Two days ago, Anneliese's father sent her a letter saying he'd be out of the country for a few days, so she hadn't received any letters recently. Although, he did think about sending one during his trip because he could still mail it from where he was; however, it might take some time to arrive. He might return before the letter would even reach.

Since it was Sunday, she slept in due to the lack of sleep from the last few days. She was sleeping soundly until her phone rang. 'Ocean Eyes' by Billie Eilish played as the ringtone. She rolled over and covered her face with the blanket. The phone rang a second time and she moved the blanket away to accept the call. "Hello?"

"Good morning, Anne."

She sat up and rubbed her eyes. "Archer..good morning..."

"May I call you that?"

"Call me what?" She yawned.

"Anne..."

She blinked a few times. "Oh..um, sure." She smiled unconsciously.

"Did I wake you?"

"Huh? No, no, no. You didn't."

"Oh, that's good."

"Oh, um, why'd you call?" She got up and put her deep brown hair into a messy ponytail.

"I wanted to treat you to a meal since it's Sunday today."

"Is it because of the deal?" She went to the bathroom to brush her teeth.

"Erm, partially."

"Okay. Well, where do you want to meet and when?"

"Sebastian's Cafe at twelve."

"Okay, I'll call Clare and tell her too."

"Ah, no. Just..."

"Yes?"

"I..only you need to come..."

'Only me? Why?" thought Anneliese. "I thought you treating me to a meal meant I could bring anyone with me," she teased.

"Ah, w-well. If you want..."

"I'm just kidding." She chuckled. "I'll see you at twelve then."

"Yeah..see you..." He smiled to himself. She hung up and ate breakfast. She had an hour and a half to get ready, so she decided to catch up on some shows before taking a shower and changing clothes. Archer stopped the treadmill he was on and wiped the sweat off with a towel. He downed a bottle of water and threw it in the trash. 'Should I go pick her up?' thought Archer, and he decided to pick up Anneliese ten minutes before twelve.

Twenty minutes before twelve, he took a shower and got ready. He wore a white sweater; a long, light brown coat; black jeans; and white sneakers. His wrist was accessorized by a silver watch from Mido.

After getting dressed, he texted Clarissa for Anneliese's address. Arch: Hey, Clarissa. Do you know Anne's apartment address?

Clare: Of course. Why?

Arch: I have to pick her up.

Clare: Oh, it's XXXXX XXXXX XXXXXX. Her lock password is 0214. It's her birthday ;)

Arch: I only needed her address, not her password too!

Clare: It's just in case.

He sighed but remembered it anyway and drove to the address given. In her apartment room, Anneliese fell asleep on the couch. She woke up after a while and checked the time. "Ah, crap! I got ten minutes to get ready!" She got off the couch and sprinted to the bathroom for a shower.

Five minutes before twelve, he reached her apartment. He went up and knocked on her door. "I hope I don't freak her out by doing this..." he said. Nobody answered. He knocked a second time and waited but nothing happened. As he was about to knock again, he heard something shatter inside, and the first thing that came to his mind was danger. He entered the password and opened the door to see her on the floor. "Anneliese!" he called her.

"Damn, this was my favorite cup too..." She was kneeling on the floor with glass bits in front of her knees. Her hand holding a rather large piece. She was frowning and shaking her head. She looked at the entrance, confused. "...Archer?" Then, she noticed the situation; she was only in a towel. "ARCHER!" She put her hands over her chest and turned around fast as lightning.

He realized what was happening and quickly turned away as well while blushing intensely. "Ah! I-I'm so sorry! I didn't know!" he apologized.

"What are you doing here?!" she asked.

"I came to pick you up."

'He came to pick me up?' thought Anneliese, and she relaxed then tensed up again when she was reminded that she's still in a towel. "Um! I'll go get dressed first. Wait out here!" She got up and ran to her room. She closed the door and put her back against it as she laid her hand over her chest. She was frazzled and blushing. 'I can't believe that happened!' thought Anneliese as she fanned herself.

'Wait out here? Of course I'd wait out here! I wouldn't dare go inside!' thought Archer. His thoughts lingered back to the scene he saw before him when he burst in. She was in a towel that hugged her tightly around the chest; the top of her bosom showing. Her wet hair stuck on her forehead, the sides of her face, neck, clavicle, and shoulders. Dripping droplets of water, and those droplets sliding down her beautiful skin. His face felt hot again, and he punched himself in the gut. Hard. "Get out of your imagination, Archer Marx!"

