Felicity.

Everything Is Not What It Seems

This year's fall had been colder than usual.

And now that it was midnight, the chilling air was nearly unbearable.

The mysterious man who stepped out of his apartment building and onto the dirty brick steps wouldn't have said he enjoyed piling on extra layers. He preferred when his movements were uninhibited.

The black sky casted dark, velvety shadows over the quiet street.

There was no moonlight tonight.

Bitter wind whipped mercilessly at the man's flushed cheeks and wild hair, but it barely phased him. He pulled his navy trench coat tighter around himself and practically skipped down the brick steps and landed on the pavement, a puddle sloshing into his shoes and throughly soaking his wool socks. On a normal day, he would've gotten upset. But with what he was going to do tonight, there was nothing that could dampen his mood.

Lowering his head into the wind, he began to walk with a quickened tread, his heart rate already picking up in premature anticipation. Pressing his hands deeper into his pockets, he felt the cold, merciless lump of metal he had stowed mere minutes before.

Its rounded, powerful edges were already giving him a high as his finger tips danced across its grooves.

He wondered how many other people felt the intoxicating mix of fragile yet unstoppable when they came in contact with the name-ending object currently resting inconspicuously in his coat pocket.

He arrived at the park quicker than he had expected.

He glanced around to make sure he hadn't been seen before ducking behind a tree.

Now, he would wait.

For her.

The girl he was most anxious to see.

He had almost run into her several times this week, but that would have been too soon.

It had to be tonight that they came face to face.

All he could think about was finally getting to feel her glowy, soft skin, run his fingers through her satiny hair, feel her plump lips beneath his, be inside of her...

Seconds passed like minutes as he waited, silently fantasizing in the shadows of the park's jagged trees.

He wasn't very good at waiting for what he wanted.

And he wanted her.

Suddenly, a far-off laugh echoed through the night and his head whipped around expectantly.

He watched from behind the tree as a loud group of six clearly intoxicated girls tottered up the sidewalk, all of them in tight dresses and strappy heels.

He couldn't help the smile that danced at the corners of his lips.

Each girl looked good, but his eyes went straight to her. He was a bit taken aback at their wardrobe choice, considering the freezing wind, but he definitely didn't mind the chance to see more of her body.

He wondered if he had ever seen a more perfect woman, especially for what he was going to do to her.

He knew their pattern from witnessing it so many times: three of the girls would call a cab, two would be picked up by their boyfriends, and the last one - his one - would then walk across the park, alone, into her apartment building.

His heart pounded against his rib cage like it was going to escape. He couldn't wait on her much longer. He was ready, and he was ready now.