I had to tear myself out of my darkroom to stop myself from staring at his pictures. I slowly walked to the door careful to draw the curtain just a bit so as not to expose the films that i've yet to develop. I went to the office to look for an empty manila envelope, got his file from my table, and started reading it again while walking back to the bedroom.

                “Hey J! what have you been up to in the past that got the police so interested in you? I asked looking disappointedly at his one-paged profile. “You don’t look like you could hurt anyone, but then again no one really knows you”, I continued talking to the paper in my hand.

                I went upstairs to my room to change before heading back to my office and into the darkroom to get the pictures that I need. I gathered some of the photos that I took of him these past weeks along with my own printed report and placed them inside the envelope. I turned some of the lights in my already dim house and headed to the long table near the front door to get my keys before wearing my sunglasses and stepping out the door.

                I look upwards and was glad to notice that the sun is already setting. I put my hood up to cover my face, before heading towards my old gray Mazda3. After strapping myself in, I checked my mirrors then started the engine. I checked the streets thru my side mirrors before slowly easing my car out the driveway. I was about to get on the main road when a black car sped up towards my direction and could have hit my car had I not been able to brake at the last minute.

                “What the he-?”, I snapped, controlling my shaking legs and trying to get my heart to   slow down.           

                  “Darn it!”, I said after I regained a bit of my composure.

                I tried to look for the car, but it was already a long way off and I couldn’t read the plate anymore. I steadied myself and slowly aimed for the main road while checking for other cars. I drove off towards the police station still a bit shaken but level-headed.

                “I don’t need any distraction today”. I muttered to myself. I was getting excited to submit my work and present my report to my superiors. I d for the manila envelope on the seat beside mine and mentally run thru my head the points that I will share today.

                The room was illuminated by the late afternoon light as he lounged on the cushioned armchair. He had one leg up and the other was stretched fully towards the floor. He was wearing his hood up and has his back to the door. His eyes were closed as if listening to something.

                I step outside the building and slowly trudged towards my car that was parked in front the old headquarters. I was about to get on, when I felt a tingling on the base of my neck. It felt like someone was watching me, so I look behind me but saw nothing. I slowly opened the car door when something caught my eye across the street.

                He was sitting on a chair with his profile turned towards the street. A cup of coffee stood unnoticed in the table, as his eyes were currently drawn to a open book in his lap. He seemed to be focused on whatever he was reading, and looked so serene and angelic that I couldn’t help but stare at him. I took my camera from my backpack and started taking pictures of him. He looks so composed and relaxed, and his face looks so serene. I zoomed in on his tranquil face and saw a little playful smile as I took his pictures. I checked the pictures that I took so far and decided to change lens and adjust the lighting. I checked him on the other side and he still seems unaware of what I was doing. I felt a little smile play on my lips and started taking pictures again. I looked at him thru my camera and heard myself gasp. He was directly looking at me from thru the camera lens, a little smirk on his red lips.

                “Shoot!’, I swore. Then looked at his direction across the street to verify what I saw.

                As I stared, I saw him shift his body towards my direction and held up his cup as if engaging me in a toast.  I stared in horror, and quickly entered my car, panicking. I looked at him again thru my side mirrors and saw his shoulders shaken by a giggle with his hand across his mouth. I quickly started the car and drove off like my life depended on it. I kept looking thru my rearview mirror, hoping that no one was following me. When I was far enough from the headquarters I started to relax a bit, and forego the breath I didn’t know I was holding in. Still a bit shaken, I decided to drive around to calm my nerves. I drove around for a few minutes before I decided to go home.

                I parked my car in the driveway and took a good look around before I get out of the car and head towards the doorway. I entered the door and lock it from the inside not bothering to illuminate the dim room. I took off my shoes and dropped myself on the armchair near the window and let go of a long sigh. I closed my eyes a bit and felt myself relax. I stayed like that for a moment before I decided to switch on the little table lamp beside me and started to take my jacket off. I placed in on the couch and walk towards the kitchen. I stopped by the telephone on the kitchen nook and listened to my voice messages. I walked towards the fridge and took out the milk carton when I heard my mom’s voice.

                “Honey, don’t forget to visit your optometrist tomorrow. We need to check-up on your photophobia.”, the message started, “don’t you dare forget or ill be forced to come with you again. Okay? love you bye.”. I chuckled a bit, imagining my mom with her apron making that call from our kitchen, her brows all scrunched up.

                The rest of the messages were from my colleague and friends asking about some projects and reminding about dinner dates. I poured another glass of milk when the last message came on.

A/N: I hope you enjoyed this first installment of my story. She is not a stalker or paparazzi, but her job entails that she follows him around and take pictures. I’ll give the details of her job in the following chapters. And yeah she has photophobia which isn’t really a phobia, but a visual disorder. Follow the link (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Photophobia) to know more about this case.