Disclaimer: I do not own any of the Silent Hill 4 characters or places etc, copyrighted to Konami.

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Chapter Two

Eileen Galvin merrily walked along the hallway with a small bouquet of flowers in her arms. After eavesdropping on a conversation between a few women from rooms 209, 101 and 103 in the main lobby of the apartment building, Eileen couldn't help but hear the words 'new neighbour'and 'in room 301'. That was around seven thirty that morning, Eileen went out for a morning walk as she always did and got herself some coffee and a bagel from the local cafe and when she returned that's when she heard the gossiping ladies talking about the new tenant and that all they knew was she was a woman. Immediately, Eileen went back out to the florists to get the newcomer some nice flowers to lighten up her apartment. The young brunette remembered when Frank was sorting out room 301 after the last tenant had left, Eileen had to go see him about something and she remembered how drab the walls look. A bland creamy colour and the pine wood flooring made the room look dull. So she brought a bunch of rose pink tulips.

The young woman stood in front of door 301 and lifted her hand to knock, hesitating. She started thinking to herself...

What if she hates tulips? What if she has allergies to flowers? What if she hates flowers altogether?

But those weren't the worst of Eileen's worries. She began to inwardly panic.

What if she's nasty? What if she doesn't want to see anyone? Or what if she is some old hag who hates people my age? What if she doesn't like me?

Eileen shook her head. She was just overreacting. Of course she wouldn't be horrible... or would she? Well, she wouldn't know if she didn't try, right? Eileen sucked in a small breath and finally tapped on the door.

Gwen heard a light tapping on her door and turned the television down a touch and got to up to see who it was. Peeking through the peephole, the face of a young woman with mahogany brown hair and bright green eyes stared into the small glass hole with a kind smile on her lips. Gwen forrowed her brow abit and unlocked her door to open in.

Eileen's smile widened, trying to hide the surprise on her face as the woman answered the door, she really didn't expect the woman to look anything like that. Pale blonde hair, blue eyes and held aristocratical features and looked around Eileen's age, maybe older.

Eileen realised she had been staring for abit longer than she should of and held out her hand.

"Hi! I'm Eileen Galvin. I live two doors down from you." she smiled.

Gwen took the girl's held and shook it firmly.

"Hey Eileen, I'm Gwen Romano." the blonde smiled. Eileen pursed her lips into close-lipped smile and handed Gwen the tulips.

"These are for you. Just a welcoming present." said Eileen, rather nervously.

"Awww, thank you! These are lovely. C'mon in." Gwen held the door open for Eileen and the smaller of the two walked in.

Gwen shut the door and walked over to the kitchen counter to lie the flowers on then made her way to one of the cupboards to look for a vase.

"How long have you lived here?" asked Gwen as she got out a glass vase.

"Oh, a few years. I moved here from my mum's house as it was closer to the college I was going to. It was hell having to catch the train everyday from north Ashfield down to here." laughed Eileen, Gwen laughed too.

"I bet. What you studying?" she asked.

"I've nearly finished my degrees in archaeology and philosophy."

"Wow-"

"What do you study?" Eileen cut Gwen off.

Gwen shook her head quickly and replied.

"Nah, I don't go to college anymore, I've just finished university and I came to Ashfield to find a job... I studied forensic biology and pathology. I was thinking of trying to find a job with the APD or maybe at St. Jerome's..."

"Where did you study?" Eileen asked, curious. She suddenly found Gwen very interesting.

"NYU,"

"So why did you come to Ashfield? New York has a lot of crime and stuff." she asked.

"Something happened back there so I decided to move. It got all abit hectic."

"Oh.." Eileen trailed off. She cast her eyes to the left and looked at the small lounge.

There was no need to buy the flowers as the furniture had already lightened the place up. The apartment no longer looked drab. Eileen's eyebrows raised in surprise. The black leather loveseat looked very modern along with the chair that came with it. The coffee table was glass with a twisted leg-stand in the middle, and the television wasn't too big but it was far bigger than Eileen's. Along with that, next to the television was a modern mahogany and glass cabinet which was also a book shelf. Eileen could make out that most of the books were old, most probably on whatever Gwen studied and below was the glass cabinet, holding some figurines and other bits and bobs. There were a few modern paintings and pictures hung around the room and above the loveseat was a black and white landscape picture of half of a naked woman covering her breasts, standing sideways.

Eileen stared, wide-eyed. The girl had taste.

"Would you like a drink or something?" asked Gwen and Eileen snapped out of her 'daze'.

"Oh, yes please."

Gwen poured Eileen some juice and gestured to the sofa. Eileen followed her, she was glad she came here. Hopefully, she'd be able to make a friend in Gwen.

--

Henry hiked the strap of his bag higher onto his shoulder as it rained heavily.

Stupid weather! Whatever happened to it being nice? The brunette thought.

He was on his way home from work and had to catch the train back to his apartment on time or else he'd had to wait another half an hour. Henry weaved in and out of people as he walked through Ashfield Central, where all the shops and business buildings were in the small city. They were obviously heading home as it was five o' clock, Henry usually finished earlier than most of the people who worked at The Ashfield Herald because he was just a photographer, he wasn't really a journalist... like he told the new neighbour, Gwen. It just slipped out.

