“No, no, I'm sure.” Hannah muttered into her phone, as she took a careful sip of her warm cup of coffe. The girl cursed slightly at herself, as she almost burnt her tongue, completely forgetting about the caller on the other end. Her sister kept speaking like a train with no breaks. Apparently some boy had caused her a headache, for a reason Hannah was still trying to figure out. The coffe shop was rather empty at this time of day, and the young woman only had her homework and her frusated sister on the phone to keep her company. But as tiring as her sister Claire could be, Hannah always enjoyed their little talks on the phone, especially now that she herself had moved to north Sacramento. Claire was still in high school back in Toronto. The climate change had been quite hard hitting for Hannah, but she quickly got used to the heat, always finding it so warm, when the Americans found it cool.
Finishing her cup of coffee, and finally convincing her younger sister that the boy surely hadn't tried to offend Claire by calling some band horrible, she was on her way.. Waving her usual goodbye to Mister Thatchter behind the counter, Hannah left the shop. The city was still waking up as she made her way to Coalmire Street, though Hannah had been up for hours. She always had been quite the morning person, and enjoyed strolling through the city when the cars were just heating up. Still, she let out a morning yawn, already having studied what she needed for the day. She didn't need to go back to the University for another few days, but still kept a strict studying plan. With quick steps she finally made it back to the apartments. It was a house filled with young adults, moving away from home and beginning their pursuit for wealth and happiness in life. And they didn't cost too much, either.
Just as she was about to open up the door, a small item was missing from her bag. With a sigh, Hannah bumped her head into the door to the house,. There she stood, on the street and sighing at herself.
“You had to forget the key again, didn't you?” she muttered to herself.

"Uuugh." Ace grumbled with a strong tone of disgust as he raised a hand to shield his eyes from the beams of sunlight that pierced in-between the buildings and onto his frame. He walked sluggishly; dragging his feet along and slouching his back. It had been another sleepless night. The convenience store clerk always liked to point out the dark bags under Ace's heavy eyes and how he should rest more (which frustrated the heck out of Ace) so he knew others could tell something was wrong with him. He tried to make it seem like he didn't care, which just consisted of him making an emotionless face and taking out his Ipod. After maneuvering between songs on the Ipod, the can of soda in his right hand, and the delicate plastic bag filled with unhealthy snacks, he put in his red earbuds. Heavy metal screamed into his ears. A smirk did escape him, however, as he imagined his dad saying, "You are going to go DEAF with that crap!"

The smile faded however as he thought once more about his sleep. "Maybe I should try taking those sleeping pills the doctor gave me…. I hate medicine, but it may be my only option." he thought. He stared at the sidewalk for awhile. When he knew he was approaching his building, he looked up, and his bangs swept to the side as he tilted his head in confusion. There was a girl with her head on the front door of his apartment building. He took a step closer then stopped."Who's she?" he wondered. Suspicion filled him at first, but then, /duh../ she lives in this building too. He had seen her around but never really talked to her before. He wanted to question if everything was going alright, but was not one to initiate conversation. Maybe she was sad? Mad? He couldn't tell, so he just stared.

@SlashInfinite

Hannah raised her hand and passively poked the door, still having her head on the wooden door. She simply hadn't thought of a better idea, than to simply wait for anyone to come. It could be hours, though. Most were probably still resting after partying last night, or watching some episode of some show they all were so in love with. Not saying Hannah didn't enjoy watching things, she just preferred to do it after homework, as always. Finally she retracted her head, sighing at the door again. She looked up at the building, wondering if perhaps she was able to climb to her window? Hannah shrugged to herself, placing her hands on her hips before raising an eyebrow. Swiftly, the woman turned around, meeting the gaze of the young man. She froze briefly, staring at him in silence. How long had he been there? Upon further inspection she recognized him, a man living on the floor beneath her. She never knew what to make of him, but admitted to herself that she was most likely the one looking most strange in this situation.

