𝐈𝐍 𝐓𝐇𝐄 𝐒𝐇𝐀𝐃𝐎𝐖 𝐎𝐅 𝐇𝐄𝐑 || 𝐒𝐞𝐛𝐚𝐬𝐭𝐢𝐚𝐧 𝐒𝐚𝐥𝐥𝐨𝐰

Chapter One: Matty

 Chapter One:

The streets of London were awake and lively with voices who were bartering and chatting away, yet everything was oddly peaceful. There were no fights or shouting over outrageous deals.

Everything was moderately peaceful.... That was until a fifteen-year-old girl hurdled over some crates and boxes, busting out forward over them from an alleyway.

A few of the crates were overturned, causing whoever was stacking them to shout "Hey!" and watched angrily as the girl sprinted away. "Get back here Ambrose!"

"I'll be back to help soon!" The girl, whose name was Matty, shouted over her shoulder, not looking back. She sifted through the sea of people who were walking the streets of London, probably just hoping to have their own peaceful day. Matty successfully managed not to knock anyone over, but she got a few dirty looks and names.

"Almost there." Matty thought to herself as she continued to sprint forward, finally making it out of the crowd.

After only a few more moments, she saw her best friend, Hope, who was standing by the designated area chosen prior to this. Matty let out a whoop, knowing she had won right as she managed to reach her friend, slapping her outstretched hand to signal that she had won.

A few moments later, a boy came stumbling out of the crowd of people. He was about to sprint forward before he realized Matty had reached Hope first. So reluctantly he sighed and just jogged over, his breath heavy from running so fast.

"I told you I could beat you, Aaron!" Matty exclaimed. Only a few minutes prior, Matty had dared Aaron to try and beat her in a race so that Matty could test out all the shortcuts she knew around the small part of London they lived in. 

"I told you I knew my way around."

Aaron let out a short breath, almost like a huff. "Well, I didn't think you'd do it. You're faster than you look, mate."

Hope looked up to her brother with a knowing smile on her face. Knowing Matty as her best friend for several years gave her many opportunities to know how Matty really was. "Ah don't sulk on it, Aaron. Maybe if you learn all the shortcuts she does, you'll beat her one day."

Her brother looked down at her with almost a displeased look, as if he took it as Hope mocking him. Matty knew the secrets of the city better but that was because she was more mischievous than Hope and Aaron. Aaron was quite the troublemaker but since Hope was his little sister, she made sure to keep him in line and out of trouble with their parents.

"Well thanks for the race, Aaron," Matty said, holding out her hand to be a good sport. Aaron rolled his eyes and shook her hand, but he did have a bit of a grin on her face. 

"I need to get back there though. I accidentally knocked over Mr. Hawthorne's crates. He'll be looking for me soon if I don't get back there and help him."

Mr. Hawthorne was an old, snuffy shopkeeper who didn't have much on his mind other than ruining the days of his customers. Half of the reason why he stayed in business with his tiny shop was the fact that you could only get certain items from him. He was also infamously known for having strange objects in his shop, ones that people couldn't explain. Although Matty could use Mr. Hawthorne's attitude as an excuse to not help him, she knew she needed to since she had caused the damage in the first place.

"Ah, good luck with that one, Matty," Hope said with a slight chuckle. She hugged her best friend before walking away with her brother to return home.

Matty watched as they left before turning around on her heel to go walk back through the crowd of people to get back to Mr. Hawthorne. Seven years ago, Matty had moved to London from Dublin, Ireland for her father's job. And although she missed Ireland a lot, she had met some great people. Hope, Aaron, and their parents, the McGowen's, had welcomed them with open arms when the Ambrose's moved in right next to them. Hope and Matty had been best friends ever since.