Chapter Three: -Raven Wilson-

I had no idea what to wear. I hadn't had the chance to see what most high schoolers wear around here. I wanted to blend in as much as possible, and not seem like a fish out of water. With an exasperated and sleep-deprived sigh I tossed a set of T-shirts and jeans onto my bed.

"Want my advice?" Nathaniel asked as he appeared lounging on my pillows.

I rolled my eyes. "Your fashion advice is never sound."

He snorted. "Just because I told you to wear bright orange converse that one time doesn't mean I can't help."

"Fine."

He grinned. "So, what's the vibe?"

I snorted a laugh. "Invisible."

He raised his eyebrows at the irony and judged my clothes as I held them up. After a few minutes we decided on dark wash jeans and a gray Green Day band shirt.

I pushed into the bathroom and met my gaze in the mirror. My practically black hair was freshly washed but still looked raggedy as hell. It was a few inches past my collarbone, fading to a pale blue starting at my ears. I shook my head and decided not to worry about it. I pulled it back into a messy ponytail, the shorter front pieces falling back around my face.

If I had more time I'd care, but without caffeine there was a low chance I gave a fuck about anything. I swiped lazily at my eyelashes with mascara and the same with the eyebrow pencil on my eyebrows. Not enough time for concealer, not that it helped much anyway.

"Raven! Get your ass down here before you're late for school! I have a meeting and I have to leave now!"

"Then go!" I shouted. "I can handle it." Like I have for years.

I heard a frustrated sigh before the door slammed.

I smirked at her reaction before brushing my teeth.

"You two don't have to be bitches to each other," Nathaniel observed.

I shot him a glare. "And she didn't have to ignore me half the time and spend the other half like a concerned mother. She doesn't get to do that. But she does. And I don't wanna take it anymore."

He held his hands up. "Okay, okay. I won't press it."

"Thank you."

"Now go get ready! Being late the first day isn't gonna make anyone happy."

"Except me."

"Move!" He shoved me towards the stairs.

I grabbed my backpack and stuck my tongue out at him. He rolled his eyes at me and followed me down into the kitchen. I threw some shit in a bag and a small wad of bills in case the cafeteria food was good. I tossed my bag on the counter and popped a bagel in the toaster. I grabbed a drink from the fridge and chugged it while I waited.

Pop.

I spread cream cheese on my bagel and tossed the knife in the kitchen sink. I placed it on a napkin.

"Hurry up!" Nathaniel chided. "School starts in seven minutes!"

I rolled my eyes. "Why do you even care? You're dead."

"Rude. But someone in this house needs to be punctual."

I picked my backpack up and slung it over my shoulder.

"Be punctual and I'll pick you up promptly as school ends!"

I flipped him the finger as I shut the kitchen door. Locking it, I spun on my heel and walked the short distance into town and onto school grounds, eating my bagel as I jogged.

I slapped my black combat boots against the concrete steps just as the late bell rang. Cursing under my breath, I pushed the double doors open and stepped into the office.

The woman at the front desk looked ancient. I forced a smile as she looked up at me. "How can I help you, young lady?"

"Hi, I'm Raven Wilson, I'm a new transfer student. I need my schedule and locker please."

She nodded and slowly typed a few things into an equally ancient computer until a piece of paper printed next to her. It took all my restraint not to snatch it up and run from the office.

But I didn't. Somehow.

She folded the piece of paper and handed it to me. "Your locker's upstairs in the junior hall, on the left. Most of your classes should be up there too, sweetpea."

I nodded with a small thanks before pushing out of the hot, still office, and into the empty hall. I glance over my schedule as I take the stairs two at a time. First period English. That started almost five minutes ago. I didn't bother stopping at my locker and slipped into room 312.

"Ah, you must be the new transfer student if I'm not mistaken," the English teacher started as soon as I turned around. "Welcome."

I nodded, shifting my backpack uncomfortably.

He rifled through his desk and handed me a piece of paper and gestured to the only empty seat at the front of the class. I slid into the seat, dropping my bag on the floor. He continued his spiel on whatever author he'd been gushing about as I entered the room. I wasn't tuned into his lesson, but at the stares boring into my back. I tried not to think about it but it was nearly impossible.

The period passed by slowly and agonizingly. I doodled in my notebook and pretended to take notes as the bell rang. The teacher shouted the assignment as we funneled through the doorway. I made a mental note to write it down in my journal once I was in my next class, pre-fucking-calculus.

It was only a few classrooms down, so I stopped at my locker first. I tossed my backpack inside and grabbed a binder I'd designated as math last night and dragged my feet into the classroom.

I froze in the doorway. The guy from yesterday. He was sitting next to the only vacant seat. At least it was in the back row.

