social casualty > ashton irwin

one

S O C I A L C A S U A L T Y

Rain poured down the bridge of her nose, forming perfect droplets at the tip. From her hiding space she was hidden from the men's eyesight, not the weather. This was the first time everything had gone wrong, she had never messed up this badly and she knew if she were to be caught nothing would ever be right again. As she crouched behind the large garbage bin her hands shook wildly, partly from the cold harsh rain and partly from the fear. She had never been so scared in her life. Suddenly a floodlight shone onto her revealing her hiding spot to the four men. Just as quickly as the floodlight turned on a bullet was shot, skimming her right shoulder and cutting into her dirty flannel shirt.

"We've got you now" One of the men spoke up pointing his gun at her "No where to run". However, she knew what she was doing, she was an expert at running away.

Only two blocks away a boy with curly hair was shutting up the late night coffee shop with happy people painted on the windows. That was a lie, for all the time he worked there he had never seen a person smile that wide or have that glint in their eye. Nothing was happy or appealing about that place, it was just a bad coffee shop in New York. This boy longed for something new, to drag him away from this boring life he had going, he wanted adventure and excitement, not coffee shops and taxes.

As he stuck the key in the door a gunshot could be heard not to far away and the gentle glow of blue and red lights could be seen bouncing off the tall building's surrounding them. Stupid prick. He thought, if your gonna be a criminal don't get caught. As he struggled to turn the key to lock the door he listened to the yelling 'oi, you can't run forever' 'get back here' 'just give up'. Another few gunshots could be heard as the sirens grew louder and the lights became brighter indicating that they were going to drive straight past him. This caused him to stop struggling with the key as he decided to watch the chase.

"Open that door, quick" a girl's voice shouted at him "Hurry I don't have all day" he spotted her running out of an alleyway three shops down from his. Even though he knew it was wrong to help her, as it was clear she was the one the police were chasing, he didn't stop his hands from pushing the door wide open and ushering her in. After the two of them had ran in she slammed the door and ran behind the counter.

The boy just stood there, completely frozen as his mind caught up with his body. He had just helped a criminal get away from the police, the thought of his mother being disappointed was overpowered by the rush of excitement and adrenaline that cruised round his veins. This was the feeling he had been craving and if this was how he was going to get it then this is what needed to be done.

"Quick, get behind a table don't just stand there" The girl snapped at him causing him to crouch behind the nearest table and watch as the flashing lights of police cars rush past. "Shit that was so close" she said sighing and getting out from behind the counter. Her arm was dripping with the blood from the bullet wound and her hair was a mess due to the wind and rain, the dark circles under her eyes became prominent as she looked the boy in the eyes.

"You gonna let me out?" She questioned motioning to him now standing in front of the only doorway.

"Uh, d-do you want help?" he stuttered out, not meeting her bored gaze.

"With what?" she snapped, eager to leave as this boy she didn't even know was annoying her.

"With your arm. There's a medical kit in the back, I could look at your arm." still not looking her in the eyes. Only then did she really feel the pain in her right arm, the fear of being caught had clouded her mind and she hadn't realized how bad the bullet graze was.

"Yeah. That would be cool, just keep all the lights off and don't sit by the window. If the cops come back and see people in her i'm ruined." she jumped onto the counter that he had just finished wiping down as he went to the back room to find the medical kit. When he got back to her she had stripped off her flannel shirt and was trying to get the blood off of it.

"Uh do you want to sit here?" he shyly asked as he pulled out a chair towards the back of the room.

"Ya know, you don't have to be nervous, I didn't kill a man" she laughed as she slumped down in the seat.

"If you don't mind me asking, what did you do?"

"I was caught selling some drugs. Stupid mistake of not checking out everyone at the party. Just lost my boss $8,400 because of a stupid mistake, don't know why I ran from the cops. I'm as good as dead right now." she explained, he listened intently as he wiped her wounds and she din't even flinch. "So whats your name coffee boy?"

"A-Ashton. you?" he placed a large bandage round her arm, he couldn't help but feel nervous around her .

"That's something I can't tell you. Thanks Ashton" she smiled, after quickly grabbing her flannel and wrapping it round her waist she waltzed out the coffee shop like she hadn't just had a near death experience. Maybe this night wasn't as exhilarating for her as it was for me. Ashton thought as he wiped the side down again, I wish everyday of my life was as exciting as this.

- - -

this book will probably be a massive flop but I think i'm going to have fun writing this. I have so many things planned, i cant wait:)

if you enjoyed please vote and like or whatever it is you do on this website, it means a lot to me :)) thanks for reading.

~ amokashton