With a black bag around her arm, a tanned lady stepped in, accompanied by a strong gust of wind that brought chills to everyone. She graced the room with the strong scent of strawberries. Her medium-length copper hair, with honey highlights, swayed side to side along with her big bum that showed through her scarlet pencil skirt. She strode on the brown tiles with a confident smirk towards Mariana.

"Good morning," her voice chirped. Her heart-shaped lips were dipped in poison red as she tried to look down on Mariana but failed due to their similar height.

Mariana looked at her intense blue eyes that froze her on the spot. Her eyes appeared so much like ice that they sent chills down her spine.

The lady quickly started to get agitated by Mariana's staring so she clicked her long, crimson nails in front of her eyes.

She snapped out of her trance and immediately apologized with a tint of embarrassment glowing in her cheeks.

"Sorry, what would you like?"

The woman's grimace returned to her signature smirk. She began listing everything she wanted and Mariana tediously tried to keep up but the woman spoke very fast.

She managed to get everything down and the woman paid before taking a seat to wait. Mariana let out a sigh of relief that she didn't realize she was holding. She didn't know why, but that particular person gave her a weird, stone-cold feeling that made her shiver. 

"Are you okay Mariana?" Elena asked, glancing over.

"Yeah I'm good," she said quickly.

"Are you sure? You seem a bit shaky."

"Yeah, I'm good," she looked down and avoided looking at the woman.

As she prepared the order, her body tickled in disturbance as she felt a fiery glare bore into her soul. Her eyes traveled up to the mysterious woman who seemed to turn away quite hastily as if she was trying to hide her gaze.

When she was done with the order, she heaved out a deep sigh and carried the food over to the lady. She was still on the phone as Mariana plopped down the plate. The woman, who was still talking, took a glance at the plate and muttered a quick 'thanks' before going back on the phone.

Her eyes, like frozen waters, followed Mariana on her way back to the counter. She had a big grin stretched across her face that sent an unsettling nerve across Mariana's body, causing her skin to rise out of fear. 

As Mariana continued to serve the other customers, she occasionally took a glimpse at the peculiar woman who she kept thinking was staring back at her but she just pushed the thought aside as something of her imagination.

When their shift was over, she and Elena left the premises together and hopped into her car.

"Thanks again for doing this with me," Elena said, pulling over her seatbelt.

"It's no problem and besides, I'm thinking of getting something myself."

"Ooh, what are you gonna get?"

"I'm not sure yet but probably like a top or something," she said and started to drive off.

When they got to Sunrise Closet, Mariana walked through the revolving door into the brightly lit up building with white ceiling lights, golden walls, and clothes being displayed everywhere.

Elena immediately rushed over to where the tops were and pulled out a black t-shirt with a purple heart surrounded by glitter.

"What do you think?" She held it up in front of her chest.

"I like the heart in the middle of it, I think you should go try it in the fitting room."

"Okay, but first, let's go find something for you!" Elena grabbed her arm and they ventured deeper into the store.

Mariana's hands skimmed over the fabrics of the clothes. The swirls of colors danced across her eyes like the fringes that wavered around at the bottom.

She picked a peach-colored top and a baby blue one. Both were light and airy and had a little opening in the chest area.

"Which one do you think looks better?" She asked, turning around to face Elena.

"Hmm, I think the pink one?"

"Really?" She looked at it and twisted it around. It looked really nice and in her head, it suited her but she preferred the blue one since that was her favorite color.

But she shrugged and chucked it in the basket, deciding that she'll try both on in the changing rooms.

They strode over to the back of the store and went into the separate cubicles. Mariana slipped off her coat and put the pink one on over her black shirt since it was loose on her.

She admired herself in the mirror and the color brought out the beauty of her face with its glow radiating. However, she thought it was a bit too bright so she quickly took it off and tried on the blue one.

She twirled around with a goofy smile as she felt more at home with it. The blue reminded her of the calming waves of an ocean and the serenity of lakes, that was one of the reasons she loved the color so much.

She took it off and then had both tops in her hand. She decided that she will buy both of them since the peach one suited her appearance while the blue one matched her aura.

Gathering up all her things, she met up with Elena outside and they paid for the clothes.

Mariana then dropped Elena off at her apartment before heading home herself. By this time, she had forgotten about the eyes that were like the eerie night. She thought that she may have overreacted and needed to relax.

When she got back home, she saw Rio sat like royalty on the window. Mariana got out of the car with a smile and his head jerked towards her when he heard her keys jingle.

"Hey Rio, did you miss me?" She bent down and rubbed his head as he meowed and circled her with a purr. She chuckled and opened the front door with Rio running in.

She huffed out a sigh as she put her bags next to Rio's scratching post and collapsed onto the couch. Her shoes slid off as her toes stretched out. Her back slouched as she got out her phone and started texting Leilani. She wanted to spend some time with her before she returned to Majorca in a few months.

Mariana: Hey! Can I come visit you tomorrow?

Lels💖✨: Hi ma chérie, sure you can but I'll have to ask Miguel's parents if it's okay for you to come. I'll let you know later this evening or tomorrow.

Mariana: Okay🥰🥰I cant wait to see you and Mateo again.

Lels💖✨: I feel like you want to see Mateo more😂

Mariana: Yes😂😂

Lels💖✨: I can't blame you, to be honest,😂he's really cute and irresistible. My little fat man🥰

Mariana: Haha yeah😂. Anyway, I'll talk to you later❤️

Lels💖✨: Okay see you 😊❤️

Mariana: Byeee😚😚

Now that she was at home, safe and sound, she could spend some time with Rio and maybe play something on her piano.

She glanced at it with an affectionate smile. It was white as snow with a brown stool and it was on the side of her TV. She remembered when Micah's mom got it for her as a surprise gift when she briefly talked about how she was thinking of wanting to play the piano again.

She got up from the couch and decided that she'll play Diamond Heart by Alan Walker. Even though she usually played in the night, before she went to bed, she wanted to have a quick fiddle with the keys.

She sat down comfortably on the cushion and her hands brushed over the white keys, giving her a buzz of excitement as she began to play.

The words danced around in her head and through her fingers, the melody vibrates her whole body as she started to sing at the top of her voice.

I'd walk straight through the bullet, bendin' like a tulip.
Blue-eyed and foolish, never mind the bruise Into the fire, breakin' through the wires, give you all I've got!"

The words flowed out of her like as she poured out her soul into the lyrics. Her voice got bolder and brighter. She became immersed by the piano keys and she was in harmony with them.

When the song died down, she exhaled a breath, cooling herself. Playing the piano was so relaxing for her, anytime she felt stressed or anxious, she will just start playing and instantly feel better.

Rio jumped on top of the piano and with his toy mouse. Mariana got it and threw it across the room, making her cat dash toward it. She got up from her seat and started playing with him.

A/N: Hey hope you enjoyed the chapter😂❤️I feel like I ended up waffling a little bit :')