Dark Flame - (Liam Payne AU)

Ch. 1

Liam POV:

It's half past eight. Where is she? She'll be late for work, as usual. I worry about her from time to time. Her front door opens, and she comes out of her apartment in her waitress outfit. Her beautiful black hair was curled today, and she had a hint of red lipstick on. God, her beauty could have even the strongest man on his knees. I watched her as she waved to her neighbor, Janice, at exactly 8:32. She gets into her car at 8:34, and drives away at 8:35. I follow her, as I always do. When I know she makes it to work safely, I wait out in my car for exactly 10 minutes. I go in for coffee. As I open the door to the diner, my every movement is followed by eyes of the people at their tables. They all know who I am, and not one of them dares to mess with me. They are all scared, except for her. She was the only one who wasn't.

"Juliet will be right with you, Mr. Payne." the hostess said, politely terrified. 

Juliet. The very thought of her name made me weak. She walked over to my table, so gracefully and wonderful.

"Hello, Mr. Payne. Coffee for you?" She asked, holding up a hot pot of coffee. I nodded with a slight smirk as she poured the coffee into a mug. "Your food will be out in a few minutes." Juliet said with a smile. She always knew what I wanted. Coffee and eggs. Black coffee, and scrambled eggs. That's it. I sat in my booth, admiring her petite figure and million dollar smile from afar. I watched her closely everytime she refilled my coffee. I watched her as she innocently sat my eggs down in front of me. I thanked her, and she smiled. She always had a smile on her face. 

After a bit, she laid down my check. $5.07, as always. I laid down a twenty and stood up, brushing off my leather jacket and putting on my sunglasses. I walked past everyone and made my way out. I sat in my car and watched Juliet through the window as she picked up my bill and my money. She smiled as she saw how much I left her. I have given her a twenty every day for the past three months, and everyday she had the same reaction. 

I got a call, interupting my train of thought.

"Yeah, what is it?" I asked.

"Liam, we need you here man. It's bad." I heard my friend Niall say on the other end. 

Great. 

Juliet POV:

Do you ever get the feeling that you are being watched? I always feel like I am. When I'm at home, when I'm at work...even when I'm just out and about! I know this town isn't safe, with all the gang violence going on, but I just can't bring myself to leave. I moved here about a year and a half ago, and up until three months ago, I had no real idea of the gangs. 

I knew they existed, but I never really knew much about them, just some stuff I heard on the news. But it was aout three months ago, I think, that I had my first real encounter with one of the members. I had been given the night shift at Gennie's, the diner I work at, when I first met Liam Payne, the some-what leader. No one wanted to take his table, so I did. He wasn't rude at all, just a bit intimidating, but I never let that get the best of me. I knew if I was going to be living in a town with gangs, the one thing that I couldn't do was let my guard down. Liam was impatient when I told him it would be a while for his burger, so I offered him a free milkshake. He said no, but something in him changed after that. I went to ask my friend Sheila who it was. That was when I found out who I was dealing with, so I knew I had to be more careful. 

He finally got his burger, and then he ate and left $20 on the table. I was kind of taken back. His burger was only $6, so he had left a $14 dollar tip? Strange. 

Any who, back to being watched. Last week, when I was watching my dog, Rudy, in the park, I swore I heard someone in the bushes! How weird, right? And the other day, my window was open when I was cleaning my apartment, and I heard footsteps on my porch. I even called the cops, but they said there was no trace of anyone and that I should be on high alert for the next few days because I could have had a possible robber or attacker. 

 Needless to say, I was absolutely petrified. I only left my house to walk my dog and go to work. Even then, I was scared. I had been living in fear for almost a month now. Maybe I was just delusional, or maybe I just needed a vacation. 

London terrified me; but I loved the thrill of it.