Clutching the straps of my rucksack, I stare up at the massive screen in front of me showing the train times. Mine leaves in 22 minutes - just enough time to grab a majorly overpriced drink from one of the shops littered around London Victoria Station. The whole time I'm standing here people rush around me like birds in flight, each one of them with their own story. Sometimes I like to wonder what those stories are: mothers and daughters who have come to London for a girly weekend; business men and women on their way to important conferences; couples leaving for romantic trips to the countryside, and then the people like me - the people who are running away from something. I've always wondered what it'd be like to run away from home but I'd end up dismissing the idea, deciding that I would never know, because my home life could never get that bad. I guess I'd been wrong all of those times, but life is unpredictable I guess.

I speed walk over to one of the various shops at the station and grab the largest bottle of water I can along with a bag of dried fruit in case I get hungry. I give the cashier a five pound note to pay and I'm not at all surprised when he gives me 2p change - like I said: everything for sale at this train station is ridiculously overpriced. By the time I exit the shop it's 18:42 meaning I have 6 minutes to reach my train which is on the other side of the station.

"Shit." I mumble, shoving my purchases into my bag, whipping out my train ticket as I do so and legging it towards the barriers that separate the main area of the station and the platforms, I swipe my ticket quickly and carry on running towards the right platform for my train.

When I reach the train and hop on it's 18:46 - just in time. I look up and down the carriage, trying to see if there's any free seats. I spot one opposite a guy with headphones on with a suspiciously large bag on the seat next to him - he looks to be about the same age as me. I take my seat on the other side of the table and set my rucksack down next to me, trying to avoid any awkward leg touches in the small space the train company thinks is acceptable as leg room.

The boy looks up from his notebook when he realises I've sat down. I smile at him, but the gesture isn't returned. Rude. I fold my arms and sigh - this is going to be one long journey if the person I'm sitting with refuses to even give me a friendly smile.

As the train pulls away from the station my mind is drawn back to the reason I'm even on it in the first place, which in turn causes my eyes to focus on the unusually large bag I'd spotted earlier. So that's it then - this guy must be running away too. I mean, you could argue that he's just going away on holiday but he looks too young and too sad for that, so I'm sticking with my running away theory. But why? My curious brain just can't help but wonder why such a cute guy would want to run away from the life he knows. So I decide to just ask.

"Hey." I say, tapping his notebook in case he can't hear me over his music.

The guy pulls one of his headphones out and looks up at me, his expression completely unreadable by this point.

"Can I help you?" he asks, seeming kind of annoyed. But also kind of exhausted, the poor guy.

I motion to the bag sat next to him with my head, "What's with the big-ass bag?" I ask, "You hiding a body in there or something?" I add, trying to lighten things up a little bit.

He glares at me, obviously not appreciating the humour.

"Why do you care?" he asks, his eyes squinting ever so slightly in suspicion. I don't blame him.

I pat my own bag and shrug my shoulders, "I figured that we might be here for the same reason." I say slowly.

He raises his eyebrows, removing his second headphone and shutting his notebook, turning the source of his music off.

"So..." he says, "I guess you're running away too?"

I nod my head, "Yep, I'm Emery." I beam, and this time my smile is reciprocated.

"What are you running from, Emery?" the stranger asks, leaning over the table ever so slightly.

I lean in too. I guess our proximity to each other could be seen as flirty, but given the situation, I think it's pretty clear to both of us that this is purely friendly banter.

"Wouldn't you like to know." I say, inches from his face, then return to my original position, smiling.

"You're just scared my reason's better than yours." he says smugly, sticking his tongue out at me like a child.

"No..." I say slowly, "I just don't feel like sharing my life story with someone who won't even share their name with me." I say, raising and eyebrow at him.

"Oh, right." he laughs, "I'm Calum and I'd be very interested in hearing your story, nice to meet you." he hold his hand out for me to shake, which I do.

I ponder in my head whether I should tell him why I want to leave, then decide that I should get him to tell me his reasons first. I mean, he's clearly thought about it more than me, judging by the amount of packing he's done. If he's thought about it that much, he might have something really serious going on and I don't want to end up looking like an idiot in front of a guy I just met. Much less a cute guy I just met.

"Nope." I say, and he looks offended, which makes me giggle a little.

"Why not?"

"You have to tell me first because I went first with the introductions." I say smugly, crossing my arms and relaxing back into my seat.

"Fine." he huffs, "Are you always this difficult?" he asks.

"Pretty much." I shrug.

"Okay well...I guess my home life hasn't been that great recently."

"Obviously." I roll my eyes, "That's why you're here."

"Do you want me to tell you or not?" he snaps half-jokingly.

"Ok, but never try to sass me again, got it?" I reply.

Calum laughs then carries on.

