I bolted off with Niall’s hand in mine. We sprinted around the corner of the alley, onto the main sidewalk of the city. The police cars were right behind us, I could see the lights reflecting off all of the store windows around us. They were getting louder and louder, closer with every step I took. They were following me, and I knew it.

“Ryanne!” Niall was yelling. He was trying to tell me to slow down, to wait a second, but I couldn’t, I had to make it to my hotel room and leave the Highlines.

We turned the corner that lead us to the hotel and ran right through the doors. The receptionist from earlier today didn’t even take a glance at us, we just kept going and hopped onto the elevator.

“Ryanne, what the hell!” Niall exclaimed as the elevator doors closed and we were alone. “Why the hell did you do that?”

What could I say to him? That there’s a search warrant out for me? That I ran away from home? For all he knew was that my name’s Ryanne and that I was looking for my aunt, even though I was close to coming out with the truth back outside the club.

“I-, I just…” I couldn’t answer him then, I was trying to catch my breath from all the running I had just did. Luckily my phone rang. It was Aine. “Aine!” I exclaimed

“Your parents sent out police in every town or city within fifty miles.” She said right away. The elevator doors opened and Niall and I walked back to my hotel room.

“That includes the Highlines.” I said, my heart sinking. What I thought would be a new life for me here has now ended quickly.

“Yes, it does. Where are you? Are you still out?” She asked.

“No.” I said as I opened the door to my room. “I heard the sirens and ran, I had a feeling they were looking for me.”

“What?” Niall said in the background.

I told him to hush and then asked Aine, “What do they know back home?”

“All they know is that you ran away because you and your mother got into another fight. Your mother admitted that this one was the worst fight you two have ever had and that she never thought you would leave in this way.” She told me.

I started to feel bad for my mother, but she brought this on to herself, forcing me to marry someone I didn’t love. It was all pathetic.

“Luna,” Aine said.

“Yeah?” I said.

“Camryn is out looking for you too.” She told me.

My blood began to boil. The last thing I wanted was some kind of good publicity for Camryn Rogers. “You’ve got to be kidding me.”

“I wish.” She said. “Look, you have to get out of the Highlines, and I mean now.”

“Already on it.” I said, I walked into the bathroom and took whatever I could that would be useful; the little bottles of shampoo and conditioner and two small bars of soap. Better than nothing.

“Try not to get noticed okay?” Aine told me.

“I’ll do my best. Thanks for the info, keep me posted.” I told her.

“Will do.” We hung up and I turned to face Niall, who was sitting on the bed, a look of confusion spread across his face.

“Can you please explain to me what the hell is going on?” He asked. “Who is looking for you, and why was she calling you Luna?”

I guess it was now time to come clean. “Because that’s my real name.”

“What do you mean it’s your real name?” He asked.

“My name isn’t really Ryanne. It’s Luna.” I told him.

He waited a moment, letting the information process through his mind before he asked, “Why wouldn’t you tell me your real name?”

I took a deep breath and answered, “Because I’m being searched for and I didn’t want people knowing who I really was.”

The next half hour as I packed up all my stuff, I explained to Niall my whole situation, how my parents really didn’t die and that I wasn’t in search of an aunt to live with, but that I was actually trying to run away because I was being forced into a marriage that I didn’t want to be in.

“So you think running away is going to solve everything?” He asked after I finished.

“No,” I told him, stuffing a shirt into my bag that I had found on the floor. “I left because I wanted to find…” I couldn’t finish my sentence to him, and I didn’t know why.

“You wanted to find what?” He asked, getting up from the bed and walking over to me. His face was only inches from mine, and I could feel his warm breath on my face.

“I wanted to find love.” I admitted to him.

He looked into my eyes for what seemed like forever, then he said, “That shouldn’t be hard.”

“Apparently it is.” I said, walking away from his gaze and taking my bag off of the bed, slinging it over my shoulder, ready to make my way through the world again.

“Where will you go?” Niall asked.

“I don’t know.” I said to him. “I didn’t know where I was going beforehand, I kind of thought I could just stay here, in the Highlines, but now that seems unlikely.”

I started to walk out the door but then Niall shut it on me. “I’m coming with you.”

“No.” I said sternly. “Niall, if they find me they’ll think you kidnapped me or something. You’re not coming, it’s too risky.”

“What’s too risky?’ He asked me. “Trying to help you? Trying to make sure you’re safe? I may have only known you for a day now Luna but…”

“But what?” I encouraged him to go on.

“But I already care about you too much to let anything bad happen to you. So I’m coming with you.” He said.

“Niall…” I started to say, but he cut me off.

