• Hide arrived at the store at 6:30pm...closing time. He wasn’t as innocent as he seemed. He knew that the angry man in the store that other day was Dukes boyfriend and that this date was intended to be a secret but there was something about Duke that made him do stupid things to be able to figure her out. This was proof that this fast moving connection between them was far from regular.
    “Are you ready to go?” He asked shortly before Duke gave an eager nod. The three of them left the store and parted at the corner. Courtney left in the direction of the closest train station and Duke and Hide began to walk in the direction of the CBD
    “I hope you know some good places” Duke said to Hide sheepishly. He looked down to her face and asked why “Well, I don’t really get out much is all” She answered, blushing right up to the point where she had to turn away whenever the two walked beneath a street light to hide her affection. Hide sighed and ran his fingers through his hair
    “That means we have a problem” He said. Duke noticed he had stopped walking and took a few steps backwards to return to his side
    “Why do we have a problem?” There was moment when the wind had picked up its pace and whooshed past the two people standing on the side of the road. Duke looked up at Hide who was struggling to keep his hair in place and became conscious that he was really one attractive guy. When he first walked into the store that day, Duke only felt compelled to look because he was different, interesting and mostly because he seemed like a nice guy. She loved that he was the complete opposite to the blonde devil that she lived with. But right then when Duke really took a good look at him there was absolutely nothing that was plain about him. He had a feminine touch with long lashes and fuller lips. He was far from androgynous. He was simply, pretty. Hide was looking at the ground at the time he answered
    “We have a problem because I don’t know any good places either. I just moved here” They smiled at each other giving a ‘we’re so lame’ message in it. They soon found themselves walking around the town aimlessly until they wound up in a park with a large pizza and a bottle of wine. Class.
    “So… What made you move here?” Duke asked. Her head was becoming heavy; this was the first time she’d been even close to drunk in a long time. Hide pondered for a minute
    “Long story short. To get a life” He took a sip of wine and picked up a piece of pizza with his free hand
    “Why long story short?” Duke rested her head against a tree and looked at Hide admiringly
    “It’s a long story for a different time” He was clearly trying to avoid the story but Duke was determined to make him tell her the entire thing
    “Come one. I’m here with you now to know everything about you” Duke leaned her head on Hide’s shoulder to get comfortable and ready for this ‘long story’ that Hide was going to tell her
    “It’s not a really long story. I just…don’t really want to talk about it” Hide guzzled the last of his wine and put his arm over Duke’s shoulder. The two of them felt comfortable in this serene moment. It was kind of chilly but they were not perturbed. Duke leaned over; her movements were slow and controlled. She took Hide’s tie and pulled it gently so his head moved forward towards hers and that’s when she kissed him. This was probably the bravest thing she’d ever done. Her whole life she always asked the question ‘but what if they don’t like me?’ and Duke being the shy and pessimistic person she was. The outcome was always ‘they don’t like you. Don’t try’ but here she was with her lips on Hide’s. Hide was contemplating kissing her since they left the store but had restrained himself. Perhaps he did know Duke a little more than expected and had known that she normally wasn’t a kiss on the first date sort of girl. Duke had gone against what she normally believed in and did what she thought would be fun. The park was empty. It was better than a crowded restaurant. It was an embrace that lasted quite some time
    “Uh…w-w-wow” Hide was stuttering. That was probably the greatest moment of his life. Duke looked a little embarrassed and returned to where she was originally sitting. On the other side of the pizza box.
    “I’m sorry I don’t know what came over me I just…” Duke was apologizing but she stopped before she began to look like a hopeless fool. Instead she remained silent and proud of her actions; after all, she did enjoy it and why couldn’t she?
