Chapter 3: Sera

    All Sera could do was stare up at the man who chose to hold her. His hand still cradled the back of her neck; their faces were so close that their noses briefly brushed as she shifted backward a bit to put some space between her and the stranger. The grip on her waist was firm yet softer than ever. From this close-up, she could see his eyes weren't gold but more of a caramel brown, with flecks of gold and green. Captivatingly dangerous is what they were.

    It felt like time had slowed as they stared at each other.

    "Ahem." Someone made a noise behind him. He jolted slightly at the noise as if he had been in his world, not paying attention to anything that happened around him.

    "Can you stand now?" He spoke softly as if he was afraid to scare her away. Why wouldn't he be afraid of that? He watched her meltdown moments before. She felt the warmth in her cheeks get worse, not from the attraction towards this random stranger but from the sudden embarrassment she was now feeling. She nodded, and his hand slipped from her back down to her waist; she wobbled a bit on her heels, and he helped push her up. Shortly after he stood up, and she started brushing herself off, the imaginary dirt was suddenly more interesting than staring at the man before her.

    "Thank you. I guess that means you've saved me twice tonight." She looked behind him and saw another man leaning against the light post; he was wearing a suit similar to that of her 'hero,' but unlike the man in front of her, he was utterly clean-shaven with deep red hair. Lord only knows if it is accurate. It looks like the cheap box-dyed version of red.

    His stare bordered on blatant indifference to her situation. If anything, he was just bored.

    "Guess that means you'll owe me one." He chuckled. She laughed nervously and intertwined her fingers before her, giving her body something to do besides bolt.

    "Unfortunately, I don't have much to give you to repay you right now..." She said anxiously. Surely he wouldn't ask anything untoward of her, right?

    As if he could sense the tension radiating off her, he threw his hands up and smiled slightly, laughing.

    "Ah, well then, I guess you'll have to buy us a drink sometime. I would much rather enjoy your company over sour pants over there." He jerked his thumb over his shoulder, and the man scowled at him.

    "I wouldn't be so sour if you didn't absolutely insist on derailing our plans tonight." He muttered under his breath, staring directly at Sera. She gave her best smile, given the situation. The tension she felt had probably made a vein pop out of her forehead.

    Suddenly, her phone began to ring against the concrete. She crouched and picked it up, the bright screen flashing Scott's name across it. Her brows pinched together, and the fake smile she had plastered on her face was replaced with a very real scowl. She clicked the power button, immediately declining his call.

    "You could've gotten that," the man before her said. We wouldn't have minded." She shook her head and smiled again.

    "I thought I owed you a drink?" She said she could deal with Scott later, but for now, she was going to ignore the pain in her chest.

    "That you do."