After school the next day, I went to get coffee before going to the library. I sat with my best friend, Megan and sipped my iced coffee. "He's cute." Megan said, pointing to a boy from across the room. I looked up and met eyes with the boy. Brown eyes, short brown hair, and light stubble. I recognized him almost instantly. He was in the gang of boys that had attacked me last night.
"Not really." I laughed it off. I still hadn't wanted to talk about what had happened to me last night. I knew that I should tell her, because she was my best friend, but now didn't seem like a good time. She'd over react and cause a scene, alerting the boys in the corner of our presence here. That was the last thing I needed right now. Another reason to worry.
"Yes, really!" We should go talk to him." she said, practically melting all over the table. I stole another glance. This boy was sitting across from the blue haired boy and the boy with the black hair and dark skin. I stared back at the napkin holder. I was sure if they saw me, they'd remember. My heart seemed like it was about to break through my ribs with how heavily it was pounding.
"I don't think that's a good idea. He's with his friends." I pretended to answer this casually when I wanted to leave the coffee shop right away. They definitely wanted to kill me before Styles had stopped them.
"Nonsense! They're cute too. Come on." she begged. I was surprised that she was acting like this. Usually, I was far more interested in boys than she was- but not these ones. I couldn't believe that it was coming to this, but I had to stop her.
"Oh no!" I exclaimed, knocking my coffee off the table. "What a tragedy! Now we'll never get to meet them! Oh well..." I sighed, bending down with some napkins. Much to my dismay, the sound of the coffee dropping had made everyone in the entire shop turn to stare at the mess. Including the boys that I had tried so hard to avoid. I made eye contact before quickly looking away and flushing. My heart raced. I hoped that they'd leave me alone. They went back to their coffee quickly, so that was a slight relieaf. Besides, this was still better than Megan introducing the two of us to them.
"Charlotte!" Megan groaned, helping me mop up the mess with paper towels as the barista glared at us from behind the service counter. I had apologized time after time, but I'd rather have her death glare than of the boys in the corner. "Well I've got to get home. I have a test tomorrow." Megan said after a while. "And don't think you're off the hook for avoiding those boys."
"Oh. Yeah, I'm still so sorry about that. I'll make it up to you somehow." I said, before we separated. I knew that she was mad, but it was the lesser of the two evils in this situation.
"Good afternoon." I said to Ms.Monroe once I got to the library.
"Good afternoon, Charlotte. Good to see you. How was school?"
"School." I repeated as I always did and Ms.Monroe smiled sympathetically at me before returning to her own book. I wandered to the romance section and picked up a completely random one after judging the title and the description. I was never one to judge a book by it's cover, but I figured that the title of a story is a signifiant statement about what lies inside of the book. I was always very picky when entitling my own works and I figure that other authors are as well. It's like an introductory statement- well, it's what comes before that. What could be more important?
The chimes by the door clanked against the glass of the door, but this time, I was alert. I wondered if it was Styles again. I pretended to keep reading but watched the figure stalk in. I glanced at Ms.Monroe who was also squinting. The boy walked to the historical fiction section and sat down on the ground, crossing his legs, just as I was in the next aisle. Thank goodness I finished Little Women yesterday. I glanced down at my legs to see my reminder of last night just barely peeking out from the hem of my shorts. I wanted to get out of the library immediately, but I knew that there was no way without the boy noticing and I was almost sure that it was Styles. He'd definitely see me. I grimaced and tried to steal a glance of the boy's face. From behind the shelf, he looked up, his eyes meeting mine. Bright eyes, curly hair. It was definitely "Styles". He smirked before getting back to his book. I closed my book to leave, but I was still scared that he'd stop me on the way out. He stopped his gang from what I presume to have been rape or murder the previous night. At least that's what I assumed he was doing. Perhaps he just wanted to kill me himself. I pushed more books aside to make a gap on the shelf. Styles looked up and glared. "What?" he growled.
