Author's Note: I don't know what this was. I think Psycho!Spencer, but IDK. Maybe Stalker!Spencer?

Day Ninety-Four: Candy by Paolo Nutini

I took out my black umbrella. Trying to open it so I wouldn't get wetter than I already was, I managed to look like a complete idiot.

In a sea of black umbrellas, I was just another umbrella. Just another nameless person. Just another someone trying to get somewhere in life; to get something out of this city.

I stepped out to the corner, where the bus stop was. People passed by left and right, but none of them had faces. They didn't have lives or anything like that. They were all just black umbrellas and black raincoats.

The bus came. So did the one after that. And the one following that. And the next one. But I didn't get on. Why? I'll never quite know. I just knew something wasn't right. There was some divine force willing me to stay where I was, with my feet planted firmly in the pavement below.

Time just passed by quickly. Or maybe slowly. One might never know. Time is just a whore like that; she gets you without you even knowing. Then she just moves onto the next.

It continued to rain. I think I had been standing there for hours before I finally became aware of my surroundings. I looked over my shoulder just once. I saw the man holding the red umbrella. It took me only just a moment to recognize him. I had never met him, but I knew him. I couldn't help but just stare.

Suddenly, the streets weren't so crowded anymore. I walked over slowly to him; he was waiting at a bus stop barely half a block away.

I felt the dark shadow of the previous day following me. I felt almost unclean standing next to him. I felt as though I paled in comparison. I felt as though I was doing him an injustice by standing there. Then, I wondered why I felt that way.

Oh, it was because of what I had done that day.

The sense of guilt and filth overcame me once more. It let me live, so I supposed…that was enough. That's why I was so helpless, right? And…heartless. I was heartless.

The mere thought made me feel bitter.

I bit my lip as we both waited for the same bus. There was something about him. I was going to find out what it was.

"You're the same stop, too?"

I looked to my shoulder to find the beautiful stranger with the red umbrella.

I just smiled and nodded. For once, it wasn't a lie…not that he would be able to tell the difference, anyway. I already mastered the art of lying by that time.

A person like me had to lie often. If I didn't…well, my secret would be out. I would be the scarlet letter. Even in such a seemingly liberal, accepting society, people were judgmental and awful. And one's reputation often preceded them.

"And the same stop? I've never seen you before. I take that bus every day, always at the same time."

I bit my lip again. "Well…I just started a new job," I answered easily with only a moment of hesitation.

He nodded. "So…do you live far from here?"

"Um…no. I just live around the corner," I replied. Maybe I shouldn't have said that.

Instead, he had this look of surprise on his face. "Really? I live around the corner, too."

This was getting just a bit too coincidental for my taste. Sure, it was a pretty big (and nice) building, but this was getting weird. How had I never seen him before? That was just too weird for my own taste.

As we both got in the elevator, he turned to me. "You know…I just moved in like three months ago and I'd kind of like a girl's opinion on the place."

I knew it was a bad idea. But I did it anyway.

We loved with a love that was more than love.

Or at least, that's what both I and Poe thought to be true.

Yeah, I know. How could a girl like me, who is supposed to be so much smarter and wiser than that, possibly think this could ever really amount to anything? I'm just another stain on his bed sheets; another notch on his headboard. I meant nothing to him, really. Even if he was like a hidden diamond in a mountain of coal to me.

I ran my fingers over the sheets—smooth, silky, luxurious sheets at that—and thought of how many other girls slept there. Probably a lot. Probably too many to count. He was attractive.

But I already took quite enough.

I know how self-loathing and eulogizing this probably sounds. And it is.

What? Did you think I'd try and convince you otherwise?

I'm practically declaring him my master. I won't even try to contest that. And truly, honestly, I think I'd do just about anything for him at that moment anyway. There was something about him…I still didn't know, even though I felt like I had gotten naked for him in more ways than one.

I didn't really feel his skin against mine the rest of that night. I wanted something in return. I wanted him to touch me. I wanted him to hold me. I wanted him to kiss me. Although we just met…I wanted all that to happen. It's crazy, and I know it. But that was what my heart wanted.

After several hours of lying in that torturous half-sleep, I decided to get up and leave while I still maybe had some dignity left (though I probably didn't, anyway).

Of course, it wasn't any better at my own apartment. Maybe it was even worse; I could feel the moon taunting me.

Even though the events of that night had been completely and utterly disastrous, I knew I'd be there waiting for the perfect stranger and his red umbrella the next day and every day after.

I think today is the first time I actually thought I wrote pretty well on a History essay. I have never gotten a perfect score on my History essays. Huh...but, I HAVE gotten an A on an English essay before, which is near impossible.

LittleBittyAbby: The lowest I've ever EVER gotten on a test was a D+ on a Math test in the 6th grade. I sucked at Math even back then. Actually, in elementary school, math was my best subject. Oh, but I always hated it. No, trust me, high school is A LOT better than middle school. At least, for me, it was. So what did you think of the actual one-shot?

Sarah:I have the book. I haven't read it yet, but John Green just seems like the coolest guy ever (even though he kind of mocks Canadians a lot on Crash Course). And I heard it's a really great book. And it's interesting. And awe, stop :)

AL3110:I can also do a very fake British accent. Okay. How did you like this one?

MilaMizz:Ideally, I'd like to be a famous actor/writer/singer (since I can't dance I guess I have to have my third talent elsewhere). Realistically speaking, I'd like to be a lawyer. Criminal defense. Habeas corpus. De jure. De facto. Mens rea. I just threw a bunch of Latin legal jargon at you. Lucky. I have one final, a final review day, and two extremely pompous, extremely important ceremonies and the school year will be over.

tobyequalshottness: Thank you. I honestly don't even know. I just pretend like I know, but I really don't. I think in my mind, Spencer got into a car accident and everyone thought she was dead, but she really wasn't, and their daughter, Avery, kept saying that she was alive, though Toby (who has since gotten much more pragmatic following meeting Spencer) didn't really believe it. But she was alive after all! And...that would be it.

Guest: Glad you liked it!

I just read Latin to my dad and he accused me of inventing half the words *tut tut*

'Kay, so tomorrow is my Latin final, and then there's a "Claire is finally done with her final" party so IDK what time I'll be home. I'll probably update more or less at the same time as today. I don't know. I'm going to try and get in my SSS update...

And I BAKED 63 COOKIES FROM SCRATCH. YEAH, FROM SCRATCH. BETTY CROCKER AND DUNCAN HINES CAN BOTH GET IT (not the Pillsbury doughboy, though; he's too cute for that ish). They're double chocolate with peanut butter. So that's chocolate cookie with chocolate chunks and peanut butter m&m's. They're so good.

Tomorrow's one-shot is gonna be based off of Speak Now by Taylor Swift. It's aight. Nothing spectacular. Red AU again.

Just curious; any of you who read FMN, would you be interested in dipping into that AU/future again?

BTW, I would LOVE to get 6 reviews. Idk, my computer decided to make that bold. This is odd. -Kayson