"Cameron?" A voice called from just outside my bedroom door.

I unlocked the door and beckoned for Heather to come inside quickly. She looked around the room cautiously, eyeing the pen that I had jammed into the broken lock of my window to stop it from sliding open. She pinched her nose, kicking some stray dirty clothes out of her path.

"Are you okay? When I said to get a lock on your window, I meant a real one. It's probably nothing, anyway, so I didn't mean to panic you further." Heather tried to convince me that everything was okay.

I put a finger to my lips, heading to my computer and throwing a top over the camera. I wasn't sure what I could trust, so we had to keep our voices low until I find out if they'd tampered with anything while they were inside of my room. They could be listening, after all.

"Okay, this is literally ridiculous. If you're that worried, then just go to the police station and report it." Heather had resorted to whisper yelling, gesturing wildly to the shirt covering the camera.

"What will the police do? There's nothing they can do because I'm not even sure about what exactly has happened. I'm just being cautious." I whispered back, feeling defensive of my paranoia, "Plus, they'd know if I went to the police. They're watching."

"I still think you should report it, but whatever." Heather shrugged, "You said you needed to go to the store because you're out of cigarettes, right? I'll come with you. You'll feel safer if you're not alone."

Nodding, I thanked her for coming over to help me out. I had texted her in a bit of a panic after I had woken up and found out that somebody had closed my window while I slept. Since then, I had just been deteriorating in my frenzy of panic. I've never even considered that sleeping with them open wasn't a safe thing to; we live in such a small town that I had never even worried about break-ins.

Double checking my window was jammed shut as best as it could be, I locked the door behind me and gave Heather a wary smile, ready to head off. The second we left the safety of the house, I felt that sickening, familiar feeling return to my chest and stomach. I was being watched again. Pulling my hood up, I put my head down and walked silently beside Heather. I debated going back inside, but opted for just sticking to busy roads instead.

"It's so much quicker down the tree line route. We don't have to actually go into the forest, if that makes you feel better." Heather groaned, following me down the long route to the shops.

"The tree line makes me uncomfortable. I don't trust it." I mumbled, keeping my voice low, just in case.

"You're actually off your rocker. I feel obliged to tell somebody about this because it just can't be good."

"I'm fine. I know something's going on and it's not just me being paranoid. I'm certain."

Just like last time, the feeling subsided just as quickly as it came on and the relief was instant. I could finally relax, knowing the eyes were gone, but I looked around anyway to see if anything was out of the usual. It wasn't, of course, but that only irked me further. I wanted to know who was watching me and why. The feelings were so sudden to start and end so it was obvious to me that they had left quickly. Despite my irritation, I breathed a sigh of relief; at least I could enjoy my temporary freedom.

"They're gone." I muttered, giving Heather a grave smile.

"You've definitely lost your sanity. Are you feeling okay?" Heather asked, placing her hand to my forehead, "You haven't got a temperature, either."

"I'm not making this up." I protested, "If they're gone, there's nothing to worry about right this second. I'm fine for the time being."

"Whatever you say." Heather sighed, that worried look still on her face.

In an attempt to take my mind off of things, Heather and I spoke absentmindedly about school and various assignments I was behind with as we walked down the busy streets. I was still adamant on avoiding the tree line, just in case, but I felt less skittish now that the eyes were gone. Despite the weather being pretty nice, I knew that I couldn't head out tonight. It would be best to stay in, for now at least.

"I'm convinced your mum made the whole window thing up to scare you into staying home at night." Heather speculated, making me chuckle.

"Now that you mention it, that definitely sounds like something she'd do." I shook my head incredulously, "I bet she did."

"What are you gonna do when you see Doug at school?" Heather cringed.

That beast of a man was about the last thing on my mind lately. With everything going on, I hadn't even considered the fact that I was going to have to see him at school tomorrow. Was I going to have to get a restraining order?

"Call me a rat, but I might tip off the school. I don't feel like being stabbed in the back while using the urinals."

"Caught with your trousers down takes on a whole new meaning." Heather giggled, "On a serious note, you should definitely tell them. I don't exactly feel safe being your friend with that maniac targeting you. It might be him watching you, you know?"

"Would you tell them for me? I'm not sure they'd believe me, or even care. You know how much they hate me." I begged.

"If it gets you back to normal, I'll do anything. It's weird seeing you all jumpy. Besides, I'm a swot so they all love me."

