Chapter Two: A Spark and a Missing Pet

Amanda lied in the middle of a dark room and opened her eyes seeing rows of doors in front of her. She stood up and looked around the room she was currently in. Where was she? Was she kidnapped? Amanda noticed a light was only shining on the first door and she went towards it cautiously.

Amanda opened the white door and peered inside seeing a familiar room. She walked inside and stopped feeling the familiar plush carpet. She looked down and saw gray carpeting. Amanda looked around again and realized she was at her old house. Her face drained and turned around seeing the door was gone. She saw a golden retriever walked down the hallway and she narrowed her eyes. She whispered, "Scout?"

The dog, known as Scout, walked through her and Amanda turned around, seeing she was already in her old living room. She heard shouting coming from the dining room and she went pale. "Look what you did, you worthless worm!" Amanda went pale and her breath got caught in her throat. She shook her head frantically.

"Leave him alone!"

Amanda gasped at her own voice and slowly made her way to the kitchen. Was all this a dream? Was it a nightmare? She knew it was one of those flashbacks that she doesn't want to relive. She caught a glimpse of her mother sitting at the counter with her head in her hands and a bottle of wine was in front of her. Behind her, Amanda caught a glimpse of her seventeen year old self and a younger Ben.

"Clean up this damn mess you made!" The present Amanda looked over and saw her father standing before the duo. He was screaming at them, like how she remembered and it was the day Ben accidently destroyed their new TV. The younger Amanda went in front of her little brother and her father sent her an annoyed look.

"Let me go, he was just trying to help, dad!"

"This has nothing to do with you, you tramp," He slurred and pulled her out of the way. Ben sobbed as he watched the scene unfold and Amanda tried to stand firm. "Move out of my way!" He screamed in her face and she could smell the alcohol in his breath. She grimaced at the smell and before she could react, he shoved her to the ground.

The present Amanda saw her fall at her feet and she took a step back. Next thing she remembered, she took place of her younger self and looked over at her father, without her control. She watched as her father was beating her little brother. "DADDY, STOP!"

Amanda woke up with a start and found herself breathing heavily. She let out a sigh and rubbed her eyes. Amanda felt her arm stinging and carefully rolled up her sleeve, seeing a few scars she left herself. She groaned and pulled it down in shame. Amanda grabbed her phone and checked the time. It was almost twelve. She cursed inwardly and got out of bed. While doing so, she heard it was raining outside and saw lightning flashing through her blinds.

She opened her bedroom door and walked through the hallway, she saw a glimpse of Majora hiding under the bunk bed. Thunder sounded and the poor cat went further under the bed.

In the living room, Ben was calmly playing Skyrim and glanced at his older sister before resuming. Amanda went in the kitchen and poured herself some coffee. She patiently leaned on the counter and covered her face miserably. Her past was haunting her, even in her dreams. She never once had a normal dream and even a happy childhood. The only thing that distracts her was making videos for YouTube.

Amanda perked up at that thought and walked in the living room. She sat at her computer desk and turned on her computer before checking her comments. Most of her comments were supportive and some of them were those promotional comments. She rolled her eyes and spotted a comment that was negative, calling her an attention whore. Amanda raised a brow and snorted at that. 'Really? That's all you got?'

The front door opened noisily and she peered over seeing Amy with her pink camera hanging from her wrist. She has her own channel as well and she named it WatsonPranks. From the name, it's very obvious what she does for her channel and some of her pranks are cruel while most are simple. She never fails to leave her 'followers,' as she likes to call her fans, satisfied.

Amy fixed her ponytail and spotted Amanda giving her the suspicious eye. "What?" Amy asked with an innocent smirk and showed her an open granola bar. "I was just buying this candy bar."

Amanda watched her take a bite from it and smirked. "What's your camera for then?"

"Taking pictures," Amy answered and leaned against the edge of the door. Her brown hair was wet from the rain and her clothes were slightly damp as well. Amanda shook her head in disbelief. "It's for my art," Amy added and took another bite. Majora walked from the hall and looked a bit skittish as lightning was flashing in the room.

Amanda looked out the window as thunder boomed and Ben gasped. "Amy," He called frantically and the girls faced him alerted by his tone. "Close the door!" He ordered and everyone saw Majora running out. "MAJORA, NO!"

Ben turned off his game and Amy turned towards the door, feeling guilty. Amanda got up and jogged towards the exit. "Don't worry, I'll get her," She told them and sped up. "She can't have gotten too far," Soon as she went in the hall, the lady collided into someone and fell right on top of the person. Amanda lifted her head and gasped. "Oh, I'm so sorry!"