Fuck. There goes my plan to ignore him. No, it could still work. I dropped my binders on the desk and slid into the seat.

He was ignoring me. Fantastic. Please keep ignoring me. I can't deal with that on top of the stares.

I noticed other kids throwing dirty looks in his direction. What did he do to earn those? The teacher shut the classroom door and began her lesson in a bored tone. I was skilled in math, but I despised it. I saw no practical use for it in my life besides to calculate tip amounts and help with payments. Other than that I would gladly skip it.

Class continued. She passed out papers for homework towards the end of class that I quickly completed and slipped into my folder.

The bell rang.

I collected my belongings and practically ran from the classroom. As I turned the corner towards my locker a hand circled around my wrist. I gasped as the guy from before tugged me into a corner. I backed up as far as his hand firmly clasped around my arm would allow.

"What the fuck do you want?" I asked.

"Are you gonna ignore me?"

"Yes, exactly. Now let me go."

"No."

I rolled my eyes at him. "I'm leaving. If you wanna try and stop me, you can, but I wouldn't if I were you."

He snorted, shaking his head. "There's nothing you can do to worsen the image I have around here."

I walked past him but his grip didn't loosen. I tugged on my arm, but it was no use. Even if he hid it under leather jackets and jeans he had to be considerably strong to not budge an inch.

"I have class, you moron," I hissed. "Let me go."

"I will if you talk to me later."

"No."

"No?" He repeated, surprised.

I met his steady gaze with raised eyebrows. If I could've crossed my arms I would have. "I'm not listening to you."

In an instant I pulled my arm free and slipped into the mass of people moving through the hall. I darted through them and made it to the study hall room at the far end of the hall, one light flickering and casting dark shadows in the corridor. Ducking into the classroom, I clunked down into a seat in the far back corner and dropped my stuff on the desk.

That bastard filled my thoughts the entire period. I didn't even know his name and I already wanted to deck him across the face.

The guy sitting in front of me spun around to face me. "Was O'Hara giving you trouble earlier?"

I blinked. "What?"

"The guy who's always tall-dark-and-brooding and looks like a fuckin' murderer who was talking to you in the hall before you ran off. Was he giving you trouble?"

"Oh, yeah, I guess he was."

"If he bothers you again you can tell me. I can help," he offered.

I nodded.

"New here, aren't you?"

"How could you tell?" I asked sarcastically.

"Wait, that means you don't even know."

"Know what?" My stomach felt instantly queasy.

"About Noah O'Hara."

"What about him, other than the fact he's annoying?"

"His dad's a fuckin' murderer."

I froze. "What?"

"Yeah, the only one our town's ever had. His dad snapped and everyone knows he's next. My advice? Stay as far away from that freakshow as possible."

"Thanks." I met his gaze. "And you are…?"

"Drake. How about you?"

"Raven."

He smiled. "Nice to meet you, Raven."

A study hall monitor slapped a ruler against Drake's desk. "Sit forward in your seat, young man. You know the rules."

"Right, sorry," he replied, shooting a smile at me before complying.

She turned up her nose at us and continued walking between the rows of desks.

There were only a few more minutes in this period. I collected my books and stuffed them in my bag. The bell rang.

"What do you have next?" Drake asked.

I pulled my schedule out. "Health."

He snorted a laugh. "Oof, good luck."

I smiled wanly. "Thanks."

He punched my arm. "See ya at lunch, Raven," Drake said before disappearing down the hall.

Whew. At least I had someone to sit with at lunch. I felt anxious as I spun my locker combination. I didn't know when I'd run into Noah next, but I was trying to stay as far away from him as possible. Even before Drake told me about his father he gave me strange vibes. Now I knew why.

Slamming my locker shut, I darted down the hall and into class as the bell rang. My anxiety had been at an all time high for today, and I crashed. I nearly fell asleep at least three times in the first twenty minutes of class.

About halfway through, my eyes refused to stay open. Oh, fuck it. Who gives a shit? I passed out.

I blinked out of the haze of sleep, muffled voices filling my ears. Looking up, I saw two juniors talking in the two seats in front of me. I jerked up, my back hitting the chair. They continued, oblivious to the teacher scolding them.

"If you two don't stop being social I'll give you detention," she reprimanded.

A junior tossed her head back, her copper ringlets falling over her back. "Sorry, Mrs. Teller. We'll stop now."

Mrs. Teller narrowed her eyes at the boy. He held his hands up. "What my girlfriend said."

"See that you do." She spun on her heel and returned to the front of the classroom.

"Sorry I got the teacher mad at you," the boy whispered to his girlfriend.

