The third day of free time had arrived, and Isabelle was fast asleep on her desk. She had worked all night on her project. It had taken many phone calls and questions for Label on how to perform certain techniques. Isabelle felt lucky that Label was working the night shift. After a few rounds of trial and error, and accidental pokes from her sewing needles. She had finally finished her project. Hopefully, her friend would like it.

Before long, Isabelle was woken by a loud ringing next to her ear. She got up with a jolt, nearly falling out of her chair. As she regained her balance, she looked down to see the phone shaking and ringing. She rubbed the spot on her head that she lied on and picked up the phone.

"Hello?" She mumbled. "Hi Isabelle!" It was Label. "Did my tips and tricks help you out?" Isabelle paused for a few seconds. She was still half-asleep. "Huh?" She yawned. "For the little present to your friend silly," she replied. Isabelle's eyes fully opened in remembrance. "Oh! Yeah! They worked like a charm." She had almost forgotten what she was doing for the past five hours.

"Wonderful! I'm so glad I was able to help. Let me know how everything goes. Okay?" Isabelle was about to thank Label, but something else came to mind, and it worried her. "Label? What if he doesn't like it?" She asked, a little scared. "Oh Isabelle. What on earth gave you that idea?" Isabelle told her everything. About the demon, Daisy, and how The Doomslayer had kept it as a secret for so long. "Yesterday he seemed sensitive about it, and I'm worried that when I show it to him, it might make him upset, and-" She stopped herself to hold back a few tears. "What if he doesn't want to be friends anymore?"

Label sighed. "I don't know him enough to know he wouldn't be upset," she began. "But I've seen you two together for a long time to know he would never want to stop being your friend." Isabelle felt a little bit better. "Okay. Thanks Label." She said. "Anytime." She replied. Isabelle hung up and stared at her friend's present.

"It's going to be okay Isabelle," she said to herself confidently. She grabbed the gift and put it in her black backpack hanging by the doorknob. There was nothing very decorative to put it in, so it would just have to do. She was about to head to The Doomslayer's room, when she spotted her fishing rod by her bed. Isabelle then got an idea. If things don't turn out well between them, she wanted to at least have one more fun memory with him. She hoisted the backpack over her shoulder, and got her fishing rod.

Isabelle slowly opened up The Doomslayer's bedroom door and tiptoed over to his bed. She took her free hand and gently nudged his back. "Um. Mr. Slayer?" The tall marine rolled over and pushed himself up into a sitting position. He stared down at Isabelle. "I'm sorry to bother you, but I was wondering if we could go fishing today again. If that's alright with you." He didn't give any "yes" or "no" gestures. He simply got up and reached for his fishing rod from under the bed. Once he got it, he waited for Isabelle's answer. "Okay then," she said nervously. "I guess we're going." After eating breakfast, they went outside and made their way to the docks.

On their way over there, Isabelle noticed something about her friend. She couldn't see his face, but she saw how he was walking differently. Normally his steps were upbeat and quick, as if he was racing against time itself. Today however, his steps were long and a bit slower. He didn't look around at the scenery or even glanced at Isabelle. To anybody, no one would know what he was feeling. But to Isabelle, she knew that her friend was very depressed. She started to have second thoughts about this when she saw him like this, but the two were already too far from home to turn back now. Today it was now, or never.

A few minutes later, they reached the docks. No one was around, and the air was slightly breezy. Isabelle took a seat next to The Doomslayer at the docks's edge. She took her backpack off and carefully placed it behind her. Her friend made no comment about it.

Hours had passed, and the two barely talked to each other. The only time they would talk was if one caught something uncommon and the other responded with a "nice catch," or just a simple thumbs up. Eventually, Isabelle became impatient with hiding the gift. She knew at some point she would have to give it to him. Finally, she took a deep breath and brought the bag to her lap.

"Mr. Slayer." She announced. The tall marine turned his head to look at Isabelle. She winced a little bit, but continued. "I just wanted to say I'm sorry for what I did yesterday," The Doomslayer tilted his head in confusion. "And it's not for what you think the reason is. You see I got home last night and saw an old box on the living room table. I didn't know where it came from, so I took a look inside." Isabelle paused for a moment to see how her friend would react. He still looked at her showing no emotion. "I'm sorry for what happened to her. I really am. To be honest, I wish you would've told me about it. Because-" She tried so hard to hold back her tears, and stop her voice from quivering. "Because I would've helped you."

The Doomslayer still didn't give any signs of anger or happiness. He just stared silently and unmoving. "Here." Isabelle said, handing her backpack to her friend. "It's something I made for you. I don't know if it will make you feel better, so please," she wiped off a few tears and faced him with a serious look. "Be honest." The Doomslayer looked at the backpack, then at Isabelle, then at the backpack again. He steadily took it out of her hands and unzipped the top. He reached his hand down and pulled out a small plush rabbit. The plushie had two black button eyes, it's ears looked like they were made out of tube socks, and It's arms and legs were very short and stubby. What was most interesting however, was the fact that the color of the plushie precisely matched the color of Daisy's fur.

The Doomslayer immediately stood up, looking at the plushie intensely. Once Isabelle saw this, she looked down at the water in disappointment. She had held back the tears long enough. The next thing she knew, they made their way down her cheeks and into the lake. "I-I'm sorry," she sobbed softly. "I didn't kn-know it would make you upset." The Doomslayer looked down at her. "I-I understand if you don't want to be friends anymore. It was so stupid of me to-" Suddenly, Isabelle felt an arm wrap around the top of her head, and another arm wrap around the back of her neck. She opened her tearful eyes to see The Doomslayer...embracing her tightly.

Isabelle was shocked. She had never thought the gift would make her friend react this way. She felt his arms slightly shake up and down. Was he crying too? This was something Isabelle never would've imagined. Her friend, The Doomslayer, the strongest person she knew, was crying. She didn't know the perfect thing to say in a situation like this. Instead she showed it. She put down her fishing rod, and returned the hug.

"So," she began, still hugging him. "Do you like it?" The Doomslayer exited the hug and placed his hands on Isabelle's shoulders. He gave a slight nod and stood back up. Isabelle stared at the ground in embarrassment realizing about her little "breakdown." "Does that mean we're still friends?" Suddenly The Doomslayer grabbed her by the vest collar, lifted her in the air, and placed her on the back of his helmet. Isabelle, who would normally be frightened every time he did that, was giggling hard. "I'll take that as a yes!" Her friend reached for her fishing rod, and gave it to her. "Hmm. I've never fished like this before," she said. "But it never hurts to try something new."

The two of them threw their lines at the same time, and waited for their next catch. They fished until it was evening and eventually The Doomslayer eventually felt Isabelle become a bit heavier. Then he heard snoring. Isabelle had fallen asleep on his head. He thought this was a good time to wrap it up. He gathered all their stuff, and began to walk home with Isabelle cradled in one arm. Isabelle opened up her eyes halfway. "I'm sorry we didn't do a whole lot the past three days," she mumbled. "I'm sure the mayor wouldn't mind me having the weekends off." The Doomslayer managed to give her a thumbs up with his hand carrying two fishing rods and a backpack with his gift.

Soon they arrived at the house. The Doomslayer walked up the stairs and into Isabelle's room. He put her in bed and tucked her in. As he did this, Isabelle opened her eyes again. "Thank you Mr. Slayer." she muttered. "No matter what, I'll always be your friend." The Doomslayer rubbed her head gently and left the room. As he closed the door, Isabelle wasn't absolutely sure, but she swore she heard someone say: "Thank you Isabelle."

The End