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

Crossing her arms and leaning against the doorway, Anita smirked. (F/n) kept up her frown, and Anita remained unaware of what she had learned that evening. Part of her was tempted to ask Anita, "Why?" But, she didn't even if she wanted to hear it from her friend. It'd probably be some excuse, but at least Anita would be admitting to what she was doing. That'd lessen the impact a bit.

Pushing herself off of the wall, Anita walked over to her friend and glanced to the streaming service she had loaded up on her browser. "Practicing for another date with Tristan?" she teased as she leaned on one of the chairs and glanced over the movies on the home page. "Hmm, maybe, a steamy romance to get some ideas." Her light brown eyes met (e/c) ones and an amused glint was in them.

(F/n) rolled her eyes and crossed her arms. "No." There was no hesitation, and Anita only laughed in response.

"Fine. Fine. But, what's up with the mannequin, then?" She signaled to Lee with her head. "Didn't it creep you out before?" Anita smirked. "Are you best buddies now?" No, but they were partners, and he was proving to be more honest than her supposed best friend. To lower Anita's suspicions, though, she'd have to play along to some degree.

Scooting her chair right next to Lee, she slung her arm over his shoulders and tried to act as relaxed as possible. (F/n) really hoped that Lee didn't mind. She pulled him closer and nodded. His head was on her shoulder, and his limbs continued to remain in the position they had been in when Anita walked in. It was awkward, and she appreciated him being able to keep still. A grin touched (f/n)'s lips. "Yep! Need to watch movies with someone at night since a certain friend of mine ditched me." Her tone was teasing, and (f/n) was grateful that Anita seemed to buy it.

"Very funny. I came back sooner, didn't I?" Yeah, too soon. If it had been the night before, (f/n) would've been thrilled, but she was far from that feeling now. (F/n), though, raised a brow, and Anita blew some loose strands out of her face. "Okay, okay. But, that won't be a problem anymore." Anita grinned and leaned in closer.

Before she could say anymore on her thought, (f/n) responded, "No." (F/n) didn't look amused. "I'm not watching a movie with Tristan. Even after what he did tonight, I still don't know him that well."

Huffing, Anita shook her head. "And, you won't if you don't meet him again." (F/n) really rather wouldn't. "Besides," a grin fell onto Anita's lips, and (f/n) felt her stomach perform dreadful flips, "he did talk to me after you asked him to." Well, sh*t. "And, we have another date set up."

Please, don't let it be soon. Please don't let it be soon. That thought ran through (f/n)'s head on repeat, and she didn't notice that her grip on Lee tightened a bit, but Anita didn't note that either. Lee did, though, and he would've squeezed her hand in reassurance; however, he refrained for obvious reasons. Even if he was a mile away, he'd be able to feel her disgust at the idea of going out with Tristan once more. "Guess when?" Anita asked, a grin on her lips.

"Never," (f/n) answered, her tone carrying no delight in it. It was almost monotone.

"Nope!" Anita chirped out. She stood up straight and clapped her hands together. "This Thursday." There was only one day between then and now! Almost, (f/n) gulped. "I know that Tristan is excited. You certainly left an impression on him." Yeah, (f/n) wondered why. Nearly, she brought up the topic of the picture and glared, but she held herself back at the last moment. Anita was looking away and appeared to be staring into the metaphorical sunset that was somehow the dining room wall.

As for (f/n), she let go of Lee and made sure that he was sitting back up in his position from before. She proceeded to rest her forehead on her forearms and groan. Anita giggled and placed her hands on her friend's shoulders. "Come on, (f/n). He erased all of those photographs for you. That means something, doesn't it?" Yeah, that he was a manipulative a**hole. (F/n) only groaned again.

"Hmm, I wonder if you're being even worse than before because you secretly like him," Anita hummed, her hands remaining on (f/n)'s shoulders. That was completely and utterly wrong. "Well, I should help you pick out an outfit to charm him even more," she teased, leaning in close to (f/n)'s left ear. "Maybe, you could go with him to his hotel room." Almost, (f/n) gagged.

Instead, she huffed and pushed Anita's hands off of her. "No, not going to happen. I'm coming back here afterwards."

