• 05 •

 EVA

"What did I do to you? " Zoe started. "Besides putting up with your unprecedented existence in my life, that is. "

I didn't know what to say. She was obviously in a very bad mood, worse than I had ever seen her in. I couldn't tell by her face, no, one could never tell her emotions from it, rather, it was the liquid fire emanating in waves from her narrowed eyes that did.

"It's your first day of schooling here, Eva. But you just couldn't wait even for a little while, could you? " 

It resonated somewhere at the back of my mind that this was the first time she was actually calling my name.

"What exactly was your plan anyway? " she shifted her weight from one foot onto the other, "That you'd get some huge dirt on me and then tell mom and dad about it? "

Her fury escalated with each word, as did my heart beat.

"I hate to break it to you but mom and dad couldn't hate me any more than they already do, so, congratulations, your efforts are officially wasted. " she sneered, "Go spy on someone else, preferably someone who would actually want their business aired. "

"I—"

"Nothing, " she cut me off, slashing her hand through the air to emphasize her word, "Nothing you have to say matters anymore. Just, please, stay the hell away from me. "

At first, it felt like I had imagined the whole thing, but as seconds rolled by into minutes, I began to absorb the full meaning of what had just happened.

My complicated relationship with Zoe was now, totally ruined.

She was most likely going to tell Abi and her parents that she had caught me eavesdropping on her.

I lived with those people.

I was screwed.

I trudged into the library, walking far inside to where the books were neatly arranged on the shelves. Guessing, I would say they were sorted by genre, but who knew?

I trailed my fingertips along the books surfaces, not really paying attention to the name, as I moved from one shelve to another. Calm surrounded me, swiftly and completely, pushing all my fears into the shadows.

This. This feeling right here, of serenity, that books gave to me, was priceless. Just being in the mere presence of them soothed something deep down in me that I couldn't quite describe.

"Books or people? " a voice interrupted my thoughts, and I answered before thinking.

"Books. "

"Smart. "

It was a feminine voice. Sure and loud in the otherwise silent room.

"Horror or romance? "

"Romance. " I answered again.

"Sappy. "

I laughed. She laughed. I still hadn't turned around. I didn't know who this person was and there was something exciting about the anonymity of our conversation. Did I know her? Did she know me?

"Daydreams or nightmares? "

"Daydreams? " I frowned.

"Mmm. " was all she said, "Boys or girls? "

"I can't judge a person based on their gender. " I stopped in front of a book. I was staring at it but I couldn't see the name.

"Lesbian, bisexual or straight? "

Oh, that's what she meant.

"Straight. " I almost turned, but I caught myself before I could.

"Friends or family? " she asked again.

A dull ache echoed in my chest. The 'family' I had to speak of, took me in only out of charity and it was incredibly sad to think that I didn't even know the location of the one friend I had. Not anymore.

My life was a complete joke.

"None. " I croaked.

There was a pause. Then, "Do you want to talk? "

I thought about it. How pathetic would it be dumping all my problems at the feet of a stranger? 

But what did I have to loose? EVERYTHING 

I shook my head, "Not really. "

"Have you ever been to a hospital? " she asked all of a sudden. I opened my mouth to answer, but she didn't let me, "Do you see those sick people? The ones on the beds? Waiting to get parts of their bodies amputated or just struggling to get better? They wish they were you. 

"Complete. Strong. Healthy. "

I felt heavy emotion on the last word. 

"If you spend your whole life regretting and thinking about the past or your current situation, you'll never live. Be grateful for where you are even if it's not where you want to be. You could be so much more worse. "

I wanted to say something, but the words couldn't make it past my clogged throat. I was experiencing a myriad of emotions that I couldn't even begin to name. 

I spun around so I could see her. I wasn't supposed to  see her face. I was ruining the game, I knew that. But who were we kidding? It wasn't a game anymore. Not for the past five minutes anyway.

But she wasn't there. She left just as silently as she'd come. 

I turned back around and my eyes fell on the book I was standing in front of. 

The Phoenix. Joe Nigg.

I dragged myself back to class, concentrating on studying. 

6pm.

The bell went off. The school usually closed at 4pm but with the extra lectures attached to all promotion classes, which lasted for two hours, we closed at 6.

I sat back, reluctant to leave the class because that meant having to face Zoe and not a single part of me wanted to. Hugging my bag to my front, I watched the eager students fill out into the hallway.

Their excitement clearly showed on their faces and who could blame them? My butt hurt like hell from sitting so long and I would happily rush out too if the consequences weren't so dire.

Story of my life.

I waited until it was just a few people loitering in the hallway, before waking out. I strapped my bag to my back as I made my way down the deserted stairs.

Ars Longa, Vita Brevis.

Art is long, life is short.

The framed quote hung on the wall of the staircase. 