“Ahem.” She cleared her throat, stepping towards him with her hands folded in front of her. “I uhh… You live here too, right? 102? 101? I forgot my key… Just this once.” Hannah offered an embarrassed smile, but still didn't really know how to act around him. She could barely even recall his name, and discreetly did all she could to avoid seeming like she had forgotten. Indeed, she preferred to keep track of things. Pausing for a brief second, she narrowed her eyes at him. He was up early. Hannah was used to having to sneak out in the mornings, to avoid waking up anyone else in the building. Realizing her empty situation, she quickly continued.
“I'd appreciate it if you could open up? I don't know if you ever caught my name,, but it's Hannah. I live in 110.” She tried to offer another smile, carefully holding out her hand for a handshake, as she had stepped closer.

@RosebeltAngel

It was odd watching the girl. Even for Ace who after watching her poke and stare at the door for what seemed like a long time, started feeling strange like he should speak up …but he didn't. When she turned around his body immediately went cold. So cold, that he was pretty sure that he had just become a frozen statue. "I should explain why I'm just sitting here!", he thought, "She's going to think of me as some kind of creep!" But then he realized that she looked just as petrified.

She stepped towards him and began talking. Except her talking was something about bodies hitting the floor? "Shit!" he cursed under his breath as he yanked the earbuds out of his ears. Her actual voice was a nice change of pace for him. It had been a few days since anyone really talked to him except for the convenience store clerk and Professor, his cat, who just whined about food most of the time. She gave him an odd look and he felt as if he shrank at her gaze even though she was shorter. "I'm Ace…" he said quietly, "Yeah I live here. I'm in 101." He noticed her outstretched hand and cautiously went in for a handshake. He ended it quickly however, thinking that maybe his hand would feel too clammy against hers. Yep, that was awkward. "Sure I can open the door for you." He tried his best to make an equal amount of eye contact between her and the door. He told himself this was to make her feel comfortable, but knew it was because he wanted to stare at her while they talked, and didn't want to freak her out.

He walked up to the door. He withdrew a Pokemon lanyard with a few keys on it from out of his pocket. He opened the door and held it for her. "You know where your keys are right? You didn't lose them? I lost my mom's house key once, and that really sucked." he said a little louder and with a bit more confidence.
@SlashInfinite

Hannah tried to follow his gaze as he spoke, nodding as he said his name. She carefully stepped along his way, the sound of the cars driving throughout the city increasing as the minutes passed. Still, she didn't quite know what to make of him, but he had been friendly so far. It was almost as if an irritating thorn had been pulled out of her finger as the door was opened, and silently she let out a sigh of relief for herself. She nodded towards him, as he held the door and spoke again. “Uhuh, I probably left the key for the front door on my kitchen table, or something. I have the one for my apartment, luckily. I don't usually lose my keys though.” A small lie never hurt anyone. Hannah did keep track of so many things, but keys were her absolute bane. She never could quite go a month without losing or almost loosing a key. A curse, she had told herself.

Sh discreetly eyed the Pokemon lanyard, flashing a small smirk, being reminded of the times she and her sister had played Pokemon on each vacation, a tradition that sadly died out when they grew older. Hannah's attention quickly returned to Ace, though. She nodded in agreement, as she carefully stepped inside, running a hand through her hazel hair as she looked up towards the stairs.
“Mhm, loosing house keys are the worst. Especially your parents.” Hannah attempted a quick and careful smile, before she continued. “Me and my sister were once locked outside for hours, because our parents were out of town, and my sister couldn't find the key.” Hannah shivered at the thought, before stepping up the stairs, awaintng Ace before she continued. The stairs were fairly new and renovated, and looked quite neatly. The inhabitants hadn't ruined them yet, though Hannah didn't have high expectations. Still, they looked nice while they were there.

“What do you do, Ace? Study, work, secret government agent?” She almost sighed at her own humor. As the door closed, a strange breeze ran through the building, causing even the Canadian a strange shiver. She grunted slightly at it, but simply dismissed it afterwards.

