"Do we really have to walk?" Lovestruck groaned.

The morning sun rose high above the buildings and beamed brightly down on Lovestruck and Bon Bon during their walk down the pathway. While Bon Bon seemed to be enjoying the sunshine immensely, Lovestruck felt like she had a scalding hot pat pressed to her backside. Whenever they had to take a turn, there were many unfortunate instances where the sun would burst into her line of vision like a volcanic eruption.

"Got any better ideas?" Bon Bon quipped, sparing a glance over her shoulder. How she managed to keep up such a pace without breaking a sweat was a total mystery to Lovestruck.

Lovestruck, much to her chagrin, jogged to reach Bon Bon's side. "We could always get a ride in one of those carriages... You know, the ones we walked by, like, ten times."

Bon Bon arched a brow. "You mean the ones reserved for couples? Well, I'm flattered, but I think I like you better as a friend, Lovey."

'That, and you're totally into your best friend,' Lovestruck thought with a roll of her eyes. "I just mean we could get to the cafe faster if we weren't wasting our time walking all this way. And don't call me Lovey."

"Whatever you say, Lovey," Bon Bon replied, "and last I checked, neither of us know which cafe Frederick is going to. Best to keep walking until we spot him."

Lovestruck's cheeks puffed out. "Still don't see why we have to waste our time walking."

"You're just lazy." She chuckled at Lovestruck's shocked expression. "Sometimes the truth hurts to hear, Lovey."

"Stop it."

Bon Bon opened her mouth to respond, but she closed it suddenly. Before Lovestruck could pry, she was yanked into a bush beside her unwanted companion. She tried to yell, but Bon Bon wrapped foreleg around her face to ensure that wouldn't be a possibility.

"Look," Bon Bon murmured, nodding her head forward.

Lovestruck unhinged Bon Bon's leg from around her peevishly. She peered through the shrubbery and blinked in surprise when she saw it was a cafe, full of chatting couples sitting under the umbrellas . However, her attention zoned in on a lone stallion sitting at a table, peering at his watch worriedly.

Frederick.

"He's waiting on somepony," Bon Bon observed.

Lovestruck scoffed. "Duh, we already knew that. But, who is he waiting on?"

Bon Bon shrugged. "Your guess is as good as mine." She tapped Lovestruck on her side to signal her movement. "C'mon, let's go sit at one of the tables." She crinkled her brows when Lovestruck made a face at her. "What? I could use a latte."

With a sigh, Lovestruck awkwardly pulled out of the bush and tried to avoid the stares of passing ponies. She shook off the leaves and picked out a couple of the twigs that had fallen into her hair with disdain.

Meanwhile, Bon Bon covertly slid out without so much as an issue. She ducked behind a passing couple and slipped into the sitting area, taking a spot on the other side of the sitting area, opposite to Frederick. Bon Bon nodded at Lovestruck, then made a series of incomprehensible signals.

Lovestruck rolled her eyes and teleported into the seat next to Bon Bon. "You know that I'm a Unicorn, right?"

Bon Bon rolled her eyes. "You're no fun." She flapped open her magazine. "Now, we wait."

Lovestruck opened her mouth to protest, but her stomach beat her to the punch. A loud gurgle escaped her gut, eliciting a light blush across her cheeks. She let out a very heavy sigh. "Does this place serve breakfast?"

"Not after 10, they don't." Without looking at Lovestruck, she pointed at the cafe window. "Says so on the sign."

Lovestruck squinted at the sign pinned onto the inside of the window and frowned as she found the truth in Bon Bon's words. "Are there any menus we can look off of?"

She was answered by Bon Bon carelessly throwing a laminated sheet at her face.

"...Thanks."

"No problem. You should order some croissants. I hear they're great."

Before Lovestruck could tell Bon Bon where she could shove her hypothetical croissants, her stomach growled once again. She let out an angry grumble and settled begrudgingly on Bon Bon's suggestion..

"What would you like to order?" asked a waitress. She took out a notepad and pen, poised to take the order.

Lovestruck felt a surge of panic go through her. 'Oh, horseapples, I forgot my notepad!'

The waitress frowned. "Is everything alright?"

Lovestruck quickly brushed off her panic and faked a laugh. "Yeah, uh, I'll have a croissant and a cup of coffee without anything to it, thank you."

