• 07 •

EVA

I smiled, pulling the heavy textbooks tighter against my side as I turned to the boy. I nodded. I didn't hear what he said, and he probably might not have even uttered a word, but that didn't matter. His lips were moving, I was wearing a smile, the sun was up and shining, it was a beautiful day, we both looked spectacular in our uniforms, our hairs were at their best and everyone was doing their thing.

What could possibly go wrong?

"Jesus. This is not a movie. Say something. Why are you mouthing words? Speak!" the photographer yelled at us and once again, my smile collapsed.

My cheeks hurt like hell from all the smiling I'd been doing. The boy —who was in the same class as me— and I shared exasperated looks before turning to the photographer who looked just as tired as we were. He was tired? What reason did he have to be? We were the ones doing the actual work and not to mention, being yelled at under the scorching sun.

We drew closer to the photographer so we could hear whatever words of encouragement he had to throw at us now. This would be the fourth. Every single time we had failed to portray the right looks or emotions, he'd wave us over and diss out not-so-helpful words to gear us up. Newsflash, they did not.

Who knew making an advertisement for a school could be this stressful? When Mrs Oguemuno set the date for today, I'd envisioned the whole process happening in less than an hour. This was our second hour of standing in the huge school field and to be honest, it was shameful to admit we had made zero progress.

He had his hands on his waist, standing akimbo, with a sour lour when we got to him.

"What's your name? " he snapped his fingers at the boy.

"Uh... " the boy's eyes darted to mine in confusion, "Damilare. "

The photographer leveled a stern look on him. "Okay, Damilare. I know there's not going to be sound in this video —from you guys anyway, but you still have to talk to give it that 'real' impression. " he gestured,  "Don't just mouth the words okay? It's really obvious that you aren't saying anything. "

I didn't see the point in uttering words when the video sound was obviously going to be killed in the end, but I didn't point that out.

He turned to me, "And Miss, please make some effort to look interested. You looked too stiff. "

Stiff?

He flung his hands in exasperation, "Why do you guys make it look like we're forcing you? " Damilare and I shared a look, then he let out a snort. "Okay, yes. You probably don't want to be doing this, but it's a privilege and you'll get to see that with time. "

A privilege should never be this stressful.

"Now, both of you, go back there and make things easier for all of us. "

Left with no other option than to obey, we went back. I breathed out, loosened myself, smiled, then turned to the boy, nodding and talking to him and this time, with actual words.

That earned us two thumbs up from the photographer. Finally.

Mr and Mrs Lawson had been pretty excited when I told them about the school board picking me to be the ad girl. Abi had offered me genuine congratulations and Zoe had been nonchalant about the whole thing. To be honest, it was my foster parents' excitement that fed my efforts.

And I had done a great job.

We hung back as they packed their instruments. The Vice Principal had joined us after a while to go over the video and he, too, had been impressed. I felt good but above that, I felt relieved. Being on the other side of a camera was an entirely different level of uncomfortable.

"I'm Dare."  Damilare said conversationally.

Dare was short for Damilare, I figured.

"I already got that. " I tilted my head towards the photographer, "I'm Eva. "

He smiled. "Yeah, I know. You're probably the most famous girl in Ivacy High at the moment. "

I cringed, "Transferring in SS3? "

"That and your eyes. They're a sight to behold. "

My first thought was to say thank you and look away. I couldn't help but feel self conscious whenever anyone brought them up.

"I'm pretty surprised everyone's being low-key about it actually. With the way they're talking about it, I thought they'd be all over you. "

"Wow. " I breathed.

"Maybe it's your privacy they care about. "

"Okay... "

God, I was so awkward at conversations.

We were still standing in the field, a few feet apart from each other. We were almost the same height and now that I could see past the fog of worrying over the advert, I realized that he was not that hard on the eyes. He wasn't as handsome as most Ivacy High boys, but he was in his own way.

I looked away when he saw that I was staring. Out in the field were several students running. They weren't wearing the school uniform, no. They had on tracksuits. They ran back and forth and sometimes, going completely round the circular path.

"So, Eva. " Dare drew my attention back to him, "I'm throwing this party on Saturday and it would be really nice if you could come. "

"A party? " I shook my head, taking a step back physically as I did mentally, "I'm sorry I can't come. Parties aren't really my thing. "

"Oh. " he mumbled.

He was hurt by my rejection, I could tell, but there was nothing I could do. Really. I'd done a lot of things that I wouldn't even think of doing, a lot recently and I didn't know how much farther I could push myself before I had a complete mental breakdown.

"Okay, then. See you around, Eva. " he waved once before turning around and walking down the path leading to the building for sciences.

