On a Saturday afternoon, Mariana and Elena were in a cafe, different from the one they worked at and were having some time to themselves, enjoying a little snack. Mariana got some waffles with iced tea. She cut through the squares, plopping each one into her mouth as she sipped through her straw. Since she had nothing to do, she decided to meet up with Elena to have lunch together.

"I see you're wearing one of the things we got from that shop," Elena said, pointing to Mariana's wrist.

"Yeah, I am," Mariana said as she twirled it around. It was gold with a few shapes that were cut out, which she quite liked. When the sunbeam hit it, it glowed and made a light reflection against the wall.

"I'm wearing the necklace I brought." Elena took out the sliver charm that was hidden under her top. It was a small heart with a swirly pattern along the chain.

"Nice, it looks so pretty," Mariana said, leaning over and admiring it.

"Yeah, why didn't you get one?"

"Eh, don't want one," Mariana grumbled as she ended up blowing bubbles into her drink.

"Is it because you don't want to replace that one?"

"Yeah..." Mariana said sulkily, her head was lower, and her lips were kept tight-lipped against the mouth of the straw.

"Aw, poor thing, never mind." Elena stretched out her arm and comfortably rubbed her arm in sympathy.

Mariana managed to light up a small smile before she heard the chime of her phone. She grabbed it from her purse, and her grin became bigger when she saw it was from Amell.

Amell: Hey Mariana.

Mariana: Hi :))

Amell: Are you having a good day today?

Mariana: Yeah I am😊, what about you?

Amell: Same. I want to take you somewhere as a surprise.

Mariana: Oh really? Today?

Amell: Yeah😁 I mean if you want to.

Mariana: Sure, it sounds like a fun idea, but where are you taking me?

Amell: I kind of want it to be a surprise. It would be better that way.

Mariana: Okay, can we meet at the studio where we do Zumba? Is it too far from there?

Amell: No, that would be fine, do you want to meet at 6?

Mariana: Okay☺️.

Mariana placed her phone on the table and continued eating, feeling happier like the sun just got slightly hotter. She started giggling as she felt a little silly.

"I see that look on your face Mariana." Elena smirked. "You going on another date with Amell, yes?"

"Yeah... a date." She started laughing at the word choice as she wouldn't really call it that.

"So, where's he taking you now?" Electra excitedly asked.

"I don't know, he wants it to be a surprise."

"Oh, sounds fun! Well, I hope you have a good time." Elena winked and continued eating what she had on her plate, shaking her head as she was amused and also proud.

"Thank you." Mariana blushed and finished off her ice tea, and used a napkin to clean any stains off. She was interested to know where the place was, she hoped that she would enjoy it, wherever it was.

****

When Mariana went to meet Amell, it was still considerably bright, just how she wanted it, as she wasn't uncomfortable meeting him in the dark. She didn't know what to wear, so she just wore casual, some sneakers, and a hoodie, hoping that they weren't going to eat out anywhere.

She stood in front of the studio entrance, tapping her foot rather impatiently until she saw the dazzling lights of an approaching car. They pierced her eyes like a sword, making her shield them as the car stopped in front of her. She saw Amell sitting in the driver's seat of his red convertible.

"Hey, get in." He smiled at her as she opened the passenger door. She settled into the seats, feeling excited that she got to go in a car that had no roof. She's always seen them on the road and wondered what it was like to ride in one.

"This is your car?" She asked.

"Yep."

"Nice." She could see the sky clearly as she looked up, and when her luscious eyes looked at the shiny red coat, she puckered her lips out at her fazed reflection. She looked good.

"So, where are you taking me?" Mariana asked, focusing her attention on his face. He had on sunglasses and relaxed back into his seat.

His jet black hair was slicked back, blessed by the wind as some strands blew like a feather. He had a confident smile on, the corner of his lip was in line with hers, he had one eyebrow raised, making her blush, and looked away, shuffling her feet. Even though she couldn't see his eyes, she could tell how they looked.

"It's a surprise, my Liebling," he said calmly and full of composure.

"Liebling? What does that mean?"

"It means darling."

"Aw, that's cute." Mariana looked away, deciding to stare out the window. After all, it was better than staring at him and hearing that word. She rested her head on where the window would be and seeing the outside without a barrier looked far more pleasing.

She was getting a nice, warm breeze, she could see the balmy changes in the atmosphere, as it got tinted with purple and pink. It was sort of beautiful, with a mellow of sadness as they were reminded that the day will end soon.

"You're not gonna kidnap me, are you?" She jokingly asked him.

"No, don't worry, Mariana, I'm not kidnapping you." He reached out and patted her back. She let out a tiny hiccup in her seat, earning her a chuckle.

Once they arrived where they were supposed to be. Mariana gazed at the building, which had pins and a bowling bowl that lit up the whole street with the bright colors of blue and white and an animated explosion.

"Oh, a bowling alley..." Mariana mumbled, half-excited and the other was surprised. This was definitely the unexpected. "Are we gonna do bowling?"

"Yes, we are, have you ever done it before?" Amell asked, unbuckling his seat belt.

"Nope, but let's go!" Mariana jumped out of the car, full of energy. She stretched out her legs and waited for Amell to lock the car. They were just in front of the entrance, and Mariana could partly see what went on inside.

She could see the golden alleys where people were bent over, rolling their balls, and she heard the cloudy music playing that floated its way to her ears. It sounded so inviting, and she wanted to see more.

