concealed - h.styles // completed

Chapter Two

"The world is a cold, cold place to be. Want a little warmth, but who's gonna save a little warmth for me?"

-Vampire Weekend, Unbelievers

:~:~:

Alex's POV

Spies?

They were kidding, right? They couldn't be spies. No way.

It hit me harder than it should have. The stereotypical image of spies popped into my head: younger adults or teens with black outfits and dangerous weapons hunting bad guys. My parents were... older than what I expected. Is that why he reacted so badly when they talked about the police? I had to agree. The security in this town was something to be ashamed of.

"Are you okay, Alex?" my father said, his face full of concern.

"Yeah." No. "Why did you tell me that?" Why didn't you tell me that earlier? "I thought spies had to keep it a secret." I thought you both were done with secrets.

"We've been thinking about it for a long time now," my mother replied. "I'm so sor-"

"No, it's fine," I said, opening the door and stepping back out in to the burning sunlight. They looked at me confused. I groaned dramatically then rubbing my growling stomach. "I'm hungry. Aren't you?"

They nodded hesitantly but didn't move.

As I walked in, I saw a black shadow quickly move behind me but saw nothing when I turned around. It felt eerie. I swung the front door open and noticed the group of mean girls that were sitting at their usual table.

"Hey Alex!" the leader of the group and my ex-best friend, Katie, chirped. Heads turned towards me, their judging eyes roaming up and down my body. "Sit with us!"

I rolled my eyes. "No thanks."

"Whatever," she smirked. "Are you eating alone? Aw, you poor thing."

"No," I said quietly and made my way to a booth by the window with my back facing them.

A new server came to my table. He was tall and handsome with innocent and sweet looking brown eyes. He had a chiseled jaw line that was sharp and prominent. Fresh brown stubbles were there as if he had forgotten or didn't want to shave. His name tag read, Liam P. That sounded familiar...

"Hi, welcome to Beans and Teas," he said smiling at me. "What would you like to drink and eat today?"

"You're new, right?" I asked, ignoring his question.

He nodded. "Yup, my first day. Wait, you seem familiar... Have I seen you before?"

I cocked my head to the side and asked, "Do you go to Pillakey High?"

Liam's face lit up. "Yes! You're Alex Parks, aren't you? Captain of the girls' volleyball team?"

I nodded and smiled. "And you're Liam Payne, player eleven on the basketball team."

He laughed. "How'd you know? Have you been stalking me?"

"No," I giggled. "I like sports, especially basketball, so I watch your practices."

"That's awesome," he said then nicely added, "So... are you going to order?"

"Yeah, sorry. Um, my regular blend of salted caramel frappe with extra whipped cream and salt."

"Okay, would you like any item on our breakfast menu?"

"Yeah, my usual of a blueberry muffin and a butter croissant."

Liam nodded. "Coming right up!" Then he hesitated before asking, "Did you come here alone?"

I frowned. I just realized that my parents weren't inside the cafe yet. Why?

"Um... I don't know," I replied dumbly. Liam just smiled politely and said, "If you don't have a ride to school after you finish, I can always drive you. My shift ends fifteen minutes before school starts."

I lost my trust on people ever since my incident and my transfer of schools, but karma was a bitch and caught up with me. The whole school, including my teachers and "friends", found out. After my family moved to this smaller town, everything was... better in a way.

I shrugged. "Sure."

Liam smiled again. He was so attractive and damn fine. If only I could trust guys again...

When Liam walked away, I got up from the booths and ran out the door, looking for my parents' SUV. They parked in the back, so I walked angrily there. Instead, the spot was empty. My eyes widened. No no no.

My own fricking parents ditched me.

I kept walking around the building, but I didn't see a large black car anywhere!

Tears stung my eyes. I was so confused. What happened? Why would they leave me here... alone... on my eighteenth birthday?

Maybe they had a good legit reason, my good conscience told me.

Or maybe they got sick of you, my demon told me.

I shook my head and leaned against the back wall of the café, slowing sinking down until my butt hit the hard concrete. I blinked back the tears. I couldn't cry! Not now, not today!

Then I smelled something disgusting. Cigarette smoke. I looked up and saw some teenage guy standing there, smoking like nobody's business.

I didn't realized that I was staring at him, until he groaned and looked over at me. Green electrifying eyes glared in to my brown ones.

"What?" he spat. His face was scowling, but I couldn't help noticing how handsome he was. He was tall, towering over me. He wore dark skinny jeans and a plain black t-shirt. His curly hair was swept away from his face with a navy blue bandana. His shoes were all black as well as his socks. Everything he wore - except the bandana - was black.

"N-nothing," I stuttered. I looked back down at my knees and tried blocking it out, but the smell was overpowering everything. My eyes began to water. "Stop smoking."

I heard the young man chuckle with no humor in it. "You can't tell me what to do."

I felt angry all of a sudden and stood up, walking over to him courageously... or was it "with stupidity but also with some pride"?

"It's not good for you," I said firmly.

"I can do whatever the fuck I want," he growled at me. I was appalled by his language but stepped back a little. He sure was intimidating.

I sighed. "Whatever. That stick of death can kill you, and I wouldn't care."

With that, I spun around and began to walk to the front when I felt a large cold hand on my neck. I turned myself around and faced him.

"Let go," I said in a deep voice, trying to get him to back down. Instead, his face twitched in frustration and anger.

His nails dug into my skin, causing me to gasp. He then used the rest of his arm and slammed me against that same wall.

"Did you not hear me, little girl? I will not repeat myself," he snapped. His face was just two inches from mine. I could smell the smoke, and it made me want to throw up.

"Go away!" I yelled.

"You can't tell me what to do," he said angrily. Then his pink lips formed an ugly and evil smile. "You want me to stop smoking?" My eyes widened as he took the cigarette from between his index and middle finger. I didn't move. What-

He smashed the lit end against my bare arm and used his hand to cover my mouth.

I screamed in pain and tried to fight him. Dang, he was strong. I tried to bite him, but it was cupped away from my teeth.

Then I heard a familiar voice call out.

"Harry?"

Copyrights © 2014