'Devil's Heart' now also officially supports ProjectWomanUp which is why this chapter is dedicated to them :) This is also the explanation of the new pink sticker on the cover of this book.

"You should try to listen to them. I will bring you nothing but a whirlwind of despair." - Mr. Mysterious

Chapter III

I stood nailed to the spot with my mouth agape. Truth to be told, I decided to just go along with Ana and Alec's plans because I really wanted a blueberry muffin... Who would have thought that Mr. Mysterious – how Ana liked to call him – was actually here?

I sure did not. How high were the chances of us meeting again?

A breath left my mouth and I stepped away from the door, further into the café. I straightened my shoulders and confidently walked over to him. On the inside, all my instincts told me to run away while I still had the change, but I muted them.

Pulling the chair back, I sat down. His eyes focused on me once more, almost seeming amused. "Is it alright if I sit here?" I asked, just to break the silence falling over us.

His lips quirked up at the side, bringing my attention to a silver lip-piercing. "Why ask when you're already seated?"

I blinked at him, not expecting him to say that. If anything, I probably expected him to cuss or just plainly ignore me. "If you do decide to ask that question," he continued in his surprisingly soft voice, amusement clear, "ask it before you sit down. Or don't ask it at all and just sit."

"Does it even matter?" I asked him in bewilderment, wondering why he made such a big thing about something so small.

He shrugged his shoulders.

"Listen," he suddenly said after we fell in silence for a while, "I'm sorry for bumping into you and being rude towards you," he said, surprising me even further. Is he actually apologizing?

He awkwardly scratched his head. "I was kind of in a hurry for a meeting and I was in a pretty bad mood..."

"It's alright," I quickly said, deciding to save him further embarrassment. I could tell how hard it was for him to apologize to someone. "I was in a hurry too. Let's just call it an accident and continue with our lives."

The guy nodded, his lips quirking up once more.

"You have nice eyes," I blurted out. Immediately after I said that I clamped my hand in front of my mouth. "Sorry," I mumbled against my palm.

He tilted his head to the side, reminding me of a cat in more ways than one. "Your eyes are just plain creepy."

My eyebrows shot up. "Excuse me?!"

He shrugged his shoulders and looked up at the ceiling. "They are just weird," he muttered, glancing down at me. "What is it called again? Hetero-something."

"Heterochromia," I corrected him. When meeting other people, they always commented me on my strange eyes. I don't know why I thought – even for just a second – that this guy would be different from everyone else.

Our growingly awkward conversation was interrupted when a waiter came up to our table. The guy seemed nervous and was clearly terrified of the guy seated in front of me. "C-Can I get you anything?" He asked me in a shaky voice, nervously glancing at Mr. Mysterious, seemingly afraid his head would get ripped off even for looking as much as my way.

What is with people and avoiding the poor guy? They are taking rude to an entirely new level. He probably hasn't even done anything to them!

"A Frappuccino and a blueberry muffin," I replied, deciding to leave the 'please' away for his rude behavior. If my grandmother could hear me now she would undoubtedly scold me for hours.

The waiter frantically nodded, his long blond hair falling in front of his eyes. He turned towards the dark-eyed male in front of me who shook his head.

The waiter practically ran away. I could literally see the sweat dripping down his hair and face.

I raised my eyebrows at that and turned towards Mr. Mysterious, deciding to just call him that until I knew his name. "Do people always act like that around you?"

"Yes," he simply replied, a world of sadness flashing behind his eyes. It was gone soon though, so I could have imagined it. I kept silent and waited for him to elaborate on the matter. When I thought he would say nothing more, he said softly, almost in a whisper, "If you knew the truth about who and what I am... you would be running for the hills as well."

"I believe that I'm the only one fit enough to make that decision," I whispered in the same volume.

"Then you're just stupid," he told me bitterly, really looking at me this time. "Don't you have a thing called 'instincts?'" He asked. "You should try to listen to them. I will bring you nothing but a whirlwind of despair."

Laughter bubbled out of my mouth. "Aren't you exaggerating a bit? A 'whirlwind of despair?' Really?" He looked pretty serious on the other hand. "You aren't kidding then," I muttered under my breath.

The waiter chose exactly that moment to reappear and to hurriedly place my order on the table. I wanted to thank him, but he had already run away once more.

I picked up my Frappuccino and started drinking the frozen goodness. Mr. Mysterious went back to watching out of the window.

I took my time to study him a bit more up close. It might be rude, but there was just something about him... something almost alien which fascinated me.