They finally went inside which was dark, and got a pair of bowling shoes and some bowling bowls. They went into an unoccupied row that had the scoreboard hung like the moon over them. Flashes white and blue blinked down the field, leading the way to the ten pins that stood like soldiers on the other end, waiting to be knocked down.

"So all I gotta do is knock the pins down with this?" Mariana asked, pick in up a ball. She had only seen this done on TV so she had a rough idea of how it was played.

"Yeah, but it's not that simple, you need to be able to aim and throw properly."

"Oh, I'm sure it's not that bad, just gotta throw in a straight line right?" Mariana stood in line with the pins and held her ball, ready to throw it.

"Yeah but—"

That was all Mariana needed to hear for her get-go. She tried inserting her thumb into one of the holes, but it felt a bit uncomfortable when she tried fitting the others in.

Amell shook his head at her and then grabbed the ball away. "Here, let me help." He put the correct fingers in the hole and adjusted her arm so that she could swing properly. Mariana just stood still as he was doing this, she wasn't too comfortable with him being so close, but she didn't feel any need to push him away.

"There you go." Amell went back a little bit to give her space.

With a sense of confidence that she shouldn't be having, Mariana walked quickly and threw the ball down the aisle. She watched it roll down slowly. At first, it kept to the middle but then gradually shifted towards the side, until it only just hit two pins before vanishing away.

"Oops," Mariana muttered in embarrassment. It wasn't as easy as she thought. She crouched them and bent her head towards the ground. Her palms started heating up as well as cheeks blazing in a fire.

"Why don't you try again?" Amell suggested.

"Sure." Mariana grabbed another ball, but took things more slowly this time. She took a deep breath and then swung the ball down. This time, she hit three more pins. She was actually happy with that, it's one more than last time.

"Ready for me to show you how to do it like a pro?" Amell came up behind her. He couldn't stop smirking at how she thought that it was easy as pie.

"Yeah, why not," Mariana said.

She stood next to Amell as he took a bowling ball out. He approached the alley calmly, with his fingers in place, he released it towards the side before it swerved a little bit inward, hitting the pins, causing all of them to fall down like dominoes, earning a strike.

"Wooo!" Mariana started cheering and clapping. Amell turned to her and did a little bow.

"That was really good!" She exclaimed.

"Thanks."

"Can you teach me how to do that?" Mariana jumped up.

"Sure, get a bowling ball and then I'll show you."

Mariana quickly grabbed another ball and then faced him like he was the teacher, and she was his student.

"You want to make sure you're gripping it the right way and they fit your fingers. I will also show you a trick on how to get a strike."

"Ooh okay!" Mariana was excited to learn and couldn't wait till she got her first strike!

"So, what you want to do is hit the pins at a certain point which will knock all of them down." Amell got his own ball and stood in front of the lane, he focused on the pins ahead.

"The trick is to get the ball into the 1-3 pocket which gives you a good chance of getting a strike." Amell then stepped towards it, ran a little, and then swung the ball down, making it spin and tilt slightly as it rushed towards the side and knocked nine pins down.

"Nice!" Mariana clapped as seeing those pins tumbled entertained her. She watched as he got another ball and then knocked down the pin, earning him a spare.

"You're turn." He smiled back and then cleared the way for her.

Mariana got and chose her ball. She felt a bit better after seeing how it's done, so when she bowled her ball. She hit six pins. She and Amell took turns, and each time, the number of pins she was knocking down got higher as her aim improved.

And finally, when she got into the lane, her fingers were planted firmly in the three holes as she held the ball up to her face, eye-level and the pins in the distance. She was softly breathing against them. The blue hue reflected her beautiful reflection and soon, it was reflecting the ceiling lights as she rolled it down the alley. It spun lightly and hit all the pins bang in the center.

"Yay I got a strike!" Mariana shrieked with joy.

"Well done Mariana, you finally got one!" Amell was behind her, clapping away with a big grin on his face. He was so proud of her.

"Thank you!" Mariana ran towards him and jumped in his arms. She wrapped her arms around him as a big thank you hug. She had enjoyed her time here and was able to knock down all the pins.

"Aw, your welcome Mariana, I'm glad you enjoyed it." He sprung her in the air a little bit as her legs naturally lifted up as he had just brought her a teddy from the funfair. She felt light in his arms and he continued spinning her around like they were the only ones there.

Mariana had not felt this happy for a long time. She thought that the time she was drowning in her sorrows, she pushed all her happiness down to the bottom, but now, they were slowly being brought to the light. Like someone finding something in the darkness with a flashlight, she was now searching for the pieces of her lost heart.

"Mariana," Amell said as he placed her back down. "Can I ask you something?"

"Sure."

"Can I—like— take you out somewhere?" he stuttered out of his sudden nervousness. He folded his arms behind him.

"What, like a date?" She smirked.

"Um... yeah I mean if you want, I'm not forcing you."

"Um..." Mariana popped a finger into her mouth, thinking about it. These small hangouts they've had have been fun, and she wasn't really hooked up on Micah anymore so a fun, evening out would be nice.

"Okay, I would love to. Can we go to a restaurant?"

"Sure we can. I'll text you the details once I have some bring planned."

"Okay!" Mariana loved the sound of that.

"Come on now, I will drop you home." He held onto her hand and they walked out of the bowling alley.

A/N: Double update as a thank you in advance for 3K reads!

Have any of you done bowling before?