I realize I have another story going (Three; Once Upon a Time fanfic) but I couldn't get this story idea out of my head. Everything was pretty much inspired by the song Addictive by Royal Republic.
She was just a stupid little girl, just as her mother had said. She knew this much because instead of being inside her home, where it was safe, warm, and bright, she was wandering the streets. She and everyone else knew of the disappearances of people who wandered at night, yet she was determined. Disappearing at night seemed a far better life than the one that awaited her at home. She knew she was stupid for playing around with fate like she was, but she was tired of being degraded by her mother and her stepfather and her step older brother. Life there was horrible and she needed to get away, get far, far away so that she might have a chance at a better life. Disappearing be damned, she wanted somewhere better, somewhere she wouldn't have to worry about the lock on her door holding up.
She pulled her wool-lined leather coat tighter to her body and sighed softly at the feeling of a box pressing against her bust. Carefully she opened the bust pocket and pulled out a carton of cigarettes. She opened it slowly and groaned as she realized there was only one left, which meant she would have to try and get someone to buy cigarettes for her. She had no money, something she had unhappily forgotten to collect from her home. So like the idiot she was, she was left with one cigarette, a half used lighter, and her wool-lined leather coat. She was only eighteen and while she could afford the cigarettes, she had no money to buy them.
"Great, just… great." She groaned as she pushed the cigarette to her lips and lit the cancer stick. Slowly, she took a greedy inhale and paused as her lungs burned, causing a soft tingle to run down her throat as she slowly and reluctantly let the smoke spill from her mouth and nose. "Looks like I'm gonna have to quit." She snorted at this notion, her eyes rolling as she leaned back against the brick wall of the convenience store she was now stationed outside of. She was certain that even if someone tried to kidnap her for whatever reason there was, being close to the convenience store would make her less of a likely target.
Taking in another drag, she felt her stressed mind relax some as she held the empty carton in her hands before tossing it onto the ground and stomping on it.
"Hey!" She jumped and looked around from her spot next to the convenient store, her legs tensing as she prepared to run. Instead she found a rather handsome looking young fellow. He was tall, or at least he seemed tall seeing as she barely made it to five foot, two inches. She was on the shorter side, so most people seemed taller than her, she found.
"Yeah, what's up?" She frowned as she took another eager drag from her cigarette and watched as the man stepped closer to her. From this point she could see he had dark brown eyes that pretty much looked black and messy red hair that framed his pale face. He also seemed to have scruff lining his cheeks and chin and despite all of her instincts telling her to run, she couldn't help, but find him rather attractive.
"You got another one of those?" He seemed friendly enough, she figured it wouldn't hurt to let him stand near her. Plus the convenience store doors were all of five feet away, all she needed to do was scream and someone was bound to hear her.
"Sadly no, this is my last one…" She frowned as she looked at the partially smoked cig and pouted. She was going to miss having those… She took another drag and let the smoke spill from her nostrils.
"Shame. I actually got some money. I won't lie, I just came over here because I saw you drop the carton and figured I'd be kind enough to buy you another?" He grinned at this and she could feel her face flush from the kindness. Her grey eyes narrowed slightly as she stared at her current cigarette and wondered if she dare to take the man's offer.
"That… would actually be really nice. I smoke Winston 100s. Thanks for this." She smiled at him as she watched him nod happily and jog inside to get the cigarettes. She felt herself smile as the stress that once filled her head slipped away. Sure, she would have preferred to have the money to buy food or drinks, seeing as she bailed from her home, but she still wanted to satisfy that delicious craving deep in the pit of her lungs. She watched as the man jogged back out with two cigarette cartons. One was Winston 100s, and the other a pack of Camel Lights. Her brow quirked at the different cartons, but her curiosity was diminished as the man tossed her the Winston 100s.
"Wow… Thank you!" She grinned happily as she pocketed the carton and continued to savour the taste of the nicotine she breathed into her lungs.
"You're welcome and if you don't mind me asking; what's your name?" She perked up at the sound of his voice, watching as he pocketed his own carton of cigarettes. She let out a soft sigh at his question as she pulled her cigarette from her lips and let it hang there limply.
"Jacquline, but most call me Jack or Jackie." She shrugged as she flicked the butt of her cigarette, causing the ashes to fall to the ground below.
"Nice name! I'm Cristopher, but my friends call me Cris." He offered his name to her as she nodded slowly and brought the cig back up to her lips so that she could take another hit.
"Well, nice to meet you Cris." She smirked up at him and almost laughed at the elation on his face as she used his nickname. While she felt relaxed around Cris, her instincts continued to scream at her to run away, and run fast, but she couldn't bring herself to flee. Cris seemed so nice and even bought her a new pack of cigarettes.
