From the Darkness

Chapter 1

Raelynn sits with her friend at their favorite restaurant, having lunch as they do every Friday. She can't help but notice a very familiar face sitting at one of the bar stools.

Every time she looked up, she saw him watching her, curiosity and familiarity in his eyes, but she just couldn't put a finger on where she had seen him before.

"Paige, do you know who that guy is sitting at the bar? The pale one with the blonde hair."

She watches as her friend turns around and looks discreetly at the bar to find the face of the man Raelynn described.

"No, I can't say that I've seen him before. Why, were you hoping I could hook you up?" she asks with a joking tone.

"No, I just thought he looked familiar and thought maybe you could put a name to the face since you are way better with names than I am," she answers, trying to ignore her friend's attempt to mock her lack of a social life.

"Sure, that's what it was."

Raelynn ignores her friend and continues to study the mystery man, but fails to come up with his name or identity.

"Earth to Rae," says Paige while waving her hand in front of her friend's face, trying to snap her out of her daydream.

"Hmm?" she answers, realizing that Paige must've said something and she hadn't answered.

"I just asked you if you had any plans tonight. I don't have anything to do, so I was thinking we could find somewhere to hang out and mingle," she says with a mischievous tone.

Rae takes a few moments to think of her schedule. She knows she doesn't have any plans, but she has to go through her classes to see if she has any test or quizzes she needs to study for.

"Well, I'm completely lost in my criminal law class, and I was planning on finding someone to help me figure it out."

"It's Friday night! You don't have to do that til at least Sunday," her friend tells her.

"I guess I don't have much of a choice then, do I?"

"Nope, you don't!"

"Well, okay, but you're going to have to come get me. What time?"

"I was thinking around 8:30 or so. And wear something fun. In other words, nothing you would normally wear," she says, mocking her friend once again.

"Yeah, whatever. It's your turn to pay, right?" she says, changing the subject from her 'boring' conservative sense of style.

"Yeah, I think so."

"I thought so too. I'm gonna get going, don't wanna be late for class," she says and gets up before her friend can protest.

"You're such a goody-goody! Oh well, see you tonight."

"Well what do you expect, I'm going to be a lawyer," she answers and then walks away, not waiting for her friend to answer. As she is walking out of the restaurant, she feels his eyes on her the whole time.

Once she gets outside, she walks to the corner and waits for the light to change so that she can cross. When the light finally turns, she crosses and then makes her way back to her dorm building to grab her books before her class.

As she sits through her class, it takes all of her self-control to stay focused on the legal terms she is learning.
Her mind keeps drifting away to the man at the restaurant this afternoon. Trying to figure out who he is and how she knows him is driving her crazy.

Just forget about him, she tells herself, he probably just goes to school here, and that's why you recognize him. Yes, that's definitely it, now just go back to work so you don't have hours of studying and homework this weekend.