"It's all down to a difference in opinion really. All I've ever wanted to do was make music - for as long as I can remember. And to be honest, I think I'm pretty good at it. I mean, I play bass and sing a little and I even write a few lyrics here and there - but that's besides the point. My parents don't necessarily see it the same way I do. To them, music is a hobby, not a career. They want me to go to Uni and 'make something of myself' but they just can't see that I wouldn't be being 'myself' if music wasn't involved."

"Why didn't you just try talking to them - running away is a bit drastic isn't it?" I question him straight away.

"It's not that simple. I've tried, believe me, I've tried - they just won't listen. In the end it was either stay and study something I don't care about and eventually end up in a job I hate - or leave and try to make it in an area I actually have a passion for." he shrugs.

Something about his little speech makes me feel inspired, but something else about it tells me he's making a big mistake.

"Calum, maybe you should rethink this, I me-" I start.

"What is there to rethink?" he interrupts, getting defensive.

"Look, I'm just saying - maybe it's not the end of the world, you could always reach a compromise with your parents. It's not like you can't study and try and make it as a musician at the same time, you know? I don't know - it just feels like running away is too far for a parental disagreement. Like, come on - surely central London is the best place to be if you want a music career?" I say, not caring that Calum is a stranger and therefore probably doesn't care about my opinion.

"So you don't think my reason for wanting to leave home is good enough?" he says, sounding kinda pissed off. Oops.

I consider lying to him, but decide honesty is the best policy.

"To be honest with you, yeah - it's something you can easily sort out. I mean, maybe there's other stuff going on that I don't know about but it sounds pretty simple to me."

"Ok, tell me why you've run away then, if you're an expert on what constitutes a 'good' reason for doing it." he snaps.

He's so salty.

"I'm bored of the life I have at home." I lie.

"That's it?" he says in disbelief.

"Yep." I reply, lying through my teeth once again. I know I said that honesty is the best policy, but I don't know this guy, and I'll probably never see him again after today. 

"You're full of shit." he sighs, moving to put his headphones back in.

At first I think he's figured me out and knows I'm lying, then I realise that he probably just means I'm a shitty, hypocritical person in general. Fair enough.

I grab his wrist before he puts them back in.

"Excuse me, can I help?" he asks, getting angry again.

"Look, I'm sorry ok. I guess the reason I'm running is lame too - maybe we're both making a mistake." I try to reason.

"So you're standing by your statement about my story?" he asks, looking at me weirdly.

"One hundred percent." I say firmly.

"Fine. Maybe this is a mistake. But it's too late now." he grumbles.

"Not necessarily." I say in excitement, an idea forming in my head.

"...What is it...?" he says, approaching the subject carefully, obviously put off my energy.

"Let's make a pact!" I practically shout.

A few tired-looking passengers lift there heads up and look at me in disgust.

"Sorry." I whisper, shout, before turning back to Calum.

"A pact?" he says sceptically, "Really?"

"Sure! It'll be fun." I say with way too much enthusiasm. To be honest, I think this could be really helpful to me.

"I'm not agreeing until you tell me what the deal is." he says, which is fair enough and very business savvy of him.

"Can I write it on a page of your notebook?" I ask nicely, knowing it's a long shot as it seems like it's more than just a notebook to him, it's so used.

"It's a journal and you can use the back page where there's nothing else for you to be nosy with." he says, trying to act tough.

"Sure, whatever." I say, grabbing the book out of his hands once he's flipped it to the last page.

I read out as I write the words down.

"'Upon signing this contract, Emery Chaudhri and Calum whatever-his-last-name-is agree that they will stick it out in their current situations and will not make any move to run away from their problems for the next four months. After that they are free to do whatever the hell they want.'"

"You actually want me to sign a contract?" he laughs.

"Yeah, it means it's legally binding." I smile.

"I have a feeling this wouldn't stand up in court." he says, holding the page up. "But I'll sign anyway because it's too cute not to."

I take the pen and journal off of Calum and sign my name under his, then hand it back.

"So I guess we should get off at the next station and turn back around, huh?" I sigh.

"I guess we should. Wouldn't want the police after us for breaking our contract now, would we?" he jokes at my expense, making me blush.

"We are now approaching: Gatwick Airport. Please mind the gap between the platform and the train. Please ensure you have all personal belongings before leaving the train."

"Here we go." I say, standing up and picking up my bag.

"Here we go." he says, doing the same.

And there we went.

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A/N: I absolutely in love with this story idea even though we haven't fully developed it yet but anyway this chapter just sort of gave the main outline of the story and showed the personality of the two main characters so yea cool!! ANYWAY LET US KNOW IF YOU LIKED IT IT'S KIND OF DIFFERENT TO THE OTHER STUFF WE'VE WRITTEN.

SERIOUSLY LET US KNOW WHAT YOU THINK IN THE COMMENTS SO WE KNOW WHERE TO TAKE THIS I'M SO NERVOUS HAHA

love y'all xoxo