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

Morning arrived, and the mannequin remained in its place in the kitchen. There were no signs that it had been in her room last night other than what she had thought she had seen, and she sighed in relief that she just was imagining things from an overworked brain. Anita was in the kitchen when she got downstairs, and she had a cup of black coffee. She looked tired, but she had a smile on her lips and was humming lightly to herself as she continued to work on prep for today's service.

"Good night?" (f/n) asked, stepping into the kitchen and pouring herself a cup of coffee, though; she added flavored hazelnut creamer to hers. She leaned back against one of the counters and took a sip of the warm beverage.

"Mhm," she hummed out. "It was nice just being able to be with him again. We watched a movie, had some snacks and relaxed."

"Great," (f/n) answered; though, her tone suggested that she wasn't exactly happy about it, and she wasn't. But, she agreed to give him another chance, so she didn't tell her friend that she shouldn't have gone with him last night. "I'm just glad that you got here before service started."

"I told you I would." Anita peered back to her before she winked and returned to focusing on the food. "But, I know that you still want to ask about all of this. It's practically radiating off of you."

Sighing, (f/n) took another sip of coffee before she mentioned, "Well, I was trying not to say anything, so this is on you if you don't like what I say." Anita rolled her eyes, shook her head and motioned for her friend to continue. "I just don't trust him. I know I said I'd give him another chance, but that doesn't mean that I'm a-okay with all of this. I just don't want to see my best friend get hurt again."

(F/n) set down her coffee and walked over to the fridge and grabbed some milk while Anita worked on chopping up some vegetables. "I won't. He's not the same guy he was before. I can guarantee that."

"I hope so," (f/n) answered back as she retrieved a box of fruity cereal and a bowl. Once the milk was in the bowl, she put everything else away and grabbed a spoon. She returned to her cup of coffee, and before she took a bite of her breakfast, she asked, "Have you told your parents?"Silence. Anita paused and chuckled nervously. "So, I wasn't the only one out of the loop."

"I'm going to tell them eventually. Just ... not right now," Anita reasoned before she continued her work on the vegetables.

"They're going to find out eventually if you don't tell them, Anita. And, they might take it better if you tell them rather than them hearing it from someone else."

Now, a smirk graced Anita's lips. "Oh, are you giving me advice on how to have my parents accept Kaleb as my boyfriend?" (F/n) paused, and Anita smirked all the more. "And, here I thought that you didn't like him."

"I don't." There was no hesitation in her answer. "But, I'm saying that you're parents might take it even worse than I did. I'm trying to spare you from them, not strengthen your relationship with him."

"Right." Anita's tone was doubtful, and her smirk remained. She happily turned around and continued humming, much to (f/n)'s annoyance, which was evidenced by her shoveling a couple of spoonfuls of cereal into her mouth. Given that the cereal was crunchy, Anita could hear the somewhat aggressive chewing and chuckled quietly at her friend's irritated mood. "But, how was your evening? Did our resident mannequin visit you?"

About to eat another spoonful, (f/n) stopped and set it back into the bowl. She glanced over to the mannequin before back to her friend. "I was stressed and thought that it had been in the bathroom. Probably, some of it just had been the house making sounds from age." (F/n) shrugged her shoulders. "It's in here, though, and I'm not going to worry about it."

"Oh?" Anita grinned teasingly and moved to look back at her friend. "Maybe, it was going to ask you on a date or for something more."

Not amused at all, (f/n) held up her bowl a little. "Do you want me to dump this on your head?"

Giggling, Anita turned back to her work. "I'm just saying, though; if it was your imagination, what does that say?"

"It says that I was stressed and tired, so my mind thought to scare me. Not because I wanted to sleep with a mannequin," (f/n) commented, now taking another aggressive bite of her cereal. After she swallowed, she added, "Though, I imagine that's why you're so happy this morning. I take it that relaxing meant something else."

Peering over her shoulder, Anita winked. "Possibly. But," she now faced her friend fully, "that's not the only reason."

"... I should be worried, shouldn't I?"

"No." Anita pouted and rested her hands on her hips. "It's not that bad. You'll live." (F/n) rolled her eyes. That didn't mean that she shouldn't be worried. She took a sip of her coffee as she signaled for Anita to continue. "Well, Kaleb is going to be coming over for dinner in a couple of days."

Almost, (f/n) spit out her coffee. Managing to swallow it, her jaw dropped a little. "... What? Anita, I thought that you'd at least wait a little longer. You really want to bring him over here?"

"Why not?" she argued back. (F/n) raised a brow. "Okay, fine. I know why, but it's been two months since I've been with him. I want him to see this place. I want to see his reaction and see if he's supportive of this life of mine." Anita's friend, though, didn't see the hesitant look in Anita's optics as though she was hiding another reason for him coming over. Even though she didn't, he did. Crossing her arms, Anita asked, "Isn't that the responsible thing to do? To make sure that our relationship works?"

"Well yes, but ..."

Cutting her off, Anita pointed out, "You just don't want him here because you don't like him. You don't trust him, and you don't want him near the place." (F/n) didn't say anything to counter that. That was all true, but she had a good reason for being like that. "If you want to make sure that he's good for me, then watch how he acts when he comes over. See if he's being truthful about liking me living this lifestyle and liking the place."

"Of course, I'm going to be doing that, but I'm not a lie detector, Anita." (F/n) huffed and finished her cereal before she set the bowl aside. "Even though I'd like to be. I can't force the truth out of him, but I know from what you told me that he very well could be lying even when he seems nice."

"Well, he's being genuine this time. Otherwise, he wouldn't be going to so much effort to make sure that I'm happy." Anita turned back to her work. "Anyway, don't you have to get going on your work?"

Holding her hands up a bit, (f/n) pushed herself off of the counter. "Fine. I'll stop asking about him." She put her dishes away and grabbed her coffee cup. "I'll go get started on some numbers early, and then work on making sure the restaurant is good to go."

Out of Anita came a hum in response. Meanwhile, (f/n) seriously wished that her friend could be dating someone else, but she had a feeling that wasn't going to change anytime soon. (F/n) headed up to her room and went over to her desk to work on some finances for the business. After she left the kitchen, Anita continued on her work, and she occasionally would type on the cell phone of hers. He couldn't see the conversations, but he did watch her smile turn to somewhat of a worried, nervous look. Oh. That was interesting.

Perhaps, it was because she was worried that (f/n) would make a scene when he came over. But, it also could be something on that phone of hers. She did have that look that she was hiding something again from (f/n), and he had a feeling that some of the information she wasn't disclosing was on that phone. If only he had a code. Then again if he was coming over, he might overhear something if (f/n) wasn't around the entire time.

That was one of the benefits of his new form. He blended in and no one suspected him. Well, (f/n) had her worries, but she clearly was convincing herself that his movements were all in her mind. Maybe, he should wait before he messes with (f/n) again, just so that he ensures he gets to hear whatever takes place when Anita's boyfriend comes over.

Given how things were going, it'd probably be worth the wait, and he had waited longer before taking another action. At least, his limbs didn't get sore from lack of movement. Even if they did, he wouldn't be able to feel it. Just two more days. He watched a small smile form on Anita's lips when she received another message; she looked relieved but not entirely.

No, there was doubt there, and it looked like she was getting herself into something that she wasn't completely sure of. He didn't know if it had something to do with Kaleb directly or something that Kaleb wanted to do. But, it certainly would create tension between (f/n) and her. That he was positive of.