CHAPTER FOUR: RAIN ON COPPER PETALS

The ground swayed slightly under Adam's feet. He did his best to keep his balance and glanced around to investigate his surroundings.

He was standing in the middle of a dark and empty street. It didn't look like any of the streets in Toronto. There were a few empty cars parked along the sides, but there was no one there with him.

There were also a few puddles of water. Adam couldn't see his reflection in them.

His eyebrows met when he heard the loud sound of an engine coming from down the street. He glanced around, but nothing was in sight.

Adam swallowed his pride before glancing around and turning around to start exploring this odd world. Was this maybe just a dream?

He had just reached a fork in the dark street when a bright light engulfed him from behind. Adam wasted no time in turning around but only to be blinded by the headlights of the truck.

The horn rang in his ears, the headlights blinded him, and he threw his hands up to shield himself while his heart thumped loudly in his chest.

"Mr. Torres," Ms. Oh called from across the classroom.

Adam jumped off of his exercise ball, and a few snickers escaped the classroom. Fiona glanced up at him from across the classroom, and Bianca stared down at him.

He was paler than usual, and it looked like he was sweating. Ms. Oh watched her student with sympathy. He looked like he'd been in the middle of a horrible nightmare when she'd awoken him.

He brushed his messy hair back away from his face. "Take your ball, Adam," Ms. Oh said with a tired sigh.

He obeyed her orders and sat back down next to Bianca. She leaned dangerously close to him so that she could whisper in his ear.

Fiona was wearing a pretty devilish glare as she watched the girl lean close to her boyfriend.

"You looked like you were having a nightmare," Bianca hissed. Adam stared at his computer screen, oblivious to Bianca.

Bianca looked Adam up and down with a persisting expression. His blue eyes looked dull and empty, and his hands were gripping his brown locks of hair.

"Do you want to talk about it?" she asked him.

He let out an annoyed sigh and grumbled, "Not really, Bee. I'd rather just try and forget about it."

She made a face and leaned back into her own breathing space. "Whatever you say, Torres."

What did that dream even mean? Is it telling me that I'm going to die soon? Maybe it's just another stupid nightmare…

Adam felt himself dozing off again and had a subtle flashback of the large truck charging his defenseless body. It wasn't enough to make him jump off of his ball again, but it was enough to get his body shaking some.

He glanced up at the clock on his computer screen and realized that the bell would be ringing soon to end the day. Adam began grabbing his things when Ms. Oh began speaking again.

"Don't forget about the Halloween Lock-In Party tomorrow night. You're all allowed to bring a minimum of two friends if you want," she announced.

The bell suddenly rang, and Fiona wasted no time in hurrying over to Adam. She leaned forward to place a greeting kiss on his lips, but he suddenly winced and pulled away to avoid it.

"What's wrong?" she asked casually.

"What's this Halloween Lock-In Party?"

"Just some thing Ms. Oh arranged," Fiona answered. "Why? Do you wanna go? I heard it's going to be really fun."

She stepped closer to him so she could face him and whispered this in his ear. A satisfied grin appeared on her lips, and she moved in to try and kiss him again. But he pushed her away with his hands gripping her forearms.

She snatched them away and said, "Okay, what did I do to piss you off so much?"

Adam frowned and cocked his head to the side. "Nothing," he finally breathed. "But why is Simpson letting kids stay the night in this hellhole? Last time that happened, a lot of innocent people got killed."

Fiona pressed her lips together. "I know what you mean. I didn't get it either, but maybe Simpson is just trying to get everyone to forget about what happened ten months ago."

"Yeah, well it's not going to be that easy. Does he really believe that anyone is going to have the guts to stay in this place overnight?"

Fiona told him, "Actually a lot of people are staying. Mostly guys who want to spend 'quality time' with Ms. Oh, but Alli and Anya are staying."

"I thought Anya graduated with Holly J and all the other seniors."

"Wesley is bringing her." Fiona noticed the way Adam was staring off into space again. "Come on," she persisted. "It'll be a lot of fun. We should go."

Adam looked at her with a weird look. "Did you suddenly forget about all of the bullshit we put up with in this place?"

She stared down at her feet and muttered, "No, but I'm still trying to."

Adam watched her with worried eyes before putting his arm around her and beginning to walk down the hall. "Then I guess we'll be busy tomorrow night," he announced.

Fiona bit her bottom lip while grinning and pulled Adam closer with her hand on his waist. "What would I do without my rock?"

"Not much," he replied. She placed a kiss on his cheek while they continued to walk down the halls.

The halls were empty now. "Hey, Torres," a voice called from behind them.

Adam and Fiona both turned with smiles still on their faces. But their smiles were gone when they saw who was leaning against the lockers next to Owen.

"Bobby…," Fiona whispered under her breath.

He wore a smug look while he tossed the capsule of pills around in his meaty hands. Adam watched the pills intently when he realized who they belonged to. Maybe leaving his locker open with his pills on the ground hadn't been such a great idea before.