Ok, to start out with, I'm sorry this took forever ). I've been trying, I really have! Anyway, a note: Eva only thinks she's tall, while she's actually a bit shorter than Ed. Ok? Ok.

To the (my??) reviewers:

junodog: lol. thanks. …umm….. not much else to say…..GO ATTACK AKITA!!!! MUHAHAHA…ahem

KaMiruRon: Thanks! The support feels good. ; )

I hope you enjoy this chapter. :: smile ::

oooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooo

Eva flopped on the coach and grabbed the remote. The T.V. blinked on.

"The Las Vegas serial killer has been apprehended, after the murder of 22-year-old Aloise Burschtman, from Utah. She died two years ago, mid-winter, near a power plant just outside of Vegas. The killer…"

Eva flipped to the next channel before the news reporter could finish. She never really liked the news – too much about dead people and killings and all that. It was saddening.

She turned off the T.V. Only the news and some Bugs Bunny cartoons were playing – in other words, nothing.

Another dead end in the life of Eva Evercrest. How exciting.

Eva went to her room and lay down on her bed. What to do now. She sat up and took out the picture she'd drawn of him. Looking it over, she grabbed her pencil and added a few details – small stuff, like shading and darkening. Eva could still remember what Hara said when she had seen the picture.

"He is dreamy!! Eva Kimberly Evercrest, you have dreamt yourself a hottie!!"

Eva giggled at that. Hara only used her middle name when she truly meant what she said.

She had replied by saying, "Well, Hara Roxanne Tripdo, I think you're obsessed!" They had both laughed then.

Eva turned to look at the clock. 7:30. Already? Wow. Time sure flies. She picked up her backpack and went to her desk. Although it had seemed like a really short day, Eva had a ton of homework to do. And the worst part was, she hadn't paid any attention in class.

Great.

So she started out with Chemistry. Get the hard stuff over and done with. As long as I'm in bed before the parents get home, I'm good.

oooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooo

He was sitting by a tree, his head turned down. Almost as if he was sleeping. But he wasn't, she was sure of it. His legs were crossed, his hands on his knees. The white against the black stuck out. His golden hair was in front of his eyes. She couldn't tell if they were open or not, at least not from this distance. She was pretty sure they were closed.

"Eva you don't need to hide. I know you're there. Come out." His voice matched his beauty.

"But…" Tears started streaming down her face.

"Don't cry, Eva. The time for crying is done. All we can do now is remember. Come out."

She slowly walked out from behind a nearby tree. "It's…so hard. They were here one minute, and the next, they're gone. How…how can this happen?" She started sobbing again. He stood up and walked over to her. His red coat slipped over her, his hands resting on her shoulders.

"Eva. Look at me." Her ocean-green eyes met his golden ones. "The past is in the past. Leave it there. Don't drag it into the present or the future. What's done is done. You can't change that."

She shuddered. His hands squeezed her shoulders for an instant and then fell down to his sides. She wrapped his coat tighter around her body. Her head dropped.

"Eva…"

She suddenly turned and ran. She kept running, and didn't stop.

"Eva! Eva, come back! Eva!"

oooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooo

"Eva! Wake up!"

Eva sat up with a start. "Mom? What time is it?" She looked around. She was sitting at her desk, her homework still in front of her. Outside was dark.

"11:30, honey. You look tired," Eva's mom replied. "When your father and I came home and noticed you hadn't eaten supper, we got worried. But we saw your desk lamp on, so we knew you were ok." Eva's dad entered the room. "Now go to sleep, ok?"

"Kay. Goodnight mom, goodnight dad." Eva stood up and went to her bed. Once her parents had left the room, she got changed. She went back to her desk and put away her books.

Who's not here anymore? And why does that guy keep appearing in my dreams?

Eva had had a similar dream the night before. Same guy, similar scenario. The main difference was that they were in a restaurant. She had barely given a second thought to what had happened in the first dream. She had focused on the guy alone – nothing else.

