When it was morning, Mariana got ready into a hoodie and some leggings. She tied her hair into a bun with a scrunchie as she stared at herself in the mirror, applying some eyeliner. She still found this idea rather amusing, since she was unfit and wouldn't dream of waking up and running around early in the morning. But it was always nice to try something new.

She gave Rio some food and water as he ran towards it immediately. He started eating and Mariana left him in peace. She left the window a bit open for some fresh air and walked outside. The day was new and fresh, the pale light radiated from the sun peeking out in the corner, making the sky a cotton candy blue. There was a tinge of pink that slowly faded away.

Mariana went to the park where she was going to meet Amell. She walked peacefully across the silence of the street. Not many people were out by this time which she took relief in. But she was a bit nervous because she had not done something like this with anyone, the closest was when she and Micah cycled along a trail.

When she met up with Amell, he was there with a small stereo box that she recognized because it was the one he used for Zumba. Currently, it wasn't playing anything as it laid peacefully on his legs. He smiled over and motioned for her to come over. He stood in the dark shade of the trees, his body like a faint shadow as his hands were on his hips. His head was held up high as his nose drank the air around them.

Mariana kept her head towards the ground, she suddenly had a feeling of shyness like it was a cloud that descended upon her like a fog. She folded one arm across her body so her hand rubbed it with comfort.

"Hey, you okay?" Amell asked when she stood directly in front of him.

"Yeah fine..." she mumbled.

"Um, I got something for you," Amell said nervously, as his words suddenly got caught in his throat. He started fumbling around in his pockets and pulled out something, only the fringes of a paper wrapper caught her eyes. Her head yes circulated around, trying to see more of what it was.

"This is for you." He held in his hand a breakfast bar. "In case if you haven't eaten."

"Oh!" She was a mix between surprise and gladness. She really wasn't expecting anything from him.

"Thank you but I'm not really hungry," she tried to decline politely.

"Come on, you shouldn't exercise on an empty stomach." He swirled it around in the air, unexpectedly making her eyes water and her belly rumble like a whale. He even opened it up a little and the crumbles that fell off looked so enticing.

"Okay, I'll have it." She took it and unwrapped it further. She took small bites and it was better than she thought it was. It was very sweet and it reminded me of that time when Micah used to come round and—

Her mind paused like a train as she suddenly remembered that they weren't together anymore.

She sighed and wiped the sweat off her face, quickly dismissing those thoughts out and focusing on them right now. "Thanks for giving this to me." She looked up for a mild second to tell him that.

Amell smiled as she ate it all up. She dusted away some crumbs off her sweet, cute cheeks that were like small cherries. He always had a bit of a crush on her and now they were actually spending some time together. It was like a dream come true.

"Anyway so, what are we gonna do? We just gonna run around here in a complete circle?" Mariana asked.

"Um yeah, but we can some stretches first if you like."

"Okay!" Mariana happily complied and Amell turned the stereo on. They started doing some stretches and star jumps.

"So this is what you do every morning?" Mariana asked.

"Well I don't come here, I mainly run near where I live."

"Oh, is it far from here?"

"Eh, I'll say it's like a twenty-minute drive from him."

"Oh okay so not that far," Mariana said, trying to imagine where his house was, and seeing if she could guess where he lived.

"Yeah."

Once they were done, Mariana's skin was burning up but she felt good. Her muscles were on fire and she felt ready to run for a longer period.

"Okay Mariana, let's go!" Amell said and started running. Mariana followed and they were in line together, jogging along the sodden grass. Mariana still had the sleep over eyes as she struggled to run against the wind. Already she felt like falling down to take a nap.

"So, how long have you been doing this for?" Mariana asked.

"Um, a couple of years. Maybe three. Have you ever done something like this before Mariana?"

"No, but I did do biking or hiking with my family," she said in a faraway voice like she was remembering the past.

"Oh, that sounds so nice. Was this when you were young?"

"Yeah, we did it often because my father loved mountains as a kid so he wanted to share that love with me." Mariana couldn't help smiling at the fond memory. And she was more than happy to share with someone.

"We even took a picture and my mum managed to get it into this little necklace," she added.

"That's amazing. Do you mind if I see?"

"Oh...um..." Her eyes turned away, as she longer had that necklace resting safely against her chest, she missed the cold feel of the metal, since her mother was gone, Mariana felt like it was her heart on the outside of hers, connecting the two to one.

