"Watch out for cracks, watch out for cracks," Bill muttered nervously, as he made his way down the busy San Francisco streets. He tried edging himself out of the way for some people, while simultaneously accidentally running himself into others, and he apologized the entire way, fluttering back and forth like a lost moth.

"Oops s-sorry," he unhappily stuttered, awkwardly knocking into another man's shoulder. The slightly younger gentleman quickly turned to him with a confused look, "I am so sorry sir, really. I didn't mean to."

The man's brown eyes widened slightly, but he gave Bill an understanding smile.

"Oh, it's okay, really. It could have happened to anyone."

Bill stopped. He stared in wonder as the kind stranger turned away from him, throwing a tired hand up to his orange-red locks. He placed his other arm fondly around the blue-haired woman who walked beside him and hugged her in closer to his side.

"Now are you sure you know where you're going, Dory?" Bill heard the man ask his companion, as the two adults finally went out of earshot. He smiled airily at their backs, suddenly happy for the pair's obvious chemistry. They seemed happy together. He stared bemusedly, as the girl confidently nodded in reply and moved a hand to point in one direction. She then stopped cold, before unsurely pointing in the other. The man's shoulders dropped heavily in recognizable annoyance.

Bill could not help but let out a quiet chuckle. After a few seconds of standing still, silently allowing people to walk around him on both sides, he continued of his way, quietly stuffing his hands into the pockets of his suit pants. He swiftly made his way over to the very edge of the sidewalk, the side closest to the street shops, and trudged on. Work was sure to be hell for him today.

"Watch for cracks, watch for cracks," he repeated his mantra frettingly, studiously studying the pavement before him, "My Mom does not need a broken back. She's practically halfway there already."

Suddenly noticing a large triangle shadow beneath him, Bill glanced upward, and his eyes widened in horror. He saw the seat of a ladder. He was standing in between the bottom split of a high step ladder.

Bill's mouth opened up into a drawn-out, strangled scream, "Ohoooho my god."

His voice came out in a raspy whisper, "This is the end of me. It is. This is seriously the freaking end."

When his dark gaze dropped back down, Bill caught the gaping stare of the painter who was just about to use his ladder, and he instantly felt like running away. Still, he took in a few breaths and managed to calm his ever-growing heart rate. Nodding politely over to the worker, he pointedly stepped out from under the piece of equipment and made his way down the sidewalk.

A slight chill ran down his back.

"Well," he mused hopefully, speaking with a fake sense of cheerfulness. Nervously, he straightened his jacket, "Surely this is the end of my bad luck, right?"

A single cat covered in nothing but pitch black fur hurriedly crossed in front of him, skillfully making its way toward a smelly alleyway. Probably in search of a mouse or something, the slim feline had come from out of nowhere and unknowingly left a hollow feeling in Bill's gut. Now, the brown-haired man almost felt like crying out in frustration.

"I really need to learn how to knock on wood."


"Papers, papers, papers," Joy rambled hotly, as she aimlessly made her way down the sidewalk.

In the woman's hands was a daunting stack of paperwork that she struggled to keep upright. With one hand, she held the stack securely to her chest, and she flipped through the first few pages with the other. Her heels clicked steadily down the pavement as she softly lofted through her things. A firm frown slowly formed its way across her pretty features.

"What time was that train again?" she asked herself, anxiously patting down all of her pockets with one hand in search of her phone.

Joy stumbled awkwardly in her heels, suddenly realizing that she had foolishly left it at home. An unhappy curse left her lips. Then another one. Then a whole stream of small utterances that followed her as she began to trudge on down the road.

Taking another haughty step, Joy stopped cold when a random black cat came running out of an alleyway, expeditiously crossing her path. Taken aback, her bright blue eyes widened, and she began to walk faster down the sidewalk, accidentally bumping into people and awkwardly apologizing the entire way.

"I did not just run into a black cat. I am okay. I am completely fine-"

"Watch it!"

"S-Sorry."

Fumbling anxiously with her papers, Joy inadvertently heard a man talking about how he was late, and she felt the urge to start jogging, holding the papers up tightly to her breast; and so she did.

Once Joy finally managed to clear through most of the crowd, she began to run at a full sprint, huffing exhaustedly, as she practically coddled her resume and past case files.

The humdrum of early morning commuters and of the noise of the crowded, busy streets was her soundtrack, as the short-haired woman subconciously attempted to beat the clock, whatever the clock truly was. Oh right, the train; the inner city subway system, which would bring her within walking distance of her next potential law firm. That train.

Suddenly, Joy remembered which time she needed to catch. The woman quickened her pace, heaving deeply as she eventually saw the subway station growing closer in the distance, clicking loudly. Her youthful face immediately brightened.

"Oh, c'mon Joy, you can do this!" she heard herself cry out in encouragement, "Just a little bit further and you'll make it."

Grasping tightly onto all of her records, the tall, strong woman clip-clopped toward the subway platform, determinedly running in her shiny black high tops. Her brows narrowed seriously, and she wheezed out in exhaustion. Still, she forced herself to continue on, as she uncaringly felt the breeze that was created by her own speed picking up her skirts. No, that was not on her mind; catching the correct train was.

Out of the blue, one of Joy's feet began to slowly fall behind, and she winced in realization. A sticky sensation had her hobbling forward like a lopsided maniac.

"Gum, I've got gum on my shoe!" Joy let herself wail painfully, instantly feeling a sick grimace come onto her face the mere thought of the icky, chewed up substance ever sticking to her person. Sure, Joy loved her Triple Dent gum – she would always be the first to recommend it to anyone – but gum was meant to be chewed and swallowed, not chewed and thrown out on the pavement for an innocent bystander to step in.

"Oh no!" she cried despairingly.

Joy whimpered pitifully, while continuing to dutifully carry her papers and rush with a visible limp. With her heels clicking, the usually chipper woman felt like screaming. She desperately tried to shake off the offending substance as she approached the subway station, wobbling precariously all of the way with her papers still in hand. A tired breath escaped her.

Click, click, click, click.

Joy sprinted into the mildly crowded station and haphazardly skid into a wild, stand-still hault. Breathing in and out heavily, the woman raised a shaking hand up to her hair and patted it down, attempting to tame her wild tresses. She quickly scraped the bottom of her shoe against the concrete blow her and felt a victorious grin overtake her at the riddance of the gooey gum.

Feeling breathless, Joy saw that there was a second person beside her. Perfect!

"What's the time?" she heard herself wheeze, as she rapidly tried to straighten out her papers.

Under her breath, Joy mumbled, "Who's frazzled? I'm not frazzled. I am perfectly fine and dandy-"

Her eyes moved up, and she realized that she should have not been talking, as the man that she had just asked for the time from was staring at her strangely, his brows rising up his forehead. His careful eyes then squinted in mild suspicion.

Joy felt her heart jump in surprise at the man, and her face flushed hotly, but it was not the embarrassment that had her heart beating erratically in her brand new sunny yellow dress and pumps. It was the man's eyes; Mr. tall, dark, kind of lanky, but still handsome.