Chapter Two

AS I FLOAT to the surface of my slumber, I could detect the echoes of voices through the haze. They are seemingly bouncing off the inner walls of my skull and sound mere inches from my ear yet simultaneously hundreds of feet away.

"Should I google this? The voice, light, bubbly and definitely male, questions. I try to stay stiff as possible as my senses heighten due to the company of others in the room. He then mumbles under his breath, no doubt reading out loud as he types on his phone, "How to know if a person is dead…"

"You don't need to google that." Another voice resonates from the small, cramped space. "She's breathing you fucking idiot."

"I saw this in a move where the dog died but he was still breathing. Weird, right?" The bubbly voice speaks again and begins to explain himself in an all-knowing tone, "But then, get this, turns out it was just live bugs lodged inside his throat."

I am wide awake now and resisted the urge to screw my nose up or vomit in disgust at his input. What kind of movies is this dude watching?

"Well then why don't you wake her and find out." A third voice suggest gruffly and I stay still, my heart rate is increasing by the second.

"No, you wake her."

"Pussy."

"I am not a pussy."

"Then fucking wake her up you pussy."

"What if…" The bubbly voice trails off, "What if she's infected?

That's it. "Okay, first of all, rude." I open my eyes and push myself up onto my elbows. I glare up at three guys crowding around the single bed. They were all so fucking tall and the one with soft blonde hair jumps back in fright with a small yelp. The other giant in the room with hazel eyes frowns in confusion as he gazes coldly at me. His calculating stare didn't sit well with me and I felt like squirming underneath it.

The third and final of the trio of handsome human trees stared blankly at me. His curly black hair complement his dark caramel skin and he looks like he could totally make it in the modelling business. "And second of all, you ruined my nap." I finish as my eyes gaze over all of them. How did they even get inside the room? I locked the door. I'm positive.

"Who the fuck are you? The hazel-eye brunette asked brashly after the few moments of confused silence. I blink up at him, once, twice. Is his face even legal? Is this allowed?

"I think I'm suppose to ask that question," I push myself up into a more comfortable sitting position and fold my legs underneath me, "What the hell are you three doing in my dorm room?"

The hazel-eyed one scoffs, "Your room?"

"Did I stutter?" I query sharply, "This is my dorm as per stated on the dorm arrangement sheet I was given by the Headmaster. Now, get the fuck out before I call campus security."

"You've got to be fucking kidding me." The brunette chuckles darkly as he turns and staunches to the other side of the room. My harsh gaze follows his retreating back and watches his muscles move under the thin material of his t-shirt. He then takes a seat on the other bed.

"Hey, this isn't a fucking fairytale for me either. There must've been a mix-up because this a male dormitory and I'm not a male clearly. Plus I'm rooming with some asshole who obviously doesn't know what a washing machine is." I explain with a gestured arm extended towards the rubbish dump on the other side of the room.

All three guys glance at me before each other as if they knew something I didn't.

"What?" I question naively before my eyes widen as realisation hits me like a damn truck. How dense can you fucking possibly be, Hayden? I then grin sheepishly, "Oh. So which on of you gentle men it Everett?"

"You mean the asshole who doesn't know what a washing machine? The brunette perched on the opposite bed smirks and I instantly felt uncomfortable under his icy stare. "My name is Chase. Everett is my last name."

"And my name is Noah!" The blonde perks up as I glance at him from the side of my eye. He was smiling brightly at me in a much more friendly manner than the other two. I like him the most. "Noah O'Conner if you must."

I give him a small smile and an understanding nod, "I'm Hayden. Hayden Jones…if you must."

"I like her." Noah whispers to the other guys before glancing back at me, "I like you."

"I like me too." I wink at him as I tilt my head to the side and grin cheekily.

"So, Hayden Jones, what did you do to get your pretty self locked up in Caldwell?" Noah questions as he slowly lowers himself onto the the end of the bed. "Trust me, whatever it is it cannot be as bad as hacking a whole ass government system."

I splutter, "Holy shit."

"It's not as hard as you think." He shrugs calmly as if it is literally nothing. "Well, sophomore year reports were out and I wanted to change it before mother dearest decapitated me in my sleep. So, casually, I tried to hack into my high school's computer system. Instead, I hit a few wrong keys here and there and bada bing bada boom; I've hacked the Australian Government."

"Well-I-uh-I kinda blew up my school's cafeteria." I explain to the other three males and begin to play with the frayed ankles of my jeans, "Completely on accident of course and nowhere near as cool as your story."

"Oh, you're a pyro like Levi!" Noah exclaims in excitement as I glance at the only guy who is yet to introduce himself. My eyes revolve back to Noah and he notices my confusion, "Pyro is just a name for the kids who like setting things on fire. I'm a Techno."

"Well, I wouldn't exactly say I enjoy setting things on fire—wait, what did you do?" I question suddenly and glance at Levi who stood by the window looking down at the ground. The glow of the afternoon sun creates a glorious golden shade over his dark skin. He looked angelic. He also wasn't answering my damn question.

I double back, "Oh shit, I'm sorry. Is he deaf?"

Levi scoffs at the window and folds his arms, obviously indicating that he heard me. Noah tilts his head back and laughs loudly. "No. Levi just doesn't like people or emotions or people with emotions. He set his neighbours house on fire when he was eleven."

My jaw drops and I'm rendered speechless at the casualness of everyone in the room. How the fuck are they not at least a little bit surprised at this.

"Oh," Noah speaks up after noticing my shock, "He didn't do it to kill anyone. He just didn't like their cat."

"Uh, thats…"—definetly psychotic—"…cool." I nod with a heavy gulp and pass a tight-lipped smile to Noah. Levi didn't seem phased as if he isn't listening at all. I ponder the idea that if he punched the glass, would he even blink?

"He's my best friend and so is Chase." Noah grins brightly and I can't help but do it as well. Shit, his happiness is contagious. He is so cheery and bright and the living human version of the sun.

"What did you do Chase?" I change the subject and my gaze shifts to the hazel-eyed boy. If I am a Pyro and Noah a Techno, then what does that make Chase? He glances up at me, his gaze cold and chilling and his jaw clenches hard. If looks could kill, I'd be six feet under. Okay who the hell took a piss in his fruit loops this morning?

"That's none of your fucking business." Chase huffs, falls back on his pillows and stares up at the white ceiling. The silence in the room is tense and suffocating. It's just a simple question, he doesn't need to be so damn hostile. Well, it doesn't matter because once I talk to the Headmaster I'll be heaving across campus and into Arlington Hall; the correct female dormitory I should have been placed in as the pamphlet suggests.

And then, through the heavy silence, Noah's voice chirps lightly, "Well, isn't this fun."