“See, I told you it would be fun,” Taylor says, holding the door open for Sylvie.

Sylvie walks through the door and out of the fast-food restaurant. She smiles reluctantly, and says, “It was certainly interesting…”

Taylor takes a few quick steps to arrive near Sylvie. As they continue to walk, Taylor becomes more comfortable in the environment, with only the sounds of their footsteps and each other’s company. Taylor speaks up, “So what do you say? Can we do this again?”

Sylvie turns her head and smiles shyly. “And if we do? What are your intentions?” She asks with slight expectation.

“My intentions?” Taylor repeats, dumbfounded, before giving it some thought. “Me?” Taylor asks with a hint of self-mockery. “I just want to see where this goes,” he responds honestly.

Sylvie gives Taylor a blank stare before turning her gaze away. “I was hoping you’d want more than that,” Sylvie says with slight disappointment.

Taylor reaches out a hand, wanting to say something before stopping, unsure of what to do. They continue to walk, the sound of their footsteps and each other’s company taking an awkward turn.

Sylvie suddenly stops and turns to Taylor. “You don’t have to walk me home,” she says with her head down.

“No, no; I want to,” Taylor says, not wanting the night to end so quickly.

“It’s alright,” she says with a hint of bitterness. “I’ll be fine.”

A bit of frustration builds up within Taylor and he grabs hold of Sylvie’s hand. “No,” he says firmly. “I’m walking you home,” Taylor says, looking at Sylvie. “Otherwise, how would I get a goodnight kiss?” He says with a smile.

Sylvie lets out a light laugh, but before she could respond the pair had been approached by three people dressed in jean jackets, with their heads covered by different colored bandanas.

Taylor looks to the group that approached them and sensing trouble, he stood in front of Sylvie. Taylor immediately wanted to run, but it didn’t look like this would end that simply.

“Oy, kid. This is a robbery. You should know what to do,” One of the men says, taking a step closer to Taylor.

“Alright; relax,” Taylor says trying to sound calm. “I only have five dollars, but you can have it,” Taylor says, reaching for his wallet.

Suddenly, the man quickly gave Taylor a backhanded slap to the face. “Bitch, no one wants your five dollars. But we’re going to kick your ass in front of your girlfriend for wasting our time; broke-ass bitch,” The man says before going in for a punch.

Instinctively, Taylor reached out with his hand and caught his fist. He looks to the man in surprise before thinking, that’s right, I’ve been cultivating lately. Taylor gains a momentary boost of confidence and thinks, I’m stronger and faster than I was a week ago; I might be able to–

Before Taylor could make a move, another one of the men steps forward and punches Taylor in the face, knocking him down to the ground. Then the other man took a step forward to kick Taylor while he was on the ground.

Sylvie watched this and took a step back, covering her mouth in shock. She wanted to do something but fearful, she didn’t want to do anything drastic.

After a few more kicks, one of the men stands up and says, “Come on; let’s go before we cause a scene.”

One of the men spits before running away, followed by his friends.

Taylor let out a few groans before forcing himself to stand up. Fuck, he thinks, feeling anxious and frustrated. I forgot that I don’t know how to fight, he thinks to himself. He looks to Sylvie and gives her a bitter smile; best first date ever, he thinks with shame.

Sylvie looks at Taylor, not knowing what to say, still unable to process what happened.

Taylor tries to pat the dust from his clothes and looks back to Sylvie. Taylor smiles, trying to look somewhat brave, before saying nonchalantly, “What’s wrong with five dollars? I’d get my ass kicked for five dollars.”

Sylvie once again looks to Taylor blankly, and suddenly, unable to control herself, she laughs out loud.