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Zero didn’t exactly consider themself… Lovable. They were a lot of things; embarrassing, emotional, a screw-up. They’d never thought of themself as likable.
So when they marched up to Fifteen’s door with a box of chocolates, they weren’t expecting her to actually agree to a date. This was more about closure. If they admitted their feelings for her, they could finally move on. She’d reject them and that would be the end of it. No more longing, no more embarrassment. It could all be over.
But then she said yes.
She paused for a second before grinning at them. “Alright, sure. I’ll go on your little ‘date.’” They said, accepting the box of chocolates. “But I’m not leaving this cabin! You can come back later and I’ll get something set up for us.”
Zero just nodded, eyes widened in shock. Fifteen shut the door, and he was left wondering if he’d imagined the whole interaction.
Eventually it sunk in. This was actually happening. They were actually hanging out with Fifteen. Today.
And that’s when it clicked. He needed to go get ready!
First, they cleaned themself up. Took a shower, brushed their teeth at least fifteen times, put some lotion on. Everything they could do to make themself appear more put together.
Then, he had to make himself look stylish! They tried on a couple of accessories before eventually settling on their trusty hat.
He thought it would take longer to get ready, but it had only taken about an hour. Still, they didn’t wanna pace around their room for the rest of the day, so they decided to go get her some flowers.
“Hey Zero!” One of the other Zeros greeted him, sipping their coffee. “What’re you all dressed up for?”
He paused. He couldn’t tell the other Zeros about this date, he knew he couldn’t. They’d never believe him.
“Uh- I’m… Going to go buy a new video game?” They lied.
The other Zero stared at them skeptically, but luckily they were able to get away.
Zero loved his clones/siblings, but they weren’t always the nicest so he had to hide a lot of things from them. For all he knew, Fifteen might’ve been plotting to kill him or something! Why would she agree to a date with someone like them? It just didn’t make sense.
They breathed, trying to calm their spiraling thoughts. They just needed to get her some flowers and try their best to impress her. Couldn’t be too hard, right?
Fifteen wasn’t as nervous, but she also had some getting ready to do. They didn’t allow people to come into their cabin often, so it was a tad bit messy.
She wasn’t planning on hurting or being mean to that little Zero. In fact, she thought it was cute that they wanted to go on a date. Plus, they must’ve been pretty brave. He’d strolled up to their door and asked them out like it was nothing!
So, they decided to indulge him. Make him some dinner, maybe watch a movie, and murder him if he tried to pull anything funny.
The chocolates also persuaded her to say yes. She didn’t like going to the store, so it had been quite a while since she’d had any sweet treats. She probably would’ve said no if he didn’t bring the chocolate.
Anyways, she tidied up a bit and then started making dinner. Their food supply was pretty limited, so they decided to cook some fish.
As they sat there preparing the food, they found themself looking forward to their date. Maybe it would be fun.
Zero had arrived back at the cabin, a bouquet of hand-picked flowers in hand. They took a deep breath before knocking on the door, trying to hide how anxious they were.
Fifteen opened the door, looking exactly the same as she had that morning. The sun was almost setting in the distance, its orange rays coating her face. She looked gorgeous.
“Uh- Hi!” Zero held out the bouquet of flowers. Fifteen raised an eyebrow at him.
“Are those for me?” Zero nodded quickly. Surprisingly, Fifteen took the flowers and allowed him inside. She hated flowers, but the thought was nice at least.
Fifteen’s cabin was cozy and warm. Maybe the warmth was from her strangely calm presence, or maybe it was from the insane amount of firearms displayed across her walls and shelves.
Zero fidgeted with their thumbs as they observed the new environment. “I made dinner, if you want any.” Fifteen offered. They were surprisingly nice.
In a sense, Zero and Fifteen were both outcasts. Fifteen preferred to be alone, often coming off as rude or brash to the other numbers. And Zero… Well, he was a Zero. The other numbers tended to overlook him, often making fun of him and his clones.
They couldn’t even fit in among the other Zeros. They all thought of them as awkward, weird, and just generally dislikable.
Maybe that was why Fifteen didn’t immediately yell at him to go away. Maybe she understood what he’d been through.
Or maybe she was just leading him on so she could kill him with a flamethrower. It was a bit hard to tell her motives.
