In the gruesome—long—thirty—tedious—minutes her mind ticked. Her pupils wandered like a pendulum, wide-eyed and anxious with a beating heart. She clasped herself sweaty palms together, they slipped and slide at every sound that entered her ears.

She heard the branches scraping the window as if trying to cut in an entrance, she heard the ear-piercing howl of the mysterious wind as it made the trees blow wildly, and depicted everything that lurked within the shadows of darkness.

She tried focusing her attention on her ceiling, her pure, dark ceiling which didn't have any ghastly images painted on it or deceptive shadows that wanted to play tricks on her.

A few minutes passed and there a rapid, loud knocking downstairs as a shadow quickly zoomed past her window in a split second. It spooked her senses to a brief shaking but she had a feeling it was Micah downstairs.

She was feeling reluctant but the knocking continued so she quickly sprang out of her bed and tiptoed down the stairs, making sure not to make a single creak.

It was so dark inside her house that she couldn't bear another minute alone. She made it to the bottom step and opened the door a little so that she could peek one eye out.

She saw that it was Micah so she opened the door more fully and dived into his arms while she dropped in perspiration.

"Woah, are you okay?" Micah asked as he held her onto her trepidatious figure. 

"Yeah, now that you're here." She looked up at him and hugged him even tighter, never wanting to let go.

"It's okay, I'm here now." He brushed through her hair and allowed her to hug him as tight as she needed. She made him extremely worried because of the hour she had texted him.

She let him in and they went up to her bedroom. He went inside the bed first so that she can go in his arms.

"So what was the matter that you had to text me at this time?" He had his arms wrapped around her tightly when she came into the bed herself.

"I thought I heard something outside," she mumbled and faced the window. The cool glow of the moon reflected in her iris before she looked back at him. It looked so cute like she was a little bit embarrassed about what she said.

"Really? You thought something was outside?"

"I guess so, I don't really know." She then smiled and snuggled into him.

"What did it sound like?"

"Like the wind and the trees blowing against my window... and I think I saw something."

"Oh, maybe it was just that then."

"Yeah I guess," she sighed but smiled back at him. "But you're here so everything will be fine." She pecked his lips before settling her head into his broad chest. She could hear the accelerated rhythm of his heartbeat. His heart belonged to her and her only.

"Micah," she whispered.

"Yes, my Mari?"

"Thanks for coming," she murmured. She was so glad he was available, she didn't know what she would do without him.

"Aw, it's no problem. I would rather be here staying with you than anywhere else." He meant every word that he said, he loved every minute he spent with her, except when she was feeling scared and he didn't know exactly why, but he was happy he was able to offer some comfort to her.

"Really? You don't find me a little annoying?" She said with a little tease.

"No, not really." Although she did get on his nerves when asking about Electra.

"I just love you so much and I want you all to myself." She bit her lip while smiling, and kissed the part of his lips that wasn't covered by his beard. She wasn't going to give him up easily to that disgusting old cow.

"I know." He shook his head in amusement. Her jealousy was sometimes amusing but it was quite irritating at times.

She smirked and then settled down, getting ready to rest as her body curled in his lap. A curious thought then entered into her head. "Hey, how comes you were awake when I texted you?" She asked while her eyes closed their lids.

He shrugged. "I don't know, I just couldn't sleep."

"Oh really?"

"Yeah, I just sat in my bed and watched a bit of TV."

"Oh alright." She rubbed her eyes and yawned, signaling her tiredness.

"Micah," she said with the last bit of breath she had.

"Yes, my baby?"

"I love you..."

"I love you too Mariana." He kissed her forehead and had one arm around her back, tightly safe in his hold. She was like a sleeping pearl to him as one side of her face was in the shadows but the other had the moonlight glistening on it.

"Goodnight Micah," she said, with peace softening her voice as she felt comfortable enough to sleep.

"Goodnight Mariana." He kissed her goodnight and held onto her protectively as he slid down into the bed to get comfier.

