"I mean if Teen Vogue is telling me that I need to be more open about how I feel, then getting a partner is just one step closer, just look at this Mia." Daisy shoved the magazine on the brunettes face, all Mia did was pull her face away from the strong scented pages.

"D, you know how much I care about your so please don't get this personal when I say that," Mia took a deep breath before speaking. "You're not a teen anymore, you're almost thirty, I mean, good for you for feeling young but, no." She said and gently pushed the magazine that was getting close to her personal space again.

The mall was filled with people, all different ages that were making their everyday shopping or just to hang out with friends. Mia instead of doing the everyday things she would love, she worked behind the counters of a perfume shop, Mia liked working there, it wasn't a great pay unless you had great commissions but outside that, she wasn't too uncomfortable with payment. The only downside was, Daisy, she could be too, annoying.

"Look, just because things you and Mike didn't work out because of your lack of communication, it doesn't mean it would go the same way for me." Daisy returned her gaze to the magazine on her hands, flipping through every page hoping to find something new and interesting.

Mia turned her body to face the redhead, she faked her most sincere smile and with calming breaths she thought of the words she wanted to say.

"Look Daisy, whatever happened between Mike and I, that's none of your business, and also, how the hell you knew about us breaking up, I don't remember telling you anything about it."

"You didn't have to, I figured it out the moment you stopped using the promise ring he got for you and how you reacted every time he walked past the store, I mean, you ran to the back quicker than a deer escaping a lions grip." Daisy said between chuckles, her eyes never leaving the pages on her hands.

Mia's eyebrows furrowed above her eyes, had she been too obvious about it? She did try her best to hide everything or at least not be too emotional. Shaking her head she scoffed away the comments Daisy made, instead she focused her sight on the entrance, the open door was a way of inviting new costumers and the usual clientele, a beautiful fountain stood in front of the store, couples, kids with their parents, and friends giggled, talked and sometimes argued on the daily basis.

This day wasn't different from the rest, Mia could see how it was closer to the weekend, how kids just got out of school and came to the mall with their parents to unwind, Mia also noticed the teenagers who had talked about skipping school tomorrow and get the early screening from the mall cinema.

The familiar and delicious smell of pretzel and sweet ice cream welcomed her nose with every inhale, excusing herself Mia walked over to the entrance, smiling to passing people and inviting them inside the store, Mia had gotten used to the no thank you, or to the I'll come back later, and they never did. So she stopped being too annoying with the invitation to the place.

Mia had been used to the noise, the screaming of kids and people, the loud noises from the mechanic train that took its time to give the children a ride with their parents around the mall. But there was a commotion that was new. A familiar voice she knew too damn well and used to be peace for her, her eyes turned to search that voice, seeing the man she had loved running, shouting towards someone, his face was angry, Mia continued to search for someone who looked suspicious, perhaps a thief, or someone who had been molesting someone else, but instead what Mia encountered shocked not only her, but everyone else at the mall.

Mike Schmidt tackling a father into the water counting in front of the store, punches were followed along as the gasps echoed and synchronized in the background.

"Dad, daddy." A small child's shouted at the side of the fountain. Mia could've walked away and ignore, be a bystander, but her own body made its own choices, she was now walking, no, trotting towards a man who was trying their best and pull Mike away from the grip of the father.

"Hey." Mia called out, her right hand clenched into a fist, with a hard swing her flesh made contact with the nose of the bystander, gasps and shouts followed along. Mia shook her hand in pain and turned to look at Mike, he had been pulled away from the other security guard.

"You okay?" The other guard asked looking to the kid. "We need help here." He said as he spoke to his walkie talkie before turning his attention back to Mia. "You need some ice on that."

Mia looked down at her shaking hand, the red tint filling her knuckles, she looked back up, her gaze now set on Mike, his expression was a mixture between confusion and anger, he had been looking at her this whole time? Confusion was set on the brunette, she didn't understand what she had done and why she had done it.

Mia's leg jumped up and down while sitting down, she had messed it up, she had been fired from her job all because of a stupid decision she still doesn't know why she even did it. She kept on looking back and forth from the wall clock to Mike. He hadn't said a word to her since they arrived to a job recruiting building, a place opened to help people in need of staring a job or looking for somewhere to have a job, this has been the second time Mia has come here, the first to get the job she had just been fired from, and second time, right now. The nerves were high, Mia felt like a child who had been caught on a bad move and was set on a timeout.

"You didn't have to do that." Mike finally spoke, the tension in his tone was indicating Mia that he was very angry.

"I know, I just saw you needed some help back there." She answered back as she looked at him.

"Well," He turned to look back. "I didn't, and you got yourself fired in the process of it, you really couldn't stay away right?"

"Why are you acting like I'm the bad guy or something, I only punched one guy, once. You punched the same guy maybe a few many times, in front of their kid."

"Yeah, well, I thought he had done something bad, misunderstanding." Mike answered and turned his gaze away from Mia. "You shouldn't have stepped in, why don't you think before you act Mia?"

The words were like a cold bucket of water on Mia, Mike would never say that, why did he say it? The sudden change of attitude was cruel and surprising even for the brunette, she looked away from Mike and down to her hands. She was feeling angry towards him, just a single sentence that turned her switch on to say something and defend herself, the problem was that, she hadn't thought of it and just let it out.

"I could say the same thing to you Mike, you could've asked before hitting the man, not every kid in the world is getting kidnapped like how it happened to Garret, you can't live in the past anymore, move on."