Ace closed the door behind himself as they entered. However, a weird whip of air had entered and made a shiver run down his spine. He put a hand onto his opposite shoulder and gave a little rub to warm/comfort himself. /That was weird, I must have closed the door too hard…but it didn't slam? Did it? Maybe I didn't notice?/ Thinking this, he immediately blurted out, "Sorry.", just in case Hannah thought he shut the door in a rude way. He again walked to her side and gave a stumped face at her question.

"Government Agent, huh?" He gave a little laughing grunt and along with it, a smirk. He could feel his face getting a little hot. If he was actually a secret agent, his cover would have just been blown by the simple question. He was terrible at keeping or hiding secrets. He got both hands and used them to tug his hoodie outwards a little more to hide his face. His voice sounded embarrassed as he said, "I, um, I take online classes with the local university. I am looking for a job in the meantime. I want to work at the local animal shelter, but they are usually fully staffed and looking only for volunteers. I would do that, but I need money for rent, ya know?" He was shocked at himself for saying so much. Is this what people usually do when they meet? Probe others for information right away? Was she interested in being friends with him? Ace didn't really interact with any other residents (except for Hector in apartment 104 whom he would play videogames with every now and then. And even with that, it was strictly 'videogame business'. Along with free Mountain Dew. How could Ace turn that down?).

"I've heard talk of a new cat café opening up around here…." he mumbled. Oh gawd. Did he really bring up the cat café? It was as close to a dream job as he could get, but he was embarrassed about telling anyone (even his parents about that). His love of cats was truly his weakness. His stomach started to churn. Then he realized he didn't finish his sentence. /Ah! She's going to think I'm suggesting something!/

He began flailing his arms about and his face became even redder.
@SlashInfinite

Hannah gave a few friendly nods as he spoke of his study and wish for work. She was fond of animals herself, so she wasn't going to make any complaints about possibly working at a shelter. Noble work, Hannah agreed to herself. She eyed him up and down, flashing a quick smile at the look of him covering himself as he spoke. He seemed so nervous, or perhaps just not used to speaking with strangers on stairs, not that she was either. Hannah listened carefully, having stopped on the stairs. She had folded her arms passively, rubbing her sleeves.

“A cat café?” Hannah couldn't help but break into a smile, easily picking up on the boy's panic attack. She chuckled lightly, letting her tongue wet her lips as she spoke back, attempting to calm him down. “I'm afraid I don't own a cat. Is that a necessity? I apologize, but I don't have a lot of knowledge on cat cafés.” Hannah giggled again, not being able to keep a smile away, not that she was making a fool of him, she simply had found the whole situation entertaining and quite unexpected. She turned around, beginning to walk up the stairs, looking down at Ace again, seemingly expecting him to follow.
Nonetheless, she stopped with a halt, almost bumping into a man, standing completely still on the stairs in front of her. He had red eyes, and stood stiff as a door. Hannah blinked at him, before recognizing him. It was a boy by the name of Derek, the local pothead living on the second floor. He seemingly hadn't picked up on them, before shaking his head violently at Hannah.

“They're coming, man.” He said, with his sluggish slow voice, waving his finger at the walls. Hannah sighed, with an unimpressed glance, shaking her head at him. Derek was waking up smoking, and went to bed smoking. Strange encounters like these weren't unusual. One never knew exactly what would happen when they bumped into Derek and his blonde dreadlocks.
“You really need to lay off on the smoking, Derek. It's getting out of hand.” Hannah waved her hand in front of herself, waving the smell away. He muttered something in return, walking past Hannah and down towards Ace.

“I swear man, it's for real. I saw them, man. You know it, right? You've heard them, man!” Derek blurted out, grabbing the hood of Ace, leaning uncomfortably close to the man. “They're mean, man…”

@RosebeltAngel

Ace calmed a little at Hannah's reply about the cat cafés. He wanted to go into more detail, but wasn't sure he could do so without sounding too excited. As he searched for words, his eyes followed Hannah walking up the stairs. That's when he noticed Derek standing there, looking obviously distraught. Ace watched as Derek gave some kind of warning about something coming, and gave the man a weird look. He never understood why people did drugs. Why would they want to end up like Derek? Be strange, ramble about random things, be lazy, and stink. He couldn't stand the smell of weed.

