Dark Paradise.

scarlet's POV:

at just 1am in Central London, the night is young. an empty city street can seem the most alive thing in the world; music pumping from the rows of houses, coloured lights flashing over the rooftops, cheerful voices shouting in the distance. there's nowhere else i'd rather be, even if i am on my own.

bambi, my flatmate and best friend (since god knows when) retreated back to our apartment a little while ago, leaving me stranded. but when you're not even slightly tired even wandering alone down London's backstreets seems like a better option than returning to the bore that is home. besides, everyone needs a little break on the weekends. being a medical student is unbelievably stressful, i need time to relax. heels in my hand, i tramped down the street, taking in all the sights and sounds nightlife has to offer.

"look, you can run along back to riley and tell him to stop pissing me off." a husky voice growled from the ally to my right.

my head snapped to the direction of the sound, where two men were discussing something. their conversation didn't seem like that of two drunks. it sounded more.. dangerous. i quickly ducked behind the wall; it wouldn't pay off to be seen by these two. maybe i should have gone home with bambi after all.

"come on, styles. he won't listen, even you know that. maybe if you just do what he wants.." the second voice trailed off and there was a thud. i drew in a breath and peeked around the corner. 'styles' had shoved the second man against the wall. although he was definately taller and better built, styles' voice hinted he was younger. 19, maybe. my age. styles' back was to me; if the second man diverted his gaze from styles just a bit, he would have seen me. luckily, he didn't.

"do you honestly think that's going to happen?" styles laughed. "it's going to have to if you don't want him to keep sending people after you." the second man growled. styles reached into his coat pocket and pulled out a small black revolver. i gasped, quickly covered my mouth realising my mistake and ducked back behind the wall, praying neither of them heard me. god must have been on duty tonight, neither of them noticed.

"i don't want to have to use this, jay, but you know.. if it comes to it.." styles murmered.

"use that and see how riley retaliates. you wouldn't dare." jay did a terrible job of hiding his fear; his voice shook several times in one sentence. i risked another peek at the scene from behind my wall.

"try me." styles simply said and pressed the revolver to jay's forehead.

shit, i'm about to witness a murder. before i was even able to think about running, i glanced down at the chunky heels I was still holding and leaped out from behind the wall. i smacked the hard part of my heels into the back of styles' head and he dropped the revolver in surprise. i took the moment to give him another smack in the back of the head as hard as i could. this time, he dropped to the ground. jay stared at me for a moment before swiftly swiping styles' revolver and running off. i glanced at styles' motionless body on the ground and knelt down beside it. i was pretty sure i hadn't killed him, but i guess it'd be better to check.

i pressed two fingers to the side of his neck and checked for a pulse. thankfully, he had one. i sat back on my heels and pulled my phone out of my purse. he might have been about to murder someone, but i can't just leave him here. he doesn't have to know i was the one who knocked him out.

"what the hell, scarlet? i just got into bed." bambi's voice groaned over the phone.

"i just knocked someone out; i need you to help me get him back to ours." i explained.

"honestly scar, how the fuck do you get yourself into these situations?

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THIS IS JUST THE PROLOGUE I PROMISE THE NEXT CHAPTERS WILL BE LONGER.

if you are interested in finding out the rest, PLEASE REVIEW.

i will post the next chapter if i get at least 5 reviews. (:

~ kahyla ♡