"I um- I just wanted to- uh... thank you. For last night." I stuttered. He didn't say anything- just stared for a moment before going back to his book. I sighed and continued to read as well. He could have at least said you're welcome. I groaned in annoyance as two pages stuck together.
"You're welcome." Styles said randomly. I looked up and blushed. He glanced at my leg and suddenly his attitude shifted. "You should go."
"What?" I looked down at my leg and noticed the cut peeking out. I flushed and tried to cover it by pulling my shorts down.
"You need to go now." his voice sounded strained.
"But I'm-"
"LEAVE!" he barked. "I didn't ask you a question!" My pulse jumped at his sudden change in volume. Ms.Monroe looked up, startled but quickly glanced away- probably not wanting to be noticed or harrassed by this boy again.
"Ok? I guess I'll check it out." I grumbled, standing up.
"Hurry." he growled, followed by a heavy sigh and glance at the clock. Styles followed me up to the front desk and rapped his knuckles against the wood. Pencils shook in fear.
"Will this be it?" Ms.Monroe asked, eyeing Styles suspiciously. I smiled at her to reassure her, but I was not even sure about the situation myself. I'm sure that she still hadn't recovered from the fright he had given her yesterday. Maybe she'd call the police the second I left with him. I silently hoped that she would. Styles sighed and eyed the clock on the wall again.
"Yes ma'am." I smiled and headed outside.
"Where's your car?"
"Don't have one. I walk here. My job doesn't pay that well and nothing is that far around here, so..." I trailed off, awkwardly. Styles sighed once again and glanced at his phone. I silently wondered just how many times he could sigh in a matter of fifteen minutes. He grabbed my wrist, digging his fingers into my skin a bit too hard and pulled me through a few parking spots.
"Get in." he said, pulling the passenger door open on his sleek black Challenger.
"I don't know you." I interjected. "Not to mention, your... acquaintences attacked me last night. So I think I'll just walk, thanks." Styles huffed and his knuckles turned white on the door handle. He slammed his hand against the car, right next to my face. I flinched. I knew it was stupid, but I didn't see another way out. I ducked under his arm that he had pressed against the car and took off, down the road at a full sprint. I knew he'd catch up to me. He had a car. But I could hide in places that he couldn't get to with a car.
"Stop!" I heard him yell, but I didn't want to be anywhere near him. Even if he was trying to "protect" me from them, he was just as bad. After all, he was the one that called all the shots. Killing people was probably a normal occurrence for him. I sprinted down the sidewalk until my legs ached. I heard his car engine start and only ran faster. I turned down a side street and sprinted into an alley. He would never be able to get his car down here. Frantically, I searched in every direction for hiding spot. I was desperate, willing to try anything. I found a gap between two buildings, barely big enough for me to fit down. I turned sideways and slid against the wall, between the two buildings. I crouched between two trash cans behind one of the buildings and prayed that he wouldn't find me here. I could call the police but that would be more trouble than it was worth. I heard a car pull into the lot and the engine turned off.
"Shit..." I muttered. I was sure that it was him. And I was right.
"Where are you!?" he called. He sounded angry. I tried to steady my breathing so the volume of it wouldn't give me away. "Don't you understand that I'm trying to help you?" he called even though he couldn't see me. "I saw you run here. You weren't very clever with your hiding spot." I pressed my back against the wall as hard as I could, hoping that it would swallow me up and take me somewhere else. "There you are..." I heard him say. I heard him start sliding between the two walls and debated if I should stay here or run. He might not see me between the trash cans, but he's merciless. He'll probably look everywhere. I knew that he could run faster than me. It wasn't worth running either. His legs were longer and I had never been a runner anyway. The trashcan on my left was pulled from my side. I held my knees to my chest and hid my face behind them. "Why are you hiding!? I'm not going to hurt you!" he yelled. I cowered from him and refused to look up. He locked a hand under my arm and pulled me from the ground. "I swear that I'm not going to hurt you." he said. I still didn't believe him. "Do you want to get home safely tonight? I'm just going to take you home. We're not going anywhere else. Let's go. Just follow me to the car." he said. His tone was soft. I could tell that he was trying very hard to be nice, but I still didn't trust him. However, my feet forced me to follow him to his Challenger. I didn't trust him completely, but it was better than spending the entire night, hiding between trash cans, waiting for someone worse to find me. I couldn't understand why he'd want to get me home safely though. I was a random person that his "friends" had picked off of the side of the road, like garbage.