    “Call me crazy but I really, really like you” Hide announced. Duke smiled and thought about that sentence. It had been a very long time since even Derryn had said something like that to her. It was odd. Hide had said something nice to Duke and she was happy and smiling as opposed to running away screaming
    “I like you to” She replied and stood up “But it’s getting late. We should go” Although Duke was having the time of her life there was still the matter of Derryn that was haunting the back of her mind. She was still nervous about what he would do if she wasn’t there when she got home. She always thought about the worst of things and this was one of those things. Duke was getting nervous that the note that she’d left Derryn had blown away or something like that and he had no idea where she was. Derryn, being the angry jealous type would assume the worse and accuse her of cheating on him (Though it was the case it was the one with the most deadly outcome) He’d most likely get violent and get his goons to sniff around until they discovered that she was on a date with a one Takahashi Hide and rough him up a bit. She winced at the thought of Hide being hurt. He seemed too cute and fragile. Hide thought the same thing about Duke as she stood before him in the moonlight. She was so thin, so pale and so shy. He had known that she was in a relationship and gathered from how she acted that her boyfriend was a horrible person. He hated thinking about why she would go on a date with him. Was it because her boyfriend harmed her and she wanted someone new? He would kill anyone who’d hurt her. Although he wished she’d feel confident enough in wearing a little colour sometime she looked beautiful in her black evening gown. Her hair, which was usually poorly kept, was now brushed out and straightened and…magnificent. He was so happy she’d kissed him. It just made his night.
    “Are you coming or not?” Duke asked while picking up the empty pizza box and slowly began to walk away. Hide shook his daydream from his head and leapt up to his feet. He linked his arm around Dukes and they began to walk down the footpath to the edge of the park. As they neared the exit something was not quite right. Duke looked around. Had she seen something? The woman? No, it couldn’t be her. She liked to make herself seen. This thing was trying to be hidden. Duke’s stomach dropped as she thought about it for a bit “Residents of Tokyo are calling him the ‘vampire killer’ and that he probably would only attack at night to keep up this costume” The news report rung in Duke’s ears. No, how could they have been so stupid. Were they so blinded by their excitement that they didn’t think about the killer that was loose in the town?
    “Hide” Duke tugged on his arm. Her voice was frantic and her heart was beating wildly
    “What is it?” Hide asked in concern, noticing that she was distressed
    “We have to run” Duke began to pull him but Hide stayed still
    “What are you talking about?” He had honestly not picked up on it. He didn’t go around thinking about serial killers all day
    “Hide. I can hear him” Duke was nearly screaming and was getting agitated at Hide for not running with her. For a split second she contemplated running away
    “Hear who?” He was beginning to get worried. Duke was pulling on his arm so hard that his shoulders began to hurt. And then…it hit him ‘run from him’ the killer. He got it. Before running he thought about how stupid he was to take Duke out on a date in a town that hosted a horrible killer. He kicked up some dirt and prepared to get the hell out of there
    “Not so fast” a voice said from behind them. With a slow movement the two of them stopped and turned to look at their assailant. He was not very tall and he was unwashed. The smell coming from his body seemed to burn their nostrils. So this was the notorious ‘vampire killer’? A hobo who seriously needed to be attacked with a hose or a can of deodorant? He held a gun which looked too new and clean to be his (probably stolen) in the direction of Hide and Duke who were standing scared and shaking before him.
