Fireproof // H.S.

6. Bad Decisions

[Later that night...]

Sadness slowly turned to anger. I was beyond furious. Being turned away hurt a lot. I'm going to make whoever's responsible for this feel my wrath. I had nothing to go off of but I had a feeling The Mysterious Boy might know something. What kind of game is he playing? Well two can play at that game.

I was laying in my bed trying to fall asleep but my thoughts got the better of me. Since I couldn't sleep, I spent most of the night writing in my journal, plotting my next move. At 3:27 AM, sleep got the better of me and I fell asleep at my desk.

.

.

I woke up tired and my back hurt like hell. I straightened my back and glanced at the clock. I was late for work.

You have no idea how grateful I am for working at a family-owned business. The worst I would get for coming in late is a dirty look and a mini lecture from my aunt and uncle, but that was all they could do. I quickly got ready and went down to the bakery. I slid my apron on and went about my day, trying my best to avoid my aunt and uncle. Luckily they were too busy to pay any attention to me.

It was a typical busy Sunday that started to slow down in the late afternoon. Jessica is scheduled to come in today but she requested the day off so she could focus on her exam. That's fine by me. It'll give me an opportunity to talk to the boy alone.

Today we closed at 7 PM. The Mysterious Boy came into the bakery at 5:30 PM. Perfect. Just perfect.

He walked up to the counter not even bothering to look at what we had left. He ordered the usual and our conversation was limited to the usual exchange. He then went to sit down at an empty table, his chair turned to face me which angered me to no end.

Time went by slowly. I had to talk to him before he left. I would gather the courage to walk up to him but once I got up, I would sit back down having second thoughts. This is ridiculous! Yesterday I was all fired up and now I'm a coward. I stared at the boy scribbling in his journal minding his own business. I can do this. I stood up from my seat and it took everything to move my feet towards him. He noticed me approaching and stopped writing to look up at me.

"I--uh, is everything okay?" I managed to ask. The boy continued to stare at me, his eyes searching mine.

"Yeah," he simply replied. He waited for me to walk away but I didn't move. My feet were glued to the ground. The boy looked at me in curiosity.

"What's your name?" I blurted out in panic. His eyes narrowed in suspicion.

"Harry," he said slowly. "Why?"

"I was just wondering. You come here often. The least I can do is learn your name." Harry thought about my answer before speaking.

"What's your name?"

"Violet," I replied. I didn't feel comfortable giving him my name but it was only fair that I gave him mine since I asked for his. "Are you a student?"

"What makes you think that?"

"You come here often just to write. You look like a student looking for a nice quiet place to study or something." He chuckled.

"I'm not a student. I'm done with school." I was surprised by his answer. He looked like a student. Maybe he graduated early or something.

"Oh. So are you a writer? I always see you writing." Harry bit back a laugh. He probably finds me annoying since I'm asking him so many questions all of a sudden.

"Just get to the point," he said coldly. I shivered at his promptness and sudden change in attitude.

"What do you mean?" I asked innocently, trying my best to make things less suspicious.

"You know what I mean," he replied, smirking. He was smart and that scared me. I didn't think he'd catch on to what I was doing.

"Shouldn't I be asking you that?" I returned his smirk and crossed my arms. He looked down at his journal and shut it in annoyance. "Why are you here?"

"I'm just a student looking for a nice quiet place to study," he answered, smirking. He tried so hard to contain his laughter. I swear if he tries to smart talk me one more time, I'm going to slap him.

"Ha-ha," I replied dryly. "Why are you here?" I repeated.

"I've been told to keep an eye on you." I felt sick and dizzy all of a sudden. The thought of being watched creeped me out. What made it even worse was how he said it nonchalantly like it was a normal thing to say.

"Are you the one who killed Niall's cousin?" My voice was rushed and my heart rate picked up.

He was silent for a while before speaking. "No. But I know who did." I let out a breath I didn't even know I was holding.

"Who did it?"

"I'm not telling you."

"Then at least tell me why you're watching me? Am I in danger?"

"I'm not telling you why either and for the second question, no." I felt an odd sense of relief at his words.

"Is Niall in danger?"

"No." I looked up at him, shocked.

"Then why was his cousin killed?"

"He was killed because he was being difficult." That wasn't comforting at all.

"What are you writing in your journal?" I asked, changing the subject.

"You ask too many questions," he groaned. Normally I'd be offended but I didn't have time to think about it too much. "But if you must know, I'm writing about you."

"What? You don't even know me. What can you possibly write about?"

He got up and put the journal in his pocket. "A lot more than you think." And with that, he left the shop without a word. I stared after him dumbfounded.

It took me a while to recover from what he said, but once I did, I realized I had to follow him. I had to know who he was and what he was up to. I quickly locked the door behind me and followed the general direction he was headed. I thought I lost him but luckily I saw his body illuminated by the street lights further down the road.

He walked swiftly. I was quickly winded trying my best to follow him. I didn't want to run in fear that he might hear me. He turned a corner and disappeared from my sight. Fearing that I might lose him for good, I decided to sprint to catch up to him.

Once I reached the alley I saw him turn down, I was surprised to see...no one. Where did he go? I was puzzled as to where he could've gone. The alley is pretty long so he shouldn't have reached the end of it so soon.

I walked down the alley cautiously starting to regret following him. Why am I following him again? What I'm doing is dangerous! He knows who killed Niall's cousin! I scanned the brick walls for any doors he could've gone through. There were so many doors. He could be anywhere. Right when I was about to turn around and go home, I heard a voice.

"Looking for someone?" I quickly turned around to see Harry leaning against the wall, arms crossed and a smirk on his face. My heart pounded in fear. He knew. He knew all along that I was following him. I opened my mouth but no words came out. Thankfully, he didn't wait for me to answer. "Follow me," he said, motioning me to follow him.

Normally I wouldn't do such a thing. I don't know him at all. But I guess tonight was a time for bad decisions. Without thinking, I followed him into the darkness.