Music;

Cat Power; "Half of you"

Eagles; "Desperado"

I got dressed in my room and before I left, I looked in the box again. There were so many pictures of me. Alone, with Lewis, at work. Everywhere.

Some of them were taken just days ago, others were old, maybe 6-8 months ago. It wasn't unusual we had men who took a shine to us, but this was something else. I decided to show it to Flynn and hear what he had to say-maybe he could be extra careful for some time in case we had a weirdo as a customer.

I was leaving the room, box in hand, when I ran into someone. Niall, of course, just my luck. The content of the box flew everywhere, and images of me was all over the floor. Niall looked gobsmacked and started apologizing before his voice slowly died out when he saw all the pictures. "Carolin, what is all this?" He picked one up, me talking to the guy on my local corner shop, smiling, not knowing someone was photographing me. I didn't know how to explain it, and just stood there. "These are all pictures of you, taken from some distance." I nodded.
I couldn't exactly deny that. 

"How did you get these?" He looked mad. "They just appeared in my room, on my desk, earlier. I don't know who delivered them." "Did you know you have a stalker?" I flinched at the word. "No, nothing like this has ever happened before, I don't.." I hesitated and looked over at the roses. Could it be that the person sending the roses was my personal photographer? Niall saw where I was looking. "The roses? He gave you them?"

I was getting a bit mad, surely it was nothing. "I don't know." I said louder than I had planned. "You have to go to the police." Niall demanded. "Yeah, sure. Hello, mister police officer. I'm a stripper and I think someone is following me and sending me roses every Friday." I rolled my eyes. "I was going to see Flynn, our bodyguard so to speak. He'll keep an extra eye out for anything standing out." Niall looked dubious, "With all due respect, love, but it seems that he has been around you for some time without standing out." He held out some of the many pictures, but I didn't want to touch them. "The others left. Liam incredibly happy, I must add."

I sat down; this had killed my buzz over the lapdance. "I'll talk to the owner and tell him I'll be escorting you home." I hated being treated like a baby like this, but I didn't have the energy to fight him. I looked up at Niall, and suddenly it felt good that someone was taking care of me. I was so used to fending for myself, I had forgotten how it felt. "Yeah, why not?" I said tired. «But I must warn the other girls as well. I'll go do that while you talk to Rick, he's the big one at the end of the bar, most likely." I pushed the box into a closet, no way that was coming home with me.

I talked to the others and all of them tried to calm me and said it was probably just someone who fancied me. I agreed, but I was glad I'd hid the pictures. Niall came to get me, and the girls swooned and whistled. I blushed and brushed it off. Rick came over to me on my way out and asked if I was ok. "I guess so, but we have to talk about this tomorrow. He got pictures of me from inside the bar." Cameras were strictly forbidden inside the walls, and if the guards saw someone taking photos with their phone, they made them delete them right away. Somehow this person had managed to get pictures, many pictures. "Take care, Caro, we'll talk tomorrow." He started turning around, but interrupted himself, "No, tomorrow's Sunday. We'll talk Monday night." I agreed and walked out in the streets with Niall. Niall whom I just met, Niall whose friend I just gave an epic lapdance to (I think so anyway). Niall, who was in one of the world's most famous bands. Escorting me home because I maybe had a stalker.

I told him where I lived and that we had to take a taxi, it was too far to walk. Expertly, he hauled a taxi almost immediately. I was impressed and told him so. "I thought you had people driving you around, where did you learn that?" "Winter night in Ireland, wanting to get home, you pick up some skills." He smirked and I laughed. That felt good. Inside the warm car I gave my address to the driver. Without a word he glided into the traffic and I looked out the window. I remembered Lewis talking about stopping by and sent him a short text. "Going home early, some crazy shit, I'll tell you all about it tomorrow. N is with me in the cab." and a whole bunch of emojis, trying to describe this wild situation. Two seconds later he hit me back. It wasn't even words there, just emoji's. Probably fifty of them, I didn't respond, I'd talk to him later. I turned to Niall and saw that he was staring at me. "Thank you for doing this," I said. "When does your day start tomorrow?"

"Around nine." He glanced at his watch. There was something sexy about a man wearing a watch, maybe because you didn't see it too often, other than the hip Apple watch. "Seven hours, I've done it on far less sleep." When we arrived at my apartment, I expected Niall to take the taxi back downtown, but to my surprise he followed me out of the car. "No, no, I'll manage from here." I tried to push him back in. «Carolin, were any of the pictures from your place?» He asked with a serious expression. I didn't answer, he'd seen them. I just stepped aside and let him follow me. He even scanned the area, and I almost laughed. I cocked an eyebrow; "All clear?" He smiled back, "Clear."

The apartment smelled like home, and it was good to slip off the shoes. Normally I changed at the bar before I went home, but not this time. "Are you hungry?" I asked over my shoulder to Niall, who was studying a picture on my wall. "Always." I showed him around, not much to see but I loved it. Thankfully, I'd made my bed that morning. "I'll just change quickly, make yourself at home."