Despite their uncertainty, Zero sat down next to her and started eating. The food was a bit bland, as Fifteen lacked a lot of ingredients. It wasn’t terrible though. “Y-You’re a pretty good cook!” Zero complimented, voice wobbling a bit. God, he was nervous.
“Well thank you.” She noticed their anxiousness. It was kind of cute that they were trying to impress her though, so she didn’t say anything about it.
“So… What do you do for fun?” Zero asked, trying to make small talk. Fifteen would’ve preferred the quiet, they were never much of a talker, but they answered his question anyways.
“I like building. And fishing, and foraging.”
Fifteen had embraced their isolationist lifestyle a long time ago. When she was younger, it was hard for her to do anything properly. She was scared, very scared.
Just the thought of leaving the house would make them start shivering with fear. They hated going outside, they hated talking to other people.
Even now, even if they wouldn’t admit it, a bit of that fear remained. Even earlier, when Zero had knocked on their door, their hand shook as they twisted the knob.
That’s why she lived all by herself. It could be lonely at times, and a bit paranoia inducing, but it was much better than the life she’d left behind.
They’d learned to enjoy their daily menial tasks. Going fishing at the nearby lake, making repairs and adjustments to their cabin, foraging for food.
“What about you? Do you have any hobbies?” She returned their question. She didn’t want to talk anymore, but she could stand to hear his voice a bit more.
“Oh, u-uh…” He stammered a bit. “I like videos games.” They said, before realizing that was literally the most boring and basic thing imaginable. “And I like singing, on occasion.” That was also kind of an awful example, he sucked at singing!
Fifteen just hummed in response. She was eating pretty fast, so Zero tried to scarf his food down as quickly as possible. It would be embarrassing if he couldn’t finish his food on time! Plus he hadn’t eaten all day, so he needed it.
They finished their food pretty quickly, and Zero wondered what would happen next. He’d only been there for about half an hour, so it would be a pretty short date if he left so soon…
“Hey, come here.” Fifteen said, leading him to a door at the back of the cabin. He followed silently, curious and bit scared to see where she’d lead him.
The door led to her back porch, with a nice view of the lake and forest behind her cabin. The sun had fully set, and the stars had made their way into the sky. It was gorgeous.
Fifteen sat on her porch swing (because of course she had a porch swing) and Zero sat next to her.
They watched the stars together. Fifteen sat out here quite a lot, as it helped her calm down. Going outside could be scary, but when she was here, she could be outside without feeling afraid. It was nice.
“The stars look nice tonight.”
“Mhm.” Fifteen nodded. She turned towards Zero, who looked a bit less nervous now. “Why did you ask me out?” She asked, her curiosity getting the better of her.
Zero paused, fidgeting as they tried to phrase their answer properly. “I think you’re really cool, and I wanted to get to know you better.”
Fifteen looked back to the sky. She wasn’t used to receiving compliments. She didn’t mind when the other numbers spread lies or rumors about her, she wasn’t usually affected by other people’s words. Still, it felt nice to be appreciated by somebody.
“Why did you agree to go on this date with me anyways?”
Fifteen smiled at them. “Because I wanted to.”
Zero felt their heart swell and their face get warmer. This was probably the best day of their life. They’d somehow landed a date with the most handsome number in town and didn’t screw everything up immediately? It was a miracle.
He leaned slightly against Fifteen, and she didn’t pull away. His heart pounded as they watched the stars go by, swinging back and forth.
Fifteen noticed him yawning. “You getting tired?” Zero nodded, their eyes drooping a bit. They’d definitely stayed up past their bedtime.
“I’m a bit tired too. You should get going.”
He nodded, standing up and dusting himself off. “Thanks Fifteen. I had fun today!” They smiled, a nice genuine smile.
She nodded as they began to walk away, but they glanced back at her one more time.
“…Would you wanna do this again sometime?” He asked, his voice faltering slightly.
Fifteen thought back to the events of that day. She didn’t want to get too vulnerable, but she’d also had a lot of fun. Maybe this wouldn’t be a bad thing. Maybe dating Zero could be nice.
“We’ll see.” She settled on saying. When she fell asleep that night, her dreams were filled with one hat-wearing number in particular.