‹ Prequel: Burn
Status: Hiatus

Whispers

Got a ticket to another world

“You need to learn how to stare better,” Rae commented lightly, leaning on the counter of her job as Liam sat on top of the register counter, swinging his feet back and forth. His brown eyes were all the way across the shop where Finn was leafing through old vinyl records. “Honestly, if she turns around and sees you staring at her like a mental patient she’s going to run.”

Liam glanced at Rae out of the corner of his eyes. Liam and Finn had graced the last ten minutes of Rae’s night shift with their presence, Finn insisting to Liam she wanted to pick a record out for him. Liam had explained they weren’t on a date, and it certainly wasn’t a date. But Rae knew Liam wished it was.

Over the time that he had spent with her, Liam had obviously some sort of affection for Finn, more so than anyone else. Rae thought it was endearing, especially because Liam, according to Harry, had broken up with a serious girlfriend about a month before Harry and Rae had ever met.

Harry thought that Liam’s infatuation with Finn was absolutely comical. Rae simply thought that it was nice, and she was rooting for the lad sitting with her at the end of her very slow work day, admiring the redhead who had finally seemed to pick out what she wanted.

“How’d you end up on this date anyways?”

Liam glared at Rae, who just gave him a cheeky grin. “It’s not a date. And when you came by to pick up Harry, she riffled through my small collection and called it rubbish and insisted today we come during your shift.”

“Why because I’m an amazing worker?”

“No, because you give us half off.”

Rae glared. But it was true. When Finn walked up, hanging a red hot chili pepper’s vinyl in his face, swinging it back and forth, Liam took the record with an eye roll and an annoying smirk, buying it for half off from Rae before the brunette announced she was clocking out to the man in the back.

Finn was smiling successfully by the time that Rae was walking around the corner walking with the two friends out of the store at 8 o’clock on the dot. Outside the smell of city and cabs drove by. Rae shivered instantly, pulling her coat tight to her as the trio made their way to the parking lot.

Liam was laughing loudly about something with Finn and Rae was smiling at him, pulling out the keys to her car. Glancing up she saw a streak of blonde from the corner of her eye and reeled backwards, squealing as her heart picked up speed and her mouth flew open in terror.

The boy in front of her flinched and whirled around shocked at her sudden reaction. Both Finn and Liam looked at her like she was crazy as her hand flew to her chest, trying to catch her breath as her heart pounded at an extremely high rate.

“Are you okay ma’am?” he asked her, his welsh accent thick. Rae nodded her head quickly, still unable to recover from who she had thought had been walking by her. She had reacted to the blonde hair too quickly, instantly thinking it belonged to Leon. But how many men had blonde hair? Plenty did. “Are you sure?”

“Yes,” she breathed out, removing her hand from her chest and smiling at him. She gripped her keys tight in her hand, the metal of them digging into her palm like a cold knife. “I simply thought I saw a- erm- bug. I don’t like bugs.”

He grinned and nodded, hurrying away from her as quickly as possible, terrified at her. When Rae turned around, Finn and Liam were staring at her as if she were a massive lunatic; she certainly felt like one. Leon wasn’t out of prison yet, and he certainly would not approach her with Liam, surely. “Have you lost your fucking mind?” Finn asked, cocking a brow at her and examining her up and down. “Or do ya’ always scream at people like that?”

Rae scowled, and glanced at Liam, who glanced at the man who was now on the other end of the light. Liam set his line in a firm line, suddenly understanding what had just occurred. “Nah,” he said, waving his hand and saving Rae from having to explain herself. She smiled at Liam for it. “Let’s go home now though, yeah? Rae has to go to her lover.”

The girl scowled at Liam before breaking out into a smile, glad that Finn was just brushing off the situation, already intrigued in what Liam was doing. Rae had a feeling that Finn thought that Liam was rather fetching. It made her laugh lightly. “Liam, it sounds like you’re jealous,” Rae teased, trying not to laugh out loud when Liam blushed. “Kidding. I’ll see you lot later, alright?”

