Chapter 1:

A loud screech from across the room startled me awake. I sat up quickly, gasping for breath as I clutched the blankets close to my heart, my arms tense. I could feel the sweat coating my forehead as the remnants of the nightmare faded away.

It was just a dream. I thought to myself. It was nothing but a dream.

I knew enough about the human consciousness to know that sometimes dreams really meant nothing, that they were just a projection of your imagination and could be easily changed or forgotten. But nightmares were different. I didn't really know about nightmares. But you rarely forget nightmares.

Groaning, I shook my head and tossed the blankets away, stumbling over to my desk where my alarm clock sat. It read '6:30' in big, red, blocked numbers. Why hell am I waking up at 6:30 in the bloody morning? Oh, that's right. I have an early seminar today with . With an annoyed grunt, I shut off the damn thing and tossed it back onto my desk.

Walking back over to my bed, I flopped myself down and sighed again. Could I skip the lecture today? Surely it couldn't hurt my grades. I was at the top of my class. Missing one lecture couldn't hurt me, could it? Of course, I was at the top of my class because I didn't miss any lectures, but that's beside the point.

I looked around my room in boredom. Two walls were white and two were blue, my favorite colour. Like that would've made a difference in anything. There were two windows, one showing my front yard and the other giving me a lovely view of the side yard before it met with another wall, adorned with thin, white curtains that didn't do much besides collect dust. A few posters of my favorite rugby team were taped up here and there, showing that someone actually did live here, even if it wasn't really living.

Truth is, I was too tired to care. It was the same thing every day and it would be the same thing every day for the rest of my life. Wake up, go to class, come back, and go to sleep. Wake up, go to work, come back, and go to sleep. An endless road with no exits.

Might as well go to that fucking lecture. I thought. I'm already awake. I forced myself to get out of my bed and walk down the hall to my bathroom. Maybe a long shower would wake me up. I yawned as I turned the water on and let it heat up as I stripped down. Before I climbed in, however, I managed to catch a glimpse of myself in the sink mirror.

Now, I didn't have image issues, I was just honest and realistic. I was skinny, yeah, but it's not like I have a six-pack underneath my t-shirt or anything. I had my father's dirty blonde hair, which was long enough to graze my ears, and his green eyes. On the other hand, I also had my mother's shortness and her nose. Genetics….sometimes you just have no choice.

I shook my head and climbed into the shower, letting the hot water sting my skin. The steam burned my eyes and I quickly grabbed my shampoo. The scent of fresh soap and shampoo woke me up and cleared my head. I needed to hurry up.

My shower didn't take long, considering my pipes were horrible and the hot water ran out quick. I dried off and wrapped the towel around my hips as I walked out of the bathroom to get dressed.

The sun had finally showed itself in the sky and it was surprisingly bright out for 7:00 in the morning. I looked at my mobile phone to make sure my alarm wasn't wrong and sure enough, it was. 8:30?! Class started in 20 minutes!

I shouted in surprise and quickly tugged on a pair of pants and jeans while grabbing a stripped jumper and my old pair of sneakers. I slung the computer bag that sat hanging from my desk chair over my shoulder and ran out of my front door, almost forgetting to grab my keys before I shut the door.

WHY DIDN'T I CHECK MY PHONE FIRST?! I scolded myself silently.

I didn't bother trying to hail a taxi; they never stopped anyways unless you were a fit woman or a rich bloke. I ran straight for the bus stop two blocks over and got on the first bus I saw that would take me to the campus. Though with my luck, I had to wait there for seven minutes before one finally showed up. It would take around ten to get to the campus on time and that only left me three minutes to get to the lecture hall.

It seemed like hours before the bus finally stopped in front of King's College London but as soon as those doors opened, I bolted and took off down the street, running like a madman to the lecture hall. I ran into a few other students and a pole or two and I arrived just in time to take a seat. Thank you, rugby training! I thought as I almost passed out.

"John Watson?" said her voice full of venom. Apparently, she noticed that I was late.

"Um…yes?" I panted.

"You are late…again." She glared at me and folded her arms across her chest.

Professor Rockerfeld wasn't a scary lady. In fact, she was the least intimidating person I have ever met. But if you were ever late to her class, like I was almost every day, she would chew you up and spit you out. But today, it seemed like she wasn't hungry for a serving of John.

"Sorry, Professor Rockerfeld. It won't happen again." I attempted to smile at her but I think it turned out to be more of a grimace.

"Hmm," She pursed her lips and looked down her nose. "That's exactly what you said the last fourteen times."

A wave of chuckles swept through the hall and I felt my face turn red as I tried to pass it off with a smile, even though I really just wanted to leave.

"Nevertheless, you are here, so we shall begin." She cleared her throat and turned to the class. "Pay attention everyone. Tomorrow, a transfer student will be joining our class so you are to be kind and helpful, do you understand?" She said sternly.

Once again, whispers spread throughout the hall because people obviously had nothing else to do besides gossip.

"Transfer student?"

"We're getting a transfer student?"

"I wonder where he's from."

"Shut up, Charlie. It could be a girl."

"I hope she's fit, then." A smack resounded throughout the hall.

I honestly shared their curiosity. Who would transfer over only after a few months? A spark of interest ignited deep inside me before I quelled it with one thought: focus on your school, you lazy twat. Remember your plan. Family, Masters, your entire future depends on school.

That seemed a bit unfair, didn't it? That the rest of my life depended on how well I did on tests in a small moment in my life. That was enough to psych anyone out. Was it even worth it? All this studying and school. What good was it in the end? It was just a piece of paper. All this money for one little piece of paper.

I shook my head to clear my thoughts. I couldn't start thinking that way. School was important. I had to finish. Besides, I had barely even started.

"Hey, John!" A voice said to me. "You comin' to tonight's party, mate?" I turned and saw it was Charlie, the boy who had been smacked.

"Yeah, Charlie. I'll be there." I smiled half-heartedly. "It'll be a blast."

"Damn right!" Charlie laughed. Charlie was the first person to talk to me when I arrived here on my first day. Since then, I guess he could be considered my best friend, even though we barely knew each other and we only ever talked about parties and girls. He liked to joke about how many girls would want to shag him, as if that was ever going to happen.

"Just wait until it happens to you!" He would laugh. But he's wrong.

Nothing ever happens to me.