Entry for the Investment Building Challenge - AU Property.

Prompt: Bodyguard!AU

Entry for Sophie's Bookshop Challenge

Classics #7: 1984 by George Orwell

Prompts:

(AU) Dystopia!AU

(word) Rebellious

(quote/dialogue) "If you want to keep a secret, you must also hide it from yourself."

Entry for Care of Magical Creatures at Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry

Task: You are to write about someone who has frozen in fear due to a near death experience.

Extra Prompts:

Marcus Flint (character)

Car (object)

Also, Muggle!AU.

Thanks a lot to Dina, who betaed this for me! :)

(1920 Words)

Speeding Cars

So if I stand in front of a speeding car
Would you tell me who you are, what you like?
What's on your mind, if I'd get it right?

Walking on Cars – Speeding Cars

"You can't be serious, father!" Katie exclaimed and jumped up from the old mahogany and velvet chair that was faced towards the aging man sitting behind the matching, richly ornamented desk.

She turned on her heel and started to pace the huge office, glaring in turns at her father and at the man around her age standing by the door, acting as if he was merely a shadow.

"Katie, dear, I am only worried about your safety. As the daughter of the First Magistrat, you are a target!"

"For whom, father?" Katie laughed, emotionless, stopped next to the high windows, and gestured outside. It offered a wonderful view on a typical London street; one white townhouse was next to the other, and polished cars drove over the perfect asphalt. "The dangerous people are on the other side of a damned wall, how are they supposed to come into the city?"

Magistrat Bell exchanged a short look with the tall, dark-haired man by the door, took a deep breath and explained calmly: "There have been attacks. Only a few, and only a handful of people have information about them, but it seems that this filt... the outlaws have found passages in the old underground tunnels. We suspect they are planning a revolt, as they highly disagree with the distribution of the city's resources."

During his explanation, Magistrat Bell looked nearly disgusted and his voice was swaying a bit, as if he was outraged that the outlaws, as the people within the walls called them, dared to demand for more of the already scarce resources.

For a short moment, Katie seemed to be shocked about these news, but then, her stubborn expression was restored.

"I can defend myself. I don't need a pitbull to take care of me."

"Mister Flint is my condition to let you leave the house, Katie. I only want to know that you are safe. I wouldn't be able to cope if something happened to you, my little butterfly," Magistrat Bell said in a tone that made it clear that he didn't want to hear anything else from his daughter. Katie bristled with anger, but chose that it was wisest to obey to her father's will. She would find other ways to be rebellious; ones that were less obvious to him.

OoO

A few weeks passed, and Katie found that Marcus Flint proved to be a real pain in the ass. She barely could take any step inside the house without him knowing – she was actually surprised that he didn't insist on accompanying her to the bathroom.

Also, she'd been unable to sneak out of the house after sunset to meet her friends – as a safety measure, he'd asked the house craftsman to install mechanisms that kept the windows from opening completely.

He was raining on her parade, and it annoyed her greatly – something that she let him know every single day. It normally wasn't like her to be rude to people she barely knew, but it was the only way for her to keep him away from her. Because, no matter how much she wanted to hate him, she couldn't help but find him damn attractive. And polite, when he wasn't just being stern due to concentrating on his job. And the way he worried about her, it really got her.

How she hated to be betrayed by herself.

OoO

Walking down Oxford Street, Flint only a half step behind her, Katie once again couldn't imagine that somewhere underneath their feet, in the sealed tunnels through which trains had once rushed, people were seeking to find a way into the city to cause havoc. The street was bustling with busy people and relaxed shoppers, and everything looked so peaceful that she could have forgotten about the situation they were in.

She was too young to have real memories about the terrible catastrophe that had broken the country apart, and she didn't really like the sound of the stories, so she stayed away from them.

All that mattered was the present. The centre of London was surrounded by a wall, highly supported by technology, keeping the people within safe from the chaos on the outside. Only the most wealthiest families, the elite of the country, were here, residing in luxurious houses, protected by soldiers. On the outside, people were starving, suffering from diseases, living like rats in slums built out of the garbage the rich threw away – that's why her father called them filth.

Most of the resources went to those who could afford them, and only the smallest part went to those who really needed them.

Somehow, Katie could understand why they were revolting and tried to make the people in here aware of their misery. She had no idea how it was to live in poverty, but she knew that she was ashamed when people like her father said that they wouldn't help those poor souls. In London, she stood alone with the opinion that she would share what she had with the outlaws, for they were human, like her.

"Miss Bell."

Flint's voice ripped her from her thoughts, catching her by surprise, but as she whipped around to face the taller man, she wore a perfectly disapproving expression on her beautiful face.

