Disclaimer: I don't own The Naturals. All credit to Jennifer Lynn Barnes. I only own my OC ;)

Chapter One

The store had been quiet; quieter than normal for a Saturday. Not that we ever had much of a demand for classic novels in the little town of Fairfield, WA. Honestly, I was shocked it was still open given that we never seemed to sell anything. My Uncle Tanner, the owner of Pageturners, had left me home alone for the weekend while he tracked down some rare first editions that he'd heard were in Colorado. Being home alone also meant that I was the only one working in the store, leading to endless boredom when it was empty. In the three years I'd lived with my uncle, I'd already read every one of the two hundred and seventy three books that we had at least twice. I could remember each of them almost word for word.

I wandered the aisles, gazing at the rows upon rows of books and wondering where most our regulars were. I could normally count on Edna and Edith from the church to show up early in the afternoon but it was nearly four and so far, nothing. The tinkling of the bell over the door shocked me out of my thoughts. I jumped round and plastered a fake smile to my face to greet whoever had just walked in.

Now it wasn't the smallest town but it was very close-knit. Everybody knew everybody else. That's how I knew that the man in front of me definitely wasn't from round here. The pale blue shirt he wore had the sleeves rolled up to his elbows and his top button was undone. His steps were purposeful as he crossed the aisles. Once he was nearer I could see that he was closer to my own age than I first thought. More of a boy than a man but his posture showed that he wouldn't want anyone to think that. I incorporated this into the other information I'd already collected on him.

"Hi there. Are you new to Fairfield? I don't think I've seen you in town before," I greeted.

"Just passing through. I saw your bookstore and thought I'd check it out. I didn't think there'd be much in the way of literature here," he stated flatly, "No offence."

"None taken. I didn't grow up here anyway so I have no loyalty to Fairfield."

"Yeah, the accent kind of gave that away," he joked, "British, right?"

In that split second his face seemed to change. Whether it was the slight crinkling at the outer edge of his eyes, more on the left than the right or the bright flash of white teeth when he traded his smirk for a smile. A second later, his face was a mask again. He was closed off. Not used to letting people in. What was he guarding? Had he always pushed people away?

I realised that I'd been doing it again. Studying people. I always tried to stop myself but I couldn't help it. There was no 'OFF' switch for what I did. I also realised that I'd spent an unusual amount of time focusing on his face and he was still waiting for an answer. As his gaze flicked up to meet mine I felt myself blush. I dropped my head down so that my dark brown curls could hide the pink that was growing in my cheeks.

"Err...British, yes. From Surrey originally. So err...yeah. I'll just let you browse. I'll be by the counter if you need anything," I awkwardly mumbled before walking away from him.

Seated behind the desk I tried to resist the urge to look up for fear that I'd get caught staring again. I'd never really had much of an interest in boys until that point but I'd be lying if I said that I hadn't found him attractive.

I buried my head in the nearest book and shook off the thought. I couldn't focus on the words though. I'd read them all before and the song in my head kept distracting me. I absentmindedly started tapping out the tune, my fingers dancing over the desk as if it were a piano.

"Do you play?" asked the boy who was now right in front of me.

"I used to. Not anymore," I left it at that and pulled my hand back from the desk. He seemed to understand. He wasn't going to push it further. He probably wouldn't believe the story even if I told him.

"Can I help you with anything?" I asked, taking the focus away from myself.

"You tell me. What should I buy?" he countered.

"Wait, what?"

"Which book should I buy? You have however many books in here-"

"Two hundred and seventy three," I interrupted.

"Two hundred and seventy three books. I've checked and my favourite novel is in amongst them. So which is it?"

"Is this some kind of a game or a joke? Did someone put you up to this?"

"No joke. Just pick," he insisted.

I eyed him curiously and moved out from behind the desk. From what I'd already seen of him he didn't seem the kind to go for something too out there. Each move he made and each word he said was calculated. He struck me as a lover of classics so I headed to the pre-twentieth century section. The boy followed close behind. He'd also done a remarkable job of hiding his emotions so far but I couldn't shake the feeling that he was secretly a bit of a sensitive soul.

There were twenty one romance books from before 1900 in the store. I brushed my fingers over the spines of each of them, looking towards him for any sign that I was headed in the right direction. He gave me none. His face stayed the same until, for a fraction of a second, I saw his pupils get ever so slightly wider. Had I blinked I would have missed it. My hand froze where it was and I diverted my gaze back to the shelf and brought the book out. Pride And Prejudice - Jane Austen. I handed it to him.

"Was I right?" I asked as he took the hardback from me.

"Now that would be telling," he teased. I walked him over to the till.

"That's $21.99, please. I'll just go get you a bag."

I disappeared into the back to find one. The tinkling of the bell made me run back out though. My first thought was that he'd just run out on the bill and I'd have to explain to my Uncle that I'd let myself get distracted by a boy who'd then stolen one of our books. When I got back to the counter I saw he'd left thirty dollars along with a small white card with two lines of printed text.

SPECIAL AGENT LACEY LOCKE

FEDERAL BUREAU OF INVESTIGATION

There was a phone number written on it in dark blue ink with the instruction to call. I turned it over in my hand and found another message, this time in pencil.

If I were you, I wouldn't

Authors Note:

Hello to any of you who might be reading. This is my first story on here and I'd love to hear what you think so if you fancy leaving a review that would be awesome. If not, thanks anyway for reading and I hope you enjoyed it.