Kidnap My Heart // greyson chance. (( E D I T I N G ))

Chapter 1

| |  C H A P T E R  O N E  :  A L L  I  W A N T E D  W A S  A  B O O K  | |

I was enveloped with the gentle night breeze as soon as I stepped out onto the porch. I gripped my mahogany coat tighter around my  body to be embraced with the cozy warmth it offered. I headed to the sidewalk and started walking with my mind wandering aimlessly. I have just finished reading The Fault In Our Stars, and I must say: John Green, you are a complete genius. I was so dazed when he killed off Augustus, like why the hell did he have to die? Though, I actually thought that in the end, Hazel was the one who would leave. John had been giving hints throughout the story that that would be the ending, or so I thought. But hell no, plot twist! Augustus' cancer came back instead, and he had to go. Anyways, if you haven't read it yet, I suggest you do because it is a good read. I'm sorry for the spoilers, though.

When I snapped back to reality, I realized that I was receiving several uncomfortably annoying stares from regular by-passers. I couldn't blame them though, it was past 11'o clock. Usually, when you find a 15-year old teenage girl still on the streets by this time, you'd be thinking: "I bet that girl's gonna take drugs" or "She's gonna go to a club with some friends, get high, and make out with a random guy until she's out of breath, I'm sure".

Well, if I had gorgeous features, an endearing smile, and a body to die for, I may consider it. But I'm sorry to burst your little bubble because I'm not. The only thing I'm actually proud of having are my eyes. They're tinted with the prettiest shade of blue, just like a calm ocean. But they're hidden beneath these really huge, dark-rimmed glasses though, so no one aside from me can actually look at them.

The lights inside the small, worn-out building, visible ahead, began to flicker. Was the library about to close? I squinted to check my wristwatch. 11:24. It was still a bit too early for Lucy to close up. She never closed up before midnight. It would always be exactly that or later. So, maybe they were experiencing lighting difficulties, I guess?

As I reached the library, I pushed open the door and found numerous books scattered recklesssly around the flooring. I stared at the mess, questioningly, for a good 2 minutes, until a familiar shrilly voice called in relief, "Allison, dear!" She hurried over to me as she carefully stepped over the books in the way. She grabbed both my hands and buried her face on my shoulder, "It's horrible, Allison! It's absolutely horrible!" I rubbed circles around her back comfortingly to calm her down and asked, "What happened, Lu?"

She took a step back to gaze at me with her chestnut-colored eyes whilst I began to study her closely. She seemed to have developed bigger bags under her eyes than usual. I knew she never did get much sleep because of her shift at the library. And when she gets home, she always has a book to accompany her to bed, like me. Thus, rewarding her with as long as a 5-hour sleep, since she went to uni in the morning. Her usual cheeky glint that would always be visible in her eyes whenever I visited seem to have disappeared. And they were replaced with worry.

"Lu, what happened?" I asked again. She dropped her gaze to the floor and started playing with her fingers restlessly. "My brother dropped off his son at my house so we could take care of him for a while," she said, as if that answered why there was such a mess in here. I tried to put the pieces together to find an answer myself, since I didn't want her to explain further more than she wanted to. "So you brought that kid to work and he played with the books and accidentally made a mess?" I guessed. She shook her head sadly and sighed, "I wish it was that simple, but no. My nephew's the same age as you and Dylan." I shuddered at the name. I looked at her. She was in no mood to tease me, so I sighed in relief.  "Then, why?"

"He got mad and threw a fit when-" She looked like she wanted to continue to ease the weight on her shoulders, but she stopped herself. "I'm sorry. I'm in no position to tell you why he did so." She honestly looked like she was about to break down and cry right there. I had no idea what to do, I'm usually bad at the socializing thing. I just stood there as I watched her sympathetically. She looked up at me and forced a smile, "Could you help me clean up this mess, though?"

I tried to put on the most heartwarming smile I could manage to make her feel even a little better and answered, "Of course."

