My eyes kept flickering to the clock; my shift would be over soon and I couldn't wait to get home and snuggle into bed. Zac hadn't turned up to work, leaving me by myself to handle the packed restaurant, being a Friday night. I was in four places at once, working the register, serving food, taking orders and cleaning tables. It was hectic.

"Hi, you guys ready to order?" I smiled at a group of boys my age, who had made themselves at home in one of the booths. Their loud voices quietened at my own interrupting one. Getting the chance to look at them, none of them looked familiar, they must have come from one of the neighbouring towns.

One of them, a mop of messy black hair leaned forward, his unashamed eyes trailed down my apron covered body. "Depends, is sexy brunette on the menu? With a side of less clothing, please." His tongue flickered out across his lips, which I assumed was meant to be an attractive move, but only made me want to spit in his burger.

His friends responded with booming laughter, all except for one guy, who sat slumped in his chair, staring intently at the table. He sported a busted lip and bruises under his eyes, I wondered what had happened to him. Maybe he had learnt a lesson from acting like his asshole friends.

I turned my attention to the creep who had just spoken, and while I racked my brain for a comeback, a deep voice from behind me bet me to it.

"No, it's not. But I'll happily give you tonight's special, broken ribs with a fractured eye socket and a redesigned nose."

I turned warily to see Zac, who was busily fastening his apron behind his back, whilst sending smouldering glares at the black haired boy. Zac's tall, muscular figure made the boy look tiny in comparison, and there was no question over who would win in a fight.

Zac looked up at me and silently mouthed "You okay?". I nodded, shooting him a small, yet grateful smile.

Zac walked toward me, gently removed the notepad and pencil from my hands, while tracing small circles on my hand with his thumb. "I'll take this one."

"I owe you!" I whispered. I really did not want to deal with those horny teenagers any longer. He simply chuckled and approached the booth, the black haired boy's smug face now replaced by a worried look, clearly intimidated by Zac's towering form.

I returned to the register where I addressed the queue of impatient customers waiting to pay for their meals.

Soon, Zac joined me behind the counter. "Sorry you had to run this place on your own, I got caught up."

I shook my head and smiled reassuringly, "It's fine, wasn't too busy."

"You seemed to have been handling it pretty well, anyway." Zac turned, starting to walk back to his designated work area when he stopped short, turning to face me again.

"Hey, don't worry about those idiots back there, yeah?"

I nodded in response, not knowing if he was expecting an answer or not.

"I guess Greenwell kids never change." Zac chuckled, his eyes distant as if he were reminiscing his own high school days.

"Greenwell?" I asked quietly, but he managed to hear me. I remembered the perve from Reece's party. He was from Greenwell.

"Yeah, you know Greenwell High, right?" Zac explained simply.

"Yeah, yeah I do." I clarified, biting my lip. I glanced over to the booth from earlier. The bruised and battered boy was staring right at me, with a look in his eyes that made my blood run cold. I forced my eyes to tear away from his gaze, suddenly feeling breathless. I met the bored eyes of a woman who was waiting in front of me.

"Hello? I said I was on table fifteen, you listening to me?"

I blinked a few times, trying to sober up from my overwhelming thoughts.

"What? Oh, sorry. Your order total comes to seventeen dollars eighty."

The woman shook her head disapprovingly at me, taking out a twenty from her purse and handing it to me. I printed her receipt and gave her her change, welcoming the next customer up to the counter.

• • •

I untied and put aside my greasy apron, slinging my bag over my tired shoulders and walked through the the door. Since Zac came late, he let me off early, promising he would pack up. Of course, I accepted.

I checked my phone, frowning at the message I had received from my mother.

→ Sorry sweetie can't pick you up tonight, got a late night xxxxxxx

I groaned. Perfect, now I had to walk home in the dark. I weighted my options - I could ask Zac for a ride, but then I would have to stay another half hour or so, and I already feel bad that he has to pack up tonight. I could catch a taxi, but they're just going to overcharge me for a five minute drive. The buses didn't come this late.

I guessed I was walking!

The well lit Main Street, crowded with people picking up pizzas and doing whatever else they do on a Friday night, provided me with some comfort as I began my walk home. As I turned the first corner, I was welcomed by a dim, quiet side street. I think I saw a black cat just ran across the road. I hated cats.

I picked up my pace, wanting more than anything to get out of this scary street and into the safety of my home.

Just as I turned another corner, I saw something in the corner of my eye, and I could swear there was someone following me. I tried to shake the thought out of my head, blaming it at first on watching too much criminal minds. But there was no mistaking the footsteps that were growing louder by the second, and they didn't match my strides. I pushed myself to walk faster, to not assume the worst.

"Hey! Stop!" A deep voice called out from behind me. My pulse jumped in response, I didn't dare turn around. I wasn't going to get murdered, not today Satan.

So I broke out in to a run, I heard the footsteps still behind me and judging by the tempo, the man was running too. I sprinted as fast as I could until the only thing I could hear was my heart racing, but I didn't stop. Maybe watching scary movies had made me a little paranoid, but they were also educational. I figured that if this man was following me, there was no way I would let him know where I lived. So I went off in the wrong direction.

But, that was pretty stupid. Because now I'm lost. I shoved my hand into my jumper pocket in search of my phone, only to find it empty. My heart stopped. I checked every other pocket, it wasn't there. Shit.