Like usual, Henry was thinking... whenever he was on his way home from work he'd think about everything and anything. From his family, friends or he replayed what happened at work today, like when he was walking he walked straight into the photocopier and whacked his hip.

So deep into his thoughts, Henry didn't notice a figure coming right towards him.

Wham!

Henry's side smacked into someone.

"Hey! Watch where you're goin'!"

A Latino woman scowled at him as she turned and walked away. Her backside swaying side to side, very seductively.

Henry would of went up to her and apologised and asked if she was okay but she had already been sucked up into the crowd. Henry carried on walking until he finally got to the subway and got the train to Lynch Street.

Sitting down in the graffiti-plagued train, Henry leaned his head against the back and watched herds of people come into the train. Men in cheap-looking suits, woman with groceries, groups of teens, old people... all sorts of different people were sat on the train and with boredom Henry studied each of them, trying to figure out their personalities. When he was a kid, his mother and him used to catch the train back in Boston, his hometown, and play games with her. Both of them figuring out if the old lady with the purple hat lived in a small bunglow with ten cats and a big garden or whether the guy with the suitcase and on his cell phone was a lawyer.

After five minutes Henry got bored and cast his eyes straight a head of him and closed them briefly.

Opposite Henry sat a man. He was sat forward slightly, forearms resting on his thighs, long blonde hair draping over his face, acting like curtains and his only view was this young man sat a head of him. Jade green eyes rested on the young man, studying his body language and his features. Shaggy, chocolate brown hair, a warm porcelain skin tone and he looked unshaven.

The blonde-haired man smiled to himself and carried on staring at this man.

Henry opened his eyes as he felt like someone was watching him. He looked straight a head of him and nobody was watching, he looked left and right and no one was watching him.

The train came to a stop and this was Henry's time to get off the crowded and rather claustrophobic train. Henry was gathering his things and felt like someone was watching him again. He turned his head and saw a man with blonde hair hung over his face, so Henry didn't know if this man in a long blue coat was watching him. Henry mentally shrugged it off and finally managed to get off the train.

Minutes went by and Henry was already heading up the stairway to the main part of the subway. He watched from a distance, leaning against a vending machine, listening to people chattering and multiple footsteps and some kid behind him pressing buttons to get a drink out, then eventually it made a clunk.

Henry's figure disappeared with the crowd and the man with the coat finally walked away.

--

Cynthia straightened her red strappy bodice as she waited near the subway close to Bar Ashfield. It was boarding on ten and at a time like this during the night, it was freezing. It was April so it wasn't bitterly cold like during the winter season but April still had a chill.

Wrapping her arms around herself, Cynthia watched the steam come from her mouth as she breathed.

"C'mon... anybody?!" she said to her surroundings around her, bobbing up and down trying to keep warm.

Around this time, the subway was usually quite busy but not tonight. The weekends were the best for Cynthia as the subway was packed and the town was full of party goers and there was always some guy wanting something from the Latino. Sometimes even females have came up to Cynthia and Cynthia always accepted... after all a job's a job and Cynthia needed money to pay rent and all sorts.

That was only during the night, as Cynthia worked in Ashfield Central at a hair salon.

Hovering around the street corner and the stairs to the subway, Cynthia heard slow, steady footsteps coming up the stairway. Quickly adjusting her red skirt and hair, she stood waiting and looked seductive, as she always did, because it all fairness... what man, or woman, didn't want her? Despite being a prostitute or escort as Cynthia called it, she thought she could have any man or woman she wanted.

Cynthia stood with her chin slightly in the air with a pout on her lips. She shifted her eyes left and a man stood there looking at her.

"Do you need something darling?" smiling seductively.

"Cynthia?" the stranger asked.

"Yeah... how did you know my name?" Cynthia recognised this man, but couldn't quite place him if she'd met him before.

"Cynthia Velasquez?" asked the stranger again.

Cynthia raised an eyebrow, she was growing impatient.

"Listen sugar, do you need something or are you just trying to waste my time?"

This man walked up to her and smiled, all teeth.

Cynthia stepped back a little, something about him was weird and she didn't like it. She had men like this approach her and act abit strangely but this man looked menacing to her.

"Do you remember me? 16 years ago at this very train station... you called me hansome yet filthy..."

Cynthia's memory finally remembered this man, he was that hobo who was down the subway and had called her name and said he had watched her for ten years and she had snapped at him.

"Oh yeah, I remember you... what do you want?" Her usually sexy voice was now full of fear.

"I wanted to ask you something," the hobo replied.

"Look I don't want any trouble so can you please just leave me alone."

"Hey, excuse me? Are you okay, miss?" Some random guy walked up to Cynthia.

"Yeah yeah, this guy just-"

Cynthia was about the point to the hobo but he was suddenly gone, she explained to the man that he just wanted money so he'd left her to whatever she did and Cynthia couldn't help but think whether the hobo guy would be back.

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A/N: Hey guys! Sorry if it was too boring or whatever, the next chapter will be alot more interesting... I promise and also more dialogue... something I tend to lack in stories I do. And being the gay WordPad is, on FanFiction it keeps coming up as short sentences or really short paragraphs, so I'm sorry. My WordPad is a dumbass and when I write it only goes half way across the page then starts a new line, so I apologise and the next chapter will have nice long sentences.