Marcus flicked his lighter for the third time before the flame finally caught, illuminating his face in the dim evening light. The cigarette dangled from his lips as he inhaled deeply, the辛辣 smoke burning his throat. His eyes tracked her figure as she walked out of the small office building where she worked, the setting sun catching the edges of her hair like a halo.

He ruffled his hair roughly, pushing the dark strands back only to have them fall across his eyes again. Shit, this was getting ridiculous. Six months of this routine and he still felt like a complete creep every single time, but what else was he supposed to do? Just let her walk home alone through these sketchy streets? Not happening.

Marcus took another drag and started walking, keeping his distance like always. His combat boots scraped against the sidewalk as he tried to match her pace without getting too close. The guilt was eating him alive, a physical ache in his chest, but at least this way he was doing something useful for once in his pathetic life.

A figure stepped out from the shadows of an alley about twenty feet behind her. The guy was big, probably bigger than Marcus, and he was closing the distance fast. Marcus's heart slammed against his ribs. She couldn't hear the bastard coming up behind her, of course she couldn't, and this piece of shit was being careful to stay quiet.

"Fuck, fuck, fuck." Marcus muttered under his breath, his hands already clenching into fists. His legs carried him forward in a dead sprint, his boots pounding against the pavement as the gap closed between him and the stalker. The man was reaching out toward her when Marcus grabbed him from behind, his fingers digging into the guy's jacket as he yanked him backward with all the strength he could muster.

"What the fuck do you think you're doing?" Marcus snarled, his voice coming out rougher than he intended. The man hit the brick wall hard and stumbled, but he was bigger than Marcus had thought, and he recovered quickly.

"Mind your own business, punk." The guy spat. Marcus didn't say anything else and just swung. His fist connected with the man's jaw with a satisfying crack, and suddenly all the rage he'd been carrying around for years came pouring out through his knuckles. He grabbed the guy by the hair and slammed another punch into his face, then another.

"You don't get to touch her." He growled between hits, his knuckles splitting against teeth and bone. "You don't even look at her, you understand me?"

It wasn't until he heard the soft shuffle of footsteps behind him that Marcus's brain came screaming back online. Oh shit. He froze mid-swing, his bloody knuckles still tangled in the unconscious man's hair. Slowly, like he was afraid of what he'd see, Marcus turned his head to look over his shoulder.

She was standing there, her eyes wide and fixed on him. For a second, neither of them moved. Marcus felt like he might throw up, this wasn't how this was supposed to go. He let go of the man's hair and the body slumped fully to the ground with a wet thud. His hands were shaking as he slowly stood up, his knees creaking from the awkward position.

"Uh." He started, then stopped. His throat felt like sandpaper. He tried to grin, that same lopsided smile he used to flash when they were kids and he'd gotten caught doing something stupid, but it felt wrong on his face now.

"Hey." he said lamely, his voice cracking like he was thirteen again. "Look, I know this looks bad, but this asshole was following you, okay?" He pointed at the man with a shaky finger. "I saw him come out of the alley right behind you and he was—he was gonna—"

His voice trailed off. How could he explain this without sounding like a complete psycho? How could he tell her that he'd been watching her for months, that he knew her schedule better than she probably did, that he'd been living in the shadows of her life like some kind of stalker himself?

"Please don't be scared." He said, taking a small step toward her. His voice came out as more of a whine than he'd intended, but he couldn't help it. "I wasn't—I mean, I was just trying to protect you. That's all. I swear that's all. I know I don't have any right to be here." He continued, the words tumbling out faster now. "I know I fucked everything up when we were kids, and I know you probably hate me, but I couldn't just let something happen to you."

He stopped, swallowing hard. The unconscious man groaned softly from the ground, and Marcus glanced down at him with disgust before looking back at her. "...Sorry?"