Torturous

Roses are Red

•Y/N: Your Name
•H/C: Hair Color

Author's POV:

A puff of visible breath escapes the slightly chapped lips of a man and disappears into the crisp, cool, autumn air as his feet come to a stop on the grassy ground of a small hill. His lower limbs ache painfully as his back presses against the rough bark of a tree, whose green leaves had begun to turn yellow, to stabilize his slender, yet muscular, form. The male brings a black gloved hand to his dirty blonde locks, which have a hint of sweat on them, before a smile twitches into place on his lips. He had done it again, ran from a town miles away to the one he had landed in now in a single night with barely any stops.

For what reason would he run? Well, if you were wanted for murder in two towns, wouldn't you run as to not get caught? This time the man had really outdone himself: a triple murder, and all three mutilated bodies were hung by their necks with rope on a streetlight with a broken bulb. To warm his face, the blonde lifts his black, plaid scarf to cover his mouth and nose for a few moments before releasing the fabric to loosely rest on his face. It falls some, only covering his bottom lip and chin.

He still found it hard to believe that he actually ran through two other towns as well as an extensive farm area to get to the place he's in now in one night and nearly half a day. The thrill he received from his gruesome kill had been worth it, though. Still, his insides feel light and tingly, and the adrenaline lingers in his veins. This town would possibly hold his next creative project, but the question is, what should he do next? The blonde pushes himself off the tree and follows a narrow path out of the park he had stood in.

It's a big, fenced-in space with a few trees, a playground consisting of swings and slides, and some wooden benches along the concrete path. The murderer then took off at a leisurely pace to find a place to stay for the night, so he could determine his next move and rest. His victims sadly hadn't carried much money in their wallets, and he wasn't stupid enough to use a credit card, but he could last a few nights at a crapy motel. The killer didn't bother to hide his face from the people who passed him by; in fact, he stood tall and ignored them like any normal person would do, for he had no reason to hide his features.

The man had been cautious during his crimes, hiding his face and wearing gloves to hide his fingerprints. He was in no way stupid and knew exactly how to plan each attack. No one would ever recognize him as anyone other than your average, everyday male walking down the street. Meanwhile, as the man walked calm and confidently, a young lady ran through the sea of people crowding the pavement with her arms full with three bouquets of fresh, red roses, a bag full of vanilla-scented candles, and another two bags that contain five boxes of chocolates. The teen was panting heavily, for she had ran for awhile in hopes she wouldn't be late to meet up with her cousin, Damian.

Her relative had asked her to pick up a few things, since he planned to propose to his girlfriend this very evening. Much to her dismay, the line at the store had been incredibly long and had set her back immensely on time. She was nearly there, almost able to see the male's house come into view, when she suddenly smacked right into the firm chest of the blonde male. The girl lets out a short yelp as she falls flat onto her back with the items she carried falling and spilling out all around her. The man, on the other hand, only stumbled back due to being caught off guard by the impact. A glare set into his eyes upon landing on the female, and he opens his mouth to shout at her for being so careless. He finds himself mute upon seeing her gasp and scramble to get everything back in her arms with a worried look on her features. All the while, she sputters out apologizes to the male she had bumped into.

"Oh, Christ! I'm so sorry! I should've been looking where I was going!" A worried groan escapes her lips as she picks up a broken candle. Thankfully, it hadn't been in a glass container, but the wax stick split in two. "Oh, man Damian's going to kill me," she mutters to herself as she shoves the candle into one of the shopping bags. The blonde rolls his light brown eyes before crouching down to help the female pick up her things.

"Don't worry about it. It's fine." The murderer sighs softly while putting the chocolate boxes back into the bags as the girl bunches together the surviving roses. Thankfully, the pedestrians walked around them and avoided stepping on the flowers as the two cleaned up the mess. Once they're done, the two stand up, and the blonde hands over one of the bags.

"Thank you so much. Oh, here." The H/C-haired female smiles sweetly at the man while gingerly pulling out one of the pretty roses from the bouquet and holds the flower out to him. The blonde's eyes widen a fraction as he stares at the crimson petals in shock, completely taken aback by the teen's gesture. Slowly, his gloved fingers take the flower from the girl's light grip.

"What's this for?"

"It's to thank you for staying to help me. I would love to stay and chat, but I really have to go. Hope I see you again. Bye!" She says quickly before taking off again with her arms full of items, stunning the man with her fast getaway. He stands still in the middle of the sidewalk while staring down at the flower in his hand. He twirls the stem some as an unusual feeling swells in his chest. His heart pounds in his chest heavily, while his stomach flutters like there was a nest of butterflies in it. He had only ever felt this way during his killings, so this feeling couldn't possibly be ignored. A light blush warm's the male's cheeks as a small smile tugs at the corners of his lips.

'Cute.' His brown eyes widen as he swiftly spins around, watching as the female's form gets farther and farther away from him.

'Damn it! I'm such an idiot! I should've asked for her name!' With eyes narrowed in determination, the killer fights past the pain in his legs to chase after the retreating girl. With luck, he'll be able to catch up to her before she gets too far away. His tiredness from lack of sleep and overexertion of energy was ignored for adrenaline once again fueled him to reach his target. Whatever that girl did to him made him desperate to get her in his grasp.

"Hey! You, rose girl!" The blonde calls out to her. That nickname made his heart soar. It had such a beautiful ring to it. The girl suddenly stops, and so does the man. He pants heavily as she turns around to meet his gaze.

"Oh, hello again." She smiles gently making his heart flutter. "Did I leave something behind?" She asks with a tilted head. A faint blush paints the killer's cheeks as he shakes his head.

"N-no, actually, I was uh...just wondering if I could know your name." Embarrassment filled him the moment he uttered those words, for surprise filled the girl's features. Had he sounded stupid? Did he come off too strong?

"It's Y/N. Look, I'm really sorry, but I have somewhere I need to be. Bye, again." With a wave she hurries off once again, but this time the male didn't follow. He had gotten what he wanted. A smirk comes to his lips as he turns around to continue his search for a place to stay, though, he knew he'd be staying in town longer than originally anticipated now.

'Y/N, huh? How cute.'