Song Stories (Part 1)

Chapter 2

20XX/10/03 - Noon

Phew, that was a close one! Now back to work it is.

Outside Liz quickly made her way to the office. Or at least she was about to, as she bumped into someone only a few steps away from the café. Ouch, what the-
"Ow! Really, what is it with people bumping into me today? You're like the third person to do that."
Oh no. That voice. It couldn't be.
Looking up she stared into the face of the man she had just run into. Oh, you've got to be kidding me!
Standing in front of her was the police officer from this morning, the one who had been chasing her around the streets for 20 minutes. The one who was the cause of her foul mood. The one man she never ever wanted to see again.

Holding his right arm, the man started recognizing her face. "Oh my god. Heeey!" His face lit up instantly and he beamed at her. "It's you! I can't believe it! You were in such an awful hurry this morning Ms. Glaze. You know, I ran after you for quite a while, calling out to you too. But no matter how loud I yelled, you didn't seem to hear a thing. Were you wearing headphones? ...No, that couldn't be. You definitely didn't wear any when you took off. And putting them on while running at that speed - You'd need to be a master multitasker. Ha, can't say I know one. I mean, if I had tried that, I'd definitely run headfirst into a pole or a tree or something. My eye-hand-feet coordination is absolutely awful, you know?" Talking like a waterfall, the man kept speeding up until his words morphed into one inseparable chain of noisy rambling.
Why him? Why now? Why here?! Liz thought as she pressed her left hand to her forehead, sensing the beginning of a headache.

"SHUT. UP!" She screamed as loud as she could, in hope it would finally stop him from talking. And it worked. He flinched, startled by the brunette's sudden outburst. While clenching his chest he gave Liz a reproachful look. "Don't do that. Ever. Again. You very nearly gave me a heart attack, shouting like that all of a sudden!"
"Whatever makes you keep your mouth shut."
At that, a slightly hurt look appeared on his face. But it vanished as fast as it came, being replaced by a pout as he crossed his arms. "F-fine. If that's what you want."
"Yes, that's exactly what I want. And now, goodbye." Liz started making her way past, but was, of course, put to a stop by him. What the hell?!

Holding his left arm in front of her like some kind of human gateway, he hindered her from walking away. Missing only him making a robotic beeping sound to bring the ridiculousness of the scene to perfection. "I can't let you go yet."
"Why not?"
"Well, you didn't answer my question. Obviously."
Don't stretch that word like this... "What question?"

"God, were you even listening to what I said? Why did you keep running this morning?" Liz gulped down the Uhm, no! she wanted to shout in his face and instead settled for an annoyed "And why would I be inclined to answer that?"
"Hm, maybe, because I'm a police officer! And as a good citizen you're obliged to answer the questions of authority." The man proudly beamed at her.
There is absolutely nothing authoritative about you!

Liz sighed, there was no running away this time. Defeated, she threw her hands up, snapping "Fine! You wanna know why I didn't stop even after you called my name for the eight hundredth time? I'll tell you why. I was running away from you. And you wanna know why, Mr. I-Can't-Take-A-Hint?"
Intimidated by the hostile tone in the brunette's voice the man hesitated before giving her a small nod. Although, one could see by the look on his face that he wasn't sure whether he wanted to hear her next words, or rather hide behind the next tree. Not that it would have mattered as Liz was determined to give him a piece of her mind, even if it meant being the one chasing him around this time.

"I ran because I couldn't stand being around you for even one more minute! Your whole attitude, your never-ending ramblings, the fact you stole my wallet this morning and that stupid ever-present smile on your face. Every bit of you makes it really hard for me not to strangle you!"
A nervous laugh escaped his lips as he took a step back, putting some distance between him and the glare Liz was shooting him. "S-surely you don't mean that Miss Glaze... Uhm..."
Liz took a step forward, closing the distance he had so desperately created. "I wasn't done yet. I believe it's my turn to ask a question now."
The man gulped.

"Oh, don't worry, it's a simple one. Yes or no. Even someone like you could answer it. ...Probably. So, listen carefully now." Liz spoke her next words one by one as if she was dictating them to a child. "Are. You. Stalking. Me?"

For a moment both of them were silent. Then the man opened his mouth, wanting to say something but closed it instead in disbelief, before opening it again, as he squinted. "Uhm... Could you... repeat that? I want to make sure I understood you correctly... You think I'm stalking you? How... exactly did you get that idea?"
This guy. He's serious isn't he?

Tilting her head like she was thinking about something, Liz elaborated "Hmm, maybe because you kept chasing me around for at least 20 minutes this morning. And after I finally got rid of you, you just happen to show up just outside the café I frequent. Coincidentally bumping into me."
"Well, when you phrase it like that, it sure sounds like- Waaait, a second! You were the one who bumped into me! And that actually hurt a lot." Holding his right arm as if he was in pain, he shot the woman a reproachful look before switching back to a more serious face. "Ah wait, that's not what's important right now. I hereby avert your accusation, as I'm simply here to meet a friend of mine. In there." He pointed at the café.

Liz gave a dismissive laugh. "You have friends?"
"Hey, what's that supposed to mean! You might not know it, but I have a ton of friends!" The apparent pout on his face made room for a proud smile. Disbelievingly the young woman raised an eyebrow. "Uh-huh, sure."
"Ok, tons may be a bit exaggerated. But there are a lot. Or, more than a few. Well, some of them tried to kill me, but..."
Wait, what. Even though he had grown quiet at the end of his sentence, Liz had understood his words clearly. "They tried to... what?"
The man just shrugged at her outburst. "They were part of the mafia, so I'd thought that would happen sooner or later, so..."

A police officer who's friends with the mafia. Of course. Nothing wrong with that. Man, this guy just keeps getting weirder and weirder.
"Look, I don't care. Whether you are friends with murderers or the queen of England, it's none of my business and I don't want it to be either. I answered your question, you answered mine, so that's it. Ok? Let's just go our separate ways and hopefully never meet again." Walking past him, for real this time, Liz took a few steps before turning towards the police officer, awaiting his answer. There was no way she wanted to risk getting chased around for a second time today. Dear Lord, please just let me finally go back to work!
He clearly wasn't happy about her leaving but he couldn't think of anything to keep her from going either. "Well, I suppose so. Although, I do have some more questions regarding the Paper Cut Killer I'd like to discuss with you and-"
NO. No, you won't!

"That's too bad, really. But my boss will kill me if I don't show up in the office anytime soon. And that would give you even more work, when you're clearly already overwhelmed by this one case. Better not risk that. So, goodbye. And have fun at the café with your friend, girlfriend, mafia members or whatever." With that, the young woman turned around again and started hurrying down the road with quick steps. Leaving the officer behind, before he had the chance to stop her.
Freedom, at last!
However, right before turning around the corner, she heard him shout "Uhm, she's not my girlfriend!"
Liz snorted. Really? That's the point that struck him as odd? In a slightly less annoyed tone, she exclaimed "Whatever!" before she disappeared from his sight.

Now I'm in your head

You can't close it, the doors are open

Nah, you ain't seen nothing yet

Against The Current - Wildfire