Death was inevitable. Everyone was bound to die at some point, some sooner than others. But art never died. It lived on continuously from one generation to another and the other, gaining more fame and recognition in its immortality.

Take Pablo Picasso, Claude Monet, Salvador Dali etc. They were long dead, yet they were remembered for their arts. And they probably would always remain in our hearts.

And I guess that short quote was what pushed me into making a decision, there and then, that I was going to become a published author one day. Even if it was the only thing I did.

I stopped abruptly when I saw a shadow looming at the foot of the stairs. The head lifted and I sighed out in relief when I saw that it was Dexter. Why had I been alarmed when I saw the person standing there? Perhaps I had thought it was Zoe? That was totally ridiculous of me because she didn't have a violent bone in her body. But her words... 

Words did more damage.

His eyes landed on me. "Finally. " 

"Finally? " I echoed dumbly.

"I've been waiting for you. "

What for?

He took two steps up towards me and I took one back. My heart slammed against my rib cage.

"Why? " I gasped.

He stared at a spot over my shoulder, "For two whole years that I've dated Zoe, I've never seen her cry. Not once. She's the strongest, most untouched person I know. " he glanced at me, "But somehow, you made her cry. "

Zoe cried? Jesus.

He smiled all of a sudden. A sadistic, creepy smile that gave me chills, "Do you know what I'm going to do to you? "

A mad light entered his eyes and somehow, I knew he wasn't human anymore.

This was wrong. So bloody wrong.

He pounced on me but I jumped out of the way before he could catch me, dashing up the stairs. It was hard running up the tiled floors since I wasn't so accustomed to them yet, but adrenaline fueled me and I found myself on the second floor in no time.

I pulled the first door I found in the hallway open and dived in. I fell back against the door, closing my eyes as I tried to calm my erratic heartbeat.

Please, God, don't let him catch me. 

If he did, I was dead. I mean, I didn't know what he intended to do to me. And I didn't want to find out.

Hesitantly, my eyes fluttered open. I tried to take in the dark room but I couldn't because it was, well, dark. Until the lights flickered, then came on.

"Rainbow! " the guy, who apparently, had been in the room before I came in, exclaimed, "You go to school here? "

My eyes bugged out. I rushed over to him, stretching to clamp my hand over his mouth. It was too late to pull back, however, when I felt his teeth digging into my flesh.

"Ow. " I cried out, momentarily forgetting that I was hiding from a madman, my mouth dropping open in surprise and confusion.

"Don't do that again. " his eyes narrowed, but there were no heat in his words.

"You..... bit me? " I shook my hand out, trying to ignore the sheen of saliva coating my palm.

"I will if you do it again. " he said, not in the slightest bit apologetic.

"I won't. Just shhhh. "

He cocked his head, glanced at the door, then at me, "Mind telling me what's going on? "

"I do. "

"Why? "

"Because it's not your business. " I shot back.

I didn't know what it was about him that made me talk back, but I liked it. Like how I'd forgotten myself with him in the boutique bathroom. It made me feel... normal. 

"You know, " he mused in Thinker Pose, "I could easily just push you out there, right into the arms of the person you're hiding from, right? "

My breath faltered. "Please don't. "

He smiled and his dimples showcased, successfully making everything within four feet of him fade away, "Relax. I was just saying. "

My heart now beat at its normal pace as my fear subsided. Did Zoe know the kind of person she was dating? No. No, she didn't.

The Dexter I saw with Zoe had been nice, calm and loving. Soft, even. So where had this evil version come from?

"Do you remember me? " the simple question said in his low voice caught me off guard.

I nodded, "From the boutique. "

He smiled again and it was then I knew why talking to him was so easy. He was free, quick with smiles and had that down-to-earth vibe.

"Why do we meet like this? " he voiced out my thought.

I shrugged, "I don't know. I should be asking you. " I glanced around the cluttered room curiously, "What are you doing in here anyway? "

He took several steps inside the room, flipped a bucket over, sat on it, then proceeded to stare at me like a creep, ignoring my question.

Him, fixing his gaze on me like that —I wasn't even sure he was blinking— was disturbing, but for some reason, it didn't grate as much as it should have. I didn't feel the urge to hide behind a wall, neither did I want the grounds to open up and swallow me. Instead, I found myself wondering how I looked. If my uniform looked good on me and what his opinion on my eyes were. And that was even more disturbing.

"Stop staring. It's rude. " I threw his words from when we first met back at him.

I caught the glint in his eyes that told me he knew. "It's not if the other person's staring back. "

I rolled my eyes. Such a hypocrite. "I'm pretty sure you were staring back that day, too. " then I amended, "Not that I had been staring though. "

"I was. " he blurted, and my breath caught, "And you were. "

There was something hot about him not denying. It had me feeling a certain type of way. I couldn't look at him anymore. 

