Pyro

I was on guard and my body was tense.
I haven’t seen him for a week now, but that doesn’t mean that I’m completely safe.

I sat down on the edge of the rooftop, letting my legs dangle over the edge and relaxing my body a little as I stared at the brick buildings in front of me.

No pictures today. I’m enjoying the view with my eyes only.

I closed them as I listened to the various sounds echoing in the air.

Children laughing and screaming as they play in the streets.
Moving men unloading furniture for a recently bought apartment room.

Rain drops hitting the concrete of the roof.

I opened my eyes, feeling water drip onto my face, but I couldn’t be bothered to move.
I buttoned up my jacket in an attempt to keep myself somewhat warm and dry, but the rain now poured down.

A small shadow appeared over me and I no longer felt the rain.

I looked up to see an umbrella hovering over me, staring at it, confused.

“You’ll catch a cold.”
I looked to my right and gasped slightly in shock and fear.

There he was, sitting next to me on the edge, holding the umbrella over us.
Once again, he was wearing that bright red scarf of his.

“Why do you keep following me?”

He didn’t answer as he pulled out a pack of cigarettes from his pocket.

“Do you want one?”
I shook my head, scrunching my nose in disgust.

He took one out and placed it between his lips, putting the box back into his pocket and pulling out a small box of matches soon after. He struck the match against the box, bringing the orange flame to the end of the cigarette, lighting it up.

He took a long drag before exhaling the grey toxin into the air.

It was silent, except for the sound of the rain drops hitting the umbrella

“I never got your name.”
I bit down on my lip.

“You didn’t answer my question.”

He took one last drag before flicking the bud over the edge.

He didn’t put it out first.

“Just like you found the burnt remains of the building interesting…”

He leant in, our lips only centimeters apart.

“…I found you interesting as well.”

His hazel eyes quickly glanced at my lips before returning their gaze to meet my eyes.
He gave me a smile, but it wasn’t the bone-chilling one that I’ve seen before.

It was warm, inviting.
Reassuring.

“I’m…I’m Alessandro.”

He moved in closer, our lips now a millimeter apart from each other but have yet to meet – if that was even possible.

“Alessandro…”

The way he whispered my name against my lips was enough to send shivers down my spine.
He moved away and I exhaled the breath that I didn’t even know I was holding.

“Beautiful name. It only makes you more interesting.”

He moved from under the umbrella and stood up, about to walk away.

“W-Wait…!”
“Hm?”

“What about you…? What’s your name…?”

The bone-chilling smile returned, causing my body to tense up.

“It’s a secret, for now.”