“Don’t even try to talk me out of it, I’ve already made up my mind. Now let’s get you out of here.” He grabbed my hand and pulled out of into the hallway where we made our way to the elevator. Down in the lobby there were no cops in sight. I returned my room key, and receptionist gave me some money back and we left the hotel.

“Where too?” Niall asked.

“Are you really going to walk around Ireland with just the clothes on your back?” I asked him.

“You’re right.” He admitted. “Let’s take the train back to my town and I’ll pack some stuff.”

“Where are you from?” I asked.

“Matchdale,” he told me. “Ever heard of it?”

“Yeah.” I said. “My parents have been there a few times.”

“Oh.” Was all he said back. We walked around the tall buildings of the city, Niall guiding me to the train station. I had my hood up, hands in my pockets, and kept close to him. Once in awhile he would wrap his arm around me to assure me that everything was going to be okay. I was starting to believe him,

An hour had passed and we were finally on the train. Niall, being the great human map that he is, got us lost about three times, and after I told him constantly not to ask for directions incase someone recognized me, he did anyway. When we found out how to get there, it turns out we passed it about three times already beforehand.

“How are you doing?” Niall asked me while we sat on the train, waiting for it to leave the Highlines.

“Fine.” I replied. And I really was. I wasn’t freaking out like I normally would. Niall calmed me down by just being here with me. He was simple and believed everything in the world was. Except he understood that my world wasn’t so simply. That I came from a so called “higher power” and have never done something this dramatic. I appreciated how he wanted to stay by my side and support me. No one has ever done that for me before.

Niall took my hand in his and said, “Everything’s gonna be okay love.”

I looked up into his beautiful blue eyes. “I hope so.”

“It will.” He said. “Because I’m here with you.”

I rested my head on his shoulder. I felt comfortable around him, I could trust him, and trust was what I needed right about now.

“How about this,” Niall started to say. I lifted my head up so then he knew he had my attention. “Let’s play a game.”

“What kind of game?” I asked. The train then took off. It was an hour and a half ride to Matchdale, so we had time for thousands of games.

“Twenty questions.” He answered. “To get your mind off things and get to know each other more.”

“Okay.” I answered. I sat up in my seat and faced him. “What are the rules?”

“The rules are simple.” He began. “We’ll take turns asking questions, and then we both answer them. Simple enough?”

“Yeah.” I answered. “You first.”

“Alright.” He put on a strange thinking face that made me giggle. “What’s your original hair color?”

“How’d you know I dyed it?!” I exclaimed.

“You smelled like hair dye when I first met you.” He said, trying not to laugh.

“Oh, right.” I said, slightly embarrassed. “It was like a light brown.”

“I bet it looked nice on you.” He said. Niall kept on making me blush, even when I couldn’t help it.

“What about you then?” I asked.

“I guess you could say brown.” He said. “But it started turning blondish when I turned 14.”

“Yeah right.” I said, ruffling his hair. “That cannot be real.”

“All real babe.” He said.

I rolled my eyes at him and his silly personality. The whole train ride I learned so much about Niall that I thought I never would. We told each other things that we thought we would never share with anyone. I felt connected with Niall, and I think he felt connected with me too.

The train had arrived at the last stop before ours and a group of older men came on, sitting near us. I may have been overreacting, but these men seemed kind of suspicious. They were big men, dressed in all black. They seemed like they were a part of…

“Niall…” I said, interrupting his sentence.

“What?” He followed my gaze over at the men. “Luna…”

“We have to go.” I said to him, taking his hand in one of mine and my bag in the other. We jumped up from our seats and tried to walk nonchalantly to the doors, but that didn’t work out so well.

“Hey!” We heard one of the guys yell. I turned my head around and saw all five of the men coming after us.

“Run Luna!” Niall took a hold of my hand and pulled me towards the closet set of doors. We weren’t fast enough though. Niall was in front of me, his hand still gripped into mine, when one of the men got a hold of me by the waist.

“Niall!” I screamed at the top of my lungs. The fear in his eyes made me realized that he did care about me, and that he wanted me to be safe. He had fallen in love with my just as much as I had fallen in love with him tonight.

“Luna no!” He cried out. He wouldn’t let go of his hand within mine, not willing to give up. I didn’t want him to, and I didn’t want to lose him. I was about to lose the most important person in my life and I wasn’t ready for that.

I struggled against the man’s grip, but he was too strong. Another one got a hold of Niall and our hands disconnected. I went numb, I had lost the battle, and now I was going to face the consequences. But worst of all, I had lost Niall, and we would never see each other again.

This must be what heartbreak feels like.