Chapter 1

A Change of Tides

My parents were downstairs making breakfast again. It was pretty obvious due to their laughter and the clinking of the pots and pans. I glanced at my alarm clock, my vision still blurry. It was just half past six. Rolling over, I fell back into my slumber. Mornings were the bane of my life. It wasn't just weekday mornings; school wasn't the reason why I hated them so much. My body simply didn't react well to waking up too early.

My mother, Mrs. Monica Gessner, knocked gently on the door.

"I'm awake." I groaned as I tried to sit up, though my body inevitably tumbled back down onto the bed.

She pushed the door slightly open. 'Jane sweetie, it's time for school." Her voice was perky and high-pitched, which sounded nothing like mine—it had a mellower tone. Sometimes I wondered if we were truly related, my parents were very different from me. My features were sharper and finer than their rounded faces. Even our hairs were colored differently. I had long wavy jet black hair, while they were brunettes.

It puzzled me greatly but whenever I asked them about it, they would reaffirm that I was a hundred percent theirs. Others weren't so kind though— people gossip. "Haven't you heard? She's adopted." That's what they all said in school.

"Hmmm," I mumbled as I readied myself to get up; my eyes were still closed. My mother was waiting patiently. I threw my sheets to my side, paused, before taking in a deep breath. Why do mornings have to suck so much? It needed forever but I finally managed to sit up. My eyelids were half-open. "I'm awake," I said again. But my mind was still clouded.

"Get ready quickly then you can nap in the car later okay? Your dad made pancakes," my dad made pancakes every day. I was entirely sick of it and was short of telling my mother off, but I couldn't hurt their feelings, they were such lovely people.

I gave her a faint smile. "Okay mom," I said as I steadied my dizzy head. She smiled back at me before leaving my room.

Slowly I made my way to my wardrobe. I picked up a dress and shrugged it on, not bothering how it looked like. They all looked the same: decorated with grandmother lace and old-fashioned flowery textiles. Grandma sent all my clothing to me. They were fashioned by her terrible taste, not that it mattered—those people at school would gawk at me regardless of what I wore. Besides, it was really nice of her to send them to me; each one of them must have required a lot of effort.

Glancing at my small mirror that was on the table I scowled at me. My mother told me that I had a beautiful face, but I looked at my eyes with disgust. Perhaps it was their odd sea-green color or my pale face that made everyone not like me. Monster. I shook my head. No, it wasn't my appearance. I just didn't want to accept the truth or all those things that happened before. I could hurt people… easily. Angrily I faced the mirror down, not wanting to look at myself.

Breakfast tasted like the usual. Pancakes. I picked at my food. Never was I a big eater anyway.

I was a small town girl, living in a sub-urban sprawl with houses never getting any taller than two stories. Everybody knew everybody in Whiterly Oaks. They sure knew me, and definitely all those rumors about me. Half of them were true. I tapped my fingers on the leather seat as my mother drove through the town.

"Thanks mom," I kissed her cheek and waved her goodbye when I reached school. As part of the daily routine, my mother hugged me and wished me luck before driving off. I gave her the best fake smile I had. Whatever. I kicked a can on the sidewalk and tucked my hands into the pockets Grandma sewed on. I'm never lucky at school.

As I walked through the halls, people parted as if I were Moses walking through the Red Sea; just that instead of making me feel great and powerful, I felt like a disgusting piece of garbage that nobody wanted to touch. I tried to get used to their stares and whispers, but it was something that was impossible to get used to. I walked past them with a hunch, trying to guard myself from their onslaughts of gossip. Some of my schoolmates backed off slightly when I flashed them a foul look. I hate them.

My first class that day was algebra. Math was my worst subject, but I still could get an A in it, though I would much rather prefer sitting in a literature class. All my schoolmates always gossiped about my good grades - they say I cheat.

Ms. Scott, our teacher, strolled casually into the classroom. She was stoic, like most math teachers. I furrowed my brows when I saw the guy that followed her in. He wasn't from around here, a new student most likely. He was good looking, though I didn't pay much attention; I went back to reading my notes after I saw him. The only thing that stood out to me was his black hair, because it was similar to mine. The other students were more interested in him however. They started chattering more loudly when he entered, no doubt sizing him up or having some bimbo talk about his "hotness".

