"Do you trust me?" His husky voice rang in my ear. I shivered even though sweat layered my pale skin when I sensed how close he really was to my body. His firm, and broad chest pressed up against my back.

"No." I tell him truthfully. In the dim moonlight that beams down on us, I see his plump lips press into a thin line.

"Do you fear me?"

His voice turns menacing rather than the gentle, but forceful tune it normally takes. But it does not frighten me. He does not frighten me. "No."

That familiar taunting chuckle booms all around, like there are multiple of him surrounding me, ready to pounce. He takes the position as the predator, a merciless and hungry animal, whereas I am the meek prey awaiting his attack. "You are a strong girl, but you are not wise. Let me ask you again, do you fear me?"

His lack of belief in my words enrage me. I see humor glimmer in his eyes, teasing me, daring me to answer differently. "You don't have to fear when you've got nothing else to lose." My voice is drier than leather in the summer heat, and I stand a little straighter, showing him my strength.

In one swift movement, he grips my body hard, flips me, and pushes me face down to the ground. But his strong arms never let go. They hold me in place, letting my long brown hair dangle all around me. My nose touches the damp asphalt. I widen my violet eyes when my mind finally had caught up to what was going on, and stared nervously at the ground, only centimeters away from coming into a rough contact with the rest of my face. He chuckles at my rigid posture.

"Wrong answer."

~~~

-Two months prior-

I was lost. Completely, and utterly lost in a sea of sweaty, smelly, and rude men. I lost the hand of my friend, Lena, because she was too focused on the fight before our eyes. She screamed along with the others, cheering as the loser crumpled lifelessly to the ground. I watched horrified as blood dripped out of his mouth. It pooled beside him. The winner threw his hands in the air, sweat trailing down his masculine arms. His hair was dark from the sweat he produced, leaving it to smack against his face heavily as he jumped. Out of the seemingly hundreds of people here, his eyes found mine. I noticed that his eyes were dark and ferocious. I stood frozen in my spot, unable to move. His gaze held mine briefly, leaving me to release a breath I didn't know I was holding.

I turned on my heel quickly, eager to get out.

"And the winner is our reigning champ Edward Cox!" I hear a man shout behind me. The crowd erupts, roaring loudly in approval of the outcome. This makes them swarm together, making it even harder for my escape. Elbows jabbed into my side harshly, causing me to stumble backwards. I can no longer see anything other than the sweaty bodies clinging to me. The only smell filling my nose is iron, resembling blood a little too much. And the only thing I hear is a numbing buzz from the chorus of howls. A sudden rush of nausea washes over me, causing panic to fill my head.

A hard body pushes against me, growling low in frustration as I do not move in with the crowd. This causes him to push harder, shoving me.

I feel my legs give way, but a firm and calloused hand catches my elbow roughly keeping me up. As if it were Moses and the Red Sea, people parted instantly. I turned my head slightly to see my savior, and sucked in a sharp breath when I identified him as the victor of the gruesome match. His hard, now a light green, eyes pinned everyone in place, eyeing them with disgust.

My whole body reacted to his touch, igniting with flames. "What are you doing here?" He growled.

It took me longer than expected to realize he was talking to me. It was only when his piercing eyes were directed towards me that I caught on. "I-I, er, came h-here with my f-friend." I pathetically stuttered. His eyes did not soften, nor did his hard grip.

I uncomfortable shifted, and wanted more than ever to disappear. His scrutinizing eyes took me in, drinking up my appearance. "Your name," he demands.

"Shailene," I answer automatically. Blinking confusedly, I wonder why I had been so willing to give a stranger my name. But my self evaluation is interrupted when I hear Lena come running to my side.

"For chrissake, Shay, what the actual fuck?! I told you to stay beside me!" She scolds. I return her look, and silently curse her for speaking to me like I am a child. We both are fully aware that I have the superiority in our relationship.

"Well, if you hadn't torn your hand from mine in the first place we wouldn't have gotten separated, now would we?" I retaliated. Lena only shakes her head and brushes my attack off.

"So you're the one who brought her here?" The green eyed man beside me asks.

My best friend shoots him a lethal look, testing him. "Yes, and what is it to you?" Instead of backing up like a sane person would've done, my bold friend steps up to him, only a few centimeters from his face. He has a solid five inches on her, but that does not scare her off. It only fuels her fire.

The man I believe to be Edward narrowed his eyes.

"Come off it, Lena," I hiss. She ignores me, not backing down. But Edward, on the other hand, looks at me instantly.

"You shouldn't be here...Shailene is it?" He speaks to me like he's angry with me. For unexplainable reasons, my heart constricts at the sound of his disappointed crackled voice.

I only nod, not answering him. "Shailene Cathaway?" He presses. I nod, my mind not registering his words. But soon after, I gaze at him in shock, awe, and worry. How does he know my name?! Edward chuckles, like he knows what I am thinking. His green eyes flare with humor. It's more taunting than gleeful like it's holding a secret that only he knows. "There's a lot I know about you, Miss Cathaway."

His words make me shiver and make my stomach churn with fear. It feels as though ice settled in the pit of my stomach, not only weighing me down, but sending chills through my body. Even Lena, who has been watching the man with much curiosity, lets her hard front crumble. On her face is utter horror, and fear.

Snapping out of her trance, she tugs me out of my own, dragging me away from the green eyed beauty. I do not turn away from him though, watching his smirking face until I can no longer see it. The taunting smile does not disappear off his face.

"You stay away from him, Shay. I mean it. He's dangerous. I don't know what he's capable of." Lena scrunches her eyebrows, deep in thought. I'm sure hers match my own; we only think of Edward's words, and the secret meaning behind them.

Even when I reach the safety of my home, I do not feel safe at all. The empty halls seem to hold demons in the shadows. Particularly, green eyed demons. I can still feel them boring holes into my body with every move I make, watching me intently. And in my sleep, all that I see is a menacing smile paired with mocking green eyes.

Notes

Hello, people. I've decided to create a new story, a little bit different than my other one. But I hope you like it all the same! Please keep an open mind about it, I have a lot planned and want you to see it.

In other news, I am working on "I Want to be Loved By You" a lot. I've made progress, and will try to get some up this weekend. I'm sorry for the wait :/ I promise to try and get a chapter up every weekend! Even if it's short. SO keep your eyes peeled, it could be coming soon every day!

Ok, so let me know whatcha think so far :)

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~M