At first, Vinnie didn't know quite what to make of the situation. To him, the logical response to someone being nice, even if it was unnecessary, was always to return the favor. In this age, the considerate and congenial were a dying breed, after all. When the woman made a mad face at him, he balked at first, but in a split second he steeled his resolve with deftly-restrained anger. After he'd had nightmares of the Back Door Man, heard and felt its noisome breath, and seen what it did to people, was he seriously frightened of some skinny girl? Her vinegar-filled response painted him as some sort of tormentor, guilty of giving her grief for some time now. Not only that, he was a troublemaker and an outsider. [i]Is this girl egotistic or just stupid? Having something tragic happen isn't an excuse to be so nasty to anyone, particularly someone trying to help.[/i] Could she perhaps be venting anger felt toward the others, like the oddly-dressed man, at him? For that, Vinnie couldn't really fault her. One could only expect the witless to fall back onto the one thing anyone could do: be mean. A deep frown adorned Vinnie's face as he pulled himself together and stiffly inclined his head toward Sabrina. His words, though compliant, were tinged with venom. “Ah. My [i]sincerest[/i] apologies. I did not mean to be such a bother. Excuse me.” After inclining his head to Reinhardt as well as if to apologize to him, too -presumably for intruding- he slipped out the way he came. As annoyed as he felt, his thoughts turned immediately to the Back Door Man. Vinnie knew that the situation had put him on edge, and so vehemently thought to himself that he didn't want the Back Door Man to terrorize the girl. Rudeness definitely did not deserve the kind of soul-crushing fear that the evil spirit caused, and it since it had responded to Vinnie's feelings of anger with a bothersome individual before, he felt it necessary to make a conscious effort to try and persuade the thing to not lash out on his 'behalf'. Though he couldn't help but think of the whole event as a wasted chance to interact with people who might have some kind of clue about spirits, Vinnie left the situation behind. Homicides or no, he had to go to work. He walked for about twenty seconds before drawing to a stop. He didn't exactly know why until he glanced to the right and realized that he'd subconsciously paused on the street that he watched that angelic spirit move down just a short while ago. A shiver forced its way across him, and he prepared to continue walking. Just then a thought hit him: one that overwhelmed him with worry. [i]What if I'm making a mistake?[/i] Now that he thought about it, if there was any sort of hint of figuring something out about himself or the Back Door Man, wasn't that much more important? A car's honk obliged him to move onto the sidewalk, but his mind was racing. Images flashed through his head of a movie he'd heard of that followed a certain trope. The trope was that an average salaryman would leave behind his job and go on a grand adventure of self-discovery, and through it find the kind of fulfillment that a million hours of earning money never could. Vinnie placed a hand on the side of his head. Adventures weren't really his thing. He liked routine and not being surprised. Adaptability never stood out as a strong suit of his. Plus, running headlong after the first hint that came his way could mean a huge waste of time at best or severe danger, at worst. What if someone else had a Back Door Man that was used on him? Vinnie didn't know if he could take it. Or...what if someone could do something worse? New fears prickled his mind, along with the doubts and hesitations. Yet... Vinnie slipped his phone out of a pocket and flipped it open. He selected one of his contacts and hit the 'call' button, and in only a few seconds it connected. “Hello, Benny? I was wondering...I'm not feeling very good at the moment.” Not a lie, but not the whole truth. Those always came out easier than falsehoods. “I hate to add any more stress to the group's project, but if I could have a couple of hours, or maybe the afternoon off, I'd really appreciate it...really? Thank you so very much. I'll remember this kindness.” [i]Click.[/i] A switch had been flipped in Vinnie's mind. Making this commitment meant there was no going back. He began to walk with purpose, keeping an eye out for a ghostly white apparition or the distinctive young woman it had been near. Rounding a corner, he nearly crashed into a brown-haired woman in wet clothes. Rather than her damp attire, however, Vinnie noticed that she'd been one of the people at the restaurant, though lamentably not the one he sought. Still...odd that they'd meet again like this after parting ways, even if it was only a few minutes ago. With no knowledge of whether he should be subtle or not, Vinnie felt like taking risks to try and get results quickly—he did still need to work, after all. Still, that didn't mean he could gallivant around and run into people. As strange as circumstances were, he could not take leave of common sense. Feeling like an idiot, he uttered an apology. “I'm sorry. How clumsy of me. Are you alright?” He rather pointedly hoped that this woman wouldn't brush him off like Sabrina did. What were the odds of running into someone else from the restaurant episode again? Thinking quickly, he slipped off a black silk glove and offered it to her. “You must be soaking. Would that I had a handkerchief to give you, but maybe this'll help dry your face, at least.” He made sure to stand an arm's length away from her following the near-collision. In his experience, women had varying degrees of concern for personal space, and unless you were the epitome of handsome -which Vinnie would never boldly proclaim to be- they would get uncomfortable and outright dismiss men who they thought were too close.