Stalker Story Ch. 02

I really hoped that my actions looked natural to him. I assumed that they looked real enough because mow he was smiling. His white teeth gleamed in the sunlight that poured through my unshuttered window. This was so weird. I felt like I knew him from somewhere, but I just couldn't place it ... that's it! My stalker! That's who it was. A look of realization flashed across my face and he smiled even wider. Crap. He knew that I knew he was there.

"You!" I exclaimed, spinning on my heel and walking towards him.

"Me!" he exclaimed sarcastically, pointing at his chest.

"What are you doing in my house?"

"Sitting on your bed," he replied.

"Well don't!" I yelled, still walking towards him. "Get out of my house! I don't ever want to see you again!" I was towering over him now. He obviously didn't like feeling short because he jumped up from where he sat.

"So you don't want to see me huh?" he asked, and smiled. What was so funny about that?

"Yes, I don't want to see you, ever," I replied glaring at him. At this he began laughing hysterically. I looked at him, raising an eyebrow in curiosity.

"What's so funny?" I asked angrily, my voice turning acidic on the last word.

"You," he said, suddenly serious. My eyes widened in shock for and instant, but quickly returned to their normal size.

"Me?" I asked, pointing to myself just as he had done earlier.

"Yes, you. Let me get this straight," he started, looking down on me the best he could. I didn't let it show, but that really bothered me. Yeah, so he's only and inch or two taller than me, and yeah, he probably couldn't restrain me like Will could, but still, it bothered me.

"You made Will stay here so you could find out who I was, because you don't ever want to see me?"

"How do you know that we stayed so I could find out who you were, and not because Will wanted to?"

"Because I was there. I saw you stop him from leaving,"he retorted.

"Well, maybe...perhaps I...fine you're right," I admitted in defeat. "You know, if you would have just told me your name-"

"What does my name have to do with anything?" he broke in.

"It has everything to do with everything!" I yelled throwing my hands up over my head.

"No it doesn't!" he yelled back, throwing his hands up in the air too.

"Yes it does!" I insisted, stepping closer to him.

"Fine. Elaborate for me, if you would," he said. I refused to answer him.

"Please?"

"If you would have just told me your name in that God and people forsaken forest then I wouldn't be here right now!" I said softly, my voice breaking with emotion. "Why couldn't you just tell me your name?"

"I had to keep you here somehow," he answered softly. My eyes narrowed until they were slits and my mouth twisted into a snarl

"You tricked me into staying here," I said in a dark, savage voice.

"Yes, I did. It's not my fault you fell for it," he said lightly. My anger didn't seem to faze him.

"You ruined my life!" I screamed at him. "And you won't even give me a justified reason why! What does it matter to you if I run away? I was just trying to find somewhere that I could be happy, and I end up here, where everything goes wrong. Fights with my boyfriend, weird men stocking me, my life's a living hell!" I glared at him, my eyes scanning his face for any sign of weakness.

"You sure seem to be choleric today, Jaina," he said raising his eyebrows.

"Think what you want of me, I don't care. I'm sure you already do."

The room grew silent around up as I glared at him and he smirked at me. I hadn't realized how close together we had moved. If I put my hand up in front of my face and stuck my fingers out, I could touch his face. So much for personal space. But I couldn't back down, couldn't just let him win. I wasn't capable of something like that. He sighed and ran his fingers through his hair

"Get out of my house now," I growled at him through clenched teeth. "Or else."

"Or else what? You'll throw a fit?" he asked.

"If you don't move it, a fit is guaranteed, along with other more violent actions," I threatened.

"Ooh! I'm so scared! Someone help me please!" he exclaimed sarcastically. "If I were you I would be more concerned about me doing something to hurt you rather than trying to threaten me," he said seriously.

"I'm not afraid of you," I replied boldly.

"And I'm not afraid of you!" he retorted.

"Out!" I yelled at him. I hated how he kept on making this fight go off subject. "Get out! If I wanted you here I would have invited you, but I didn't, so go away!"

"Yes you did," he said with a smug look on his face.

"No I didn't!"

"Leaving your door unlocked sounds like an invitation to me."

"Well, I wasn't inviting you in, and even if I was, I'm uninviting you now."

"Well, I don't care," he said stubbornly.

