There were quite a few things Pete Handler knew for a fact would never happen to him. The ability to teleport being one. Becoming a famous singer being another. Walking on the moon or even not getting a headache when he spoke with Mark for more than five minutes were impossible dreams.  

But the most impossible of all, was about to happen. Going on a date with Lavender Sky. 

He couldn't blame anyone but himself for being in the predicament he was in now. 

He was in Lavender Sky's neighbourhood. She lived in an area that moderately wealthy people did but not wealthy enough for someone of her status. Definitely, however, an area way above Pete's paygrade.

He stopped in front of one of the luxury cars parked in Lavender's neighbourhood, to fix his stiff hair for the nth time. He was dressed as smartly as he could be without being too formal. He had on a pair of dark blue slacks and a light blue button up shirt paired with dark brown shoes as well as a dark brown belt. In his car parked five minutes away, he had a tie and a blazer that matched his pants. 

He didn't know where he and Lavender were going. All Mark had told him was that she requested they go for a brunch and show. 

Pete forced himself to not think of his cousin or else he'd call Mark just to curse him out. Pete was working on his own inner peace.

Taking his mind off his cousin, Pete thought of Lavender Sky again and his heart rate began to speed up. 

"Calm down, man," Pete said to himself. If he got too nervous, he would sweat through his shirt and then Lavender Sky would notice and either laugh at him or be disgusted by him. 

Looking down at the bouquet of dried lavenders in his hand, Pete carefully brought them to his nose and gently inhaled them. Maybe they could help calm him down. 

"Do you need a moment?" someone said from behind him. 

He quickly turned around to the voice only for his jaw to drop when he came face to face with Lavender Sky. 

She smiled at him and waved. 

He waved back with the hand holding the bouquet. 

He quickly dropped his hand to his side. 

Taking a discreet deep breath, Pete forced his shoulders to relax. He forced his heart rate to slow down. 

He had to be alert and present. This wasn't a real date. He wasn't really dating Lavender Sky. This was a job. He'd been trusted to protect her and the fact that she had snuck up behind him and scared him, was already bad enough. He could put his feelings aside and be professional. 

He couldn't fail her. 

"Good afternoon," he said, greeting her verbally. 

"Hi," she giggled. Her eyes fell to his hand holding the flowers. 

"These are for you," he said, offering her the flowers.

Somehow, Lavender smiled wider and graciously took the flowers. 

"You know," she said cradling them, "no one has ever given me lavenders before."

Pete blinked in confusion. "That can't be right."

"I'm serious," she laughed. She stood up on her tippy toes to get closer to Pete. "Thank you," she said.

Pete cleared his throat. "You're welcome." He debated whether or not he should really say what was on his mind and decided to just go for it. "I'm honoured to be the first one to give you lavenders." 

Lavender winked at him and he resisted the urge to blush. 

"Shall we get going?" Pete asked. 

Lavender nodded, the twinkle in her eyes never fading. "Yes, we shall."

Pete didn't know how he was going to convince anyone that he was dating Lavender. She was way out of his league and he knew he looked stiff and awkward around her bubbly self.

"Did you give Richard his sand art?" Lavender asked out of nowhere.

"Yes," Pete said, nodding. "He was happy and grateful."

Lavender only nodded, a small smile on her face. 

Pete wanted to say something to keep the conversation going, but he couldn't think of anything. 

Taking the time to really look at Lavender - through the corner of his eyes of course- she was in simple clothes. She wore a loose black long sleeved shirt and green cargo pants. She had a small black crossbody bag and her hair was in box braids.

"Am I overdressed?" Pete asked abruptly. 

Lavender looked at him from head to toe and nodded. "Yes, but you look very handsome," she assured him. 

"I'm sorry," Pete apologized. "I was told we were going to brunch and a show." 

"Oh, we are," Lavender said. There was an extra bounce in her step. "I'm going to give you an experience you're never going to forget." Pete must've made a face at that because Lavender threw her head back and laughed. Her laugh was boisterous and beautiful. 

This whole idea of dating was from Lavender's agency and Mark. They thought if they were seen together in public multiple times, going on dates and acting lovey dovey, they could protect Lavender from whoever it was that was trying to harm her. If the stalker thought Pete was Lavender's boyfriend, they would try to harm him and that would be when Pete would catch the stalker. 

At first, Pete thought it was a stupid idea no one would believe, until he was informed that two of Lavender's closest friends had been harmed. One was still in hospital. 

"Here's my car," Pete said when they'd finally reached his parked car. The majority of their walk to the car had been in silence but Lavender kept happily looking at the bouquet in her arms, so Pete was content with the silence. 

Pete opened the door for Lavender and waited until she was fully in her seat with her seatbelt on before he closed the door. 

