Offenderman Chronicles

Chapter One

Karelia's POV
~~~

I breathed out a soft sigh as I waited anxiously at the street corner. Charlotte... didn't have the best living situation, so I was always worried whenever she was late for school. Regardless of my paranoia, my mood was immediately lifted when I spotted the bright girl running toward me and waving, iconic orange dress and all.

"Karelia!" She panted as she got herself together. "God, I can't believe you always wait. You're, like, a goddess when it comes to this stuff." I flashed her a smile, my hand lingering near hers for a moment before I pulled it back by my side.

"I wouldn't say that." I responded, as we started to walk toward the bland building. "Actually, I'm... I'm glad you made it, yeah."

I knew she didn't like thinking about her situation too much, so I didn't pry. We'd grown up together. We'd told eachother so much, but some things were just better left unsaid.

We made idle conversation as we entered our classroom, stretching out as we sat down at our seats, each directly adjacent to the other's. It was a nice kind of peace, at least while we waited for the teacher. With how my mind wandered, it wouldn't last. For example-

I didn't like to seem like one to judge, but sometimes it almost seemed like certain people were begging for it. Take the girl now sitting in front of us, for example. She was distracting me. I could hear her confessing her undying love to another student yet again, just for another quick fuck. That's what I assumed, anyway. Once she convinced someone, they stopped coming back to class. I didn't want to think about it too much. I never did.

Fortunately, I didn't have long to be left with my own thoughts. The professor for our class soon arrived, and my mind was filled with square roots and to-the-power-of-fives. I really liked math. Charlotte never did, so I didn't know why she also chose the class.

It was almost like it was over as soon as it started. I blinked and glanced up as the bell rang, packing away my materials. Charlotte walked with me to the gate, and I tried to ignore the possible-kidnapper passing us by as we stopped. It just wasn't worth it. I gave Charlotte a questioning look.

"Hey, I've got dance today, remember?" Something in my mind clicked, and I nodded.

"Oh, yeah. Will you be alright to go with..."

She shook her head at my concern. "K, nothing happened. I'll be fine. I'll see you tomorrow, alright?"

I paused for a moment, adjusting my bag and turning to the path ahead of me. "Yeah. Later!" I started off down the path, a slightly forced bounce in my step. Without Charlotte here, it was up to me to cheer myself up.

It worked, up until a point. I felt the entire world had slowed for a moment, and I glanced up, ready to investigate.

Across from me was a tall stranger in a fedora and a trenchcoat. His hat was positioned in a way that I could only see his wide smile, despite his height. He paced closer. I felt locked in place.

"Aren't you something?"

His voice felt almost like ice- it burned hot with how cold it was. I furrowed my eyebrows.

"Did you- did you want something?" My own sounded pathetically small in comparison.

"A request, if you may be so kind to grant it." I frowned to myself, but played along anyway.

"... Yes?" The fact that his voice was so... well, hot, really wasn't helping me think straight here.

"What color is your favorite?"

I stared for a moment, wondering if he was serious. What a weird question! "It's, orange! Orange. Can I-"

I was cut off halfway through asking to pass him. "Oh, aren't you lucky? I just happen to have your color!" I wasn't sure where he got it from at the moment, and I honestly couldn't care. He'd produced an orange rose from the depths of his coat somewhere. I was wordless for a moment, wrapping my fingers around the stem.

"It really is lucky, huh?" I took the still-damp rose from him, furrowing my eyebrows for a moment as my world slowly faded. "H-Hang on..."

My words slurred as it faded to black.

A/N: what do you think? not my best work, but far better than before, i think.