"It's alright," Mark groaned out and Amanda frowned in guilt. Ben and Amy ran out then stopped after noticing the scene. "You've knocked the wind out of me right there."

As soon as Mark looked at her, he paused and Amanda gazed at him, almost entranced. Of course they saw each other twice but looking at each other in the eyes so closely is different.

She has gorgeous blue eyes. He thought silently gawking at her and realized that he had one of his arms instinctively around her waist as if to protect her from the fall. Although, he never looked away from her face. And a beautiful face.

Amanda subtly looked him over without moving from her position. The blonde had her hands gently against his shoulders to keep herself steady and felt warmness at her cheeks, realizing how close they were. He's so… handsome. Amanda suddenly felt her heart fluttering at the thought and heard someone behind her.

"Didn't you say you were going to get Majora or are you going to lie there all day?" Ben asked uncertainly.

"I-I'm sorry," Amanda stuttered shyly and shot up. She blushed scarlet and put an awkward hand through her messy hair while watching him stand. "Y-you're not hurt, are you?"

"I should be asking you that," he responded and she rubbed her arm, feeling embarrassed. "Are you ok?"

Amanda nodded shyly and Amy went up to him. "How could she be hurt when you protected her from falling on the hard ground?" She teased and smiled. "And don't think I didn't see the whole silent exchange either," the girl added and Amanda remained silent but looked down. "I think it was adorable."

"Adorable or not," Ben said. "Majora's not going to catch herself!"

Amanda remained standing and still couldn't get that whole exchange out of her head, it stunned her. The way she felt at that very moment surprised her, like she hadn't felt that way in a while. Amanda stared at the wall silently and could still feel her heart beating wildly. Ben groaned and walked back inside the apartment. Amy smirked knowingly and reluctantly followed Ben.

"What's going on?" Mark asked and she faced him. "You guys lose something?"

"Yeah, Majora ran out," she answered a little spacey and walked down the hall without any further explanation. "Here, kitty, kitty, kitty!"

"Do you need any help?"

Amanda turned on her heels. "No, no, Majora's my responsibility! Don't worry about it."

OoO

"Excuse me," Amanda started at a neighbor and he faced her, smiling warmly. She recognized him being the one that was ogling her a day ago. She cleared her throat and tried to calm herself down. "My cat ran out of my apartment, I don't know if she ran this way or the other way but I was wondering if you've seen an orange tabby run by."

"I might've seen a cat like that run by," he answered and stared her down. "An orange tabby you say?"

"Yes, an orange tabby cat. Majora hates loud noises, she ran out of my apartment because of the storm or I think she just wanted to go outside," Amanda said and gasped in realization. "Oh, she should be wearing a red collar."

"Yes I saw her," the neighbor responded and nodded, making her smile in relief. He eyed her once again and brushed his greasy black hair out of his hazel eyes. "You're the new neighbor that move in, right?" Amanda stared at him and nodded. "Yeah I thought so; just saw everyone moving your furniture towards your home, I'm George."

"Amanda," She greeted gently and sniffed. "I'm sorry but you told me you know where Majora went?"

"Oh yes," George deadpanned and nodded dumbly. He looked around in thought and finally faced her after a long beat. "That's an interesting name for a cat," he added and Amanda smiled crookedly. "You're the first person I met that gave their pet a unique name."

"Oh, well-"

"You're very beautiful," he interrupted and Amanda looked up at him in a loss of words. "How about we go out for lunch, just to get to know each other, I'd love to get to know you better."

She watched him in shocked and furrowed her eyebrows. After feeling a presence, Amanda looked over to her right and saw Mark standing there. "I'm sorry but we have a lost cat to find and I promised Amanda I'll help her find her today, so could you please point us to the right direction you saw her."

She raised a brow at him and looked over at George who looked slightly disappointed. "Oh yeah, right," he said and looked around. He sniffed and pointed to the stairwell. Amanda eyed his appearance and could sense he was a smoker by the smell of his clothes. "I saw her scamper in that direction."

"Thank you," Amanda said and walked away with Mark. She turned her head around to find George walking inside his apartment and raised a brow. He lived a few doors away from them. Amanda faced Mark and smirked shyly. "And thanks for that, he seemed nice but a little weird for some reason."

"No problem," he responded and stared at her. "George is an alright guy," he added and shrugged dramatically making Amanda smile. "How do you like your new apartment so far?"

"It's ok," she answered and scratched the back of her neck, remembering her nightmare. "I moved in yesterday and my cat already went missing," Amanda added and pursed her lips. She faced him and frowned. "Are you sure you want to help? Majora isn't your responsibility."

