Snip, snip, snip...

"...well, of course Rory would say that. He's so self-centered. Seriously, if I have to listen to another one of his stories, I might..."

Snip, snip, snip...

"...but then Evangelina said that she didn't. Which I totally don't believe. Have you seen her house? I hear she's got..."

The sharp edges of the scissors slid across each other, creating a pleasant tingling feeling. Her soft auburn waves fell to the floor, landing in a messy heap.

"...and then he wanted to ask me out! Can you believe that little..."

Her hands moved frantically as she spoke. She was one of those girls who thrived in drama, revelled in misery. Her green eyes were alive with glee as she recounted story after story in a breathless fashion. I nodded in the right places, occasionally murmuring something or other.

"...but anyway, Zack thinks that the reason she did what she did was to..."

I concentrated on the movement of the scissors, the way they glinted furiously in the dim light of the room.

Snip, snip, snip...

I was almost finished now, her hair barely covering her slim shoulders. She hadn't noticed that I'd stopped, and carried on talking. The towel was removed and discarded, but still she sat there. I smiled at her through the mirror.

"...and then it all went BOOM!, y'know? Obviously, Olivia wanted to...oh, are we done?"

I smiled serenely at her, and she smiled fleetingly back. She examined herself in the large mirror, tilting her head and pouting in the mirror. Girls always seemed to do that nowadays. I was at a loss as to why.

"Hmm, d'you think Jamie will like it?" she asked, still staring at her reflection. I nodded, as if I knew who Jamie was and placed a hand on her shoulder to lead her out.

"Oh!" she exclaimed, giggling and showing off perfect white teeth. "Your hands are freezing! My mom has cold hands and it turns out she..."

I tuned out her pretty little face again, but kept on smiling and leading her towards the door.

"...and apparently the reverend thought she was possesed or something...oh, hang on, I have to take this!"

She pulled a cellfrom her pocket and flipped it open. I remained smiling and unmoving until she'd finished.

"I'm sorry, I have to go! See you soon though, right?"

I nodded again, and pushed between her shoulderblades to get her outside. She giggled a little again and gave a dainty wave and a grin. I nodded at her, watching her walk towards the wrought iron gates. The whole perimeter was walled off, with a 8 foot solid stone wall. The courtyard was empty except from a large outhouse near the gates.

Her shoes echoed on the ground as she headed for the gates. I stood silently, watching. She was almost there, her delicate hand reaching out to grasp the gate. The outhouse was slightly behind and to the right of her, and I watched as the hooded figure exited the brick building, sliding silently behind her thin frame.

I watched as his hand came up behind her neck and grasped her tightly, slamming his knee into her back and making her fall to the ground with a grunt of pain. His hand was pressed tightly to her mouth and she struggled silently, managing to almost twist out of his grip.

He was getting too old for this.

She'd twisted her body round to face me, and her eyes widened. She tried her best to scream, until she realised that I wasn't coming to her aid.

Betrayed by her hairdresser. Damn.

Her lifted his foot high, and let go of her mouth, before slamming his leg down on her face. A sharp cracking sound echoed, and he pulled her up by her hair. Blood poured from her broken nose and she moaned loudly, and tried to scream. His fist connected with her jaw as I stood on the sidelines, watching. She grunted again, and groaned, still twisting.

I still held the scissors loosley in my hand and waited for him to beckon me over. I didn't want to interfere when I wasn't wanted.

He began pulling her towards the salon, yanking her hair and laughing. Her face was a mask of fear, something which I knew excited the other man endlessly.

Throwing her down at my feet, he wiped a hand across his face.

"Your turn."

His voice was wonderfully low and throaty, and I knelt down beside the girl whose name I didn't even know.

The scissors were grasped tighter in my left hand as he placed cloth in her mouth to stop her screaming. We were still outdoors, but no-one visited the salon this late anymore.

Except, young, foolish girls.

I pulled the scissors up, and placed them in line with her left eye. they both widened and she shook her head. He held her still while I adjusted my aim.

I looked into the shadow of his face and smiled softly. He smiled back, and lifted one hand up to stroke my face.

"Go on," he urged, tracing a finger along my jawline. I smiled again, and still looking at his face, drove my arm down.

I spy, with my one remaining eye...