects. Some held anime plushies, others had animal plushies.

For some this could be considered a heaven, for others a hell.

"Wow wow wow, look at these plushies!" I shouted.

"That one's really cute." Mouse said.

"Hehe, I'm not leaving until I win a plush." I proclaimed.

"Hah, you've read my mind. Whoever gets one first wins?"

"You're on!" At that, we separated to different claw machines and I immediately pulled out my card. I was standing in front of a claw machine that held a bunch of cute animal plushies. My goal was that soft-looking raccoon. Enjoying the story? Show your support by reading it on the official site. …

"Ugh!!! So close!" …

"Wah! Why'd you let go!?" …

"Please! Please! Please!" …

"No! Just get in the basket!" …

"Wah!!!" …

"Come home already!" … After over a dozen tries and fails later, I took a deep breath and focused. I was using just as much concentration as I did when playing that alchemy game earlier. This was the one, I felt it in my bones. It was similar to the feeling I had whenever I felt good about creating a potion. The claw slowly lowered itself above the raccoon plush. Gulp The hands of the claw opened and closed over the head of the raccoon. Slowly, the claw began to raise, raccoon in hand.

Cold sweat dripped down my head as I watched the plush move towards the basket.

"No!" I screamed. The plush had started to fall from the claw's grip. I clenched my hands hard and squinted my eyes, if it fell, I might just cry. But it never did. Tears would never come to my eyes because of this dreaded enemy. The claw opened and the plush dropped into the basket where I could easily retrieve it. I blinked a few times, my mouth open as I carefully moved my shaking hands to the retrieval area. I retrieved the plush and raised it in front of my head.

It felt soft to the touch, it stared at me with cute eyes as if begging me to hug it.

"Waaah! I did it!" I shouted, pulling the plush into my embrace and hugging it tightly.

"So soft!" My face was all smiles. A feeling of euphoria washed over me, would it be weird to say that this feeling matched how I felt when I created that recovery potion earlier? Whatever, I'm happy.

"Hehe!"

"Nice job." A voice from the side brought me back to reality. Mouse.

"Ah…" She was staring at me with a smile, holding a mouse plushy.

"I win." She cheekily grinned.

"Ah…" … After recomposing myself, I cleared my throat and held the raccoon plush towards her,"Here!" I said, "A gift!"

"Thank you, I'll treasure it." She replied, handing me her own mouse plush, "Take care of this one, won't you?" The mouse plush was just as soft as the raccoon one, I hugged it tightly, bringing it to my cheek.

"Hehe, thank you! I'll sleep with it every night and think of you!"

"Pfft!" Mouse spat, "Right, ahem, well, shall we go?"

"Mhm!" I nodded, still hugging my plush, "Where to next?"

"Hm…Any suggestions?" She asked as we walked out of the arcade.

"Hm…" I pondered for a good half a minute before replying, "None!"

"Haah…Your brain, I swear…" Mouse shook her head, "Do you like movies?" She asked.

"I don't mind them." I answered, "Do you?"

"I like them." Mouse nodded, "Shall we go see a movie?"

"Sure!" I smiled. On our way to the closest cinema, I asked,"What type of movies do you like?"

"I like them all, I don't have a particular genre I hate. My favorite would be romance though."

"Oh~ You're a romance enjoyer? I can see it." I nodded.

"Yep. What about you? What's your favorite genre?"

"Horror! I like the scary stuff." Since we were at a red light, Mouse turned and stared at me with weird eyes.

"Horror?"

"Yep!"

"You?" She paused, "You? Like horror?"

"I do?"

"Wow, I'd have never guessed. You look like someone who would completely avoid anything scary and scream at the top of your lungs."

"…?" I tilted my head, "Are you projecting?"

"…No."

"You are, aren't you?"

"I'm not."

"Hehe, you're a scaredy-cat!"

"Not true!"

"It's okay, you can lean on me if anything scary pops up!"

"I'm not scared of horror!"

"They say strong denial is firm affirmation."

"Agh! I'll prove it! Let's watch a horror movie!"

"Hm…" I smiled and looked at the current showings, "That might not be a good idea." I said.

"What? Scared? Are you backing out now?"

"No," I shook my head, "It just might be too scary for you. The only horror movie showing right now is 'Pumpkin Patch', and it's known to be one of the scariest movies to come out as of late." I heard an audible gulp next to me.

"There's even reports of people passing out while watching. Apparently, a lot of cinemas had to hire more janitors because of the amount of people who pee themselves."

"T-That's fine, I'm not s-scared whatsoever."

"Hm…" I stared at her, her eyes and hands were subtly shaking.

"How about 'To The Tower' instead? It's about someone who lives in the slums awakening and going from rags-to-riches through the tower."

"H-Hah, well, if you're scared, that movie's fine with me too." She immediately replied. She's so obvious. I internally chuckled.

"Mhm, I'm too scared to watch Pumpkin Patch today. I want to watch something nice and easy to digest."

"Haha! I see! Of course, then, let's watch To The Tower instead. I can't do anything about it if you're too scared." I stared at her in silence for a moment.

"Hm…Actually, should we watch Pumpkin Patch instead? I think it'll be fine if we're together."

"W-W-What?!"

"Just kidding, hehe."

"I-I see, don't joke like that. Haha." She nervously laughed. …

"Do you like popcorn?" I asked.

"Movie theater popcorn is the best!" Mouse replied as we stood in line.