Derek zipped down the stairs towards Ace, causing the young man to stagger backwards in surprise. Derek ranted erratically and grabbed Ace's hoodie pulling him close. "Get off me!" Ace protested, grabbing Derek's arms and trying to pull them away. But Derek was relentless. Ace had to physically shove the man away from him with considerable force. "Dude, your wasted! Go home!" Ace was pissed. He didn't like people just grabbing all over him like that. Ace quickly walked past Derek, mean-mugging him in the process, grabbed Hannah's hand, and started quickly jogging up the stairs. He didn't want Derek to try any funny stuff with her. He had enough.

When they reached the next floor, Ace peered down between the stair railings. He felt safe enough for the moment. A lingering smell of the pothead still on his hoodie. Gross.

"What the hell is that guy's problem? He needs some serious help!" Ace was flustered with his hands in fists. He took a deep breath, but then immediately started grinding his teeth after.

Hannah stared strangely at Derek and Ace. She jumped a little, being fairly surprised by Ace’s actions – not that she did not understand them. Without further words, Ace grabbed Hannah’s hand and dragged her along. Once at the next floor, Hannah would instinctively pull her hand to herself, looking down towards Derek with a frown. She’d rub her hand slightly, not from the pull, but more from the shock. Standing dumbfounded, she’d look to Ace.

“That was… peculiar. I know Derek is usually off on things, but that was stranger than usual.” She’d scoff down towards Derek, who continued his rambling and was headed outside. Once outside, Hannah looked to Ace, sort of speechless. “I uh, don’t know what to say.” Hannah shrugged at him, grimacing at the situation.

Shaking her head, Hannah rubbed her forehead, sighing heavily. She’d begin climbing the stairs for the next floor, stopping and turning to Ace. “I seriously need a drink. Feel free to come along.” She didn’t exactly smile, but her tone was friendly. With quick steps the young woman stepped up to her door, finding out her keys and unlocking it. “I’ve got wine.” Hannah shouted out towards Ace, most likely still standing on the stairs. Leaving the door open, Hannah dropped off her bag on a sofa, directly heading for the kitchen to find a bottle of wine.

Her apartment was neatly decorated, everything kept in place. The rooms looked clean, organized and smelt freshly. She enjoyed keeping it neat, much to the nature of her person.
“It’s never too early to calm the nerves.” She’d nod firmly.

@RosebeltAngel

It didn't hit Ace till a moment after, that Hannah had invited him up to her apartment for a drink. He looked up after her, a little slack-jawed that she would ask. They had only just really started talking minutes ago. He was surprised that she was so trusting. That was okay though, right? He liked to think of himself as a trustworthy kind of guy. A few perverted thoughts started popping up in his mind, and when she was out of sight, he gently face palmed. It was true, he was still a guy after all. He shook his head, literally shaking the thoughts from his mind.

/She's just being friendly. I will get drinks then leave. It's as simple as that./

As he thought all this, he realized that he hadn't moved from the spot where she had asked the question. He heard her door open, but didn't hear it shut. /She must be waiting for me./

He hopped up the stairs, skipping one on every jump. He slowly made his way to her door and took a deep breath. He turned inside, and stared at the floor, only looking up to make sure she was actually there. "Um, I don't like wine. But I can take a –" and that's when he noticed the bag in his hand, "Oh, nevermind." He took out an energy drink labeled 'Red Bull' from the bag, "I have something already."

Her apartment was nice and clean. It was the complete opposite of his apartment. He cringed at the thought of someone like her, who seemed so neat, going into the messy inferno called his home. He felt lucky Professor hasn't moved out yet.

"I like your place." he said, standing in the middle of her kitchen while starting to look around a bit more.

He wondered how old Hannah was. She looked around his age, but liked wine? Maybe she just had more refined taste? He took nervous sip after sip of his drink. He felt like he should get to know her more since she was being so kind to him. "You asked me what I do, um, how about yourself?" His fingers fidgeted on the can.

