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

Several days had passed. In fact, a whole week had gone by. No negative reviews were posted online, and their service continued to be busy. As for Anita specifically, she had the mannequin in her room every night. Nothing happened. (F/n) even tried to check in on Anita and the mannequin in the early mornings before her friend woke up. Annoyingly, Anita locked her room door, and (f/n) couldn't pick the lock at all even though she had tried. Needless to say, that area of expertise wasn't hers. They even had another event, and Anita had left the mannequin downstairs with (f/n). Unlike last time, nothing occurred. She had cleaned up the dining room fine, and nothing creepy had happened.

Was she going mad? Had all of that really been her over thinking things and tricks of her own mind? That didn't seem possible even if it seemed the most reasonable compared to the idea of the mannequin coming to life. Either that or the mannequin was a lot more intelligent than either of them were giving it credit for, and it knew when to remain still and when to move in order to keep up the illusion that all of its movements were in her head.

Anita, though, was satisfied. She felt that she had proven her point loud and clear. No harm had come to her, and no harm had come to (f/n) when she had been left alone downstairs with it. Both of them were fine, and neither of them had seen anything during that week. To Anita, there was no further argument on the matter. The mannequin wasn't alive; it simply was an inanimate object.

(F/n) wished that she could be as confident as her friend, but all of that had felt real during the birthday party. What Anita was telling her made sense, though, even if part of her mind wished to remain unconvinced. While Anita was certain and (f/n) hesitant, he was glad that he didn't have to wait around and do nothing anymore.

Technically, he hadn't been doing nothing. When he had been in Anita's room, he had searched her room for other information about her, about the year, etc., and he had been careful not to wake her up. Much to his irritation, the strange small device of hers, which he learned was called a cell phone through one of her conversations with Scarlett, was locked too, and he couldn't find the code. She even had one of those rectangular black boxes that opened up and required a code. Again, he couldn't find it. Still, he barely had any information except for what he heard in conversation, and not all of it he quite understood. Clearly, some new terms had come about, and he had no idea what they meant.

Despite his lackluster searching, he was certain that he'd get information sooner or later. Someone would mention the year, someone would mention something that would help him or make things more interesting for him. At least, tonight he could move about the house. He was certain that Anita wouldn't pay any mind as long as he was careful, and (f/n) might just think that she was imagining things or try to make herself believe that. A smirk hit his lips.

For the moment, he was enjoying having the whole building to himself and being free to move around in it. Most of their food came in by delivery from a grocery store a little bit out of town since it had more selection. Occasionally, (f/n) would go out and get groceries as well as necessity items from the local market, but Anita still would be in the structure, and he couldn't mess with her. Otherwise, he might risk getting locked up again or destroyed, and he didn't know what would happen if that occurred. Not worrying about that now, he moved about the house and hoped that he could find something that he had missed in his other searches, which had been more cautious, around the house.

While he was conducting his exploration, neither of the two owners was aware of the situation. Instead, they were relaxing at The Iron Clipper. They weren't sitting at the bar that evening, but they were at one of the tables. Anita was happily drinking a ginger ale and whiskey while (f/n) had a lime daiquiri and a frown on her lips. "Aren't you happy that nothing happened?" Tipping her drink towards her friend, Anita mentioned, "This is a celebration. You should be enjoying your drink instead of moping."

"I'm not moping," (f/n) clarified, shooting her friend a slight glare, and Anita rolled her eyes before she grinned.

"Fine, but you certainly don't look happy." She rested her chin on her right knuckles. "Why, did you actually want the mannequin to be alive and creeping about the place?"

"No, that's not it. I just ..." (F/n) roughly sighed. "I really thought that at the party I had seen it moving. I knew that I wasn't dreaming, and for that to be a trick of the mind ... Well, I don't know." She hung her head. "I just don't know why this whole thing is affecting me so much. I wish that I could have your mindset and not have a mannequin freaking me out."

"It's really still bothering you after this week?" Anita took a sip of her drink before she set down the glass and looked surprised. "(F/n), it didn't do anything. Remember that. It's an old mannequin. It's not possessed or carrying anything within it."