I sent her a grateful smile, grabbing a shopping basket now that we were at the store. From a rational perspective, it makes sense that my paranoia was coming from a fear of Doug and what he tried to do, so I relaxed knowing that we were going to deal with the situation. We headed inside and I spotted the twins working their Sunday shift. They used it to fund their narcotic dependencies. We waved hello and Mick put up a finger, as if to say one minute. I sighed, knowing what this was leading to and leant against the wall as we waited.

"What does he want?" Heather scrunched her nose, "If you know something, you'd better tell me."

Mick was desperate to get to know Heather a little better. Only if 'knowing her' was in the biblical sense, anyway. I pulled out my phone, asking my mum if she wanted anything from the shops as I was here. Now that I had actually checked my phone, I could see that I had a few unopened texts from my ex, but I deleted them without even reading any. For some reason, the thought of getting involved with that again repulsed me.

"Hey, Heather." Mick beamed, finally making his way over here.

"Uh, hello, Mick." She frowned, "Cameron's here too."

"Sorry, Cam. Didn't see you there." Mick flexed his jaw, "Anyway, what are you doing today? I'm working, but if you wanted to do something I could say that I have the dentist."

I couldn't help but laugh at his desperation, which earned me a scowl from Mick. Putting my hands up, I feigned innocence. Mick clearly wanted a second to speak in silence, so I slipped away from that conversation. I left Heather to break the news by herself that she was actually dating that skater boy. I'm pretty sure she is, anyway. Plus, Mick was nothing like her type and she had told him that a few times now.

Wandering around the stocked shelves, I threw some junk into my basket absentmindedly. My diet was terrible; it was one of the reasons I wouldn't have been able to outrun Doug. I collected what Mum had texted back and asked for, grimacing at some of the stuff she ate. Finally, I arrived at the alcohol aisle and picked up two bottles of some off-brand coconut rum drink, since it was the cheapest. I spotted Heather coming my way.

"Want anything?" I asked, gesturing to the liquid.

"You're going to destroy your liver." She sighed, grabbing a bottle of vodka despite her disapproval, "Thanks for leaving me with him, asshole. I told him four times that I had a boyfriend but he kept insisting that it would just be a 'friendly hangout'. It's hard to let him down so many times without being a bitch."

"You could spit on him and he'd still adore you." I teased, making her scoff.

"He's got enough issues to warrant extensive therapy." Heather scanned the contents of my basket, "You're going to die young."

"You're a drama queen." I shot back, "I suppose he was too busy to mention what happened the other night?"

"I was scared that if I brought it up he'd use it as an excuse to make me feel sorry for him."

I scoffed at that; they were the ones that left me there. We took my basket to the checkout and saw Mick sat there at the till, picking food out of his teeth. Heather and I watched with grim curiosity; it was fascinating how into it he got, but also gross. Mostly gross.

"Mick." His manager hissed, but he was still dazed out.

"Hey, guys. Don't think Mick saw you stood there. I'll pop it through. This it?" Mike appeared from behind us, tapping his code in to log into the tills.

I was glad that Mick wouldn't be putting through my items with the same hand that had just been picking food out of his teeth. My hygiene wasn't winning any kind of awards, but at least I wasn't quite that shamelessly gross.

"We need new friends." Heather whispered to me, eyeing Mick's hand with distaste.

"I see you're fine after the other night, then." I quipped, making Mike duck his head.

"Yeah, sorry. We both felt really, really bad about that." Mike apologised, albeit half heartedly.

"Sure you were." I hummed, taking my bag after paying.

"Yeah, sorry. What happened, anyway?" Mick asked, coming over now that his manager had shaken him out of his food-picking trance.

"I ran, too. Not sure what happened." I shrugged, pulling Heather away before she could blurt out anything more.

The less people who knew, the better. That way I could just forget about it; forget about how I felt. Heather was clearly wondering why I didn't mention it to them but I didn't feel like explaining. The way I felt after that night was very personal. I didn't want to reveal that to just anyone, let alone the twins. She let it drop, thankfully.

"Planning a piss up?" Heather asked, fishing her bottle out of my bag and slipping it into hers.

"It's always a piss up with the twins." I chuckled, "Plus, isn't that girl at school having a party?"

"Next weekend, yeah." Heather nodded, "I got invited because I'm in her English class. How'd you get invited?"

I sent her a wink and she rolled her eyes, swatting me. My reputation at school was something of discussion. Nothing bad, of course, but I got a lot of attention for some reason. Girls quite often invited me to parties, which annoyed Heather. They all hated her because they thought we were sleeping together. Once upon a time, of course, they would have been correct, but we're just friends.

