Sleep hadn't come easily since that night in the alley. You'd think that my dreams would be full of fear and visions of the man who probably would have killed me. But, instead, I'd pretty much forgotten all about him. I found myself dreaming of Raphael and his red-masked eyes.

Nothing made sense. Everything I looked up online was either complete bullshit or totally insane. I wondered if I also was insane, but then I'd dream of him again, and I'd see the shade of his green skin. I would see his eyes looking back at mine. They had been so full of emotion, more so than any other person I'd ever met. Maybe it was because he wasn't really a person... What was he?

Again and again, I would see his tall frame vanishing over the side of the building, and I would feel it all the way down to my bones that what I had witnessed had been very real. I didn't go for any more walks after that night. Instead, I went straight to work and then straight home. I would pace and obsess over what I had seen. I didn't speak a word of it to anyone, even to my coworkers who commented on my sudden mood change.

Normally, I would accept a offer to get coffee on lunches or after work. But that week, I denied all offers, too lost in my own head to even try to be social unless I absolutely had to. Not to mention that each night as I headed home I couldn't help but get the feeling that I was being watched. I'd stop sometimes, and search all the buildings for a sign that Raphael was out there, but I could never find a trace. I wondered if he was making sure that I was keeping my promise and his threat would echo in my ears, sending a chill up my spine.

Finally, about a week since the encounter, I started towards home after a particularly long day at work feeling determined to figure things out. A dark alley was coming up, and I was so sick of not sleeping and having so many unanswered questions that I was desperate enough to see if my suspicions of him following me were true. How tired I was probably didn't help my sanity, but I didn't care. I turned into the darkness and walked to the very end before calling out to Raphael.

"I know you're out there! If you're going to creep around and follow me every night then you at least owe me some answers!"

I sounded more mad than I had intended, but maybe that would help get him to come out of the shadows. It was silent for the next few minutes. However, I wasn't convinced that he wasn't out there yet. I wasn't sure if I really thought he was there, or if I was just hoping that he was.

Frustrated, I tried one more thing.

"So what, you're only going to show yourself if someone is trying to kill me?!"

Apparently, that got to him, because before I could even close my mouth, Raphael had appeared. He jumped down from the roof and landed in front of me without a sound. He was taller and more muscular than I remembered. My stomach tightened as he looked, well, more like glared at me. His eyes were even more intense than I remembered too.

"So, now you decide to show." I commented, crossing my arms.

Raphael didn't respond, he just continued staring, shaking his head in what seemed like anger. I sighed, not sure how to go about what I wanted to say next. I hadn't really thought any of this through before doing it.

"I'm sorry for you know, uh, demanding that you come down here. I just don't get why you've been following me home when you wouldn't even stay and talk to me last week."

"I had to make sure you weren't tellin' anyone what you saw." He said crossing his arms too, as if to make a point.

"Okay, well, that's understandable. I haven't told anyone, by the way. I'm not that kind of person. So, are you planning on doing that forever and just never talking to me again?"

"I hadn't thought it through that far yet." He said with a haughty tone, like I was annoying him.

"Whatever, fine." I said, my feelings getting hurt even though I didn't fully understand why. Raphael obviously didn't want anything to do with me. I looked at him for only a moment more, just enough to see his eyes widen, like my response wasn't what he had expected.

"I won't bother you again," I muttered as I turned on my heel and started to walk out of the alley. I looked back only once to find that he was gone.

I got back to my apartment and threw my keys on the table. They hit the surface hard and bounced off of it onto the ground.

Why was I so upset? Why did I care that he didn't want to talk to me? Yes, I was curious about where he had come from and what he was exactly, but that didn't justify me being this worked up about it.

I went into my bedroom and laid down. I stared at the ceiling, trying to sort though the thoughts in my head. Each time they led to the same place: to the green eyes, the red mask, his deep voice, and the way all three of those things made my heart race.

I'm not sure how long I laid there, going deeper and deeper into my head, but I was so out of it that when a loud knock came from my window, I shrieked with fear and just about jumped out of my skin. It took a moment for my eyes to focus and see beyond the reflections in the window. Raphael was out there, hanging on my windowsill all casual-like. I got up and went over slowly, unlatched the lock, and then stood back as he pushed the pane up. He lowered himself into my room with ease.

Thank god I had big windows.

The sight of him for the first time in the light took my breath away. What I had imagined in my dreams from the brief moment I had seen him in the darkness was nothing like it was now. The muscles on his body were even more defined than I thought. He looked strong and powerful, his height only adding to it. His skin was a perfect shade of green and his shell, which I had barely gotten to see at all, was full of colors: black, amber, and a light tan all forming into something magnificent on his back. He still wore the thin red mask over his eyes and worn armor over certain areas of his body. His weapons glinted in the light of my room, looking like they would cut through skin with just a single touch. There was scar on his upper lip, and some kind of marking on his right shoulder.

I was staring again. I felt my cheeks turn red as I also remembered that I had just shrieked like a little girl a moment ago.

"What are you doing here?" I asked finally. "And how did you know this was my window?"

"I told you, I've been makin' sure you didn't say anything to anyone 'bout me."

"Right." I responded, still trying to not stare too long at any part of his body, even though I was trying to catch every detail about him that I could while he was here in front of me.

"I'm surprised you haven't." Raphael added with a slight sneer. "I'm sure lots of people would pay for a story like that."

"Well, I'm not like that." I snapped at him, offended by his remark.

He was the one who hadn't taken the time to talk to me, and yet he was still making assumptions.

Again, he looked like that wasn't the response he had been expecting from me. I took a couple deep breaths, trying to look at the situation from his point of view. He was obviously afraid of other people finding out about his existence, which made me wonder how many humans had seen him... Or if I was the first one. And that meant he was probably pretty scared of being found out.

"I'm guessing you don't go around saving girls very often." I joked, softening my tone.

"I don't."

"Well, thank you, again. You really did save me."

I felt my voice get a little tight at the end, the fear I had felt that night rushing over me again as I finally let myself remember what almost happened. He nodded in reply, still seeming uncomfortable around me.

"Look," I said seriously, my eyes meeting his. "I really won't tell anyone about you. I'll keep your secret, whatever it is, because I'm still pretty lost to be honest... But you don't need to follow me or worry, okay?"

Raphael seemed to relax slightly with my words. It was strange to me that someone who looked so strong could ever feel fear, but I also knew how cruel humans could be: if he was ever found out, he would be mocked, studied, locked up. I smiled slightly at him, hoping that he knew I was telling the truth.

"I should go." He said suddenly, turning to leave.

"Okay..." I replied, not even trying to hide the sadness from my voice. I had hoped that after my speech he would stay and explain things to me.

"I just... have someplace that I need to be." Raphael added, his tone the nicest I had heard yet.

I found myself nodding, even though his back was still facing me. I didn't think that there was anything I could say that would make him stay, so just I kept quiet. He paused for a split second, as if waiting for my response, but then climbed out of the window and was gone.

I rushed to the sill and leaned my head out, trying to see where he went. I saw nothing in the darkness. It was like he was nothing but a figment of my imagination, the way he came and went like a shadow.

I didn't feel like doing anything else that night, so I just curled up into bed, my heart feeling heavy in my chest. I had wanted so badly to see him again, and now that I had, I felt even worse than before. None of my questions had been answered. I was even more lost than before. And now that I had truly come face to face with Raphael, the images that haunted my dreams were even more intense.