A/N – Lost count how many times I've tried to rewrite this…. I just can't seem to get it right. So im relying on you guys to say if it's good or bad. If it's bad ill rewrite it. I just can't get happy with it you see…

2nd October 2002

Clint rounded the corner at a full out sprint. He wasn't sure who it was that was following him, but he was damn sure he wasn't going to hang around and see which of the people and organizations that were annoyed at him and wanted him dead it was. Last he heard he was at the top or pretty close to the top of several organizations shit list. And that, was not a good place to be, as it meant you were having a hit ordered on you or had one on going, which was what Clint suspected.

As Clint proceeded down the alley he realised it was a dead end.

"Shit!" Clint tried to keep his shouting quite but in this damp dark alley with the cold night rain bouncing off every surface possible, there was a bit of an echo, and apparently, his follower (or as Clint had dubbed 'him' Stalker) had heard him and was now stood in the mouth of the alley, with a very freaked out Clint at the end searching for a way out. He did not want to be cornered, He was limited on his ways out, so far his only way out was the mouth of the alley where that guy way standing.

Looking up Clint saw a fire escape that was within his jumping reach and was only a few metres in front of him. Obviously the person in front of him had seen his intentions and realised what he was trying to do.

"Stay there!" the mysterious stalker man shouted at Clint, But of course Clint wouldn't listen, since 'stay there' normally meant 'stay still so I can blast your brains out' or 'stay still so I can beat the shit out of you and leave you writhing in pain on the border of death in this alley'. No of course Clint wasn't going to listen. Not one bit.

So Clint ran forward those few metres and jumped up just high enough to grab the lower railing of the fire escape, lifting his legs up so they were resting underneath the fire escapes flooring, he climbed up just enough to get the top railing and moving his feat to be resting between the gaps in the barrier, he climbed over, then up the stairs and out of sight of the mysterious man who had no idea where he was heading. Of course Clint was heading to the rooftops, but the only way up there was via the fire escapes.

"Fuck." The mysterious man shouted in aggravation, suddenly realising that one Clinton Francis Barton had gotten away from them, once again. He had been tailing this kid for months, the kid was just too good to get within shot distance.

Proceeding across the roof at full sprint Clint got the far side of it and only head the rain hitting the roof, good that man wasn't following him. Probably couldn't get up.

Seeing that the next roof was only a couple metres across from his current roof, Clint decided to try to jump across the gap, in normal weather, he would have been able to make the jump easily, just the rain and now wind, was not on his side so made getting the momentum that much harder.

Walking back far enough so he would have a big enough run up, Clint turned and went at full sprint towards the gap, when he reached the edge he pushed off as hard as he could to get the strongest jump he could, But unluckily enough for Clint, he missed the ledge by a fraction of a centimetre, Luckily though, he managed to grab the ledge with his hand but the ledge was oily and slippery from the rain and other stuff Clint really didn't want to think about that were where his hands were making it that much harder to grip for much longer. And only a matter of seconds later did Clint's fingers give way from the ledge that left him falling.

As he neared the bottom of the 3 story building (luckily it wasn't that high of a building) Clint found himself lying in a lovely dumpster filled with all sorts of trash that Clint would rather not think about.

As Clint was hauling himself out of the bin he heard footsteps approaching the mouth of this alley (why was it always alleys when he was in a bad situation?!), Throwing himself out the side on the dumpster he landed on his back with a barely audible grunt, Clint stayed along the side of the dumpster facing the back of the alley for a few minutes before he was certain that the footsteps had faded away and the man had left.

Luckily for Clint his apartment wasn't that far from his current bearings, so making sure all along the way that no one was following him Clint hurried back to his apartment, despite how shabby and crappy it was, he still called it home, no matter how much damp there was in the walls, and that the heating didn't really work most of the year round (only really in summer did it work) and that his fridge was basically empty all the time (a pot of who knows how old pasta and a bottle of water all that was filling it currently) He still referred to it as his home as it was the only place he had to stay really, well except for when he was in another part of the country or another country entirely doing hits for other people for next to no money…

But little did Clint know that he was in fact tailed back to his apartment just that the mysterious man was one step ahead of him and still managed to find his way here.

Peeling off his soaked clothing and switching into his only other outfit really that wasn't covered in holes, Clint grabbed the bottle of water from the fridge and downed most of it, only leaving some for later until he could fill it up again since he didn't believe that this buildings water was drinkable and would give you some deadly horrible disease if you drank it.

Rubbing his hand through his hair, he heavily sighed remembering the past few weeks. For the past few weeks this man (or so he assumed man) had been following him, and Clint knew what the guy wanted, he didn't want to talk, he didn't want to just say hi, no, this man wanted Clint dead, Clint knew he was to far gone from being saved and turning his life back around, he knew that the only way out for him was death, but he just couldn't bring it to himself to be killed.

What if this man was just messing with him? What if he didn't even want him dead or talk to him or anything he was just a creepy man that was following him for a laugh or a dare and saw how clint reacted so kept going as he found it funny? What if this whole chase was staged and it was to get Clint into a trap? What if….

"Focus Barton!" Clint barked at himself. "Ugh. Im going insane. You're just another person the world forgot! People only want you dead. Yep deffo insane… im talking to my self…."

Looking out his window Clint noticed someone on the phone, now to most people this would just be normal, but the man's body language was giving him away. He was obviously in a important conversation just but the way he was standing, it was as if the person he was talking to was in front of him, then he started shouting quietly down the phone at the person he was speaking to, letting his anger be shown but careful enough to not let everyone in the surrounding area hear. Then there was the obvious that tipped Clint of entirely, he was standing in the shadows trying to keep out of sight of onlookers, and with seeing that Clint knew his stalker (and yes he was going to call him that as that is what he was at least in his mind) had followed him back to his 'home' and knew where he lived.

After that moment Clint knew he wasn't safe, well he knew he was never safe, nowhere is safe especially around people you don't trust, and for Clint that was everyone in the world that he didn't trust, thus, nowhere was safe for him.

Grabbing a bag and shoving his only other set of clothes into it (despite them still being wet, you could always do with spares) and his other meagre belongings, he headed to the door stopping briefly to stare at his bow and arrows, deciding it would make him stand out and not allow him to be kept unseen he left it where it was leaning against the wall near the door, he would come back when it was safer for the bow and his blood stained arrows. He couldn't risk it, he needed to get away. And fast.

Bolting out fo his door and through the door that went through to the stairs, he slid down the railing of the stairs down to the bottom floor, if he remembered correctly the man was away from the pavement in the shadows of the trees next to the building on the right, so Clint chose to go left out of the building, and keep away and put as much distance between him and this man, whoever he was, Clint had a bad feeling about him.

Once he was far enough away from the apartment complex, Clint dipped into the forest, and was consumed by the Shadows, hiding him from any ones view as he made his way through the run down town to the nearest way out of there.

A/N- Yes no? Any way I have already started chapter 2 and you get to know who this man is maybe then depending which route I take, but your most likely know who he is by now right? And what a busy day Clint had ay? Being chased through street by a 'stalker' (sorry I had to use that word I couldn't resist)
Until next time!

~ LostHawk