"Sorry." I mumbled, sliding in. Styles cursed under his breath and leaned over me to fasten the seat belt, making me shiver uncomfortably. He slammed the door and quickly got in the other side. He slammed the key into the ignition and tore out of the lots, tires squealing in protest. He plugged his phone in, keeping one hand on the wheel. His eyes were glued to the road. Styles cursed after we passed another black car in the opposite direction, headlights on. Another passed, severely tailing the first, and another, and another. Five, six, seven, eight... That's when it hit me. That was the gang. Styles' phone rang and he let it ring a few times before answering it.
"Hello? No, I'm running late. Still at home. Clearly it wasn't. Listen, Pain. I have to go. Yeah, I'll be there soon. Don't worry about it, ok?" he said calmly before hanging up. Styles pulled at the cuff of his leather jacket, clearly irritated. His phone rang again less than a minute later.
"What? no. Wait. I don't CARE what Clifford said. You're going to wait until I get there." he sighed. "Listen. You take orders from ME. Look, I'll be there in fifteen minutes." he grunted, hanging up and throwing his phone absentmindedly into one of the cup holders in the center console. I cowered again, against the passenger door. I wanted to open the door and throw myself out, but at the speed the car was moving, that would probably kill me. "Don't worry about that." Styles said, looking over at me. "That was them, not you."
"But my house is twenty."
"We'll see." Styles smirked. And with that, he floored it. I closed my eyes and gripped the console, earning a dramatic sigh and eye roll from Styles. We pulled into my driveway and before I could even pick my book up, he was standing there, holding the door open for me. "Charlotte?" Styles said, puppy dog eyes now on full display.
"Yes?"
"I'm sorry for being so... rude." he apologized, coughing lightly to clear his throat "I just wanted to get you out of there before they showed up. Oh, and!" he paused to smile at me for a moment. "I am sorry about your wrist. It's just hard for me to... not be so... harsh... I'm sorry that I hurt you. I'll never hurt you again, okay? Believe that it was never my intention." he said. I was starting to wonder if he was bipolar. This was a complete turn around in his personality. I didn't like it. The dramatic change only scared me more. This boy was flighty, ready to change at any second. I shifted on my feet, before deciding how I felt.
"It's ok. I understood." I admitted. I really didn't, but I'd say whatever it took to get him to leave. I still wanted him to leave me alone. And it scared me that he knew where I lived now. I just wanted him to stay as far away from me as possible.
"You need to stay away from them. Do you understand?" his voice lowered again. I nodded. "Do what you're told and no one will have to get hurt." he glared. I was scared again "Sleep well." He smiled at me. I liked that smile. It was a lot better than the scowl that was always on his face. I think that it was mostly just because it made him look so much less intimidating. It was also nice to see him look like an innocent teenage boy. I knew he was... At least at one point in his life. He couldn't have been like this forever. His grin turned into a glaring smirk before pulling his hair back with a bandana and tearing out of the drive. I walked inside and no one was home. I sighed, continuing to wonder whether he was bipolar or not. He made me smile one second and then want to cry the next. Personally, I never wanted to see him again.
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Author's Note: I have a lot of this written already in a notebook, so it shouldn't take very long to update at first. Still looking for a new cover.
5 Seconds of Summer's cover of American Idiot is freaking amazing. i've been listening to it all morning.
Thank you so much for reading this. It means a lot to me and I hope you continue. Next chapter will be up soon.
~~Peyt xx