I always knew that there was something very wrong about Andrew. The way he moved, the way he spoke, even the way he breathed always troubled me.

Andrew had a secret.

I could see it in his eyes. His eyes, the colour of honey. Sometimes as they glistened in the sun, it was as if they were made up of tiny hexagons, like sticky honeycomb in a beehive. Andrew had beautiful eyes. But not beautiful enough for me to see right through them and into his brain.

“Are you all there, Andrew?” I asked him once, as we lay side by side on the grassy hill at the park. Andrew smiled showing his perfect white teeth and rolled over to pluck a daisy from the dirt.

“You tell me.” He replied, his voice just as perfect as the rest of him. I reached over to stroke his smooth shaven cheeks. His skin never felt normal, either. Andrew never went without a shirt, but even the skin of his hands felt too waxy. I often asked myself whether I was dating the son of a plastic surgeon. Andrew never introduced me to his parents, though. He was an orphan, living in an apartment of his own in the city. Andrew never showed me inside the apartment.

Everyone thought Andrew was the perfect man for me. I mean, how could they not? Andrew was everything a girl could ever dream of. He had the body of an angel, eyes like liquid gold and the sweetest, gentlest smile. If only he were different.

“Do you love me?” Andrew asked often. I’d always smile warmly, nod my head and let him cradle my smaller body in his strong, sturdy arms. His chest was warm, like a mug of hot cocoa.

“I love you, Andrew.” I’d whisper into his sweater.

Andrew and I would pass notes in class. He’d write things like: I love you. And being the soppy girl I am, I’d reply with something like: Me too. Or <3 I’d never have thought that Andrew wouldn’t truly love me in that heart of his.

One night, a few months after we’d been dating, Andrew took me to the park, where we’d always sit together for a picnic on the hill. He sat down cross legged in front of me and I could see that he was taking deep, slow breaths. I touched his hand and asked if he were okay. Andrew met my eyes with his honey ones and for a moment I could have sworn there was something beneath them but then it was gone. Just like someone had snapped their fingers and turned out the lights.

“Do you love me, Melody?” Andrew had asked. I smiled at him instantly and nodded, answering in the exact same way as every other time.

“I love you, Andrew.” I whispered, leaning forward to hug him. Andrew pushed me away gently and I frowned.

“Melody.” He asked in a much softer voice. He angled his head so he stared into his lap.

“Yes?”

Andrew took another breath and raised his hands to his temples, rubbing them. Finally, he met my eyes again. “Would you… love me if I looked any different?” He asked me, sounding very serious.

“What do you mean?” I’d questioned almost instantly. Andrew had never asked me anything so strange before. He reached down to the grass, and picked me a daisy. He took a moment to thread it through my hair before answering.

“I mean, if I looked… different on the inside, would you love me?” He said.

I giggled at his comment. “How could you look any different? You’re the most handsome guy I could ever meet!”

Andrew relaxed a little at my words and his shoulders slumped. “Please don’t be afraid.” He whispered, the sentence catching in his throat. I wondered what was wrong but before I could ask, Andrew went completely still. His body froze cross legged, with his mouth half open in mid-speech. It was as if someone had pressed pause on a TV remote and stopped him completely. Andrew’s shining honey yellow eyes flickered like lights and snapped off. What remained were like… glass windows. Almond shaped glass windows that were nothing like eyes.

I screamed.

“Please Melody… it’s okay.” Andrew said, but his mouth didn’t move in time with his words. In fact, it didn’t move at all. I crawled away from his robot-like body, my heart fluttering in my chest. Andrew sat frozen in front of me. “Wait Melody!” His voice sounded again, through a mouth that wasn’t his own. Was he having a seizure?

Suddenly his neck began to glow a soft, white colour. There was a faint hissing noise and the skin parted halfway up Andrew’s neck…

The creature that emerged from the severed head smiled sheepishly across at me. “Do you still love me, Melody?” He asked in a voice which was an exact replica of Andrew’s.

I screamed.

I screamed until the police heard me and asked me what was wrong. My throat was raw by the time I finally stopped. But when I pointed to the place where Andrew had been, he was gone. The body and the creature had disappeared.

I screamed again.

All the way to the hospital.

****

And in the distance, a figure with eyes the colour of honey stood. He looked down at his muddy converse for a minute, sighing, before turning on his heels and walking into the sunset…