"Number Twenty-Six." That was hers, but Mia took a moment before standing up, she could see the change in Mike's face, he was surprised on what she had just said to him, for Mia it was the truth, but it was terribly executed. "Number Twenty-Six."

"Coming." She finally said and took her bag with her, following the elderly woman through a hallway and down to the last office on the right.

"Oh, hello, please come in, sit down." A joyful male voice welcomed her into the office, nothing had changed inside, except for the person talking to her.

"You're not Edward?" She questioned as she took her seat in front of the desk, this man was older, with short and few grey hairs, his eyes hidden behind some boring glasses that perfectly combined the creamy boring uniform.

"Nah, Edward took some vacation time, Steve Raglan at your service miss, I was looking at your file, you are a good employee, you've been in two places only and for a long time, what happened today? What got you fired from the perfume shop?" Steve asked looking behind the yellow folder and down at her papers.

"I thought it would be good to defend my ex boyfriend in a fight he had without knowing the whole story behind it.." Mia chuckled, her fingers scratching her scalp for a moment, a nervous tick. "Yeah, terrible idea."

"Woah, you two broke up because of this or?" Steve questioned, only for Mia to answer quickly with a no, before. "Well that sucks, but let me tell you, even though you have worked in two places, you were almost completing the two years of experience another normal job would ask of you, and from the lack of it, finding a job might be hard."

Mia's face tightened, this is what she feared, not being able to find work, she needed something.

"There must be somewhere, anything really, I need a job." She leaned towards the desk, Steve set the folder down and looked at the brunette, his eyes softened at the panicked expression of the girl.

"I said hard, not impossible Miss Mia Li— Lion?" Steve questioned, Mia only nodded her head at him. "Look, I have a job for you," He said putting his best smile at her. "there's two options really, there's this burger place something called McDinals or Donald's, I don't know, it's a kitchen job, I don't see any knowledge in that area in your curriculum, and then there's a janitor job at an abandoned pizzeria, the night shift."

Mia listened carefully, she didn't have any real kitchen training and well, she could burn cereal of that was even possible. Janitor, not ideal, but oh boy, Mia did love to clean and keep everything tidy.

"Why is it at the night shift for janitors?" Mia asked curiously as she sat back on the chair.

"Well, the place has been broken into during the day, vandalized, people would assume that during night it would occur, but not this place, people like to mess it up in broad daylight, kids this days you know," Steve laughed. "You would only need to be there with the security guard just in case something happens and they need you. The pay is not great and like I said night shift, the hours well, they are worse, but hey just keep the place looking good in case the owner decides to reopen or something. And I'm sure that the pizzeria has a better payment than the burger joint."

"Can I think about it? I mean, it is tempting but, you know, night, a woman alone with a stranger, it's."

"Yeah totally understandable, but you must not worry, the place was built in the '80s but it does have security cameras installed inside and outside so if anything were to happen, we have proof. But you must not worry okay, if you take the job, you'll be in good hands."

"Well, I'll think about it though, I want to talk with the pillow." Mia stood up and grabbed her belongings. "Thank you for your time Steve Raglan." She stretched her hand out to him, the older man took it firmly, a strong grip for a job recruiter.

"Here, my card so that when you figure out where do you want to go, you just give us a call." He added, the small engraved paper was now placed on Mia's hands and down to her bag. The brunette left the office, noticing Mike sitting down, his eyes lost in his own thoughts as he did not see or even pay attention at Mia's goodbye.

During her drive back home all Mia could think of was the job offerings. She could take the McDonald's job, she would be surrounded with more people but all she would need is practice, which just the thought of it terrified her, she didn't enjoy cooking or baking, food to go was the answer to mostly everything she could eat, or something fresh, easy to make.

The janitor job didn't seem terrible either, she really like cleaning and making places look nice, just the downside of it, the hours, the night shift, and with only one person in the room? Yeah it was scary, but perhaps the guard wasn't someone evil or creepy or annoying like Daisy, perhaps they could be nice and turn into a friend.

Getting home Mia opened her mailbox, bills to pay and enveloped she dreaded to see, the California Community College asking for money to complete the student debt she had, almost in 250k in debt, Mia could see how she would be completing such amount by the time her children get into college.

"Well, what could go wrong, right?" Mia said to herself. Entering her home she looked from the window to the house next door, Mike's house, she noticed the small child creeping out the same way Mia was, Abby, Mike's little sister waving at her, smiling softly. Mia waved back and closed the curtains, she looked around her home, the yellow tinted walls, the empty hallways with the lack of pictures or any type of frames, Mia wasn't an emotional person, she thought it made you weak, to not get attached.

Mia grabbed the portable landline phone and dialed the number of Steve Raglan, the dial tone only two times before getting an answer.

"Hello?" Steve's voice said.

"Hi, it's Mia Leon, I will like to start the janitor job at the pizzera. Is it still available?" She asked, her index finger crossed with her middle on from her left hand.

"Glad you called Mia, yes, still available, I'll send you the address to your mail, we have your address in the records, and I may not be a member of the pizzeria but I would say in their honor, Welcome to Freddy's Fazbear Pizzeria, you're gonna have a lot of fun." He said before hanging up, the tone going silent after some seconds.

"Freddy's Fazbear, sounds fun." Mia said smiling to herself, she had happy, she was gonna start fresh now.