“Sure,” Finn said in a singsong voice, already following Liam to his car. She waved her hand. “Keep yer windows shut so I don’t see you naked!”

Rolling her eyes, Rae slipped into her car, ready to leave the parking lot. The phantom of her ridiculous fear was still on her, and even as she turned on the car, leaving the parking lot, she felt as if Leon had been in that parking lot. But he wasn’t. Rae was just paranoid.

And she would always be.

*

“What are you doing?” Harry asked, raising a brow and peering over Rae’s shoulder. She was perched at the table in her dining room, books splayed out on the wooden top and parchment in front of her, pencil scribbling away at notes. Harry was leaning over her back, his eyes focused on her paper and his breath on the top of her head. “Why are you writing about cubism?”

“It’s for Art History class, love,” she answered back dully, her eyes scanning the words on the page in front of her. Her text books were thick tombs, chalk full of information made to educate her in the arts, though she considered herself pretty educated. “I forgot you haven’t a clue what a text book looks like.”

“Ha-ha,” he said dryly, pulling out a chair and sitting next to her. It was clear he was bored, because he picked up a book and began leafing through the pages with his long fingers, flipping each glossy page with interest, green eyes scanning every inch. “This looks like absolute rubbish. Why are people telling you how to do what you can already do?”

“It’s not telling me to do anything,” she protested, her voice taking on a sound of annoyance. Harry glanced at her and she was still working hard on her notes, hair pulled out of her face and brow creasing as she read something, working on her bottom lip. “It’s just informing me on how certain things are done.”

“Same thing.”

“Whatever you say, Harold.”

He narrowed his eyes but closed the book, sighing and watching her write. Rae had a test the next day, and though she had been successfully studying, it was hard to do so when Trystan was at work and Harry was sitting next to her, staring at her as it rained outside, the sun hiding from the world and the sky looking cold.

Harry completed supported Rae taking classes. They kept her busy when she did not have work, and when Harry was doing his own thing. Rae was glad Harry enjoyed spending his time in other places than just with her. She liked her own space, though she loved him through and through.

The fact that she had a test the next day also distracted her from the fact that everywhere she went, she flinched at blonde lads. It seemed like she was seeing more blonde people everywhere and it was making her panic. It was like a hallucination that didn’t end, and it was starting to wear on her more and more.

In Rae’s dreams, she saw their faces. There were always two of them, one with dark eyes and one with green. They were always there, in pairs and hatred. She hated those boys so much, and the fact that both of them were blonde and had basic traits made it hard to walk out in public without blinking in hesitation at least once.

It had been so bad that the day before, she balked when Niall walked through her door, even though she had been aware that he was coming over for lunch with Harry before she was going to class. It was idiotic of her, but she had flinched upon seeing him in the hallway, though he hadn’t even noticed, busy telling Harry about a chesty redhead at a bar.

Rae had checked over and over again, and it appeared that Leon was still not released. And though Sean did not seem like he was getting out any time soon, she found herself double-checking locks and catching her breath ever since the night at the party when she found out about the possible parole.

Her mind was deteriorating, and there was not much that she could do about it.

“What are you thinking of?” Harry’s voice distracted her, making her look up from her lined paper. She realized her pencil had stopped moving across the sheet, and that the rain was coming down even harder outside. It looked miserable. “You stopped writing and started staring at that picture of Picasso’s thing.”

Rae glanced at it, blinking in amusement. “How did you know that was Picasso?”

“Contrary to popular belief, I can read. And there’s a captain, amazing, what those can do. Now answer my question.”

“I was thinking,” she said tiredly, snapping the book shut and leaning back, “that I want to take a nap. This weather is absolutely horrid and I’m knackered. What do you say?”

He smiled standing and gesturing for her to lead the way. “A nap sounds amazing, as long as it’s next to you.”

Standing on her tiptoes, she pressed her lips to his sweetly. “Always.”
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actually got to update this while I'm in disney. But I'm too tired to write a nice authors note. So here you go.