"You will leave," I said angrily, my voice making my statement sound like a threat.

"No, I don't think I will."

We glared at each other in the bitter silence, neither one of us willing to give up. I had never realized how much work fighting with another person could be. The fights Will and I have are never really fights. Usually it's just me yelling, and him calmly explaining everything to me, or trying to tell me everything and me not listening to a word he says.

This fight was different though. Very different. It wasn't just me yelling. This time the other party was yelling back, putting up an effort to make me give up. This type of fight took will-power, and a lot of it.

I don't know how long the two of us stood there glaring. Had it been seconds? Minutes? Hours? I couldn't tell, even with the clock on my wall ticking out each long second.

Finally he spoke, his voice loud in the near empty room. "Why?"

The question caught me off guard. "Huh?"

"Why do you want me to leave?"

I looked around the room, searching for an answer. Honestly I had no clue why I wanted him to leave. Maybe I was afraid. Afraid for what? My life? No. He wasn't that threatening. In fact, he wasn't threatening at all. My safety? No. I could use magic any time I needed it, and could have him on the floor in less than a heart beat. But if not those then what? My relationship? But why? Nothing was in the way of my relationship with Will but my own pride and stubbornness, and this stranger couldn't do anything about that.

"Well?" he asked.

"Because you are invading my privacy, and I don't like it," I answered.

"I think it's something else. Something to do with the one thing that's more important to you than your privacy," he said thoughtfully.

"And what would that be?"

"Your relationship with Will," he replied.

I chuckled at his words.

"Yeah right."

"You think you're going to lose him! That's why!" he exclaimed.

"What? No! I want you to leave because I want you to leave," I retorted quickly. "This has absolutely nothing to do with Will."

His green eyes scanned my face for a minute before he said anything.

"Jaina, you know I don't like it when you lie to me," he said quietly, just like Will had when he said it.

Tears welled up in my eyes and a lump formed in my throat. It wasn't fair. He wasn't playing this game fair, copying Will like that. My emotions were running around unchecked by my sanity, not that that changed anything now. Every time Will and I fought I seemed to be pushing him away from me. If this continued I would lose him forever.

A single tear rolled down my cheek as I stood lost in my thoughts. I have to face it. I'm a weakling. I couldn't control myself any more, not even in the presence of my stalker. His brow furrowed.

"Jaina?" he asked slowly, his voice soft like velvet.

I looked up to him and lost the little control I had left over my emotions. The tears flowed freely down my face as I stood there, absorbed in my emotions now.

"Are you ... ok?" he continued slowly as he looked me over.

It seemed like he didn't know what to do about me. He obviously hadn't been expecting this from me, and it showed on his face. I threw myself at him and flung my arms around his neck. He stiffened in reaction to my unexpected actions, but I buried my face down in his neck and cried. Slowly I felt his body relax and him bring his arms up around me.

"Shhh. Shhh. It's ok. Shhh," he said softly in my ear as he stroked my back tenderly.

His fingertips ran lightly up and down my spine as I cried into his neck bitterly.

"Do you want to talk about it?" he asked kindly.

I hated this sympathy that he gave me, but I couldn't stop crying enough to tell him off.

"I'm sorry. I didn't mean to make you cry," he said apologetically.

"It's not your fault," I replied in between sobs. I sounded pathetic. "It's Will," I started and broke off crying.

"It's ok Jaina. Everything's going to be ok," he comforted, bringing his right had up off of my back and stroking my hair with it.

"No it's not," I bawled. "Nothing's going to be ok. You were right about everything." I couldn't tell what his reaction was from his body language, and I didn't want to remove myself from my spot on his shoulder to see. "I'm going to lose Will at the rate our relationship is plunging."

"You're not going to lose him," he reassured me.

I wish I could be that confident.

"Every fight we have I push him further away. Soon he's going to end up out of my grasp, too far away for me to pull back to myself," I tried to explain through my tears. I didn't know if my stalker understood what I was telling him, but that didn't seem to matter right now, I just needed to get this off my chest to stop worrying.

"It's going to hurt so bad," I said through renewed tears, and pressed my face deeper into his shoulder. "Like someone's cutting out my heart," I continued, my speech broken by sobs. "While I'm still alive."

"What is, Jaina?" he asked me, his tone staying the same as before although I was sure he was scared by what I was saying. He must think I'm some sort of deranged maniac or something like that.

