Dakota took a deep breath and adjusted her sleeves in her mirror. New school, new beginning, she told herself. Knock on wood. She stared at her reflection in the mirror. Short-ish. Wavy blonde hair, southern-belle style. Tan skin, the result of long hours on horseback. Wide, bright blue eyes. She looked totally innocent.

No one would think that she was pretty much responsible for her best friend's death.

There was a knock on her door. She flattened her skirt nervously, hoping that it wasn't too short on her- that would be inappropriate for this occasion, and her mother taught her better.

"Hello?" She asked timidly, opening the door.

Waiting for her was a girl, bouncing back and forth excitedly on her heels. She smiled, "Hey there! You're one of the new kids, right?" The girls smile was blinding. She could probably be a model for toothpaste commercial. Or just a model in general. She tossed her perfect auburn hair over her shoulder and smile wider, if it was possible. "I'm Cady, I'm supposed to show you to your new class!"

Dakota smiled back. Something about this girl made her nervous. Maybe it was because she was the first girl her age to not treat her like a lost puppy ever since Tyler died. It was kind of relieving at the same time, though; Dakota could take care of herself, she knew that for sure, but lately everyone had been treating her like a priceless statue that could get pushed over at any second.

"Oh, thanks," Dakota said politely. "But class doesn't start for fifteen minutes, right?"

Cady's eyes narrowed as some people's do when they see an adorable puppy, as if the cuteness is literally too much to take in. "Oh, your accent is so keyyyyyy-ute!" She bubbled. "Where are you from?"

"Georgia," Dakota answered.

"Oh-em-gee, you'll have to tell me all about it! But right now, we should probably go- everyone arrives early to the first day to get the best seats. You don't want to end up at the front, especially with Mr. Archer." She cupped a hand around her mouth, as to tell a secret, though no one was actually around. "He can be a real monster, you know?"

Dakota felt a shiver run down her spine. "Oh. Yeah," she answered.

Real monsters. She knew all about those.

She saw them all the time. At first she thought they were just her imagination. Once she got past the age of imaginary friends, she figured out they weren't supposed to be there. No one else could see them. Finally, she'd asked her mother to take her to a psychiatrist. But her mother shook her head, and told her that they were real, and though Dakota found it absolutely terrifying at first, she got used to it. The monsters almost never got near her, almost as if she was being protected by something. There was the bat-winged old woman that had stalked her at her family's ranch when she was six (though her family insisted that it was an imaginary friend), the giant black dogs she saw creeping in dark places, and most recently, the giant fanged… thing… that she'd spotted on the train ride to the school.

Then there was also the one that killed Tyler. The one time they'd actually gotten close to her.

Cady noticed her expression, and frowned sympathetically. "Oh, don't worry Dakota. I'm just exaggerating a little. I'm sure you'll love it here!"

Dakota paused. The hallway suddenly felt chilly, and she pulled her blazer tighter across her chest. "How did you know my name?" Cady shrugged and gestured to Dakota's door. Dakota turned to see a Welcome, new student! poster taped to it, with DAKOTA written in loopy handwriting under it. "Oh."

Cady shrugged again, beaming. "We make them for all the new students. So do you want to go down to class or not?"

"Sure," Dakota nodded, pushing a blonde lock behind her ear, and starting down the hallway behind Cady.

Maybe the school was going to be okay. Coming from where she'd been, with the whole Tyler incident, she thought she was doing okay so far- she hadn't accidentally destroyed anything yet, or gotten anyone killed, and she'd already made (kind of?) a friend. Yet still, there was something about the school that made her feel like she should start running, now.

….

"Aw, see? I told you we should've left early, Dakota!" Cady whined positively, if that was even possible.

Most seats were already filled with people. To be exact, all but two were filled; one in the middle of a group of whom Cady assumed to be the popular girls, with perfect hair and makeup and filed nails; and one sandwiched between the window and a girl with dark hair pulled back into an artfully messy ponytail. That, or it was just plain messy. Still, it looked cute in the I-just-got-out-of-bed way that Dakota sometimes strived for, but failed to achieve.