I only just had it two seconds ago! It must have fallen out while I was running. Squatting down under the light of the street lamp, I rummaged through my backpack. My phone wasn't in there, either.

"You looking for this?"

I jumped at the voice, whipping my head up to see the man who was previously chasing me. How could I have been so stupid! I dropped my phone, he picked it up and was trying to give it back, I assumed he was a murderous kidnapper, I ran away like a deranged lunatic.

The sight of my phone, unscathed, in this stranger's open hand made me forget all the scenarios that had been running through my mind as I had ran away from this Good Samaritan. I stood up, picking up my bag as I walked over to him. It was pretty dark, so I couldn't quite see him.

"Thank you so much! Sorry for running off, I thought you were -" The sharp intake of my breath took the words out of me as I got close enough to the man to see his face. Again, seeing him made my blood run cold. It was the guy with the busted lip from the booth. Where had I seen him before? My hand hovered in the air, an unknown force stopping me from retrieving my phone.

"You don't remember me, do you?" He asked, a dangerous smirk threatening to reopen the wound on his lip.

I shook my head, unable to speak. I backed away slowly, until my back was against a picket fence, digging into my clammy skin. I had a terrible feeling about this guy.

The guy didn't let me create any space between us, inching closer to me. "That's alright, most girls forget their own names after I'm done with them." The guy closed the gap between us. "But you, you're the reason my face is all fucked up, so I won't take it easy on you this time." I turned my face away from him, but he lifted a finger to my chin and forced me to look at him, and that's when I finally recognised him. Brody.

I screamed as loud as I possibly could, causing the guy to flinch and back away a step or two. He recovered quickly though, slapping a hand over my mouth to silence my cries. I wasn't going to let him make me feel powerless again. I couldn't. I had to fight back.

In a flash, I simultaneously bit his hand and slammed my knee into his crotch. Brody cried, buckling over in pain. My phone had somehow ended on the floor, so I scooped it up along with my backpack, and ran as fast as I could, turning back only once to see Brody starting to get up. I pushed my legs to but more distance between us, alternating between right and left turns at every intersection so that I didn't double up and end up back near Brody. I scanned the streets for a car, for someone to help me. Looking around, I had no clue where I was. I whipped my phone out, scrolling through my contacts. I doubted my mother would pick up, and even if she did - what would she be able to do? I called Zara. As I hit the dial button, a tear fell onto my screen. I didn't even notice I was crying.

"Pick up, pick up!!" I begged quietly as I ran.

"You've called Zara! Leave a message and I'll get back to you." I groaned at her high pitched voice mail. With a grunt, I ended the call.

Up ahead, I could see a figure jogging along the sidewalk. Suddenly my legs surged and I managed to catch up with the individual.

"Hey!" I said breathlessly as I came up behind the person. They didn't seem to hear me, so I tried again.

"Hello?"

Again, nothing. Desperate, I grabbed the persons arm, causing them to freak out.

"What the fu-" The person started, turning around rapidly whilst removing their earphones.

Even in the dark, I could recognise the chiselled silhouette of his face. How was it, that in one night I have run into the two people at the bottom of my 'People I want to run into late at night in the dark' list? My luck was unbelievable. And no, I don't actually have a list called that.

"Theo?" The confusion was evident in the tone of my voice.

"Alana?" Theo's expression mirrored my own.

"What are you doing out here?"

"What are you doing out here?"

We spoke at the same time, causing Theo to grin, whilst still looking confused.

"I was taking a jog..?" Theo states, as if it were the most obvious thing in the world, pointing to his joggers for added effect.

"Oh, right." I looked over my shoulder, Brody hadn't caught up yet. Hopefully I lost him.

"What the hell were you doing? You look like you've been attacked by a werewolf."

"Something like that..." I laughed nervously, but Theo wasn't convinced.

"Wait, what's wrong? Why are you all the way out here?" His voice was full of concern.

I quickly tossed around the idea of telling Theo about my little run in with Brody. I didn't want Theo to go after him again, since last time it ended up with one of them in hospital, and As much I regretted to admit it, I didn't want Theo to get hurt. I looked over my shoulder again. The street was empty.

"I um... my dog ran off." I lied.

Theo stared at me for a couple seconds. "If there's anything you're not, Alana, it's a good liar. That was shocking. What's going on?"

I sighed. He was right. I'm a terrible liar. I took a deep breath. "I uh, saw that guy, Brody." I said slowly.

Theo's eyes widened, his eyes scanning my face for any injuries. "Shit, are you okay? Did he.. hurt you? I swear to god I'll-"

"No! No, nothing happened." I cut him off before he said anything I would wish I hadn't heard.

"Was he following you?" Theo looked around the street, squaring his shoulders.

I nodded, feeling the burning rush of adrenaline from all the running still faintly present in my veins.

"Do you think you could give me a lift home?" I asked quietly. I was definitely not ready to walk back through those dark streets, and I was completely lost. Not to mention the fact that's there is a perverted psycho chasing me.

"No way! Not happening."

I froze. Is Theo really going to make me walk back home alone?

"I mean - you're not going home." He clarified. "Chances are, you're going to be all alone in your house again tonight and I'm not gonna let that happen." Theo decided. He was right. My mom's got a 'late night' which translates to not being home until who knows when in the early hours of the morning.

Theo put a hand on my back. "Come on, my mom makes a mean hot chocolate." He gave me a small smile, and I found myself falling into step with him.