Chapter 2 — Where the Moon Hides
695 Words
Star ran until her lungs burned.
Past empty streets.
Past flickering streetlamps.
Past the sound of steady footsteps that never seemed rushed — but never seemed far.
She didn’t dare look back.
Her heart pounded so hard it felt like it might give her away.
The iron gates of the old graveyard stood slightly open.
She slipped inside.
The air changed instantly — cooler, quieter, wrapped in silver moonlight. Marble headstones stretched like frozen waves, shadows pooling between them. The world outside felt loud and sharp.
Here, it felt hidden.
She ducked behind a tall angel statue, pressing her back against cold stone, covering her mouth to quiet her breathing. Her glitter caught the moonlight faintly, softer now — like it, too, was afraid.
Please don’t let them follow me.
Footsteps.
Not running.
Measured.
They entered.
Slash stopped just inside the gates. Bones stood beside him, scanning the darkness.
“She came in here,” s***h said quietly.
“I know.”
They didn’t sound angry.
They sounded certain.
Star squeezed her eyes shut. She could feel them even without seeing them — like the air shifted when they were near.
“Why does she run like we’re monsters?” s***h muttered, almost to himself.
Bones’ voice was lower. “Because we are. To everyone else.”
Silence lingered between the graves.
Moonlight traced their faces, softer than the city ever allowed.
Star risked a glance around the statue.
She didn’t understand why they weren’t searching frantically. Why they weren’t calling out threats. Why they weren’t laughing.
Instead—
They looked… unsettled.
“She’s terrified,” s***h said, running a hand through his hair. “And I hate that it’s because of us.”
Bones’ jaw tightened.
He stepped forward slowly, eyes scanning the rows of stone.
“We don’t even know her name,” he said quietly.
The words landed heavier than they should have.
Name.
They didn’t have it.
She had never given it.
And yet—
“She looked at me like I mattered,” s***h murmured.
Bones didn’t answer immediately.
Because he felt it too.
The second their eyes met hers in the alley — something had taken root. Not loud. Not reckless.
Deep.
Possessive in a way that frightened even him.
“She’s not like anyone we’ve seen before,” Bones said. “She shines.”
Behind the statue, Star trembled.
They don’t even know me.
She pressed her hands against her chest, trying to steady herself. Fear tangled with something else she didn’t want to name.
Because when Bones had caught her wrist earlier —
He hadn’t hurt her.
When s***h spoke —
His voice had softened.
That confused her more than cruelty would have.
A branch snapped under s***h’s boot.
Star gasped softly before she could stop herself.
Both brothers froze.
They turned toward the angel statue.
Moonlight spilled across the marble wings.
“She’s here,” Bones said quietly.
Not triumphant.
Not predatory.
Certain.
Star’s pulse roared in her ears.
Slash stepped closer, but slowly — as if approaching a frightened animal.
“We’re not going to hurt you,” he said again, softer now. “We just want to know you.”
Her breath trembled.
You don’t even know my name.
Bones stopped a few feet from the statue.
“You don’t have to tell us,” he said, voice calm. “But don’t disappear.”
The word disappear caught in the air.
Because that’s what she felt like doing.
Vanishing.
Becoming moonlight.
Untouchable.
Slash’s voice dropped almost to a whisper.
“Whoever you are…”
His eyes scanned the shadows, intense, searching.
“…you’ve already ruined us.”
Star’s heart skipped.
Fear laced with something dangerously sweet wrapped around her ribs.
Obsession was growing in the quiet.
In the way they refused to leave.
In the way her nameless presence felt sacred.
In the way Bones said softly into the night —
“We’ll find you.”
Not as a threat.
As a promise.
Star closed her eyes.
Hidden in the graveyard.
Breathing shallow.
Sweet passion laced with fear.
And for the first time —
She wondered if disappearing would make them want her more.
- Writer
