Chapter 9

As the gang travelled along, the traffic grew thicker and thicker. Tall buildings could be spotted in the distance, and they all gazed out their respective windows in awe. Pure awe of their new home.

"Did we… actually make it?" Alvin spewed as his weaved through the traffic, the streets suddenly beginning to fill with students and their parents, moving trucks upon moving trucks.

"Yes!" Brittany cheered as she pressed her nose to the window, her eyes fixated on the university. "Our lives are gonna finally begin!"

They had actually made it.

"And we made it on time… despite everything," Simon grimly reminded, his lip bit in anticipation.

"Let's just agree that… we never speak about anything that happened again!" Theodore exclaimed with wide eyes, slight fear crossing over hime. "Let's not."

The group silently agreed, and Alvin continued to drive them throughout the campus, careful of the traffic and the enthusiastic students ready to have a grand kickstart to – what should be – a beautiful semester.

"Well, I don't know about you guys," Eleanor began as her gaze stayed fixated on the campus, "but I'm starving!"

Jeanette giggled as she glanced down at her wristwatch. "We actually have a couple of hours to ourselves. Maybe we can check out the eatery here!"

The gang agreed, and off they sped away to the main campus in hopes of finding a little something to put on their stomachs. All seemed intrigued by their new surroundings, the fresh air, the cloudless skies, different faces – all except Simon, that it. No matter how hard he tried to shake the unsettling feeling of… being watched, the feeling would not let up, and there he sat in silence as the others scoped out the campus for a restaurant they could call their own. He wanted to enjoy himself; he truly did, but the feeling he harbored was borderline nauseating. With the newfound feeling paired with the story he had heard previously, it was almost impossible for him to even enjoy the thought of arriving at university.

"We should stop there!" Theodore bellowed as he pointed to a quaint restaurant; a burger joint, it seemed, but anything sounded good to them at that point.

With ease, the gang pulled into the packed establishment and quickly exited the SUV. Alvin inhaled heavily, a smile propped up on his face. "You guys smell that?" he asked with excitement. "That's the sweet smell of finally being away from home! No rules, no nothing!"

"Oh, I thought the smell was your armpits," Brittany teased.

Alvin scowled, and the others laughed as they made their way towards the burger joint rightfully named, "The Burger Stop". The gang could already smell the hunger-inducing food looming just outside the door. The place was packed, to say the very least; packed with new and old students, ready to get the semester started, filling their bellies to fuel them for the rest of the busy day. They were quickly seated in a booth near a wide window with a beautiful view of the sunny summer day. Yet… Simon was still on edge.

As the others spoke among each other, Jeanette's gaze shifted to the paling Simon, her green eyes widening.

"Simon are you okay?" she whispered as she nudged him softly in his side. He suddenly perked up, his own eyes widening as well.

"Yes! Perfectly fine," he weakly replied, but this time, Jeanette was no longer buying it.

"What's up?" she asked softly. "I thought you said you were fine earlier. I thought you said things were okay!"

Simon knew that was a 'fine' and 'okay' he would ever get close to experiencing in that moment. "Maybe I'm just nervous about starting school."

"You, nervous?" Jeanette replied with a smile and a scoff. Starting school as strong as ever was always Simon's forte; so, rightfully so, Jeanette was extremely concerned. "Okay Simon Seville… what's really going on?"

Simon shrugged his shoulders and locked eyes with his female companion, forcing a pained smile upon his face. "Listen Jean," he began as he placed a loving hand to her lap, making her blush instantly. "It's just the nerves and being away from home that's starting to get to me, you know," he attempted to convince, and it seemed to work for the moment, for Jeanette's expression softened a bit.

"Oh, Si," he cooed with a small, uncertain smile. "Things will be fine! You're Simon Seville for crying out loud, right?"

Simon chuckled. "I guess so."

After a while – considering the place was crammed – the gang was finally able to order their food, and they all chowed down as if they hadn't eaten in weeks. The more Simon ate and conversed with the others, the more at-ease he became.

"So, I was thinking," Alvin began as he pushed his empty plate to the side. "We drop the girls off at their dorms, help them unpack, and we, fellas," he directed his attention towards his brothers, "head to our dorms. Sound cool?"

They all collectively agreed. Simon, after a while, was finally centered within himself to continue the day on a positive note. As he sat, he turned to gaze out of the oversized window, watching people in packs strut down the sidewalk. The sun was as beautiful as ever, the wind was still, the skies were cloudless, and the temperature was just right. He could feel the warmth beginning to radiate within him.

Until…

As he happily gazed out the window, people walked on by, but ever-so suddenly, the painful dread consumed him yet again as he caught a terrifying view far across the street.

His eyes had to be playing tricks on him. Simon knew he was borderline legally blind, but what he saw… it couldn't be. He snatched his glasses from his face and viciously cleaned them with his short-sleeve shirt and quickly placed them back on, hoping a smudge might have caused his mind to play tricks.

Nope, he bitterly thought as he continued to scan the people walking up and down the boulevard. Most of them were made up of groups or pairs; however, there was one lone walker that stood out from the crowd.

It… it was Brittany. All alone. Walking with not a soul. Just strutting by herself. He hesitated, but he snatched his gaze from the window back to the table, only to find Brittany sitting pretty and proper as she spoke to the others, seemingly flirting with Alvin. He held his gaze to her, and quickly looked out the window again, to a Brittany that was still strutting the boulevard. This one had her hands in the pockets of her shorts, seemingly whistling to the sky. Suddenly, she stopped, completely in Simon's view. His heart raced like no other as she stood, still as a tree. Others walked on past, seemingly unaware that she had stopped. It was then that, to Simon's sheer surprise, her head slowly turned towards The Burger Stop, her eyes… meeting his gaze. Her eyes were blue, but not the ice blue that Brittany harbored; these eyes were neon blue, so striking and piercing.

She then, as her gaze stayed stuck to Simon, produced a smile. Not just any regular, cheerful smile, but a grim, sinister smile… with razor-sharp teeth, just as Alvin and Eleanor had described before… the same description he had not believed before. This Brittany then handed Simon a seductive wink, put a single finger to her now perked lips - the universal sign for 'hush' - and just like that, she began her walk again, hands in pockets, whistling to the sky, as if nothing happened.

Simon swallowed hard, he slightly shook, and he continued to watch her before she disappeared into the crowd of students… as if absolutely nothing happened.

He exhaled in disbelief. "Oh shit…"