Hannah uncorked the bottle, pouring herself a glass of red. She grabbed the class and turned around, leaning on the kitchen counter behind her. The sun had risen high by now, the city having woken up by now. The young woman sat silently for a bit, before taking a small sip as she would nod towards Ace. “I study at the University. I study law.” She nodded, giving a small bow.

After a few sips, Hannah put the glass down again, setting off from the counter. Calmly she folded her arms, as she would wander around the apartment. Shrugging, she spoke again. “I work at a coffee shop nearby.” Hannah did not mind the job, and her tone indicated just that. Her mornings off work started at the coffee shop too, just like this one had. She enjoyed the place, as it was her little get-away. She pointed towards a uniform hanging on a closet, along with a neat brown apron.

“I’ve not got classes again until a few days, so that’s great.” Hanna nodded with both her eyebrows raised, giving a subtle ‘thumbs-up’ with both her fingers as she placed herself down upon her sofa. “That said, I didn’t mean to keep you if you’d rather be somewhere else. I just wanted to offer a drink over that strange encounter with Derek. I apologize on his behalf, he doesn’t really know his limits, you know?” Hannah offered an apologetic smile.

The light from outside quickly faded away, as the sun had been blocked by the sky outside, in an unusual manner. Hannah looked towards the window, scoffing slightly. “Wasn’t it clear a moment ago?” And just as she said it, the light came back. She tilted her head. “I don’t understand this American weather. At least it’s always cloudy in Canada.” She giggled warmly at that.

@RosebeltAngel

Ace walked into the livingroom after Hannah nodding as she talked. He followed in her steps and also sat down on the couch. "I don’t really have anything planned today." he said, knowing he wasn't much of a planner. The couch was awfully comfortable. He held his drink tightly, wishing he had put it on the kitchen counter. He didn’t notice it, but his blinks became longer and longer as he came up with small talk that soon turned to mumbled gibberish.

"zzZZZ…zzzZZZ"

Soft snores escaped Ace as he had officially dozed off. His grip on the drink slowly loosened, and the drink began to tilt ever so slightly.

@SlashInfinite

Hannah nodded a bit, feeling slightly lazy as she sat in the sofa. For a bit, they sat in silence, Hannah simply staring at the window. Her mind had dozed off, the early day catching up to her with a heavy sigh. Just as she was about to speak, the snore escaped Ace. The woman grimaced, not having been in a situation with a stranger dozing off in her sofa before. Or well.

She quickly noticed the drink, quickly grabbing it from Ace’s hand, just before it tipped over. As she carefully put it down, Hannah carefully spoke up, trying to awake the sleeping boy. “Ace? Uh, you dozed off there. Maybe you need a nap?” She pushed herself up from the sofa, folding her arms with a small smile. As much as she tried to hide it, it was obvious she found the scenario awkward. Though seeing Ace dozing off had triggered tiredness for herself. Though it was still morning, a nap would not hurt.

@RosebeltAngel

Opening his hazel eyes in Hannah's direction, he stretched and let out a yawn. His eyes then bolted open, "Wha- …did I just? I'm so sorry!" he said, quickly getting up from the couch, "It's been days since I've fallen asleep like that!" He gave a look that yelled uncomfortable and a little afraid. Was her couch just that magical that it could make him sleep like that? Before she could speak again, Ace was backing up. "I should- I should go. Professor, my cat, needs food!" With that, he bolted out the door, shutting it behind him.

As soon as he was back in the hallway, sleepiness hit him hard. How embarrassing…. Now she's going to think I find her boring. She's not boring though. She is actually pretty cool. …Ah! I just ran out of there! ..Maybe I should go back?" He turned back and forth in place a few times before becoming overwhelmed and dashing to his apartment.

He shook his head and fumbled with his keys.
I'm such a dumbass.

Hannah as simply left still with the drink in her hand, as Ace stormed out of the apartment. She tilted her head at his direction, hearing some keys a few moments later. When his door closed, Hannah scurried after, closing her own. Still with the drink in her hand, she let out a heavy sigh. The morning had certainly been interesting, possibly for the better. Derek had been strangely high, but Ace had been nice enough to spend some time with. She did not blame him for falling asleep, as she was certain it would make a good story to laugh at, in the future.