    ‘Why does he have a gun?’ Duke thought. This story about a ‘vampire killer’ was the most interesting this she had heard of in a while and kept herself up to date with the murderer. None of the victims died of gunshot wounds. This person was real die hard vampire fan and killed their victims with large stab wounds to the neck in the shape of fangs and let them bleed out. Duke dint know whether or not to be relieved when she realised that this was not the ‘vampire killer’ she decided on not. Even though this was not the infamous killer on the TV, he still had a gun and it was aimed right at her and Hide
    “I want you to listen real carefully and so I say” He told them and brought up some phlegm. By saying this Hide had realised a little after Duke did that this was not the ‘vampire killer’. This guy was just a petty thug. But still, Hide pulled his wallet from his pocket and Duke pulled hers from her bag and put them on the path in front of them. Hide had paid for the night with his credit hard which he kept in a false pocket in his jacket. The mugger searched the wallet and groaned when he came up with a total of $12.50. He threw the wallets to the ground and snatched Duke’s hand. Hide reached out to claim her back once the mugger had yanked her to his side
    “Fine then. I’ll just have the woman” He laid a wet and horrible kiss right on Duke’s cheek. She screamed before he had the chance to put her hand on his mouth. Hide stood still and looked down the barrel of the gun that was aimed right at his forehead
    “Do anything to stop and I’ll put one right between your ******** eyes. Do you hear me?” He yelled. Hide didn’t know what to do. He was in a fix. The sight of that filthy man putting his hands all over Duke made him want to leap on him and kill him a hundred times over but there was also the case of the gun that the filthy man still had pointed at him with his free hand. Duke knew that Hide couldn’t help her, she didn’t blame him. She knew that if she wanted to escape that it was up to her. She grabbed his gun wielding arms and bit down on it with full force. Her teeth sunk down so far into his skin that it drew blood. ‘Whoosh’ a river of red flowed into Dukes mouth and before she had a moment to think, she swallowed it. The taste in her mouth was overwhelming. This wasn’t half bad. As the ‘vampire killer’ someone she could relate to? ‘No’ Duke said to herself before using full force in her leg, kneeing him in the stomach and running away. She was running so fast that the wind and small bugs began to sting her face. It was beginning to get really hot, but why? It was freezing cold just a second ago
    “DUKE!” She heard Hide called out and realised what she had done. She’d left him alone…with that man. Tears streamed down her face as she thought about what might happen to him though she kept running. It wasn’t until she heard the footsteps of the horrible man behind that she felt OK. He was interesting in her and as long as she kept running, Hide would be fine. ‘Crunch, crunch, crunch’ the leaves beneath Duke’s feet continued to crush as she kept on running towards the calming glow of the city light. Suddenly it was stopped. And there she was again. Duke stopped dead in her tracks and stood still a metre in front of the woman who’d been following her. She didn’t say anything, nor was she even looking at Duke. She was still dressed in the suggestive leather outfit that she sported that couple of nights ago. Duke had never gotten a chance to notice it but as she stood that close and still in front of that mysterious woman she saw that she was stunning. Not just pretty but unbelievably stunning. Her skin glowed in the moonlight. This was the first time in her life that she met someone whose skin was paler than hers
    “What do you want from me?” Duke demanded. She didn’t answer; instead she approached Duke at lightning speed and threw her to the ground with superhuman force. Duke hit the ground harder than what she thought she would and had held her hands out in front of her to break her fall. As a result she felt the bones in her right hand crunch. The pain was unreal. She screamed and screamed, not even taking into account the woman with angelic looks and the pig like mugger that stood before her
    “DUKE!” She was glad to hear Hide’s voice again. Duke’s vision was going blurry. This incident was just way too much for her. The last thing she remembered before she went completely black was the blood curdling scream of Hide. What was happening to him? Had he been shot? Or worse?
    Hide and Derryn were talking when Duke awoke. They hadn’t noticed her stir which gave her a couple of seconds to assess the situation. Hide and Derryn were talking? Well, at least she knew that Hide hadn’t been hurt but where was the mugger? How had he gotten away? Duke then remembered the woman, that insanely beautiful woman and the strength she had when she threw Duke to the ground. What was she? No one could have been that strong. Duke felt as if all the bones in her body were going to snap just as the woman put her hands on her and then here she was lying in a hospital bed with a broken hand. Duke closed her eyes and pretended to be asleep once she saw a doctor walk in
    “She’s fine. She just fainted” He told Derryn. She could hear his sigh of relief. Just fainted? Good at least Duke knew that she hadn’t been in this godforsaken hellhole for very long “But she’ll need to take these painkillers for her hand” Duke visualised the doctor tearing off a prescription and handing it to Derryn. She slightly opened her eyes once she heard Hide’s and Derryn’s voices again, realising that they wouldn’t be paying much attention to her
    “So, where did you find her?” Derryn asked. Hide stopped to think about it. He knew telling the truth about where she was would be fine but he assumed he’d have to lie about why she was there. He scratched his head
    “In the park. She must have been taking a short cut from one of the bars over the road” Hide lied. Duke took a close look at Hide and noticed that he was sweating…a lot and that his skin was white as snow. He looked as if he’d seen a ghost. He kept looking around the room and shifting his feet. Why was he so scared? What had Duke missed when she blacked out?