My eyes scanned over his smooth skin; I couldn't spot even a single pimple or scar anywhere. He had black gems – onyx maybe? – pierced in his ears and he had his lip piercing of course. His ink-black hair was slightly styled on the top, with only a single strand of hair falling in front of his dark eyes.

A beautifully detailed feather tattoo was seen poking out from underneath his black polo-shirt, and an overcoat – black as well – hung over the chair next to him.

Ana's description fits him perfectly. 'Tall, dark and handsome.'

Bringing his hand up to scratch his chin I saw something flash in the morning light. It seemed to be a strange ring made of glass, decorated with a single fiery blue gem.

"What kind of ring is that?" I found myself asking before I could stop myself.

Unreadable blue eyes fixed on me, a strange emotion reflected in the depths of his orbs. "A relic," he simply replied. I waited but he did not seem to want to elaborate further.

His jaw had clenched together when I asked about the ring and he suddenly stood up, slamming his chair against the wall. The entire café had turned to look at us wide-eyed, but seemingly too afraid to do anything. He glared at me once, jaw tensed, before storming out of the café; swinging his overcoat over his shoulders.

My jaw had slightly opened from his little tantrum. I closed it again and put some money on the table, hoping it was enough to cover up us both. Placing the muffin in my bag, I ran after him, out into the cold once more.

I shivered, but not from the cold. I felt like I had hurt him some way, and for someone who clearly had gone through so much, it felt like I had just kicked a puppy and kitten at the same time.

My eyes scanned the area, hoping to spot him once more and praying that he not had disappeared like the last time.

Someone seems to have heard my prayers. For I was quick to spot the black-haired male who easily towered over most citizens. He was also easy to spot because – even on the street – everyone evaded him like the black plague.

Lightly cursing under my breath, I rushed through the cold and after him, keeping my eyes peeled on his black hair. Luckily for me, he wasn't walking that fast so I eventually caught up to him, gripping his sleeve in my hands. He stopped walking and glanced over his shoulder. "What?" He snapped.

Slowly, I let go of his sleeve, holding my hands up. His eyes following my every movement. "I just wanted to say that I'm sorry for upsetting you earlier," I said softly as one would talk to an aggressive animal.

He turned around slowly and leaned down until I could feel his cold breath on my face and his scent washed over me. Strangely enough, he smelled like burning wood. "How far I have fallen," he whispered so softly I had to strain my ears to hear, "for me to be pitied by someone like you."

His dark eyes looked straight into my own, the violet color in their depths more prominent than ever. He tilted his head to the side and stood up straight once more. "I'm serious here, Kitten." He told me slow and clearly. "It was nice talking to someone for a change, but you should stay away from me. If you don't, you will only regret it." He warned me.

"Why?" I challenged him. I did not miss the fact that his eyes dangerously narrowed. I wanted to shrink away from him, but I firmly held my ground. "What's so bad about you? You don't come across as evil."

A bitter laugh left his lips. He looked up at the sky and shook his head in amazement. "You don't want to know," he said. "Just believe me on this one."

A glint of mischief flashed past his eyes. "Hey, want to see a trick?" He questioned.

I stared up at him. Is this guy serious? "A... trick?"

He nodded seriously. "It's gonna be fun," he promised me.

"Go ahead," I said with a sigh, deciding to myself that this guy has some serious personality issues. "Surprise me."

I crossed my arms in front of my chest and waited for him to do this 'trick' of his.

He pointed behind me. "Turn around for two seconds and then turn back," he instructed me. I rolled my eyes. "And don't roll your eyes," he added.

"Alright, I turn around!" I told the childlike-male. I turned around and counted to two in my head before I turned back.

To see him gone.

My eyebrows shot up in surprise and my eyes scanned the area. I couldn't find him anywhere.

"Fun, isn't it?" His voice whispered in my ear, his cold breath fanning over my neck. My eyes widened and I whirled around. Only to see nothing there. A laugh could be heard and then I knew he was really gone. A black raven flew over and skillfully maneuvered around the buildings.

"What's with this guy and disappearing?" I muttered under my breath. I took the muffin from my small bag and took a bite out of it, deciding to just head back home.

How does he even do it anyway? I couldn't help but wonder with growing curiosity.

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Hello, little demons! The third chapter is up and this was the second time Harlynn met 'Mr. Mysterious', which I'm rather sure all of you already know the identity from ;)

About the song on the top... it's not necessarily the theme-song of this chapter, but a lot of songs from the band Breaking Benjamin inspire me with writing this book, so I just had to add it. So you might expect more of their songs during this book. What can I say? I love their songs!

Let me know what you thought of this chapter and if you liked it, don't forget to vote/comment/share, aye?

Until the next time then! Hugs and knives,

- Luci