I woke up early this time to the phone ringing. Groggily, I slowly sat up and reached for the phone beside my bed, picking it up and answering. "Yo Smith, want to hang out around 4?" I recognized that voice anywhere. "Nn...Alex? That you?" I asked. "Yeah it's me, kinda hurt you forgot about me bro," came the reply. "Sorry Alex...you woke me up. I can hang out with you earlier, but not around 4. I got plans." I told him.

"Ugh, let me guess, that random chick you started hanging out with?" he asked.

I could hear the irritation in his video. "...yes. What is your issue with her, anyway?" I asked him. "Because she has you wrapped around her finger, you idiot. Girls like her are nothing but trouble!" I frowned. Alex talking about girls in a bad fashion? Something was definitely off.

"What makes you say that? Do you know her?"

"Maybe. She reminds me of a jerk I once knew, but it could be a different person. Sorry for judging her, I guess." He said after a moments pause. "But you know, bros before hos my dude!" I laughed quietly. "Why can't we hang out earlier? Is it work?"

"Yeah. Gotta trim my neighbor's hedges again, so I won't be getting off till like four..." he sighed. "Alright bro, see you around then..." he hung up, and I pressed the phone back into its receptacle, sighing. I suppose he had a point- I was neglecting my life time friends for this still near stranger. And yet still, she had a gravitas I could not ignore. This girl had a secret, and I wanted to uncover it. I slowly got up and got dressed, choosing my outfit and then walking out the door and making my way to the living room. It was probably ten in the morning, so I had plenty of time to relax before she came. Although...

I was curious to see what it'd be like to go down the route without her. So I got on my shoes and stepped outside, instantly cringing at the sweltering heat. So it seemed today was going to be one of those days. I walked into the middle of the road, looking up and down for any oncoming cars. They were really rare, now that I thought of it. Still, I remembered the girl's instructions and began stretching. Once I had gotten the blood flowing in my body and my heart racing from the exertion, I took a deep breath and began jogging down the road.

As I ran down the road, I noticed Samantha was outside, probably checking the mail. I slowed my jogging to a walk and came up behind her. "Yo, Sam!" I said cheerfully. "Eep!" She squeaked in surprise and whirled around.

"Smith! What the heck?" she asked me.

"What are you doing?" I asked her.

"Checking my mail. Are you running?" she asked me, checking my outfit, which was indeed suited for running. I was also wearing shorts, which was something I did not do often. "Yeah, I picked up the habit from that girl I told you about," I told her. Samantha smiled awkwardly. "I see."

"Do you want come with me? I kinda wanna see what the neighborhood down the road is like," I asked her. Samantha looked a bit nervous at that, but then nodded. "Alright, but do we have to run?"

"I suppose not," I admitted. Samantha went inside to drop off the mail and then came back out, walking beside me as we began heading for the corner.

"So do you know anything about her?" Samantha asked. I laughed. "No, she's really dodgy when it comes to that," I admitted. "I don't even know her name yet."

"Isn't that creepy though? I mean, you barely know anything about her, and yet you're acting as if you're best friends with her already!" Samantha exclaimed. I shrugged. "I dunno, there's just something about her that draws me in. Besides, I won't deny she's helped change my views quite a bit," I told her. Samantha shrugged.

"I dunno about that. Alex seems to think she's just tricking you, and I'm kinda inclined to believe him..." We rounded the corner, and were now walking down the houses I had grown familiar with by now.

"Maybe she is, but I don't care." As we walked, I began to feel that tingling sensation along my body, an uncomfortable feeling; as if my body were telling me to go back. Samantha too, looked uncomfortable, eventually stopping. "I...don't want to go forward. Let's go back," she told me. I had kept walking of course, by now used to the feeling. However, I stopped, looking back at her. "What?"

"I dunno, but it feels like we shouldn't be going down this road, like it's forbidden. I don't know how you don't feel it..." she admitted. I smiled.

"I do, but I've gotten used to it. You feel it too, huh? It's not normal..." I looked towards the end of the road, which seemed impossibly far away. The sun, too, lurked above the trees; it's gentle rays touching upon the seemingly perfect black asphalt that ran forward. However, there was one thing I did notice. Down the road, there was total silence. No people were outside, which I found strange, considering some children were playing in a fountain in front of the house beside us. I supposed then, that at the end of this road, this street, which seemed impossibly long, was the end of our neighborhood, and the beginning of the unknown.

"Don't you want to know what this feeling is? Why it feels like this? It's just a normal road, isn't it?" Samantha shook her head, taking a few steps back.

"That woman is evil, if she keeps wanting to go down here." she said simply. I sighed, turning around and walking back towards the corner. As we walked, Samantha looked at me with pleading eyes.

"Smith, please don't go down that road again," she told me. "I don't want anything to happen to you!" I waved her off.

"What's to worry? Just because we got some weird feeling doesn't mean anything, the road itself is harmless and no one's going to mug us!" I told her. Samantha looked unconvinced.

As we rounded the corner, I happened to glance back at the sun, which seemed to have gone higher. Was it that high? Wasn't it lower just a while ago? Oh, well it was still morning, so the of course the sun would have been higher. We arrived at her house, and she stopped and turned to face me. "I guess I'll see you around, huh?" she asked. I nodded. "Yeah, see you around." We parted ways there, with Samantha resolving to never go down that road again, while I resolved to reach it's end, no matter what.

I was tired of fooling around. I decided then that I would give it my all tomorrow, and reach the end of the route with the girl. And, I began to think that perhaps I should introduce the girl to my friends, so that they could finally know each other. Maybe that would clear up my friend's unfair animosity towards someone they didn't even know.

Time passed, and eventually, I went outside to meet up with the girl, where I asked her if she was interested in meeting my friends. She looked uncomfortable at that. "I'm not sure they would like me," she told me. Of course, during our runs, I had talked with her about them, and she seemed unsurprised that they did not like her.

"They're nice people, and honestly I'm tired of them trash talking you without even knowing you!" I told her. She smiled at my honest response. "I'm glad your willing to put your faith in me. If you really want, I suppose we can give it a try..." I paused for a moment.

"Wait, will they even see you?" I asked her critically. "You know, since no one seems to even acknowledge you, or even me when I'm with you.." She nodded quite seriously, despite how silly my question seemed.

"Yes. They want to see me, and you convinced them to see, so they will see." I stared at her. "Can you not speak so cryptically?" I asked her. She giggled. "It's fun to see you writhe in confusion, I can't help it," she said. Despite her teasing words, I could tell that she meant everything she said, weird or not. "Then tomorrow, yeah?" I asked her. She shifted her eyes, still a bit nervous.

"Yeah...sure..."