One of the popular girls immediately stood up, blonde curls bouncing. "Cady, over here!" she called, waving a manicured hand.

Cady turned to Dakota apologetically. "I'm really sorry," she said. "Make sure you find me for lunch, so we can sit together?"

"That's fine," Dakota answered, and Cady went and sat next to the popular girls. They all immediately started giggling and gossiping. Many of them were sneaking looks at the boy sitting next to the girl with the ponytail. He had olive skin and dark hair, and looked vaguely like some actor that Dakota could visualize but not name. The boy noticed the girls staring at him and grinned back mischievously.

"Jesus fucking Zeus," the ponytail girl muttered.

Zeus? Like Greek mythology? "Excuse me?" Dakota asked concernedly as she sat down. The girl cocked her head to look at her. Her eyes were so dark they seemed completely devoid of color, unsettling and at the same time, strangely soothing. Dakota felt some of her first-day nervousness and homesickness float away; even some of her emotions about the Tyler incident felt a little less intense. A little.

The girl blinked then squinted her eyes, as if she was examining her. "Yes, Zeus," she said slowly, as if she was simultaneously trying to figure out a really hard math problem. "Your eyes are really interesting," she added. "Very blue. Almost… electric, you could say."

Dakota blushed and ran a hand through the end of her hair. "That's very kind. I'm Dakota."

"Eva," the girl said. "So where you from? Somewhere south, I'm assuming. You sound like a cowgirl."

Dakota bit her lip. This was really the part of starting a new school- again- that she was dreading; the getting-to-know-you bit. Because then you had to talk about yourself, your favorite color, favorite food, where you're from. And the where you're from part was inevitably going to turn into "why are you here?"

"Georgia," she answered.

"Huh." Eva cocked her head. "What brings you all the way from Georgia to Illinois? It's not like it's a short commute." There it was. Dakota wished that she could somehow change the subject without being obvious. At the same time, this girl seemed like she could be trusted. That she cared, or something. Dakota didn't know how to explain it, but she felt like she could pour out all her problems to her.

She took a deep breath. "Um… There was sort of this accident, see," she told her cautiously. "It was kind of my fault, and by best friend is… kind of worse off from it." They locked eyes, blue and black. Eva's face was calm and sincere.

"It was not your fault," Eva said softly, almost in a whisper. Though their eyes were locked, hers seemed almost far away, like she was half thinking of something else. "It may seem like it, but you have to know it's not."

Dakota's voice caught in her throat. "How do you know?" she choked.

Eva pressed her lips together. It looked like she desperately wanted to tell her something, but it wouldn't come out. She let out a short breath and opened her mouth as if she were to say something, but was interrupted by the slam of a door.

"That's the teacher, I'm guessing," she said instead. "Well, that was a fun talk." She leaned in suddenly, closely. "Listen-" she whispered intensely. "If anything happens- anything- you find me. Or this guy," she added, gesturing with her shoulder to the flirty guy next to her.

Dakota blinked. "I can take care of myself, but thanks for the offer," she whispered back.

Eva's jaw tensed. "If that's what you want, okay. But trust me- you're probably going to want our help later."

"Wait- what are you even talking about?" Dakota whisper-asked, and was immediately hit in the face with a piece of chalk. It left a white smear on her blazer when she wiped her cheek. Around her, the class tittered.

"No talking in my class," the teacher- a stocky man with curly hair, severe eyebrows and a slightly wrinkled shirt- grumbled. He had written his name on the board in short, severe handwriting- Mr. Archer.

"Yes sir. Sorry sir," Dakota apologized.

Mr. Archer frowned. Dakota noticed his eyes were also black, but not in the same way as Eva's. Where Eva's were soothing, the teacher's were unsettling. "Shut up. You're still talking."

"Sorry sir."

Mr. Archer looked up at the ceiling and sighed a long, painful sigh. "This is going to be a long year," he said.

….

So there you go. Again, reviews and things are appreciated, as are OCs (best if you PM me.) I'll keep the OC thing open for a little while longer, so keep them coming!

Any guesses who Dakota's parent is? It's not obvious or anything.

A little harder: Eva's?

So yeah. Do your thing.

Thanks!