"I don't have it. It—it— got lost." She started tearing up and her eyes quickly became teary. She wiped them away and sniffed her nose which started to get a little stuffy.

"Hey, what's wrong? Is it something I said?" He paused and held her at arm's length, looking over at her with worry. He didn't want to make her cry so early into the day.

Mariana didn't realize she was crying until she opened her eyes and it was like she was watching it rain from her window at night.

"Sorry—no." She kept on sniffing while cleaning away her tears. her eyes suddenly became slightly red. "it's not you. It's just—" She swiped one eye. "I really do miss that necklace."

"Do you want me to get you another one that looks just like it?"

"No it's okay, it won't be the same." She finally lifted up her lips, forming a smile after her crying episode. "But thanks for offering though."

Once her face was fully clear, she was able to see him properly as well as her surroundings. "So, do you have any family photos?" She asked as they continued their run.

"Um well it was just me and my sister and we were put into a foster family because our parents were alcoholics and neglected us most of the time."

"Oh my... that sounds terrible. Did you have a good life at least?"

"Well, sort of. My parents weren't that much better, to be honest."

"I'm so sorry to hear that. My parents adopted two young kids when I was in my teens. I didn't mind but I found it a bit awkward since there was such a huge gap between us and I basically grew up as an only child."

"And how was that like?" He was starting to enjoy this conversation as he became more interested in the things they shared.

"Well... I got all the attention from my parents which were nice, but I did wish I had at least one sibling to play with." Mariana sighed with a sad-filled look and glanced up towards the sky. She was more at ease now and didn't feel so nervous around him as before.

"Anyway, my mom had some fertility problems after she had me so they kinda spoiled me sometimes."

"Aw, that sounds cute, well the second part." He laughed awkwardly but his eyes lit up and he had a grin on his face. "I wish I had something like that..." he trailed off sadly.

"Aw, it's okay, at least your life is better now, right?" She came close to him and patted his back sympathetically, feeling sorry for him.

"Yeah it is and I'm grateful for that," he said on a more positive note.

"That's the spirit!" Mariana exclaimed.

"So what work are you going to after this?" Amell asked, changing the subject.

"I work at a cafe but on some days I work at home as a freelancer."

"That sounds so interesting, so you write articles?"

"Yeah, but I'm also looking around to busy myself more, y'know?"

"Yeah, I get that. Keeping the mind busy keeps block out other things but careful not to overwork yourself."

"Don't worry I won't." Mariana chuckled lightly, she was starting to enjoy this conversation even more as she learned some interesting facts about him.

When they had completed a whole lap, it was getting near to when Mariana had to be at work so they stopped where they started at, feeling their muscles ache as if they needed to sit down.

"That was a lot of fun Amell, thank you!" Mariana said out of joy.

"You're welcome Mariana, I hope we can do something like this again sometime."

"Yeah sure, I'll love that, I had a lot of fun!"

"Okay, I will text you again this week, see you later Mariana."

"Bye!" Mariana cheerfully waved at him and then walked away.

She rushed back to her house and then changed into the outfit that she will be wearing for work. Rio was not in the house by then, so she figured that he must have gone out on his little adventures so she closed the window. She then went back outside and got into her car and then drove off.

Before going into the cafe, she stopped at Starbucks and ordered a vanilla bean frappe with caramel. She drank it on her way there as an additional breakfast, and when she arrived, she threw it in the bin.

"Hello, babes!" Elena said as Mariana put on her apron.

"Hey," Mariana said back breathlessly as she retied her hair into a bun so it won't slip out.

"You sound out of breath, what did you do this morning?"

"Um, went jogging with my Zumba instructor," Mariana said, her face cringing as she realized how awkward that sentence sounded.

"Huh?" Elena looked over at her, tilting her face slightly as she stared at Mariana weirdly.

"Um... yeah," Mariana mumbled, not wanting to repeat herself.

"So how did that go?" Elena asked, resisting the urge to smirk.

"It was actually quite good, I had a fun time," Mariana admitted with a genuine smile.

"You can tell me all about it when I come by on Friday," Elena said, rearranging some stuff.

"Don't worry I will." Mariana chuckled and began serving the customers, feeling refreshed like a summer breeze.