    ‘Damn’ Duke thought once she saw Derryn’s eyes drop onto her and he found that she was awake
    “Oh thank god” He rushed to her side and held her really close. Duke thought she had just fainted. Geez, Derryn sure knows how to overreact.
    “Are you alright?” He held her hand and stroked it with his other one. For a second Duke thought she had been mangled horribly and that the doctor was full of crap. That might have been the reason for Hide’s reaction but the expression on Derryn’s face was a little less distressed than that of a person whose girlfriend has just been mangled in a freak accident. This gave Duke the confidence to sit up. She winced as she put strain on her right hand
    “Let me help you” Derryn put his hand on Dukes back to brace her. She shooed him away with her left hand and groaned
    “Bloody Hell Derryn. I’m not dead or anything!” She went to thank Hide for bringing her to the hospital but once she managed to see past Derryn fussing over she saw that he decided to cut loose. Duke’s throat swelled up a bit and the pits in her stomach began to chew away at itself once the thought crept its way into her head. Hide knew who Derryn was to her and that’s how he knew to call him. He didn’t seem like the kind of guy who was into the whole home wrecking thing so why the hell was he dating her? Duke’s brain hurt. This date had been a nightmare and her entire life was starting to be turned up on its head. There was a sick feeling in her stomach. She wanted Hide to be there comforting her instead of Derryn. She wanted her head buried in Hide’s chest and his arms around her. She wanted him to be the one who was singing calming songs into her ear. Derryn didn’t do. He may have seemed like the perfect man in public but behind closed doors he was quite the contrary. Duke didn’t want him anymore, she wanted to keep things going with Hide but the question was did he want to keep going with her? Did he intend to date a taken woman or had he just come across Derryn’s phone number in her phone while she laid unconscious in the emergency room?
    “I love you” Derryn whispered into Duke’s ear and kissed her head. Duke sighed, went limp and made a slight grunting noise, avoiding a verbal response. She weaselled her way out of his arms and stood up off the bed. Derryn did the same, grabbing Duke’s coat and handbag along with him
    “Thanks” Duke said in a breath and they began to walk out of the hospital together. Duke retrieved her belongings off Derryn while he hailed a cab. The vehicle stopped beside them shortly and they got inside. It was warm inside, not like the hospital. Duke rested her head hesitantly on Derryns shoulder and slowly drifted off into the sleep only this time it was voluntary
    Duke rolled over the next morning onto her right hand and awoke with a yelp. She sat up to see Derryn sitting at the end of the bed. This was the first time in a long time that she had woken up three days in a row and Derryn had been home. The room smelt nice. Was that incense? Duke took a long hard sniff… Yep, Sandalwood apparently and there was new curtains. Not the old ones with the hole that made the sun shine on Dukes eyes, waking her up at dawn every morning. Derryn got on all fours and crawled up the bed to lie at Dukes side
    “Are you going to work today?” He asked sweetly. His voice was more mellow than usual and his eyes were bluer and more innocent than usual. What was with this new found interest in Duke? He hadn’t been this way since they first moved in together
    “No” Duke retorted and rolled over, giving Derryn a face full of her back. He had given up on the nice guy act and sat up while pulling on his suit jacket which was placed in the nightstand