She rolled her eyes. "It's fine, Jake. If we don't listen now we'll get detention." she waved her hand forward. "Eyes on the board."

"Whatever you say, Miss Amber."

She snorted a laugh, hiding it behind her hand.

Mrs. Teller was boring. Her class was practically useless to me now. Blowing air out of my cheeks, I doodled mindlessly in my notebook.

Ring.

Students burst into action, slipping their books back in their bags and bottlenecked out the door. I tossed my bag in my locker and grabbed my lunch. I followed the crowd to the cafeteria.

"Boo," Drake said over my shoulder.

I spun around.

He grinned. "Hey. Wanna come sit with me?"

I nodded. "Sure." Thank god.

Drake led me to his table. I nodded at the others sitting around us. I raised my eyebrows. The guy and girl who were making out in Health were sitting in front of me.

The girl —Amber—smiled at me. "Hey, I recognize you from Health. You were sleeping."

"Yeah, and you two were making out."

Her boyfriend —Jake— laughed. "Guilty as charged."

The conversation floated around me. I was content to eat my lunch and listen. Drake pulled me in every once in a while, but he could tell I didn't want to talk.

The lunch bell rang.

The rest of the day was mostly a blur. P.E. and Physics and Psychology flew by. I saw Noah in the two periods after lunch, but he left me alone. Only one more period. Art. A dumb fucking class, but whatever.

The art hall was long and empty. I opened the classroom door at the end of the hall. The door shut behind me as I surveyed the room. There was no teacher. With a tired sigh I sat down next to Drake.

Since they were in the middle of a project, the teacher told me to just wait until next week when a new project starts.

I listened to music for the last hour of the day, which helped calm my anxiety-ridden heart. Noah kept looking at me, but I never made eye contact.

The last bell rang. With a relieved sigh, I collected my belongings and waved bye to Drake before walking to my locker. I threw the stupid amount of homework I had in my backpack and threw it over my shoulder.

Following the crowd, I stepped out the main doors and onto the sidewalk. The wind picked up, blowing through my hair. A hand circled my wrist. I wasn't sure who to expect when I looked up. Thankfully, it was just Nathaniel.

He grinned. "How was school?"

I groaned. "Don't even."

He chuckled. "That bad, huh?"

I sighed as I pulled out my phone. I held it to my ear and continued talking to Nathaniel. "That kid from the alley talked to me."

"Oh shit."

"Exactly."

"What did he want?"

"To talk."

"About what?"

"I don't know, I ran away before he could tell me."

Nathaniel guffawed. "Well aren't you curious about what he wanted to talk about?"

I had to admit, I was, but it isn't worth it to talk to him. Especially now that I know what his father did. He gave me strange vibes anyway.

I shrugged. "Not really."

"Oop, that's definitely a lie."

I rolled my eyes. "Maybe, but even if I am that's not enough for me to talk to him again."

"Why?"

"It's nothing."

Nathaniel stepped in front of me. "Raven Elanor Wilson, tell me what it is."

I snorted. "That's not my middle name."

"I know but it sounded more stern if I threw in a middle name for you."

I laughed.

"Come on, tell me."

I groaned. "Fine. This guy I met today told me that Noah's dad's a murderer who went on a killing spree in this town. And I just can't help but feel uncomfortable around him, especially since I can't explain how he's been acting since I met him."

Nathaniel nodded. "Okay, ya know what? Stay away from that guy. You were right."

"See? I can make good judgement calls."

"First time for everything."

I smacked his arm.

As we continued down the street I passed him. Noah.

"Is that him?" Nathaniel asked.

I nodded. "Yeah it is."

I quickly pulled my gaze away from Noah and picked up the pace once I was clear of him. I stuffed my key in the front door and pushed it open.

"Mom?"

No response. Great, she still wasn't home.

Grabbing a bag of pretzels I thumped up the stairs and fell back onto the couch. I fished my phone out of my backpack and swiped through Pinterest. I scrolled past memes and quotes and fandoms, mindlessly moving my thumb.

Nathaniel sighed, sitting down next to me. "Is this what we're doing?"

I shrugged. "What else is there to do in this town?"

"Fair point. Why don't you do your homework or something?"

I groaned, slumping my head against his shoulder. "But I don't wanna."

"Sucks to suck."

I lazily punched his arm. Nathaniel snorted a laugh. "That was the slowest and weakest punch you've ever thrown."

"I don't have any energy, okay?"

He rolled his eyes, putting his arm around me. "Fine. We'll just sit."

I closed my eyes, my head against his chest. I felt his hand rub my shoulder as I drifted off. I didn't want to. But my head was too heavy to lift up. The tides of sleep washed away my resolve and I fell asleep.