Colour Me Red

Chapter 19: The Before

Chapter 19: The Before

Dune tilted the rim of his ball cap downwards, casting a shadow over his eyes.

To anyone passing by, it would’ve looked like he was shielding his gaze from the harsh glare of the sun, but in truth, he was sheltering his true identity. Along with his dark jeans and white tee, he looked like any normal college student; just the look he was going for.

He watched as the blonde haired girl lounged on the bottle green grass, the summer air tossing small locks of her hair into the breeze. She was sat with her legs stretched out, her arms supporting her from behind, with her hair almost brushing the floor. In this light, it almost looked like a river of gold as it shone and shimmered, and Dune could only recall the amount of time he’d spent fantasising over what it would feel like to bury his hands in those golden locks.

Dune stared at her, mesmerised, this week more so than the last, before chastising himself for being so unprofessional. He had a job to do, and he wasn’t planning on falling for said job.

At the end of the day, he was going to kill her and there was nothing more to it. This was his life now and he had to accept it.

Dune pulled an apple from his pocket and took a bite in order to remain unsuspicious. When sitting on the back of a bench on college grounds, you had to look like you belonged there: especially when you didn’t actually attend the college.

It was lunch hour for the students so he’d taken up refuge on a bench that overlooked the small patch of grass the blonde haired girl was sat on. She threw her head back and laughed at something her friend had said, and Dune had to suppress the urge to go over there and talk to her.

“Hi,” a high-pitched voice said, tearing Dune from his thoughts.

The dark haired boy turned his head to inspect the intruder, watching her as she took a seat next to him.

He didn’t say anything in response, hoping that she’d find him ignorant and leave him alone. The last thing he wanted was to draw attention to him, and this girl screamed for it.

Her hair was a mixture of two colours; one side was a coral green and the other was lilac. Her clothes consisted of a pair of shorts and a crop top that was covered in fake jewels.

When she caught him looking at her she mistook it for approval and her lips twitched into a smile.

“I’ve not seen you around before, are you new?” she asked coyly, brushing her hair away from her face.

When he didn’t reply a second time, she simply tried again, pursuing her prey as any persistent predator would.

“I’m Mary-Anne, what’s your name?”

Dune just looked at her with cold eyes and took another bite of his apple, hating that he couldn’t just threaten her to leave him alone.

“Well someone’s grumpy,” she said, with a mock frown on her face. “Or are you a mute?”

She seemed to find this funny and Dune wanted to wipe that smirk right off her face.

“I’m not a mute, I’m just not interested,” he said, with a chill that would make any sane person think twice about who they were conversing with.

“Well maybe I can change your mind,” the girl drawled, trying to nudge the cap of his hat back so that his eyes were uncovered.

Before Dune had the chance to snap, he was distracted by the melodic voice of the blonde haired girl.

“Who’s that Mary-Anne is talking to?” she asked her friend.

They both turned to look at Dune in that moment, but he had already focused his entire attention on her.

Their eyes locked and Dune sat frozen for three seconds straight before he realised that he simply couldn’t imprint any more of himself on her memory.

Standing up rather abruptly, he started walking away, even though the girl, Mary-Anne, continued to shout after him.

He only looked back once, and regretted it when he heard the response of the blonde haired girl’s friend.

“Probably another flavour of the week.”

                                                                                                   *

Dune did not return to the college again. The risk was too great so he had to work from the shadows when keeping tabs on his victim.

“Marc? Have you found anything, yet?”

Dune entered the office and his eyes fell upon his friend and associate who was sat tapping away at a computer.

“Honestly dude, I can’t find anything worth killing her over. Why did you agree to this one again?” Marc asked curiously.

Dune sighed and ran a hand through his hair.

“Can you blame me? He offered me double the asking price. Would you have turned that kind of money down?”

Marc laughed but nodded his head anyway.

“What are you going to do with this one, though? I know you’re set in your ways and won’t just kill her for any old reason, so how do you plan on following this through?”

“I’m going to figure out why her own father wants her dead if it takes me ten years. I can’t just kill her for the sake of someone wanting her dead. Even I don’t sink that low.” Dune said with utter determination.

Marc smiled at him, almost proud that his friend was so strong-minded.

“Anyway,” Marc started. “I believe you have an appointment.”

Dune grinned and packed the last of his knives into his sheath, knowing that tonight he was going out for blood.

A/N: Hey guys, I'm sorry it's so short but you wouldn't believe the amount of homework I've been set, I promise the next chapter will be better. Please let me know your thought and what you think about the progression of the story, do you like where it's going or do I need to rethink my strategy? Thanks again for reading :)

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