Hay Creek

Chapter 1.

Daphne shook her head, her eyes locked on Evan. "Look at him. Such a douchebag."

We were in history class, waiting for the bell. It was supposed to have rung by now, but it was late, and Miss Jackson hadn't stopped talking.

I shrugged at Daphne's comment. I didn't want to think about Evan, let alone talk about him.

"When is that bell going to—"

RING!

"There it is." I smiled, standing up and heading for the door.

"Did you do your homework?" Daphne asked, following me.

"What homework?" I froze mid-step. Of course, I forgot again. Just perfect.

"English, Unit 5. You really need to quit one of those jobs, Ave. You're overworking yourself."

I sighed as we made our way to my locker. She was right, but I wasn't ready to quit either of my jobs. I needed the money—and the distraction. Being home when my mom cried wasn't something I could handle right now. I had to be strong. It's what my dad would've wanted.

As I opened my locker, Quinn strolled over, her face lit up with excitement. "You guys will not believe what I just saw!"

"What now?" Daphne asked as Quinn stopped in front of us.

"New students," Quinn said, grinning.

Daphne smirked. "You mean new *boys*."

"Same thing," Quinn shrugged, clearly thrilled. "I hope they're in some of our classes."

"Maybe," I muttered as I grabbed my books.

"We need new guys around here. The ones we've got are either too young, too immature, or obsessed with basketball," Quinn said, leaning against the locker beside mine.

I laughed, shaking my head. "So, I guess that means I was an idiot for dating a basketball player?"

Quinn chuckled. "You're the exception, Avery. Don't worry."

Just then, Isaac appeared. "Hey, girls."

Daphne folded her arms. "Shouldn't you be off doing whatever guys like you do?"

Isaac grinned, sticking his tongue out at her. "Not very nice, Daphne." He turned to me, suddenly serious. "Avery, I, uh, wanted to tell you something before you heard it from someone else. Evan's dating someone new. Probably one of those new kids."

I stared at him, unbothered. "Okay," I said simply.

Isaac blinked at me, as if expecting more of a reaction, but there was nothing left to say. I'd moved on—at least that's what I kept telling myself.

"Are you guys coming to the game on Friday?" Isaac asked, changing the subject.

"Of course, we wouldn't miss it," I said, forcing some enthusiasm.

"Cool. See you then." He waved and disappeared down the hallway.

"Look, that must be them," Daphne suddenly pointed toward the crowd.

We turned to see a group of students walking through the hallway, as if they owned the place. They carried themselves with a confidence that made it seem like they'd been here forever, though I was sure I'd never seen them before. The guy leading them was striking—messy black hair and piercing grey eyes that almost seemed to glow. He didn't look at anyone, until his gaze landed on me. I quickly looked away, my face burning. What was I even doing?

"They're hot," Daphne whispered, practically bouncing on her feet.

I shook my head, trying not to laugh. "Let's get to drama class before Miss Janet kills us for being late."

"Fine," Daphne sighed. "But you know, it's not every day we get new eye candy like this."

---

"Welcome, welcome!" Miss Janet greeted us as we entered the drama room. "I'm thrilled to have new faces. Thirty-two students—our class is growing!"

I took a seat with Quinn and Daphne, grateful that drama class meant sitting on comfortable couches instead of hard wooden chairs.

Miss Janet started roll call, and soon enough, she got to the new students: Arabella, Grayson, Lachlan, Archer, Ezra, Roman, Theodore, Mila... and Kai. My heart skipped when he raised his hand—Mr. Gorgeous himself.

"Now, let's move on to today's exercise. Pair up!" Miss Janet clapped her hands. "And remember, no girls with girls or boys with boys. I want mixed pairs!"

Before I knew it, I was paired with Kai.

"Look your partner in the eyes," Miss Janet instructed. "This is a trust exercise—take it seriously."

I tried to calm the sudden nervousness that tightened my chest. I glanced at everyone else. They seemed fine. I could do this. It's just... Kai. I glanced up at him. His silver-grey eyes locked onto mine, and for a moment, the room seemed to fade. It was as though his gaze was pulling me in, deeper and deeper.

I took a step back, my heart racing.

"Avery, are you okay?" Miss Janet's voice cut through the moment, and I realized everyone was staring at me.

I nodded quickly. "I'm fine," I lied.

"Let's continue then," Miss Janet said, though her expression was concerned.

Kai's eyes hadn't left mine. "Are you sure you're okay?"

I forced a smile. "Yeah. Totally fine."

Miss Janet gave us our next task—find a script to practice. I picked one up at random and returned to Kai. "Here," I handed him the script.

"'Wolf 'n the Hood' by George D. Lee," he read aloud. His friends, standing nearby, snickered, but Kai shot them a warning look.

"Is it okay?" I asked, feeling uneasy.

Kai smiled at me. "It's perfect."

We started practicing, and despite everything, Kai turned out to be nice—funny, even. I should've felt comfortable, but the strange pull I'd felt earlier lingered, making it hard to concentrate.

---

Later that day, I couldn't get Kai out of my head. It was driving me crazy. And then, there was the wolf— that wolf with those same piercing eyes. It was following me, haunting me in ways I couldn't explain. I hadn't told anyone about what I'd seen. I wasn't even sure if it was real.

Friday night couldn't come fast enough. The idea of going to a party, even if I wasn't thrilled about it, seemed like the perfect distraction.

Or so I thought.