Dangerous

Chapter One- This City Never Sleeps

"Tatum, come put away this last box for me please." My mom was in our new kitchen putting our kitchenware in the various cabinets.

I opened the box to a bunch of CDs. "Mom, are these yours or mine?" I shuffled through a couple.

"Half of them are yours. The other half are mine." I carried the box upstairs to my room. I set the box of my favorite artists and my mom's old time favorites on my bed and leaned against my headboard sorting through the CDs. I put Blink 182 in my pile and Prince in my mom's. Ed Sheeran in mine along with Mayday Parade. I continued this process as I put Ed's "+" album in my CD player.

"Lately I've been waking up alone... Paint splattered teardrops on my shirt." I sang along. A knock echoed from my door and I looked up to see my mom.

"Is this yours?" She held a photo album out. I grabbed it and flipped through the pages. They were of this girl about my age, maybe a year younger. A bunch of photos with friends and family.

"No... It might have been left behind by the previous family." I handed it back to her. She walked away and a note fell from the album. I walked across my room and picked it up.

~ My dearest Adelaide.. You truly are my sunshine as cliche as it sounds. You brighten my day. I would be nothing without you. I wouldn't be able to talk to a single soul ever again. Without your existence, my voice would forever be at rest. Stay safe on your trip. I'll see you in two weeks. Kisses, Harry. xx ~

Some kind of love letter. I threw it in my trash can and trotted down the stairs.

"Hey, mom? Do you want me to put those empty boxes down at the curb?" I pointed to approximately six collapsed cardboard boxes. My mom nodded so I picked them up and went out the door.

I walked along my driveway and across the sidewalk. I placed the boxes down by my new mailbox and stood back up. I took a nice look at my new neighborhood. It was pretty nice. Clean cut lawns, nice houses, seemed like the perfect place to live. I turned and someone three houses down caught my glance. His hair curly and tousled. He was wearing a Rolling Stones t-shirt. He looked a year older than me, a senior. He just stared at me so I waved. He just turned his head and continued to look through his mail.

I walked back inside and found my mom relaxing on the couch. Finally, we were done unpacking.

"The neighborhood is nice. But there was a kid down the street. He didn't seem so friendly." I sat next to my mom.

"Maybe he's just shy. Perhaps you can find him at your new school tomorrow."

"Maybe."

Later that night I stood rummaging through my closet finding something to wear. It seemed like half my clothes disappeared on the trip here. I laid out a pair of high waisted shorts, a loose mint green top with white lace on the collar, and a pair of white wedges. I made my way towards the window to close the curtains. Through my window I could see a guy walking down the sidewalk with a flashlight. It was a little weird but, people do that all the time right? So I closed my curtains and tried to fall asleep.

"Tatum, you might want to leave soon or you'll be late." My mother tossed me my bag. I grabbed my purse and left my house.

I walked down the sidewalk. A few houses up that guy was walking. My heart told me to catch up with him and maybe make a friend but my brain told me to just leave it be. So I did.

I stood in the office waiting for the secretary to give me my schedule. The guy was also in there and I think he was asking for a schedule change. Something about him not liking his chemistry teacher.

"Mrs. Holmes, where is room 233?" I pointed to my homeroom class on my schedule.

"Actually Tatum, he's headed there now, I'm sure he can escort you." He looked at me with a grim face. His mouth didn't even curl an attempt to smile. He just glared at me and walked out the door. I followed him quickly for his pace was a bit faster than I expected.

"Hi, I'm Tatum." I smiled and held my hand out to him once I caught up. He just looked at it and turned into a room. I'm assuming it was room 233.

"Well hello! I believe you must be our new student from across the sea! Nice to meet you, Tatum. I'm Mr. Moreno. You can take a seat next to Avery." Mr. Moreno pointed to a seat next to a kind looking girl. As smiled at me and offered me her hand when I sat down. I gingerly shook it and smiled back.

During lunch I walked passed tables of laughing students, looking for a place to sit.

"Tatum! Want to sit with us?" I heard Avery call from two tables over. I took a seat next to her.

"Hey, you're the new American, right?" A guy asked me.

"Yeah, I just moved in a few blocks over." I smiled.

"Guys, this is Tatum," Avery introduced me, "And this is Louis, Eliza, Jack, and Prim." I shook their hands in a series of 'hellos'.

The guy from my street walked passed our table holding his tray in one hand and an apple in the other.

"Who's he?" I asked a bit quiet.

"That is Harry Styles. Try to stay away from him. Some think he's dangerous." Avery stressed.

"Why? What did he do?"

"There was a rumor that he murdered his girlfriend. Some people think he's just depressed from her death last summer." Eliza whispered across the table.

"Either way, he doesn't talk to anybody anymore." Louis said biting his apple.