"Dios Mio, I'm so sorry! Seriously, I did not mean for that to happen!"

Isabel Carriedo's eyes were wide as she looked up from the creamy, fruity mess on the floor, and into the angry eyes of Mr. Mason. His graying hair and curling lip did not make the Spanish woman feel any better about her current predicament.

"That is the fifth time you have let your clumsiness hinder you, Miss Carriedo; are you aware that that means you have to not only clean up the mess you made, but you have to keep your customer waiting because you are obligated to make another one? All because of your carelessness?" Mr. Mason's voice had that unpleasant mix between a squealing pig, and a growling dog. Yes, it was a weird combination, but there was no other way to put it.

"Lo siento, Senor; I will not let it happen again, I promise," Isabel reassured him, nodding her head fervently, as if to prove to him that nodding was an indication of sincerity. The Spanish woman felt rather ashamed of herself. She had always been quite clumsy; it was something that her mother had always teasingly scolded her about when she was younger. However, as she grew up, she found that clumsiness did NOT work in her favor.

"I do not wish to sound harsh, but if you cannot manage to keep your hands steady on a single container without letting it slip, I'm afraid to say that I cannot let you keep working here. I understand that accidents happen, but I do not like to have to hear that complaints from customers, and other employees that service is slowing down due to your carelessness. Understand?" Mr. Mason pressed sternly, his eyes glinting dangerously, as if challenging her to object to him.

However, the Spanish woman, had no intention to do such a thing as she nodded once again, still scolding herself for being so clumsy. "Si, si, Mr. Mason. I will be more careful."

With that, she quickly scampered toward the back to grab a mop, as well as some disinfectant spray. As she cleaned the fruity mess, she breathed out a sigh of relief at the fact that today was Friday, and that tomorrow, Sunday, and Monday would be her days off. Not only would be able to relax, but she would be able to find time to focus on her studies.

Isabel loved it here in America; she had come here to study abroad for her senior year of undergrad, and she absolutely adored the atmosphere of the campus. Sure, she had to work five hour shifts from three to eight, four days a week, but surprisingly, even for just a small, simple café, she was paid well. A lot of that money went toward her own tuition, but she managed to save up a few dollars here and there for trivial things.

Once she was finished cleaning up the floor, Isabel stood up straight, clapped her hands together, letting out a low whistle, and smiled to herself. Alright, time to start over. It was just a slip up; you get over it and move on.

The Spanish woman went to the sink to wash her hands, adjusted her apron, and then restarted the process of making the smoothie. First the ice, then the berries, then the frozen yogurt, then the banana, then the milk… then blend. Simple. This time, she was absolutely positive that she wouldn't drop it.

"That was some threat there, Izzy," a pretty blonde girl around Isabel's age said as she adjusted her own apron. "Mason looked like he was about to have a hernia."

Isabel laughed slightly. "He's just upset because I managed to drop the smoothie container again."

She turned off the blender, took the container in her hand (very carefully), and poured the contents into a large plastic cup, satisfied that she hadn't spilled one drop.

"Well, be more careful; I don't think I'd be able to survive this job without you," the other girl responded, a mixture of exasperation and amusement present on her face.

Isabel laughed as she squirted a healthy amount of whipped cream on top of the drink before placing the lid on top of it, pressing down on it with a snap. "Oh Bella, you're too kind, mi amiga."

Before Bella could respond, Isabel placed the drink on the counter and called out in the most energetic voice that she could, "Very Berry Smoothie for Feliciana?"

A small, delicate looking girl with long copper brown hair and large amber eyes skipped up to the counter, a bright smile on her face. Isabel couldn't help but grin at the customer; she always loved seeing other people look so happy. She saw to many grumpy people saunter into this café, sighing, mumbling, or yelling at someone on their cell phones.

"Grazie, Miss Isabel!" the girl burst out, her Italian accent prevalent as she read the name tag off of Isabel's shirt. Isabel smiled and nodded in acknowledgement.

"De nada, senorita."

After another glowing smile, the young girl took the drink in her hand, and bounced back toward the table that she was sitting at. Isabel watched her take her seat at a small table near the largest window, across from a rather built, blonde, young man, who looked rather stiff and cold as he sat there, rigidly. However, as the girl took her seat, the smile still prevalent on her face, the Spanish woman watched in wonder as the man's demeanor seemed to transform; his cheeks took on a light blush, his eyes seemed to defrost, and a small smile made its way onto his lips.

Isabel let out a swooning sigh. "Ahh…young love. That is so adorable," she gushed, smiling fondly at the cute couple.

Bella let out a small snort. "So now you're spying on the customers, Izzy?"

The Spanish woman laughed lightly in response. "I can't help but find it cute, mi amiga. I've always wanted to make someone smile like that."

