Just keep walking, I told myself, over and over again. Just keep walking. He is not staring at you. But of course, he was. In my peripheral, I could glimpse him staring. Watching me. And that scared the shit out of me.
For as long as I could remember, I have been able to see them. Them being the ones who could control who saw them (except me, of course); them being the ones who had appearances that shouldn't be possible: multiple eyes, skin tones varying from forest green to violet, wings, fangs, you name it. Them being the ones who were not of this world.
But not all of them contrasted so greatly with humanity. Some appeared human, so much so that they could walk around in daylight without being glamoured at all. The only oddity about these "men" and "women" was the black symbols etched into their skin, delicate patterns that I had once considered beautiful.
These creatures were called Shadowhunters. And one was staring at me right now.
I couldn't resist it anymore. For as long as I could remember, these creatures had haunted my vision, a constant tormenting reminder that I was different. But never, not once in my sixteen years, had one seen me.
At a sudden burst of boldness, I looked up-
-straight into the eyes of my twin brother.
"Hey, Ser! Whatcha looking at?" The bane of my existence asked. His given name, Shepley. His mop of dark brown curls refused to be cut, and hung in his mischievous green eyes. Everything about our appearances was the same, minus the expression. I wasn't feeling mischievous at all, just pissed off.
"What the hell, Shep? You scared me half to death." I seethed, daring a glance behind my annoying twin.
The man with the marks was gone.