I looked up at the Arts building, wondering what Abi and Laura were doing. Probably in class, I supposed. It was a free period for the Sciences, which was why the advert had been fixed during this time, but now that it was over and done with, I didn't know what I wanted to do with my time.

I felt the strange urge to talk to someone. Which was pretty ironic because I had been presented with that opportunity just five minutes ago but I hadn't grabbed it. Maybe because I had not wanted to talk at the time. Or maybe it just wasn't Dare I wanted to talk to.

Who then?

I missed Omar profoundly in that moment. Where was he? Did he miss me? Did he think of me as much as I did him? He could be anywhere in the world right now, far out of my reach and I didn't know if meeting him again in this life was possible. If only there was a way for me to find him, or get in touch with him, at least.

I wanted to tell him everything. About my new family, about school, about how hard it was fitting in with the people here, about how I'd wanted to fold when the students made fun of me —he'd definitely be pissed I'd entertained that thought—, about Zoe, about everything. I had a phone now, and it was set up and all even though I didn't really use it. If only we had those before we were separated.

With one last look of longing at Abi's building, I turned around, walking towards mine. I'd probably read a book or something. I hadn't written in forever, hadn't been settled enough to, but I planned on changing that soon.

An obstruction in the form of a body, appeared  directly in front of me, stopping me from going forward.

I moved to the right. They moved with me. I moved to the left. They moved with me. That was when I looked up.

Axel.

"Hey, Cg. " he angled his head, "Are you lost, babygirl? "

When I continued to stare at him blankly, he explained, "Massimo Torricelli..... 365 days?...... Cause you looked lost for a second there......" he gave up, "You've never seen the movie, have you? "

I shook my head slowly.

"Good. Let it remain that way. " he pursed his lips, "I don't like how it ended. Plus, the sex scenes were a bit too rushed to me. "

What was he even saying?

"Where are you going? "

"To class. " I replied and that put my head back on the right track. I should be heading to class, not letting Axel Arthur distract me, as he had proven several times —most of those times including him not even so much as glancing in my direction, but that had never stopped me from being distracted, of course— that he so effortlessly could.

"Why? " he frowned at me like I had sprouted a second head, "We have free periods. "

"I know that. "

"So what on earth are you going to class for? " he looked so confused, like the idea was completely ridiculous, that I found myself suppressing a laugh.

"Just because we're not having lectures at the moment doesn't mean I can't be in class, Axel. "

He froze completely, his eyes lighting up, "That's the first time you're calling my name and I like it very much coming from you. "

Him and his words. I couldn't with them. Talking with him was nice, I had to admit, but it wasn't a smart thing to do especially when I was trying to stay away from him.

I sidestepped him again, and he sidestepped along with me. His legs flexed as he moved, the sinewy muscles stretching before relaxing. My eyes trailed up, taking in the pronounced dusting of dark hair on his legs, passed his almost indecent shorts —yes, guys' shorts could be indecent and my mind would not be changed—, passed his light T-shirt, now soaked with sweat from his body, then came to rest on his smiling face.

"Why are you smiling? " I sighed.

"'Cause there's so much to smile about. " he answered smoothly.

The positive statement gave me a quick flashback to that day at the library with the mystery girl. I was yet to find out who she was. Maybe I'd go there soon, stay and wait for her to appear out of nowhere?

"Come run with me. " Axel said out of nowhere.

"Run with you? " I repeated and he nodded. "Are you high? It's a miracle I haven't melted already. "

"Come on, it's not that hot. "

"It is and I'm not running anyway. " I folded my arms.

"Why? " he mimicked me, crossing his hands too. It was getting hard to not smile by the second.

"Well, for one, I'm wearing my school uniform—"

"I can give you my shorts. "

I deflated. "What? "

He pulled at the band of his shorts, causing the material to snap against his skin, "I could take it off for you if you want. "

"You wouldn't. " I narrowed my eyes.

And apparently I knew better than to challenge Axel because he wedged his thumbs into the band of his shorts on both sides and made to drag it down. My mouth fell open and my eyes bugged out when he exposed a silver of skin, but I couldn't move.

He stopped all of a sudden, grinning, "Oh my God, the look on your face. " he removed his hands from his shorts, "Relax. I would never strip publicly. Not for free, anyway. You're going to pay to see this body, Cg. "

"I—" I was utterly and completely speechless. It was then, in that moment when I couldn't find my voice, that I realized the suffocating loneliness I'd been feeling, had disappeared. Probably to the same place the words in my vocabulary had gone, but I wouldn't know for sure.

And it was all because of Axel. I didn't know whether to thank him or yell at him for being the one to chase my monster back into the shadows with his magnificent rays of light.

