I sit up then and glance at her with the blanket simply draping around my shoulders. I notice a smudge of green paint on her cheek and a bit of yellow and blue on her nose but I don't mention it. Instead I sigh heavily and stare at her simple black coffee table covered in various magazines, a plate of crumbs, and a mug of cold coffee. "I met the new guy," I tell her biting my lip.

"Are you serious? When? Where?" She turns halfway giving me her full attention.

"When I went to get the mail, but...," I trail off a moment and frown. How should I explain it?

"But what? Did he do something creepy?"

"Kind of...I don't really know," I took a deep breath and then explained to her what happened in the mail room. Joanna didn't say anything about it immediately after I finished but asked if I wanted some herbal tea and when I agreed she made some before saying anything.

She took a sip of tea from a green mug with violet polka dots. "That is weird. Maybe he mentally raped you?"

I can't believe she just said that and I nearly choke on some tea. "What the heck, Joanna?!"

Jo obviously thinks she's hilarious, even when she's not, and merely laughs then smirks her sparkly pink lips at me. "I'm just kidding, honey."

 I hate it when she calls me that.

"Come on be serious, please, it really freaked me out. I mean it couldn't have been him, right? No one could do something like that?" I've never met anyone that could give you multiple chills and tickle your sides and cause knots in your stomach. Then of course make it feel kind of good without even laying a finger on you. It's bizarre and not possible. Perhaps I am imagining things. That thought I had had earlier nags at the back of my mind. It's been rather persistent but I continue to ignore it.

"Sorry, Collie. Maybe...maybe you're just getting sick or something, yeah?" She bites her lip and looks down at her mug.

It's probable considering my health. I know she's worried that I've jumped off the deep end here but I know what I felt. Of course maybe she's right. Maybe I am just catching a cold. It is the season for it. I tell Joanna this and lean back against the couch with a small sigh I hope she doesn't catch. Either way, she smiles lightly and ruffles my dirty blond waves affectionately. If I had an older sister I would hope she was like Joanna.

                                                        ---

I hang out with Joanna for the rest of the day and into the evening. We don't say our goodbyes till about 6:45. We mostly talked about random silly things like shows we've watched recently, how long we think my mom might last at this new job, if the Henderson's on the fourth floor are mythical gnomes, and various weird topics like that. I even got a chance to print out some information about silly jellyfish for my essay.

With that information in hand, I say one more goodbye to Jo as I step back out into the hall before she closes the door. I feel a little better and by now have forgotten my little encounter in the mail room.

I yawn a little and decide that taking the elevator sounds like a good idea. I start to walk down the opposite direction of the stairs but another thing I forgot was that this would lead me to walk right pass apartment 14C.

I'm really starting to feel drained and start to drag my feet a little as I slowly make my way down the hall. I yawn again and my eyes water just a little. I rub at my eyes when I'm only a few feet away from 14C and then the door suddenly opens. There is a faint light that kind of glows from within and I stop to stare without really comprehending. The hallway isn't that dark but the lights along it are dim.

A tall figure steps out and immediately turns toward me.

I suddenly can't breathe when I stare into intense bluish lavender eyes that feel as if they can see right through every part of my being, even my heart. My breath quickens and the pace of my heartbeat feels like a racehorse. I drop the papers I was holding and just full on stare like I'm a complete frozen idiot. I feel the chills again running down my spine. The rest of me is too tense and stiff to feel anything else like last time. This is turning out to be quite the day.

The man is nearly a foot taller than me and I'm close to 5'5". He's wearing a nice black collared shirt now with one button undone at the top exposing pale neck and bit of chest. His lean figure has managed to squeeze into a pair of tight black leather pants but once again his feet are bare. Does he just not like shoes? He has thick blackish brown hair half tied up in a small ponytail with some shorter pieces free and framing his pale angular face. He really is shockingly pale almost ghostly. I mean I always thought I was kind of fair but I look pretty tan next to this guy.

He takes a few steps towards me and I can't help but hold my breath as if he might steal it away.

"Hey, kid," he says in a voice that drenches me in velvety warmth that contradicts his cool or rather cold outer appearance. I swallow heavily stunned that he spoke to me. What do I say? Can I even talk?

"Uh," I pause reaching out for anything. "You don't have shoes on!" Wow, brilliant, Collin, you're a 'Grade A' genius. That didn't sound foolish at all.

He raises a dark thick but relatively neat eyebrow at me before glancing down at his own feet. I slowly follow his gaze. "It seems I do not," the corner of his lips twitch and just barely a smirk appears after he says that. However, just as I catch it, it's gone.

My body instantly comes back to life after that and I quickly bend down to snatch up the papers, feeling rather flustered by this strange second encounter with the weird tenant of 14C. "Anyway, I have to go. Okay. Goodbye." I start to scurry pass him when something even more unexpected happens.

"Wait!" I hear him shout before he clamps a hand on my shoulder in an amazingly strong grip. I mean he isn't exactly a hulking body builder, far from it.

From that initial contact it's like a huge amount of static shock zips within my entire body and my eyes start to roll into the back of my head. Oh no, don't tell me I'm about to pass out? This is not the time for that. I mean what if this guy is like a serial killer and once I'm out he'll drag me into his apartment and chop me up into little pieces and store me away for the winter. Oh God, please don't let that happen to me.

I might be hyperventilating when everything goes completely black. If I die I hope mom will feed Mabel.