Walking home from my dinner with Lea, I thought about my day. All of the things I could have done differently, (which I wouldn't have) starting with getting up so late. It's become a sort of habit here lately, and it's begun to worry me. I wake up at 7:30, even 7:45, giving me anywhere from 25 to 5 minutes to get ready and get to work on time. 'Oh dear…it's already 7:38, no time for a shower.' Are generally the things running through my head at that time in the morning. I did however manage to get a shower in this morning to which I am grateful for, because Lea and I saw a SUPER hot guy walking along the street on our way to dinner. Also, according to Lea, because she is engaged, I get all the guys we meet as well as see. -And believe me, that's a lot!- But, that guy walking (although he was cute) was obviously watching me…and not in a good way. He followed us for a few blocks, but then when I turned around for about the fourth time; about to go tell him to back off, -or ask him out, I'm not so sure which- he disappeared down a dark alley and I didn't see him again. However, I did jot down what he looked like at the restaurant, if I ever saw him again.

I walked in the front door… That was when I got the call from Lea. I'll admit, I was a little scared of what she said at first, but now I think I know who that guy following us was. This was how the conversation went:

"Hey, Valendria. I'm kinda worried."

"What? Why? What would you have to be worried about…wait, did something happen to Tom?!"

"No sweetie, it's nothing like that. Do you still have that description of the man who was following us?"

"Uh, yeah. Lea, what's wrong?"

"Well, not to scare you dear, but I think he is outside my apartment."

"WHAT!? He is! Where? Call the cops!"

"No, I don't need to. Not until you tell me what he looked like!"

"Oh. Uh, well, he was wearing a white suit, and had mid-neck length hair, which was a light brownish color…"

"Yes, this is definitely him. Wait...he's gone! Val, lock your doors, windows, EVERYTHING!"

"Uh, ok…bye Lea."

"See ya sweetie. I hope you're okay!"

"Me too. Heh…"

Then I hung up. I immediately ran and locked all of my windows and doors like Lea told me to, then I rushed over to the window and looked around. There was nothing there, and I was starting to wonder if he was already in the apartment building, when I heard yelling.

I saw two men, one who was wearing glasses and had a Doberman at his side…and another who looked exactly like the man who was watching me. This is what I heard them say…:

"Come on Nathaniel, you know you can't get to her now, not without alerting the entire building!" -that was the man with the dog-

"Oh can't I Raphael? You showed me a long time ago that nearly anything is possible when you left us to be a Collector…" -that's Nathaniel...I guess-

"You know damned well why I had to leave the Agents, it wasn't because I wanted to, it was personal, and you know it!" -was his name Raphael?-

"Oh dear, now look who is making up excuses to save his sorry little ass! I'm not scared of you or Shadow. The pathetic mutt he is." -Shadow's the dog?-

"You want her for her soul Nathaniel. That's all."

"That's all YOU want too fuckass! You know it."

"WHAT did you just call me? A…ugh. Grow up man. You say you're pure, but the things you say NEVER even escape my lips." -WAIT! My soul?!-

"I'll be back Raphael… Just you wait!" -Yeah…my soul. Fun!-

With those last words, Nathaniel ran off, silver light following in his wake. Then Raphael and Shadow walked the opposite way, red and black emanating from the ground beneath them. What did I just witness? I thought over every little thing that the argument could have been about but my mind always came back to the words "Collector, Agent, and soul". The very fact that this is obviously not at all a dream, (more like a nightmare) but in fact extremely real, sent a chill down my spine. I'm going to go to bed and hope neither of them come to take my soul in the night.

When I awoke, I wasn't dead, or at least I didn't think so, and I got up and went with my normal routine. Today was a late day, and I got up at 7:45. I got up took a two-minute long shower and got dressed and gathered up my things for the day. As I ran out of the apartment building, something dashed into me and I fell over losing my balance, teetering into the busy street. At the last second, I caught my balance and pulled back. My water bottle fell into the busy street to be crushed by an oncoming cab. That could have been me…that might have been me! I was silently thanking God that I was still alive, when a man ran up and grabbed my shoulder, turning me around. I gasped as a familiar face opened his mouth and -what I think anyway- apologized for his dog (that's Shadow) nearly killing me. We exchanged some small talk and then I ran the rest of the way to my work.

When I got to my job, Lea greeted me and I went on to my desk. I sat there for a few hours and slowly finished up some work until Lea came up to get me for a coffee break. She said I had to meet a special someone. Oh great…another blind date! Kind of. We walked down to the break room, and each got a cup of coffee and sat down. Not a minute later in walked, a handsome man wearing a work suit with a blue tie.

"Hello Xavier."

"Lea."

"Valendria, I'd like you to meet Xavier. Xavier this is…"

"Valendria. I get it." He smiled coolly at me and winked. We all talked and now I am going on a date with Xavier tonight at 6:00! I finished up all of my work at 5:50 and went to the bathroom to do touch ups on my make-up. When I walked out of the building, it was 5:59. He was there at exactly 6:00. Wow. Punctual, almost to an extreme…but, it is our first date, and he must want to make a good first impression. We began to walk, and he initiated conversation. "If it's alright with you, I'd like to go somewhere low-key tonight." Somewhere low-key. That sounds nice. "Sure Xavier, low-key sounds good." he put an arm around me and pulled me close "I'll take you to this new club I heard about, just a few blocks from here." As we walked we talked and I felt as though we were being watched. As Xavier moved, I Caught a young man following us! Oh my, he is cuter than Xavier…I think I just died a little inside. And, he looks my age! EEK! (I'm 22) As it turns out, Xavier saw the young man too and as he turned red and ran off into a side alley, Xavier put a hand on the small of my back and guided me up the street. "Just one more block." he assured me.

When we got there, the club was packed. So much for low-key… As if he had heard my thoughts, he said "Don't worry, we're going upstairs." As we walked, the noise of downstairs faded away and we reached the secluded bar upstairs. "Does anyone ever come up here?" Xavier sat down and motioned for me to join him. "No, not all that often." a voice came from behind the bar, and I looked over to see a guy, dressed in a bartenders outfit walking over to us with drinks in his hands. "This is a special, on the house." he said. "Oh yeah, I'm Blake by the way."

For some reason, my drink was fizzier that Xavier's, which made me question its safety. I couldn't drink it anyway however, because I'm taking a medication. No matter how much I might want to drink it… "Sorry to burst your bubbles, but I'm taking a medication which doesn't mix with alcohol. Sorry." All of the sudden, Xavier was totally put off. He completely stopped talking to me and only made small talk with Blake. What's his issue?! I glared at him. He's such a big jerk! I pondered what I had just said for a moment. But if he hated me, why would he ask me out in the first place? My head was swimming with questions, but before I could ask him what was wrong, he took out his pocket watch and checked the time.

"Well, we should go. It's getting late." With that, he stood up and grabbed my hand. He forcefully pulled me down the stairs and through the crowded room. We walked to my apartment in complete silence. When we got within sight of the building, he just vanished. "Uh, Xavier…?" all that answered me was complete silence. Ugh, great. Just what I need! Is he going to tell Lea, or do I get the honor? Suddenly, I saw something sitting in front of my apartment building. It took me a moment to realize it was Shadow, Raphael's dog. "Hey boy! Why are you here?" Just seconds later, my apartment burst into flames. My entire life, everything I owned except for what I brought to work with me this morning, gone. Completely obliterated.