My step has a bounce to it as I walk back to my suite. I can’t wait to tell the others – we might actually have a chance of getting out of here. I smile at the thought. I tuck the book inside my jacket and zip it up, just in case I run into anyone.

“Hello, love,” I hear a deep voice not too far behind me.

I spoke to soon. I turn around to face that all too familiar smirk.

“What’s that?” Harry raises his eyebrows, gesturing at my protective arms crossing my chest.

“My jacket?” I say in what I hope is a convincingly innocent tone.

He walks towards me and I back up until I hit a wall. How inconvenient. He proceeds to intrude a little too far into my personal space. His nose is pretty much 2 inches away from my forehead.

“Your jacket,” he looks down, locking his eyes on mine. He reaches for my zipper and ever so slowly pulls it down. I inwardly groan as his eyes travel down to the book. “What have we here?”

“A book,” I shrug, keeping my hands gripped tight on the book.

A raised eyebrow and the smirk returns. He takes the other end of the book in his hands and tugs.

“It’s just a book,” I bite my lip. I can’t let freedom slip away this easily.

He looks down at the cover.

“Castle History,” he reads. “This actually sounds quite interesting. I think I’ll read it.”

My eyes widen as he smiles mockingly. He tugs again, but I’m reluctant to let go.

His face darkens and he tries a different approach. He pushes the book so it’s jabbing me in the ribs and I’m pressed against the wall. Leaning in, his breath tickles my ear and fear shivers down my spine.

“I’ll have you know,” his lips just barely graze my earlobe. “The last girl who resisted ended up at the bottom of a pool.”

I breathe in sharply and sensing it, he jabs the book into me further.

“She was such a pretty girl,” he whispers. “The look on her mum’s face almost made me feel bad. Almost.”

The pain leaves my chest as he steps back with the book securely under his arm. I was so distracted he slipped it away without my noticing.

“So be careful, love,” he uses his pointer finger to tilt my head up at him. “I’d hate to see such a pretty face go to waste.”

Asshole.

“I will, love,” a mocking tone escapes my mouth as I glare at him.

“You know you secretly love me,” he smirks and turns on his heel to walk in the opposite direction.

If looks could kill, he would have dropped dead right before my eyes. If only.

A bell rings 8pm. Shit; I’m going to be late. I think I have Louis tonight. Actually, I should really be saying that he has me.

None of the girls have really said anything about Louis. Hopefully that’s a good sign.

I pluck the map out of my back pocket and find that, fortunately, I am pretty close to his room. One more right and I’m there.

Breathing in deeply and closing my eyes, I knock on the door.

“Come in,” I hear a muffled voice say.

I step into the room and what lies before me blows me away. First of all, the room is a tad larger than the other boys’ rooms. The walls are all bookcases stretching up to the ceiling. A fireplace rests against a far wall with a couch and two loveseats. It’s like a small habitable library.

“Oi,” a voice breaks through my daze. “You must be Robin, yeah?”

“Yeah,” I reply to a guy with caramel colored hair. His face is surprisingly friendly as he turns in his chair.

He’s seated at a wooden desk with a laptop and various books piled on it.

“Amazing, isn’t it,” he grins and looks around the room.

“It is,” I give him a small smile which he returns. “And obviously you’re Louis?”

“This is true,” he beckons for me to sit in a chair near him.

“So tell me about yourself,” he leans back in his chair to stretch and looks expectantly at me.

“W-what?” I’m caught off guard. Tell him about myself?

“Yeah,” he rests an arm on the arm of the chair. “I’m not that kind of guy. If I have to choose a girl for whatever reason, it will be because of who she is – not her shagging.”

“Wow,” the word barely makes it out of my mouth. His emerald green eyes catch the light as he smiles. Wait, what am I saying?

“Well,” I clear my throat, trying to clear my head. “I lived a poor and miserable life in County 4 before I was forced to live here. Honestly, I would prefer living in my cabin than here because at least I had my family.”

“I’m sorry,” he displays genuine sympathy. “Who was family to you?”

“My mom and brother,” I swallow.

“How old is your brother?” he asks softly.

“Eight. His name is Erin,” my voice cracks on the last syllable.

Louis nods solemnly as if I’ve said something philosophical.

“You’re all monsters,” I blurt out. He raises both eyebrows in surprise.

“I don’t disagree,” he says, raising his hands. “Although, some of us are better at taming the monster inside.”

I can’t find anything to say.

“I for one never was a monster,” he sighs. “The boys came up with this whole thing. I’ve just been trying to keep the girls alive.”

“They treat the girls like slaves,” I glare at the carpet. “It’s disgusting. How can you even be a part of that?”

“I’m not a part of it,” he stares into my eyes. “I want you to understand that. I will not treat human beings the way they do.”

After a minute of silence and much thought, I gently cup one side of his face with my hand. He raises an eyebrow.

“In our County, it is a sign of making peace with someone or showing them that you…appreciate them,” I explain.

“I appreciate it,” he smiles and lays his hand on mine.

I pull my hand away at the touch. My face flushes as I realize how rude that was.

“So I’m guessing you read a lot?” I cover up for it and stand up to gaze at the numerous books.

“Yup,” he gets up and leans against a bookcase. “Name a genre and I’ve got it.”

“Historical fiction?” I raise my eyebrow to challenge him.

He dramatically gestures to the bookcase behind him.

“Is that your favorite genre?” he looks at me as I run my hand over the shelf.

“Yeah,” I smile, still browsing the his-fic books. “I love how it almost contradicts itself. It’s fiction, but at the same time historically accurate. Using the history to assume how people would have acted and what their lives could have been like.”

“I find it fascinating as well,” he says. “I’m more of a science fiction person though. I like to picture completely different worlds from ours. Much better worlds or worlds that are much worse.”

“I can’t imagine a world worse than ours,” I pull out a book with red binding.

“Try reading this,” a book with a green cover and black spine is held towards me. “Incredibly terrible world.”

“Thank you,” I’m slightly taken aback and slightly suspicious at how nice he is. Almost the complete opposite of the other boys. Though he has a softer face, as soft as his hair looks – wait, no, I didn’t say that.

“Of course,” Louis looks at the clock. “I think it’s time for you to go. Remember you can come by anytime to borrow more books.”

“Thank you, really,” I give him a genuine smile. “It means a lot that you aren’t like the rest.”

“Of course,” he says as I head for the door. I feel a hand gently grab my arm, so I turn. “And, ah, don’t say anything about this to the others.”

I nod and we exchange knowing looks.

Walking back to my suite, my thoughts are flying everywhere around my head. Maybe this won’t be too bad if we have him on our side. Then again, the guys are his friends, so it may take some convincing. He’s so friendly though.

I hope he picks me.

Notes

Hope you like this chapter and thank you for commenting. Thank you for reading, you gems! Let me know in the comments where you think the plot is going. :3
~christi ellie