The Keepers (Niall Horan FanFic)

Chapter 2-A Bench For Two

I park my car a ways up the street from where the white bench is, even though it means I'll be walking against the freezing wind. Oh well. Better safe than sorry, seeing as I have no idea who or what I'm working for.

I sit down on the bench, rubbing my hands against each other, every so often looking down at my cell phone even though I know I would've heard it ring. Glance around. The only color I see is gray, with the occasional white or tan color or a house. Grey, the color that winter brings.

Ding-dong. Ding-dong. "Hello?" I say, waiting to hear that slow voice again. Silence. "Hello? Are you ther-" "Hello, dear miss Aster," says a voice from behind. After all these years of becoming accustomed to unexpected things, I don't even flinch.

I study my new employer. Well, not officially, but I'm sure he's bound to be. Handsome, probably in his early 40's. Dark brown hair and dark brown eyes that should look intimidating, cold even, yet they have a softness and warmth that I recognize all too well.  A mask he puts on to make himself look like someone who's intentions are pure, which somehow makes those eyes even colder even though he's looking at me like I'm a lost puppy. He isn't fooling anyone, though, because I've learned that genuine kindness doesn't look like it's trying to cover something up.

"Hello," I say, my eyes never leaving his. Brown. Kind. No, that's just a cover. "I'm sure you're wondering who I am," he says, and this time I catch a glimpse of something else in those large brown iris'. What is it? Humor? Amusement? Yes, he must be wondering how a 17-year-old girl stumbled onto his list of potential clients. "Actually, I have quite a good idea of who you are, aside from an employer. World-class liar, expert with words..and a tyrant." I say, my gaze unwavering. "Oh, I wouldn't say tyrant. More along the lines of..someone who always gets what he wants." He says, those eyes now definetly laughing at me, even if his mouth isn't. I stay silent. "Well, anyways. That's besides the point. And I have a tight schedule to follow, so let's get straight to it, shall we? I have a job for you, Miss Aster. Someone who needs to disposed of, and quickly. I have a new rising star, someone who shows very much promise than the person I'm sending you to destroy. Very young. Very enthusiastic. Ready to make their way into the spotlight, if it were't for one little problem that I have. Someone is already in the spotlight, taking up the whole of it. And I need them to dissapear."

This I was expecting. I look around at our surroundings, letting his words sink in. Another person who's secret he needs me to discover and promise to keep and then expose with the whole world watching, including them. I turn back to him, catching his gaze. His eyes have never left my face. "Who exactly is it that you need me to destroy?" I say, turning my head and glancing again at the grey landscape that unfolds before us in every direction.

Silence. I assume he's doing that to keep me in suspense, but after all the employers I've worked with in situations just like this with men exactly like him I've long since felt the feeling of being on the edge of my seat.

Yet somehow a chill runs up my spine, and I don't think it's because of the wind. I feel his eyes on mine as he utters his next two words.

"Niall Horan."