1 First Contact [Aiden]

Y'know, I tried to be a good kid and do the right things. I tried to do all my assignments, I never caused my guardian trouble and I even worked my junior and senior years of school before graduating. Even now while in University I still make sure to earn my own side money so that I wouldn't be a burden on my guardian. I worked hard to make sure I had a scholarship however I quickly came to realise that this didn't include housing costs. Between all of my classes I still find the time to work in order to make a living or else I'd be out on the streets.

Tonight I was sent out to do a food delivery but I ended up getting lost in the warehouse district. I know that I am a whole, grown-ass man at this point but it didn't make the job any less terrifying. I wasn't /from/ this city. How could anyone really expect me to know what streets I ought to have been avoiding? The further I was from my job the worse the area became and I knew that this was probably going to end badly if I didn't hurry home. What I hadn't anticipated however was the sensation of being watched the entire time. I could feel the hair at the nape of my neck stand straight up and a bad feeling in my stomach, but there was nothing I could really do. If a crackhead in the alley wanted to watch me then what was I really going to say? I wasn't much of a fighter after all.

I let out a small sigh as my chest tightened with rising anxiety and my pace quickened just a bit. My mind was playing out all sorts of different scenes, such as the thing following me just being a cute and hungry kitten all the way up to me getting shot and mugged. The kitten I could handle, the shooting not so much. I made a left following the GPS that was guiding me, grimacing over the fact that I didn't have a car but instead a simple bike to get through the city streets at a quicker pace. I haven't bothered to get my license yet since I wasn't allowed to bring a car to campus so it wasn't as if I could just save up for a cheap moped or used motorcycle to make this easier.

Another turn came up and my skin became covered in goosebumps from the gust of cold, autumn air that rushed past me. Along with being windy, it was also a damp night due to the rain that had persisted all throughout the day. Unfortunately for me, the coat I had on didn't exactly protect me against this type of chill. It was just 65 degrees last week. Why did it have to be damn-near 30 tonight? With chattering teeth and a flushed face I kept pushing myself along upon my bike. Two more minutes and this meal would be dropped then I could get back to the shop and clock out.While other areas of the city were alive with nightlife, this area however wasn't. It felt eerie to hear only horns and emergency vehicles in the distance. No one was chattering nor making their way through the area since the warehouse district was basically shut down outside of normal business hours - even the smaller businesses and restaurants closed their doors early here as well. There was only a car or two that had passed me this entire time as well. If something happened to me here no one would even know until the sun rose…

This thought made me move faster.

To be honest, when thinking about this sensation of being watched, I began to realise that it wasn't limited to just this location. Over the last week or two, some strange things have been happening. One, this feeling of restless unease while being watched came up a few more times. But also.. Campus food card had been refilled despite neither myself nor my guardian touching that account. I also found a $50 bill in the middle of the sidewalk at some point when there was no one around. There was also what happened last week when my roommate decided to move in with their girlfriend without any warning. I was distraught because I wouldn't have been able to cover the cost, but the landlord explained that he had decided to pay the next month for both of us as an apology as the lease was due to be renewed in just a few weeks. If I /am/ being haunted or whatever then at least the spirit following me has good luck. I guess. The fact that I was receiving all this good energy now, however, left me with a morbid worry about what was to come. It's like when you're playing a video game and they suddenly give you a save checkpoint and a bunch of healing items - Shit was about to go down.

Thank fucking christ, I'm here.

I was quick to get off of the bike and grab the food from the basket affixed to the front of the bicycle. The black plastic bag with "Thank you!" written on it repeatedly rustled a bit louder than usual thanks to the seemingly never-ending breeze. There had been a gust warning or something like that today, hadn't there? Another sigh fell from my lips as I approached the apartment that had a glass outer door. I could see my reflection thanks to the street lamps: Brown hair obscured by a baseball cap, but was worn in a ponytail aside from my bangs which dipped down either side of my face. I had on a loose windbreaker that was a bit too big and black pants that weren't exactly thick. You could say I was lithe, I guess. I'm not too physically active and don't have muscles, but I'm not skinny as a stick either. I have heard someone make a comment about my hips from behind once, but that was when they didn't realise I was actually a guy. After he said that loud enough for me to hear he looked kind of awkward when I glanced back at him. Did it really matter if I was a guy, though? A compliment was a compliment in my eyes. Either way, along with that I have these dark green eyes which I think look pretty. I've heard that from some girls before back in High School, but I'm not sure if they were being honest or picking on me. In the end I took it as a compliment regardless.

I shook my head a little before bending over to set the bag of food down upon the run down brick stoop, ringing the doorbell and turning around to wander back to the bike. I could hear the door open but like holy hell I was going to just greet some random asshole who asked for contactless delivery. It was now however that I finally saw what had been watching me and I nearly ate shit by tripping over the curb when doing so.

A dog. A /big/ dog. Huge dog. Definitely the type that was illegal to have an apartment - Type dog. It had to have been some cross between a husky and a malamute or something, but.. Bigger. It felt like it was trying to stare me down or something to be quite honest. Was.. Was this thing about to attack me or whatever? I bit back a small shout however at the sound of someone whistling. It startled me and was quick to catch my attention, drawing my focus back to the porch at which I'd left the food.

There was a man in the doorway who did /not/ look like he would be living in a cheap apartment in this crappy warehouse district. He was dressed in a suit vest with a white button-up underneath it and a pair of black pants with some rather nice dress shoes. His sleeves were rolled up to his elbows and I could see some tattoo markings that started just below the cloth and disappeared within it. Under the porch light he seemed to have black hair with white roots along with an attractive face. Sharp, golden eyes (I think, it's kinda dark), a chiseled jaw and lips pressed into a thin line whilst he stared down the canine across the narrow road. I didn't know what it was but I sucked in a breath at the sight of him. He was attractive. Beyond attractive. /Very/ attractive. He had a strong chest and thick arms. To be quite honest, the rest of him was probably well toned beneath his clothes too. I don't know if he realised that I was staring /far/ longer than I should have been like some star-struck moron, but he eventually snapped his fingers and pulled my wandering mind back to the moment.

