A New Obsession

Unexpected Encounters

Right as Leon's car was receding into the distance, thunder boomed directly overhead, and fat droplets of water began to splatter along the road. Danny stood helplessly in the middle of a slowly forming puddle, watching the person who had taken up permanent residence in his mind disappear into the deepening gloom. Despite everything, he felt extremely disappointed with the way things had ended.

By all rights, he should be ecstatic! He should be overjoyed! After all, he did get to see Leon eat his food, which he still wasn't entirely sure why that was such an accomplishment. He never cared that much about the way anyone else ate. But perhaps Danny had just spent too much time staring at pictures of his perfect lips and imagining things. He had wanted more than anything to see the inside of his mouth, to watch his teeth pull the bite delicately into it. The way his lips had wrapped around the straw of his drink... Danny wasn't sure he'd ever get that image out of his mind. And that's not even mentioning the staring contest they had shared. Despite all his worries about appearing creepy, Leon had shifted suddenly, almost as if he was partially startled by the interruption. He had blinked himself out of a trance too, or so it appeared at least.

And Danny had made him laugh! Multiple times, in fact. The date had gone so well. Why then did Leon just hurry off like that? And why had he taken an uneven step on his way to the car? It was quite unlike him to stumble, or even misplace a foot. Was it what Danny said? When he declined the sarcastic invitation into his hotel? Or was it that he said he had his own things to do? Naturally, the constant paranoia edged into Danny's mind at the slight unexpected change in events. It was certainly possible that Leon knew Danny was the murderer, and he assumed Danny's "other things to do" involved violence or stalking. When in reality, that was just the smoothest way Danny could think of to respond to his comment. If he had agreed, he would have looked desperate, and since Leon's offer wasn't genuine, that would have put him in an awkward spot to tell Danny he wasn't serious. And the last thing Danny wanted was to make Leon uncomfortable. Which is why it bothered him so much the way he had just left like that.

Stomach clenching miserably, Danny finally allowed himself to turn and begin the walk home. He had chosen a place close to the police station for Leon's sake, but it was actually in the opposite direction from his own home, so he had to pass by the empty building again as he trudged through the rain. He decided it looked stupid for him to be carrying an umbrella in the rain and not use it, so he popped it out and held it over his head as he went.

Just... what had he done wrong? He had thought things were going so smoothly, but then Leon just stood as soon as he finished his food and left without so much as an excuse. He could have stayed for conversation, or munched on the appetizers they hadn't even ended up touching. He could at least have waited for Danny to finish, rather than leaving him there to sit alone.

Danny caught movement through a partially lit window in the station, which made him stop in his tracks curiously. It wasn't exactly from the corner of his eye, because he was looking in that direction anyway, but he wasn't really focused on it either, lost in his thoughts as he was. Whatever the case, the movement drew his attention and he looked more closely, peering inside. Nobody else was around; all the cops had hurried home to beat the rain.

Danny's gut clenched again. Was it safe for him to investigate? Would it look weird if he just came over and peeped through the window of a closed, supposedly empty police station? Or would he just look like another nosey reporter? He shrugged, stepping forward. Even if someone did get suspicious of him, he could always just claim to be the latter. Danny played the part of an obsessive reporter pretty well.

Unfortunately for him, the lit room was one of the interior ones, not the space just past the window. He could only see the light because the doorway leading out to the hall was open. He hovered there for a minute or two anyway, waiting to see if someone would pass within view again, but soon just decided to try the front door. If someone was inside, it was at least somewhat likely to be unlocked. That's a fire hazard otherwise, isn't it? Whoever it was could have gotten in through the back door with a security code, which is always unlocked from the inside... but it was still worth a try at least.