Twisted (Harry Styles Fanfic)

Chapter 2

2.

"Claire, where are you going?"

"I have to leave."

As soon as I had read the letter, I knew I had to get out of here. I needed to get away from this insanity. And it was insanity! I crushed the note tightly in my hand, stuffing it in the jeans Francine let me wear. I gathered my now dry clothes, and brushed past a panicking Francine.

"Claire, you can't go out there! They'll find you!" She protested loudly. I winced at the volume and pitch of her voice.

This was starting to sound crazy. "Look," I came to a halt, "this is madness, okay? I need to get out of here. I'll call you later or something. I-I don't know what to think about all this." I shook my head, remembering all the things she told me earlier. I didn't want to believe them - I couldn't. People don't just drag people off the streets! The 21st century doesn't do that. We have guns and heavy ammunition.

"You don't believe me, do you." Francine said, eyes wide. "Are you serious? You think I'm lying?

"No." I paused. "I think you may be over exaggerating."

Come to think of it, Francine was always known to be a drama queen. I love the girl, but when we were at the movies, she went into hysterics when she dropped her cup of popcorn. I never thought much about it at the time, but now it seemed a bit more sense. I couldn't think less of her just because she's over exaggerating, but she's scaring me. Who's to say she's not making this gang sound so evil?

I thought about the note and knew they were dangerous. But quite frankly, Francine was scaring me. I just knew I had to get away to allow myself to think.

"Over exaggerating?" Francine repeated. "Claire, I've seen what they've done, you haven't! I know how dangerous they are! I'm only trying to help you."

I gave her a smile. "I know you are, and I really appreciate it. But I think I just need to get back and have some time to think alone."

"Claire, you'll be by yourself. They'll find you-"

I hurried out of the room, her voice draining in the background. When I saw the jacket lying on the ground, I completely toned out her hysterical voice. The jacket looked like any normal leather jacket, except for the large symbol on the right arm sleeve. I picked it up carefully, as if it may explode, and examined the symbol. I've never seen a symbol like that before. But underneath the symbol, were the letters "1D" written plainly and clearly as possible in an almost neat fashion. And I could not lie, a chill went through me as I saw the torn fabric of the jacket. I wondered what things this jacket had witnessed...

"That stands for One Direction," Francine's voice sounded, softer, behind me. "The name of their gang."

I swallowed hard and tossed the heavy jacket over my shoulder. "This is crazy. I...I just have to go. I'll talk to you later, Fran."

Francine looked like I had just signed my own death warrant. I don't know, I guess I was just tired of hearing how "evil" these guys are. This may sound crazy, but I've only seen one of them. And he didn't try to kill me. So maybe I was just being a skeptic, the kind of person who had to see something to believe it.

But you know when you're in a chaotic situation and when one person panics, everyone seems to panic also? That's how I was feeling. Panic was infectious.

I walked out of her front door, feeling the chilly air of November wind hit me in the face. I felt Francine's eyes on my back as I walked away quickly, taking as big steps as I could. I was careful to keep my eyes on the floor to look as inconspicuous as possible.