The Girl I Once Knew (Teen Wolf)

Chapter 4: The Difference Between a Guardian and a Stalker

Do you ever get the feeling you're being watched? Being the paranoid person I was, this was a familiar sensation that crept into my mind at the strangest of times. I could justify that this was a healthy paranoia despite how ordinary and bland my life had been up until meeting Derek Hale. But in a town like Beacon Hills, things were not as they may first seem beneath the deceptive mist. Every once and a while I would read about a murder in the public newspaper or hear of an animal attack outside the Reserve. You could pass these off as ordinary occurrences. It was America after all, not exactly the safest place you could be in the world. But our quaint little town was an exception. Things happened that not even the authorities could explain and although I was on the outside, hidden from the truth this place had desperately trying to conceal from people for centuries, I know the answer was far worse than any sick mind could conjure up.

It was a crazy theory. One I would never think of sharing with another living soul. I couldn't help but think that my open mind would one day save me if the two crazy worlds were to collide. Knowledge is power, and I hope for this town's sake, that's true.

But as I pick up the pace, I can't help but think it's because of the intensity that had seeped into the once calm atmosphere. Seems like passing down Derek's offer to walk me home from school was the worst decision I could have made. I didn't exactly live in a bad part of town. Between the school and my house, there was at least five crowded blocks of building after building, huddled together. I thought I was safe. After all there was safety in numbers, but then there could also be death. It was called a massacre.

I felt silly thinking someone was following me. I scan the pavement in every direction and there's not one sign of a person, let alone one that would be trailing me. Maybe, someone was hiding in an alleyway, using the trash cans as a protective cover.

Oh god, was I even listening to myself? No one was going to jump me in the middle of broad daylight. After the incident in the woods with the wolves my instincts had been on high alert and it was clearly starting to go to my head.

I adjust the backpack's strap and pull out my BlackBerry from where it sat, tucked in the back pocket of my jeans. I had one unchecked message, surely from Derek. Yet, something stops me from answering or rather not a something, but a who.

The next time I manage to glance back the sidewalk is occupied by a young man, who judging by how far away he was, looked to be several years older. He was average height and actually quite lengthy with long arms that swung limply at his side and an urgency that put speed in my step. He had a short crop of brown hair on his head and high cheekbones that seemed all too familiar. The way he carried himself, innocently, but with a dark demeanor reminded me of- he reminded me of Derek.

With each step I take forward, the man takes two. As it becomes clear what his true intentions are, I rear off to the left taking a route I wouldn't normal consider, but under the circumstances, the passageway worked perfectly for my needs. Sure enough, when I take a sudden turn he soon mimics my actions. Then I run. I run until my heart hammers against my chest and my lungs scream for me to stop and catch my breath. My feet slap against the pavement, wearing down the rubber soles of my worn sneakers. I wasn't a runner, I was a musician. My hobby seemed useless in this situation unless I could make his ears bleed until I effectually drove him away.

When I finally do run out of air, I'm forced to stop. Relief floods through me when I find there's no longer a man behind me. Somehow I had managed to lose him amongst the street's clutter sea of cars. Not wanting to stick around and find out, I start forwards with a new kind of determination. Unaware of the stranger standing right in front of me.

I smack right into his chest, but it feels more like a brick wall. During impact with his rock hard torso, my nose makes contact and my hands shoot to my face as I stumble backwards. As the spots clear in my vision, I can now make out the man perfectly. His eyes were a dark brown and he smiled with the white of his teeth in a way that could make any girl swoon. Leaning nonchalantly against a building's brick wall, you would think he had been standing there all day, but we both knew that was not the case. This man was far from ugly and by the way he eyed me, I could tell he knew it to.