Eva slipped in to bed and lay on her side. She stared at the black wall, trying to think. She would tell Hara about this tomorrow. She would try and find out who this guy was, and what he had to do with her. Eva searched her mind to find different plans of action. Her eyes closed and she drifted off to sleep.

oooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooo

The last 24 hours had not been the best for her. Eva stared out of her bedroom window. She watched a small piece of paper flit down the road through the rain. The tree across the street trembled as the howling wind swirled around it. A horrible wind and rain storm had brewed while Eva had slept.

It wasn't the storm that had woke her up.

She slumped even more on the floor. Great fun. She sighed and let her arms droop to the floor (from the windowsill). Her back against the wall, Eva began to think.

…Why does this guy keep coming into my dreams? I mean, I don't even know him. It's always the same thing – someone's gone, and I'm left mourning that loss. And then that guy, that boy keeps consoling me, telling me it'll be ok, to let it go. What could it mean?

But his arm seemed made of metal. Which was the weirdest part. He seemed…angry, as if he was fed up. But that's strange. Sigh.

Eva stood up and walked to her door. Before shutting it behind her, she glanced at her clock.

Only two? She sighed and tiptoed out of the room.

oooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooo

The kettle clicked loudly, and Eva slowly picked her head up, off the table. The hot water poured quickly, but gracefully, into the mug. A spoon dipped gently into it, and stirred with a strong circular motion.

Eva sighed again. I've been sighing a lot lately, she realized. Maybe it's because of these odd dreams.

The hot chocolate slid down her throat, instantly warming her body up. As if it needed to be any warmer.

Yet another sigh escaped her. A hand came onto her shoulder, and, almost dropping the mug, Eva shot around. Her mother looked her with that genuine smile of hers.

"Oh. Hi," Eva said, turning back around. She felt suddenly bitter.

"Hi, dear. Are you alright? It's 2:30 in the morning, you know. I heard the kettle wailing and came down to what it was up to." Eva's mom walked over to the kettle and grabbed herself a mug.

"I know it's 2:30!" Eva snapped. Her mom looked shocked, yet not surprised. She sat down beside her daughter.

"What's wrong? Do you want to talk about it?"

"Nothing's wrong," Eva muttered. When the silence had lasted a second too long, she turned and shot her mom a sloppy, sarcastic smile. Her mom just smiled sweetly back, stood up, put her mug in the sink, and walked out of the room.

Eva was left all by herself, and she felt a calm creep over her. She didn't know why she'd been so bitter and angry. Slowly, she made her way back to her room. She slid under the bed covers and listened to the wind heave and withdraw. Once again, she drifted off to another night of restless sleep.

oooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooo

Hara was told everything the next day at school. "Wow, really? That's pretty creepy, Eva."

"You're the one who said he was dreamy, Hara!" Eva said, being a semi-tone too loud for the library. She lowered her voice and said, "It's really starting to creep me out, you know?"

"Well, in my opinion, I would love to dream of a hot guy, let alone a hot guy who gets me."

"Hara, I don't exactly enjoy waking up three or more times a night, thanks. And I wouldn't call it a dream. It's more like a nightmare that just won't go away. It's not particularly a cup of tea."

"Well, geez! No need to get all defensive."

"Whatever, Hara. I'm going to talk to the chem teacher. See you in class."

Eva left before Hara could protest. When she got to the hallway, she turned sharply on her heal, and stalked off to the chem room.

Oh. My. Gosh. I can't stand her right now! She totally does not understand. "Augh!"

"What's wrong, miss Evercrest? Was it something to do with that boy knocking your paper out of your hands?"

Eva looked up straight into Mr. Barry's sickly repulsive face. "Boy? …Paper? ...Wha…" She looked down at the books she was carrying. "Shoot!" Eva ran back down the hall and picked up the drawing she had drawn of the guy in her dreams. She scowled at the retreating form of a teen boy.

