First off, in no way do I own any character associated with this story.

With that out of the way, I'll continue to say that this is my first serious Akuroku fanfic so take it easy on me, alright? As always, please review when you're done reading. I really do appreciate it!


I Caught You Looking
Chapter 1

"Yeah, see ya tomorrow!" I call back to the librarians who are still closing up the giant campus library, waving goodbye as I reposition my backpack a little more center on my shoulders and walk out the double glass doors and into the courtyard of Radiant Garden University. I'd already double-checked the list for closing the small coffee shop I work at, located conveniently inside the large library.

The biting cold weather that greeted me outside those glass doors was never a surprise but stunned the senses nonetheless. I started the tedious walk back to my apartment, following along the bricked wall of the library.

It was bordering on 11pm so the night was fully settled in and all the street lights were glowing softly in the dark. The clouds hadn't dissipated all day so the stars weren't visible. I could hear traffic still buzzing even though I couldn't see the intersection of the busiest street in the University district. I round the corner of the library to step on the sidewalk that will take me to the stoplight; I look up and spot someone already waiting at the intersection.

Who the hell would be out this late? Oh wait, I would… Probably some student that was in the library. Whatever. The guy's pretty tall and actually quite thin. I can see his breath puffing out of the pulled up hood as he leans against the stoplight pole with his hands jammed deep in his zip-up black hoodie pockets. Not much clothing for cold weather like this.

The light is still the wrong color for us to cross and traffic is a steady stream, even at a late hour like this. This is the only traffic light I have to cross on my way home. Follow a sidewalk to the edge of the University district and turn right to cross over to the Tulip Blue district.

Big surprise, a place like this having districts named after fucking flowers. Tulip Blue, Buttercup Yellow, Violet Purple, Lily White, of course Rose Red, and some other flowers that nobody cares to remember. Rarely do you ever hear someone refer to the districts has flowers, they just drop it and call it by color. I live on the border of the RGU district and Blue District, the area to the immediate east of campus. Nothing special about it other than it borders Yellow, Green, and Purple Districts.

As soon as I walk up to the intersection the crosswalk light turns white and the stranger steps away from the pole to start walking across the street. I follow close behind.

I look up at the strangers back and finally notice a graphic on the back of his black, tight-fitting hoodie. It's a few different sized circles with sharp points radiating out from the center. Hmm, must be some sort of band logo or something. Now that I'm walking closer to him, I see that he's quite a bit taller than me, probably a full head taller. I glance again at the puffs of breath coming out from inside the hood of his jacket.

The guy continues along the same sidewalk as I'm heading. I look around and find no one else around, the lights in the campus library receding behind me. My luck that streetlights are few and far between on this particular street. A creeping nervousness settles in my stomach but I try to dismiss it as quickly as possible. The college is pretty moderately sized, not too big and definitely not too small, but not big enough to have shady characters hanging around it. Not a big enough city where people get mugged this close to the University. Still, little prickles start to poke at the back of my neck.

I recall the self-defense class I took last semester, struggling to remember all the moves and escapes I was rigorously tested on. Then I almost chuckle at myself; man, am I overreacting or what?

I see the guy turn his head to look across the street and I catch a glimpse of a defined nose, a crooked grin, and a sharp chin. He looks back ahead and starts to ruffle around in the front of his jacket. I hear a metallic cling and a few quick rasping sounds, then the breaths of cold that I see coming out of the black hood don't disappear so quickly. Also, a hot cinnamon smell floats my way.

Then it's a big puff of smoke that blasts me in the face as the guy breaths out, just my luck the wind is picking it up and throwing it right at me. The dude lit up a cigarette right in front of me. I try to hold it back but I let out a few choking coughs that I'm sure he heard. Who couldn't have? I bet he thinks I'm some kind of jerk or something. I hear him make some sort of noise but it's too soft and low for me to hear.

I see the lower half of his face appear again as he turns his head only now there's an odd colored cigarette propped between his lips, the perfect cylinder dangerously close to falling out of his mouth. There's a larger crooked grin on his lips now. Defenses up as I think of all the ways the guy can turn on me and totally kill/mug my ass.

"Didn't know somebody was back there."

He speaks perfectly even though he's got a burning stick perched between his lips.

"Sorry 'bout that."

Err…what was I thinking? This guy's voice is something different in the silence of the outlying houses of the RGU district, oddly distracting me. Somehow the tone of it fits the physical look of him. I finally notice the bounce in his step, my mind immediately switches back to the defensive.

He casually steps off the sidewalk into somebody's lawn and slows down. My steps almost stutter, what's he doing? I keep walking and he takes in stride behind me. What the hell? Now my hands are sweating in my pockets and I can feel my nerves prickling. I know he's looking me over.

"There." Sounds almost like a sigh. I can hear him take a long drag on his cigarette and slowly breathe out. Dammit, dammit. Why tonight? Why do I have to be mugged tonight? I try to speed up my steps a little to put some distance between me and this guy.

Wait, what was that thing in defense class. Get a good look at your attacker, look at his face, look him in the eyes. Get all the information you can about him. Yes, yes. Turn around and face him. Go for the balls, punch in the face. Get him on the ground and run like the wind in the opposite direction. Back to campus, call the police. Yeah. Don't go home. Don't let him know where you live. But first, look him in the-

Right then I turned to get a good look at his face and was more surprised than I'd ever been. The guy had looked a little too thin from behind but from the front he was just right for his height. His face was hidden a little by the hood but as he inhaled on the cigarette it lit up his face. Two of the most keen and brilliantly green eyes looked up through lashes directly at me.

…and suddenly my feet aren't touching the ground.

And then I'm staring straight up at the gloomy almost-midnight sky when a shadowy face pokes into my range of sight. It's the guy that was following me, still with the cigarette dangling from his lips as he's bent at the waist, looking right down at me, his hands still buried in his jacket pockets. I swear if he drops that cigarette on me I'm going to be the one beating him, not vice versa.

"Nice trip."

He's just standing there looking at me with that crooked grin on his face.

"You alright, kid?"

My first unconscious thought is how I'm no kid.

As I'm struggling to get up a hand is thrust in my face. I ignore it and brush off my pants. Please no grass stains, I pray. This guy shrugs me off and shoves his hand right back in its home in his pocket. Whatever, I'm still trying to push down the blush coming to my face. I can't believe I just tripped. I'm never that clumsy, but the look on the guys face was…

"You sure you're alright?"

I'm forced to look up at him because of my height. He's still grinning at me. Is that supposed to be a mocking grin? There's something on his face, right below his gleaming eyes. Whatever…

"I'm fine." I'm not about to get embarrassed in front of a stranger. He won't even remember my face. The back of my mind has a comeback though: but you'll remember his face, won't you.

No, I won't. I'll forget it as soon as I get back to my apartment tonight.

Before he has time to respond I'm already on my way. I don't even bother to glance back at him but I can't hear his footsteps so I know he's not following me. After walking a few more blocks I look behind me and all I see is the far off stoplight switch from red to green.


Ah, mysterious stranger! I'm sure you all know who it is. XD Anyway, please feel free to leave me a review. Anything will suffice really, a note on what you think or perhaps a serious criticism of my work. It really helps me out when I know what people think! Thanks a bunch for reading!