I grabbed a pair of sweats and a tank-top and went to the bathroom to change. In there I took a minute to come to grip with this whole situation. My eyes looked back at me in the mirror, a bit wild. I washed my face but put on some mascara afterwards, I let my hair hang down, took a deep breath and went back to Niall. He was still standing, looking at my pictures. He turned with a slightly shocked expression. "These are of you?" You'd have to be good to recognise me, the boudoir-pictures were in black and white, with me hiding my face on all of them. He stood in front of my favourite, I was completely naked with my back to the camera, positioned on a small, three-legged chair, straight back, legs opened wide and my right hand raised with my middle finger up at the camera. "Yes, all me." I admitted with a grin. "Wow, these are amazing. You could sell them at a studio, they're so good." "Thanks, I tell Lewis that you said that; he's the photographer." With an effort he dragged his eyes away from the photos and looked at me; "You look five years younger in those clothes," he laughed. "Well, thank you, kind sir, I still get carded sometimes." I motioned him to follow me to the kitchen, where I started making sandwiches. Two for him and one for me, I wasn't that hungry. We chatted easily while he was seated at one of the chairs. "Voila, here's your pay for escorting me safely home." I popped two beers and told him we could eat in front of the tv if it was ok with him. An old episode of "Sex and the city" was playing and it made a nice backdrop to our conversation. He cleared away all the plates after we finished eating, which I was grateful for, I was nodding off sitting up. I could hear him singing to himself in the kitchen and to that I drifted off on the couch, the bed mere meters away.

I woke up, confused as hell. I was in my bed, but I could hear someone snoring. I sat up, and there Niall was sleeping on my couch. He must have carried me to my bed last night, a bit embarrassing. I looked at the time and saw that it was almost seven. I didn't know if I should wake him up or let him sleep. While I debated with myself, he turned over on the couch and with a big thump fell promptly to the floor. I gasped loudly. "Oh, no, Niall." I hurried over to him and dropped down on my knees, he groaned before opening his eyes. In the morning light they were so blue that I froze just staring into them. I saw tinges of yellow at the edge and the pupils dilated while I looked at them. "Are you ok?" I asked. "Yeah, I just lost my pride." he said with a raspy, morning voice. Sometimes something small like that can set you on fire, bodies are so weird. I sat back a bit, afraid I would jump him, my inner core remembering how it felt to grind up against him. I bit my lip hard and I saw him stare at it. Suddenly I saw the same fire in his eyes that I felt, and I didn't know how to handle it. He sat up with his back leaning against the sofa and dragged me towards him. I ended up straddling him on the floor, while he used the tip of his finger to slowly caress my face. The only thing to be heard was our breathing. Life should have soundtrack, now I imagined "Half of you" by Cat Power being played in the background would have been perfect. We locked eyes and he leaned ever so slightly over, and I felt my lips part. Suddenly there was a soundtrack, but it was Desperado, by the Eagles. Although fitting to my state of mind right now, it turned out to be his phone ringing. He looked at it and rubbed his face. "Yes, I'm awake!" was his opening sentence. I could hear Liam's voice on the other end. "You're not in your room, you better not be fucking that stripper right now and answering your phone." Niall rolled his eyes. "No, I'm not. I'm out getting coffee." "We got a coffee-machine here, dickhead. I don't believe you. I don't blame you; I had a hard on for hours after that dance yesterday. Let me tell you, those boobs and those lips. I..." Niall didn't let him finish and I couldn't keep my laughter in anymore. "Shut up, Liam." Niall warned, but he had heard me laughing. "I KNEW IT." Hysteric laughter came from the phone. "I found him, lads. He's with the stripper." "Her name's Carolin." I heard another voice say, maybe Louis?

"I'll be there at nine." Niall growled and hung up. "I'm so sorry for that." I shrugged and tried getting up. "I still think you should go to the police." He said while holding me on his lap. "No point in that yet, they would only dismiss me."
This time I managed to get up and he stood up as well and stretched his body. I got a glimpse of bare skin when he put his arms over his head. Like I said before, small things. He asked for my phone and when I gave it to him unlocked, he entered his phone number. "If there is anything, just call." I refused to call some random guy just because I was scared, but I thanked him and promised I would do that. He used the bathroom quick and gave me an awkward kiss goodbye on the cheek. I followed him to the door and let him out, but the first step out the door he slipped in something and nearly fell. With a grip on the handle, he got his feet under him and I had to laugh a little. "Smooth, Horan." I chuckled. "Damn it!" He exclaimed and looked down at the same time I did. At first, I didn't comprehend what I saw, but Niall pushed me back in and stepped away. The floor in front of my apartment was covered in what looked like blood. "Wait here." Niall commanded and pushed me again. "Stop doing that!" I was mad and scared. I grabbed some shoes by the door and eased my way out without stepping in the goo. We stood and stared at the blood without saying a word.

The door glided shut behind me and I saw Niall's eyes got wide staring at something. I turned slowly and there, hung on my door was the carcass of a bunny. I felt bile coming up my throat and I slapped my hand over my face. Niall's hand landed on my shoulder and pushed me into him. I melted into his protective frame. "What the actual fuck." I whispered, didn't want to wake my neighbours. He raised his phone and took a photo of the bunny and the blood. "You still don't wanna go to the police? I shook my head. I'd have to deal with the police before, no help to be found there that time, and I didn't think I would get it this time either. He sent a quick text and asked if I had any plastic gloves. Without a word I found him some and a pair to myself as well. With a wrinkle on his nose, he pulled the bunny loose from the door. I held out a bag for him and he manoeuvred the poor thing into it. I caught a glimpse of something odd and told him to wait. Out from the gutted carcass something stuck out. I pulled it loose and saw it was a polaroid photo. Niall and me walking out of the taxi last night. I showed I to him, but he didn't say a word. He went outside to throw it away while I tried to wash away the blood. This wasn't someone who had seen me dancing and liked what he saw. This was someone sick.