I had no idea I was being watched. I felt the sensation of eyes boring into me from the back of my head, so I turned my attention towards the large mirror on the wall across from me, which revealed my reflection.

I was standing there, alone, in the living room, wearing a loose black top and blue jeans. My long pink hair was down, framing my face, and I looked slightly pale from the long ride home in the car. I stared at the mirror with curiosity, wondering if I had just imagined the feeling of eyes burning into the back of my skull. It felt like someone was watching m we e.

"Mom! Dad!" I shouted, "Are you home?"

I heard no answer. There was no noise at all, except for the faint sounds of traffic and a dog barking outside. My heart started beating fast and I could feel a small tingling sensation going up my spine.

We had just moved into this old house two days ago, and the house was enormous, with a lot of rooms and a basement. The furniture was very old, and there were cracks in the walls. The house was so large and empty, and the fact that there was no one home but me, made it feel even larger and emptier. I was alone, and I was a little scared.

"This is ridiculous. There's no one here but me," I told myself.

I decided to go to my bedroom and get some organizing done. I grabbed my laundry basket, which I had left sitting on the floor by sofa. I walked up the stairs, my footsteps echoing on the floorboards, and went down the hallway.

I opened the door to my room, and immediately sensed that something was wrong.

I froze in the doorway, staring at the scene before me, unable to believe my eyes.

The room had been ransacked.

All my books had been pulled out of the bookshelves and thrown around the room. My desk was empty, all my notebooks had been flung everywhere, and my bed had been stripped bare.

"What happened here?" I gasped.

I dropped my backpack and started picking things up, trying to straighten everything out. As I was putting my books back on the bookshelf, a dark shadow flashed behind me.

I spun around, gasping, but the shadow had already vanished. I was so startled, I dropped a heavy book. It landed on my toe, causing me to yelp and grab my foot in pain.

"Who's there? Is anyone here?" I yelled, my voice shaking.

There was no answer.

I sat down on the floor, hugging my arms to myself. "Who did this?" I asked quietly, to no one in particular.

I sighed with frustration and began to pick my room up again. After putting the books back in the bookshelf, I began to make my bed. As I was spreading the blankets out, I sensed movement out of the corner of my eye. I whirled around, but once again, I saw no one.

All night I lay awake, waiting for the person who did this to come back, with that same feeling of being watched. I was sure of it now. I wasn't just imagining it. Someone was watching me.

—

It had been three weeks since the day my bedroom was vandalized. I had told my parents about what had happened, but they didn't seem to be concerned.

"Maybe you just forgot where you put your books," my mother said, "It was probably you. You've had a lot of stress with moving into a new home and starting a new school."

I shook my head. "No, Mom, it wasn't me. I swear. I know what I saw. There was a dark shadow behind me. I'm not making this up."

"Don't worry, sweetheart," my mother said, giving me a hug, "This is a secure house. If someone broke in, we would have seen him. This is an old house. It's possible that a book fell on its own, or a bird flew in through the window and made the bed sheets move."

I decided not to dwell on it any longer and headed out to the car. My parents dropped me off in front of the school. I was so nervous that I didn't even wave goodbye to them as I rushed inside. I didn't want to be late on my first day.

I knew I was going to have a hard time navigating the huge campus when i visited the week before to tour the campus. I had to look at the map and ask several students for directions.I made it to the right classroom, but I was too nervous to go inside.

"Excuse me, miss," a voice behind me said, "I don't mean to startle you, but do you need help finding your way around? You seem a bit lost."

I turned around to see a young man, perhaps a year or two older than me, with messy brown hair, green eyes, and a kind smile.

"I'm alright," I said, "I just have trouble remembering my way around. It's my first day, and this campus is huge."

"My name is Lee," he said, "If you like, I can help you find your classes.

"That would be great," I said, smiling.

He showed me to my first class, which was History, and then went on to my next class, which was English. He even went to the cafeteria with me during lunch.

"Thanks for showing me around, Lee," I said, "This school is so huge and confusing."

"Not a problem, Sakura. If you need any help, just let me know."

As I was thanking him I headed down the hall for my next class from lunch. I was looking at the map of the school when I suddenly ran head on to a boy who looked to be my age. He had black inky hair and eyes to match.

"Watch where you're going." He said with a smirk. "I'm Sasuke by the way. You must be the new girl. What was your name again, Sakura is it? You know if you weren't so busy looking at a map, maybe you would have noticed that there were people walking. Maybe you should stop gawking like a fool and pay attention next time."

I stood there sputtering for a comeback while he chuckled. "I'll catch you around." He said as he sauntered off, not even apologizing for bumping into me.

I had a scowl on my face for the rest of the day and couldn't wait for school to be over.

My first day of school had not been a success.

When I got home, I threw my backpack down in my room and sat down on my bed, frustrated.

"Stupid Sasuke," I muttered.

What did Sasuke do?" a voice asked.

I looked up startled to hear a deep male voice I didn't recognize. Both of parents wouldn't be home for hours. When I jerked my head up, the room was empty.

"What the hell? Who said that?" I asked, glancing around the room.

