Author's Notes: Written for who_contest Drabble Challenge #13: Red. Contains elements vaguely drawn from the Little Red Riding Hood fairy-tale.

Even if he wasn't the only other person on the bus, she could hardly miss the boy sprawled on the backseat. He takes a drag on his cigarette and blows smoke pointedly at the 'no smoking' sticker pasted to the window.

Though every other seat is empty, she sits only one row ahead of him.

"Hey. What's a girl like you doin' out alone?" His smile is predatory, but she shrugs off that warning.

"My Mum's forcin' me to visit my Gran," she says. "On a Saturday and all!"

He readily commiserates. "Name's Jimmy," he says.

She barely hesitates before replying, "Rose."

She doesn't give him her number when the bus reaches her stop, but somehow she's sure she'll see him again.

When Rose moves in with Jimmy, she's not particularly surprised that he won't bother helping her shift her belongings.

Luckily, one of her new neighbours comes to her aid; she presumes that's who he is, though she's too relieved when he plucks a too-heavy box from her arms to really question him.

Until, that is, he suddenly says, "He's not who you think, you know. He puts on a good disguise, but eventually he'll reveal just how dangerous he is."

"Huh? Who, Jimmy?" Rose asks, startled. "How d'you know about him, then?"

"A very reliable witness," he says cryptically.

"Yeah, well, no one knows Jimmy Stone better than me."

His lips twitch, hiding a smile. "S'pose not."

"Anyway, I can take care of myself."

"Yeah, you can handle pretty much anything, I bet. But you shouldn't have to. You're worth so much more."

There's something about his intensity that stops Rose from laughing disbelievingly. Instead, feeling awkward, she turns to adjust a precarious-looking stack of boxes. When she turns back, the man has vanished.

She never catches so much as another glimpse of that leather jacket or those big ears while she lives in the building, so forgetting the encounter should be simple.

But she doesn't.

The first (and last) time Jimmy takes a swipe at her, she ducks away from his fist and then stares at him like he's a complete stranger. Really though, she's finally seeing him, and herself, clearly.

I'm worth more, she decides.

In retrospect, she thinks those three words sort of saved her life.

She just wishes she could meet the man who told them to her again so she could thank him.