Her Shadow

"Royce Hunters."

"Yes?"

"I've watched you interact with others and I believe you're perfect for a job I have in mind."

His eyes lit up with interest. He's been wanting to get a job to help his family. "What's the job?"

"I just need you to watch my daughter for me. I have many enemies that want me dead. I'm afraid of what might happen to her. You don't have to interact with her...not unless it's absolutely necessary." The mysterious man said as he took out his wallet. "Here's some money in advance. I know your family needs it."

Royce took the money. "Thank you, sir. I promise I won't let you down."

[Years Later | Everything Was Fine Until...]

"I failed that kind man." He groaned as he stood several feet away from the women's restroom.

He was 23 now and he was currently leaning against a wall as he drank some coffee while "scrolling through his phone", wondering why he was following the man's daughter like some creep.

With Her

She sighed. "I can't believe she's planning to surprise me on my birthday. I thought I told her that I don't like parties." She muttered as she remembered what she witnessed as she was shopping for some things she needed.

She had found her best friend talking to some of the girls about surprising her on her birthday. The theme was perfect. But she didn't want people invading her personal space on her birthday.

"Hmph, I'll have to act surprised to some extent. I swear, though, if they dare to invite that asshole and that brat to my place, I'll incinerate anything in my path....with my wrath, of course." She mumbled as she came out of the women's restroom.

She began to walk out of the building, making her way to her car. But before she could, she found herself pinned against a wall, far from prying eyes.

She gulped as she came face to face with a blonde guy that had tattoos on his arms, had a scar on his face, wore a black vest and a white shirt underneath....and had piercing blue eyes that didn't reveal any emotion.

What the hell? What does this guy want from me? I hope he's not planning on kidnapping me or raping me. I should've forced my dad to teach me how to fight when he was still alive, damn it!

Luckily, a dark haired man came to her rescue and forced him off of her. She could only stare as the blonde threw a smirk her way as he ran to his motorcycle and disappeared in the distance.

Why the fuck is the dude handsome? Couldn't he be ugly? Disgusting? Argh, I want to slap myself. Oh, wait, where are my manners?

"Thanks for--"

"It's no big deal. Now, this time, I'm going with you." He said.

"But don't you have a--"

"A friend dropped me off this time."

She sighed. "Fine. Follow me."

They went to her car and got inside. She drove, feeling self-conscious as he stared at her.

Once they arrived at her house and went inside. He dropped the bombshell.

"I'll be living with you from now on. I've been watching you for several years but kept my distance due to the fact that no one ever tried to harm you. And maybe I'm overreacting, but what if that blonde had taken you somewhere or raped you? I made a promise to your father and I'm not risking it."

She opened her mouth to protest, but she shut it again when she saw his green eyes daring her to try.

"Fine, fine. But what if my boyfriend assumes I'm cheating on him with you?" She grumbled.

Shock went through his face and then a flicker of anger showed in his eyes before he hid it. "As if you'd have a boyfriend."

She gasped. "Are you saying I'm too ugly?"

He remained silent and went to her kitchen, with her following. "Why isn't there more food in here?"

She glared at him. "Because I didn't feel like buying more food yet. I only went to buy myself more coffee and a book."

He raised an eyebrow at her. "Really? You bought two things and you couldn't have--"

She let out a small growl, out of habit, not because she was a werewolf or anything. "I'm only one person! I don't eat too much either. If I were to buy too much, it'd probably expire!"

His expression darkened. "So you barely eat? To stay thin?"

Now she threw her hands in the air and stormed out of the kitchen and into her room, slamming the door hard enough to make him flinch.

She wanted to punch the handsome green-eyed man but she couldn't because she didn't want to damage her hand in the process. So she decided to ignore him when she saw him again.

Once she calmed down, she looked at herself in the mirror and scowled. She wasn't that skinny. In her eyes, she was normal skinny. And it wasn't like she was starving herself either.

She couldn't eat too much. It was more like she was on survival mode and trying to save as much food as possible than making herself starve on purpose.

She came out of her room and went to the kitchen, needing to eat something before she faced him or else she'd strangle the man.

When she found him there, eating her favorite dish, she lost it. But she forced a smile that probably looked more like a sneer. Then made herself coffee and grabbed a cuerno.

She sat down next to him and ate her cuerno, drinking her coffee as she finished. "What's your name, green-eyes?"

"It's Royce."

"Well, Royce, next time you touch my favorite dish after offending me, I'm kicking you out. After all, I'm not trying to be skinny. I just want a normal body without changing my eating habits. Besides, did you not notice my baggy clothes? I wear them because it's comfortable, not because I lost weight. I've always been skinny. It's my body type. It's like those curvy girls, they didn't gain weight on purpose, their bodies are simply like that. Except with me it like the opposite. I'm not curvy. And because of my body type, people just assume I do it on purpose."

Royce hid a smile. He knew he had pushed her buttons when he said that earlier. He wanted to see how she'd react. If she'd hit him or ran away.

"Now, hand it over."

"Hand what over?"

"Your plate. It still has plenty to feed me. Now gimme." She said, her anger vanishing as he fed her instead of giving her the plate.

Even though she was surprised, she accepted that he wanted to feed her. Hell, if he wanted to, why would she stop him? Now she was free to look at her phone's screen and use both of her hands freely.