"Attention students," Ms. Scott said. Her tone was always reprimanding. It was because of that stuck-up personality of hers. "We have someone new joining us today."

The new guy didn't smile or say hi, just nodded. He narrowed his eyes and scanned the classroom for something; quirky fellow. Some of the girls sighed when his gaze met theirs. Is he really that good looking? I was about to look down, but then I froze— his eyes were staring straight into mine.

I let out an inaudible gasp. What the hell? I just froze. I really did just freeze when he looked at me. People were simply not my thing, how could I let myself get captured in the eyes of one? The new guy then smirked, and I nearly thought that I stopped breathing. My cheeks flushed. I looked down quickly, hiding my face.

"Why don't you introduce yourself," Ms. Scott said, sounding very impatient. She was definitely annoyed by the long silence.

"Jason Hearth," he replied. It seemed like he was brushing her off from the tone of his voice.

"Well, Mr. Hearth, why don't you take that seat behind Ms. Gessner over there?" Behind me! My body tensed when he moved past me. I kept my eyes focused on the desk, not wanting to exchange glances with him once more.

Just minutes after he took his seat, there was a tap on my shoulder.

"Yes?" I turned around and hissed. I didn't intend to sound harsh, but this guy was getting me really agitated, not that I knew why. He was making me feel so weird.

"May I borrow a pen? I seem to have forgotten my pencil case." I gaped at him rudely. Now that I had a closer look at him I could see his eyes clearly—breathtaking. They were glowing silver, with a tinge of violet around his irises. Glowing. Do these kinds of eyes even exist? Then I thought about my own.

"Well can I?" His smooth, dark voice broke me out of my trance; I was ashamed to find myself staring.

"Sorry?" I asked, absent-mindedly. I must have looked like a complete fool.

"A pen, you know, those inky sticks that you use to write?" He smiled cockily. It almost sounded mocking, causing me to blush with embarrassment.

"Oh yes, sure, right, a pen." I quickly passed him my blue gel pen before turning back around.

Algebra was a pain. I knew all the equations and rules Mrs. Lee was talking about rather well. What irked me was the man that was sitting behind me. It could have been my imagination, but throughout the whole lesson I felt his eyes burning into my back. It was a feeling that was incredibly difficult to shake off.

"I like your hair," he made this sudden announcement as we were walking out of class. It took me completely by surprise. I was too shocked to respond. "It's really hard to find someone with the same hair color as mine, unless you're counting Asians of course, but they don't really count since they're well, Asian. But then again, race is a rather tricky matter, I mean, does it matter?" I stared at him questioningly; I didn't know what he was talking about or what I should respond to.

"Sorry am I rambling?" He looked at me and smiled. I nodded.

"Ah, I forgot to introduce myself, I'm Jason Hearth," he reached out a friendly hand which I hesitantly took a hold of. Was this person trying to set me up? I couldn't be sure.

"Our names have a similar ring to them don't they? Jason and Jane," it felt weird to admit it but it was true, I gave him a slow nod. Then I realized something amiss.

"How did you know my name?"

"Are you kidding? This place is chock full of gossip about you, something about you lighting little kittens on fire, I find them quite amusing actually," I was glad that he didn't believe them, he seemed to have at least half a brain. Something about him told me that he had more.

"It's lunchtime; do you have a lunch date?"

"No," I politely responded, "I sit alone."

"Don't mind if I intrude then?" he raised an eyebrow and asked confidently. Before I could respond he grabbed my hand and pulled me towards the canteen. It felt like he had a possessive demeanor but it was probably just my mind running wild.

My face was turning red as he walked me towards the canteen. The stares of others were glaring into my soul, especially the girls. It was as if it was against the social law that I had somebody to accompany me. The thought made me sad and angry at the same time.

Jason didn't eat during lunch. He was sipping on a cup of orange juice as he watched me eat my spaghetti.