"I did". The voice said.

I glanced around the room. I saw no one, but I felt as if someone was watching me.

"Is there someone in here with me?" I asked nervously.

"Yes."

My heart started pounding in my chest.

I spun around, feeling the blood rushing to my ears. Before my eyes, a man with blood red hair and jade green eyes materialized before me. That's the last thing I remember before I blacked out.

—

I woke up the next morning with a throbbing headache. My head was still spinning from the strange encounter yesterday. When I had woken up the man was gone.

Mom," I called as I went down the stairs.

My mother was busy cooking breakfast, and my father was reading the newspaper.

"Good morning," my father said, smiling.

"Sakura, why didn't you tell us you had a boy over last night? We didn't know you were having friends over. If we had known, we would have been more quiet when we got home." My mother asked.

"I don't know what you're talking about," I replied, puzzled, "I didn't have a boy over. I went straight to bed after getting home from school. I don't know who you saw."

"I heard you talking to someone last night," she said.

"But that's impossible," I said, "I didn't see anyone. Maybe it was a dream."

"That's silly, dear," she said, "I don't think dreams cause the couch cushions to be thrown around the living room. We found the cushions all over the living room when we came home. And I wasn't the only one who heard him. Your father heard him too."

"I did," my father agreed.

My mind was reeling from the man I saw last night, I sat there with my mouth hanging open before I regathered my self and lied.

"Oh I was talking to a new friend on the phone." My mother smiled and went back to cooking breakfast.

—

When I got to school that morning, Lee met me in the parking lot.

"Hello, Sakura," he said, smiling, "How was your first day?"

"It was horrible," I said, sighing.

"Well, today is a new day." Lee said, "I thought maybe you would like to go to the mall with me today after school. Do you have any plans?"

"No, not really," I said, "Just studying, but that can wait. A trip to the mall would be great. Maybe you could bring some friends and I could get to know everyone."

Lee invited his friends, Ino and Neji to join us. What I didnt realize is he also invited Sasuke. And I still had a whole day of school to get through with him. Yesterday I found out that my last class of the day was the only class Sasuke and I shared, which was less than ideal but could be worse. It was chemistry, bittersweet because science is one of my strongest subjects but I was already having to suffer through his smirks and chuckles directed at me.

I got through the day and even met a few more of Lee's friend during lunch and between classes. I was getting along with my teachers and figured out the way to my classes.

When my last class of the day came by, my good mood shattered.

"Okay class, we're going to assign lab partners for the year. I have them pre assigned and we'll start with pair 1." The professor was standing at the front of the class with a look that told me I wouldn't be able to complain about whoever I got. I silently hoped it would be Lee or one of his friends I met.

"Sakura and Sasuke, you will be group 4."

I felt my stomach drop as Sasuke plopped his books down onto the lab table next to me. He looked at me and smiled and I wanted to smack him.

At the end of the class, I grabbed my things and left quickly, not wanting to have to spend any more time than necessary with the guy.

As I was heading out to the parking lot, Lee caught up with me.

"Hey Sakura," he said.

I smiled weakly at Lee, not wanting to take my bad mood out on him. "Hey Lee, I don't think I'm up for the mall still. All I want to do is go home and take a long hot bath."

"That's okay," he said, smiling, "I understand. Maybe next time. You're welcome to join us any time, Sakura."

I thanked him and started to walk home, exhausted from the day. When I got home, the house was dark and silent. It was too quiet. The feeling of being watched washed over me, and I shuddered.

I went upstairs and walked down the hall to the bathroom. As I walked past my room, a strong gust of cold wind hit me, causing me to shiver and goosebumps to rise on my arms.

I opened the door and walked in. The window was wide open, and the curtains were blowing in the wind.

"The window was closed when I left this morning." I whispered to myself.

I slowly approached the window, afraid of what might be lurking in the shadows. When I reached the window, I pulled the curtains aside and looked out into the yard.

There was a tree right outside the window, and a man was crouched on one of the scream died in my throat as his jade green eyes met mine.

He vanished.

I was losing it. I rubbed my arms, trying to get the chill to stop creeping up my spine and decided it was time for that bath.

A hot bath would definitely calm my nerves.

As I was relaxing in the tub, a shadow passed by the door, followed by a thump. I froze.

"Hello?" I called, my voice shaking.

There was no answer.

"Who's there?" I yelled.

Still no answer.

I got out of the tub, wrapping a towel around myself, and stepped out into the hallway.

"Dad?" I called.

There was no reply.

I slowly walked towards the staircase, my heart pounding.

As I reached the top of the stairs, I saw my bedroom door shut out of the corner of my eye. Pivoting, I ran down the hall to my room and gripped the knob, a surge of determination coursing through me. I was going to figure out who had been messing with my head these past weeks once and for all.

When I flung the door open, sitting there at the window seat, surrounded by the fading gilded rays of light from the day, was a young man with blood red hair, pale milky skin and the most striking green eyes I had ever seen.

"Hello Sakura" he said, in that now familiar deep voice. It held a tone of amusement as well as melancholy. "I've been waiting for you."