A/N: As usual, I would recommend putting the video on loop.

In the trash was the old sheet that had been on the mannequin. There was no point in putting it back on the mannequin after dusting the whole thing off. (F/n)'s solution was to grab an apron since she didn't' think having a nude mannequin in the kitchen would be appropriate. When it had the apron on, though, it looked ... worse. Well, not so much worse, just ... not right. Rubbing the bridge of her nose, she muttered a few choice words under her breath. Really, this whole matter was becoming ridiculous, and she wished that her mind would stop teasing her to no end.

Taking the apron off, she walked over to the back of the kitchen and opened one of the cupboards. She should've thought of this first. Soon, she had a chef's shirt and black pants in her hands. There were spare uniforms stored in the cupboard. Hopefully, the sizes would fit the mannequin. (F/n) took one of Scarlett's since she was taller than Anita by about five inches.

Going back to the mannequin, she set the jacket down and picked up the mannequin. It definitely was heavy given all the metal piping going through it, but she managed to lift it onto the counter. With the pants back in hand, she slipped them onto it and slid them up. Thankfully, they fit just above its hips, and the pants reached its mid-calves. "Much better," she muttered to herself before she set the mannequin back on the ground. Next came the jacket, and she had no issue with slipping it on and buttoning it. Just barely, it covered its torso, and the sleeves didn't reach its wrists. No doubt, the outfit looked small on the mannequin, but at least it was decently covered now.

By the time she got the clothes on, she heard footsteps enter the first dining room, and the kitchen door soon opened. Anita now was wearing a grey pullover and black leggings with some fuzzy pink slippers. She leaned against the doorway and grinned a bit. "So, you dressed it. I suppose that is better than a sheet." She pushed herself off of the doorway and examined it closer. "Oh, did you dust it too?" A teasing grin formed on her lips. "Everywhere?"

Groaning, (f/n) rolled her eyes. "Yes. Now, stop being a child." She diverted her eyes from her friend and looked over to where she had gotten the uniform. "I made sure that there's still another spare in there for Scarlett." When she looked back to Anita, she saw that her friend continued to wear that grin of hers. "What?"

"So, did the mannequin come to life?"

"Yes, Anita, it came to life as I was cleaning it," she said, completely not amused. (F/n) leaned back against the counter and raised a brow. "You happy?"

"Very," she stressed and patted the mannequin on its left shoulder. "I imagine that you aren't so terrified of it anymore."

"Right. Well when we get replacement clothes, you're the one changing it," (f/n) commented, walking past her friend and out of the kitchen. Anita followed after her and was practically bouncing on her feet.

"So, you're fine with keeping it, then?" Anita asked, stepping up by (f/n) and wearing a wide grin.

Stopping, (f/n) practically glared, and an eyebrow of hers twitched. "Yeah. If it was alive, it had every opportunity to kill me in there. It didn't. It didn't even move unless I moved it." She sighed lightly. "But, it might only come alive when we're sleeping, so I'm locking my room door at night. I'm probably overreacting, but I'll sleep better. And, hopefully, it'll stay in the kitchen or wherever we place it."

"So, you'll still going to be testing it," Anita hummed out, glancing back to the kitchen door before she focused back on (f/n). "Okay, sure." She shrugged her shoulders and whispered, "I'll keep mine unlocked." Anita patted her friend on the right shoulder. "Let's see if it visits me this evening." Her voice continued to be quiet. Before (f/n) could protest, Anita shook her head. "I'll be fine. Naturally, it'll come after me if your door is locked. And, it shouldn't be able to hear this. Okay, so let's test it out."

"I ... fine," (f/n) eventually agreed when she noticed that Anita wasn't going to back down. "Just be careful." Anita nodded, and (f/n) knew that Anita wouldn't have volunteered if she had any belief that the mannequin actually was alive. If she had even the smallest inkling that it was living, she wouldn't be keeping her door unlocked.

