"Eva?" Lauren gasped, watching Eva walk into registration.
"Does it look that bad?" Eva asked, reaching for a red-plum lock of hair.
"No!" Lauren shook her head. "I love it. You look like Cheryl Cole when she dyed her hair! It looks really nice!"
"Thank you." Eva smiled, sitting in her seat. "I went out last night, after our phone call, and fell in love with the colour. My brother's new girlfriend did it for me."
"Which brother? Which girlfriend?" Lauren asked immediately. She had a huge crush on Tyler, genuinely believing she had a chance. Tyler was fighting off women, pining for his college crush, Holly. Holly hadn't shown any interest but Lauren...Lauren was offering herself on a plate.
"Jake. He's been dating this girl for the last three weeks called Rocky. She's a hairdresser from Newcastle." Eva smiled, watching the relief spread over Lauren's face.
"Would she be able to dip-dye mine in the summer?" Lauren asked, checking her phone under the table.
"I imagine so. Unless her and Jake split and she has to move back up to South Shields." Eva shrugged, catching Finn's eyes as he walked in. He stopped suddenly, a few words stuttering out of his mouth.
"Tell her she looks stunning, Finn!" Lauren hissed.
"Y-y-you look nice." Finn mumbled, hurrying over to his seat. Her eyes sparkled with the brightness of her hair, which was clipped to the side in a fishtail plait. Her eyes were rimmed with black eyeliner and mascara, making you unsure where to look first.
"Cheers." She shrugged.
"You two..." Lauren chuckled to herself.
"D-did you do the Science coursework?" Finn mustered the courage to turn back to face her.
"Half of it but I didn't get questions 7,8,9 and 10 so I left them." She shrugged, shoving her book in his direction.
"Cheers." He shrugged. Lauren nudged her, a broad smile on her face, to which Eva frowned and shrugged. So they were talking? Eva had no business in getting back with him. She had no business in getting with anyone.
"Morning, all!" Mr Chalk bustled in, eyes falling on Eva. "I like the new hair colour, Eva."
"Thank you." Eva beamed.
"I'm not sure Mrs Fisher will."
Eva shrugged, "I didn't do it for her."
The class tittered, leaving Mr Chalk blushing. "I-I meant...I meant..."
"I know what you meant." She smiled politely, mocking him inside.
"Come on, come on..." Eva sighed, rifling through her locker. Where was that damned script? Once had been fine, twice would just be asking for trouble.
"Looking for something?" Josh appeared next to her.
"Only this stupid script for English." She shrugged. "I don't even care about English Lit."
"How's Finn?" Josh leant against his locker.
"I haven't really spoken to her." She shrugged.
Josh raised his eyebrows. "Do you want to?"
"It just makes things harder." Eva shrugged again. "We finished it and we just have to move on."
"And you wouldn't be upset if he found a new girlfriend?" Josh watched her closely.
"Er...no." She managed, adding a bright smile for realism.
"Good. You're going to hear it from everyone else so you might as well know...Rhona Mansfield saw Finn kissing a girl in the highstreet." Josh reached out to hug her.
"No, I'm fine." She said, feeling her world crumble. She'd want to be with him but it didn't mean she didn't still love him. "W-w-what does she look like?"
"You." Josh said simply. "She had dark hair and blue eyes apparently. But it wasn't you because it happened last night."
"Oh." Eva nodded. "I-I have to go else Miss Boston will have a go at me for being late." She managed a weak smile before scuttling off, tears falling from her eyes.