"Losing Will," I bawled.

The house was quiet except for my crying as my stalker waited for me to calm down. I slowly calmed down as I rested my head on is shoulder, my tears rolling down my cheeks and falling on his clothes. I lifted my head and wiped my eyes with my hand, and took a step back.

I couldn't tell what his emotion was, of if he even had one at all. He had a peculiar look in his eyes though, like he wanted to tell ne something, but couldn't bring himself to say it to my face. I bit my bottom lip as I looked at him, unsure if I should apologize or tell him the rest of my worries. I chose to go with the first.

"Sorry," I said softly, diverting my eyes from his gaze. "I didn't mean to offend you I just-"

He pressed his fingers against my mouth and shook his head slightly.

"It's ok, I understand," he said simply and dropped his hand back down to his side.

"You do?"

"I do," he reassured me. "And I don't take any offense."

"You don't?"

"I don't." His uneasy green eyes darted around my room until they came to rest on my face again. "Jaina I..."

"Yes?" I asked, furrowing my brow.

"I want you to know that I..."

"That you what?" I prompted.

His eyes darted around the room, and landed on my window. The sun was setting mow, turning the sky brilliant shades of pink, purple, orange, and red.

"I have to go. It's getting late." He looked at me again, and lifted his right arm to grab my shoulder, but dropped it in hesitation.

"That's not what you were going to say," I said. "That was just a lousy excuse to get out of here."

"Maybe it was, and maybe it wasn't, but who's to know but me?" he asked, turning to the window.

"No, I have every right to know what you were going to say because it obviously deals with me. So either tell me what you were going to say, or tell me your name, because I won't let you leave until you tell me."

"And how exactly are you going to stop me?" he asked, knowing that I was nowhere near crazy enough to fight him.

I didn't answer. He turned back to the window and walked over to it. He quickly unlatched the locks on it, and pushed it open, and then turned his gaze back onto me.

"Have a nice night Jaina, and don't go out tonight. They're mad."

Although he didn't say mashante, a sense of dread shot through me, and the hairs on my arms stood up. As he turned back around I broke down the walls in my head that held back my magic, and sent a ball of energy out the window.

"You missed," he said, turning to face me.

"I wasn't aiming at you."

"You still missed."

"No, I didn't"

"You just can't stand being wrong." He turned at that, and ran headlong into the closed window. I smirked as he rubbed his face.

"Ok, ha ha real funny. You shut the window and I ran into it. How was that supposed to keep me in though?" He opened the window again and jumped out, landing nimbly on his feet when he hit the ground. He looked back up at me as I ran to the window and smiled. He cupped his hands around his mouth and yelled up to me.

"Ganzlongintine!" (Ganz- long- in- teen)

"Ganzlonginwhaty?"

"Ganzlongintine!" he yelled back up at me.

"What type of weird name is that?"

"A weird one."

"And is that really your name?"

He was quiet for a moment, thoughtful. "No!" he yelled up to me. "What type of weird freak do you think I am?"

"A weird one!" I yelled down to him. He chuckled, shook his head, and ran off into the distance.

I put my head in my hands and sat sown on my bed. How come I could never find anything out? And how come I actually thought Ganzlongintine was his name? How much more stupid could I possibly get? I fell backwards, resting my head on my bed. Why does this always happen to me?

I guess I should go clean up that glass before I kill myself on it. I stood up and looked out the window again before I turned to go to the living room. Was that my stalker hiding in the bushes? It wouldn't surprise me if it was. Who know s how long ago he could have started watching me? Now that I knew it I would be watching for small signs like rustling bushes and other things of that sort. It was a weird feeling, knowing that someone is watching you, but not knowing where they are of how much hey know about you.

I walked silently back into my living room to view the damage I had done before I cleaned it up. My God. It was a mess. Glass was everywhere, all the way from the door to the entry way of the kitchen. I didn't know I could throw that hard.

I walked carefully through the room, avoiding the glass the best I could as I walked into the kitchen for my broom, dust pan, and a wet cloth. I guess that I could unlock my door now, it's not like that would actually stop my stalker. If he wanted to I'm sure he would find a way in if he wanted in that badly. I wrung out the rag I had soaked and headed back into the living room, carefully sweeping up the glass as I went. When I reached the door I unlocked it and stepped out onto the landing.

