Annabelle lay back in her bed, staring at the ceiling and thinking over the events of the day. This was pretty normal for a Saturday night, or any night really. The insecure stagehand had a lot of alone time. Here she was, alone with her thoughts. She liked it that way. Outside there were people, and as Anna had often concluded from this  very spot, people were weird. They were always laughing or crying, sometimes about the same things. Some were kind, others cruel, and some seemed to change personalities depending on the situation. Behind the surface though, they were all making judgements. Although, that wasn't really their fault, and it wasn't really a bad thing. People look at things, they form opinions... that's just how life worked. She did it too. Even as she watched them, or thought about them from the confines of her tiny apartment, she too was making judgments. Not bad ones, but judgements nonetheless. This was were being invisible gave a certain advantage. If people saw her, they would have an opinion- but it wasn't that idea which kept her hiding in her room on a Saturday night. It was the uncertainty. While it was entirely possible that people would accept her, they thought that they might not always seemed to leave here laying here in darkness. It was a small apartment with a single window, curtains drawn back to reveal the light of the city. Tiny as it was, it had a beautiful view, and the crowded space felt very comfortable to Annabelle. This was her sanctuary. Nobody could see her here.  In this room, atop these covers, the world started to make sense.  

She thought now about how today had gone. Her trip to the arcade had taken an interesting turn... she hadn't played with other people in quite some time. It had been nice though. Eidel had been nice. It was surprising that the girl had noticed her. She'd seemed so confident, whereas Anna walked with her shoulders arched, hiding her face from the world. Normally, nobody would have looked twice. It was a good thing she had though. Grinning, she recalled the young gamer singing and doing her penguin dance. Perhaps she should have asked for her number or something? It would have been nice to remain in contact. Or was that weird? She wasn't sure if it was okay to ask somebody for their number after only a few hours, even if those hours were spent laughing and rocking out with fake instruments. It really was a great game. She glanced over at her own plastic guitar, propped up against the wall behind a pile of laundry. She could play now...

It wouldn't be the same. She remembered the girl approaching, smiling. And then there was SAW. He'd smiled at her too, acknowledging her existence multiple times. He must be pretty friendly. He'd been an impressive player too. She tried to picture his face now. Light brown hair, kind of scruffy, but with rather attractive features... [i]SAW[/i], she thought. [i]I'm gonna destroy you[/i]. The man had seemed a bit out-of practice, but had still destroyed the other scores on the board- Annabelle's included. Much as she hated to admit it, she was kinda proud of her initials on those screens. In this small way, it was like she wasn't always hiding. That, or she just hated losing. On the Third Strike cabinet, her name would now hold the third spot. [i]Not for long.[/i] She'd make it the first. She'd never seen the man at the arcade before, and didn't know if he would come back. Perhaps he'd never know if she managed to beat him. Even so, it was a matter of pride, and what little pride she had needed to be preserved. She hoped she'd see him again.

Deciding against taking up the plastic instrument, she reached for her real guitar instead. Sometimes she'd lay there and think until she went to sleep, but tonight she wasn't tired at all. Her hands wrapped around the wooden instrument, and she looked out the window for inspiration. What should she play? Outside, the black streets of the city were dotted with lights. The closest (aside from streetlamps) came from a building a little ways down the block. It was a bar, she remembered. Before, the lights had always been off by now. Today it must have opened. Beyond that there were more streetlamps, restaurants, and clubs with lights still blazing in the distance. It was nice to have a top floor apartment. She could almost see her workplace from here. Ah yes, work! The stage there was often filled with bands, but it was the plays that Anna really loved. Especially musicals. In fact, she'd been working hard on writing her own.

[i]Reality losin' its grasp
I'm fallin' forward, pulling back
Something clutches at my chest
Is it pain or nothingness?
Can't find my way, can't find any way at all
Please don't blame me even though it's all my fault

I just feel so strange...[/i]

She began to sing through one of the songs, a somewhat depressing ballad that occurred near the climax of her script. She strummed along on the guitar, attempting to match the chords to her voice. Then she hit a wrong note, and abruptly stopped. This always happened. She was okay at writing lyrics and melodies, and it was okay if her singing sucked... if this was ever performed in front of people, it would be by someone far more talent. But writing the actual "music" part of the songs was both necessary and ridiculously difficult. She tried again, and failed again. Maybe she should just go back to writing out the fight scenes.

Anna had nearly forgotten about that. She'd meant to do some research into weapons and fighting styles, but had gone to play video games instead. Onstage, Anna had great work ethic, but outside of that she was actually pretty lazy. Oh well, the library would be closed by now. She'd go there tomorrow, and maybe visit a couple of the local book stores. For now, there was little she could do. Setting the guitar back onto the floor, she sat down by the window. She didn't try to identify the buildings this time. Looking out across this place she called home, the lights that danced across the streets and sky, Annabelle Wolfe thought all sorts of strange and curious thoughts. Eventually her vision blurred, and she drifted off to sleep.