CHAPTER 5

Erin came running up to my car door, still smiling all giddy. She yanked open my door before I'd even turned off the engine. "Did you see who I was pointing at!?"

I climbed out slowly, my legs unsteady. "Yes I did, but it's really strange. It's like a sense of déjà vu I can't quite explain it. I know for a fact I've never met him in my life."

"Maybe he just has one of those faces?" Erin suggested, but she was barely paying attention to my answer. Her eyes kept drifting back to the new guy. "Come on or we'll be late to class. We have more investigating to do on who this new guy is, but from what I can tell he is HOT!"

"Of course you think he is hot, you have a thing for almost all the guys here at school," I said while laughing jokingly, trying to sound normal even though my hands were shaking.

"What can I say, I can't resist the tall handsome ones. You're just jealous because you haven't found anyone suitable even to catch your eye."

That's true, I haven't had anyone catch my eye before. I've just been busy focusing on my studies. Being consumed by that I don't really have time for guys anyways. But this guy... there was something about him that made my skin prickle with awareness.

We walked through the front entrance, and I kept my head down, hoping to avoid any chance of making eye contact with the new student. But I could feel him. It was like a magnetic pull, an awareness of exactly where he was even though I wasn't looking at him.

The hallways were packed with students, everyone buzzing about the new arrival. Snippets of conversation floated past us as we made our way to our lockers.

"—heard he's from somewhere out east—"

"—his eyes are insane, like crystal blue—"

"—wonder why anyone would move here—"

"—probably in witness protection or something—"

I spun the combination on my locker, trying to focus on the simple task. But my hands were clumsy, and I had to try three times before it finally opened.

"You okay?" Erin asked, studying me with concern. "You look really pale."

"Just didn't sleep well," I muttered, shoving my backpack into my locker and pulling out my books for first period.

"The nightmares again?"

I nodded, not trusting my voice. I hadn't told Erin everything about the nightmares—just that I'd been having them. I definitely hadn't mentioned the bruise. She'd think I was crazy.

Maybe I was crazy.

"Well, hopefully tonight's party will help you relax," Erin said, linking her arm through mine as we headed toward first period English. "Speaking of which, I heard the new guy will be there. I think it would be a great way to meet him and figure out what brought him all the way out to the middle of nowhere."

Before I could respond, I saw him.

He was walking down the hallway toward us, and the moment our eyes met, the world seemed to tilt. Those eyes—crystal blue, just like everyone had been saying—locked onto mine with an intensity that made my knees weak. Recognition flashed across his face, quickly followed by something else. Something that looked almost like... longing?

My shoulder erupted in pain, the bruise burning like someone had pressed a hot iron against it. I gasped, stumbling slightly.

"Ava?" Erin's voice sounded far away.

The guy's eyes widened, and he took a step toward me, his hand reaching out. But then he seemed to catch himself, his jaw clenching as he forced himself to keep walking past us.

I stood frozen in the hallway, my heart hammering so hard I thought it might burst from my chest. Students flowed around us like water around a stone, but I couldn't move. Couldn't breathe.