"Psshh, you usually manage to make everyone smile, sweetheart. You're just adorable like that," Bella responded with a grin as she stuck two pieces of rye bread into the toaster. Isabel watched her movements absent-mindedly for a second before turning her head back to look at the cute couple.

"Gracias… but I had something else in mind," Isabel responded with a light shrug. "But I do love to make everyone smile. It's very entertaining."

"Entertaining? That's a funny way to put it," the blonde reiterated as she wiped her hands on her apron gently before leaned against the counter at the Spanish woman's side, her eyes also trained on the couple.

The girl's cheeks were bright pink as she threw her head back and laughed at something that the blonde man had said. Both their hands were intertwined, resting upon the table.

"They look rather young; probably freshman," Isabel noted.

"I feel like such a stalker right now," Bella said with a laugh as she propped her chin upon her palms, her bright eyes still fixed upon the couple. "If they look over at us right now, they'll think that we're freaks."

"Que? Why?" The Spanish woman asked, raising an eyebrow. "I don't see anything wrong in just watching for a few moments; people watch other people all the time!"

She gave another shrug as she smiled, tucking a stray lock of dark hair behind her ear.

Before Bella could open her mouth to respond, the door suddenly burst open with a rather large bang, causing everyone in the café to turn their heads toward the noise.

An angry-looking young man came barging in, his fists clenched, his lips curled in a sneer, his eyes dark and narrowed, and his brows furrowed violently. He had olive-colored skin, and unkempt dark brown hair that fell slightly over his ears and into his eyes. Isabel noted that he looked very Italian; she had gone to Italy for a trip a few years ago, and one of the things that she remembered was how attractive all of the people there were.

"WHAT THE FUCK ARE YOU DOING HERE WITH MY SISTER, YOU DAMN POTATO BASTARD!"

Both Isabel and Bella jumped at the sudden outburst, while the other customers turned to stare in both shock and irritation. Isabel's eyes widened slightly as she saw the man march toward the lovely couple she had just been observing.

The blonde man's eyes were as round as saucers as he opened and closed his mouth, while the girl glared at the angry man, her eyes flashing dangerously…quite the change from the bubbly girl Isabel had observed just moments ago.

"Fratello!" she snapped.

"Don't you fucking 'fratello' me you little dumbass! What the fuck are you doing here with that son of a bitch? Didn't I tell you to stay away from him?" he responded, his mouth moving rapidly in fiery Italian, his eyes darkening more and more by the second.

Now Isabel didn't speak Italian fluently, but she knew enough to put phrases together and understand the context of what was being said when it was being spoken. She had taken a few Italian courses last semester.

The girl had gotten from her seat and was now face to face with the angry Italian man; though he wasn't the tallest man around, he was considerably taller than the other girl, who had to crane her neck to administer her death glare as she jabbed at his chest.

"You can't tell me what to do, Lovino. You are my BROTHER; not our father," she snapped darkly before attempting to push him backwards. "Ludwig is my boyfriend, and I love him, and YOU are going to leave right now and let me enjoy my time with him."

"Like fucking hell I'm going to do that," he growled, as he bared his teeth. Isabel couldn't help but realize how attractive this young man was; the anger seemed to make even more alluring, which was a strange phenomena, since the Spanish woman usually wasn't very fond of anger.

"I don't want you around that motherfucking, potato-humping fucker. He's bad news. And if I EVER see him lay a finger on you, I'll cut off his dick with a pair of scissors," he snapped back, taking another step forward, towering ominously over his sister.

The blonde man had gotten from his seat, his glare fixed upon this 'Lovino.'

"Excuse me, but I would appreciate it if you left Feliciana alone; she has done nothing wrong," he stated in a deep, German-accented voice. His blue eyes were narrowed directly at Lovino, his fists clenched and twitching at his sides.

The girl, or 'Feliciana' backed up and grabbed onto Ludwig's arm, her eyes still searing furiously at her brother. "Leave, fratello."

"I don't think so," Lovino fumed, switching back to English as he pointed directly at the German. "You motherfucking, dickless, potato-eating bastard… you have exactly ten seconds to get away from my sister or I will sincerely make sure that your head is bashed in."

This caused many shocked gasps and huffs from the other customers. Isabel herself gasped slightly and frowned; how can a man be this angry? What did this Ludwig do to cause this much antagonism on Lovino's part?

Bella's face was stone cold and professional as she straightened her back. "We need to do something; we need to tell him to leave."

Before Isabel could respond, she was watching as her blonde friend made her way over to the glaring trio. She faced Lovino, and placed her hands on her hips, tapping her foot with authority.

