tcc-imagines answered:
It’s garbage but it’s my garbage, I’m a disappointment :’)
It was a cold November night. You had taken the night shift for your friend so that she could go to a concert she had bought tickets for. You liked San Francisco. You
really liked this city, it was bright and so alive with all its individual people and traditions but like every good thing this city also had its shadow sides. There were alleys, alleys that were dark and cold and no rational man or woman would put a foot inside. You usually tried to avoid those alleys like everyone else but you
had to go through one of them in order to get from your work place to your appartment.
At day those alleys were empty but at night all the dark figures came out like rats. You turned into the alley and took a deep breath to calm yourself. The homeless sleeping on the floor weren’t the problem, the drug dealers selling their little packages weren’t the problem either. The gangs that decided to spend their night here and just waited for something or
someone to entertain them were the problem.
You crossed your arms in front of your chest as an attempt to seem defensive and lowered your head as you saw a groupe of men leaning against the wall on the right side. The number one rule always had been and always would be, don’t look them in the eyes.
“Why don’t you come over here pretty lady.
You tensed as soon as you heard it. You wanted to decline politely but the man who had said that to you pushed himself off of the wall before you could say something and came to stand in front of you, cutting your way off. You forced a smile.
“I really have to go home, my boyfriend is waiting for me.”
Another important tip, always let them know that people wait for you even if it’s not true at all. He was smiling at you and you clenched your hands into fists when he reached out and wrapped one strain of your hair around his finger.
“I think you can spare a few minutes for me baby.”
He let his hand slide down over your collarbones and you stepped back, slapping his hand away.
“Stop.”
You said sternly and held onto your purse. He grasped you by the shoulders and pulled you against him.
“Careful now. You don’t wanna piss me off.“
The rest of his friends cheered and laughed, some of them yelling obscene propositions about what he should do to you. His grip on your wrists was tight but you still struggled against him until you didn’t know how to defend yourself anymore and spat at him. You knew that this had been a mistake as soon as you watched his face contort with anger.
“You fucking bitch.”
He wiped your saliva off of him and started to pull you towards his friends, clearly angry now that you humiliated him like this. You struggled against him and cried out for help.
“Fuck off, let me go!”
Everything what happened then happened so fast that you couldn’t even comprehend what was really happening but in a matter of seconds you were suddenly torn from the guy’s grip and were pulled behind a tall figure. The asshole who had stood in front of you, now lay on the ground. The person that had suddenly come to help you had obviously punched your attacker because his nose was bleeding.
“She said no.”
It was a man that had come to help you, you couldn’t see a lot of his face and only from the side but he was way taller than the groupe of boys and obviously way older too. His voice was too deep to consider him a teenager. You were still careful though, you didn’t know what kind of intentions this man had and why he’d help you. You also noticed only now that you held on tightly to his shirt and arms.
The guy on the ground snorted and wiped away a little bit of the blood with his sleeve before one of his friends pulled him up, all of them immediately came to stand beside him. You dug your nails practically into the arms of your savior and noticed that he turned to shield you even more.
“How about you bastard fuck off before this turns ugly.”
“Don’t try me kiddo.”
The man who was still protecting you responded calmly but with a certain undertone, this guy seemed almost fucking amused that there were currently over five guys threatening the both of you right now.
“There’s no need to play a hero for that slut.”
You cringed and felt like vomiting. You had never been in such a situation before and you wanted nothing more than to get out of it so you stepped forward, trying to ease the situation.
“Please, just let me go…and him too. We will forget about this-”
You tried to solve the problem but your attacker launched forward and tried to pull you to him only for your mysterious savior to react faster and pull you against his chest.
“You better leave now.
Without the girl.”
He said and stepped forward, with you still in his arms, holding you tightly. All of them stared at you for a moment until one of them said something like ‘it’s not worth it’ to their leader and the others started to try and convince him to leave. He stepped forward and looked at your savior.
“If I ever see you again I will blow your head off.”
With that he turned around and left. You allowed yourself to take a deep breath, your heart and blood pressure returning to normal.
“You can let go now.”
The man said and cleared his throat. You nodded and let go of him, retreating a little bit.
“This is not a good place for a girl, especially not at night.”
You swallowed, feeling a little bit nervous because you didn’t know what to say and a little bit uneasy because his intense gaze lingered on you for a few seconds before he looked you over.
“And certainly not like this.”
“Excuse me?”
You felt slightly offended, was he one of the dickheads that thought that certain types of clothing provoke rape? You pulled your dress down a little bit and frowned as he held his hands up in a defensive manner.
“No offense.”
He said with a chuckle. You could see him very clearly now. He had raven black longish hair and dark brown eyes. His jawline and cheek bones were sharp enough to cut through skin if you’d touch them.
“Do you live far from here?“
He asked and you got even more nervous. He had helped you but he was still a stranger in an alley like those other men and you were not eager to find out what he was doing here, alone at night. You knew that whatever this guy did here would not be to your liking if you’d knew and that it’d only mean trouble for you. You bit your lips, your brain trying to figure out wether you should give directions to a stranger or just run away. But right when you wanted to tell him that you didn’t need protection you could heard more voices close to you. Maybe you should ask him to accompany you because even if he had bad intentions, you still felt more safe with him than alone.
“Two blocks from here and down the road. First house on the right.”
“Want me to bring you home?”
He offered before you had to ask him to and you sighed relieved.
“I’d appreciate that a lot.“
You answered and he smiled at you. You shivered lighlty, mainly because of the cold.
“Good.”
He simply said and your skin prickled when he pulled you closer to him and you both began to walk down the alley. You were lucky to encounter someone like him tonight to protect you. You were sure that you wouldn’t become a victim to any gang or even to that new killer that haunted San Francisco. What was the name again the media had given him? Right, the Nightstalker.
