Runaway [Rilaya AU]

One -- Riley.

Helloooooo. Chances are, if you're reading this, you've read my other Rilaya fic.

If not: Welcome, new reader.

(What I'm listening to: for him. -- Troye Sivan ft. Allday)

~ JM/SS/CW

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"Goodnight, Riley! Don't forget to brush your teeth!"

Sighing and shaking my head as I walk down the hall, I stop to say goodnight to my already-asleep brother before making my way to my own bedroom.

The first thing I do is change into my pyjamas, a pair of pink shorts and a matching tank, complete with a tiny cat design on the front. After changing, I pad into the bathroom to brush my teeth.

When my bedtime routine is finally complete, I'm ready to actually go to sleep. But just as I'm turning off the light and starting toward my bed, a sound is heard from outside. A sound that can only be explained as someone opening the window.

Everything that happens next happens in a blur.

A girl, her blonde hair a mess and blue eyes shining in the dim light, suddenly climbs through the now-open window of my bedroom. Upon noticing me, she puts a finger to her lips, closing the window in silence and moving away from the glass.

At first, there's nothing, until I see the unmistakable flash of red and blue lights from a police car -- but not just one, more like four. There are no sirens, but that doesn't stop me from thinking, Oh my God. There's a teenage criminal standing in my bedroom.

After the cars go past, the girl lets out a sigh of relief, but she doesn't make a move to climb back out the window and go on her way.

"Wh-Who are you?" I ask, my voice shaking.

The girl smirks, and I take a step back as she approaches me. "Maya Hart: Local Runaway. Don't worry, I'm not a criminal. See, those police were looking for me, but not because I broke the law. I'm a runaway, and they keep returning me to my family. I run away again every time, because I'm treated like crap in that house, but when I try to tell the police that, they always have the same response: 'If you're treated so badly, why do they keep calling us every time you go missing?'"

I don't say anything, so she takes it as a sign of me wanting her to tell me the answer to that question. "It's because they find joy in treating me like a dog, that's why."

"The police really don't believe you when you try to turn in your family?" I ask, my curiosity overtaking my fear of this unknown blonde.

She looks at the ground, the first time she's moved her gaze from my eyes since she started talking. "Nope." I'm about to say something else, but she looks up. "This might seem a little straight forward, but I can't live on the street -- they'll find me there. So, I was wondering...."

Please don't ask what I think you're about to ask.

"Could I possibly stay here?"

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Probably the longest first chapter I've ever written..........