The waitress, despite her concern, smiled. She glanced at the disinterested Bon Bon. "And for your marefriend?"

'...marefriend?'

"Just a latte, thank you," Bon Bon cut in.

'MAREFRIEND?!'

Much to Lovestruck's horror, the waitress giggled and shook her head endearingly. "I'll be back soon with your drinks." She laughed again. "Have fun, lovebirds!"

"But we're not even—" Lovestruck went silent as the mare trotted out of earshot and she felt her heart sink a bit. She whipped around to face Bon Bon, who was still reading her magazine without a care in the world. She pushed it down and away from her. "Just what the hay was that?"

Bon Bon pried Lovestruck's hoof off of her magazine, then straightened it out. "What was what? I was just ordering a latte."

"And made that waitress think we're together," Lovestruck hissed angrily, "which, we're not."

Bon Bon's eyes scanned across an article lazily. "We're also not here to eat brunch together, but I don't see you getting mad about misleading everyone about that."

"That's not even—" Lovestruck took a sharp breath. "Y'know what, it's not important. Just... stop doing that."

"Doing what?" Bon Bon finally looked away from her magazine, though she remained expressionless. "Trying to blend in and not attract attention to ourselves?" When Lovestruck didn't respond, she arched a brow. "Yeesh, you can't even pretend to have a relationship with somepony, can you?"

"No, I just meant that—" She stumbled over her words when Bon Bon's brow raised even higher. "Please stop looking at me like that, I can't focus when you do."

Bon Bon smirked a bit. "Aw, does Lovey get shy around her special somepony?" She reached over and pulled on Lovestruck's cheek affectionately. "You're so cute... once you get past the attitude problem, anyway."

Lovestruck slapped her hoof away. "Quit it."

The waitress returned, this time with a tray holding their drinks and Lovestruck's croissant. "Here ya go!" She smiled at Lovestruck, who was blushing angrily. "Aw, look at how cute you two are!"

"Sure are," Bon Bon gushed, propping her chin on her hooves. Unseen by the waitress, she was grinning viciously at Lovestruck, taunting her silently with her eyes.

'I am going bucking murder you when we get back to the hotel,' Lovestruck thought, biting the inside of her cheek. Still, she remembered Bon Bon's words about blending in and returned a smile. She hoped Bon Bon would see the hidden malice beneath her false joy.

The waitress laughed again. "Well, I'll leave you two be. Holler if you need anything!"

Once again, the waitress walked off, leaving the two mares to themselves. Lovestruck's smile disappeared, while Bon Bon continued to smirk at her. "For the record, going to a cafe for brunch doesn't make for a good date in my book."

"Whatever you say, Lovey," Bon Bon replied. She picked up her magazine and started looking through it again. "Y'know, I think they have a couple of brochures at the front of the cafe, if you want something to read while we wait."

Lovestruck frowned. "I'd rather have my notepad with me..."

Bon Bon's brows furrowed as she glanced up at her. "Why's that?"

She sighed. "I work better when I can write down my thoughts..." She felt her blush return. "That's another reason why I was in such a panic last night; can't really process my thoughts until I can actually look at them, y'know?"

Bon Bon gave her a sympathetic look. "Too much stuff going on all at once, huh?"

Lovestruck nodded. "Yeah..."

Bon Bon didn't respond after that, so Lovestruck's attention slipped back towards Frederick. Still sitting alone, the stallion kept glancing towards his watch. His eyes darted to and fro, making Lovestruck worry over how long it'd be before he saw her and Bon Bon spying on him. Her fears had yet to take form, however, as he seemed to look everywhere except where they were at.

'He's so anxious...' Lovestruck pondered. Over what, though?

Her thoughts shot back to the night before, when she saw Frederick and Beauty Brass sitting together after she had spoken to them. He had been joking around only minutes before, but when she looked at them, he appeared to be the exact opposite of carefree. She could only guess what it was that could bring him to act so strange so suddenly.

Then, there was the situation with Parish. Was that a factor in his Frederick's behavior or was that just something totally coincidental? It had been going on for some time, if what Minuette and Bon Bon had to say was any correlation. Maybe Lovestruck was right about it being a misunderstanding and Frederick truly wasn't interested... But, then why had he gone to the bar where Parish was? And why was he so worried over his lunch date? Who is his lunch date? A friend? A lover? A family member? And why did he decide to have it here, instead of the hotel? Is that pony staying at the hotel? Or are they trying to keep things a secret?

