He was standing there again, just watching her. Those intensely green eyes of his scanning her every move although she wasn't doing much at all. Unless he thought drinking hot chocolate and trying to write poetry as a lot.

She had seen him there just about every night for a week, but she had never seen him before. Usually you're supposed to know the people in your dreams, some kind of facial recognition crap that she hadn't paid too much attention to in AP Psychology the year before, but she literally hadn't the slightest clue of who he might be.

He didn't seem to notice that she noticed him either. Always, he would linger and watch her closely as if she was actually something to good to look at, like a piece of art. It was strange, but she didn't seem to mind it.

However, she did want to know who he was.

Katerina closed her small notebook carefully and tucked the gnawed-on- pen in one of the pockets of her sweater before standing and making her way over to this strange man with the intense green eyes.

He continued to watch her but he didn't think she would approach him. His eyes widened slightly as she stood before him with her sleeves that were too long and her worn notebook in hand.

Katerina studied him carefully, she had never been this close to him. His eyes were even prettier up close and he had a bit of acne around his forehead but she didn't mind it too much because it made him human just like everybody else.

"You've been watching me like this for a week. Who are you?" Her voice was calm and confident although she had to admit that she was very unnerved by the way he smiled at her. It didn't look forced, but it also didn't look natural.

Actually, she thought it looked rather creepy even with those deep indents in his cheeks where his dimples hid.

Something seemed to pass through his eyes for a moment before he spoke.

"You can see me?" His voice was low and dripping with a British accent.

Katerina rolled her dark eyes, "No, I'm pretending that I can see you."

She held her ground even though something about him now made her want to run away.

He could tell that she was scared, but she was very smart in keeping it hidden and he admired that.

"Interesting."

Katerina continued to stare at him because he was so strange and because she didn't know how to answer him. The stranger lifted his right hand and cupped her cheek. His hands were cold, far too cold for it to have been from the low temperature, but Katerina didn't flinch nor did she blush like most girls would have.

Again, he looked at her curiously and she looked right back, her stare unwavering.

"I want to know who you are." She didn't ask this time, rather demanded because he was avoiding answering for some reason and, quite frankly, he was just strange.

Katerina swore she saw his eyes change like he'd flipped a lens much like a reptile would. His smile softened and his thumb brushed against her cheek gently as he spoke.

"You don't want to know who I am and you never saw me."

His plump lips met hers briefly but it was a meaningless kiss and his lips were cold, just like his hands.

Katerina stared at him with furrowed brows, "Did you just try to hypnotize me or something, because it didn't work."

The strange man stared at her blankly. He was taken aback and her lips quirked up into a small smirk.

"That-No. That's never happened before."

His voice sounded lost and perplexed and Katerina was more curious than ever.

"What do you mean?"

"You can see me?"

Katerina once more gave him a questioning glance followed by a small nod. Of course she could see him, she wasn't blind.

"Yes."

He raised an eyebrow, "And you still want to know who I am?"

Katerina nodded hesitantly because the question was both strange and redundant and her voice raised almost sarcastically as she replied, "Yes."

"Did you see my eyes change in any way?"

Now she rolled her eyes, her arms crossing over her chest and showing her annoyance, "Yes I did, and yes, you're questions are becoming very irritating. If I'm going to answer you then you're going to answer me."

The man chuckled lightly, like what she said was amusing to him. Katerina huffed in annoyance, unfolded her arms, and walked away. There was no point if he was just going to be like that and, quite frankly, he was starting to piss her off.

He started to follow her and she sighed.

"How was my kiss?"

Katerina scoffed, "Terrible."

He seemed bewildered with her answer just as he had only a few minutes earlier, "Terrible!?"

She nodded confidently and held back her smile because she had yet again managed to upset him in some manner, "Yes, terrible. Is English not your first language? I mean that's really weird considering the fact that your British."

Again, he thought what she had said was amusing and laughed but this time it was loud and almost ominous in its tone which unnerved her again.

"You're very funny."

His voice was slow and his lips formed the words nicely as he spoke, and she liked that despite the fact that she still knew absolutely nothing about this man other than the fact that he was a weirdo.

"You're very strange and irritating."

"Usually people don't see me."

Katerina turned her attention from the colorful dead leaves drifting with the soft breeze to the soft curls of his milk chocolate colored hair and how his cheeks and nose did not tint even in the cold, "What do you mean?"

He took a wider step and moved in front of her so that she had to stop before she ran into him. There was a gentle and curious look to him now. If she looked hard enough, Katerina could see that he wore a very small smile.

The stranger took her sweater covered hand in his and lifted it in a courtly manner. She saw that strange flash behind his eyes again before he carefully pushed the soft green material of her sweater back and exposed her hand.

Katerina watched him curiously as he turned her hand over so that her wrist was facing him, palm up. The whole thing was very strange but he was strange enough to be considered intriguing.

He kissed her wrist longer than one would normally kiss someone's hand. Katerina noticed a slight tint to his lips as he pulled away and his tongue poked out to wet them briefly before he spoke as gentle as the night's breeze outside her window, "It's time for you to wake up."

Katerina awoke with a start. The room felt too hot and her blankets were smothering. She sat up too quickly and her head spun forcing her to shut her eyes and take low and deep breaths.

She'd been waking up like this for about a week now, maybe she was coming down with something. It wasn't uncommon considering the weather. Maybe she would go see the doctor sometime during the week.

Katerina ran a hand through her damp hair and thought about her dream. Usually her dreams were weird, but not like that. And who was that man? He was so strange and so interesting even though he irritated the crap out of her.

Why did she keep seeing him in her dreams?

It was still too hot. Slowly, she pushed the covers away and made her way downstairs to play with the thermostat and get a glass of water.

After setting the thermostat to a, hopefully, more comfortable sixty-five, she yawned and shuffled her feet as she headed into the kitchen. She avoided all of the lights because they were far too bright at night and because she had lived in her apartment long enough to know where everything was even in the dark of night.

The glass she'd grabbed from the drying rack was cool against her skin but cooled even more when she pushed down the lever on the fridge to fill it with water.

Her tired eyes watched the water rise halfheartedly as the dim light from the fridge cast a faint glow upon her skin. Something looked strange, even in her tired state, and she stopped filling the glass and took a moment to stare at her wrist.

It looked like there were two freshly scabbed dots there but she couldn't remember how that had happened. Just like she couldn't remember the other faint scabs that littered her body, the few on her neck and her shoulders and even the two that lined her ankles.

Brushing it aside, Katerina gulped down her water quickly and trudged upstairs to sleep. Those strange dots would have to be investigated in the morning when she wasn't half dead.