"So, do you like the color red?" it was actually one of my favorite colors, I found him very intuitive. "That tomato sauce looks red," I wanted to face palm right there and then. I wasn't sure whether it was because of the idiotic comment or because I believed him to be intuitive.

"Looks like blood noodles," honestly, I should have been utterly irked out by his observation but I found it very funny. It led me to burst right into laughter. I was laughing hysterically; it was as if it was impossible to stop. Jason simply sat there and smiled, though I thought that I must have looked absolutely mad and he should've been running away completely weird-ed out by then.

When I contained myself, I noticed that everyone in the canteen was staring at me, including Jason- just that he was the only one still grinning. "I haven't laughed like that in years," I said matter-of-factly. "You just keep making one random comment after another, it's hilarious."

"You should, you're cute when you laugh," he inched closer a bit, completely unfazed by my comment about him. Jason must have had his head wired up incorrectly, I was pretty sure most of my schoolmates saw me as a mad witch with a diabolical plan to burn down the world as I laughed. Still, I found myself extremely flattered by his comment and tensed up a bit, trying not to show how easily pleased I was.

"Don't tense up, it's true," I was shocked by his perceptiveness, though I was getting quite used to being shocked by him.

"Thank you," I mumbled as I looked down and played with my spaghetti. Jason was starting to make me feel queasy.

He was following me around school the rest of the day. Coincidentally, we had to same class for every single subject. I started to get very suspicious about all the coincidences I have with Jason, maybe they weren't so coincidental after all. At first, I found his presence a bit unsettling; it was something that I was completely unused to. I was supposed to be the loner that went everywhere well, alone. However, towards the end of the day, I found his presence commonplace, as if it were to be expected.

After school, I walked over to my mother's car at the parking lot. He followed me, as if it were natural. "See you tomorrow Jane," he said as he smiled into my eyes, I found myself completely mesmerized by them again. They were such a beautiful color. Suddenly, he bent down and planted a kiss upon my cheek. Onlookers completely stopped in their tracks, just to stare and gossip. I was absolutely terrified. Not for me, but for him, that very action would have probably sealed his fate to be shunned by the rest of the school.

"Jason, you shouldn't do that!" I quickly pushed him away. His eyebrows furrowed; Jason seemed hurt and dejected, "the rest of the school will misjudge you, they'll think that you're abnormal, like me."

Immediately his look softened. "You're completely normal Jane, you're perfect," undoubtedly his comment made my heart flutter again. Then it struck to me that Jason might not be completely in the know; maybe he thought that all the rumors he heard were completely false.

"Jason, you don't know, I'm – different," I was slightly hesitant about the word, "you don't really know me yet, I'm –"

"Are you getting in honey?" my mother asked as her head peeked through her car window. I had almost forgotten about her, being too engrossed in the conversation with Jason.

"I'll explain it to you tomorrow Jason, see you," I gave him a flimsy wave as I stepped into the car. We exchanged our goodbyes and my mother drove off.

I didn't want to tell him about all my incidents of the past. They might scare him off, making me lose my only, and most recent friend. But I had to; it was his moral right to know and my moral obligation to do so. Furthermore, his actions and words made my heart race incessantly, if I was going to have it broken, I might as well let it as soon as possible to minimize the damage. But I couldn't like Jason, he seemed too good for me, and he had a much brighter future, at least in the friend department. It was obvious since all the girls were ogling him. I just met him today!

"Finally! A friend! Plus, he's cute!" My mother squirmed excitedly. She shook me out of it as my mind was racing.

I looked at her and gave a weak smile. "Yeah, new student," the relationship probably wouldn't last past tomorrow morning, when I tell Jason about all the happenings. I gave a deep sigh and stared out of the window as my mother ranted on about how "fabulous" this turn of events was for me.

That night, I kept feeling an eerie atmosphere around the house, as if somebody was tracking me. Pushing it to the back of my mind, I allowed myself to drift off to sleep….

"Evelyn," there was a cold touch to my face and a soft whisper in a deep, dark voice. My eyes shot open at the sudden touch but there was nothing there.

"Odd," mumbling, I shut my eyes once more.