The elevator was empty and Weiss couldn't have been more relieved. After a whole day of talking with seemingly everyone her social battery was drained and all she wanted to do now was collapse on the couch, put on some trashy reality tv, and take a nap.

Weiss looked down in her hand and saw the crumpled up twenty that Win had forced into her hand while she was leaving. She was disappointed that they wouldn't be going out to eat tonight, but there was always next time, or at least that's what Win kept telling her. She didn't have it in her heart to be mad, not when Win did so much for her.

The doors slid open and started making her way through the main lobby of the building, only stopping half way through when she heard something. Hearing people talk or even yell was par for the course, but hearing someone sniffling wasn't.

It took all of five seconds to see the three of them standing near the front of the building. The tallest of the three was a lanky woman in a suit who had a tight face and a clipboard tucked under her arm while she talked to someone on the phone, pacing around the lobby.

There were two boys at her side, one that looked eleven or twelve and another who couldn't have been more than eight. They each had shaggy blonde hair, their hands glued together. The younger boy had red eyes and was in desperate need of a tissue, while the older boy stood silently, watching the woman talk while rubbing his brothers back gently.

Weiss wasn't sure, but she had a pretty good feeling that these might be Win's next patients. She bit her lip, wanting to say something, but she didn't have the slightest idea what.

She awkwardly waved as she walked past them, glad when the younger one got a small smile on his lips and waved back. The older brother looked at her for a moment before nodding, apparently making sure she wasn't a threat. The woman turned and looked at Winter and nodded quickly before she continued her pacing.

"Bye," The younger brother said as Weiss made it to the doors outside. Weiss turned and saw him rub his nose in his brother's shirt.

"David, gross!" the older boy complained, not making any move to stop his brother. Weiss smiled as she watched them, feeling hopeful as she opened the doors and went outside.

The city was blanketed in golden light that was right out of a movie, or at the very least like someone was using an amazing filter over a picture. There weren't many people out, the sidewalks were barren of people and the streets void of cars. Not a car horn for miles.

A handful of cars parked in front of the building hinted at people in the city, the most interesting one was a red pick up truck that looked twenty years old but like it had just gotten a new coat of paint.

The only other signs of life were a food cart up the road that looked like it was selling- Her stomach growled like an animal when she started to think about what food there might be there. Her mouth started watering when the sweet aroma of pretzels and hotdogs reached her nose. Like a zombie she started walking towards the food, suddenly not sure if she finished her lunch before running off.

The only person in line had her back to Weiss, but she was wearing a red beanie and a dark red long sleeve shirt with the sleeves pushed up past her elbows. Her jeans were dark, but fit her more than well. Her shoes were red, but stained with drops of different paints on them and not to mention they looked ready to fall apart at the seams. But the most striking thing about the girl? Her dog!

The girl had a leash around her wrist that led to the most adorable corgi Weiss had ever seen. His back was black and his belly white, while his gray eyes glimmered. He was sitting next to the girl, looking up and wagging his tail. He might've been looking at the girl, the man with the large moustache that was working the cart, or maybe the food he was handing the girl? Weiss didn't care, all she wanted right now was to pet him.

Or- actually, maybe she didn't have to. Petting the dog involved asking his owner, and she didn't have that in her right now. Instead, she settled for stealing glances at him every other second.

This worked until the dog looked up at her, panting with his tongue leaking out. Without even trying he was melting Weiss's heart. Then, it barked at her, stopping it.

The girl whipped around in a flash, her silver eyes peering into Weiss's blue orbs.

She had a hotdog with every condiment you could get in one hand and an open pop in the other, which she was sipping on while looking at Weiss.

When people looked at Weiss their eyes always followed a pattern. First, they'd look her in the eyes confidently before their attention got drawn to her scar. That's when most of them floundered, with their smiles dropping and their voices cracking as they tried to think of what to say next. Then, they'd try to look at her eyes again, but their focus would always go back to her scar.

It was something everyone did, even Winter at the start. It was something that everyone did, so there wasn't much of a point in getting mad. She'd be lying if she said it didn't hurt sometimes though.

But this girl wasn't doing that. She was looking steadily at her. Right at her scar.

Weiss felt her face start to burn, but wasn't sure if it was because of shame, embarrassment, anger, or some other emotion. Either way, it felt like she was under a microscope.

"What?" Weiss said shakily, trying to sound intimidating as she crossed her arms.

"What?" She asked, blinking.

"You're staring at me,"

"I was?" She questioned, raising an eyebrow.

"I- Yeah, you were," Weiss said, confused. Am I being pranked? She thought to herself, looking the girl up and down.

"Sorry, your scar's just really cool is all," She smiled. Weiss took a step back, not sure what to say.

"You think it's cool? Really?" Weiss teased, fighting the urge to laugh. She'd heard plenty of things about her scar, but cool? Yeah, right.

The girl froze, looking like a deer in headlights with how wide her eyes were, "D-did I just say that out loud?" She stuttered. Weiss tilted her head and nodded, lost.