Mark chuckled. "Oh, Amanda, you're hilarious," he stated, while giving her a one armed hug, and she chewed on her bottom lip. "How could one cat be hard to find?"

"Big place," she deadpanned with a shrug and he faced her with an annoyed look. "Small cat," Amanda added and stared at him, noticing his playful look. "A lot of hiding spots."

"Shut up," he said after a scoff and pushed her off him since he was hugging her against him, she held back a laugh. "You're not making this easy for me."

"A lot of floors and she could be on either one."

"You're making it even worse," he told her and she smirked evilly. Amanda snickered and looked down at her feet. "You're not getting rid of me that easily, Amanda."

Amanda kept her gaze on the floor and realized she's not wearing any socks or shoes. She was still in her PJ's and blushed in embarrassment after noticing. She closed her eyes stupidly and sighed in annoyance. Her feet were freezing and she was starting to get cold. Amanda looked up and bit her bottom lip in anger at her stupidity.

"What's wrong?"

Amanda faced Mark and realized he'd been watching her the whole time. She looked away and shook her head. "Nothing," She answered and mentally kicked herself. "I'm just being stupid."

"No," he drawled and she nodded. "What did you do?"

"Well," Amanda responded and gestured her appearance, being dramatic. "I'm walking around with no shoes or socks on, searching for my missing pet and wearing nothing but PJ's in the cold hallway while it's raining outside," She added and folded her arms. "I forgot to change."

"No need," he responded. "You're still indoors and you look nice," he added and paused seeing her stare at him, surprised. "I mean…"

"Why thank you," she drawled and he only smirked. Amanda scoffed in disbelief and shook her head. She looked around and hoped to find her cat sometime soon. "You're just being nice."

Before he said anything, Ben ran towards them with Amanda's cell phone and she turned towards him. "Amanda," he called and stopped before them. He smiled briefly at Mark and gave Amanda her phone. "Your reminder went off," Ben said breathlessly and she looked down at her screen. "I was looking all over for you."

"Oh no," Amanda said and slammed her hand to her forehead. "I forgot about the job interview!"

"You already have a job interview?" Mark asked and she faced him. "You just moved in."

"Yes but James have connections with this person at this one place that's hiring," Amanda told him and shrugged dramatically. "He made me agree to get a job as soon as I moved in."

"That's a good idea."

Amanda nodded and faced Ben. "I have to go to an interview in half an hour, I want you and Amy to make a missing cat poster and ask around," She instructed and he nodded slowly. Mark silently watched them. "Can you do that for me? Majora's going to be fine."

Ben responded, "Yes, we can do that."

Amanda smiled sweetly and faced Mark, who had a straight face. "Thanks for your help but we have to cut this search short for now," she told him and folded her arms. "I don't want to trouble you any further but you can go on back to do what you were doing," She told him and smirked. "I'll catch you later."

Amanda walked back to her apartment and Ben remained where he was. Mark had a faraway look on his face while he watched the blonde's retreating figure and Ben smirked slightly. "What're you thinking about?"

He faced Ben blankly. "I'm going to help you guys with your missing animal issue," Mark answered and smiled at the boy. Ben raised a brow and stared at him in shock. "I hope you don't mind," he added and Ben shook his head, still not believing him. "Let's head back and think of a game plan, shall we?"

OoO

Amy walked out of her apartment and saw the two rounding the corner towards her. "Hey, you guys," She greeted and Mark stopped in front of his door while Ben was walking to Amy. "Any luck with Majora?"

"No," Ben answered and turned around seeing him unlocking his door. Ben looked back at Amy and shrugged. "Amanda told us to find a picture of our cat and ask around."

"And if that fails?"

"I don't know," Ben answered and chewed on his bottom lip in thought. "Maybe we can make a missing cat poster," he told her and Amy nodded. "You like art, right? So that'll be easy," She scoffed and gently shook her head, gazing at the door behind him. Amy faced Ben again and did a double-take after she spotted Mark approaching them. She lowered her smirk and slowly raised a brow. Ben noticed her look and glanced behind him. "Oh yeah, he said he's going to help us."

"Oh," Amy drawled teasingly and bit back a smile. "I wonder why."

Ben narrowed his eyes at her and turned around to face Mark, who flashed a grin at the kids. "So," he began. "What're you guys planning?"

"We're going to get a picture of Majora and show it around the building," Amy answered and Ben glanced at her. "But since we both don't have cell phones, we're going to have to go on our computer and do it the old fashioned way," she added and faced Ben, to see if he knew what she was talking about. He had a puzzled expression. "We're going to print out a picture, you dumbo," Amy stated and faced Mark with a smile. "And I thought he was older than me."