Mariana's tiny body was shivering in his arms, her lips trembled and she let out fearful murmurs. He knew she still felt scared but he didn't want her to feel like that. He wanted to keep her safe from the dangers of the night and whatever was bothering her. He wanted his Mariana to be safe and sound while sleeping.

He made sure the covers covered her well while she laid on his chest without any disturbance. He gave her one final kiss on the tip of her nose, making it slightly twitch, and he went to sleep himself.

When they woke up the next day, they had breakfast together and then departed ways with a passionate kiss.

She then went to the cafe in a jovial mood. Her hair was in two buns and she had a light glaze of pink lipstick. She tied her apron on and chatted to Elena while serving the customers.

"Hey Mariana, how about you go serve that person over there?" Elena suggested, pointing to a hooded figure in the far-end corner.

"Alright." Mariana happily obligated and then swapped places with her.

She got her notepad and then went over to them.

"Good morning, what would you like?"

The figure suddenly turned its head, their swift movement startling Mariana a little.

He had an unfriendly glare spread across his square-shaped face, that was wrinkled with the passages of time. His bushy eyebrows were firmly knitted together above his mysterious, pale blue eyes.

Mariana awkwardly stood there, waiting for an answer.

He eventually straightened his posture and cleared his hoarse throat.

"Can I have three pancakes please?"

"Okay, that'll be $5.00 please."

He handed her a five-dollar bill and she wrote down his order.

As she walked back to the counter, she was unaware of the pair of eyes that followed her steps. The very irises were like hard rocks, keeping a close detail on her.

When she got the order ready, she brought it over to him and he bid her thanks. She smiled politely with a hidden sense of discomfort as she retreated away from him.

She sent a quick text to Micah, asking if they can go out on a date later in the evening. She wanted to spend more time with him as last night didn't seem like enough.

She quickly slid her phone back into her pocket and went back to work.

****

When Micah got home, he went on his computer and continued to search for a date for that hideous photo. He hated doing this but he knew if his and Mariana's relationship was ever going to completely move forward, then that meant putting this photo behind them.

He scrolled through her Instagram feed. The pictures of her made him frown. He couldn't even stand looking at her virtually as well as in person.

"Hello Micah," he heard a voice call his name.

He looked up to Electra cat-walking towards him with a smirk.

Speak of the devil...

"What do you want?" He said, closing the laptop.

"Well, to see you of course."

"What don't you understand about 'you're not welcome in his house?'"

"Well, soon I'll be allowed back, I'll just have to get on your mom's good side." She smiled like a flower, but she was just a thorn in a poisonous bush.

"And how are you going to do that?" He said in disbelief with one eyebrow raised.

"Oh, I have my ways." She smirked and puckered her lips.

"And it's still not going to happen." He rolled his eyes in conclusion to his sentence and stood up and walked towards her.

"Goodbye, Electra." He ushered her back outside and slammed the door in her face.

"I will get you back Micah, just watch!" She shouted but it came through the door like a muffle.

He shook his head and went back to his seat. He took out his phone while opening his laptop. He started multitasking, scrolling down the screen and unlocking his phone when he noticed Mariana's message on his phone.

MariBaby💕: Hey can we go out on a date this evening? 🥰

Micah: Okay, I will think of something.

He deleted the tab of Electra's page and then started thinking of where to take Mariana. It's been a long time since they have eaten at a restaurant, maybe they can go to one.

He texted her back, suggesting a restaurant date and she happily agreed. He put his phone down and started researching some restaurants ready for their date tonight.

Once he found a good-looking restaurant, he texted Mariana to see if it was alright and she happily agreed. He then placed his phone down and went into the kitchen to get a snack. Soon, he will start getting ready to pick up Mariana, he couldn't wait to see her again and to spend the lovely evening with her.

A/N: Hey I hope you enjoyed the chapter!!

Lemme know your thoughts❤️❤️❤️