Being blinded by an unsuspecting white light was not on my list of things to do on a Thursday night after my shift at the supermarket. Temporarily losing my vision ticked off half the things I wanted to do when I got home from work--including marathoning another season of a 90s sitcom. Television was probably my only hobby and to be deprived of that? I was disappointed, to say the least.

But not nearly as disappointed as the balding man standing in front of me.

After a round of furious blinking, the familiar streets in front of me reappeared, along with a sneering photographer as he looked down at his camera. With a furrowed brow he studied the stolen shot of me sporting a bright orange uniform and squinted eyes. He made an unimpressed grunt before walking off.

My sleepy little seaside town had been swarming with paparazzi after a celebrity sighting last weekend. No one actually knew the accuracy of this claim, but everyone seemed to feed off the rumour. It made the front cover of the local paper and it had been the preferred topic of conversation among the streets. People weren't even sure which celebrity had been spotted, but the possibility of having someone famous among us had everyone buzzing with excitement. The power of suggestion was enough to persuade us all.

However, it was also a complete pain in the ass.

Leaving my apartment was nearly impossible without reporters lurking behind every corner and photographers hiding in the bushes. It made me appreciate that privacy was a privilege.

A loud honking sound snapped me out of my daze, followed by a familiar freckled face.

"Dawn? Is that you?" Jessie yelled, squinting at me from across the street. She was practically hanging out of the passenger's side window.

I waved to let her know it was me before crossing the road.

"God, I almost thought you were a walking traffic cone with that shirt of yours. That orange is so bright, you're practically a glow-in-the-dark highlighter."

I looked down at my uniform, about to argue that it wasn't that bad. But I wasn't going to convince anyone, not even myself. It was an absolute disgrace and no amount of persuasion was going to make anyone think otherwise.

"What are you doing here?" I asked instead.

"Nick and I were hungry." When I didn't respond, she sighed and said quietly, "Okay, I was hungry. But pregnancy has me eating almost seven meals a day."

Through the glass panel of the supermarket, I noticed her boyfriend standing under the horrendous glow of the yellow lights as he paid. His hair was a messy mop of brown and eyes were heavy-lidded with fatigue, but he was taking care of Jessie like the brilliant soul he is. 

When I returned my attention back to my friend, her arms were dangling out of the open window, pawing at my bag of groceries. "Do you have anything in there?"

I quickly snatched my dinner away. "Nothing interesting. Look, Nick is already on his way back. He's probably got something for you."

Jessie's eyes became abnormally animated as she watched Nick adoringly. He seemed startled by her behaviour but he still approached hesitantly.

"Chocolate?" she whispered.

"Carrot?" he answered.

"Carrot?"  

Nick swallowed and quickly rummaged through his bags. "Celery? Peanut butter?" Red crept up his neck as his panic rose. "Chocolate, chocolate...oh God. Okay, give me ten seconds, babe."

He abruptly turned on his heel and went racing back through the automatic doors. Jessie turned to look at me, shaking her head.

"You know I love your brother to pieces, but he's an absolute nightmare sometimes."

"Which is why I was always the favourite twin," I said. 

She laughed, shaking her head. "Which is why you're my best friend."

"You know, it still kind of weirds me out that my best friend and brother are in a relationship." I looked down at her baby bump. "And the fact that you're having a baby together."

Jessie reached out and took my hand before looking up at me solemnly with her big blue eyes. "This baby isn't going to affect anything. We still love you very much."

"Oh, don't talk to me like I'm a neglected pet," I teased, swatting her hand away. "I'm not jealous of the kid."

She laughed, brushing a golden curl behind her ear. "Whatever you say, Dawn."

Nick quickly skidded back to the car, holding up a fresh bag of groceries. He dug around before producing a big box of assorted chocolates. The sound Jessie made when she saw them brought indescribable pain to my ears. She didn't waste any time tearing into the food, selecting a heart-shaped piece and popping it into her mouth. 

"Oh God, caramel."

"Oh God, my ears," I answered, still recovering from her inhuman scream. 

"I got the assorted box so you have a selection to choose from," Nick explained. "Now, let's get back home. I'm exhausted."

"Thank you," Jessie said, reaching up to run her fingers through her boyfriend's curly mop of hair and kissing his jaw affectionately. Nick gave her a tender smile and kissed the tips of her fingers. They were floating on a cloud, high up in the sky.

"Dawn, do you need a lift?" he asked as soon as they drifted back down to earth.

"My car is parked across the street. I think I might head off though. I'm having hot dogs for dinner and I'm depressingly excited about it."

Jessie made a wistful sigh. "Hot dogs."

Nick reached over to the centre console and started closing her window. "And that's our cue to leave. We'll see you later."

He quickly started the car and pulled away from the curb before Jessie got the idea to escape and crawl into my bag of groceries to scavenge like a hungry racoon. As soon as they were gone, I crossed the street and headed towards my car. I was looking forward to a quiet night in.

Unfortunately for me though, that's exactly what I didn't get.

I spent a majority of my week promising myself that I'd get a good night's sleep the next time I didn't have a lecture at nine in the morning. But every single time I had the opportunity to lose myself in a multitude of dreams, I found myself getting lost in TV series while I snack on a bunch of unhealthy foods. And even though this is expected, I still swear at the time whenever I realise it's three in the morning and I have eaten two whole jumbo-sized bags of popcorn by myself. 

Placing my laptop on the coffee table, I got up from my position on the couch and headed into the kitchen for something to drink. After snaking on something savoury for a few hours, it tends to make you thirsty as hell. So after a challenging decision between lemon or raspberry flavoured beverages, I poured myself a tall glass.

But before I could even think about taking a sip, there was a knock on my door.

A suspiciously quiet knock.

At first, I wasn't sure I was even real. I paused and listened. Three seconds later, the undeniably faint sound of knuckles against wood filled my silent apartment. Hearing an urgent knock at your door at three in the morning never really leads to the most comforting outcomes. But hearing one that was barely there?

I wasn't sure if it was better or worse.

At least with furious knocking, I'd know that something important was happening, like maybe there was a fire and someone was trying warn me to evacuate. Or maybe there was an emergency and my help was needed.

Hesitantly, I crept towards the door and peeked through the hole. I blinked a few times before I could make out the outline of a figure in a denim jacket. I had read enough newspaper articles about strange people pretending to need help in order to get unsuspecting neighbours to open their doors so they can either harass them or steal. I slowly crept backwards.

The quiet knock came again.

I quickly grabbed my phone. The police were on speed dial and it would only take the press of a single button to call. I looked through the peephole again. The person was still on the other side of the door. He shifted from foot to foot, nervously looking behind him as he ran his fingers through his hair. With his back to me, I could make out the statement band patch stitched onto the back of his jacket.

I realised it was the guy who had moved into the building last weekend. I hadn't seen much of his face. He disappeared straight into the the empty apartment on my floor and I hadn't seen much of him since.

"Hello?" came a faint whisper. "I know this is a ridiculous time in the morning, but I could really use a hand."

He sounded like he was in trouble, so with my phone in my hand, I quietly unlocked the door and opened it a crack. Without the disfigured image the peephole created, I could finally see the guy's face. He dipped his head at me, a piece of dark hair falling across one of his eyes as he gave me a shy smile.

"Hi, I'm so sorry for disturbing you, but I have a bit of a strange request. Do you mind if I climb out your window?"