Gabriel decided to go for a run to the nearby park after changing into his jogging suit. He chose to torture himself by going for a jog in the hopes that it would somehow divert his thoughts after the visions prevented him from sleeping a wink the previous night.
As an athlete, Gabriel had always prioritized his physical appearance and exercise regimen, so it did not come as a huge surprise when he managed to complete ten laps in under ten minutes.
Gabriel did not know why those visions troubled him so much, but he could not help but wonder since those dreams had something to do with Eveline.
Gabriel continued to run for ten more minutes, shaking off his thoughts, before eventually stopping and returning home.
While he was expecting to find Eveline in the house to talk to her about a few things about Tiffany, he found herself standing outside a convenience store, idly sipping an energy drink.
"What is she doing here?" he muttered before slowly making his way to the other side of the road.
He was not sure why Eveline was waiting outside the store when she was meant to be heading back home, even though it looked like she had gone for a stroll as well because she was dressed in jogging pairs.
Eveline, on the other hand, had finished two bottles while she continued to wait for Susan. She assumed that, as the other day, she would eventually catch a glimpse of her, but to her dismay, she was unable to locate her.
"Are you waiting for someone, Eve?" Abruptly, the voice from behind startled her out of her reverie, causing some energy drink to spill onto her chest.
"What the freak?" With a curse, Eveline turned to face Gabriel and scowled.
"Gabriel, what is wrong with you? Why do you always show up out of the blue?" Eveline persisted in berating Gabriel for his carelessness despite being discovered.
His unexpected call distracted her so much that her heart rate increased.
She pointed to the dusty area on her chest where the juice had leaked and said, "God, you ruined my clothes."
Even after she reprimanded him, Gabriel kept observing her and said, "I asked, are you waiting for someone?" raising his voice a little to make sure she took control of her behavior.
Eveline stopped abruptly and jerked her head toward Gabriel, only to have him look doubtfully at her while crossing his hands.
The realization struck her suddenly, causing her lips to quiver and preventing her from speaking.
Gabriel heaved out a sigh when she failed to react, and he quickly dropped his seriousness, this time being gentle with her.
"You realize that consuming an excessive amount of energy drink is not practical?" He said this, removing the bottle from her grasp and offering her his fresh towel.
He motioned for Eveline to clean it, and she reluctantly took the towel from him and dabbed at her top.
Gabriel darted his eyes away from her nervously, clearing his throat.
"I never imagined you to be a morning person or did you again fail to fall asleep?" Gabriel suggested shifting the subject. His only intention was to divert his attention from his smug behavior.
"I can assume the same; what brings you here for a morning walk instead of killing your calories in the gym?" Eveline glared at him as she stopped whatever she was doing.
Gabriel's mouth quirked with irritation. They quarreled constantly, never missing a moment. Regardless of his courteous attempts to hold a conversation with her, she would always find a way to irritate him.
With a deep breath, he said, "I could not sleep."
Gabriel could have continued to argue with her, but he chose to pause and tell her the truth.
Eveline scowled, finding something unsettling about his remarks. She questioned doubtfully, "You could not sleep?"
It was unexpected to witness Gabriel's sleep deprivation since he was one of those individuals who would drift off to sleep like a corpse.
Gabriel nodded, giving her a quick glance.
"And why are you unable to fall asleep?" she inquired.
Eveline was merely attempting to divert Gabriel's focus away from herself. Telling him why she came here other than for her morning stroll would be a hassle.
Subconsciously regretting not seeing Susan again, she turned and began to walk back.
Unaware of Eveline's interest in him, Gabriel followed her in silence.
"Is that a good sign that she is finally showing interest in me?" he thought as a wave of happiness swept through his heart.
"Will you acknowledge my assertion that I had a dream that would not go away and a vision that haunted my memories?" As he spoke, a look of expectation filled his deep grey eyes.
Eveline would have laughed it off, but she nodded when she saw the desperation in his eyes.
Maybe it was just a natural response to the nightmares she was having, which she tried to ignore, but they persisted.
"What dreams do you have?" Gabriel grinned at her further research, but the smile faded as soon as he thought about those visions.
It was melancholic to think back on the dream and realize how restless it had made him, even at the prospect of something occurring in reality.
He did not want to reveal the dream that contained Eveline's death in order to frighten her. He did not want to add to her already heavy load, knowing how much she already had going on in her life.
"That I cannot tell you," he immediately refused, making Eveline scowl. She then stopped walking and turned to face him.
"Gabriel, did you just tell me a lie?" She questioned him, crossing her hands and giving him a severe look.
"Is this how you tried to make me feel sorry for you because you were trying to get my attention?" Eveline lost her temper, rendering Gabriel mute.
"What the hell?" Where did this come from?' Struck by the strange way Eveline's brain could function, Gabriel let out a mental cry of shock.
"I was trying to be nice to you here to get your attention away from me, but you keep playing silly lies to me."
Gabriel's eyes became icy and his face became hard as soon as she said those words.
"So all this time you were trying to distract me?" he asked, putting a hold on her words and she looked at him in shock.