"Nice to meet you too, Jackie. So… what brings you out so late?" He tilted his head and seemed to decide to lean against the opposite brick wall of where she leaned against the wall.
"Well… Got tired of home, you know? So I decided I'd leave. Can't call it running away because I am eighteen, after all. And my parents have been expecting this for a while, I bet. Chances are they won't even call the police. I mean, how fucked up is that? You think they would care, but no, all because my older brother is the perfect child…" She sighed and paused a moment, her cheeks flushing as she realized she had rambled. "Sorry about rambling, just… rather frustrated. I think I should have planned leaving a little better." She laughed to herself as she pinched off the ashes, leaving her with a little less than half a cigarette to smoke for later.
"What about you? Surely a guy as cute as you can't be out here because he's running away too." She grinned as Cris seemed to begin to fidget. Instantly she felt her spine straighten and her relaxed mood left her body. Something wasn't right about the situation, she could tell just by how Cris seemed to grow tense and fidgety.
"Well… I got bored just hanging out at home, so I decided to do a cigarette run and I saw you and I dunno, I figured you were cute, so I offered some help…" She felt herself relax instantly. He had only been nervous, but he seemed to be telling the truth, which earned a smile from her. She could appreciate the honesty in him.
"Well, thank you for your help. I need to get started looking for a place to sleep… I don't got any money so I'm pretty screwed." She sighed as she ran a light tanned hand through her brown hair. She definitely needed to get her hair cut if she was going to be homeless. Having long hair would make things far more difficult than it needed to be.
"Well, if you don't mind me being forward, would you like to come back to my place? Well, a motel, actually, but it's more than likely better than sleeping on a bench or something…" Cris smiled nervously at her as she took his offer into consideration. The man had been nice enough to buy her cigarettes and he seemed pretty honest. Her instincts must have been triggered because of the disappearances she had been hearing about. But from each tale of the disappearances, the people seemed to fight whomever it was, and there was no way it could be someone like Cris. He seemed too kind and a bit more lanky, so it would be hard for him to drag people anywhere.
"That would be really fuckin' nice, actually. I'm gonna owe you a ton once I can get back on my feet…" Jackie chuckled at this before she pushed off of her spot on the wall and looked to Cris curiously. "What, figured I'd say no? You're cute and you seem trustworthy, so why not? Just lead the way." She grinned as Cris seemed shocked, before he shook his head and grinned. Quickly he jogged over to his car, a grey two door Toyota Tacoma truck, and happily unlocked and opened the passenger door. Jackie eagerly climbed inside and buckled up as Cris did the same and drove off towards the motel he was staying at.
"So, Cris, what brings you to this shitty neck of the woods?" Jackie peered over at Cris as he drove and shrug his shoulders. "Just along the way, I guess. Guess there aren't many sights to see, huh?" Cris smirked at this as Jackie laughed and shook her head. "Nothing, nada. Just a few residential areas, a few motels, and an abundance of fast food places and convenience stores and that's it. Pretty much the ideal place to be described as Bumfuck Egypt." Jackie sighed and shrugged as she rolled down the passenger window and slumped down into the seat of Cris' truck. She could faintly smell cigarettes and an odd cologne.
Finally the truck came to a stop and both Cris and Jackie jumped from the car. Cris eagerly opened his motel room, ushering Jackie inside and as soon as she saw one of the beds, she collapsed onto it and groaned happily.
"What's with the two beds?" She lifted her head from the comforter and looked over towards Cris. He frowned at her question and let out a long sigh. "My last... travel mate and I didn't really agree, so I told them to hit the road, and they did, but this works out cause then we don't have to be awkward and share a bed." Cris grinned and Jackie formed a fake pout. "And here I was expecting we'd share... Joking. Thanks a ton for this." She sighed as she kicked off her vans. The shoes were useless when it came to standing around and walking everywhere rubbed the back of her ankles raw. At least they looked good.
"I think I'm gonna crash for tonight. Had a busy day." Jackie sighed as she pulled off her coat and let it fall to the floor next to the bed before she lid into the comfort and warmth of the bed. She had to admit, for being a shitty motel, the beds sure were comfortable.
"I think I'll join you on that note." Cris grinned as he took off his own shoes and darted into the bathroom, only to step out moments later with a pair of sweats on. He climbed into the other bed and moved to sleep on his stomach. Carefully he watched as Jackie quickly fell into a deep slumber and got up from his bed. He slid on his shoes and disappeared for a while. Jackie was unaware of this due to her heavy sleeping. Cris returned hours later, his eyes a soft golden color as he slid into his bed and pretended to sleep for the next few hours until Jackie woke up.
