Today is going to be a nice, normal day. This is what he told himself as he stepped outside his house, carefully closing the door behind him. Inhaling the fresh morning air with vigor, one would think that he hadn't been outside in some time. He strode confidently onto the street, very much alone and enjoying the peacefulness of this walk. Not too many people were out and about quite yet, and if they were, it was the 9 to 5 crowd; these people were much too busy to give him a second glance as they hurried into cars or bustled past him. No risk of being bothered just yet.

And as soon as he thought that, the very second after that sentence floated across his mind, is when it all started. That familiar clicking sound, of someone approaching quickly with a camera, and he knew who it was before they could start yelling at him.

"Tom! This way mate, give us a smile eh?"

Tom didn't know what made him do it, couldn't explain the sudden hatred that started pumping through his veins. Normally he was rather cordial with the press. Give 'em what they want, nice quick smile maybe answer a question, then off you go. But not today. For some reason, Tom wasn't going to give in today, wasn't going to let them have that satisfaction, even if it was just one picture. Swiftly, he pulled his beanie out of his back pocket and jammed it on his head while quickening his pace.

"Aww, come on Tom, just one shot?" Tom could hear the man calling to him, and he was going to be walking right next to Tom if he didn't do something drastic. And so, Tom started running.

Instinct had taken hold and wasn't letting go as Tom tore down the street at top speed.

The paparazzo was chasing him, had to be, but he had a head start and was quickly maneuvering down the block. "Now what?" he thought as he began to run out of breath. Acting quickly, he darted down a side street and rested against a building to steady his breathing. Looking up, he saw the confused photographer hurrying down the main street. Cursing under his breath, Tom picked himself off the ground slowly, still breathing a bit heavy. He jammed his hand into his jacket pocket and fished out a pair of aviators. Fixing them on his face and pulling the beanie down tighter round his face, Tom sauntered down the street in a rather foul mood.

He had just wanted one morning, one moment, where he could walk down the street like a normal person. Now he was reduced to hiding his face and darting his eyes every which way for more idiots with cameras.

He heard it again. The quick footsteps were coming closer. Whipping around in fear, Tom soon felt relieved at the sight of two school children chasing each other on their way to school. Feeling slightly less paranoid, but still very much on edge, Tom decided a coffee sounded good. A Starbucks was in sight and Tom made his way over, hoping something hot and caffeinated would soothe his jangled nerves.

As he was approaching the door, a girl just behind him let out a high-pitched giggle and squealed, "Oh Tom!" Realizing now that he was just never going to pull off his anonymous day, he turned around resignedly. A teenage girl was giggling as her boyfriend was whispering something into her ear as they walked right past Tom. Shaking his head at how jumpy he was being, he stared after the young couple and pushed open the door to Starbucks.

SMACK!

Tom turned around just in time to see a girl falling hard to the ground, her coffee spilling all over her jeans.