NOTE: The above gif was animated by the youtuber @spacebea !!

A beat or two of silence passed between them before Bibi peeked up and noticed that they'd made it to Bull's Diner. She gently nudged Sandy in the arm.

"We're here." She mumbled. Sandy nodded, forcing a smile. He looked troubled, though.

As they walked into the diner, they noticed it was bustling with activity. Bull stomped around the checkered-tiled floor, shoving drinks in other brawler's hands. Lou stood on a stage in the corner of the diner, wearing a tux as he sang "Fly me to the Moon." Shelly, Colt, and Spike sat on a table playing cards, a crowd of other brawlers watching them in interest. Bibi could tell that they were deep in thought. Emz was taking a selfie with Poco and 8-Bit in the corner of the shop, whilst Bea and Rosa sat on the barstools, passionately exchanging notes about their upcoming research.

Bull caught sight of Sandy and Bibi after he'd handed Colt a drink, and his mouth dropped open. He nudged Crow, who was watching the trio play cards. Crow turned around and his eyes widened. Bull set the drinks down on the bar and rushed over to them as Crow stared at them from the back of the room. His gaze was fixated on Sandy, whom he glared at.

"Hey, Bibi." Bull paused, a bit bewildered, his gaze shifting to Sandy. "And Sandy. Would you like me to get you both a table?"

A bead of sweat ran down Sandy's forehead and he shivered as Crow's eyes bore into his back. He slowly scooted behind Bibi so that he was out of view. Bibi noticed this, and shot Crow a glare. She turned to Bull, "The one next to the Mr. Bat LED light, please."

"Alright." He led them to the table and handed them their menus. As Sandy sat down next to Bibi, he brought his chair close to hers. Bibi didn't seem to notice. She brought her menu up and scrolled the options.

Sandy, on the other hand, stole nervous glances at her from behind his menu. He bit his lip and shuffled in his seat.

"Hey . . . I'm sorry about what I said earlier. It was too personal." Sandy said hesitantly, finally looking up from his menu. It covered his entire face below his eyes, somewhat concealing his blush.

Bibi blinked twice, caught off-guard. She didn't immediately notice that he was apologizing for his compliment about admiring her devotion to her friends. She shook her head incredulously and let out a small laugh. Was he really apologizing for a compliment?

"It's okay, Sandy. No harm done." She sighed, patting his head. It was really soft, so soft that she had to refrain from keeping her hand on it. It didn't help that when she patted him, Sandy subtly leaned into the touch, as if he were a cat. Bibi could've sworn that she'd heard him purr, too.

How would she be able to kidnap Sandy if he was like this? It didn't sit well with her, and replaced the fluttering in her stomach with a deep, hollow feeling. He'd been nothing but kind to her. But how else would she undo the spell he'd cast upon her? Bibi gritted her teeth.

Sandy snapped her out of her reverie as he let out a breath of relief. "Phew! That's good." He smiled, for real this time, and slowly added. "I thought that I offended you."

Bibi was quiet for a moment. "Sandy, what do you think of me?"

Sandy's eyes widened, and then immediately narrowed his eyebrows in thought. He set down his menu and rubbed his chin. "Huuuummmmm . . . Well, you're pretty intimidating." Bibi's head fell downward as if she'd been hit by an anvil, her expression grim.

"Is that it?" She croaked.

Sandy waved his hands, noticing her quick, crestfallen expression, "No, no, no." Bibi gazed up at him hopefully, "You're really cool, too. And strong. And cute." Sandy's eyes bashfully avoided hers, "It's nice being around you, because you're so brave and confident. In a way, I wish I were like you." He gave her a smile that was so genuine and unassuming that it took everything in Bibi's heart to not hug him, right then and there. Something was stirring inside her, an odd feeling, and she didn't know whether or not she liked it.

Her trail of thought was interrupted by the harsh grating of Sandy's chair. She watched him abruptly stand up. "I'm going to use the bathroom," Sandy mumbled quickly. His gaze lingered on hers for only a few seconds, although it felt like an hour before he walked away.

Bibi fell back into her chair the moment Sandy had gone out of earshot. Her hands slightly shook, and she felt like she was thrown off. Why was Sandy so nice to her? There had to be some twist. Some strings attached. No one would go out of their way to show such kindness, just because they felt like it. Bibi groaned and put a hand to her forehead. For too long had she strained over the question of whether or not Sandy had cast a spell on her. Now a new question arose: What were his true feelings towards her?