When Eva got back to Mr. Barry's room, she found him chuckling inside the lab. He sat down at his desk and motioned for Eva to so the same. I really don't want to do that, she thought. Talk about first class creepy

The chair had layers upon layers of dust on it. Eva could pick out some sort…mold, yes, definitely mold – growing on the back of the seat. For being the chem teacher, Mr. Barry was one gross guy.

Eva sat on the edge of the chair.

"I suppose you're here to discuss your mark, am I right?" He also had this creepy way of knowing exactly what you wanted.

"Well, yes, sir. I need to bring up my grade in this course if I want to get enough credits by the time I graduate."

"Good! How right you are," (Mr. Barry stood up off his chair at this point,) "my dear, dear Eva. How quick you learn! Such a… bright young individual. Study, study, study. That's all I can really say. Why don't you get Hara to help you? As far as I know, she's getting a great mark this term."

Eva got up quite quickly. "Thank-you, Mr. Barry." She hopped hastily towards that door. She was just about to exit when a dark-tanned hand came down on her shoulder. She didn't even hear Mr. Barry walk over, and gave a little jump.

"Just remember, Eva… If you don't bring your grade up, you'll regret it."

oooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooo

It took Eva a while to register what Mr. Barry had said. She had been too concerned about getting that grimy hand off her shoulder, and saying sorry to Hara.

"If you don't bring your grade up, you'll regret it..."

"What?" Hara asked.

"Oh, nothing, Hara. Just something Mr. Barry said to me."

"Okay, then Eva." And then she added, "Stop zoning out, ok? I know you hate French, but c'mon. Get over it."

"Ok…" Eva mumbled weakly. She was still focusing on what the teacher had said.

oooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooo

The next couple of days where quite the same as this one. Eva continually had the same dream, (what she came to call premonitions), and she continued to have a daily quarrel with Hara. Every two or more days, Hara would go home with Eva, so that they could study chem.

"I hate this!" Eva would complain, "I can't stand chem!"

"Calm down, will you?" Hara would reply, "Just three more weeks of solid practice, and you'll be getting better grades then me!"

"As if, Hara."

oooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooo

There he was. There he was, sitting under a tree, his hands lain beside his crossed legs. He looked so beautiful. She had to talk to him.

So she crept over towards the tree and swatted down. She leaned up right beside him, making him sigh. He wrapped his arms around her body.

"Eva, what's wrong?" She looked up into his knowing golden eyes and put her head back on his shoulder. His arms wrapped tighter around her, and she slowly warmed up.

"He did it again. He got another one." A tear trickled down her face.

"Who, Eva." He was very quiet today, and very understanding and calm.

"He killed them… He killed them all!" She shouted.

"No need to shout. I'm right here."

"He took her too!" she let the sob escape her this time.

"Who." he asked, more sternly, but still calm and collected.

"…I can't believe it… first them and…" She dug her face into his shoulder, crying, by now, full out. "And now he got Hara!"

oooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooo

Eva shot up, almost falling out of her desk.

"Do you know the answer, Eva Evercrest?" Ms. Snider sounded amused. "Or have you been sleeping this whole time?"

Eva's gaze bolted upwards. The history teacher was staring her down. Eva shot Hara a glance, who just shrugged. "N-no, Ms. Snider. I wasn't paying attention, that's all. I'm sorry."

"Sorry doesn't cut it, young lady. If you don't want to pay attention in my class, then don't come to it! For now, out into the hallway with you until the bell. Out!"

Eva crept out of the room with her books. She was pretty sure she could here Ms. Snider saying something like, And that goes for the rest of you! No falling asleep in my class!

Now that she had the rest of the class off, Eva thought of this most recent dream. It was a lot more up-close-and-personal this time. The guy actually gave me a hug. But killings? Does somebody I know die? Eva thought a while about this. Who's going to die? And why?

Oh my god! Hara!

oooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooo

Nice cliffie, no? So… The review button is calling you, see? See? ….Akita, stop RUBBING OFF ON ME! lol. anyway, please review! Oh, and Ed, please don't kill me. But I am going to make sooo much fun of you later on…heeheehee.