"Cg? " he snapped his fingers in my face. I blinked. Of course, I had zoned out while staring at him.

"Cg? I thought it was Rainbow. " I was pretty sure I sounded bitter. I grudgingly admitted to myself that I'd felt somewhat special being called a Rainbow.

He waved his hands dismissively, "Rainbow, Cg, that's all you. Cause you're both my Rainbow girl and Closet girl. " he tapped my nose with a wide smile.

His words made my breath catch. I exhaled. How was he so good with words? Well, I guess they didn't call him a player for nothing. Pretty face, sexy voice, sweet words and a hot body. A dangerous combination.

"I'm not sure I like either of them. " I lied, walking around him and this time, he let me. Not for long anyway, because he jogged until he was standing in front of me, but I didn't stop walking, which meant he was jogging backwards. If he kicked a stone and fell, that was on him.

"I saw Dare talking to you back there. " he jerked his thumb at the point we had been standing, "He's throwing a party on Saturday. Did he tell you? "

I nodded. "He invited me. "

"Predictable. Are you coming? "

"No. "

We were getting closer to the building now and hopefully, he'd go back to the field and continue with his exercise. If not, then I was screwed. I didn't want the whole school seeing me talking to him. They were already saying enough about me as it was.

"Why? " he wasn't even out of breath from all the jogging he'd been doing. Lord knew I couldn't complete the journey from the first floor to the last without gasping like a fish.

"It's a party. So no. "

"They're not your scenes? " he asked, remarkably on point.

"No. "

"Have you ever been to one? "

"No. "

"Then how do you know they're not? "

That one threw me. "Look, you need to shut up and get out of my way. "

He blinked. I blinked.

"You're incredibly aggressive. " he noted.

"Only when I'm around you. " I shrugged without giving much thought to what I was saying.

He stopped walking and I had stop too, unless I wanted to walk into him —which wouldn't necessarily be a bad thing. "Come to the party. " then he added, "With me. "

"What? " I squeaked. And what an awful sound it was.

His eyes widened. "Tone it down, Cg. You can come with a dog or cat if you want. Hell, bring a fucking hyena. Just come. "

I frowned. "Why? "

"And if you hate it so much there, you can leave. I'll even drop you off. " he continued as if I hadn't said anything.

I stared at him in bafflement. Why did he want me there so badly?

"Why do you want me there? "

"Is that even a question? "

"Yes, it is. "

"Well, because if everyone decides not to go, like you, then it wouldn't be a party anymore, would it? " he grinned proudly, tapping the side of his head, "Common sense. "

I couldn't hold back my laugh this time and I could tell he liked it with the way his grin widened. His dimples were in full bloom, flaunting themselves.

I sighed in defeat, "I'm not saying I'll go, but I will see if I can. "

"You are going to come. " he forced.

I continued my walk towards the building, ignoring him.

"Okay, fine. Whatever. " he shouted at my back, "Have fun in class doing nothing. "

A smile lingered on my lips as I climbed the stairs. I would probably replay the whole conversation in my head later. Yes, I was that pathetic.

When I reached the top floor, I noticed something odd. All the students of class A and C, mostly girls, had vacated their classes and were gathered in class B. It couldn't contain all of them so some occupied the hallways.

My smile died on my lips. All the excitement I had been feeling over the activities of the day died and a chill now settled over my skin.

They hadn't noticed me yet because they were heavily engrossed in what they were looking at.

"......and I know that you love......... " a feminine voice drifted to my ears. That was when I knew. A girl was reading something out loud for all of them.

I moved closer to them and one girl noticed me. She whispered something to the others standing with her and they all turned back to me. All wearing malicious looks.

My heart threatened to jump into my throat. What was happening? Why were they looking at me like that? The whispering intensified as I drew closer and as if on cue, they all parted ways for me to go into the class.

The minute I walked into the class, I saw Zoe walk up and snatch a paper from a girl's hand. The one who had been reading it aloud. Several students hissed as I passed them, muttering words I was pretty sure were insults. What were they on about?

Zoe's eyes darted quickly as she took in the contents of the paper, her ever present scowl, growing darker. She dropped the hand holding the paper, staring at a spot on the ground in front of her.

She looked like she was trying to rein in her anger, and I thought she had until she looked up at me. Me?!

Raw fury emanated from her. There was no other word to describe the look on her face and the fire in her eyes. I failed to see what I had done to warrant such anger. But it was, indeed, directed at me because everyone had identical looks of anger and hate on their faces, meanwhile I was at a complete loss.

I had been downstairs for Godssake!

Slowly, excruciatingly slowly, she closed the distance between us and what happened next shocked the living daylights out of me.

My foster sister slapped me. Hard.