Chapter 1

Where am I? Why can't I see anything? I can't breathe. It's like all the air has been sucked out of me. I try to gasp for air but, suddenly, I am engulfed in a liquid that feels almost like water but a little thicker. The silence hurts my ears. I feel dizzy, probably from lack of oxygen. My eyes begin to close, and I start to lose consciousness. For a moment, there is nothing. I hear my alarm faintly buzzing around me. It grows louder. I shot up in my bed, my alarm clock blaring like a siren to my left. My breathing is heavy and scattered. Once I calm down, I turn off my alarm. I've had the same dream every night for the past 9 years. It started after a kid pushed me into the pool when I was 7. The pool was shallow, and my head ended up hitting the bottom. I lost a good amount of blood before someone noticed I was in there.

I laid back down with a sigh. I stayed like that for a couple minutes. I never get a good night's sleep anymore. I turned over to look at my alarm clock. The time reads 6:06 am. I get up and get dressed for the day. Like usual a put on a black hoodie and some pink sweatpants. I like the way they contrast. I don't really mind the way that I dress, I'm comfy and that's all that matters. It's only 6:12 by the time I finish getting ready. School starts at 7 but I head over anyways. I enjoy the silence that comes from being in the classroom before everyone else comes in. It sometimes feels like I never get that quiet time, not with all the yelling my parents make. My mom tends to bring home random guys that she met at a bar and dad comes home to them fucking on the couch.

I pause in the doorway of the classroom. There is someone here. There is never anyone here, ever. I unfreeze and walk over to my seat. Luckily, the kid was sitting in the front row while I sat in the back. I try to ignore him and put on my headphones. I close my eyes as I let myself be taken by the music, but the entire time I felt like I was being stared at. I opened one of my eyes to look over at the only other person in the room, but he was looking at his phone. I shrugged it off and went back to my music.

The other students began to enter the classroom. A lot of the girls stopped to stare at the boy, he must've been good looking, but I didn't really get a good look at him when I came in. When class ended, the boy must've gone up to the teacher to ask for directions to his next class cause as I was about to exit the class room, I heard the teacher say, "Ashlynn, could you come here for a moment?"

I lazily turned back around and slouched over to her desk. "Yes?"

"Ashlynn, this is River. He seems to have most of the same classes as you do so if you could show him around that would be great!"

I looked over at my teacher with pleading eyes. She gave me a look that said 'no.'

I sighed, "Follow me I guess."

"Nice to meet you, Ashlynn," he said with a smile.

"Hi?"

"How's your day so far?"

He kept asking me all these questions. Just ordinary questions you would ask someone to get to know someone but they were kind of annoying. He just kept asking and asking and I was relieved when we finally reached the classroom for 2nd period. Thankfully, he was seated on the other side of the room. I would look over every now and then and catch him staring at me. He wouldn't have that stupid grin on his face but he had a more serious tone. It honestly freaked me out a bit. He was so perky earlier as we were walking down the hall. Whatever, I didn't plan to get to know him anyways so it wasn't any concern of mine so long as he does not keep staring at me.

Lunch time came and, as usual, I head to the library. It's nice there. People are told to be quiet. I walk over to my usual spot and I see a familiar face sitting at the table. It was River. I choose to sit at a different table. I put on my headphones and turn the volume all the way up. A slight tap on the shoulder causes me to jump up out of my chair. I look behind me and there's River. I pull down my headphones around my neck.

"Can I sit with you," he whispered.

"Why?"

"I don't know..." He looks away.

"Fine, just please be quiet."

He immediately sits down with a slight grin. I sit down across from him and go back to my music. To my surprise he pulls out a book. As he reads, I couldn't help but to look up at him. His eyes were a purplish blue. His hair was a milk chocolate brown and his curls glimmered as the light from the windows shined down on him. His skin was a foreign pale. His cheekbones were perfectly distinguished and the rest of his face was just as captivating. Now I could see why everyone was eyeing him up earlier. I was caught off guard when he suddenly looked up from his book as I was looking at him. I looked down at the table and my face went a red.

"You can stare at me if you want to, I don't mind." He gave me a warm smile.

"That's not-" I cut myself short.

The bell rang shortly after. I walked him to his next class. A class we didn't have together. I arrived just as the bell rang. Even if he wasn't in class, I heard everyone whispering about him. He must love all the attention. I rolled my eyes. He just wanted attention earlier in the library, he probably can't stand not being the center of attention. He always needs someone to look at him. I hate guys like him.