I laid in my bed, thinking to myself. After cooking myself dinner, I was filled in trepidation at meeting the girl. What would she be like? Would she be hostile? Maybe she wasn't even human...No, that's stupid. Such a thought was completely folly. Monsters and creatures didn't exist; they were mere tales in books and such. But, I could not sleep. My mind was far too active. I thought of all the things I could say to her, and then, I merely shifted my gaze around the darkened room. It was very dark, pitch black, almost, and all I could see was silhouettes.

Still, looking into the darkness gave me an odd comfort. I had never understood why people fear the dark. Sure, it hid things from you, but it also hid you from things as well. As a child, I had been afraid of the dark. However, when we had moved here, that fear seemingly melted into thin air; non existent from that point thereon. I had thought it was part of me becoming an adult and growing more mature, but now that I think about it, it was weird. Of course, right as I thought on that I began to grow tired. Perhaps reflecting on my past was the best way to go to sleep?

I woke up, groaning. Given the level of light filtering through my window, I figured I must've slept in. OH NO! I jumped out of bed and quickly checked my clock, sighing in relief. 2:00 P.M. Thank God for that. I got ready and then sat down on my couch, grabbing the remote and for once in my life, decided to watch some TV. The things that went on were fantastic, and I found myself briefly enthralled by some action movie, but inherently I was aware that it was all fake. Sure, the things on TV were things you could never see in real life, not normally at least, but to me, I felt that to truly appreciate such fantastical events, you had to see them in real life. And perhaps for that reason, was why I enjoyed watching the world around me. I checked the time, noticing that it was almost 5.

I slowly got up and left the house, walking down the wooden steps and towards the paved road. It was oddly quiet today, but I found myself enjoying the nice quiet. For once, the cicada's weren't buzzing annoyingly. And then, I waited. And waited. Finally, I saw her in the distance. As she got closer, I was able to see the barest trace of surprise in her eyes as she briefly slowed down. I tried to talk to her, but she merely jogged right past me.

Undeterred, I turned around and began jogging after her, and at her reduced pace, easily caught up. "H-" I tried to speak, but it was surprisingly hard. It was as if something was holding the words back. An unfathomable pressure entered my lungs, and words would not form. But I couldn't let that stop me! I had slowed down at this point, the girl outpacing me easily. Seeing my chance slip away, I desperately struggled against the unnatural pressure, opening my mouth and closing it, and in that instant, I managed to utter a soft "hey".

Almost instantly, the pressure faded away gradually, and I verbally flung my words at her. "HEY WAIT!" Instantly, the girl slowly stopped, turning to face me.

I quickly walked forward towards her, doubled over and trying to catch my breath, despite the fact I had barely done anything. Why was I not able to speak? What the hell was that? As I finally caught my breath and stood straight, I realized we were about the same height. And, with that smile of hers, I realized just how cute she was. "You finally talked to me." she said softly, her lips perfectly enunciating each word. She spoke with a faint accent, and it was one I could not figure out. I merely stared at her, the words I had spent so long thinking about merely gone in the wind. It was as if the world conspired to keep me from talking to this girl!

I was never an extrovert, but neither an introvert too. I merely was a man of few words, and never felt the need to talk to anyone. And yet, if someone sought me out, I would talk with them. Meeting Alex and Samantha had been somewhat weird, I'll admit. Alex had sought me out and basically hung around me until I had "accepted" him, and Samantha kinda came with the package. But...this was the first time I could remember actively seeking someone out. The girl patiently waited. Most people would be annoyed to find someone shouting for them, and then merely gawking, but rather than a deep annoyance that was veiled behind a polite facade, the girl genuinely seemed to understand my situation.

"W-who....are you...?" I finally muttered. The girl tilted her head, her eyes slowly shifting sideways, looking at nothing particular. "Hmm...." the smile faded, replaced with a thoughtful frown.

"Mm...my name doesn't really matter, I think." she said finally, her eyes sliding back to look into mine. I realized how close we were, suddenly, and remembering personal space, I quickly took a step back. She tittered at my action. "You're...not used to talking with people, are you?" she asked me.

I slowly shook my head, struggling to form my next sentence. "I'm....Smith," I said softly. The girl slowly nodded, the lilting smile on her face returning.

"I know." she said this simply. I thought then that such words would have been inherently creepy, but coming from this girl...it was completely natural. "How do you know my name....?" I asked her. The girl giggled. "You're not the only one who watches the world, Smith," she told me.

I pondered her words, realizing that I had never considered the possibility someone could have the same mindset as me. But, I also realized that it seemed to me this girl did not merely watch the world around her for the sheer joy of it like I did, but rather for another reason entirely. I found my eyes wandering, studying her up and down. Being from far away, I hadn't been able to entirely look at her, but now that I was close...she was somewhat skinny, which was to be expected, with a nice figure, and yet she was not as shapely as I thought someone like her would be, but that didn't detract at all from her physical appearance. My discerning eyes could also tell she was definitely not at all weak, since her skin had a healthy hue to it, neither too tan nor pale, and I could almost imagine the feel of supple muscle if I were to to touch her arm. An interesting fact I noticed was that she was wearing the same clothes as usual, a plain white t-shirt and red shorts. Surprisingly, she was not covered with sweat, which I deduced meant that she was either very efficient with her running, or she had not been jogging for very long.

I also realized that this intrusive type of gaze was the perfect reason to get hit. It wasn't as if I were "checking her out" like most men would, but rather I was more curious about her on a whole. She was an oddity in a world of normalcy, and that definitely needed to be investigated. As my gaze returned to her face, I had noticed she bore an inquisitive look, one eyebrow raised. "Finished your assessment?" she asked me. I felt my cheeks redden slightly, mumbling a brief apology. The pause between us grew longer, but thankfully she spoke, for once initiating a conversation.

"You know, I was wondering when you would talk to me," she said. I tilted my head, confused. "I'm glad you did. You aren't exactly discreet with those eyes of yours, you know," she told me. "And also, I'd rather you not look at me with such scrutiny," she added as an after thought. I blushed as she continued, "but still, I had to admit I was disappointed when you didn't try to talk to me at first. It must've been quite difficult, but you've taken the first step. Not many can say the same!"

Her words reminded me then of another observation. "Say...why doesn't anyone else notice you? Its like they don't even acknowledge you!"

A thoughtful look crossed her face. "Boy, you know how to ask the right questions, dont'cha?" She looked left and right, studying the world around them, which was still quiet. "Mm...it's because they only see what they want to see," she said softly, the words barely a whisper. My eyes slowly widened at her cryptic words, the inevitable reply already escaping my mouth: "What do you mean?"