*     *     *     *     *

As I listened to the upbeat Ke$ha song playing on the radio, I watched houses come and go outside the window. Lucy had offered to drive me home since it was awfully late and it began to rain as well. I couldn't just decline because my mom was already texting me frantically. If I didn't call to ensure her that I'm safe and that a friend is driving me home, I swear she would've called the police to report her daughter missing. I glanced up at Hyde Park, and for some reason, it looked strangely sad. On one of the swings in the park, sat a peculiar young man, drenched in the rain. What he was doing still out at 1 in the morning, I had no idea. "Lu," I called. "Yes?" "Look," I pointed to the guy on the swings and she halted to such a quick stop that I almost hit my nose on the leather seat in front of me. "S-sorry about that, I have to go get him," she said nervously. Before I could ask why, she already got out of the car with an umbrella in her hands.

I waited for a while when the backseat door flew open and Lucy helped the guy to sit beside me. He had Lucy's hoodie wrapped around him and got it wet too. I could notice him shivering wildly. It was understandable, who knew how long he had been out there? And he only had a shirt on. Lucy climbed back to the driver's seat and started up the car.

"Here," Lucy threw her handkerchief to the guy sitting beside me, "Dry yourself up." "Just so you know, this is the wrong way," the guy said in a voice that almost sounded like a girl's, only deeper. Lu gritted her teeth, "Shut up, I know my way around Cali. I'm just going to take Allison home and then you're in big trouble." "Madison?" he asked.

"Allison," I said, "That would be me." His head snapped in my direction, as if he only realized now that I was there. It pissed me off actually, though I was able to make out his features better. He had hazel hair which was swept to the side, he had eyes that matched the color of his hair, a fair complexion, high cheekbones, and really rosy cheeks. In other words, he was hot. But he made a scowl on his face when he saw me (I don't really mind when others do that because that's how all guys probably look at me, but this guy in particular made me want to shove a cactus down his throat). "Who are you?" he asked. "I believe I already said my name once in your presence."

"What? You sarcastic little-" "She's my friend, okay? Stop being a pussy," Lucy answered. "A cat?" I asked. He had no resemblance whatsoever to a kitten. Maybe if he smiled more, I guess. He grinned, "No, she meant a-". "I will not have foul language in my car, Michael!". That scowl came back on his lips, "Don't call me that! I told you that I hate my second name!". I  could feel that Lucy was feeling pleased even though I couldn't see her face from here. "Michael's a cute name, y'know. Isn't it, Allison?" Lucy asked. "Erm, I guess," I answered. But for him, no. He'd be better off with a name like Butch or something else that sounded like an old fart's name. I kept that thought in my mind though.

Lucy was having a pretty good time teasing this Butch kid that she seemed to have forgotten what occured in the library just a few hours ago. I'm glad.

"Oh, look. We're here, Allison," Lucy said. I grinned at her and nodded as I opened the door and got out. Lucy rolled down the window to say goodbye. "Michael, say goodbye and I might just start calling you by your preferred name," Lucy said. "Bye, Addison," he scowled yet again. "Allison," I corrected trying to keep my cool, "thanks anyway, Butch."

"Butch?" he murmured to himself. "That reminds me, what class are you in at Brooklyn?" Lucy asked. Okay, where did that come from. "Um, 2-B," I answered. Lucy grinned, "Take care of Mich-" Butch stared at her, daring her to continue. "I mean, Greyson. You happy now?"

"Very," he answered, "And I don't need taking care of. Let's go already." Lucy smiled and waved at me as she rolled up the window. She started the car and I watched as it disappeared into the distance. Take care of who? I don't think- Wait, where the hell is the book I borrowed? Did I leave it in the car? Oh, shit, no. All that trouble, for nothing. Now I won't have anything to read for tonight. I could reread my other books, but ugh. I really wanted to read the one I borrowed in particular. I guess there's no choice but to get it back from Lucy after school.

All I wanted was a book, sigh. Now, I somehow involved myself with an old fart named Butch. I'm worried about Lucy though.