The minutes passed, and the sleepiness grew. Hannah wandered off to her bed in the middle of the day. She did not even bother to remove anything but her pants, and jumped into her bed. She snuggled herself into a comfy position and muttered to herself. “Just a few minutes…” But the hours passed on, and before she would know, the evening had come.

@RosebeltAngel

The door closed behind Ace and he walked into the kitchen. He could see Professor getting up and stretching on the top of the coffee table. "Meerooww~" the little black cat yawned as it trotted over to Ace. Ace sighed, still thinking of Hannah, and put his plastic bag on the counter. He fed Professor then headed to his room. Of course it took a little acrobatic work to get over all the dirty clothes, pizza boxes, and cans but he eventually made it. He put on some comfy baggy pajamas and rolled into bed. He had grown to dislike his bed, since there had been so many times where he would lay for hours and not sleep, but he felt like this time may be a little different.

"Was I finally just so drained that I fell asleep? Or maybe if I had a clean apartment like Hannah's I would be able to fall asleep here too?" he said to the big bellied cat as Professor strolled in. Ace gave a weary smile. Maybe he could get in a few hours today. He shut his eyes and let the sounds of passing cars and a purring cat take over his mind.

Soon his breathing began to even out.

~~~~~~

*Clank*
Ace woke up to a noise. He slowly sat up in his bed and wiped the small line of drool from his mouth. Professor sat innocently on his dresser looking down at a fallen clock. Ace glared in frustration, but then noticed it was dark outside. "I! I slept!" he shouted happily. He hopped out of bed, feeling a lot better than this morning and pet Professor. "I should celebrate!" he declared as he worked his way to the living room to get to the phone. He picked up his cordless phone, and then looked under his coffee table for the phonebook. He knew the pizza delivery guy's number by heart, but always looked it up anyway. It just felt more official that way. He flipped to their page, and then suddenly there was a ringing in his ears. "Ah!" He dropped the phone onto the couch and looked up with an irritated looked.

*WHHHOOOOOMMMPPPP~*
The room filled with light and Ace was pushed into the sofa by an unseen force. His hair blew violently backwards, papers fluttered all over the place, and a strange sound was piercing throughout the apartment.

~~~~~~

*Clank*
Ace woke up to a noise. He slowly sat up in his bed and wiped the small line of drool from his mouth. Professor sat innocently on his dresser looking down at a fallen clock. He was halfway up when he then bolted out of bed, scaring Professor and making him run away. "Huh?! What the f- was that??!!" He looked all around and checked himself. No wounds. He ran out into the livingroom which looked perfectly normal. (Messy, but that was normal) He gave a confused look. "Was I dreaming?"

He calmed down a bit and decided to poke his head out the window to see if everyone outside was okay. He looked and everything seemed okay. The cars were in no rush to get around and people on the streets weren't panicking. "It must have just been a dream. Ha. How bizarre. Guess that's what happens when you don't get enough sleep..."

His dream was beginning to get a little fuzzy in his mind now so he decided to stop thinking about it. Professor cried out in hunger. "Look buddy, if you're going to continue to eat so much, you're going to have to help pay some bills!" he joked. "But food does sound good!" He gave Professor some smelly, salmon-tasting wet food and ordered a pepperoni pizza with extra, extra cheese from the local delivery place.

While waiting Ace just sat around watching cooking shows (which wasn't helping his hunger much but they were entertaining). Soon Ace forgot about his dream all together. *Knock knock knock* The Pizzaman was at the door. Professor hopped off Ace's lap as he got up and headed to the door, grabbing his wallet along the way. He opened the door. "Heeeyyyy Ace." said the oily faced teen girl in a peppy tone as she fixed her uniform a little bit. Ace gave a refreshing smile, "Hey ..uh.."

"Alice." she reminded him with a shy smile.

