“Good morning, Ethan. Sorry for the wait, but finally the appointment for your examination is today at 9:30 am. I’ll be the one picking you up in about an hour and a half, so be ready in the lobby. Thank you…Oh! And this is Octavia by the way!” The voicemail concludes.

Ethan tiredly sighed as he set his phone back down on the nightstand. Shifting to lay on his back, he lays his arm across his eyes. “Ugh…Why does it feel like it’s still too early?” Ethan mutters tiredly. For the past couple of days, the morning sun had always seemed to wake up Ethan at the right time to start the day, but there was no light coming into his room. Slightly lifting his arm, he stares out the window. Dark clouds were slowly making their way over, casting a shadow over the city.

Finally deciding to get up, Ethan pushing his covers out of the way, only to shudder violently as the cold air hits him. “W-what t-the?!” He stutters out. Rushing over to his dresser, he quickly picks a top to put on, since he prefers to sleep with no shirt for comfort reasons.

He lets out a sigh of relief as he starts to warm up. Walking back over to the nightstand, he picks up his phone.

“7:21 am. That gives me time to shower and eat. Wait, I need to dress in some this slightly professional since I’m with Octavia, hm…” He continued to ponder, what to wear until he shivers again. “R-right, its spring, so those dark clouds outside mean it might rain…Sweatshirt it is.”

After picking out his ensemble of clothes, a black tank top under a light grey sweatshirt with jeans, he headed over to the bathroom. While waiting for the water to warm up, Ethan stands over the sink, staring at himself in the mirror.

‘Get it together, you can’t let what happened a few days ago happen again.’ He thought to himself. Sighing, he reaches for the pill bottles on the counter but hesitates. His nerves weren’t shaking from fear or worry, and he hasn’t had a panic attack ever since the meeting. Perhaps…

“…maybe?” He grips the container tightly, before setting back on the counter. Looking back at the mirror, he takes a deep breath and nods. “Today’s going to be different.” He says to himself then proceeds to jump into the shower.

---

Done with his morning routine, he checks his phone for the time. 8:35 am, so Octavia should arrive in a few minutes. He greets the desk clerks who just arrived at their stations and walks over to the entrance. He stares out the clear doors of the building, waiting to see Octavia arrive but several minutes go by and she has yet to arrive. Ethan leans back against the wall and closes his eyes, enjoying the quiet ambiance of the lobby. Yet, he couldn’t shake the feeling of someone watching him.

He opened his eyes and gazed around but didn’t spot anyone. He shrugged and continued to wait. Finally, his phone pinged, meaning that Octavia was close by. Walking out, he sees her waving out from a black convertible. He is taken back by her ride until she calls for him to get in.

“Stop gawking and let’s hit the road, daydreamer!” Ethan blushes and hurriedly opens the passenger door. Octavia giggles as he is clumsily trying to click his seatbelt on. “Heh, I'm surprised you didn’t notice what I said.” Tilting his head in confusion, until he realizes what she had said. Feeling heat on his face, he turns away in embarrassment.

“Pfft! Sorry, but I couldn’t resist. Your mother told me to watch over and if you start to doze off, I’m supposed to tease you.” Ethan let out a chuckle. ‘Same old mom…’

After finally managing to get his belt on, Octavia pulls away from his building and heads to the main road. Ethan slightly grips the door handle as Octavia swiftly drifts through the lanes on the road. While he’s tense from the slightly overwhelming speed of the car, Octavia was the opposite, being calm and collected. She notices his stiff stature and chuckles.

“Sorry, I don’t always drive like this. I don’t want you to miss your appointment.” She informs him, to which he waves her off.

“Don’t worry. What I’m more worried about is the storm that might be coming.” While he says that, he eyes the clouds above them, that were now mere feet from covering the entire city. Octavia follows his gaze and eyes the clouds as well. Silence falls over them until Ethan breaks it.

“W-well, the appointment shouldn’t take that long, right?” He inquires, turning to Octavia but doesn’t get a response. He’s about to speak but notices the slight glint in her eyes as she stares at the clouds.

“U-uh, Ms. Harmonia?” He hesitantly says, hoping to snap her out of her trace. After a few seconds, Octavia hands that are on the stirring wheel loosen up. While she changes her gaze to the road, she finally replies to his question.

“Yes, that is something to be worried about…” Ethan is slightly anxious about her demeanor but chose to ignore it. To make the atmosphere, which was slightly cold, he began small talk until they had reached the hospital.