"How come we both go to school here but have never seen each other before today? "

I shrugged, refraining from mentioning that I was new. 

"It doesn't make sense. "

Jesus. Did he ever shut up?

I folded my arms across my chest, "Look, I came in here because I'm hiding from someone, as in I don't want to get caught. So, I really shouldn't be doing anything that would make that happen. "

He stared at me blankly, as if waiting for the pin to drop, "What you're trying to say is.... "

"What I'm trying to say is, I need you to stop taking to me. " I snapped. And wow that was harsh. Also, incredibly stupid of me. Yelling when I was trying to be as invisible as possible, I mean.

He blinked, rearing his head back, "Only thing I picked from that statement was I need you, but okay. "

I wanted to strangle him. And that train of thought surprised me because I wasn't a violent person. Trust me, you wouldn't meet a more anti-violent person.

When he didn't say anything, and instead, started taking off his tie, I took that to mean that he had, indeed, stopped talking to me.

All traces of playfulness seemed to have left him. His now serious brown eyes, watched his deeply tanned hands as they meticulously undid the knot on his tie. 

He looked down fully and I couldn't see his face anymore, but I could see his arrogantly slashed brows and the dark, long, lashes underneath them. I liked him like this —unaware of my curious eyes.

His lean legs were planted wide in his seated position. The picture he created screamed powerful, rich and ...... teenage male. Okay, fine, he was sexy. The very definition of the word even. But I wasn't supposed to notice that!

I chided myself. Simping over a guy, Eva? PATHETIC.

My reaction to him doing such a basic thing as loosening his tie irritated me. I'd seen numerous guys loosen their tie —and girls too, not that this had anything to do with it— so what was so captivating about his?

I shook my head, turning around and gripping the door knob, ready to leave. Dexter had probably given up on looking for me anyway. Hopefully. 

He appeared next to me, leaning on the wall beside the door. "What's your name, Rainbow? "

"Why—" I hesitated, "Why do you call me Rainbow? "

"Your eyes. You have the rainbow in them. " he stared at said eyes.

He had said the same thing at the boutique, and what a beautiful thing to say, it was. Was that how he actually saw them?

"You don't think they're freaky? " I slanted my head, a small smile playing at my lips.

"Well, they are freaky. " he stated matter-of-factly and I laughed at his blunt honesty. "But they're also beautiful. And new. "

And of course boys liked new. If there was one thing I knew about guys, it was that they had a never ending love for new things. It intrigued them. Fascinated them. They loved the chase and when it was eventually over —because it definitely would, they lost interest.

"Your name, " he pressed, "Please. " 

And that was when I realized he was standing too close to me. What was it with him and being in people's personal space even? Mine anyway?

"You have to stop that. " I snapped. I definitely hadn't intended for it to come out like that but there was no taking back the words now.

"Stop what? "

"Crowding me. " I said, "I don't like it. "

He exhaled, taking several steps back, "I'm sorry. I didn't even realize I was. " he paused, as if just now remembering something, "Wait. Why do you always bring up stuff when I ask for your name? "

But before he could even finish his sentence, I was out the door, and just like last time, he didn't follow.

I took the stairs two at a time, taking extra care to be as soundless as possible incase the madman was still looking for me. Luck was apparently on my side because I didn't run into him on my way downstairs.

As I made my way down the stone-path that led to the sitting area, complete with a shed that prevented the sun from burning students to ashes and and enough chairs to fill a whole classroom, I caught sight of Abi in the car park, waving me over.

I changed my course, walking straight towards her. She had just one strap of her bag over her shoulder, her prefect's badge stamped on the left side of her shirt and I noticed she was munching on something.

Had Zoe told her already? Would she believe her? Of course, she would. She was her twin and I, a mere stranger. 

I guess what hurt me most about the whole incident was that Zoe believed that I had been eavesdropping on her so that I could give information to her parents. That she believed I could do something as malicious as that, hurt. But I supposed I couldn't blame her. She'd known me less than a week. 

"I've been waiting for you. " Abi said when I was within hearing distance.

I doubled my steps. "Sorry. I got caught up with something. " 

If they had been waiting for a while now, then Zoe had definitely told her everything. Shit. 

I saw the sleek Lexus —the same one that we'd come to school in this morning— parked behind her and I wished I could see through the dark windows.

I remained unmoving, staring at the car warily. The driver was probably getting tired and she was no doubt wondering what my problem was. They didn't know I dreaded getting into the vehicle.

"So, " Abi smiled, "Ready to go? "

I gauged her smile, weighing and dissecting to see if it was real or not. Sheer confusion was probably written on my face and I guess she considered it funny because her smile widened. How odd. Her smile was genuine.

Zoe hadn't told her anything.

And she wasn't in the car.