Follow Me

1. Your Shadow

There he is again. That guy was leaning against the brick wall of a building behind you. His hood was up but you could feel his eyes on you. You weren't even surprised at this point. At least stalking didn't seem to be his full time job. He wasn't always around. His usual routine consisted of following you too and from work.

You shut the door to the apartment complex and headed off to work. The sun hadn't even touched the horizon yet. Did this guy even sleep? Right on cue he followed you down the almost empty sidewalk leaving a generous distance between you. Any of the few people out at this hour wouldn't think anything of it if they saw you and your shadow pass by.. You were the only one who could tell he was following you.

You took your usual route to the coffee shop, him following at a distance all the while. It was a short, cold walk. Snow gently drifted down from the dim sky. It was difficult to maneuver through the icy sidewalk. The crunch of sneakers on thin ice could be heard behind you. You quickened your pace. Getting to the shop you quickly unlocked the door and went inside, locking it behind you. As you flipped on the lights the hooded figure walked past the front window of the shop. His red eyes met yours for a second. He quickly looked away and hastily walked off down the sidewalk.

"It's ok." You told yourself.

Busying yourself with your usual morning cafe duties you tried to forget it.

CRASH

A now shattered mug was splintered all over the tile floor.

"It's fine, it's fine, it's fine."

The door slammed open making you jump.

"Morning Y/N!" Your coworker chirped.

"Morning Hina."

She rambled about some excuse for being late. I continued to stare at the broken mug, not taking in a word she was saying. Her chatter stopped abruptly.

"Hey, you okay?" She asked, suddenly concerned.

"I'm fine."

"You sure?"

"Yeah, sorry." I looked away from the shattered mug and rubbed my eyes. "I didn't sleep well, it's fine."

"Okay, well... I'll clean this up. Why don't you go ahead and get your shift drink."

"Oh, no I'll take care of it."

"Go! Get! Coffee!" She shoved you out of the way and grabbed the broom and dust pan. Hina may be chronically late and a chatterbox but at least she was helpful. She started up her chatter again as you ground the coffee beans, heated water, and steeped the grounds. You looked into the murky depths of the coffee and tried to suppress the thought of red eyes looking at you through the window.

———

Red eyes stared at you

You shot out of bed, quivering from head to toe.

"It's fine, he's not here."

You scrambled out of bed and checked the clock. It was an hour till your shift at the bar. You had two part time jobs and twice a week you had two shifts on the same day. After you got back from your cafe job at noon, you had a break till 4:00 PM. This space of time was usually spent napping.

You rubbed the sleep from your eyes and got dressed in a casual loose black shirt and dark jeans. Luckily the bar was pretty relaxed when it came to dress code. You went in search of food and slammed cupboard doors all the while. This earned a loud stomping from the apartment above causing you to quiet the noise you were making. There wasn't much food to be had, a trip to the grocery store would have to be made tomorrow. You opted for a bowl of sugary All Might themed cereal. While munching on the tooth decaying food you stared at the image of the Symbol of Peace.

"What a load of crap." You knocked over the now empty box.

The whole heroes and villains thing was almost a joke to you at this point. What was the point of it all? Living in a comic book world must be fun for some people. But for a normal, quirkless person like yourself, it could be kinda shit. Sure, All Might seemed like a nice guy, you had nothing against him. And you definitely didn't mind seeing the winged hero Hawks on TV once in a while, damn what a hot piece of ass. But in the end you couldn't ever fully support the hero system. After all, it's what ended up taking your parents years ago.

———

He was near the end of the alleyway next to your apartment complex when you left for work. By now he had your schedule memorized. You had started seeing him around a month ago. He had only appeared sporadically the first week and a half. You thought it was just a coincidence, but it quickly became apparent that it was not. Especially when he started following you to work. He never actually approached you, he only looked and walked behind you at a generous distance. You had contemplated the idea of calling the cops on him many times, but something always stopped you. Maybe you didn't want to bother anyone with your problems? Maybe it's because he never actually tried to approach you? Maybe, in some sick and twisted way, you appreciated the company...

You headed down the road, choosing to ignore his unnerving presence behind you.

———

You covered a yawn, it was near the end of your shift, 11:00, you'd be out of there by 11:30. Thank goodness it was a weeknight, the bar was open much later on weekends. You swore at the soonest opportunity you'd get a better job with manageable hours. Morning shifts at the coffee shops were bearable, night shifts were the devil. The week nights did not deter the drunks however. There seemed to be more than usual, which didn't bode well.

Out of here by 11:30? Make that 1:00AM. It was hard enough serving them, let alone having to kick them out of the bar. With the assistance of your coworkers the bar was closed up by 1:45am and all the rowdy alcoholics scattered to the wind.

You left out the back and were met with the biting cold air. More ice was beginning to form on the ground. You pulled your coat close around you and headed off down the alleyway that led to your apartment. The crunch of breaking ice sounded behind you. Someone was following you, but there was nothing unusual about that. You kept walking and chose to ignore it.

A large hand grabbed your wrist and yanked you around.

"You're going the wrong way sweetheart." It was one of the drunk guys from the bar earlier. The stench of alcohol from his breath hit you like a truck.

"Piss off asshole." You tried to drag yourself away but it was useless. You were pulled against him and you nailed him in the gut with a well placed punch. He doubled over in pain, gasping for air.

"You damn bitch!" He grabbed your shoulder and slammed you up against a brick wall. Your head smacked against it and your vision blurred. Groaning in pain you racked your brain for a way out. You tried to push him off you but your limbs seemed heavy. You felt one of his disgusting hands trail over your body. Tears filled your eyes knowing what was to come.

Everything was starting to go dark. You heard running footsteps and the loud crack of ice. A man screaming. The air was thick like it was filled with dust or ashes.

Red eyes stared into yours.

As everything went black, you heard a raspy voice, "It's okay now." He said. "You're safe."