Going around to the driver's side of the car, Pete looked around the area to check if anyone was watching them or if any cars were lying in wait to follow them. 

"Do you know Inopa Mall?" Lavender asked. When Pete nodded, she continued. "We need to go there. We have a bus to catch." 

Pete frowned at the mention of the mall. Inopa Mall was less of a mall and more of an abandoned building where people decided to buy and sell stuff. Pete wasn't even sure if the building was up to code. The mall was also in a low income area. Most people avoided the area. Not because of violence but because there was nothing there worth doing or seeing.

"I can just drive us where you want to go," Pete suggested, starting the car. 

"But that would ruin the fun," Lavender teased. 

The drive was about an hour away and Pete worried about what to say to fill up the time. He didn't want Lavender to think he was boring. 

"Do you have a crush on me?" Lavender asked out of the blue. 

Pete would credit his professionalism for being the reason he didn't lose control of the car. 

Pete swallowed. 

"Yes," he answered truthfully. "If that makes you uncomfortable, I can step down and have someone else replace me. The company is very good and we have trustworthy people." Pete began rambling. "I don't want to make you uncomfortable. I promise to be professional, but it is no issue at all to get someone else. I'm relatively new to the job but we have lots of veteran bodyguards who are young so they can -."

"I knew it!" Lavender clapped. 

"What?" Pete quickly glanced at her. 

"You weren't very good at hiding it. You're a bad actor." Lavender shrugged and looked out of the passenger side window. "I don't need you to be replaced. You're not going to take advantage of me, are you? she asked. She looked at him and arched her eyebrow. 

"Of course not," Pete responded, offended. He would never lay an unwanted finger on her or do anything that would hurt her.

"Then that's all I care about," Lavender smiled. 

"Do you want me to turn on the radio?" Pete asked, hand already reaching for the radio. 

Lavender shook her head. "I'd rather talk to you." 

Any man would think Lavender was flirting, but Pete knew better.

"I'm not that interesting," he awkwardly chuckled.

"Are you married or seeing someone?" Lavender asked bluntly, ignoring what Pete said.

"No," Pete answered. "Wasn't that a requirement from your agency," he asked her in return.

"Yeah, but it wouldn't be the first time someone lied to me to get what they wanted," Lavender answered, her voice low. "You have no idea."

Lavender Sky's face had dimmed and Pete didn't like it. Whatever was going through her head was bothering her. 

"I'm a tough man to please," Pete declared, quickly looking over at Lavender. "This date better blow me off my feet."

Lavender looked at him and grinned widely. Her face lit up once again, "Oh, it will."

****************************************************************************************************************

When Lavender had told him they were taking the bus, never did Pete think they were actually taking the 89 bus. The bus everyone avoided. 

When they had arrived at the mall, after parking the car and getting out, Lavender saw the bus approaching the bus stop and grabbed onto Pete's wrist and dragged him towards the bus stop. Following Lavender's lead, they ran across the parking lot as if the bus was the last one of the day. 

Once on the bus, Pete immediately wanted to get off. 

The bus driver and Lavender greeted each other by name and he asked her how she was this week, unfazed by seeing a celebrity...as if she did this regularly.

Pete had never been on the infamous 89 bus but he'd heard all about it. The 89 bus route only used buses that were dirty and old. The buses were feared and avoided by most people, but there were a select few who loved the bus. It seemed like Lavender was amongst the few, as were the three other people on the bus. One of them was fast asleep.

Lavender paid for the two of them, her hand still around Pete's wrist and the lavender bouquet still cradled in one of her arms. She refused to leave it in the car.

The floor of the bus was in need of a powerwash. The floor felt sandy under Pete's shoes. There was garbage littered on the floor and some parts of the floor were chipped.

Lavender led them to one of the seats at the back of the bus and took the window seat. She had finally let go of his wrist.

Pete stared at the seat and decided he was better off standing. 

The seat was discoloured, there were unidentifiable stains on it and the material was peeling. 

Lavender shot him a sharp look and Pete sat down without complaint. He would be sending Mark his dry cleaner's bill. It would fall under work related expenses. 

While Pete was trying to touch as little of the seat as possible, Lavender was practically bouncing up and down her seat with glee. 

The bus rattled and shook as it moved. The sound reminded Pete of a child banging on pots and pans. Pete could hear the screws unscrewing with every inch the bus moved. It felt as if the bus was being held together by duct tape and prayer. 

"I used to take this bus to school everyday," Lavender said, watching Pete. "My friends and I would go to the mall on the weekends using this bus as well. I have a lot of fond memories with this bus."

