Chapter one: Meeting Her.

I smile to myself as I unpeel the wrapper of my chocolate, glad I found it in my car. Despite the fact I had only shoved the bar in the car this morning, I was still sure it would have melted in today's weather. The sun looks nice on instgram posts along with a quote, not in real life where it boils you to the point where you're not sure whether you're a human or a kebab.

The waiting line is long and I'm on the wrong end today. The AC is on full blast, thank God. I watch over the line, watching everyone on their phones or talking to other people. I'm not even sure if I'm allowed to eat in here but I carry on, chewing as I watch the clock tick.

I look around the bank I was in. The room was green, the furniture, the carpets and the walls. Not the best choice, anyone with decent eye sight knows blue is a great color.
I take a long glance everywhere, finally laying my eyes on the glass doors. That's when I start to frown and pray my contact lenses are fooling me. A few people are getting off huge bikes (or deathtraps), wearing pure black. That would have been perfectly fine if it isn't for the fact that every single person has their faces covered either by a ski mask or a plain white mask that covers the nose, mouth and forehead.

My mouth feels dry and I want to go and tell everyone to freeze, to shut the door but I couldn't. Fear took over my rational thinking as the doors open with a crack causing everyone to turn.
"Hands up!" The words echo around the packed room while I force myself to swallow my chocolate piece instead of coughing it out. Instead of shoving my hands in the air, I take another bite and then shove my arms up high.

The voice sounds feminine, she might be a girl. The bankers usually have the most blank expressions I have seen, they always reply in a monotone as well but right now their mouths are left agape and eyes wider. Trying not to panic, I turn around to get a good look at the people who held us captive.

"Hey you!" It's the same person but this time her voice was rougher. I close my eyes, wondering if this will be it. My mouth feels oddly dry and I lick my lips.

If I'm going to die today, I'll die eating good food. Grabbing out my chocolate from my pocket, I tear a piece and shove it my mouth. The whole process probably wasn't very attractive but this may be my last chance to eat. I'm not taking any chances.

As she speaks, I get a closer look of her. Jeans, I think Levi by the looks of it – they look designer. Her jumper covered most of her body figure and finishes off where the label usually is for Levi jeans. Her face was obviously covered by a ski mask.

"What are you doing?" She scroffs, sounding more curious than threatening. Unfortunately this bar of chocolate doesn't give me magical powers so I'm trapped.

"Taking my last bites, I want to die a calm death with chocolate in my mouth," I answer her, calm as I can pretend to be. She ignores my facade, most likely knowing the fact I'm afraid.

"What the absolute fuck do you mean?" Her voice nearly sounds sarcastic now and I relax. It's not like she'll shoot me, right? As she tosses the gun from one perfectly manicured hand to another, I try to stand still. Standing still wasn't really my thing, it didn't seem to sit well with me, especially when it could get me in trouble.

In the end, I comb my black hair back due to stress. A few more seconds tick by and she stops toying with the gun to turn back to her group. "Are we done?" Her voice sounds tough, almost deep.

"Almost, give us a few minutes," someone answers but I'm not sure who. There's three or four of them, all seem to look the same except for the one standing in front of me. My eyes glance outside, seeing a few plants growing almost out of their pots near the doorways. The whole theme of this place seems to be green.

My dark brown eyes wonder back to the black and white clock. It's only been a few minutes since they've arrived but it feels like eternity. I wish that someone could save us, someone who could wrestle the gun out of her hand easily. Even she didn't shoot the gun, the fear will most likely kill me.

Exhaling, I watch every single movement she makes. What if she whips out her gun and kills me? Or maybe even rob me of my money and life savings? All my thoughts whirling around stop as soon as I hear the police sirens.

Before I can grin wildly, jump up and down while running around in joy, a cool metal touches my head. My face turns into a frown as I take heavy breathes in. "Every person for himself, get out!" Her voice barks the orders out.

"Walk with me and you'll live," she whispers to me, making my heart race. Is this how it ends? Should've kept my chocolate with me a bit longer. I try my best to look ahead and not at her as she keeps her hands at my head.

I look at my surroundings, trying to figure a escape. There might be something I can hit her on the head with or runaway with. My eyes wander over the doorway which only bank employees use. It's painted a simple shade of white.

