In The Shadows

Chapter Two

thank you for reading!! don't forget to vote!!

*****************

The roof from the house enclosed me in the shadows so that darkness surrounded me. I kept my head bent and leaned up against the side of the house to survey the market life.

Merchants and shopkeepers belted out glorious remarks about their products until they were red in the face. The closest booth to me was a larger man selling baked bread. His larger frame allowed me to peer around to survey what the other booths were selling without seeming too suspicious. As my eyes scanned, they caught the eyes of a guy around my age, maybe a little older. He was standing back behind one of the booths, like me but on the other side of the crowd, and he was munching on an apple. Gray eyes flicked up to mine and he smirked. I blushed and slid back into the shadows, wanting to regain my status of invisible. Before I emerged into the crowd, I stole another look at him. He had brown hair and tan skin with a black t-shirt over top. But there was something sketchy and off place about him, something that I couldn't land my finger on. Maybe it was how confident he stood, I wasn't sure. But I knew the type of kind and neighborly people that lived in this town and the touristy kind that traveled through town every day. He was unlike all of those people in a way that made me on edge.

Deciding I couldn't spend all day dwelling on it, I slipped into the crowd. I muttered my "Excuse me" and "Pardon me" before reaching the stand I'd had my eye on. A little old lady with a floral dress stood behind a stand with handmade jewelry. There were some chains with jewels or stones, some string with beads, and also string woven together into colorful patterns. A deep purple and light blue criss cross pattern bracelet caught my eye, and I ventured slowly towards the booth. There were a few people in front, giving her the business I needed to make a distraction.

My heart began to race and my palms sweat in the anticipation of the thrill. After a deep breath to calm my excited nerves, I pretended to stumble over my own feet and trip into a girl my age. Her arm whipped backwards at my hair in the sudden need for balance and she ran into the other people in front of her, knocking into the jewelry stand and jostling the products. Some flew to the ground, others were moved out of their original places.

I rushed up to the stand, exaggeratingly apologizing to the old woman and helping her clean up her jewelry. In the process of scooping the bracelets up and placing them back in their proper places, I inconspicuously snuck the purple and blue bracelet into my sleeve. I was careful to cover its place on the stand with another bracelet.

"I really am sorry. Can I do anything else?" I asked, putting up a facade of guiltiness and shame. While I did feel bad for picking on an old woman, I had to play the part.

"No, it's okay dear." She placed a soft, wrinkly hand on my arm. "It was just an accident."

"I-"

"Honey, I said it was all okay. Now go be on your way and be sure to watch your footing." She wagged a gnarled finger and winked at me before returning back to her booth.

"Thank you, I will," I laughed.

As quick as I could, I retreated back to my spot in the shadows to look at my "purchase". I got lucky with that old lady, real lucky. I once stole a piece of fruit from one of the middle aged women and she got so mad, she started chucking carrots at me as I ran away. Boy, did she have an arm.

My ears perked up at the boots pounding against the dirt road and I snuck around the side of the house in time to see the men in fatigues march down the street. No doubt they were looking for "candidates" to drag away for their precious cause in the army. I pressed my back against the wall, hearing my heart pound in my eardrums until they passed. Once they did, I closed my eyes and sucked in a breath.

"Are you a criminal or something?" A low voice rumbled. My eyes flew open and my pulse skyrocketed again.

I forcibly swallowed a hard knot that formed in my throat and asked with a shaky voice, "What?"

"I said," this time his voice sounded impatient, almost like he was rolling his eyes, "are you a criminal or something?" It came from the wall that connected the houses, farther away from the market life and more in the shadows.

Crap. This would be in the first time in ever that someone suspected me. I was good at what I did. Good enough to not get caught. Until now.

I ignored his question and demanded one of my own, "Who are you?"

Gravel crunched and a figure appeared. It was the guy that I couldn't help but notice from earlier.

"Answer my question first." He paused and I couldn't help but take a second to admire his looks. If Irine, my best friend at the orphanage, saw him, she'd instantly become all flirty and start twirling her chocolate hair around her fingers. Or she'd tell me to quit acting like an idiot and say something, but don't forget to be confident.

"N-no, I'm not a c-criminal," I stuttered, internally punching myself in the face. If Irine was here, she'd probably gag at my horrible response and walk away from me.

Wow, Amber. You're slick. Want to go out with me? Even my subconscious was making fun of me.

"Sorry, what?" He laughed a little, causing me to blush even more, to my horrible embarrassment.

"I said no," I responded a little more clearly, exchanging my 'If Irine was here' insecurities for the confidence I needed. "Why?"

He shrugged. "I had a hunch from the way you hid from those officers after you stole that bracelet."

"A hunch?" I sighed. "What do you want?"

"Nothing." I narrowed my eyes at his smirk.

"Okay, look, I don't have time to play games. I have to go." I turned to leave.

"Hang on," he started but trailed off. I turned back around to face him.

"What?" I asked tiredly. "Seriously, I-"

He smirked as if he knew something I didn't. "You seem to be having a wardrobe malfunction."

"What are you-" My hand shot to the spot near my hair that his eyes were fixated on. My hair. I looked down at the long piece of red hair that came loose from under my short wig. My cheeks flushed as I desperately tried to tuck it back into its knot under the black wig. But it was no use. I guess when that girl's arm had hit my hair, she had knocked loose my wig and knot of real hair underneath. Fixing it would require taking off the wig and displaying my real hair for all to see. I'd rather have a few stray wisps so I spinned on my heel, itching to sprint away from here.

I could feel him still smirking, even though he was behind me. Even though it annoyed the life out of me, I couldn't help but suppress a smile myself. There was something about him that was distrusting yet in an intriguing way that made him seem mysterious.

"Does this mean I can I call you Red?" He asked. I turned around and he folded his arms across his broad chest, nodding pointedly at my strawberry wisps.

I pretended to think, "Hm, you can call me...unamused and leaving. But good effort."

I was gone before I could see his reaction but not gone before I could hear what he muttered, "I have a feeling we'll be seeing each other sometime soon."

My smile faded from flattered and teasing to a frown. I tried to ignore the way my skin crawled at his tone. It almost sounded like he was...warning me. But I knew as I walked around the corner of the buildings that he could never find me and the other Misfits. So I prepared myself to never see him again. 

**********************

what do you think of Amber stealing the bracelet?

and this mysterious guy?

thank you again for reading!! I hope you enjoyed it, I definitely enjoyed writing it! Amber's character is so much fun to write about!

-Scarlett :)