"Why do I even try?" I thought.

Once again, I had tried my best to look nice with the hope that someone would notice. I had always been one of those girls that went unnoticed. I was quiet and shy, but also smart. Basically, I was your standard nerd. I'd always had a close group of friends, but ask around about me, and no one would even know my name.

I had never been overly confident in my looks either, erring on the chubby side, but I did my best to look nice, or more accurately, blend in. Don't get me wrong, being twenty-two years old without ever having a boyfriend or even experiencing a first kiss wasn't my idea of fun, but it was safe and safe was my middle name.

But today had been different. I had taken the time to make sure my makeup was flawless and every hair was in place, but what did I get in return? Nothing. Not even a "You look nice today, Maggie" or a "Did you do something different? I like it". What's a girl got to do to get some positive attention around here?

My shift at work passed with little excitement. I left feeling disappointed as it once again seemed like all of my extra effort that morning had been wasted.

"Well, that was a bust" I thought as I gathered my things. My fellow coworkers were chatting away about plans for the weekend as I rushed to make my exit. No one even noticed I was there, so no one noticed when I left.

As I made my way to the parking lot, I fished for my phone in my bag. I waited with anticipation as the screen lit up, but felt a frown settle on my face when it came up blank.

"Seriously?" I muttered out loud. Not even a missed call or text message.

"I really can't get anyone to notice me" I whispered, disappointment obvious in my voice.

I crashed through the doors to the parking lot, the fresh air bringing me a sense of relief. Walking to my car, debating how to spend my night is when I noticed him; a man leaning against the side of the building, covered in shadow.

"Hello?" I called out, but I got no answer.

I started heading towards my car, holding my bag close to my side. I quickly surveyed my surroundings noticing that we were the only two people in the parking lot. Panic slowly began to sink in. something wasn't right. I had been the first person to leave, but there were no other cars in the parking lot.

I stopped walking and turned back towards the strange man.

"What's going on?" I asked, internally scolding myself for so obviously showing the fear in my voice.

Without answering my question, the man stood from where he had been leaning and slowly started to walk towards me. I looked around the parking lot hoping to see someone walking past I could call to for help, but there was no one.

As he was moving towards me, I positioned my car keys between my knuckles on my right hand just like my mother had taught me in case things became physical.

"What's going on?" I asked again as he drew closer.

"Hello, Maggie" he said as he emerged from the shadows. I felt a chill run down my spine as I met the man's eyes with mine. They were pitching black, unlike anything I'd seen before. Every muscle in my body was begging me to run, but my feet wouldn't move. I tried to speak, but nothing came out. The man slowly raised his arm, reaching out to touch my face.

"You have no idea how long I've been waiting for this moment" he said.

Silent tears started streaming down my face. Between the fear and confusion, the sense of panic I had felt was doing everything but knocking me unconscious. When the man's hand was inches away from my cheek, something in me snapped. Everything I was feeling came together and told me to fight.

Remembering my keys in my right hand, I gathered as much strength as I possessed, pulled my arm back and slammed my fist into the side of the man's head.

The keys between my knuckles did exactly what they were meant to do. Blood started to stream down the man's face and a look of rage took over his features.

"You really shouldn't have done that" he sneered.

He reached out to grab my arm as I braced myself to fight back. He took hold of my wrist in an attempt to draw me closer to him, but when he touched my skin, he began to scream out in pain. He released his grip and cradled his hand against his chest. It looked as though he had been burned, but when I looked to my wrist, it was good as new.

"How did you do that?" he asked, confusion replacing his anger.

I stared at my hands not knowing how to respond. The man began making his way towards me again when instinct kicked in. I reached out and grabbed his face between my hands; hoping contacting his skin would have the same reaction. Lucky for me, it did. He began screaming as his skin under my fingers caught fire, spreading to the rest of his body.

What happened next occurred in a blur. Suddenly, the scene I was a part of was illuminated by headlights as I heard a car stop behind me. I let go of the man in front of me and he dropped to his knees on the pavement, the fire quickly encompassing his entire body. The sounds of car doors opening echoed in my ears joined by the voices of two men speaking indistinctly to one another.

I felt a pair of strong arms circle around my waist as one of the men started pulling me away from the man engulfed in flames. As he was leading me back to their car, the second man came into view wielding a knife. He stabbed the black-eyed man in the heart causing the fire to cease as the man disintegrated into a cloud of black smoke.

The man pulling me towards the car yelled something I didn't hear and put me in the backseat. He quickly entered the driver's side, the second man joining him in the passenger's seat.

The last thing I remembered was the man who had led me to safety asking me if I was ok before the weight of the events settled in on me. I felt myself sinking into the seat, resting my head on the soft leather. What was happening to me?