"You'll always be my favourite girl." I teased, wrapping my arms around her.

"Good." She giggled, giving me a hug back, "Bros before sexual appetites."

"That doesn't rhyme, but I'll take it."

She took my hand and swung it back and forth as we walked back to mine, playing with my fingers. We were very affectionate friends, which was something that pissed off a lot of our significant others. It wasn't like there were any feelings, or even attraction there, so I didn't see the problem. We're both very open about our past-relationship to partners, so it's not like we lie to people.

"Have you got a free period first thing tomorrow?" Heather asked, lazily swinging my hand.

"Yeah, did you want to walk together in the morning?" I offered.

"I was thinking more of a sleepover type of night. I don't want to see my mum at the moment; we had a big argument last night and she confiscated a bunch of my stuff. Expensive stuff. She has a tough time coming to terms with the fact that I'm eighteen now and that I want to be my own person."

I wrapped my arm around her shoulders, giving her a squeeze as we strolled along. It seems like nobody in our friendship group has a particularly healthy relationship with their parents. I think it probably has something to do with attracting people in similar circumstances to yourself. My own mother was distant, to say the least.

"Of course you can stay. Might have to sneak in, though." I grinned sheepishly, "Can you really blame my mum for being wary; we did sleep together once."

"Don't remind me," she cringed, "I'm really glad we moved past that. I've never felt so unsexy during sex. What these other girls hype up about you is yet to be seen."

We both laughed at that and I apologised for making her feel that way, calling her beautiful. I mean, she was undeniably attractive, but I just wasn't attracted to her in that way. I had considered the possibility of being gay, but men didn't do it for me either. Heather had suggested being asexual to me, but I wasn't too fussed about labelling myself; other people actively labelling me annoyed me.

"I'll go through the front door and unjam the window so that you can climb through. Got it?" I asked, taking one of the shopping bags from her.

"If I break my neck and die, know that I love you." She joked.

I headed through the front door, unpacking some of the stuff I bought into the kitchen cupboards and then taking the rest up to my room. As I walked, the glass of the alcohol bottles clinked together and my mum watched me warily. I gave the bag of what mum wanted to her and she raised an eyebrow at the contents of my own bag. She didn't say anything, but I could see the disparagement in her eyes. She always looked down on me, but you can't exactly blame her when I live on sugar, nicotine and caffeine.

Making sure to lock my bedroom door behind me, to avoid my mother walking in unannounced, I pressed play on some music to disguise the sound of two voices. Heather was crouched at the window sill of my bedroom, tapping on the glass to get me to hurry up and open it. I helped her to climb inside of my room after unjamming the pen from the lock, but it didn't help that she was wearing a mini skirt.

"Stop looking!" She cried, trying to pull down her skirt.

"I'm not! I'm pretty sure the neighbours are getting an eyeful, though." I chuckled, finally getting her through the window.

She flopped onto my bed, panting. That was a lot of hard work. When I go up the garage and through the window, it's not effortless but it's certainly more graceful than whatever Heather did. Heather isn't quite that slick in heels and a skirt, however. She fished in her pocket and pulled out a pink sticky note with a flourish.

"Found this stuck to the window. You took your time opening it, by the way." Heather complained, handing me the note.

It was a simple enough note, only a short message, but the contents scared the shit out of me.

"Close the fucking window." I hissed, jumping over her to pull it shut and draw the curtains.

'I didn't mean to scare you. I'll leave you alone from now on.'

What did the note even mean? They'll leave me alone now? Why were they even stalking me in the first place?

"Holy shit, Cameron. I'm not going to lie, I thought you were going insane and imagining the whole thing." Heather sucked in a breath, "At least they're going to leave you alone now."

"You're insane, not me." I hissed, "This means that they can hear our conversations. How the hell did they know I was scared if they couldn't?"

"He probably saw you jittering along the streets, hood up and shaking." Heather rolled her eyes, "Anyone with half a brain could see that you were paranoid today. It doesn't mean they can hear our conversations, but it is worrying."

"Who do you think it is? Doug sure as hell didn't write that note; he's illiterate."

"My bet is on that guy, the randomer from the park. Who else would have been around at three in the morning? Do you know anyone else who tends to wander the streets at night like you three idiots? He could have been nearby when he saw what happened and jumped in to help." Heather pondered.

What she was saying made total sense; surely it was no coincidence that I've been having these sensations that somebody is watching ever since I first saw the man dressed in black. It made logical sense.

Is he my stalker?