Guns and Roses

TWENTY-SEVEN

I smile. "All good and yourself?"

He beams brightly. "I'm alright."

I nod. "Are you trying anything new today or is it just the usual?" I ask and he shakes his head.

"The usual please."

I nod with a smile before turning on my heel and walking away to place the order before moving on to the next customer.

A few hours later, when the rush has calmed down and I only have thirty minutes left to the end of my shift, I'm busy handing a customer a chocolate chip muffin when a tall and sturdy boy steps forward. His green eyes stare back at me intensely and I feel myself grown uneasy from his creepy aura. His blonde hair is chopped to a short buzzcut while he's dressed in black from head to toe.

I push a smile onto my face. "Hello sir, what can I get you?" I ask politely and his eyes move to the cabinet of food, displaying various pastries.

"A milk tart." He responds blandly and I nod, sliding one of the doors open to reach for it. He watches what I do and I try ignore how uncomfortable I feel. "I like it when you put your hair into a bun."

I freeze my actions. "Excuse me?"

He cocks his head to the side. "Your hair." He states again. "I like it in a bun. Like how you had the other day in the grocery store when you were with your friend." He states and my eyes widen before they look back up to him. I narrow my eyes at him, glancing at him up and down.

"It's you isn't it?" I ask lowly "You're the guy who has being following me?"

His lips quirk into a smile and he just looks at me, not providing an answer. I clench my hands into fists and scowl at him.

"What the hell is wrong with you?" I hiss angrily. "Are you some kind of psychopath?"

He chuckles. "I don't know who you're mistaking me for..." He narrows his eyes at my name tag "Harley. But I'm not following you." He explains monotonously and I shake my head.

"You're ly-"

"Is there an issue here?" A voice asks and I look to see Officer Frank standing next to the blonde buzzcut. I clench my jaw to keep from cursing out loud. Frank looks at me in a silent question and I shake my head, glancing at the boy one more time before handing him his order and taking his two dollar bill.

"It's alright thanks Frank. I guess just got him mixed up with someone else."

Frank nods. "Alright."

The boy looks at me one last time before stalking out of the shop and I purse my lips. Am I being paranoid about someone following me? Because it seems like I'm just accusing people of being the hooded figure every chance I get. I'll be accusing Officer Frank before I even know it and he's a cop for crying out loud!

"Are you okay?" Officer Frank asks and I nod, pushing a smile onto my face.

"Yeah. I'm just feeling a little on edge today." I explain, running a hand through my hair, and he nods understandably. "But thank you for lending a hand."

He smiles at me. "No problem Harley." His eyes then seem to darken slightly and I frown, his sober expression a little too sudden for me to be comfortable with. "Just remember that not everyone is who they say they are."

I watch him curiously; the way his mouth isn't curled into a smile but rather a frown, how his eyes aren't twinkling but are rather cold. It makes me take a step back because I've never seen this side to Frank over the couple of days I've known him. All I've ever seen him as is happy and jovial, not like this. This must be the cop side of him that makes criminals nervous.