"How do you know about this place?" Mark asked timidly. 

The both of them sat in a booth, surrounded by very few people inside of a small Diner.

She continued to wrap his left hand "I get around..."

"Thank you," Mark whispered softly. The rain pelted against the window next to them — he could clearly see the way she'd flinch at the sound "...Are you okay?"

She snapped out of her thoughts and went back to wiping some blood from his face "I'm fine."

"Why are you helping me?" he changed the subject. 

He had gotten used to the idea of rich people walking all over him. Her bewitching gaze marked him speechless, her soft spoken words eased all his fears and worries but the way she spoke, the way she acted, made him think there was more to her that meets the eye. 

Scarlett's movements paused "I-"

"Welcome to the Ramosey Diner, how can I help you?" a waitress smiled pleasantly

She shook her head "Oh, no we do-"

"We'll have two slices of apple pie, please" 

The waitress nodded "Will that be all?"

"Yes," Mark replied lightly in spite of the way he looked

The girl nodded at the both of them briefly before walking away "What are you doing?"

"Ordering some pie"

Scar raised an eyebrow "Well, don't mind me. I'm just gonna leave-"

"I'm not eating two whole slices on my own," She stared at him weirdly "I owe you, okay?" he smiled lightly "Just let me buy you a slice, it'll help me sleep better,"

After a moment she sighed in defeat "Fine, just this once"

"Thank God. So are you going to tell me how in the world a girl like you knows about a small Diner like this?" 

Time went by in a flash. He mostly talked while she listened — before either of them could figure out what time it was, hours had passed. Scarlett had learned Mark had a younger sister and that his father passed away when he was only five.

"Would you like another slice?" the waitress asked again, a knowing smile on her face.

Mark looked in her direction "Do you?"

"No,"

He smiled at her before looking up at the waitress "We're fine,"

"Okay, just call me when you want to pick up the cheque."

Mark nodded his head as the lady walked away "I need to go to the bathroom - I'll be back in a minute,"

"I'm not stopping you," he chuckled lightly before turning around. When he was finally out of view Scarlett called out to the waitress "Can I pick up the bill?"

She smirked "I think it's the guy's job to pay for the first date not the other way around when he isn't looking,"

"We're not on a date"

The waitress only chuckled "Sure..."

"Can I just pay?" Scarlett grunted, getting a little irritated with the nosy stranger. 

She handed her the money while the girl smiled warmly "You can call me Alice,"

"Alice?" Scar voiced, now that she got a good look at the waitress before her, recognition sparked her memory;

*

*

*

THREE YEARS BEFORE...

I was 15 at the time, currently standing inside of a big training room — my father made me train constantly to make sure I come out of every fight alive.

Right, left, right, left — I zeroed in on my strikes, making sure I had perfected each and every punch. I liked these kinds of places — it felt like home.

"Hello," my ears picked up a soft voice call from behind me.

Turning around, I faced a girl around my age with pale blonde hair and wide doe-like eyes "Hi, are you new here?" I spoke lightly.

"Not really," the girl in front of me mumbled shyly "My dad trains here,"

Surely enough I saw a man over by the side of the gym waving "Well, my names Scar, it's nice to meet you"

"My names Alice," the girl in front of me smiled while shaking my hand "Alice Mafitina."

Over the course of one year I had become great friends with her but as soon as my parents died Alice stopped talking to me. 

Stopped answering my calls. 

Stopped replying to my texts. 

And stopped being my friend.

I never knew why she did but one thing was for sure — I never forgave her for abandoning me when I needed her the most.

*

*

*

"So, get this, I walk up to that nice waitress and ask for the bill only for her to tell me it's already been paid for." Mark sighed, snapping her out of her thoughts.

She looked up at him "I ate more than one slice - it seemed fair that I pay for the meal"

"No, it's not fair!" he exclaimed "That was me paying you back, but now I owe you again,"

Scar got out of her seat calmly — he was pretty tall, maybe a head taller than her "You don't owe me anything."

"I do, you saved me from that bully, nursed me back to health and paid for my meal." She only turned away from him and walked out of the Diner, Alice waved pleasantly while the both of them passed — Scar kept her head down "Where are we going now?"

"A place,"

"Really?" he asked sarcastically "...You're not going to tell me, are you?"

She sighed tiredly "So, you are smart and can you relax? I can see you shaking from here,"

"Shaking? no way" Mark laughed nervously, he followed after her even though the both of them were getting drenched in the rain

She only smirked at his attempt to sound brave, truth be told she needed to get out of that Diner — it may not have been the same Alice from her memories but the girl that left her plagued her mind every time their eyes would meet. 

And she didn't like the feeling at all.

* * *

"Braxton?" the women whispered into her phone as her eyes stared after the two people that had exited through the glass doors.

The man on the other side of the phone grunted "What did I say about calling me! you know I'm a busy person-"

"I found her."

Silence filled the space before either of them even dared to speak "...who?"

"Scar"

Immediately the man on the other side jolted to life, his voice coming out more clear "Where?"

"Here, at the Diner"

Alice paced back and forth, the rain was messing up the reception making her voice barely audible "What was she doing there?"

"I'm not sure, she was here, ate and left. That's all I know," She thought it was better to not include the fact that Scarlett came with another guy.

She could hear shuffling on the other side "Where is she now? Did you stop her?"

"No, I didn't" Alice sighed "But I do know one thing, she goes to Prosperous High"

The boy next to Scarlett was holding a small bag with the initials P.H or better known as the insignia for the most elite school in Manesfield Valley "Is that all?"

"...Braxton, you have to know  - she's not the same as before."

"Not the same? Did she talk to you?"

She shut her eyes for a second "No, that's the thing, Braxton. She didn't talk to me any more than she had to - she was cold...her eyes were like ice, like she was shielding herself from something..."

"What are you saying?"

Her eyes snapped open "I'm saying...she isn't the same Scar we know. The girl I saw didn't smile or laugh, or even introduce herself...just don't have your hopes up when you see her."

"How do you know it was Scar, for certain?"

Her eyes welled with tears at the memories that made their way into her mind "You know how Scar isn't short for Scarlett, instead it's short for the scar just behind her ear?"

"Yes..."

He trailed off, beckoning her to continue "she had the same scar behind her ear, her eyes were the same blue mixed with green and every time the rain got too loud she'd flinch."

"...I'm coming as fast as I can." and just like that the phone call ended

Alice regretted not seeing Scar when her parents died, but at that time she thought she was doing the right thing in protecting her. 

When Scar left, there were no traces of her — Scarlett's last name was a common one, there were at least 500 other people with the last name 'Walker' in every city.

Alice felt tears gather in her eyes at the thought of her friend having to face the world on her own, oh, how she wished she could go back in time and fix everything before it was too late...