"Ah." Ace nodded. He usually got a guy named Steve but every now and then he got this girl. He wasn't sure if she had a thing for him, or just was like this with everyone. His experience with girls was very limited. He kept their chatting to a minimum. She told him the price and he took out his wallet. However, it slipped in his hand and change went all over the floor.
"Aw man. I'm sorry." he apologized then went to pick it up. But as he reached for the coins, they slid backwards on the floor away from his hand. Alice noticed this and gave a curious look but laughed, "How are you doing that?"

Ace didn't answer. He was confused himself. He slowly reached again, but it was almost like a magnetic effect. "Um.." he started as he stood up again with the coins still on the ground, "Here." he gave her all bills (which he didn't really like to do when he had change) but he just wanted her to leave so he could figure out what was going on. "Okaaaayyyyy." she whispered as her eyes went towards the stairs with her body following along. Ace watched her leave, and then stood in his doorway looking at the coins. He felt very concerned.

@SlashInfinite

Hannah woke with a terrible jump, a loud noise and light meeting her gaze. Confused and hit by panic, she pulled her hand to cover her eyes with her hand. A terrible wind surrounded her, tossing her off in the bed and into the wall behind her. Landing with a hard thrust, she cursed out, before she looked up in sheer confusing and panic. The terrible wind was blowing up in the entire room, making such a terrible mess in its wake. The windows broke as several items flew straight through them, covering the floor with the shattered glass pieces. Finally, a green ethereal light flew straight for the young woman. It surged through her, bringing an electric sensation with it. And with that, Hannah was knocked to sleep.

Again, Hannah awoke with a jump. She breathed quickly and heavily, the darkness of the dusk falling upon her through the window. Still hit by panic, she looked around in her apartment, only to find it as it always stood. The realization brought a heavy sigh of relief with it, as she calmed down. Just a nightmare, then. Hannah nodded to herself, quickly disembarking from her now sweaty sheets. Hannah slowly made her way through the apartment, rubbing her eyes with yet another sigh. Throughout the apartment, a steady scent still carried in the air. It was as it always was, clean and smelled the same. She passed back into the kitchen, still only dressed in her shirt and a pair of underpants. The shirt was slightly too big, hanging off one shoulder steadily as she walked. Her throat was sore, craving for water after the many hours of sleep.

The energy drink still stood upon the table in front of the sofa, from Ace’s earlier visit. Hannah furrowed her brows at first, but quickly recalled the earlier happening, which brought a smile to her face. The pace at which he had stormed out was quite impressive, for anyone really. Surely, the awkwardness of the situation had gotten the better of him, even though it barely bothered Hannah. It was a fun change, and entertaining. Though she did not mind his timing, it could have become a little too strange for her taste. She quickly shook her head, snapping back into reality as she had simply frozen in her place during her stream of thoughts. The girl headed for the fridge, eagerly awaiting the much-anticipated water. Her tired fingers lazily opened the fridge, causing her to squint her eyes violently at the heavenly light attacking her vision. After what felt like a blind struggling to navigate the newest McDonalds down Main Street, Hannah finally got a hold of a bottle of water.

Quickly, she dumped herself into the sofa, pulling up both her legs underneath her, snuggling herself into position. Without much thought, she opened the bottle and took a simple sip. Hannah put the bottle upon the table, leaving the bottlecap besides it. With a swift movement, Hannah stretched her arms, yawning at that. In the same moment, a string of the water flew up from the bottle, splashing right on the wall behind her. “What in the fuck!?” she burst out in surprise, covering up her mouth in surprise, perhaps more of the swear, than the actual happening. She was left with an open mouth, trying to figure out what had happened. Her gaze quickly shifted between the bottle, and the now wet spot above her. However, her attention turned towards the bottle again, causing a curious raised eyebrow. The water within the bottle was not resting at the bottom, as water normally did. Instead, it was hovering carefully in the bottle. “What in the world…?” Hannah muttered, assuming she could only still be dreaming, but it seemed so real.

As she lowered her hands down towards the bottle, the water carefully followed her motion, descending down inside the bottle.

“What…?”