A few minutes later, she came out of her room fully clothed. Her face was still red, and her head stayed down. "I'm done..." He turned around and stifled a laugh. "What's wrong?" she asked.

"Your clothes," he answered.

She looked at him then at herself. Her eyes went wide when she noticed they were both dressed the same way. She was wearing a white, fitted sweater; a light brown cardigan; black, high-waisted, skinny jeans; and white, Converse shoes. Her hair was in a low, messy ponytail, and she had a white, crossbody purse by Kate Spade on.

'I was too busy too even notice what he was wearing when he came in! This is so awkward. What if he thinks I tried to match with him?!' She cleared her throat. "For your information, I was too taken aback by what happened to notice what you were wearing, so this was not on purpose. I'll go change right now."

"No! It's fine. You look wonderful. There's no need to change," he stated, and she blushed yet again. He rubbed the back of his neck shyly. 'Ah, I can't believe I've become like this because of her,' he thought.

"Let me clean up the glass before we go," said Anneliese as she knelt down again to pick up the broken pieces of the cup and throw it away.

"What happened?"

"I went to get a cup of water, and it slipped out of my hand."

'She's so clumsy,' thought Archer, and a smile formed on his face.

"Okay, let's go now." She pushed him out the door, and they went to the lobby together. Just as they reach the entrance, she stopped in her tracks. "I forgot my phone!" she exclaimed.

"I'll wait for you outside then," said Archer.

She went to grab her phone and returned to the lobby. She looked out the glass doors of the entrance to see him leaning against his car, looking to the side. He had his hands in his pockets, which made his arms look amazing. His side profile was beautiful. His perfectly sharp jawline was enhanced by the angle his head was positioned. The way he stood gave off a charming aura. '...He looks so sexy...' She shook her head. 'What are you thinking of, Anneliese Mormont?! Get your head out of the gutter!'

She entered the car, and he drove them to the cafe. They found a table by the wall and sat down. "I'm going to get some food. What would you like?" he asked her.

"I'll get what you'll get," she answered.

"Are you fine with some sandwiches and a salad?"

"Yeah, definitely." She nodded with a smile. He returned later with a tray of sandwiches, salads, and juice. "I didn't know you'd eat salads," she commented.

"I try to eat healthily," he remarked as he placed the plates in front of her.

"Thank you." She took a bite from the sandwich. "This tastes good!"

"Glad you like it. I come here for food often when I have time because it's really good."

"Okay, so I've decided to do my part of the searching the day before yours. When will you do yours?" asked Anneliese, and he hesitated.

"I'm doing it on the twenty-first," he answered.

"That's this Saturday."

"Yeah, will your parents be suspicious if you're home on a Friday evening?"

"No, I'll just say my classes are starting later than usual the next day."

"Please be careful." He looked at her gently.

"Don't worry." She smiled.

"About your part. How-"

"Can we not talk about that for now?" he asked, and she complied.

"What do you want to talk about?"

"...How about we get to know each other? We've been doing this thing for some time, but I don't know much about you."

"You want to know more about me?" She raised an eyebrow.

"Yeah, you don't want to get to know each other?" His brows knitted together.

"No, I just mean I'm not that interesting."

"I find you interesting." She looked at his eyes, and they seemed to sparkle like an Aqua Aura Quartz.

"Oh my gosh! They're so cute. They're matching! I wish my boyfriend would do that with me," a girl, who sat near them with her friends, said.

Anneliese and Archer looked at each other then broke into smiles. "Ah, teenagers..." he said.

"Yeah, teenagers... So, about your suggestion, do you want to go first?" she asked, and he chuckled.

"Sure." His eyes gleamed as he smiled.

. . .

Anneliese rolled around on her bed in delight. She got happy when she remembered how her afternoon went with Archer. They talked about lots of things, and they had many things in common. She thought she had to write this down to someone; to share her joy. She got a piece of paper and started writing to her father.

Dear father,

          Today, I went out to eat a meal with the guy I mentioned before. He said he'd treat me to three meals, and this time was the first one. It was really funny. We matched by accident, and a teenager got envious of how lovey-dovey we were. If only she knew we weren't dating. I started talking about work, but he stopped me and said he'd rather get to know me better. Does this mean something? I'm smart, but when it comes to theses things, I'm not very good at it. We talked about a lot of things, and it turned out we had many interests in common! Enough about me. Tell me how your trip went!

Your daughter,
Anneliese

She smiled and bit on her lip as she reread her letter. Then, as usual, she sealed it in an envelope and delivered it to his apartment complex for Mrs. Moor's safekeeping until he returned the next day.