John Doe and me

Chapter XII

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"Ok..."

I never thought that my day would begin like this. When it comes to working at a gas station, you always got to keep an eye out for trouble or any weirdos, day or night. But this guy, this John Doe, he's certainly ticked all the boxes of danger.

"Are you doing anything after work?" He asked. His question alone made me shiver, it scared me.

"Oh yeah, I'm busy after work. I got... Things to do and stuff, you know how it is." That was a lie, I actually don't have anything going on after work, but I can't just say that to such a random and creepy person! Lying is the only option! Rather than saying anything, John just stood there in silence, looking at me with his unmoving smile and non-blinking eyes. It was very, unsettling.

"Yeah so... Did you need anything else?" I asked him, but he still doesn't say anything. And just walked away with a smile still on his face.

"Ok... Weirdo."

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"Finally off work. I can't wait to get home and go to sleep," I said while stepping out of the gas station. It's not very often that I'd be let go from work early, but since not many people came in today, the manager said that I can go.

"Hi." I literally jumped on the spot as a familiar voice and face greeted me, and I honestly couldn't believe it.

"What?! He's still here?!"

"Geez, you scared me!"

"... Do you like being scared?" He asked. What's with this guy and random questions?

"What kind of question is that?!"

"No! I hate being scared! I avoid horror movies for this exact reason!"

"You're cute when you're scared."

"Huh...?"

"Can I come home with you?"

"Absolutely not. I don't even know you!"

"... Sure you do! We met earlier! We're practically best friends now! We could be more..." As those words left his mouth, I can feel the colour draining from my face. I need to leave, I need to get out of here! And then, the bus I need came just in time.

"Ok, I'm going to go home, the bus is here. Please don't follow me."

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"... He's following me." I thought to myself.

I should have expected him not to listen, no matter how quick I was, or even begged, but he hopped on the bus anyways. Even now I can feel his stare... Though the whole trip back home, I tried my very best to not make eye contact. When the bus reached my stop, I immediately got off and ran back to my apartment.

"Ok, we're here... Huh?" I slowly turned my attention to the bus stop, expecting to see John standing there, but he wasn't. He was nowhere to be seen!

"He's not here. Maybe he didn't get off the bus. That's a good thing." I said while pulling out my keys and quickly entering inside. The moment I sat down, I heard a rumble coming from my stomach. Should I eat?

"... Nah, I snacked enough at work. I think I'll just try to relax and watch TV before bed."

While ignoring the sounds from my stomach, I grabbed the remote and turned on the TV. Not much would be on at this time, they always seem to show pointless and none interesting things while leaving all the more entertaining stuff for the weekend. It was boring, so much so that my eyelids began to feel heavy. And even though I've just got back, it suddenly feels like I've been here for hours.

"... I'm so tired..." And just like that, I fell asleep on the couch, with the thought that tomorrow would be another day. And hopefully, I wouldn't see that John guy again.

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