Stanley looked over at the coordinates on the map to the destination. Eventually, he arrived in front of a bright yellow hotel, standing out against the darkness.

Stanley had a feeling he’d win against Jordan, considering he’d like to think he’s got brains as opposed to Jordan, who seemed only to have brawn. He wasn’t sure if Jordan would keep true to his word and show up as the notes said, but it wasn’t like Stanley had any other choice.

Stanley entered the hotel, which had a white receptionist's desk, light purple walls, and a beige floor. A familiar face stood behind the receptionist’s desk.

“Hi there, welcome to Stardust Hotel. What brings you here?”

“Melody, do you work here too?”

“Oh, I didn’t expect you to show up.” Melody looked at a list of papers and nodded. “You have an appointment with someone upstairs.” She pulled a drawer and took out some keys to give to Stanley. “Here are your keys, mister.”

“Um, thanks? How did you know I was seeing somebody?” Stanley questioned.

“I heard from said person. Shame you’re here by yourself, though.”

“Oh, I see...”

Stanley took the keys to enter the room up on the floor. When he stepped inside, he looked around the area, finding he’s the only one inside.

The room had purple curtains with star patterns, a neon yellow couch, a pink heart-shaped rug, and a magenta lava lamp placed on top of a cinnamon-colored table.

Stanley did admit the place looked lovely. But why was it the higher the floor, the better looking the sights were? The hallways had light purple carpeting on the walls with star stickers around.

A voice spoke from the corner of the room.

“Hello there.” Melody greeted with her hands behind her back.

“Huh? What are you doing here?” Stanley asked, his eyes widened.

“Is there something wrong? You look pretty pale.”

“Well, weren’t you back at the counter? How’d you get—?”

“Oh, is that so? I don’t recall. Were you confusing me with someone else?”

“Maybe? But she had the same name as—”

“I’m sorry, but I’m the one who sent you that message,” Melody admitted.

“Wait, that was you? What was it about?” Stanley inquired.

“It’s about Jordan. I lied about my profession earlier. I found out he’s used me for devious purposes.”

“Wait. What?”

“Jordan wanted you out of the picture so he could have Hilary for himself. I didn’t want to be a part of the fiasco, but...” Melody choked on her words as she wiped her eyes, fighting back the tears.

“I’m so sorry you had to put up with that,” Stanley said, looking away. “I can’t believe Jordan set both of us up. We have to stop him.” Stanley turned to walk away, but Melody grabbed his arm and stopped him.

“Hold on. Do you even know where Jordan is? He might be hiding somewhere.”

“Well, then we need to find him.”

“Then what will you do?

Stanley paused for a moment to think about the question and how to answer it. There were a bunch of choices he could take, but each of them had its own set of consequences and setbacks. Eventually, he gave up and just said the first thing that came to his mind.

“I don’t know. Maybe we can talk it out.”

“That won’t work,” Melody shook her head. “What we need to do is plan a surprise attack. We can work together and find a way to defeat Jordan once and for all. “

“You’re right, that might be better...”

“You know something?” Melody spoke up. “I’m starting to like you.”

“You... mean that? Really?” Stanley didn’t know how to feel about this. “Where did that come—?”

The next thing he knew, Melody walked over to him, pulled his shirt collar closer to her, and pressed her lips against his. Stanley’s eyes widened, and his heart banged all around his ribcage fast. Melody separated and sighed. Stanley’s hands stiffened as his body stood motionless for a while.

“Maybe we should forget about Jordan after all.” Melody’s voice rang, snapping Stanley out of his state.

Why did you do that? That was out of the left-field! Stanley wanted to shout, but when he opened his mouth, the words wouldn’t come out. His throat became dry and sore, his body tense, arms and palm sweating up a storm. Melody stared at him, wondering if he’d respond or at least say anything.

“What do you mean by that?” He asked weakly, finally mustering up to say something.

Melody thought about it momentarily before talking again. “Hey, you know what? Perhaps we should lead him here instead.”

“Really? How so?”

“Like this.” Melody wrapped her arms around Stanley’s back and kissed him again, this time, a little harder.

Stanley’s hands twitched as he ended up speechless with what happened. Melody pulled back, wondering how he would react this time.

“I... that was...” He tried to muster up more words to say but couldn’t do it. His mouth still gaped open as to what had happened.

“So, do you want to go further?” Melody asked.

She leaned in closer, but Stanley flinched and jumped back, wiping his mouth and panting heavily.

“Sorry, look, I-I’m not ready for something like that. It’s too much, and it’s making me uncomfortable.”

“I see.” Melody slumped her shoulders, trying to keep her composure. “It’s getting late. Why don’t you get some sleep?”

“But... I don’t know...”

“Don’t worry, I’ll let your boss know, and I’ll make sure Jordan doesn’t get in here to wake you.”

“Are you sure?”

“Don’t worry, trust me, ok? I’ll handle things. I promise you, you need to rest up.”

“You’re right.” Stanley headed over to the bed and got under the yellow covers. “Good night.” He murmured, closing his eyes and drifting off to sleep.

Melody smiled and turned to the door behind her. “I should get back to work as well.”

.-.-.-.

In the morning, Stanley woke up feeling groggy. He stretched his arms and his back, wondering why he felt so tired. Then, Stanley looked down, as he lied on top of an old mattress. He turned to face an out-of-service and demolished building right next to him.

Ok, now I’m getting more confused, did I imagine things? Stanley thought while scratching his head. Am I dreaming? Yeah, that must be it. I got to wake up from this awful nightmare somehow.

Stanley got up from the bumpy mattress and looked around, wondering why he got transported outside. Out of the corner of his eyes, he noticed the sun rising toward the sky as it changed from black to a strange shade of blue.

Loud noises and vibrations in his pocket rang once more, and he had gotten the hang of how the phone kept going off like that at the strangest times.

He dug down into his pants pockets to take out and flip the phone open to read. As he looked over at the new message, his eyes widened upon realizing what it said, making his heart pound once more.

“Tell nobody about any of this, or else your dead meat.”

Stanley clutched his chest tight and squinted his eyes, making sure he didn't imagine things. What could he do about the situation now? His watch rang a tune to alert him about his day at work. Stanley realized he hadn’t changed his clothes or showered since yesterday, so he felt the need to do that before heading to work.

He got himself up and went to a public bathhouse to relax and cleanse himself before changing into a set of clothes and walking to work.