One Little Flower - Prt 1

"What's the harm in one little flower?"

The charming voice still rang in her head. How could she have been so blind? Completely unaware of the hidden lust laced in between each word he said.  Looking back it had been so obvious. Yet he had lulled her into a false sense of security so fast, she barely had time to comprehend anything. What's the harm in one little flower? She was facing it right now.

The night air was considerably colder than it had been that morning or that whole day really. A young woman, perhaps the oldest of twenty, clutched the light black coat to her body. It was a futile attempt to keep herself warm. Needless to say, it didn't help much. She took long strides, wandering down the unusually empty main streets.  She had considered taking the back streets, it would save her time. The less she was in this cold air, the better.

As she glanced down an upcoming alley way, she bit her lip. This young female had always been rather paranoid. People had poked fun of her, saying she was wuss for being scared of the dark. They had it wrong though. She wasn't scared of the dark. She was scared of what hid in the dark.

An almost encouraging breeze swept over her and sent a chill down her spine. With a sigh of defeat, she took the turn and hurried down the passageway. As she had made the turn, one of the road side lights had flickered. Something that went unnoticed by the woman. However, a quick glimpse of what she thought was a figure appeared behind her. She just barely saw it. Like a shadow. She quickly turned on her heels, hands tightening around her jacket. Nothing. Letting out a shaky breath she turned back around and sped down the alley way. The whole time she kept telling herself to calm down.

As the clustered road filtered into a slightly bigger back road, the brunette hopped onto the rather makeshift side walk. The back roads had always been neglected and whatever was left of the sidewalk was really just rubble. As she walked, she had to watch her step. She couldn't even begin to count how many times she had tripped during the day going this route.

The further down the road she went, the stronger the scent of freshly grown flowers became. At first it had been rather faint and she had ignored it. However, it was starting to become overwhelming, almost to the point where she couldn't ignore it. As she continued, the shady street lights seemed to flicker more than usual. Sure, they weren't the best of lights but they weren't this bad. The more this happen, the more the woman felt pressure. Her heart raced inside her chest, more than once she had held her breath walking past a connecting alley.

Soon the road filtered into a large abandoned parking lot. There used to be an apartment building but it had been torn down to be replaced by some sort of new store. She didn't really keep up much with what went on in her town.  As the brunette continued on, she found herself frozen at the edge of the lot. Her eyes were glued to one spot and her body went stiff.

There stood a man, leaned against one of the flicker lamp posts. A top his head he wore a black fedora. His skin seemed sickly white in contrast to all the back he wore. A long trench coat covered most of him, a tie hanging loosely around his neck. With the tall boots he wore, it was hard to tell what pants he was wearing, if he was even wearing any.

He didn't even seem to notice her, standing like a deer frozen in head light at the end of the road. He seemed more focused on the path in front of him. It was a small dirt trail that led through a small wooded area. Probably only a five minute walk tops before you ended up back at the main streets. Although she couldn't be sure what it was he was looking at, the hat he wore was tilted ever so slightly enough to shadow his face, obscuring a clear view for her.

Suddenly he moved, his head turned and he was looking in her direction. Instantly, the blood ran cold her in veins. She just stood there, staring. His face was completely blank. Literally. Only the vague bone lines of a facial structure could be made out. No eyes, nose or a mouth. As much as it scared her, it also completely perked her curiosity. However, she didn't have much time to dwell on it.

As they looked at each other, he seemed to raise a non-existing eyebrow. Then he casually lifted his hand, motioning for her to join him. For a moment, she didn't move and he didn't react. He simply looked back towards the path. She didn't know where this new found courage was coming from but she suddenly took a step forward. With the first step came several more until she was standing just a short distance from the man.

He seemed to be on the tall side but for some reason he didn't intimidate her as much as other tall males. Perhaps it was how casual he was being or just the fact that he hadn't really done anything since she arrived. However, as she came closer, he glanced back at her.

"Uhm... Are you.. Are you looking for something?" she asked timidly, her voice softer than velvet. He simply shook his head in response, suddening pulling a rose out from his coat. It was a beautiful red rose with a long and slender stem. It looked like the ones right out of gardening magazines. The man seemed amused as her face lit up at the sight of it.  

"Would you like a rose?" he asked. The brunette jumped slightly at the sound of his voice. It wasn't the least of what she suspected. Low, smooth and charming. It made her almost relax slightly. Almost.

For a silent moment she contemplated taking the rose, however she ended up denying it. "Uh... It's a sweet offer but no thank you," she replied, wrapping her arms around herself.

"Are you sure?" he asked, extending a hand to her. She nodded to which he pressed on, "What's the harm in one little flower?"


She thought about it for a moment. It was just a rose. Harmless. In the moment, she slowly extended her own arm, fingers almost brushing his own hand. However, a sudden gush of wind swept over them, cause a harsh shiver to run through her body. Her hand quickly retracted, wrapping around herself in another attempt to keep warm.

"I should get going," she murmured, blowing air into the palms of her frozen hands, "Maybe we can talk again sometime." She hadn't even realized what she'd said. She was just trying to be polite. As she turned around to leave, an arm wrapped around her waist, pulling her against an oddly warm figure.

"Are you proposing a date?" a voice huskily whispered into her ear. Although she was relieved at the warmth of not only his body but his breath as well, the situation had escalated quite quickly. Her face blossomed pink as she stood there, speechless for a moment.

"N-not so much as a date but... But a... get together?" she voice seemed to die down the more she forced herself to talk. She could both hear and feel him chuckle.

"The shy ones are always the cutest," he mused, flipping her around in one swift motion. He then grabbed her arm and pushed the sleeve down, scribbling something in chicken scratch across her forearm. He then grasped her hand, lifting her arm and twirled her around  once playfully. He held her hand for a moment longer as she stood, arm extended. "Don't be late," he smiled, "See you later babes."

And then he was off, vanishing down the dirt path. The brunette stood there, staring at the marker on her arm. She could just barely make it out. She stood there a moment longer, before a softer breeze urged her home. The whole way all she could do was wonder what she had gotten herself into.