"Sorry, don't mind him. He's a um.. Guard dog." The man spoke out to me simply yet his voice was smooth, deep and strong. Christ, all it took was a sentence to stir something within me. Unconsciously my hands grabbed at the edge of my coat and I tugged at it weakly whilst nodding.

"R-Right, guard dog. Sorry for um, bothering, sir." I managed to get out but didn't turn for my bike yet. I almost felt like I… Couldn't? There was something so tantalizing about this man that I'm worried he might just disappear if I take my eyes off of him. I know people say that something such as a 'love at first sight' exists, but this was really something else. I could hear the dog's claws tapping against the street as he crossed from his spot upon hearing the snap from his owner and I could have sworn I felt it glare at me as it went past and approached the man out front. Before moving to step behind him however, it seemed as though it had bowed in front of him. What a weird way for a dog to greet someone, but then again, I've seen dogs do stranger things.

"Something I can help you with?" He asked and suddenly I found that I'd just fallen back into my own mind while wondering about him. Was he strong? What did he do for work? Was he a good person or was he vile? There was something that almost seemed scary about him, but yet that didn't make me not want to talk to him. "Or could it be something that you're worried about, perhaps?" He questioned decidedly, crossing his arms over his chest loosely. The action made the buttons of his vest strain and for the first time in my life I had never wished to be a button as badly as I do now.

"I uh, something like that." I muttered and rubbed the back of my neck, clearing my throat and trying to pull my shit together. He was just a random guy on my delivery route for the sandwich shop and I would just go home and forget this interaction and that weird dog ever existed. I moved now to kick my leg over my bike and sit on the seat but my fingers wouldn't release the brake. It felt like if I left now, right this minute, I would lose out on something earth shattering. What the /fuck/ was happening to me? Maybe I'm just having some weird kind of stroke and am about to drop dead?

It seems that my emotions were able to be read on my face because that very attractive man had stepped towards me all of a sudden while laughing quietly. It almost sounded like he was going to mock me until he approached, placing a hand where my handlebars met while the other suddenly reached out to cup my face. His touch felt like fire to me and a rush ran through my spine. What the fuck was I anticipating? I should have been mad that some strange man was getting all handsy with me. Wasn't this what I was worried about in the first place? Then why did I suddenly want.. More?

His hand was large against my chin and I could feel the tips of his fingers running against my jawbone. He wasn't being rough with me - If anything, his touch was tender. What he said however was, "To think now is when you arrive", which didn't really make any sense to me. Maybe I just misheard him? But how can you mishear someone only a few inches away? /Oh, shit, right/. He was close - Very close. I took in another sharp breath as I felt his thumb stroke my cheek and I suddenly felt warm all the way to the tips of my ears.

"Uhm, can I help you?" I managed to get out only to find him pressing his forehead against mine and his hand slipping into my hair. God how I wanted that hand to go somewhere el- Nope, no I didn't. I had a job to finish and a home to get back to. I had a goddamn paper to write before I go to sleep tonight - I don't have the time for this. Was I really this fucking starved of human affection? It.. It was never a problem before, so why right now?

"You could help me in a few ways, but I don't want to scare you off so quickly." He said with a grin that I could only barely make out from how close he was. Now just what did /that/ mean? This guy was so fucking weird but I just couldn't make myself try to pull back. At this point though I don't think I'd be able to with him holding my head in place. His hand was so warm. Were people normally this warm or was he just basically built of fire?

"I.. I don't know what you mean by that." I managed to get out while mentally kicking myself. I'm a grown man! With a grown job! In a grown City! But I couldn't just speak my mind? It didn't even sound like I was scared either. I sounded more like I was excited. God, I hated this moment so much. If I could bury myself in the ground and never see the light of day, I probably would if meant getting away from this strange and touchy individual. "Can.. I go now?" I finally managed to ask, clearing my throat and glancing out of the corner of my eye to try and look away. I could have sworn for a second it almost hurt to say that, but there was so much that I needed to do. I had to go.

The guy kind of looked.. Annoyed when I said that. I could see it from my peripheral vision despite the whole point of me looking away being to break this contact. He tightened his grip on me for a moment as if trying to decide what he should do before letting me go and making an exasperated noise. "Fine. I'm sure that you're busy. How about I come to see you when I have the time?" He asked me expectantly yet didn't wait for an answer. Instead he slowly took his hand away and lifted himself to stand straight again. Once my personal space had been returned, it was only then I realised that I had stopped breathing at one point.

I nodded vaguely, unable to find my voice to tell him to fuck off instead. Did all of this mean he was a stalker or something? But if he was a stalker shouldn't I have been worried? Scared? Uneasy? I instead felt something that left me in an awful state - watching him go inside with the dog that was still glaring at me from the doorway left me feeling.. Empty. I wanted to follow that man and demand answers because he seemed just as infatuated with me and yet let me go so easily. No, wait, was I just projecting at this point? What if the guy was just smooth as fuck and I was over thinking things?

"Get it together, Aiden. Get. It. To. Gether." I said a few times as I slapped myself in the face to get my own attention. Ok, scary dog and attractive man aside, I still needed to get out of this shitty neighborhood and get home. My hands finally lifted from the brake on the bike and I pushed myself forward so that I could turn around once I'd built up a bit of momentum. Tonight felt like it was suddenly going to be very, very long.