A victory smirk touched Anita's lips. "I knew that you'd be willing to come." (F/n) paused before she frowned and shook her head. She'd have to agree regardless to keep up her act, but she really detested the idea. "And, he always can come back with you."

"I'm locking the door before he can come in," she answered back, quickly shutting down the idea. Anita giggled and gave her a look that read I don't believe you. "Now, any other awful news for me?" Her tone was monotone again, and Anita simply grinned in response.

"Nope, but I know that it won't be awful. Tristan and you look really cute together." That didn't mean that they were good for each other. Not to mention that Anita probably didn't even mean her own words; she just wanted her out of the way so that she could own the café and make Kaleb manager. "But," her light brown eyes glanced over to Lee before they focused back on her, "he might get jealous if he sees you with that mannequin."

"Uh huh," (f/n) hummed out, rolling her eyes. She slung her arm back over Lee. "Well, he's going to have to get used to the mannequin." It felt odd referring to him that way, but she couldn't just call him Lee without Anita wondering where the name had come from. Then again, she supposed that she could make up some reasonable excuse, but she didn't know if Lee wanted Anita to know his name. So, she held back on coming up with an excuse. "Because he isn't going anywhere."

Nearly, he chuckled. That was very true. Lee smirked and was happy that neither of them could see it. Anita, Kaleb and Tristan would be dealt with accordingly. His smirk, though, soon turned into a smile. He knew that (f/n) meant those words, but they held no affection in them. If anything, they sounded a bit demanding. Anita took them as a joke; he could see that, but they in a sense begged him not to leave her with her traitor of a friend, and he wouldn't.

Despite that meaning behind her words, a part of him felt joyful at them in the sense that they warmed his heart. She didn't want him to leave; she desired him to be there with her through this whole mess. Well, he'd fulfill that request of hers. They were a team now, and he'd make sure that this time his teammate wouldn't break apart from him horribly.

"Can't wait to hear Tristan's opinion on that. Will make dates real interesting," Anita joked, crossing her arms.

"You're assuming that things will work out between Tristan and me. It'll only be the second date this Thursday. You're going too far ahead," (f/n) argued back, letting go of Lee.

"Doesn't mean that sparks can't fly," Anita pointed out, a grin on her lips. "But, I'm going to head up to bed. I'm tired." She winked back to (f/n). "You should get some sleep too. Need your beauty rest for our double date."

"Sure," (f/n) muttered, not moving from her spot. Anita chuckled a bit at her friend's behavior. "Hey Anita," (f/n) called out before Anita turned around completely. She peered over her right shoulder to (f/n). "Do you want to watch a movie with me?" Personally, (f/n) didn't wish to view a film with her, but she wanted to test Anita. See how she'd act. If it'd be any different from before. Not the best test but it was something and very subtle.

"Sorry, (f/n). I'm really tired." She giggled a bit and broke eye contact, a certain smile on her lips. Yeah, (f/n) most certainly didn't want to hear the details. "I just wanted to check on you after the date tonight, and I'm glad that you're handling it well." Anita winked as if she expected (f/n) to be faking her hesitation about Tristan. "Have a good rest."

Once Anita turned and headed up the stairs, (f/n)'s shoulders relaxed, and she fell against the table quietly. A soft groan left her, and she huffed. Anita's response hadn't been odd, but it also was short, like she didn't want to be kept talking and accidentally let information slip. Though, that might be her just worrying over the whole situation, but (f/n) had a reasonable explanation for why she should be concerned and cautious.

On her right shoulder, she felt a hand rest. Her eyes looked up and over to Lee. "You didn't mind that, did you?" she asked in a whisper. Lee shook his head, and his hand squeezed her shoulder. (F/n) gave a simple nod back before she stared ahead at the streaming service. She didn't even register the various titles on the screen.

Frowning, she curled her fingers around her arms. "As if I would ever bring him back here or go back with him," she muttered as a shiver snaked up her spine at the idea of such a thing. "I'll have to stall to prevent that, won't I?" His hand squeezed around her shoulder one more time. "Thought so."