After walking around the mall and browsing stores Jaxon noticed weren't really for Chris for at least an hour, the two reached the second escalator to take them to the next level - the third level.

Jaxon suggested the two go to the small café at the bottom of the escalator for a small hot chocolate and muffin. Shannon was eagerly pleased with the idea.

"Which muffin do you want?" Jaxon asked Shannon as she pressed her face childishly against the glass cabinet holding several muffins of different flavours.

"The Cinnamon scroll one." She drooled as she pointed to the small dusted muffin in the cabinet.

Jaxon turned to the old lady at the counter. "I'll get one cinnamon scroll muffin and a chocolate one, and also two small hot chocolates, thanks." He ordered as he pulled his wallet out of his pocket. At this point Jaxon was glad he worked with his cousin Jun Woo at the mill, because even though the work was hard and tedious, having money like this to spend on his new girlfriend made him feel like the ultimate boyfriend.

And he had gained some incredible muscles, too.

Not that that mattered too much...

The woman at the counter smiled sweetly at him.

"Are you two lovebirds doing some Christmas buyin'?"

"Yeah," Jaxon replied coyly, "It's our first official date."

'How sweet."

It was then that Jaxon noticed her face slowly shift from admiration to concern. Before he had a chance to ask about it, the woman was already hurrying back into the kitchen.

Jaxon sat beside Shannon at the table she had chosen, his mind annoyingly remembering the details on the woman's face.

"What's the time?"

Jaxon shook himself out of his pondering as he pulled his sleeve back. "9."

"We should really be getting back." He added, just as the woman from the counter came scurrying over with the muffins in hand.

"Here you are!" She cried aloud as she placed the muffins in front of them. Shannon thanked the woman and she insisted it was nothing. In an abrupt moment, however, her eyes met Jaxon's and they glistened with the same concern he had seen before.

He wasn't one for gut feelings, but he certainly felt a little weirded out now.

Trying to brush it off, he focused his mind on the chocolate muffin in front of him. It was warm and steamy and looked absolutely delicious to his hungry eyes.

"We still haven't gotten Chris a present." Shannon mumbled, shoving a large piece of her muffin into her mouth.

Jaxon shrugged. "I said get him a nerf gun, we could have been out of here by now."

He was sent a glare from the girl. "We already established that it would be a terrible present. Let's just look around some more. I'm sure we'll find something for him."

"We should probably it hurry up a little." Jaxon murmured mindlessly, the feeling growing ever more annoying in the bottom of his stomach.

Shannon was confused by his statement, assuming it meant he didn't want to be there with her any longer. It hurt, but she assured herself she was wrong. Surely he was just cold or something.

The muffin eating continued in silence and when it ended, Jaxon was the one to retrieve the plates and place them on the counter. He assumed the woman was in the kitchen and so rung the bell for her convenience.

Jaxon spared a short glance to the counter when he and Shannon left the café. The woman still hadn't come out from the kitchen. Jaxon had expected that she would come scurrying out to bid them goodbye but assumed she was busy cleaning.

Tossing his gut feeling to the wind and bringing back his bright smile, he prepared to go on yet another long shopping spree for Chris's gift.

He hoped they would find it soon.

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