Before either of them could say anymore on the matter, Jason entered the dining room and smiled to both of them. "Wiring's done, and the whole wall is down." He signaled for them to follow him. Anita smiled to (f/n) reassuringly before she followed after Jason. (F/n) shot one more glance towards the kitchen before she walked after her friend and the contractor.

Once in the storage area, both women paused for a moment. With the wall completely gone, the whole space looked quite large. The wooden shelf that had collapsed had been removed, and just the other ones remained. In the center of the room, the light now was working, and the space really felt all the more open with the illumination.

"Wow," Anita mentioned before she nodded in approval. "This looks much better."

"Thank you, though, is there anything else the two of you want fixed down here?" Jason asked, glancing over the area for anything that he might've missed.

"No, I don't think so," (f/n) answered and received a confirming nod from Anita. "Let me head upstairs and get a check." Jason nodded before she headed up, though; both Jason and Anita came up after her once the light in the storage space was turned off. Closing the storage area door, Jason headed into the one dining room with Anita.

Upstairs, (f/n) went into her room and over to her dark brown desk. Opening one of the drawers, she grabbed the check, but she looked to the wall clock on the way out. It was working; the batteries hadn't been knocked out of place again. No, don't over think it. It was the pipes. She forced herself to look away and head back downstairs.

When Jason was paid and gone, Anita had gone up into her room and brought up a cup of tomato basil soup with her along with a slice of sourdough bread. Meanwhile, (f/n) had gone up into her room to get a shower. She'd eat dinner afterwards, but she was curious if Anita was contacting the mysterious boyfriend of hers; however, she told herself that she'd wait until her friend talked to her about him more or answered her questions about him.

While both of them were upstairs, neither of them heard the movement downstairs. They didn't hear the chuckling either. Then again, only he could. It was unfortunate that he couldn't feel anything anymore. Otherwise, that would've been quite the experience. Not to mention that her comments only had added fuel to the fire, and she admittedly was attractive. Her (h/l) (h/c) suited her face shape perfectly, and her (e/c) eyes complemented her adorable expressions and mutterings.

Resting his hands against the kitchen counter, he leaned forward and chuckled some more. His laughter ended, however, when he glanced down to his clothes. Not his favorite choice of attire. In fact, he wished to rip it off. It reminded him too much of that old friend of his. That betraying son of a b*tch. His fingers clenched around the countertop, and he frowned, yet his expression remained neutral.

Pushing himself off of the counter, he opened the door quietly and left the space. He'd return to it before either of them came down. Light creaking sounded throughout the lower level, but it wasn't loud enough to reach the two individuals upstairs, especially the one in the shower. As planned, though, he wouldn't target both. Just one. It'd make things last longer.

Nearing the stairs leading up, he heard other people talking. It must've been a television. Or, maybe, one of those small devices that Scarlett woman had been holding earlier. That thing had played shows too from what he could tell, but she also had been typing on it at one point, like a typewriter. It certainly was weird, and he frankly couldn't put together how it was able to act like a television and typewriter at the same time, but it also demonstrated to him that a lot of time must've past. He wished that they had a calendar somewhere, but he hadn't been able to find one yet. How annoying.

If it was on, she shouldn't be able to hear him if he headed upstairs. About to climb up, he paused when he heard a door open. Sh*t. He hadn't been expecting that. As quietly as he could, he moved back into the other dining room connected to the kitchen. Reaching the kitchen, he returned to the position he had been in. Luckily for him, his movements hadn't been heard since Anita had been too focused on the messages she was now receiving on her phone.

Kitchen door opening, she walked in with the small device. Her laptop was up in her room, and the romantic comedy on pause. She placed the bowl in the sink before she leaned her back to the counter and continued to text. Across from her, the mannequin stared blankly ahead. Its eyes not on her, and she giggled at another text she just received.

Things were working out so nicely despite their on and off relationship back during her culinary school days. He really was beginning to come through for her, and she was giddy at the fact that they really were a couple now. Hopefully, (f/n) wouldn't flip out when she met him, but she hoped that her friend would be understanding and give him a chance. Smiling at another sweet text of his, she responded back, put her phone aside and washed the bowl as she hummed happily to herself.