"That doesn't make you smarter."

Amy lowered her grin and narrowed her eyes at his smug look. Ben bit back a laugh and shook his head. "Careful," he warned with a chuckle. "She does good pranks and she won't hesitate putting you on her list."

Amy faced her brother and smiled wickedly. "Thanks for the idea, Ben," she said and smiled wider at Mark. "I never thought of that."

She went inside their apartment and he immediately ruffled Ben's hair. "You little squirt," he said and Ben tried to move away. "Thanks to you, I have to look out for a prankster!"

Ben finally pushed him off and ran inside his apartment. Amy was at the computer desk and appeared to be in the middle of uploading a video. She looked over and saw them walking towards her. Amanda walked into the living room with her eyes glued to her phone and she was dressed professionally. She was going through her events for the day on her phone and idly brushed her bangs behind her ear.

"I'm setting up someone to watch over you guys," Amanda started and started fixing her ponytail with her free hand. "Just until I get back from the interview or can you two handle yourselves alone at a new place?" She added and looked up, seeing Mark with the kids. She stopped in slight shock and smirked kindly. "Oh, hi there," she greeted and smiled widely. "I'm glad I got dressed before I headed out here, what're you doing?"

"I'm helping these little rascals out."

Amy lifted her head slightly without taking her eyes off the screen. "I hope you checked him out for any signs of suspicious behavior," she suggested. "No man ever came out of the blue to help small children out like this," she added and Amanda narrowed her eyes. Amy raised a brow and turned her head towards Mark lazily. "Unless he wants something in return."

Ben turned towards the brunette and raised a brow. "What're you talking about?" He asked incredulously and furrowed his brows. Amanda remained standing in confusion and her eyes darted around the area for ideas.

"Look out Ben, not only he wants Amanda's heart, he might want something from us to," She told him and waggled her eyebrows. "Nobody's this nice, think about it."

"Amy!" Amanda shouted and shook her head incredulously while Ben rolled his eyes. She walked into the kitchen and noticed Majora's bowl was empty. She frowned a little and went to fill it up. A piece of her bangs fell in front of her eyes as she does so and Amanda sat the bag on the counter before brushing it away. A million thoughts were reeling around in her head but she had two main topics: What if we never find Majora? What if she got hurt?

She stood in the kitchen and zoned out with her blue eyes on the wall. Her head was tilted and she had her hand on her hips. Ben walked in the room and saw his sister spacing out. He shrugged slightly and walked towards the fridge, pulling out a drink. Amanda idly stared at him and watched as he walked back in the living room.

She looked over at her microwave and checked the time. It was twelve forty-five. "Oh my god," she muttered and rushed out of her kitchen. "I'm going to be so late!" She shouted and hurried into the bathroom. Amy glanced towards the hall while scrolling through pictures. "I can't believe this!"

"She'll be late if she keeps running the brush through her hair," Amy muttered and glanced at Ben who nodded slightly. "Being a 'fashion icon' she needs to hurry; are any of these pictures good to print?"

"I don't care, print any of them out," Ben responded carelessly and heard something fall in the bathroom, like a sound of makeup scattering. They heard Amanda cursing loudly and the sound of small items being picked up. Ben shook his head and faced the hallway. "Amanda, just go, you don't need that much makeup!"

"Are you alright?" Mark asked after a few groans from the bathroom and Amy whispered something in Ben's ear. He only faced her and shrugged. "Do you need help?"

"Yes, yes I'm fine," Amanda responded loudly and hurried out of her bathroom with another layer of makeup, making her look like she was going to a photo shoot. She faced the trio at the computer desk and put a hand through her ponytail. Ben and Amy kept their gazes on the screen but Mark stared at her silently. "I'm leaving right now," she started and faced him. "Are you OK with this? This isn't affecting your schedule?"

"No, it's fine."

Amanda nodded and headed for the door. After opening it, she turned around and silently watched the trio looking for a decent picture. She heard Ben ordering Amy to pick any one and she always has a retort that causes Mark to make sure they don't start screaming at each other. Amanda smiled slightly. "Have fun." She said and left them alone.

AU: Here we are, a new chapter finally updated. If you're new, you might not know what I'm talking about but if you've been following this story since a long time ago, I'm sorry. Major's writer's block and I'm finally done brainstorming kind of. I've been writing bit by bit each day so I could have something written down.

Questions: Do you like the story long like this? Is it good so far? Do you have any questions? Did I make a mistake about anything? Should I change my summary?