I let out a desperate yell and yank myself backward so hard that I actually break free, but I fall to the ground in the process.
Oswald bends over me right away, but in my panic I kick him in the knee.
"What the hell is wrong with you, I was just trying to help you up!" Oswald growls.
At that moment I hear footsteps approaching in our direction.
I turn and see him again.
It’s the masked man…
Wow.
I blink in disbelief.
My heartbeat spikes, who the hell is he, some kind of vigilante wandering the paths at night?
And what does he want from me, is he… following me? Just me?
The masked man doesn’t do anything, he doesn’t attack Oswald, he just stops near us and turns his head toward him as if telling him to back off.
"And who the hell are you," Oswald growls, straightening back up.
In what is probably a stupid impulse, reacting to the way the masked man stops in front of him, Oswald shoves him lightly in the chest, but that’s his mistake… the masked man doesn’t hold back, he pushes him back much harder, and the result for Oswald is disastrous because he lands on his ass on the ground with a painful thump.
"Fuck! What the hell is going on, I didn’t do anything, I was trying to help him stand up, what’s wrong with all of you?!" Oswald fumes.
"It’s fine," I call to the mysterious stalker, "he didn’t do anything, I just want him to leave me alone."
Oswald looks at me, frowning.
"You know him? Is this some kind of bodyguard of yours? I didn’t do shit, I just wanted to talk to you for a minute because you always look so lonely…"
"Okay, fine, I accept that explanation, I just need to go home, so leave me alone, all right?"
Muttering curses under his breath, he gets back on his feet and walks down the path toward Dorm G, still glancing back with this gloomy expression.
Now, holding my breath, I look at the stalker, and my heart is pounding so hard he must hear it.
"Thanks, but this time he really just wanted to talk," I mumble, feeling stupid. "Probably."
The man says nothing. He’s absolutely motionless, like a boulder, he just looks at me or at least I assume so since his head is tilted in my direction.
Of course I hear his heartbeat, it’s beating… pretty fast.
Strangely fast, since he didn’t have any real confrontation, why would he be so… excited?
"But since you’re here maybe you could walk me through these damn bushes," I blurt out, not believing what I’m saying.
Asking a stalker to stalk me a bit more.
He doesn’t respond, so I start walking slowly, and he actually begins to follow me at a certain distance.
Not too close, not close enough for us to talk, but not far enough for me to forget he’s there.
So we walk through the park paths like that until we reach the edge of the trees, where the lawn and the campus parking lot begin.
I turn toward him and mumble, "Thanks."