    “I’ll see you later tonight” He put on his shoes and slammed the bedroom door behind him. Duke listened for the same to happen with the front door. Once this happened she got up and rummaged through her bag until she found her bag and punched in the digits to Hide’s phone number. She didn’t keep it in her phonebook. This was too risky seeing as that Derryns favourite past-time was sitting down and going through Dukes phone. She always just kept it in her mind. This was the safest place. The phone was ringing for a long time. Duke grew more and more nervous with each ring that Hide didn’t answer after. It made her think about Hide being the good guy and genuinely not knowing that she had a boyfriend. She wanted him to be the bad guy. She didn’t care if he was a home wrecker, nothing in this home could be destroyed. All she wanted was for him to pick up the phone
    “Hello” He finally answered. There was still that distraught tone in his voice and Duke was determined to figure out why
    “Hey. It’s Ishihara” Duke revealed hoping that Hide would hang up as soon as he heard her name
    “Oh. Hey. I can’t come to the store today” He was quick to declare. Duke nearly fell backwards in relief that she heard his voice on the other end instead of a dial tone
    “It’s OK. I’m not going to work today anyway” Duke explained
    “Oh” Hide replied in a tone that implied he’d remembered something “Because of your hand right?” He asked
    “Yes” Duke was a little low on words for the time being. She was busy mustering up all the questions that she was soon to ask him
    “Is it OK?” Hide queried. This was unusual for Duke. As he asked about her he seemed genuinely concerned
    “It’s fine. I’ve had broken fingers before” She was not too bothered by the throbbing pain coming from her hand. She was silent for a few seconds. In fact, for so long that Hide had to ask if she was still there or not. Duke shook her head, concentrating on the words she needed to use and without answering ‘yes’ she asked Hide why he’d been acting so weird lately. Hide struggled to reply and after reciting a couple of incomprehensible and staggered sentences he came to the conclusion that…
    “It’s not something that I want to talk about over the phone” He was still struggling to speak but…”Why don’t you come over and I’ll tell you about it. Is your boyfriend home?” Duke’s stomach dropped. She wasn’t sure what emotion she felt when Hide said ‘boyfriend’ but she was glad that he wanted to see her despite the fact that she had a boyfriend
    “That sounds like a good idea” Duke agreed. Hide gave her the directions to his house and before hanging up he said
    “I’m really happy that you called. I didn’t think that anything was going to happen between us but. Derryn will realise one day” He hung up, leaving Duke speechless. She was happy that he felt that way but it shocked her a little bit. She left no time to waste and in a period of five minutes she was ready and waiting at the bus-stop for the next bus that would drop her off around the corner of Hide’s house. She expected to see the woman staring at her through the bus window again but she was nowhere to be seen. Maybe the dark of night had betrayed her eyes and there really was no woman following her. It took only one knock on the door for Hide to answer. He smiled but he looked from healthy. His skin was chalky and pale, he was sweating heaps and he had deep bags under his eyes which meant that he hadn’t slept since the last time they’d met. It was different from seeing him in his usual state which was well kept and old fashioned. She leant in and gave him a pity hug. It lasted a little longer than they intended and pulled each other away in awkwardness after a good seven seconds
    “Do you want something to drink?” Hide offered. Duke nodded and they both made their way through the small apartment to the tiny kitchen. He poured her a glass of juice and she drank it in one long guzzle. After putting the empty glass on the sink she turned to Hide for information
    “It might not be a big deal but I just noticed you were acting a little freaked out since what happened on Friday night” She looked up into his eyes which were a good five centimetres above hers. She didn’t notice just how much taller than her he was until then. Hide dropped his eyes to the ground and grabbed Dukes hand
    “I think I’m going crazy” He admitted. Duke wondered whether or not he’d seen that woman too or was it something else?
    “Don’t worry. I think I am too” Duke replied while looking at the ground.