[Automatic] (An Aarmau AU)

"Here ya go", I said, handing the small child her portscreen.

"Oh thank you Miss!", she cried. "My ma would've killed me if she found out I broke it. How much do I need to pay you?"

I leaned over the counter, and looked down at the child. Her clothes were nothing extreme, and she was skinnier than most children. I knew the signs of not having enough money, and not to mention her portscreen was a very old model.

"Give me the biggest smile you got", I told her. She looked confused for a moment, but then gave me a huge toothy grin.

I heard the shop door open, but didn't bother to look up. "That smile is worth a million dollars", I told the girl. "Now go find your mom, and be more careful next time"

She quickly nodded her head, with the touchscreen held tightly against her chest. "Oh course Miss, and thank you so much".

She ran out of my shop, and I couldn't help but smile. "Do you normally fix things for free?", a familiar voice asked. I looked up and saw Aaron approaching my desk. He was dressed as usually, a dark hoodie covering his face, and he had a sly smirk on his lips.

"Well", I replied, as he came closer. "It wasn't really broke at all, all it needed a good restart"

He laughed and I couldn't help but smile. "Well, that was really nice of you"

I looked down at my feet, a light blush rising in my cheeks. "It was nothing", I denied. "So anyway, I didn't expect you to show up here. Did you break something else?"

"Sadly no", he laughed. "Just wanted to pop in and say hi. Katelyn told me you went back to work, so I wanted to see how you were doing"

He reached into his pocket, and pulled something out. "Kawaii~Chan also asked if I would give this to you. It's one of the new recipes for the party, and she wanted you to try it"

I pulled the glove off my good hand, and accepted the small white bundle. I remembered how good Kawaii~Chan's cake had been, so I was quite excited to see what she had come up with.

"It's a cupcake", Aaron explain, as I peeled off the paper. "A new recipe our chefs invented for the party. It's really just a cake, but smaller"

I nodded my head, and carefully picked it up. The cupcake had a pink layer of frosting on the top, and a vanilla base. It honestly looked really good, and I carefully took a bite. Aaron was right, it tasted just like cake.

"Mmm", I gasped. "That's really amazing! Tell Kawaii~Chan she really overdid herself with this one"

"Will do", Aaron replied, while watching me devour the rest of the cupcake.

I finished it very quickly, and looked back up at Aaron. "So these will be at the party?", I asked, licking my fingers.

"Of course", Aaron laughed. "So I really hope you're set on coming, you wouldn't want to miss out on more of these"

I laughed. "I would never refuse free food", I told him. "And besides, I can't back down now, Kawaii~Chan forced Katelyn and I dress shopping"

"Katelyn's wearing a dress?", Aaron asked in disbelief. "I won't believe it, till I see it with my own eyes"

I started laughing, and Aaron quickly joined in. "So Aphmau", he asked when we had started to calm down. "What time do you close"

"Hmm?", I asked confused. "Why?"

"I was wondering if you wanted to do something later, like explore around town or something"

I froze, unsure what to say. Was he asking me on a date?

"I'll be free around five", I somehow managed to tell him.

He smiled that adorable grin, and I instantly blushed. "Perfect, should I pick you up here, or at your house?"

I looked down a my work clothes. "House", I told him. "I don't want to walk around town looking like I just raided the scrap yard"

"Hey, I'm sure you would look stunning in anything"

His comments weren't helping my blushing problems, and I was 99% sure I was about to overheat. I could tell I looked like a ripe tomato, but Aaron didn't mention anything.

"I-I'll see you then", I stuttered.

Aaron smiled, and turned to leave. I watched him as he left the store, and blended back in with all the people in the plaza.

I ran into one of my work rooms, and turned on the sink. I splashed some cool water on my face, and stared at myself in the broken mirror that hung on my wall. My face was bright red, and I had bits of frosting all over my face.

I'm a mess.

Xx

I ended up closing the store early, so I could get ready.

I still wasn't sure if this was a date or not, so I just decided to dress casual. If this was going to be anything like the last time we hung out, I wasn't going to want to wear anything to proper.

I chose a light purple sweater, leggings, and boots. It wasn't to crazy, but it also didn't look lazy.

I may be a mechanic, but I still know the in's and out's of fashion. Although you wouldn't think that, considering I usually only wear grease stained shirts, and cargo pants.

I didn't really want to wear gloves, so I just bandaged up my hand again. It wasn't pretty, but I didn't really have any other option. I hoped I could one day tell Aaron about it, but I still so scared. I just wasn't ready to lose him yet.

I grabbed a brush off my dresser, and started combing through my hair. It really had gotten longer in these past few weeks. Now it reached a little past my shoulders, and I probably could've braided it if I wanted to.

To bad I didn't know how to braid.

I ran into my bathroom, and checked to make sure my hair and outfit looked good. It was strange really, before all this I had hardly cared about my appearance. Now I was fussing over it and actually putting forth an effort.

These past few weeks had changed me, and that wasn't necessarily a bad thing. I was really liking this new me, I felt more confident and happier than before.

I was knocked out of my thoughts by a knocking at my door. I looked in the mirror one more time before running to answer the door.

I pulled it open and Aaron was waiting patiently, a bouquet of flowers in his hand.

"Hey", he greeted. "You look beautiful"

I blushed, and looked down. "It's just a sweater", I giggled. "But I guess it is a little nicer than cargo pants"

He smiled and I looked up. "These are for you", He said, handing me the bouquet. "Most of the castle flowers are dying, thanks to the weather, so I thought I'd bring you some before they're all gone"

I looked the flowers, and I could feel butterflies in my stomach. "They're beautiful", I beamed. "And they smell amazing"

"I thought you'd like them"

"Wait here", I told Aaron, and I ran off to get a vase.

I ended up just filling a cup with water, and I set them on my dresser. "Now they'll live just a bit longer", I said, walking back over to Aaron.

"Yes they will", Aaron smiled. "Now should we get going, I want to show you something"

I nodded, and we walked out the door.

Guess who's writing this in school!

It's me. I'm a rebel.

Really though, I hope you enjoyed this part, and I hope to see you in the next one!

But until then, bah bye!

-Lizzy C.