Witness Protection Program // n.h.

Chapter One

Bryn is played by Barbara Palvin

I just want to let you all know now that Niall will not be introduced until chapter 4. I know that's annoying, but it's only to help the story progress! Please be patient and enjoy xx

Bryn's POV

"Bryn, can you lock up for me when you leave? I have to get going, now," My boss spoke, pulling my thoughts away from the task of reorganizing CD's. I looked up at him, sending a small smile.

"Sure, no problem," I uttered, watching as he walked toward the exit and said a final goodbye, before I was left alone in the empty music shop.

There was only ten minutes until closing time, meaning that I was so close to being home in the comfort of my warm bed to waist the rest of my Saturday night away. I was probably the only person in my age group that wasn't out partying, but that didn't bother me in the slightest. I was used to staying away from the party scenes in order to work, and I was okay with the fact that I had more time to myself when I returned home.

I was twenty two years old and living with my parents. The only reason why was because I had just gotten home from college and still needed to find a new place to live. I had studied to be an editor, and I was trying my absolute best to get a job at one of the publishing companies in the city, but it had only been one month since I got out of school so I still hadn't heard back from any of them. It was hard for me to move back in to my parents house after four years of being on my own in a rundown apartment, but I couldn't stay in it by myself any longer, so I had to come back. Sure, it was still in the same city, but I wanted to upgrade to something bigger when I got the money and the best way to save for that was to not have to worry about paying current rent. Living with my parents for the time being was my only option.

After putting away the boxes of disks that hadn't been stocked, I grabbed my things and locked up the shop. I was supposed to be there for five more minutes, but I couldn't bring myself to stay any longer when there were no customers and the boss was gone.

The sky was completely dark and the air was cool, motivating me to walk at a faster pace down the street. I found myself regretting telling my parents to go ahead with their date night and not to worry about how I would get home. My car was in the repair shop for the next few days, meaning I had no choice but to walk. I was used to walking down the streets of New York City by myself, but I didn't make it a habit to do it often at night. It was necessary at the moment, however.

As I walked, I tried my best to enjoy the peace and quiet while it lasted, as it was rare to find in a big and busy city. It was nice to be able to have a few moments to myself, considering that I usually had someone over my shoulder most times. Morgan, my best friend, was always with me when I wasn't busy working, and I was thankful that she was at a party at the moment, because there was never a calm moment around her.

Upon hearing a sudden loud noise, I picked up my speed. Paranoia started to settle in as the loud noises continued, seeming to become even louder as I kept walking. I quickly began to realize that I was approaching whatever the sound source was, and the thought made me start to shake. The closer I came to where the noise seemed to be coming from, the easier it was for me to figure out it was voices. They got louder and louder, sounding to be getting more angry with every word spoken. I couldn't make out what was being said, .but I could tell that it wasn't a friendly conversation.

Quickly, I turned left around a corner, telling myself to ignore the commotion that I was hearing. This was New York, after all, people were always bickering about something. I urged myself to tune out the obnoxious voices and think about the school assignment that was due the following Monday. Usually, thinking about my homework stressed me out, but I was already an honour student so I reminded myself that if I didn't get finished on time, it wouldn't be a massive deal. Plus, that was the only thing I had to think about at the moment to get my mind off of the current situation.