Lovestruck closed her eyes. 'There are so many things happening all at once... It's so hard to try to connect them...'

"Freddy's date must be running late," Bon Bon murmured.

Lovestruck raised a brow at her. "How are you even paying attention with your nose in that magazine?"

Bon Bon opened her mouth to answer, but she went silent as her eyes widened. She pulled Lovestruck down behind her magazine, crushing her into Bon Bon's side in the most uncomfortable way. Her face pressed into the crook of her neck and her forelegs were held tightly by Bon Bon's impossibly strong grip. To a passerby, they probably looked like a couple snuggling up to read an article over a cup of coffee. To Lovestruck, however, it felt like she was being held captive by a madmare.

"Stay down," Bon Bon told her.

Lovestruck tried to push Bon Bon away, but to no avail. "Please stop being Agent 007 for five seconds and talk to me like a normal pony."

Bon Bon did not let up her hold. Her brows furrowed in befuddlement. "What's he doing here?"

"Who?" Lovestruck hissed angrily.

Her answer was revealed by Bon Bon pulling down the magazine. Before she could find whoever Bon Bon was freaking out about, her companion turned her head to face the entrance of the sitting area. Lovestruck's jaw dropped and her eyes widened to the size of saucers when she saw the pony who entered.

"Parish!" exclaimed Frederick, smiling at the sight of his fellow band mate. He stood up from his seat and held a foreleg out in offering of a hug.

'Wait, Parish is Frederick's lunch date?' Lovestruck thought, her jaw falling down ever further.

Parish, who was significantly less drunk than when Lovestruck saw him last, turned to where Frederick was standing. His smile was instantaneous and warm. "Hello, sweetheart!"

"'Sweetheart'?" Lovestruck and Bon Bon said together. They looked at each other in bewilderment before returning their attention to the stallions.

Parish trotted over to Frederick and pulled him into an embrace. Bon Bon's grip coincidentally tightened on Lovestruck, squeezing air out of her. When the two stallions pulled away from their hug, Parish kissed Frederick on the cheek sweetly.

Lovestruck didn't know what she would have done, but Bon Bon stopped her. She felt Bon Bon's hoof clamp onto her muzzle, smothering any sound that might come out. She put her magazine back up and hid the both of them behind it. For a long moment, neither of them said anything (although Lovestruck could hardly say anything with her mouth covered).

As Parish took the seat opposite of Frederick, Lovestruck's thoughts were buzzing. Why were they meeting at the cafe in secret? Or was it even a secret to begin with? Were they just two friends having a chat over coffee? But, then what about that kiss? Was that just them being friendly with each other?

Sweet Celestia, how she wished she had her notepad with her.

"Well, guess we don't have to worry about trying to get them together..." said Bon Bon, finally breaking the silence.

At the reminder that Bon Bon was still holding onto her, Lovestruck pried herself free of her grip. "We don't know that for sure."

Bon Bon arched a brow at her incredulously. "Seriously?"

"Well, I dunno!" Lovestruck snapped harshly. She glanced back at Parish and Frederick, who were talking indistinctly. She squinted to see what they were saying, but she failed to read their lips. "We got to figure out what they're talking about... C'mon, let's move tables."

"Oh, sure, let's get closer so they can see both of us and find out we've been spying on them," Bon Bon retorted sarcastically.

Lovestruck glared at her. "Got a better idea?" When Bon Bon didn't respond, she sighed. "Well, we have to figure something out. I'm not leaving until I know what's going on."

"And just what is going on?"

Lovestruck and Bon Bon whipped around simultaneously to see Vinyl and Lyra glaring at them. As they trotted towards their table, Lovestruck spared a glance towards Frederick and Parish, who were completely unaware of the oncoming storm not a couple yards from them.

She slowly slunk back down behind the magazine. "Oh, buck..."

Author's Notes:

DUN DUN DUNNN... So, what's more shocking? The thing with Parish and Freddy or me actually updating this story within a month of the last update? Meh, I'm gonna go with me updating.

So, what's gonna happen next chapter? Are Lovestruck and Bon Bon gonna figure out just what the hay is going on? Will drama rise up from Lovestruck's past? Will Cherry make the return I said was gonna happen this chapter, but ended up lying about? Stay tuned to find out!