"Excuse me, sir, but I am going to have to ask you to leave. You are disturbing the other customers, and we do not tolerate such language in this café. If you do not leave now, I am afraid that I will have to call the cops," she said, her voice cold, hard, and unyielding. Isabel sometimes wondered how her friend managed to switch from being sweet and gentle one moment, to being frosty and rather frightening the other.

Lovino curled his lip, his eyes fixing on her. "Are you the fucking boss of this place? Doesn't look like it."

Whoa.

Ouch.

"Lovino! Leave, now!" Feliciana snapped again, her eyes narrowing dangerously at her brother, her grip still tight around Ludwig's arm.

"Excuse me? I do not tolerate being talked to like that…" Bella started; Isabel could already sense the danger. When the blonde's voice started to rise, when she starts to clench her fists…then things tend to get ugly rather fast.

Isabel immediately stepped forward, hurrying toward both Bella and Lovino, a shaky smile placed on her lips. Oh Dio, she was really going to do this. Ah well, as long as she could avoid an enhanced shouting match that would cost Bella her job.

She immediately reached up, and slung an arm around the Italian man's shoulder in a manner that suggested that they had known each other for a long time.

Isabel was aware of the fact that the top of her had barely reached to the bottom of his nose; he may have not been that tall, but she was fully aware that she was a very short woman.

Lovino immediately cringed and turned his head to give her the nastiest look that he could possibly make.

"Who the fuck are you, and why are you touching me?" he growled.

Isabel ignored his comment, grinned brightly at him, and gave a small laugh as she burst out, much to the shock of Bella, Feliciana, and Ludwig, "Hola, mi amigo! I hope you're doing well…well… it looks like you are doing well, apart from the fact that you are yelling at your sister in the middle of a restaurant, si?"

He tried to yank himself away from her clutch, but she just tightened her grip. "Don't touch me!"

Isabel just gave another laugh. "Well, I'm doing just fine," she started to ramble. "I see that you've met my friend Bella, si? She's very pretty. And so is your hermana! She's also very pretty! Oohh! The sun's so bright outside! It's so nice! Let's go outside!"

"Who the FUCK are you?" he growled as she continued to grin whole-heartedly at him. "And GET YOUR FUCKING ARM OFF OF ME, YOU CRAZY BITCH!"

"Ah, ah, ah! That's no way to talk to a woman, mi amigo. But it's okay! I'm very nice about it, but whatever. Let's go outside! I bet you want a tan, si? Not that you need one. You have beautiful skin!" she continued to ramble, unsure of what she was really doing anymore. Surprisingly, she found the smile on her face to be natural. In all honesty, she found the Italian man to be rather endearing when he stared at her in angry shock.

"Wh-you-wh…who the…THE FUCK?" he burst out as Isabel forcibly started to lead him toward the door, her arm still tight around his shoulders. He squirmed and started to cuss at her repeatedly, but Isabel kept the smile on her face.

She wasn't angry or insulted. No…she actually found herself amused. She didn't understand why…was this a natural reaction to a situation like this? It shouldn't be, right?

Once she had managed to lead him outside, he managed to tear himself away from her python like grip with a violent yank. He glared venomously at her and growled, his fists clenched.

"Stay the hell away from me, you fucking cagna. You are crazy."

With that, Lovino turned around, and started to march away, every movement he made just reverberating "don't fuck with me, or I'll kick your ass."

Isabel grinned after him and raised her hand up to wave at him. "Adios, mi amigo!"

"FUCK OFF!" he yelled over his shoulder before continuing on his way.

The Spanish woman sighed lightly, a small smile still present on her lips as she shook her head. "Aye… that boy needs to learn how to properly treat a woman."

After one more glance at his retreating silhouette, Isabel walked back into the restaurant to see a multitude of hissing, whispering customers, an irate Bella, and a guilty looking Feliciana.

The blonde immediately walked up to her and grabbed her hands, pulling her forward. "Izzy, I cannot thank you enough," she said, her voice still containing that sharp edge to it.

"Gracias, miss…" Feliciana stepped up as well, looking a bit nervous as she gave Isabel a tentative smile. "And mi dispiace for my brother's behavior. He's very…well…he's always like that…" She cringed slightly. Isabel looked over her shoulder at Ludwig, whose jaw was clenched, and shoulders were rigid.

"It's no problem, really," she responded with another light grin. "I'm glad that I could be of assistance."

As both Ludwig and Feliciana left the little café in a hurry, Bella grabbed Isabel's shoulder and looked at her square in the eye. "Seriously, Izzy, thank you. I don't think I would've been able to control myself around that jerk."

The Spanish woman gave a hearty laugh in response, resting her own palm on her friend's shoulder. "It's my pleasure, mi amiga. It wasn't even that bad anyways; I actually found it very amusing. He looked very cute when he was all angry."

Bella gave a sarcastic snort as she rolled her eyes. "Looks like we know who your future husband will be."