Trigger Warning in this chapter; slight mention of self-harm.

"ZELENIA! YOU BETTER GET YOUR ASS DOWN HERE IN THE NEXT TEN MINUTES! OTHERWISE YOU'RE ON YOUR OWN!" I heard Gracie shout from a distance. I kept my eyes closed and tried to ignore the burning sensation I was feeling on my thighs. After I turned 14, the pinches weren't enough to wake me up from the nightmares...The last time I dreamt so vividly like this, was on the night my parents left for central California and it continued throughout the whole week. However, this time something was different, which left an extremely uneasy feeling in my stomach...It was the first time he ever noticed me, it was the first time he actually spoke directly to me...

I was in the middle of a dark forest and I could hear my parents screaming, telling me to run. I couldn't see a thing and I kept tripping over branches and rocks until I eventually fell into a pit. I was crawling on the ground unable to lift myself up and I felt my fingers brush against something in the sand. I started digging frantically hoping it was my way out. My whole body froze when I finally saw what lied underneath, I was uncovering the bodies of my parents. As I screamed I heard a laugh coming from the other side of the pit... Those cold blue eyes that held no emotion and that sinister smile that chilled you to the bone... He looked directly at me and said, "You're next, Yvrídio..."

I could still hear his voice ringing in my head as I slowly lifted myself up to check the time on my phone. 7:15am! I forgot to set my alarm last night and now Gracie was going to murder me. I jumped out of my bed, trying to get my heartbeat under control, when I almost tripped on the carpet- well, so much for that. I managed to pull off a five minute shower and inspect my thighs to see the damage, but thankfully they weren't too deep and didn't need any bandaging. After I got out, I grabbed whatever clothing that was in the front of my closet- lucky for me it was an oversized knee length jersey, black jeans and a pair of clean socks and undergarments. Jerseys and jeans weren't the most appropriate outfit for an interview but time was literally of the essence.

I only owned 3 pairs of shoes, 2 pairs of sneakers and a pair of combat boots, I only cared about comfort. Hoping the combat boots would somehow bring the outfit together, I chucked them down the stairs. With the socks in between my teeth and my phone tucked in my back pocket, I tried putting my damp hair into a bun while running down. "Two more seconds and I would have left... Zel, why is there a pair of socks in your mouth?" she asked trying not to laugh. I let out a long sigh after I took them out and sat down on the last stair to put it on my feet. "You forgot to set your alarm, didn't you?" I just nodded while tying my shoelace. "Come on, I got all your paperwork for the interview and a granola bar ready and waiting in the car". "Any chance you got some coffee in there too?", I asked hopeful. "Don't push it Rajata. But hey, on the bright side, you were only off by a minute!" she chuckled while showing me the time. 7:31am. Before I knew it, we were off to an interview that I was nowhere near prepared for.

"We're here." Gracie sighed and handed me the document folder. Even though it was literally a 10 minute drive from our house to the school, this was the first time we had a silent commute. "Zel... I didn't want to mention this at home and I hate to even bring this up before your interview but you look like death... Are they back?" As I turned to face her, I winced, feeling the scratches rub against the material of my jeans. She gave me a sad look already knowing the answer. "I am so sorry Zel, I honestly thought it would be okay to come back after..." she quickly stopped herself from going any further and pulled a face that clearly looked like she said more than she should have.

When it came to the topic of my parents and Beacon Hills in general, Gracie had always been vague in the answers she gave me, never wanting it to turn into a bigger discussion. "After what?" I asked her raising my eyebrow. She shook her head and gave me a huge fake smile. "After Alaska silly! You lived in a small town that you have been trying escape since you learnt how to say the word travel and now I've dragged you back into another. You don't hate me for this do you? We can always move again. Tell me where you want to go and I'll start looking for plane tickets and jobs and a new house!" When Gracie gets nervous, she rambles. I knew she was hiding something but once the rambling starts, she can't stop. I decided to leave my interrogation for another day.

"Gracie, calm down! After New York, I got a feel of staying in one place and honestly, it felt good. I'm okay, the dreams will stop once I get settled in properly, it's just my anxiety trying to get used to a new environment". She gives me a grateful look, more relieved than anything and pulls me into a hug. "You truly are special, Zelenia. Don't you ever forget it! Now get out of my car, you have 5 minutes until your interview so I highly recommend you start running!" She shoves me towards the unlocked car door and I quickly get out. "Oh and before I forget, you're having lunch with your uncle today, he said he'll send someone to pick you up at 1pm!" she gave me a wink and drove off.

Confused and even more anxious than I was half an hour ago, I walked into the school. I was trying so hard not to focus on the fact that I was lost, already late for my interview and I was going to see my Uncle Alan after 10 years, that I had become totally unaware of my surroundings. Before I could even realize how fast I was walking, I crashed into a hard chest and hit the ground, falling directly on my butt. I didn't realize that my document folder was opened so all my papers were scattered on the ground. I could hear the giggles and the suppressed laughter coming from the students around me while I was crawling on floor trying to gather my pages. I tried my utmost best to ignore them and as well as the pain from the scratches while I moved around trying to find the last one. I didn't allow myself to look up, I was in no mood to engage in awkward eye contact with any of them.

Suddenly there was a hand in my face and a lot of rambling from a very worried male voice, "I am so sorry, this was my fault, are you okay? Do you need to see the nurse? Nothing's broken right? Can you walk? Do I need to carry you?" And I thought Gracie was bad. I laughed lightly, there was no way I could embarrass myself any more than I already did. "Considering the fact that I am on my knees and moving, it's safe to say that I'm fine. However I am lost and late for my interview with the principal and I have no idea where the front office is..." I accepted the offered hand and when I got up, I saw the person it belonged to. My mistake was looking directly into his eyes.

For a split second, they flashed red and I felt a shock go through my body. I let go of his hand and almost took a second tumble but his reflexes were quick and he grabbed me. "Are you sure you're okay?" he asked really worried. I looked into his eyes again but where I expected to see red, I saw a soft brown instead. "Um yeah, I'm fine! Are you?" I asked quickly. He looked at me confused and then let out a soft laugh. "Perfectly alright. Fortunately for me, you got the worst end of the situation." I smiled. "Oh, you have no idea! Now, about those directions to the front office..." Before he could say anything we were interrupted. "Miss Rajata! You are 30 minutes late! Is this the time to show up for an interview?! My office now!" The red haired lady whom I immediately figured out to be the principal, ushered me along to her office. I quickly turned around and mouthed a thank you to the guy in which he returned with a nod and mouthed good luck. My mind went back immediately to the flash of red and the electric shock, there were only two explanations I could think of. I couldn't deny the fact that this guy was really attractive so it was either my lack of experience in the love department that had my hormones raging or my brain broke and I couldn't tell the difference between real life and the nightmares. Even with those two options, I was still going to come out looking like I'm mentally unstable.