HorrorSawp-tale

Chapter 1

(A/N: This story is inspired by I'm a fan! By Oneirix / Killer)

It was just your typical kind of life. I graduated from college, landed a job at a sort-of-big general contractor outfit, and with my older brother taking care of our parents for me, I was currently enjoying all the myriad benefits of the Bachelorette -pad life. Age thirty-seven. No significant other. I wasn't exactly short or frumpy or hideous or anything. But when it came to the opposite sex, apparently I had nothing to offer. I'd made efforts along those lines, with varying degrees of dedication, but by the fifth rejection, something fizzled out within me. Besides—really, at this age, I was kinda past the point where a boyfriend or girlfriend needed to be my main focus. Work kept me busy enough. Plus, it wasn't like I was gonna die without one.

...I'm not making excuses, all right? It's just that I started thinking...

"Oh, hello, ma'am! Sorry, we're late!"

There he was, walking toward me, bursting with all that youthful energy of his. He and the beautiful woman next to him. His name was Benjamin, one of the guys who worked under me, and she was Abigail, the front desk lady and pretty much the "it" girl around the office. These bums asked to see me because they were getting married and wanted my advice. In other words, this meeting was the whole reason I was brooding over why I was such a failure at personal relationships. I was leaning against a telephone pole at the intersection where we'd agreed to meet after work, thinking to myself.

"Nah." I nodded a greeting at Benjamin and asked, "What'd you want to talk about?"

"Oh, good to meet you. My name's Abigail. I've seen you at work a lot, but...um, I guess this is the first time I've spoken to you, huh? It makes me kind of nervous, somehow."

I'm the one who should be nervous, lady! my mind griped itself. It's not like I'm any good at speaking to men. How about a little sympathy here? Any way you looked at it, I was the wrong person to ask. I knew nothing about love. They were doing this just to spite me—I was sure of it. Pretty sure, anyway.

"Oh, there's nothing to be nervous about," I replied. "Y/N L/N. It's good to meet you, Ms. Abigail...although you're famous enough around the office that you hardly need to even introduce yourself, huh? Benjamin and I went to the same college, and we kinda hit it off during his training period, so that's how we know each other."

"Famous? Oof! Not famous in a weird way, I hope?"

"Oh, y'know. I hear stories about you dating Benjamin or messin' around with Mr. Jacob in management..."

Somehow, I decided that picking on her would be a good idea. I just meant it as a passing joke, but it made Abigail's face turn a bright shade of red, her eyes watering up a bit. It was cute, in a way. People were always telling me to tone that stuff down—that I needed to consider people's feelings more or, if not that, at least make it funnier—but I couldn't help myself. So mark that down as another failure. Maybe I do have a crap personality. Benjamin took that chance to intervene, patting Abigail on the shoulder. Dammit, Benjamin! So blessed with the natural charm you need to live a decent life... I wish people like you would just explode!

"Aw, stop being mean to her," he admonished with an effortless smile. "And don't worry, Abigail, he's just having a little fun with you."

Cool, refreshing, and completely guileless—Benjamin was impossible to hate. He was still just twenty-eight, quite a bit younger than I was, but we got on well nonetheless. I probably owed him at least a few congratulations...

"Hah, sorry," I said, figuring there was no reason to let my jealousy devour me. "I can't help but needle people like that sometimes. But no point standing here on the sidewalk. Wanna get something to eat while we talk?"