the purge // n.h. (au)

five

A/N: I can't be more thankful for all of the amazing comments I've gotten on the last chapter and all the votes too! I love you all. :*

Julissa

I screamed and cowered back into the wall, throwing my hands up in front of my face to shield myself from the stranger.

"Sh, it's alright! I'm not going to hurt you," the boy soothed with a thick irish accent, kneeling down beside me.

He tried to reach for my hands and take them away from my face, but I shrieked once more and kicked him with my foot.

"Get away from me! Don't touch me!" I cried into my hands, my body shaking uncontrollably with fear.

Surprisingly, he listened to my pleads and scooted back a little.

"Please, calm down. I promise I'm not going to hurt you," he repeated softly, his voice calm and quiet.

I let out a deep breath and shakily brought my hands down to my lap. I picked up my flashlight and warily shone it back at the boy, wanting to get another glimpse of his features.

I was taken aback when I seen that he wasn't that old- maybe a year or two older than myself. He was tall and muscular, with an average body size. His hair was dyed blonde and a deep brown at the roots. His eyes were a piercing blue, and were slightly watery. He had a few cuts on his hands and face, and there was a small line of dried blood that ran down his cheek from his temple. He also had no weapons from what I could see, and he surely didn't look like he wanted to attack anyone tonight.

But why was he in my house? And how did he even get inside?

"Who are you, and why are you here? Who let you in?" I asked, the sound of my own voice surprising me when it came out harsh and cold.

"I'm Niall, and I was being chased by a group of these guys. They wanted to kill me, but it was for no reason. I never did anything to them. But I was looking for safety, and this little girl let me in. Her name was Maddie, I think she said," Niall answered.

I mentally face-palmed myself. I should've known that if someone let him in, it was Maddie. She couldn't deal with thought of innocent people getting killed during this time of the year, and she would always talk about protecting people if it came to it.

He waited for me to say something, but I stayed silent. After a moment he spoke up again. "So uh, what's your name?"

I sighed, rubbing my forehead. "It doesn't matter, and it's none of your business. Do you have any clue as to why the power's off in the entire house?"

He shook his head, running his dirty hands through his tousled hair. "I don't know, it just became dark when I came up here."

"Have my parents seen you?"

"Your father did; he thought I was here to Purge, and he was going to kill me. I didn't get a chance to explain myself."

I nodded in understanding. "Well, what do you expect me to do?"

He shrugged, not knowing what to say to that. "I didn't really expect you to do anything. I just hoped you could help me explain to your father that I'm not here to hurt anyone."

I frowned, his words bringing back memories of Tyler and how explaining was never something that seemed to work in our family. "I can't help you. Explaining doesn't work with my father. You can try to explain all you want, but it's just going to make things worse.."

His eyebrows furrowed together in confusion. "What do you mean by that?"

I scoffed. I am not going be telling him anything personal tonight.

I don't even know him, and he expects me to just go out and tell him everything that's happened throughout my life?

"It's none of your business," I muttered, standing to my feet and making my way down the hall to find Maddie and our parents.

"Wait, where are you going?" Niall yell-whispered, curious as to where I was headed.

"I'm going away from you."

I began walking away once more, but he reached my side and grabbed my wrist, keeping me from going any further. "I really think it would be best if we stayed together. We could help each other," he suggested, despair clear in his voice.

"I don't need anybody's help," I said, pulling my arm out of his light grasp. "Just leave me alone."

Niall groaned, frustrated by my actions. "Why are you so stubborn?"

"I'm not. But you're a stranger and I'm not going to stick around with you. I need to find my sister and parents."

"I'll go with you," he blurted, not letting me go anywhere without him.

"Why do you want to go with me so badly?" I wondered, looking up at him.

"It's best if we stay together. And I..don't want you to get hurt," he answered shyly, looking down at the floor. My mouth opened, shocked by his reply.

"Oh."

I got quiet then and started walking back towards the steps, Niall following right beside me nervously.

"So are you going to tell me your name now? Or am I going to have to call you random names for now on?" he asked with a grin.

I sighed, letting my outermost gates drop. "Julissa. My name is Julissa."