Light in the Universe: Part I (COMPLETE)

Chapter XXIII: Good Will To Goodwill

Robert has been working for two weeks at Funland to save up money for the date. He actually had to consider a bunch of variables, such as what she was going to order, where they were going, etc. Then he realized something that he couldn't afford: clothes. He has been wearing the exact same clothes for four months straight, (Don't worry, he washed his clothes regularly.) and it showed. His clothes were so stretched so thin every small tear stuck out like a sore thumb. The more he thought about it, the less comfortable it got. Robert sent a text to Lapis and braced himself. He waited for her to get upset, break up with him, and leave him in a deep, crippling depression. Twelve seconds later, she sent back a text:

Meet me at Goodwill ASAP!!!

Meanwhile, she and Michael waited for him. "Why did you want me here?" he asked. "Because you know him better than anybody, and I was hoping you could give me some help. "Lapis explained. Michael thought for a moment, then he remembered what happened when he was in middle school. "I'm only going to tell you two things-one, he doesn't care what's in his wardrobe, as long as it isn't girly or babyish." He explained. Michael paused for a moment. "And the other?" Lapis asked. "Just...don't hurt my brother," Michael said as he put a hand on her shoulder. Lapis looked confused.

"You're...not the first girl my brother fell for. In fact, it was almost like a cycle. A girl would show the slightest interest in him, he would swear himself to pleasing her, and then a week later, he would come home with a broken heart." Michael explained. "That's terrible!" she said. "Yeah, that's not the worst part." Michael said. "He would go into our basement, get the jump rope we keep for some arbitrary reason, and tie a noose to try to hang himself." Michael explained.

Robert eventually made it. He smiled to see his brother and Lapis standing in front of the door. Michael left and Robert and Lapis entered Goodwill. Robert chose some outfits that he liked and tried them on, while Lapis gave her thoughts on how he looked in them. Robert did the math on how much he was spending, and it turns out that he had twice the cost in his wallet. "How about you try some clothes on?" Robert asked. Lapis blushed "I-I don't need any..."she stammered. Robert picked up a little fuchsia sweatshirt that looked about her size and had a shooting star on the front. "You'll look adorable, I promise." Robert assured her. She took the sweatshirt and went into the changing room. She later came out with the sweatshirt on. It looked better than how Robert imagined it.

Afterward, they just looked around for clothes for each other to wear. (MINI ART CHALLENGE 2: DRAW ROBERT AND/OR LAPIS IN CLOTHES YOU WOULD FIND AT GOODWILL!) Robert did the math, and found that he had enough for seven summer outfits and seven winter outfits for both of them, as well as a cheap pair of shoes and two pairs of winter boots, and he would still have enough left over for a gift for Lapis and Michael. Robert managed to sneak off and find some items he could give them. Sure enough, he found four of the original four Pokémon Generation 1 starter plushes for himself, Steven, Lapis, and Michael. Lapis waited for Robert to buy the things and looked rather annoyed. "Where were you?" she asked. Robert reached into the bag and gave her the Squirtle plush, and she blushed. "I know you can't stay mad at me, Lapis." He said proudly. "What else is in there?" she asked. "The other three starters." Robert explained.

They went to the house and looked for Steven and Michael, both of which were playing Minecraft on Steven's Nintendo Switch on a flat-screen TV. (They replaced Steven's old CRT.) They kept looking for every opportunity to troll one another. Steven and Michael were hit in the face with Pikachu and Bulbasaur respectively, leaving Steven to be blown up by a malicious TNT trap Michael made. Robert gave Lapis her bag of clothes. "I love you" he whispered as she walked away. Lapis stopped in her tracks and turned around. Robert walked closer and planted a kiss on her cheek. Lapis did the same to Robert, and they blushed. "Next time, we'll have a real date, I promise!" Robert whispered. "I'll hold you to it!" she told him.

Robert noticed it was really late, so he went to his sleeping bag (Steven had spares for him and Michael) with a Charmander plush in his arms, and he slept peacefully that night.

To be continued...

Question of the chapter: Do you think Robert and Lapis make a cute couple? Why or why not? Also, do you think ConMike (Connie X Michael) should exist here? Why or why not?