"You grew up around here?" Pete asked. Though she was a celebrity and he was one of her biggest fans, Pete didn't know much about Lavender Sky's personal life. He only knew what he deemed to be public knowledge. In his defense, Lavender was private. 

"Yeah, technically, I still live here but don't tell anyone that," she said, bumping shoulders with Pete. 

"I won't," he promised.  

"I know," Lavender said, looking straight into his eyes. 

After about a ten minute bus ride with Lavender pointing out all the places she used to go to, they finally got off the bus in front of a diner. 

"Ta-da," Lavender cheered, shaking the hand not holding the flowers at the diner. "Brunch."

Pete would rather get back on the bus. 

He wasn't sure if this place passed all of their inspections.

Slowly walking to the doors, Pete prayed there was a store nearby that sold digestive pills. Lavender, however, was happily skipping towards the doors. 

If this made Lavender happy, Pete could handle it.

There were only three beat up trucks in the parking lot, so Pete was surprised when he found the diner was packed with people. 

The interior of the diner was much neater than he expected. The floor was a cream colour and the tables were creamed colour as well. The chairs and booths were turquoise. 

On the walls, pictures of customers and some art were hung up. A passed inspection certificate was also hung up. 

"I'm in the mood for waffles today, they make the best ones," Lavender said. "Want some?"

"Sure," Pete agreed. Admittedly, the place wasn't so bad but still, it would be safer to not eat any of their meats. 

Lavender went up to the counter to place their order. 

No one paid them any mind as they found a booth to sit at. 

"Did you come here a lot too?" Pete asked as they waited for their food. 

"Yup," Lavender confirmed. "They even have pancakes after me." 

"No way," Pete said, sitting up straighter. 

"Lavender flavoured pancakes." 

"We should've gotten those," Pete said. "Should I go change our order?" 

Lavender Sky had told him that no one had given her lavender flowers before but she had a dish on the menu made for her. That was pretty incredible to Pete.

"We can get them next time," Lavender said, grinning at him. 

Pete's heart skipped a beat. 

"Next time."

**************************************************************************************

With the way the day was going, Pete wasn't expecting the show to be at The Four Seasons Centre. 

This time, knowing what to expect, he wasn't surprised when the theatre was literally across the street from the diner. What did surprise him was the theatre's lack of maintenance. 

The sign outside was missing some letters and the paint was chipping from the walls. Inside the theatre, the lights were flickering on and off and there was an odd smell in the air. Pete could see cobwebs hanging from the ceiling, and a cockroach on the wall.

There was no one in the booth but Lavender didn't seem to care. She handed Pete the bouquet for a moment to reach into her bag to take out two receipt papers. 

"I already got the tickets," she said, showing them to him. The tickets were the receipt papers.  She took back the flowers and gave Pete one of the receipts. He could barely make out the words printed on it.

"Let's go, it's about to start." 

Knowing exactly where she was going, Lavender opened a door that led to the small theatre hall. There wasn't an usher at the door to check their tickets.   

There were three people already seated in the theatre waiting for the show to start. 

Lavender led them to seats in the middle rows. Some of the chairs were broken and when Pete sat in his seat, the seat groaned in protest. 

As soon as they sat down, the lights dimmed and the curtains were opened. A man walked onto the stage and looked around the stage scratching his head. He suddenly dropped to his knees and yelled, "Where are my sunglasses!"

That was the play. 

It was about a man who thought he had lost his sunglasses but he had them in his back pocket the entire time. There were five cast members and the production took over an hour. 

"What did you think?" Lavender asked when the curtains were drawn after the cast did their bows. 

"That was so bad," Pete replied honestly.

Lavender laughed, startling the people in the theatre. "Yeah it was," she agreed. 

"Did you come here as well?" Pete asked.

Lavender nodded. "But I never acted here. One of my friends was a theatre kid and I always came to support her."

"Does that friend support you now?" Pete asked. 

Lavender stared at Pete for about five seconds before she smiled at him and shook her head. "No. No, she doesn't."

*************************************************************************************** 

"Did you have a good day?" Lavender asked as they were waiting for the bus.

Pete thought about the day they just had and nodded. Despite everything, he did have fun. He grinned at Lavender. "I did. I got to know you better. Thank you." He wasn't going to tell her how much he cherished his date with her. Nor was he going to tell her about the bus transfer and theatre ticket he'd neatly placed in his wallet as memento.

"I'm such a great date," she said, complimenting herself. "Told you it was going to be a day you'd never forget."

"I wouldn't go that far," Pete teased. 

"Oooo, look at you coming out of your shell," Lavender chuckled, lightly punching him on the shoulder.

"When I take you out, I will blow your socks off," Pete said. 

Lavender's smile was radiating. "I'll look forward to it."