Life on the Run (Harry Styles)

Chapter 1

Becca

"Keep this hidden," I instruct the new boy. He takes the switchblade eagerly and slips it in his coat pocket. "I'll stay in the nearby alley. You go inside the gas station and browse around. Don't be suspicious. Got it?" We walk hastily toward the store.

"Got it," he confirms.

"It's Linda working, so she'll most likely be on her phone. Jake already cut the wires to the cameras, so take this," I hand him a towel soaked in chloroform. He gulps and cautiously accepts it. "Hold it to her face for a good minute then take the cash and get out."

I pull gloves out and hand them to the newbie. He slips them on and slides on a pair of dark shades.

"How.. Um, how long have you been doing this?" He asks, his voice shaky.

"Hey, I needed to eat," I shrug it off. The blonde boy doesn't need to know my story.

"Oh.." He trails off.

"I'll wait here," I say and stoop behind a dumpster.

"You sure you can't come?" He gulps.

"Martin told me you're going solo," I say, gesturing with my hands to say 'what can I do?' His face falls, and he gulps, his adam's apple sliding up and down his throat. "But I guess I could help." He smiles nervously, but gratefully. I slip on a pair of gloves and I pull my hoodie over my head.

"Let's get going, yeah?" I widen my eyes at him and he smiles. I stand on my tiptoes and grab his hood, tugging it over his head. I glance around the empty street before pushing the door open. The bell dings, and as I assumed, Linda has her eyes glued to her phone.

"Wait!" I whisper harshly to the eager blonde. He freezes and follows my gaze. There's another person in the store, staring directly at us. He had seen Niall pull out the towel and lunge toward Linda. I duck my head and gesture for Niall to follow but Niall doesn't see.

"Get the fuck out!" Niall screams and flips the switchblade open, pointing it at the stranger. The stranger has his phone in his hand and he taps on the screen and there's the familiar snap of a picture being taken.

"Come on!" I scream but Niall's not coming down from his adrenaline rush yet.

I hear sirens wailing closer already in the distance and I push the door open. Fuck this. I run back the way we came. I glance back to see Niall running wildly down the street, his hood blowing back in the wind. The sirens grow louder and I duck behind a dumpster in the next alley over.

The blue and red flashing lights and sirens fill the streets. I have nowhere to hide, I'm running out of time, and I can't find the stupid prick who got me in this mess.

I dodge into an alley to avoid the cop car speeding down the street in the direction of the gas station, though I keep my eye out for Niall. I slump against the brick wall, my body leaning against a dumpster. I allow myself to catch my breath for a few minutes before taking a shaky breath in and pushing myself to my feet.

Niall's on his own, I'm not watching his ass anymore.

I stay against the shadows of the night, my hand trailing against the brick wall as I make my way down the dark alley. A wailing noise fills my ears and I drop to the ground, pressing against the wall. The lights flash and the noise wails, quickly passing by. I need to get out of the alleys, they'll move back here and start looking soon.

I come to the dim lit, rundown row house which we appointed as the meet up. Hopefully they'd go easy since I'm coming back empty handed.

"Are you the reason for the pigs?" Martin lunges at me as I step through the door. His short brown hair is ruffled, his blue eyes are rimmed with red and his pupils can't seem to focus for longer than a second.