"I know, but why did my mind just make those things up? Why did I imagine all of that? I've never been scared of mannequins before. Sure, that one time in the storage area when we hadn't seen it was spooky, but beyond that, I shouldn't be getting scared like this." (F/n) combed her fingers through her hair. "It sucks, and I want it out of my mind just as much as you want me to stop talking about it."

"Fine, then let me distract you." Anita grinned, and (f/n) rose a brow. Crossing her arms, Anita proudly stated, "He's coming." At first, (f/n) didn't connect the pieces until a second later she did. Her (e/c) eyes went wide, and her own grin touched her lips. A smirk fell upon Anita's lips. Her distraction, which was a pretty good one, worked well.

Leaning forward on the table, (f/n) asked several questions at once, "When? What does he look like? Can I see a picture? Is he coming to the restaurant or meeting us here?"

Laughing, Anita smiled and shook her head. "Slow down there, (f/n)." (F/n) quickly realized that she had shot multiple inquiries at her friend all in one go, and she probably sounded a little too excited, but she was more excited for her friend than anything else. She finally had someone who she truly liked quite a bit. "We'll meet him here, and he'll be staying at the hotel in town, but he'll come by the café too." Anita waggled her right index finger playfully. "I have to show off my skills after all."

Chuckling, (f/n) smiled and nodded. "Naturally. But, seriously," a playful grin touched (f/n)'s lips, "can I see a picture?"

"Nope!" Anita answered cheerfully. (F/n) pouted. "It's a surprise. Just wait. It won't be too much longer. He'll be here in a couple of days." Admittedly, Anita was glad to see that her friend was becoming more distracted from the topic of the mannequin, and she was happy to see (f/n) excited for her, but she was worried about when she actually met him. Her reaction might be unpleasant. So, maybe, she should've showed her a picture of her boyfriend, but she didn't wish to spoil the mood possibly. Maybe, she'd get lucky, and (f/n) wouldn't mind.

"So, I take it that we're meeting him after service, or are you wanting to put service on hold so that you can spend the day with him?" (F/n) took a sip of her drink and watched a small grin form on Anita's lips.

"Well, he'll be staying for awhile, so I have plenty of time to be with him."

"Oh?" (F/n) chuckled and gave a teasing quirk of a brow. "Should I be expecting you to head over to his hotel room, then?" Anita grinned a little and took a sip of her drink. "Ah, so that is the case." Rolling her eyes, (f/n) smiled. "Okay, just make sure that you don't forget the key. I don't want to get up any earlier than I already do to let you in."

More laughs left Anita, and (f/n) smiled, though; her mind did focus back on the mannequin slightly. If Anita left, she'd be all on her own at night. It did unsettle her a little bit despite Anita's reassurances about the mannequin not being alive. Quickly, however, she managed to get a hold of herself. No, she couldn't let herself go down that path and ruin the mood of the evening again.

"I won't, and I'll be back on time so that you don't have to worry about setting everything up without me. Though," Anita hummed in thought, "I could have Scarlett help out on some mornings and have her come in earlier."

"Right, you start that up, and it'll become a habit," (f/n) pointed out, looking skeptical of her friend ever coming back early enough to open up. "At least while your boyfriend is here."

"I won't be that bad!" Anita argued back, pouting a bit and crossing her arms. She moved her index finger and thumb close together. "Only a little bit." A wink was sent (f/n)'s way before Anita took another sip. Finishing her first drink, she got up. "I'll be back. Do you need another one?"

Seeing that her drink was halfway gone, (f/n) shook her head. "No, I'm good." Her eyes went over to her friend's phone, but Anita snatched it up before (f/n) could get any more ideas. "Nice try." Anita waved to (f/n) and chuckled. (F/n) sighed lightly as her friend went off to the bar to order another drink. She leaned back on her seat and rolled her shoulders. It had been a long day, but it was ending nicely. When they got home, she was going to hop into bed and rest before tomorrow's service. For now, she would enjoy some more of the evening with her friend.