The lights were still on down at the tavern, and I could see four figures sitting outside. I hope that isn't Will. I hope he's safe. What was it my stalker had said? 'Don't go out tonight, they're mad.' An involuntary shiver ran down my spine and the hairs on my arms stood on end. I cold feel eyes on my back, and I broke out in a cold sweat as I stood in the cool night air. I had to get inside before I had a panic attack of something like that.

I took several steps back, reaching the entry way of my house, unwilling to turn my back on the darkness. I reached out a shaky hand for the door, and finding it pushed it shut softly. As soon as I was sure the door was shut I crept back to my room, unsheathing the dagger I kept at my waist. The window had been left open in my room and the thought scared me, especially since it was after dark and I was near the forest.

My sharp eyes flashed in the moonlight that filtered in through other windows as I crept down the hall, my heart pounding against my rib cage all the while. My body stiffened as I heard a howl in the distance, and all of the color drained out of my cheeks. I was only a few steps away from the bedroom door when I stuck out my foot and kicked the door open.

I peaked my head around the corner, and pressed myself up against the wall in fear. What if one had gotten in my room? I took several deep breaths before I threw myself into the dark room. As I hit the ground I rolled over to the window and jumped up from the ground. In one swift movement I slammed the window closed, clicked the lick into place, and spun around, my dagger held out defensively.

When I was sure nothing was near me I inched my way over to the bathroom door and sent a small ball of magic at the lamp. The flames engulfed the wick at once and the small lamp cast a soft glow through the bathroom and my room. All clear. I glance up at the mirror, half expecting to see my stalker sitting on my bed again, but saw nothing.

Now I had to go light the rest of the lights in the house. Why didn't I light them before I came back here? Slowly I made my way back through my room, lighting the two lamps there before setting out down the hall. There were no lamps here at all, leaving me completely open to an attack.

Please let me be alone. Please please please. Something light and hairy brushed against my arm in the darkness and I screamed as I swung my dagger about blindly, backing into a wall as I did so. My head was spinning as I sprinted out into the front room and lit the lamp in there.

Now for the kitchen. Where had I set that lamp at? I always moved it and then forgot where I left it ... oh well. I stepped into the door way and pulled open the drawer closest to me. I searched the drawer until my fingers wrapped around something cold and hard. I brought the clear stone up to my mouth and lightly blew on it.

Slowly a light formed inside it growing brighter and brighter until I could see the whole kitchen. There it was, by the sink. It's white surface reflected the light from my spirit stone back at me, and I had to shade my eyes to see. I don't remember that being there before, at least not before ... Oh God, don't tell me he cleaned my kitchen for me. I lit the lamp that was beside the sink and threw open the pantry doors.

It was my worst nightmare come true. It was clean. No, not clean, spotless. No, even worse than that. It was the peak of perfection. Why? Wasn't it bad enough that I had a stalker, but now he had to be a neat freak too? Aaaah! Why me? I blew on my spirit crystal and as the light slowly faded I set the crystal down with a slight clink on the counter. I bent my head over the counter and could actually see my reflection in the ceramic tiles.

Why? What did I do in my past 300 years to deserve this? Karma sucks. I wish I wasn't alone in my house. It was especially creepy at night when you could hear the howls and know that there was no one there to protect you but yourself.

Another chill ran down my spine and I glanced over my shoulder. I hope I hadn't pushed Will too far away from me this time. Why did I always have to fight with him?

I threw open one of the cabinet doors and started to pull out a small bowl, but pulled out a bag of crackers instead. I looked at the package in surprise, and then threw them down on the counter angrily.

"What the heck?! He completely rearrange my kitchen!" I slammed my fist down on the package several times before I threw it down on the ground. What gave him the right to come and rearrange my house? What gave him the right to even be in my house in the first place?

I stomped mercilessly on the crackers over and over again, the anger inside of me growing larger and larger until I was jumping on top of the small bag of crackers. Pop! Awww damn it. The crackers flew across the floor completely blanketing the tile in crumbs. Just what I needed, another mess to clean up. Here, he wants to clean my house, let him. He can busy himself cleaning up after me like my mother. I picked up the rest of the bag and threw handfuls of crunched crackers around the room.