Author’s Note: I’m not sure if I want to continue this one because I don’t really like how it turned out. But, if you want me to finish it, e-mail me at PixieQwest@aol.com and tell me to get off my bitmap and do it. Also if you have any questions or comments don’t hesitant to send them. Thanx and enjoy! ;~)

Summary: A night that was suppose to be Bob and Dot's first date goes wrong.

By PixieQwest

Dot was sitting on the couch waiting for Bob, in a shimmering navy blue dress. They had planned to go out but there was trouble at the Principal Office and he had to stay late.

***Earlier that day***
Dot’s in her bedroom looking for something to wear when a vid-window pops up behind her.

“Dot...” She turns around to see who it is.

“Oh, Bob, it’s you. I was just looking for something to wear on our date.” She picks a blue dress off the bed and presses it against her body. “How do you think this one will look?” Bob looked at the dress. It had a long split up the side. He closed his eyes and pictured her in it. He could just see her, flashing him some thigh, teasing him like she always did. Driving him
crazy with her less than subtle sexiness. “Bob... Bob?... Bob!” Bob’s eyes shot open when he realized what he had been daydreaming. His face was a purplish color because he was blushing and the red flush had mixed with his light blue skin.

“Oh, sorry, Dot. I was... thinking.”

“I could see that, but about what?” Bob’s face got purpler as he relived the moment.

“Uh, nothing important.” He forced a nervous smile.

“Okay. So what about the dress?”

“It’ll looked great. All your clothes look great. I think it has something to do with the sprite in them.” He smiled at her and she blushed.

“And what time will you be picking up ‘the sprite in them’ for our date?”

“Um, that’s why I called. Phong needs me to stay here for a while. There was some trouble with the last upgrade.”

“How long is a while?”

“I don’t know, but I’m pretty sure I’m gonna be late for our date.” Dot’s smile faded and in a low nervous voice she asked, “Are you canceling?”

“No! I mean, no, I’m coming. It’s just that I won’t be able to make our reservations at Le Romantica. We might have to stay in.” She stared at him questioningly. “Dot, I didn’t plan this... I swear!”

She stood there thinking for a while, then said, “I believe you.” Bob’s protocol would never allow him to lie. Well, not to her anyway.

“So you want to cancel?”

“No. I think it’s a great idea.”

“What, canceling?” Bob looked shocked and heartbroken. ‘How could she think canceling is a great idea? I’ve ruined everything before we could even go on a date. Maybe I could get Phong to let me go. No, he couldn’t do that now. Not in this state of emergency. Maybe I could get Matrix to cover for me. No, he and Andraia are already decoding files in the Control Room. What am I going to do? I can’t lose her again.’ He thought.

“No, Bob, not canceling! I was talking about staying in. I’ll even cook.” Bob let out a sigh of relief. ‘I’ve got to learn not to panic in stressful situations. To bad that anti-panic guardian protocol doesn’t work for relationship problems.’ “So what time do you think you’ll be coming?”

“About 11:30.”

“Well then we’ll have really, really late dinner.”

“I’m so sorry, Dot.”

“It’s okay. I’ll see you later.” She closed the vid-window and went to check on little Enzo. He was being suspiciously quiet.

Now she was just waiting at home, a tad bit overdressed for an evening at home. At about 11:15 Dot heard a sound outside. She opened the door expecting to see Bob, but instead she found no one. She walked outside to inspect further, stepping down the two steps that lead to her door and walking a few feet further into the darkness. She scanned the night, straining her violet
eyes to see if anything was out there.

When she finally was satisfied that nothing was out there, she lowered her head and scolded herself for having an overactive imagination. Then she heard another noise. This time it came from behind her, at the house. Her head snapped up and she spun around to look at the house. She let out a sigh of relief when she saw what it was.

The door was slowly swinging open and letting out a high pitched squeak as it went. It was just the door. She thought. The wind must have blown it open.

She walked back up the two steps, and went into her house, closing the door behind her. “Well, that was weird. I wish Bob would hurry up and get here. I hate being in this house alone... especially at night. I hate to admit it, but I actually miss little Enzo. Maybe letting him stay with Phong for the night wasn’t such a good idea.” Dot stopped in front of the mirror that
decorated her foyer and laughed. “What am I saying?! With little Enzo here, me and Bob wouldn’t have any privacy. And I’m really looking forward to spending some time alone with him.” She smiled and thought about the kiss she and he had shared at the Principal Office.

When she looked into the mirror, her face was bright red. “Oh, my User. I can’t let Bob see me like this!” She turned away from her reflection and bolted up the stairs to her bedroom. When she got to her room she headed straight for her makeup on her dresser. She tried frantically to tone down her blushed face. It was then that she noticed something out of place in the room. She couldn’t figure out what it was, mainly because she was staring at the reflection of the room in the mirror, instead of the room itself. When Dot’s face was as green as it could get she turned around and tried to figure out the mystery.

Although one of the lamps in the room was on, half the room was still dark. She would have to walk to the other side of the bed and switch on the other lamp on the night-stand, to lighten up the room. She decided to do it, otherwise her mind would keep
thinking about her room on her date with Bob. Dot took a couple of steps toward the other side of the bed, then stopped when she noticed some movement in the dark.

It actually wasn’t so much a movement as it was a slight shift in shadows. As if something had fallen or sensed her intentions and hid itself away. Dot crept slowly to the shadows and was halted once again by the unusual shifting.

Suddenly, she was overcome with a feeling of danger.

She hesitantly stepped back. She had almost rounded the bed, when a sprite, dressed completely in black, burst out of the darkness. Dot turned around and ran out the room, the sprite close behind her. She purposely knocked down tables and lamps as she ran down the hallway, trying to put debris in the patch of her assailant and slow him down. She was right about to go down the stairs when he threw his arm around her chest and pulled her back into him.

He put his other arm over her shoulder, placing a cold blade to her neck. “Going somewhere?” He whispered, mocking her escape attempt. “I didn’t think so.” He began to laugh at his little private joke. Through his cackling and her rapid heaves for breathe, she managed to hear a low banging, followed by her name.

*bang* *bang* *bang*

“Dot, it’s me. Open up.”

*bang* *bang* *bang*

“Dot, are you there?!”

It was Bob. He would save her. Or at least she thought he would. She went to open her mouth, but the sprite dug the knife into her throat.

“Don’t even think about it! You scream, you die. And I would hate to get blood on that beautiful dress of yours.” He kissed her cheek and added, “It fits you so well. Don’t make me delete you lady. I don’t like deleting people, but I have been known to do it... A lot.” He moved his lips closer to her ear and whispered, “I wouldn’t even think twice about slitting your throat.”

Dot was too horrified to squirm or even try to get away. But, it wasn’t the threats that scared her, it was his voice. And it wasn’t that his voice was cold and evil, because it wasn’t. It was sweet and low and sincere. It was like talking to Santa Claus, without all that jolly yammer. His voice had a loving, trusting quality. In fact, if Dot had meet him under different circumstances, she would have liked him. She would have trusted him, smiled at his every word, and even would have invited him into her house. And that was the scary part.