"I'm so sorry! I'm not sure what I was thinking, I didn't mean to say that! I saw your face and you asked me something, and sometimes my mouth just sort of moves and I can't stop," The girl sputtered, making Oobleck look slow.

It took a moment for Weiss to understand everything the girl had said, and one thing stood out.

"Wait, you actually think my scar is cool?" Weiss asked skeptically.

"I… yeah," She admitted guiltily.

"Why?"

"Why's your scar's cool? It looks like you got it in a sword fight or something," She laughed, "Sorry, I know that's stupid, but it's the truth," She gave an apologetic smile.

Weiss wasn't sure why the girl had apologized. What she'd said wasn't mean, it was just… weird.

"Nobody's ever called it cool before. The best thing anyone's ever told me was, 'it's not that bad'" Weiss laughed, glad when the girl cracked a smile.

"That's disappointing," The girl smiled, "Because, you know, it's cool," the girl said awkwardly before trying to give a thumbs up. The only issue was she used the hand that was holding her pop, almost spilling it on herself.

"I think you already said that," Weiss giggled.

"Yeah, but can you ever really call something cool too many times?" She grinned before stepping to the side "You getting anything?" she asked before taking a bite of her hotdog.

"Yes! Yes I was!" Weiss blushed, stumbling forward. Her stomach had just been growling, but it was the furthest thing from her mind right now.

"What'll you have?" the man running the stand asked happily.

"I'll have…," The smell from the cart made her mouth water as she looked down at the selection. Pretzels, hot dogs, ice cream, pop, churros, and chips, so much to choose from. Then, her stomach rang out like a bell.

For once in her life Weiss would've killed for there to be a crowd talking on the sidewalk or drivers screaming and honking at each other. But no. Instead it was so quiet someone two streets away probably could've heard her.

"Hungry?" The girl teased, giggling behind her hand, doing a terrible job at hiding her smirk. Weiss's blush turned a burning scarlet, she couldn't bring herself to look at her.

"I'll take a pretzel," she mumbled.

He nodded with a smile, grabbing it in a flash and putting it in her hands just as quick. She stared in disbelief before taking a massive bite, humming with joy as she chewed.

Weiss swallowed, a lump of dough getting caught in her throat. She started pounding on her chest, trying to choke it down. For a brief moment she panicked, but then the girl held out the pop for her.

Weiss grabbed it with both hands, their fingers touching for a fraction of an instant. She might've imagined it, but she could've sworn she felt the girl flinch. She also noticed that the girl had black splotches on her arms, but that was quickly forgotten as she gulped down the pop.

"Thanks," Weiss gasped as soon as she could breathe again.

"No problem, you looked like you needed it,"

"Well, I finished it, so that might be a problem," Weiss said, shaking the can and hearing the drops fly around inside. "I'll buy you another one," Weiss offered, already fishing out her money.

"Actually, I'm already late for something. Like, really late," She laughed, taking the can from Weiss's hand and tossing it in a nearby recycling bin.

"Oh?" Weiss asked, feeling sad.

"Yeah, but this must've been fate," she grinned, reaching into her back pocket and rummaging around before she pulled something out. "I might be wrong, but are these yours?" she asked, offering her… earbuds?

Weiss grabbed them, inspecting them curiously. They were pure white and were made by some off brand company that Weiss couldn't pronounce, and they were definitely hers.

"Where did you-"

"Sorry, I really gotta go, see you later!" the girl smiled before walking past Weiss and down the sidewalk.

Weiss was about to run after her, but the wind howled and Weiss heard a rustling. She turned around and saw a piece of folded paper where the girl had just been standing. She grabbed it off the ground and unfolded it against her better judgement. Of all the things she was expecting to see on that paper, the horse she'd drawn in second period was last on the list.

The lines, the shading, everything was a perfect match to what she'd drawn earlier. After all, she'd spent her whole class working on it, how could she forget?

"How-" But when she looked up, the girl and her dog were gone. Weiss looked around aimlessly, but the only people here were her and the pretzel guy.

Weiss wasn't sure which was stronger, her confusion over why this girl had her stuff, or the heartbreak after realizing she'd never pet her dog.

She twirled her earbuds around her fingers, questions buzzing in her mind. She could've listened to music off her phone, but for once she didn't want to.

She bit into her pretzel and held it in her mouth as she folded the paper, putting it in her back pocket along with her earbuds before starting the walk back home. Despite all the confusion, her mind returned to the same question over and over as she walked, Who was she?

-Authors note-

Hey everyone, so this is sort of random but I wanted to say some things. Last year on October 26th was the first time I've ever posted any of my writing, and I mostly did it because a friend told me to. Ever since that first upload I've been writing every single week, and I haven't missed one yet somehow! I've also almost written 200K Words, which is just… Wow.

This is basically a long winded way of saying thank you to everyone and anyone who's read this story or any of my others. It's been an awesome experience, and it wouldn't be nearly as much fun without you guys!

I hope you guys enjoyed this chapter, please leave any thoughts below like always. See you guys next week, and thanks again!