"Wake up, princess." Valerian laughed as he stroked my head.
"Oh, stop that you–" I couldn't finish my 'insult', as he flicked my nose and smiled. I put my shoes on, and we walked out of my dirty apartment into the, surprise, dirty street. The willow was a good hour walk from here, but if I was with him it could take days and I wouldn't get bored or tired. Round the corner was the best coffee shop in the area, and we stopped by to get two large cappuccinos. They were quite good, just sweet enough but still a little bitter. Exactly how I like it.
We finished our coffees just as we arrived, throwing the cups into the nearest bin. The tree was towering over us, its flowers and leaves blocking the sunlight and casting shadows among tiny flecks of light. He looked at me for a few seconds before gently taking my hand and leading me towards a smooth rock in the ground, and we sat down admiring the glittering blades of grass. I felt him lean over me, his breath tickling my ear.
"See those droplets? They drip down like blood leaking from the wounds I will give you soon…" His tone was near psychotic, under a blanket of calm. Under deceitful calmness. It sent shivers down my spine, a strange fear gripping my heart as I imagined what he meant. The excitement I felt at that could never be measured, it was too great for any amount of words to explain.
"I am quite familiar with… using knives, if you know what I mean." He whispered, leaning closer to my neck. Knives? What could he possibly mean? Does he… No, that's a very personal question.
"Take a guess." He encouraged.
"I don't know what you could possibly mean… I hate guessing games, just tell me!" I pleaded, my voice hinting at desperation. He said nothing, and just kept breathing on my neck. At last, he let out a low groan, before whispering so quietly I wasn't sure he actually said anything;
"I'm a serial killer." That psychotic laugh followed, putting my whole body into a self-defence lockdown. Serial killer? He killed people? Many at that? I took a deep breath, which became very shaken as I exhaled. He seemed to enjoy feeling my fear, as he started breathing unevenly for a few moments. I managed to calm down enough to think rationally: a serial killer, huh? Although it could be morally wrong, depending on the reason behind who his victims are, it's also interesting. I slowly turned my head to face him, gazing into his golden eyes. They swallowed me whole for a moment, completely discarding whatever I was going to say. I parted my lips as I tried to find the right words, but as his lips curled into a smirk I failed again.
"You should be running away as fast as your legs can take you, yet here you are, sitting so close to me I could just…" He muttered as he lifted his hand up to my cheek, his cold fingers making me jump. He chuckled, before tilting his head to the side and narrowing his eyes. His lips returned to a neutral state, no longer smirking, as he tilted my head up to look at him directly. No words were needed, it's as if my body knew this moment would come eventually. He started leaning towards me, and despite me being so much shorter, I still tried to lean up. My heart was racing out of my chest, thundering like war drums, and as our lips touched something sparked inside of me. I felt truly alive in that moment. Somehow, he knew I was inexperienced and that this was completely overwhelming, so he didn't rush, or go too far. He pulled away, only far enough to focus on my eyes. Pressing his forehead to mine, he whispered:
"If you try to leave me, I'll kill you." There is no word suitable enough to describe how threateningly yet lovingly he said that. My head was pounding as I tried to comprehend what just happened, and what he said, so I gave up trying to fight my body and just collapsed into his arms. My legs gave in, my torso couldn't keep me upright, I simply fell forward. He caught me, holding me tightly. Although he looked thin, he actually had quite a lot of muscle mass. Which also made him so strong it felt like my eyes could pop clean out of my skull any second.
"Let's go back to your place, I want to do something… interesting." He groaned, breathing deeply as he chuckled.