Midnight Memories

Chapter 2 - Safe place

For the first few minutes, the guys were beating us, but Shay being the crazy unbeatable driver she is when it comes to racing, took the lead. We finally reached the hill, and our music was on blast. The guys finally reached us, and we parked our cars and stepped out of our vehicles. I could feel a tingling sensation in my stomach as they walked towards us. All three of them were incredibly handsome, but there was something different about Mr. stranger.

"I see you're a skilled driver," he says with his deep British accent while looking at Shay.

Yes, that's right. He has a fucking British accent.

"Oh, I'm unbeatable, baby," she responds with a smirk stretched out on her face. I could see his friends eyeing up Asia and Shay. This was getting interesting. He then fixed his gaze on me. "I told you to catch up. You should've listened." I say teasingly. He arched his eyebrows up and held his gaze on mine. "Is that so?" he asked.

"Yup," I respond, popping the P as I folded my arms on my chest. He was quite tall compared to me. He seemed around 6'3 or 6'4. I technically had to break my neck just to look up at him. But hey, who's complaining?

"What're you girls up to tonight?" one of his friends asks from behind. He also had a British accent, and he was around the same height as Mr. stranger. He had his hair pulled back into a low bun. He had more of a rockstar look. Whereas their other friend was slightly shorter than them and had short hair, he was blonde, and he wore glasses. He was Asia's type, although they seem so different from each other. I guess It's true when they say opposites attract.

"well, we just beat you guys in a race, so we're going to celebrate right here." Shay responds as she walks over to her car and plays "perfect" by One Direction. One of my favourite songs. It described the kind of lifestyle I wanted to live and made me feel alive. "Oh, I'm so in on this." the rockstar friend shrieked as he followed behind Shay. "Count me in," four eyes added as his lips pulled up into a crooked grin, and he looked at Asia.

Asia smiled at him, and they both made their way to Shay and Rockstar, with Aria following along with them. Aria was kind of left out in this situation, but I don't think she minds. She already has a major crush on her hot boss.

Yup, I call him Mr. CEO.

I look back at Mr. Stranger as the others play the music and begin to dance. He still had his gaze fixed on me.

Why is he so odd?

"So are you just going to stand there and stare into my soul or...will you join in on the fun?" I ask, giving him a questioning look. "I prefer the first option," he responds with a grin as he holds a cigarette in his mouth and sparks it.

God, this man is so EFFING fine!

"Now I could ask you the same question," he says as he leans his back on his car. I didn't realize I was staring into this man's soul while he smoked his cigarette because I was too busy thinking about how fine he is. He probably thinks I'm some weird psychopath. To change the subject because I had absolutely no idea what to respond to that, I asked him another question instead. "I take it you're not from around here since you have the whole British accent and all."

(You can play the song above now if you'd like :p )

"No, I don't live here. I'm just visiting," He responds with a shrug. I made sure not to ask too many questions at once, so he doesn't think I'm too interested or anything. But why would he be visiting? This town isn't much of a place anyone would want to stay for sight-seeing. Maybe he's here to see a relative or something?

I pushed past my thoughts and gave him a slight smile. "And I take it you live here?" he asks.

"Born and raised," I respond with a cheeky smile. I could see him trying to hold back his smile. Why won't he just smile?

"I like this place." He adds as his eyes roam around the end of the hill. Where we currently are, to be exact. I could see a hint of sadness in his eyes, but I'm not too sure. He doesn't even live here, so why would this place make him feel sad?

"Yeah, it's my favourite place in this town," I respond as I look behind me, and all my childhood memories come rushing back. This was my safe place. The one place I've cried my heart out each time my Abuelita kicked Shay and I out of the house and blamed us for our parent's deaths, or when I'd get bullied and harassed by the boys at my school. It was also the same place I decided to end my life countless times. Although I've had many bad memories here, it was also the same place Shay and I met our best friends, Asia and Aria. This has been our place since we were children. We would come here and scream our hearts out to try and ease the pain at our most challenging times. Those memories stick with me wherever I go.

My eyes began to tear up, and I definitely didn't want to cry in front of Mr. Stranger, so I made up an excuse as I heard "Locked out of heaven" by Bruno Mars play on the car speakers.

"Yea, I hope you enjoyed my company, but I'm not missing out on this song," I say in a cheery tone, so he doesn't notice the sadness in my voice. I turn to walk away when I feel his grip on my wrist.

oookay??

I turn around, surprised by his sudden movement. I look down at my wrist and then fix my gaze on his. "What's your name, darling?" he asks, his hand still gripping my wrist. I let out a chuckle. "I don't just share my name with strangers," I respond, almost facepalming myself.

Why didn't I just tell him my name?? It's not like it's a big deal or anything.

"So let me get this straight. You don't share your name with strangers, but you hang out with them in the middle of nowhere? I could be a bad man, sweetheart." he says with a devilish grin.

"Well, then that's even more reason for me not to tell you my name," I respond, and this time he releases his grip on my wrist. I turn to walk away once more with a smirk playing on my lips. 'Oh, and plus, it's not like we'll see each other ever again, anyway. It would be pointless, don't you think?" I add.

That's when he grips my wrist again. I stand in place for a few seconds, this time as my arm was extended out behind me. "I see you clearly, don't want me to leave," I say as I turn on my heels to face him once again. "But what if we do?" I raised my eyebrow at him, confused by his words. "What if we do see each other again, what then?" he asks, curiously. "Won't happen," I respond.

"But what if it does?" he asks.

"Well, maybe, then I'll consider telling you my name, Mr. Stranger."

He releases my wrist, and I slowly walk off, wishing he would pull me back once more. Moments ago, I wanted to walk off, but now, I just want to stay with him for a little longer. I don't know what it is about this strange man, but I can't help myself from wanting to learn more about him. Who he is, What he does, Where he's from, and why he's come to this small town in the middle of nowhere.

"ZANE!" I hear him yell as I make my way to my friends. I look back at him and smile. He returns the gesture, and I look away only to be picked up by rockstar as he throws me over his shoulder. I yelp in surprise, and he begins to spin me around in the air. I can't help but die of laughter when he finally puts me down. He holds my arm because I almost fall to the ground from the dizziness. "Woah there," he says, trying to keep me steady. "I'm- I'm fine," I say, trying to keep myself from giggling.

"So you and lover boy, huh?" Aria asks with a wink as she glances at Zane and throws her arms around rockstar and I. "shut up." I respond, slightly elbowing her side. I look his way for a moment only to see him looking back at me with his arms folded on his chest and a slight smile stretched out on his face.

"Do you see it?" Aria asks rockstar, with a grin plastered on her face.

"Hell yeah, I see it. Look at the way they look at each other," he responds as he looks back and forth between Zane and I.

I elbow him in the stomach, and he groans in pain. I flick Aria's arm off my shoulder and walk to the others.

Zane huh?

I didn't know what song to use for this chapter😭 so I just used the one above. Hopefully it didn't feel too odd reading with it playing in the background. 🥲