Dark Alleyways

Anna never went to parties, because they were never her kind of thing. The general appeal of nightclubs, with dancing and drugs and strangers, and the expectation to leave with your lips desperate on someone else's, was lost on her.

This nightclub was also no different to any other social gathering Anna had been invited to out of pity, or the belief that this would be different, bearable. Instead, the place seemed like the meeting point of every dodgy criminal in the city, and it stank of sex and urine and tacky disappointment. So, for tradition's sake and her own sanity, Anna once more left without her 'friends', preferring the crisp night air and the chill on the breeze to the oppressive atmosphere of the party; besides, those who had invited her didn't even remember her name.

It was quickly approaching midnight, and so the sky was black and the roads drenched in pools of orange light. The winding alleyways, however, seemed to be cloaked in a blanket of darkness, impenetrable and looming as if alive, threatening to swallow trespassers whole.

For a second, the darkness appeared to move, to shift, and then, approaching Anna, was a figure as black as the night itself. They seemed to move swiftly, sleek, as if they were nothing more than a shadow to behold. Then, as they stepped into a tiny sliver of light, Anna realised that it was a person, in a long coat flapping open, with black hair falling in twisted strands around a pale face.

He was a young male, perhaps five years or so older than Anna, but with eyes that looked to have seen far more than his face let on. But oh, even in the dark, she could tell that this mysterious stranger was very, very attractive: but then again, it could just have been her - who may or may not have had a penchant for poetic black trench coats worn by alluring young men.

Then he spoke, and Anna felt quite certain that he was staring at her, even though she still couldn't see him properly.

"What are you doing out alone at a time like this?"

And now, this was intriguing.

"Exploring the alternative to being alone at the bar."

"You're safer with a crowd, you know: it offers protection."

At this point, Anna became suspicious, doubtful. Her skin prickled, the hairs on the back of her neck standing up uncomfortably.

"From what?"

"Oh, all sorts - even people like me."

Now this was worth going out for, thought Anna, in that strange head of hers, because she quite enjoyed danger - in a poetic kind of way, not quite a fetish, no, that would be weird, just kind of relishing the adrenaline that risky situations lent her. This definitely was placed at the top of the list for being the most treacherous.

"Ought I be afraid of you?"

And the brooding, sinister, character took deliberate and carefully executed steps towards our protagonist, who was beginning to enjoy the small tingling fear in her stomach; now the pair were close enough almost to touch, barely a metre stood between them. Up this close, Anna could see every detail that her eyes had missed before - how pale his face was, and the almost translucent skin gave him a vampirish disposition. His cheekbones were as defined as his brow line, but his eyes were the most striking: bright, glinting, and dangerous.

"Perhaps it would be easier to demonstrate my point. Because, although you might pretend to be nonchalant and courageous, I think that right now, when someone you don't know begins to get a little too close for comfort, your heart starts to beat a little faster, and you get scared. Let me ask you: are you scared?"

Anna was scared, of course she was scared. She had to fight not to swallow nervously, because this was the closest anyone had voluntarily gotten to her, and fuck, this stranger was attractive, hot, even, but menacing, and it was then that Anna realised that she was not in control of the situation at all. But apart from being slightly terrified (oh, god, this could turn nasty - he could rape her, kidnap her, do anything to her), Anna was also curious to see just what the outcome of the encounter would be. So she remained silent, pulling her mouth into a tiny smirk, and simply replied by looking the stranger in the eye.