As soon as we walked in, I saw lockers. Rows and rows of mental lockers. The criminal next to me walks as if she's been here. Who knows? Maybe she has. All I can hear now is her click of her heels.

"287, 288, 289, bingo!" She says quickly, her pitch rising in joy. Bingo? Who says that? I should write that down, maybe it's a hint. What if she lives with some drug dealing grandmas and that's why she said that?

Not taking the gun off my head, she brings out keys from her jeans which were previously hidden by her jumper. Then she opens the locker number 290. The drawer clangs loudly, hopefully drawing the police here.

I bite my lip nervously while the criminal casually brings out a envelope. She holds it in her left hand while keeping another at my forehead.

Death seems so close. I don't want to die, I'm only 24 for god's sake. "You're coming with me just in case," she quickly informs me, walking ahead. Afraid for my half lived life, I move along side her.

I cast my eyes towards the final doorway that parted me from the outdoors. My heart hammering, she slams it. When the door doesn't open, she curses under her breath and puts the envelope on the ground to take out her keys.

All through this, the gun remains on my head. The door clicks but not before I hear a gun shot behind. Panicking, I turn around. The room was still empty, my best guess was it took place outside. I lick my lips, my mouth feeling dry.

"Eyes in front." The gun comes back to my head. "Don't worry, you look like you're about to die – I won't shoot you. It's simply to freak them out," the criminal calmly speaks in a monotone. I nod, unable to speak.

I turn back around while she opens the door to dying grass. A gray pavement lead to a road which is littered by cigarettes. Probably the area for the smokers that work here. Finally, the cool metal leaves my head.

"You have fifteen seconds to run," the criminal says as I note there's no one who can notice my death in this area. The door slams shut, away from the cops and any hope of getting out of here.

I start jogging, my heart racing. When I reach a bend, I pause wondering if I should look back and see what she looks like. I could possibly get her arrested. What is so important in that envelope that you'd need to use force to get it?

Curiosity gets the better of me and I hold my breath as I bring a hand to my chest, trying to steady my speeding heart race.

She took of her mask and unfortunately, she looks amazing for a criminal. Throughout my life I was convinced criminals had scars all over their faces, hideous faces and terrible voices. Her face definitely topped those standards. Her brown eyes sparkles in the dim sunlight while her lips are a perfect pink.

The sun shines off her brown chocolate curls reminding me of the fact that I already finished my bar. Depressing. A criminal actually managed to look better than most models, why is she even doing this? It'll be easier for her to just simply model or something instead.

She takes a look around, managing to ignore the bend I'm on as rolling her sleeves up. Her gun remains in her hands but out of view for anyone but me. I start to walk again, spotting a crowd pouring out of a nearby restaurant. If I get lost in the crowd, she most likely won't realize I saw her. Now, all that's left to do is to go to the police.

I take a look back, seeing her again. This time she boldly makes eye contact with me, her soft eyes unable the capture the fact she has a gun near her hand. I drop my eyes to her arms, noting the fact the gun is out of her hands. As soon as I check that fact, I turn around as if I'm looking for someone.

I bite my lips, scanning the crowd in attempt to keep up my facade. When I feel certain she's gone, I sigh and turn to the front. I need to get out of here, every single though I have is to run but I carry on walking.

My heart stops racing, feeling safe once again until I tilt my head to see. She walks next to me, a small smile on her lips. "Stay quiet and we won't ever have a problem," she says, smiling at me. Her eyes are a different story though. They held anger at me. I gulp and nod quickly, walking off.

My pace became faster with every step I took, fear overtaking my normal slow pace. By the time I reach the side of the bank where I had parked my car, I couldn't see her familiar hair. I let a breath out, trying to get my mind to pause to handle all these thoughts.

□

How was the chapter? Any feedback? I legit added about 500 words and edited the hell out of this chapter. This is ome of the longest chapters I've written in a while.

I feel like his emotion weren't portrayed that well in this chapter, what about you guys? I might go back and rewrite this chapter.

Anyways, has anyone read milk and honey by rupi kaur? I ordered it today and I'm so excited to read it!

Vote?

- Maya