Irrational Fear

"I can do this, I can do this..." A young man known as Shawn gave himself a quick pep-talk as the elevator carried him to the upper floors of the apartment building. He fumbled with a small box in his hands as the elevator slowed to a halt. Stepping out, he made his way down the long hallway. The piercing silence of the hall made Shawn's skin crawl and made sure to make his pace just a little more brisk.

Of course it was quiet in the building, Shawn had been stuck at work for another late shift and only got off at a time when most people would be asleep. Shawn didn't exactly want to take the late shift, but got roped into it at the last minute. Under his breath, he cursed at nothing in particular. It's just that if Jasmine had already gone to bed, his plans would essentially be ruined. I hope she's still awake.

Ever since Shawn's victory at Pahkitew Island, the two used his winnings to work on both of their goals. Jasmine was able to open her own flower shop, with Shawn building his zombie apocalypse bunker right beneath the shop. The cage fighting school was still a work in progress, though. Selling flowers and giving lessons in cage fighting was sort of a niche business combination, to say the least.

Their relationship had also grown a lot since Pahkitew. They were already dating by the end of the competition and made sure to preserve their bond well after the competition. After a couple of years of dating, they used some of Shawn's leftover winnings to rent an apartment and move in with each other. Yeah, the bunker was nice, but you couldn't really get a nice view of the city while underground. Jasmine brought in a decent amount of profit from her flower shop, but it didn't feel right to Shawn to have Jasmine be the only one with some income, so he got another job at a bakery. Only this time, he was in charge of stocking sweets and packaging pastries for customers instead of decorating cakes.

Finding the right key, Shawn opened the door to the apartment and peaked his head into the main room. The TV was on with the volume low with some light coming from the kitchenette. "Jas...?"

"Shawn! There ya are!" Shawn jumped at the voice of his girlfriend. He somehow didn't see her in the dimly lit room. "Get caught up at the bakery again?"

Shawn rubbed the back of his head as a small blush crept onto his cheeks. "Yeah...sorry about that, Jas. My boss made me stay to restock the cakes and cannoli before closing up. Don't know why it couldn't wait 'til morning, but..."

Jasmine laughed. "Shawn, it's fine. I totally get it. The best thing is to just not make the boss-man mad."

"S-Sure, but I-uh, I really wanted to get back sooner." Shawn's eyelids drooped before he brightened back up. "But since we couldn't have dinner together, I was thinking that maybe we could have a little bit of dessert together." The young man then opened the small box he had been holding, revealing two cannoli inside. "I snagged these bad boys before heading out."

"Aw, Shawn, that's so sweet..." Jasmine couldn't help but smile at her boyfriend's proposition. However, her smile somewhat faltered when a different thought came to her. "Wait-"

"Yes, I paid for 'em! I left enough money for both in the register." The zombie conspiracy nut crossed his arms best he could while holding the treats. "I ain't no thief!"

Jasmine patted his shoulder, laughing once again. "Easy there, tiger. I know you aren't the type to steal anything." The Aussie clapped once. "Awright! Let's dig in, eh?"

Shawn's smile returned along with his blush. The couple then sat in their modest kitchenette only about three paces away from the main room. "These ones are pretty popular with our customers..." Shawn mentioned as they both ate. After several minutes of small-talk in between bites, the cannoli were gone and the couple was all caught up. Well, almost all caught up.