"Should we get a large bucket then?" Instead of replying, Mouse looked at me with expectant eyes and nodded.

"Alright." I purchased an extra large bucket of popcorn with extra shots of butter and drinks for both of us. Mouse was eying the popcorn with greedy eyes. Cute. It was like looking at a mouse staring at a piece of cheese. When we headed into the theater, we found our seats and chatted until the movie started. … As the ending credits appeared, I heard sniffling from next to me.

"Are you okay?" I asked the tear-shedding Mouse.

"Mhm…" She nodded, "I'm just happy that she achieved her dream." She was referring to the movie. The MC's dream was to escape poverty and let her family live in luxury. After a whole bunch of trials, tribulations, and betrayal, she finally established herself as a top climber and brought her family out of the slums.

"The acting was pretty good." I said.

"Right?! I could really feel her emotions when she was betrayed, that look on her face completely shocked me." Mouse proceeded to go on and on and explain everything good about the movie we literally just watched together. The same movie I experienced alongside her. I just kept my mouth shut and nodded along as we headed to the car.

"So! When she finally closes the door, it's symbolism for how she's done with her previous life from the slums!"

"Right." I nodded. Mouse is more of a movie-lover than I thought.

"And at the end when the front door opens, its symbolizing that's she beginning a new chapter in her life! It's so good!"

"Mhm."

"Ah, it's already so late." Mouse said, "Um, do you want to get dinner or should we end today here?"

"Let's eat together! Where are we going?" I immediately replied.

"How about this restaurant?" She asked, showing me her phone.

"Sure!"

"Great, let's go." She said and we started to drive. Luckily, Mouse didn't continue to rave about the movie and we moved onto other topics. After some time, we ended up sitting at a booth in the restaurant.

"What're you craving?" I asked.

"Hm…I might get the cheese pasta."

"Just like a mouse, hehe." I giggled.

"Ah…That's separate." Mouse said as she turned away, "What are you getting?"

"Steak! The New York Strip looks good."

"A good choice," Mouse nodded, "It's a lot of food though, will you be able to finish it?"

"Aha! Who do you think I am? I always have room for steak!"

"Isn't it supposed to be 'there's always room for desert'?"

"I have both?" I tilted my head.

"Ah, of course."

"Hehe." … After dinner and desert, I patted my bulging tummy with happiness. The food was really delicious. Especially that chocolate cake at the end.

"How does all that food fit in that little body?" Mouse stared in amazement.

"…You're not that much taller than me."

"Ah, I forgot cause of my heels." She chuckled before continuing, "I think we should end today here, I had a lot of fun."

"I agree. I'm so tired…" I yawned.

"I can take you home if you're okay with it."

"Is that okay? It'd be more driving for you. I don't mind getting a taxi."

"No, no, it's fine. If you're going to be a passenger princess, we might as well go all the way."

"Hehe, than I'll gladly accept your offer. I'll put my address in your phone." After a moment, we began to drive.

"Huh, we live closer together than I thought." Mouse said.

"Really? Where do you live?"

"About a fifteen minute drive from your place. I'll text you the address later."

"Huh, wow. That's neat." I mumbled. The drive to my place was quiet except for the music. But it was a comfortable silence. We simply enjoyed being in each others company. I felt as if I could even fall asleep if I didn't keep myself awake.

"I really enjoyed our date today." I said as we approached my street.

"Haha, I did too. It was more enjoyable than I could've imagined. I lost track of time during the department store trip." Mouse replied.

"Thank you for driving me everywhere."

"Of course, I wouldn't mind doing it again next time we go out."

"Then should we plan another date? How about same time next week?" We stopped in front of my apartment building.

"Oh? Then shall we meet again on Saturday? This time I'll pick you up so we can skip the cafe." Mouse said with a smile.

"Hehe, if that's okay with you." I turned to her and leaned over the dash, "Thank you again for everything today, I'm excited for next week already." I said as we hugged.

"No, thank you. This was a nice day of relaxation." As I opened the door and stepped out, I gave her a little wave.

"Get home safe." I said.

"I'll text you." She replied and I shut the door. She waited to leave until I entered the building. I smiled and headed for my apartment. Inside, I immediately kicked off my shoes and flopped onto my bed. My body completely surrendered itself to the softness of my bed. Flipping over, I hugged my plush. I could just fall asleep now. But alas, there were a few things I needed to get done. First, I sent Mouse a text. [Me: just flopped onto my bed and about to fall asleep.] [Me: really enjoyed today] [Me: (Happy raccoon icon)] [Me: goodnightttt] [Me: (sleepy raccoon icon)] I didn't wait for a reply and turned off my phone. The last thing I wanted to do before drifting off to dreamland was extremely important. [Just did something 99% of gallery members can't do.] Author: BinLover Went on a date with a girl. Lololol → [SlimeLube: Did you use slime?] → [CauldronBro:???] → [Love Fusion Mix Hands:???] → [Juxtaps:??] → [EfficiencyLord: Excuse me??] → [HomunculusTheBest: Sudden UFC?] → [ObsidianTier: Ouch.] → [✪Potions Are Easy: … Tempted to hit you with a ban.]"Hehe!" I giggled, rolling around in bed. Turning off the gallery, I let out a breath of relief and closed my eyes. Today was really fun. But, I should really get back to alchemy. I'm excited for tomorrow… Yawning, I tightly hugged my mouse plush and drifted off to dreamland.