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Grinding my hips into the mattress, I grow hard as I picture her beneath me. I grip the sheets, imagining that it’s her hair lacing through my fingers. The grinding doesn’t stop until the fantasies in my head have me near a release. I stop just in time.

I ponder the thought if she were to walk in. Would she scream and threaten to call the police or would she know that it’s me? Her soulmate. I’d hope she’d scream and run. The thought of her running with fear in her eyes as her head turns back over her shoulder to see if I’m following. God, it’s too much.

Removing myself from the bed, I go around her apartment, fishing through her drawers as I search for a piece of paper and pen. I’m just going to leave her a little note. I like the way her body locks up when I leave something for her. When she’s nervous and terrified that someone is watching behind her.

Because someone is. You just can’t see me yet.

Luna

Class comes to an end. Chase and I walk the halls to exit the building. We are done for the day, but there's a tension between us so thick that it's almost suffocating. With everything that’s been going on, between me losing my mind and him not using his to protect himself, it feels like the world’s largest wedge is being shoved between us.

He must feel it too because what he says next throws me off.

“What do you say we hit the library tonight and tomorrow? We can go to the Halloween party this weekend,” he offers.

“What? I thought it was next weekend!” We had planned to attend the big campus party next weekend, Halloweekend, so I haven’t gotten my costume yet. I plan my life accordingly and to a T. I always write my events in my calendar. When things change, it stresses me out. Enough that it nearly makes hives break out across my skin.

“It’s still going on, but another is happening at Durane Dorms behind the library,” he explains. It eases the blockage in my lungs to know that it wasn’t planned and that it’s a spur-of-the-moment event, and I breathe. Only a little bit because surprises aren't my forte either.

“Oh, I haven’t gotten my costume yet,” I say.

“We can go down to Ha-Ha-Halloween before we hit the library. I’ll help you pick." He wiggles his eyebrows and I laugh.

“Okay. I guess that sounds fun,” I admit. When I turn to Chase to look at him as we walk side by side, my gaze moves right past his shoulder and I see a guy with his hood up over his face. The shield covers his features, hidden from the world, and our eyes clash for a moment before Chase notices. His eyes follow my gaze. And finally, for once, I don’t seem fucking crazy.

“Who is that?” He asks.

“I don’t know,” I whisper.

“Is that the same guy you saw in class?” He pries. I shrug. He doesn’t have the face paint or mask, but everything else about him feels the same. I can't explain what that means, but I just have this feeling deep in my gut.

“Have you been seeing creepy men a lot?” He questions nervously.

“This is only the second time, but I’ve been getting a lot of weird feelings. I’m sure it’s just some creeps messing with me because it’s Halloween,” I try to justify. I’m also trying to assure myself just as much as I am Chase.

“I’ll start walking you home,” Chase says as he looks back off to the man still standing and watching.

“It’s an inconvenience for you. I’m sure I’ll be fine.”

“Don’t fight me on this. You won’t win,” he laughs but the humor doesn't reach it. The smile that lingers doesn't reach his eyes. He's as scared as I am, but I can't blame him for that.

Chase and I continue walking across campus. As he said, he walked me home. I change into clean clothes and grab the books I need for the library. As I get ready, I scan around my room, trying to see if anything is amiss. Everything is just the same as it was this morning minus a little piece of paper beside my bed. With careful steps, I walk towards it and slowly pick it up with shaking hands.

My spine snaps straight as it always does when I find something or see someone. I shove the paper into my bag, ignoring it. A prank. A sick, fucked up prank. There’s nothing else to it.

I walk out to find Chase waiting at the kitchen island. “You okay?” He asks.

“I’m good. Ready to stop at your dorm?” He nods at me.

The look on his face tells me he doesn’t believe that I’m fine, but he doesn’t push it. I don’t know if I should tell him about the note I just found or not. I contemplate if I should bring it to the police, but they might convince me that my beliefs are correct. It’s Halloween time. It’s just a prank.

We exit my apartment and walk back towards campus. We pass by the fountain in front of the library, water sprinkling against me, and make way toward Chase’s dorm, West Hall. He does the same as I did, grabbing his books and quickly changing.

On the way to Ha-Ha-Halloween, there were no signs of either man I’d seen today.

Not seeing anyone eases a small sense of discomfort within me, but the words of that note keep replaying in my head like a scratched CD. I push it away and focus on Chase being by my side. The piece of paper in my backpack feels like a brick, though, weighing me down with the reminder that it's there no matter how much I try to forget about it.

Walking into the costume store, I'm instantly overwhelmed by all of the options. I spend far too much time looking at each costume, picking some up just to change my mind and put it back on the hook. I thought I had an idea of what I wanted to be, but now that I’m here nothing seems good or fitting enough.