Every time I look at you

"We're here lads! The new hotel... or somethin'..." the driver gleefully exclaimed, pressing the button as the doors automatically opened upwards.

Exiting the flying vehicle, they are greeted by a building flipped upside down, seemingly moved by some supreme being. Molly looks in awe as if it's his first time being there.

Looking at Nicole, who was somewhat interested in the entrance made him have butterflies in his stomach, with his previous thoughts invading his otherwise sleepy mind.

"Didn't expect for your home to be like this...:" she commented, tilting her head as she tried to regain her balance.

"Oh, it's not my home. This is a residential apartment, managed by a supervisor or something along those lines..." he replied, walking into the entrance as the guard greeted them with a bow before letting them in.

A series of rooms can be seen as they remain functional despite the orientation they are in. The two make their way into Molly's room, eventually reaching Room #328.

"Whoo, just calm yourself down, Molly. Just calm down... She's, she's... She's, uhhh, ermm, drunk... Yeah, she's drunk! Definitely drunk! She won't have the chance to judge my room! All I have to do is place her on the guest's bed, go to sleep, and I'm fine! Of course, it'll be fine! Surely nothing will happen.... right?!"

Reaching out for his office bag, grabbing the key, and using the key to unlock the door, he gently opened it...

His apartment was not as messy as he thought. There were some clothes laid on the sofa, noodle cups stacked on a wooden table, cups of water that were yet to be emptied, and plates still unwashed.

Much to his paranoia, Molly simply sighed.

What's the matter if a woman judges my home? It's not about how it looks, it's all about the function of the place. At least that's what he thought.

As the drunk Nicole limps to the living room, Molly carries the lady's body to his room.

Inside, his room was plain and white, having no paintings or posters that one could normally see in a modern house. A table, a swivel chair, and a computer are all that are notable. Though there were piles of paper, it was hardly difficult for anyone to notice, especially given the white wallpaper.

From the lady's perspective, all she could see is the bright light. Though she tried squinting her eyes, the halation made everything turn into a white blur. In her stupor, her thoughts were in a soup-like mess, meshed together with the "feelings" she had towards him.

Her body felt numb, a feeling where her arms just got so heavy she couldn't bring herself to lift them. As she falls into a deep slumber, her mind takes off into a hallucinatory landscape.

Void. Nothingness. The space and the vastness of emptiness.

Floating in a vacuum, she wandered off into the deep darkness. Though it was all black, she flew into it as if it were a house or a maze of some sort. As she makes her way into the noir complex, white outlines - silhouettes of buildings- are shown inadequately, but enough to make out what they are.

Goals. A goal is something defined as a thing that an individual desires to achieve. To have a goal is what drives a person to accomplish a specific task. Upon that completion, one can experience "satisfaction" and "fulfillment". Through that pleasure, confidence builds up. The ego of a human being is what allows one to perform feats far above the norm.

But what is the limit to this confidence? At what point does it cross the border?

The buildings grew in detail as Nicole dived further into her inner world. But as she remains longer in this realm, the more the place feels liquified. Slowly, everything starts to turn into black-colored water, flooding the entire expanse.

The sea of black washes over Nicole as she tries gasping for air. Swimming up to find a place to breathe, phantasmal hands out of nowhere pull her further down into the depths of the void.

On the cusp of her dream's denouement, a beam of light pierces through her eyes as bars of light materialize out of thin air, revealing a ceiling.

She finds herself tucked in a gray blanket as she starts to look around. Papers stacked together, a messy office table, random cubes on a shelf, and miniature spinning contraptions dangling on the side.

"W-eh... Where am I?"

Nicole holds her neck, as she tries to clear her vision, wiping her eyes as she moves her white hair behind.

In the distance, there were the sounds of something sizzling in a pan. The aroma of something acrid hit her nose. Steadily, she gets up from the bed as the lady starts stretching.

"Uhn! Urgh.."

Grunts and moans were heard as she performed small hops and jumping jacks. Cracking her knuckles, performing arm locks, and finally, doing a full head rotation.

Upon opening the door and walking towards the smell of the aroma, she sees Molly - wearing a red shirt and brown shorts, preparing a quick meal.

"Finally awake, huh?" he said, his gaze trained on the pan.

"How was your sleep, Miss Nicole?" he looked at her.

"Oh, doing fine... You're up this early, is the schedule that tight?" she joked, slightly giggling afterward.

"Well, erm, our attendance is 8:30, but I gotta arrive ten minutes before, soooo... yeah.."

Molly starts tossing the pan as he rigorously mixes the ingredients.

"What are you making, actually?" she asked, tiptoeing to see the dish.

"It's stir-fried garlic butter steak bites plus egg fried rice..." he said, slowly turning off the heat of the electric stove, before plating it on two bowls.

Nicole sits down and she turns on the interface for the television.

"In today's news, a strange occurrence happened at 7:00 PM. A loud noise was heard around the Nevada Desert, with some bystanders seeing a bright light out of nowhere. Furthermore, some interviewees are reported to have experienced time seemingly reversing. Police officers and the government are still trying to scrutinize the source of this bizarre phenomenon, and as of this day... we still haven't got a clue...."

Molly raised his eyebrow at the news as he started praying before eating his meal.

"News is getting quite wild with these headlines, don't you think, Nicole?"

The girl was lost in thought again but shook her head physically as she began eating her piece as well.

"...."

"Are you alright?" he asked, glancing at her.

"Yeah, doing fine..."

"Huh... this all seems just to be a coincidence. First meeting her, now all of a sudden this pops up...

What's going on now?" he thought.

With the somewhat alarming news coming from some sci-fi scene, everything seems to be strange.

Does meeting this girl have to do with that phenomenon last night? Was it just a coincidence...

Or was there something else lying underneath?