:::Chapter 3:::
Even though it was only seven-thirty, the night sky was dotted with bright twinkling stars as clouds drifted by. It was a full moon that night and the moon hung in the middle of the sky, as though it was looking down on Earth and observing it.
The two-story house shone on its own in the dim neighborhood. Houses near it either had the light dimly lit on or were dark, proclaiming to the whole world that the owners were asleep or were out.
Music blared in the background as the teenagers talked. It was a sea of colour in the house as the people wore black, pink, white, yellow, and any colours imaginable. Friends talked and huddled into a corner so as to observe the things going on. Some females gossiped about what had happened in their classes that day while eating some pastries, which were on a long dining table about four foot long.
A girl with blonde hair in a braid ran over to the door, yelling, " Chihiro! Yume! You guys have finally arrived! "
Chihiro and Yume stopped talking and they looked up at the excited blonde girl as they walked inside the house.
" Happy Birthday, Werina! Thanks for inviting us to your party. Oh, yes, this is a birthday gift from Yume and I. Hope you like it!" Chihiro said cheerfully, handing a blue shopping bag to Werina. She and Yume waited for Werina's reaction.
Opening a white box from the shopping bag, Werina opened it to see the two CDs, which she had wanted to have a long time ago, but hadn't had the money.
" Oh God! I love it! Thank you so much, guys! I can't believe you have bought me these! Thank you!"
With that, Werina ushered her two friends further into the room and soon, Chihiro and Yume went to join their friends who had waved them over. As they continued talking, Chihiro was distracted when she saw the same guy that she had knocked into that day in school. He was in the same black outfit that he had worn in school and was standing near the staircase, which leaded up to the second story of the house. From where Chihiro was standing, he was right across the room from her. Just then, she noticed something that she had not noticed before. The guy was staring at her. His gaze was unwavering and Chihiro felt a shiver ran up her spine when she once saw that his eyes were white…and had no pupils. She was finally certain that neither her eyes nor the lights were playing a trick on her this time.
Chihiro excused herself and walked in the direction of the guy. She was not sure why she was doing so though. All she felt was a pull, like an invisible string was pulling her towards him. Just a few yards away from him, the white-eyed guy turned and started walking.
' Wait… Don't go yet… I need to know who you are and why your eyes are white,' Chihiro wanted to call out to him but found that she was unable to talk. She then finally noticed that her legs were shaking with each step she took. With a shock, it dawned on her that she was shaking with… fear.
' But, what am I afraid of?' Chihiro wondered as she followed the man. All of a sudden, the man turned around a corner and disappeared from Chihiro's sight. Chihiro walked faster and as she turned round the corner, she saw that the room in front of her was the kitchen. She stopped abruptly, and searched the entire kitchen, which was full of teenagers, for the white-eyed guy. But no one in the kitchen was wearing black. Yes, there was pink, white, blue and a lot of other colours. But there was no one wearing black.
She tried looking for a door or any other means by which he could probably had left. But, no… There was no staircase or anything, save for the backdoor. But the door was locked with a padlock so as to prevent unwanted intruders to come in through the back of the house. Chihiro was startled and yet, she felt a comforting feeling of relief run through her.
' Weird,' Chihiro went back to her friends, feelings of dread and curiosity running in her entire body, ' Dread? Why am I feeling like this?'
Just then, Chihiro had this strong feeling that someone was watching her. She turned around and managed to see a man's face with white eyes against the window, before it went away. She immediately rushed to a near by window and looked out to where she saw the man. She was shocked when she saw what she saw.
' Nothing. No one… That guy can't have moved that fast with the ten seconds it took me to get to the window. Anyway, he can't go anywhere other than out of the front gate but there's no one in the front gate. And there's a pond next to the window where he was standing! He can't have swum across it! Why do I keep seeing him? Why?' Chihiro was starting to get hysterical with the passing moment.
A hand on her shoulder woke her up to her senses. And just before she turned to face the person, she vowed to herself that she would get to the bottom of this mysterious guy…and why he was stalking her wherever she went.
" Hey, Sen. You all right? What's up with you today? You have been acting strange," Yume's blue eyes reflected her concern.
" Oh, nothing. I'm just tired, I guess. I slept late last night," Chihiro lied, guilty that she had to lie to her best friend, but knowing that she didn't want her to worry.
" Okay then. The girls are getting something to eat. Let's join them!" Allowing Yume to pull her along, Chihiro laughed at her best friend's energetic mood, letting her best friend's hyper and cheerful characteristic rid her of her worries for then.
" I have eluded you once again, Sen. But, don't worry. It would not be for long..."
Chihiro never knew that the vow she had made to herself about that white-eyed guy was going to come about sooner than she had expected…much sooner.
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Thanks all those who reviewed my story! Thank you!! You guys made my day! You can't believe how happy I was! ^o^ Well, since this Friday's my brother's birthday, I will dedicate this chapter to him! And to all the reviewers too! Till next time! (Which is after this Thursday's exam. Hopefully I will update this story on Friday…Hopefully =D)
**Astgal**
