CHAPTER 1

VALERIE'S POV

Do you believe in having a past life or even being reincarnated after death?

What about a love that began from the past and found you in the present?

Crazy right?

I was also a non-believer of superstitious bullshits and laughed at authors who wrote about anything illogical and unrealistic? I believed the soul dies when the body does, and there was no such thing as a rebirth or reincarnation; Life ends with Death.

But little did I know that what fate had in store for me was more crazier than I could ever have imagined.

My whole life took a drastic U-turn on September 8, 2021, the first day of my last school year in Crescent High School, Albany, New York.

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"Good morning everyone!!" Mr Jacob Moore, a plump looking man in his late forties half yelled at the noisy, rowdy classroom.

"Good morning sir!!" We echoed back in unison, as everyone scurried back to their respective seats.

"I'd like you all to meet the newest member of this class, Daemon Vla-da-mi..."

"Daemon Vladamirovich." The new kid cuts in, pulling down his hood for the first time since he entered the class.

"Uhmmm thank you." The uneasiness he felt formed wrinkles on his forehead, as he lets out a soft cough. The boy besides him must be from an extremely well-to-do family and he (Mr Moore) was already getting more financial support from them in a short while, as he was a man known to only feel uncomfortable when there's matter relating to money. The urge not to say or do the wrong thing that would make the family upset must be mounting intense pressure on him but he needed to remain calm, and he did.

"He's a transfer student from Australia and would be joining us for the next nine months, so please be good to me and help him catch up with things."

"He looks weird." Flora, who was two seats behind me whispered softly to Anna, her best friend who sits directly behind me.

"Yeah! Everything about him just gives me the chills." Anna whispered back and I couldn't help but notice how truly weird he looks, with the pale skin that looked as though he was a breathing corpse and those really beautiful hazel eyes that...

"But you gotta admit... he is kinda cute!!" Flora giggled softly but loud enough for me to listen, or maybe I just wanted to listen and I kept my ears down.

"Cute? It's like an angel just fell from heaven and decided to give us the pleasure of sharing a classroom with him." Anna giggled back.

What are they even talking about? Angel? Yes, he was tall with broad shoulders and a perfectly cut face with two pairs of almond shaped hazel eyes which complimented the sprinkling of gray and dark colors on his hair, but he was no where near an angel, that's for sure.

But did he just smile at Anna's statement?

No! It couldn't have been possible.

I wasn't even anywhere near the front and there's no way he could hear a conversation happening in the middle of the class all the way from the front.

"You can go take a seat over there, Daemon." Mr Moore offered, pointing at the only available chair at the very end of the class.

"Okay, thank you." He was saying, when his gaze was suddenly fixed at my direction.

Why was he staring at me so intensely all of a sudden?

Yes, of a fact I know that I'm a goddess of beauty and I leave men in awe but was he not raised not to stare so intensely at people or is he sick psychologically?

Maybe he isn't really staring at me but at something no one else sees. Now, that's disturbing.

"Daemon!!" The Principal's voice came to my rescue as I adjusted uncomfortably on my seat.

"Daemon, is everything okay?" A concerned principal asked, with an attempt to check his body temperature, one that failed as Daemon stopped him halfway in, what I'll call, an extremely rude and disrespectful manner.

"Yes, everything is fine." He replied absentmindedly, allowing his feet take him towards the empty seat.

"First of all, I would like to congratulate you all on your journey so far, from your first day to your semi last moments in high school. It has indeed been a hell of a ride with you guys. Hopefully, with enough study, you all would be able to write your exams for college next year, that is if and only if you pass the school exams this year." He said as murmurs and little chatters filled the air.

"Don't get too excited and start putting finishing touches to your college portfolio as this year is going to be really packed with lots of extracurricular activities across the session, but mind you, let that not be an excuse for not studying for your forthcoming exams. A good student should always learn to prioritize his time if he or she wishes to end up as a successful person in the nearest future." He said sternly, pulling the glasses that rested on his round face with his right index finger, causing the glasses to fall slightly away from his eyes as he peered into our faces.

"Enjoy the rest of your day and be good boys and girls. More informations would be passed during the week." He admonished, taking his leave almost immediately.

The sound of the door closing was immediately followed by the creaking sounds of moving desks, as girls, who never cease to amaze me, scurried towards Daemon, the supposed greek god of the class.

Their little chatters were really loud, but none was his. He hadn't said a word to any of them, though they spoke non-stop as though their mouths were broken taps. Even with the attention he was getting at the moment, I could still feel his intense gaze on me, but then again I could be mistaken and so I decided to steal a glance at him just to confirm.

I turned out to be a really bad thief as his eyes caught hold of mine.

Was he a creepy pervert or what?? Why in the world won't he stop staring and atleast pay attention to the ladies in front of him. The girls started returning back to their seats as he paid no attention to them, nor did he even acknowledge their presence.

But something was definitely off about him that I just can't place my fingers on.

Why am I even curious about what is weird or off about him? I just met the dude some minutes ago.

"Get a grip on yourself, Valerie." I whispered softly to myself, followed by a gentle slap across the cheeks, as I just wanted to get back to my senses and not ruin my beautiful face with a scar.

Unfortunately, the slap was a futile effort as I found myself trying to steal another glance at him again, but this time, the glance strangely made my heart start racing.

He was definitely not the most beautiful boy I have ever seen and moreover, I really haven't had time to scrutinize his looks properly, so why was my heart playing tricks with me? Or was it a punishment for being extremely bad at stealing glances at this Daemon Vladamirovich of a guy?

Pulling out a book from my bag pack comfortable seated besides her foot, I settled to read away the distraction. He was just another guy with hazel eyes and I'd get over him as I did with the others. For now, ignoring him was best.

"Hi Daemon!" A feminine voice broke through my chaotic thoughts, as I couldn't help but listen on the conversation. Seconds had already passed but Daemon hadn't said a word in reply to her yet. Guess he wasn't interested in what she had to say, as he was busy being a nuisance and a creepy jerk.

"My name is..."

"...not important." His cold but yet angelic voice caressed my ears, sending shivers down my spine, as I felt butterflies in my tummy. She must have had this exact feeling and I could feel the satisfied smile on her face already. I couldn't help but take a sneak peak at the drama behind me.

"W-hat" The words fell loosely from her lips with the corners of her mouth drawn up in a forced uncomfortable smile. "I am just trying to be friendly as Mr Moore had asked."

"I don't need friends and I don't want you to be friendly with me either." He stared expressionlessly at her with his hazel eyes, the flecks of gold sparkling inside them. She took a step back, maybe out of fear or probably because she was going numb from staring into his oval shaped face of perfection adorned by two pairs of almond shaped eyes, a dazzle of wonder, with thin and narrow crescent of moon eyebrows, prominent bone cheeks, all seated on a skin as pale as the moon; A perfectly rare combination that was probably making her go blind and causing my heart to almost beat out of my chest.

"Okay..." She finally found her voice after a minute of silence, unwilling to loose in this battle, "...but if you need a tour guide around the school so you could familiarize yourself with the facilities, I would be more than..."

"...are you done?" His eyes were narrowed, obviously already irritated by her presence and forced conversations.

"Uhmmm"

"Well, if you are, I'd like to be left alone now. Thank you for understanding." With that, she accepted defeat and dragged her feet towards her table, her lips drawn downwards. Maybe she was expecting something different from the conversation but Daemon wasn't ready to give any room for that.

I must have forgotten that I only needed to steal a sneak peak as his intense gaze brought me back to reality.

How annoying!?