Dawn checked her watch. She pressed the "light" button and suddenly the numbers "9:47" appeared on a green back-lit screen. She sighed and began walking. She was slightly late for the movie and was ditched. Fine. She could handle that. She assumed that everyone had gone ahead without her.
The air was hot and humid as she walked along the streets. She walked along Queen St., the hot entertainment district that was crowded with pubs and entertainment complexes, including the movie theatre. Dawn shook her head, her ponytail brushing her shoulders before hanging down her back.
She reached Yonge St., which was crowded with people walking around, talking and laughing. All the shops were closed for the night but cars continued to crowd the busy, brightly lit streets. She continued walking up the street, admiring the people who were dressed to impress each other. She felt very underdressed in her tank top and jeans, the only thing remotely dressy about her being her heeled boots.
After awhile, no matter how fast or slowly she walked, the soles of her feet began to hurt. Dawn realised that the shoes were once again causing her feet to blister. She sighed in resignation and continued her walk home, hoping that when she got there, the damage wouldn't be too serious.
As Dawn walked, she began to feel a prickly feeling along her back, as if someone was watching. Thinking of it as nothing, she walked on. There were way too many people around anyway, of course she was being looked at. She was beginning to reach a residential area and she could still feel the eyes on her back, on her body. Spotting a convenience store up ahead, she quickened her pace. As the busy street sounds faded, she could hear her own footsteps. Listening carefully, Dawn thought she could also hear a second set of footsteps, and it seemed to be coming closer.
Not wanting to be caught near that person, she hurried up the few steps and nearly yanked the door to the 7-11 off its hinges in her haste to get inside. Inside the brightly lit store, everything she was feeling seemed to have been imaginary. She walked between the aisles, keeping an eye on the door to see if anyone else would follow her inside. No one did. With a great feeling of relief, she turned around to check out the shelves behind her.
She heard a noise behind her and spun around. There was nothing there. In her fear, she had spun around too quickly and she gasped as she lost her balance, crashing backwards into a shelf and knocking it over. Dawn cringed as cans hit the floor and bottles shattered while cellophane packages crackled and crumpled.
Dawn glanced at the mess then looked up to see what had made the noise. All she saw was the door swinging shut and an extremely angry cashier shouting obscenities at her. She nodded her head at him and tossed an apology over her shoulder as she strode out of the store.
Dawn peered around, and hesitated on the steps, unsure of what awaited her in the night. Shaking her head and berating herself about her stupidity, she tried to convince herself that nothing was there and forced her feet to descend the steps.
She continued to walk along the street towards her house. She continued to think about what had happened inside the store, feeling guilty that she left a mess when her mind finally realised that there was a second set of footsteps and they were coming from behind her again.
She quickened her pace, hoping it was nothing, hoping it was just her imagination. She didn't dare look over her shoulder. Bright pools of lights from the street lamps made the shadows even darker, more ominous. Her breath came in nervous pants, as she tried to keep herself calm, even though her heart was beating at what felt like a hundred miles per minute. Her sweaty skin glistened whenever she passed through the light.
Nervously, Dawn crossed the street, peering left and right, acting as if she were only checking for cars when she was actually trying to catch a glimpse of whoever was following her. From the corner of her eye she saw a black shadow slip into the blacker shadows.
Not hesitating, not caring that her creepy follower knew she knew where they were, she broke into a run, her boots thudding against the pavement as her chest heaved with her frightened breaths. She crossed her left arm over her chest, to flatten her breasts, which hadn't seemed to be large whenever she had looked at them in the past, but now seemed to be huge, bouncing as she ran.
Dawn ran for a few blocks, finally stopping at a main intersection full of bright lights and some cars. She knew she was close to her neighbourhood and that this was still a residential area. She stopped and listened, trying to quietly gulp air into her lungs as she strained to hear those dreaded footsteps. Looking behind her, she saw nothing, an empty street that seemed peaceful and quiet yet eerie at the same time.
Confused, Dawn turned and started to walk again. Throwing looks behind her, trying to see if she was still being followed, she walked slower. As Dawn turned around, she hadn't realised that she had passed the busy area and reached a calmer, quieter area. She recognised the house across the street, all white with blue shutters.
Her body was drenched with sweat, her clothing sticking to her body. Tired, confused and more than a bit scared Dawn stumbled as the heel of her boot caught on the edge of a small pothole in the middle of the sidewalk. Gasping, she pitched forward...and would have fallen on the pavement if someone hadn't caught her by the upper arms and hauled her back up on her feet.
Turning around to say thanks, she looked up and locked eyes with the most ethereally beautiful man. His eyes were violet, set in a face the colour and texture of alabaster, maybe even paler. His black hair curled gently over his forehead and neck.
Dawn's breath caught in her throat and she fought to say anything at all to this gorgeous man. He spoke first instead.
"I'm sorry if I frightened you. I've...been following you for quite awhile...I...didn't want to alarm you. The least I could do was make sure you didn't fall because of me..." His undulating voice trailed off. It was a beautiful voice, it sounded like velvet midnight and silk.
