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Leaves crunched underfoot as Sean walked through the city. He'd been helping a friend out with something after school, and it had started to get late. He would have stayed even longer to keep helping, but his mom had gotten a bit paranoid about him staying out after dark and called to tell him to come home.

It was a nice day for a walk, too; the air was crisp without being too cold, the sounds and smell of dry leaves filled the air, and the colorful foliage made the trees look festive. He kicked a clump of leaves into the air, and smiled as they scattered in the wind.

Then a sudden sharp gust of wind hit Sean from behind, scattering leaves everywhere like a startled flock of sparrows. He shivered and hugged his jacket closer, suddenly feeling much colder. He was starting to look forward to getting home.

A few moments later, he realized the change in weather had brought about an even less pleasant feeling than the chill; he got the distinct impression that someone was watching him. He tried to dismiss the notion at first, figuring it was only his imagination. But it persisted, bringing to mind unpleasant memories of being attacked by a mysterious figure. Suddenly alarmed, he whirled around to try and see if anything was there.

Sean's eyes darted around, looking for anyone suspicious, but the only person he saw was another pedestrian a short distance away, apparently minding his own business. Sean let out a slow breath and tried to calm himself. It was just his imagination; nothing sinister was going on. Maybe he'd subconsciously heard the guy's footsteps or something, and that's what have him the feeling someone was there.

He noticed the other guy glance over at him, so he smiled, offered him a small wave, and turned back to continue the way he was going. The feeling of being watched wasn't going away, but now that he knew there was a probably mundane cause, he tried to ignore it. Nothing to worry about. And if his footsteps were a little faster than before...well, maybe he just wanted to get in out of the cold.

Sean was very studiously trying to tell himself that nothing unusual was behind him. He just wanted to focus on putting one foot in front of the other and finding his way home. He was so engrossed in doing so that he didn't hear the footsteps approaching. At the sound of a voice close behind him, Sean jumped and jerked his head around to look for the speaker.

It was just the guy from down the street, who had come up beside him. That made perfect sense, nothing to worry about. Sean let out a sigh of relief and gave the guy a lopsided smile. "Hi," he answered. "Guess I'm a little jumpy tonight."

And then he thought he saw something else out of the corner of his eye. Sean turned his head a little further to look over his shoulder, but nothing else stood out. So why was the feeling of being watched still there? "I guess the spooky season is getting to me," he commented, trying to laugh it off.

Hearing that the other guy also felt that he was was being watched didn't make Sean feel any better. Sure, it meant he wasn't imaging things, or jumping at shadows, or going crazy. In theory, that would be a good thing. But if someone else felt the same thing, it meant that either they were both imaging things, or there was actually some cause for it. Were they being followed?

"Yeah, being watched describes the feeling pretty well," he answered uneasily. "Makes you want to pick up the pace, doesn't it? And get somewhere safe, where whatever might be out there can't get to you." As he said it, Sean's feet began to move more quickly, mostly without him realizing it.

Sean was not feeling at all adventurous. He didn't know what might be following them, and he didn't really want to know...though the other guy seemed so certain that there was something that Sean couldn't help glancing behind them once more.

He instantly regretted it, and flinched at the sight of something strange. Finally, he'd seen the shadowing figure off in the distance. Maybe it'd been hiding before, or maybe Sean just hadn't wanted to see it, but it was there now. And he had no idea how long it'd been there. Had it gotten any closer? There was no way for him to tell.

He grimaced and looked back at his fellow pedestrian. "I'd rather not. I'm not eager to get any closer to whoever or whatever that is. Even if it is just someone trying to freak us out...probably best to just leave them alone, right? Try not to let them see they're bothering you?" Wasn't that the usual advice when someone was purposely being a pest? Don't feel the trolls, and so on.

Sean had to admit that was a good point. Letting someone unknown follow you home could be bad, even if it was just someone trying to annoy them.

"Well, that's true..." he said as he considered ideas. Running seemed like a bad idea, and he still didn't want to turn and confront whoever it was. What was the safest way to lose the one tailing them? Hmmm...well, being alone tended to make someone a target, so..."Maybe we could duck into a nearby store or something?" he suggested. "And you could call the police from there, if you wanted. They won't bother us if we're in a public place, right?" Rather than look back at the figure again (it would only make him more worried), he looked over at his companion to see how his idea was recieved.

"OK, that works," Sean agreed. The idea of at least getting out of the figure's sight was comforting, and he had to resist the urge to speed up to get there faster. Running would be bad, would just let the one following them see they were afraid. It might just want to make the figure rush at them, like a wild animal hunting the weak.

Luckily the gas station soon came into view. Once they were on its property, Sean couldn't help himself and jogged over to the door. As he pulled it open, he glanced down the road again. The figure was still there, and apparently just as far away as before.

Sean lingered in the building a while. He explained to the cashier that they were being followed and he wanted to stay inside for a little while, then bought a drink so he wasn't just loitering. But he couldn't stay forever; it was getting dark and he needed to get home. When he felt he couldn't linger any longer, he peeked out the front door. The figure wasn't there any more, no matter how hard Sean looked. He thanked the cashier for letting them stay inside, said goodbye to his temporary companion, and hustled home. He kept glancing over his shoulder the whole way, and was relieved when he seemed to be alone the whole time.