"What it is it now, pitbull? Am I walking too slowly?"

"I just wanted to remind you of your father's wish for you to be off the streets by 5 o'clock. We should walk back now to be at your house punctually."

His tone was polite, and he seemed to simply have ignored her derogatory nickname for him. She thought he saw a trace of a smile on his gorgeous lips as she made a disagreeing noise, and she had to mentally slap her out of her own fascination. Crossing her arms in front of her chest, she shook her head and answered: "No. I am not done with my shopping yet."

It was a shameless lie; since she'd started feeling uncomfortable about having so much while others had nothing, she'd refrained from buying any unnecessary items. The only things she'd bought today were a few books and a new jumper, and even that was enough to make her feel guilty.

"I must insist we leave now," Marcus growled, making it clear that he wasn't all too patient today. Since he'd fully understood that she wasn't going to be polite to him, he'd made it a habit to answer in the same tone when they were alone.

"No! I said that I want to stay a little bit longer!"

"Miss! My word counts, and if I say we leave, we leave, you stubborn little girl!"

"There is no need to be rude to me!" Katie snapped back before she could properly think about what she was saying. After all, she was the one of them who was unfriendly and all.

She saw his face darken, and gulped hard as he stepped into her personal space, glaring at her with a nearly dangerous expression: "What is this, huh? Some, 'If you want to keep a secret, you must also hide it from yourself' garbage, so you choose to forget you're being rude to me? What is going on with you? Why do you hate me for trying to keep anybody from harming you?!"

Mildly spoken, Katie felt cornered.

She had dreaded the day on which he would confront her about her behaviour, as she knew that she would never be able to give him a good answer. Because, what was she supposed to say? Claiming to hate having him always close to her was a damn lie. She didn't feel uncomfortable anymore with him there all the time; it was more the other way around.

"I am waiting!"

"I don't owe you any explanation," Katie breathed, feeling her mask crumpling. She wanted to go, to run, anywhere, just away from him. And before he could say anything, she turned around on her heel and walked away, nearly blind because of the desire to get away from him.

And so, she didn't pay attention to the traffic when she wanted to cross the street to dive into the crowd on the opposite pavement.

Tires were screeching, and Katie turned her head in shock, her mouth open and her eyes wide as she saw the car coming closer.

She was unable to move, as if she was frozen to the asphalt where she was standing. Staring at the car, everything around her seemed to slow down. Katie thought about all the things she regretted – not having raised her voice in favour of the outlaws, behaving rudely to Flint instead of admitting that she liked him...

How she wished she could turn back the time and do everything differently. Her eyes fixed on the nearing car, she asked herself if it would hurt. If dying would hurt.

Katie could hear her blood rushing in her eyes and her own, surprisingly slow breathing, while her heart thumped loudly in her chest.

Then, she closed her eyes, waiting for the impact of the bumper at her legs.

But it never came.

Instead, she felt something heavy, yet soft and warm, hit her body from the side, ripping her off her unmoving feet. Seconds later, her body hit the street; her skin scraped open by the uneven surface; the weight that had pushed her landing on top of her.

"Katie, Katie, are you okay?"

His voice seemed to be so far away, but when she opened her eyes, Flint's face was only a few inches away from hers, his right hand gently cupping her cheek. Concern and shock filled his dark eyes, and it took a long moment until she was able to stutter:"I... uh... you... you s-saved me?"

"Uh, yes, sure, you were nearly hit by a car!"

Tears started to sting in Katie's eyes and she lost control over her tongue, whispering:"I'm sorry... I... I didn't mean to..."

A sob escaped her and only in this moment, she realised what had just happened. She could have died...

Letting a small cry out, she let the tears flow freely, sobbing her fear and shock out and Marcus gently pulled her into a sitting position on the ground, slinging his muscular arms around her. Without a second thought, she melted into the safety of his embrace, her fingers curling around the material of his black suit. Her whole body seemed to shake from the experience, and she really didn't want to let go of him.

"I was such an idiot," she mumbled into his chest when the sobs finally faded and she felt more relaxed, thanks to him running his hand soothingly over her hair and back. He chuckled lightly, and it made his chest vibrate under her cheek.

"Because you ran onto the street?"

"No... because... because I treated you like this and... when... when I really feel quite the opposite for you and..."

The words sprang uncontrollably from her lips, and Marcus suddenly held her even tighter, his fingers gently caressing her hand that lay on his ribs.

"Don't be sorry," he whispered into her hair, barely audible, and then, she felt his warm lips pressing a soft kiss onto her temple.