Chapter Text
Grian is being stalked.
He can’t prove it but he can feel their eyes.
It started a couple of weeks ago when he had been leaving his apartment work. A journalist for the city paper, Grian used to be the one watching, not being watched.
Leaving for work Grian felt unease as he locked the door. Walking down the stairs the feeling continued. Sharp eyes staring him down. But there was nobody on the stairs with him. Just him and his bag. On the street the feeling slipped away a bit. The others on the street became reassurances he didn’t realize he needed. And soon the feeling faded. He went to work. He went on break. He went back to work. He went home.
Almost forgetting the feeling from that morning, Grian entered his apartment building and suddenly the hair on his neck raised. There were eyes on him. He couldn’t find where they were from but they were there. Up the stairs and into his apartment. And the feeling didn’t leave. Not as he sent down his things. Not as he showered and changed. Not as he began to make dinner. Everywhere something was watching him live. Not doing anything. Just watching.
Laying in bed that night, hairs still stood on end, Grian stared at the ceiling like it would stare back. Maybe it did. The pitch black reflects nothing. Only absorbing what little light from the street outside the window leaked in. So Grian closed his eyes hoping that it was just a weird day.
It wasn’t.
The next day was the same. Eyes watching Grian get ready for the day. Eyes watching him leave the building. And the feeling was gone again as soon as he stepped out. Slowly fading away as if the sight lingered at the door watching him leave. A boring day followed. He worked, he ate, he worked, he left.
And for a week that was Grian’s new life.
The feeling of being watched until he left his home. Everyday in the same pattern. Not long enough to get used to but long enough to become numb to the feeling. He didn’t get goosebumps every time he felt the state, he didn’t glance over his shoulder for someone not there. He just went about his life.
In week two something changed.