Knock Knock... Don't Invite Me In

Chapter 1: Misery

* BEEP BEEP BEEP*

Ugh. Another day in hell, otherwise known as school. Junior year only started two weeks ago and I already hated it, shocker right? I mean, honestly, who actually likes school? No one I know, that's for sure. Then again, I don't know many people. Who am I kidding, my only friends are the books on my bookshelf, and they can't necessarily talk so.. yeah.

I didn't want to get up but I had no choice so I grudgingly got out of my bed and shuffled to my closet where I grabbed a brown V-neck and simple blue jeans. After sliding a brush through my hair, I made my way to my bathroom where I noticed my normally green eyes were bloodshot from lack of sleep. Let's just say that the last two weeks, I haven't gotten an ounce of sleep. The teachers were already assigning loads upon loads of homework and I really wanted to keep my grades up this year for potential colleges. Plus, stress gets worse when you have no to talk to it about.

"Karoline! You're going to miss the bus honey!" a voice yelled from the kitchen. With toothpaste foaming at the corners of my mouth, I managed a muffled "Okay mom!" which sounded more like "othey mum!" I rushed into the living room, grabbing my backpack on the way, and spotted my mom sitting at the table with her phone on her ear and a coffee on the table in front of her. I mouthed goodbye and she raised her hand in return. I love my mom, she was basically my best friend. I know raising me wasn't easy; she had no husband there to help her parentally or financially so she had to scramble to feed both me and herself, sometimes giving up her meal just so I would have enough to eat. She has done everything for me, unlike my no good father who I have never even seen a picture of. Anyways, I rushed out to meet the waiting bus and grabbed a seat near the front, away from the obnoxious kids. Oh, school buses, heaven on wheels with their wonderful smells and loud noises. What could possible be better? Ha, basically anything. I dug in my bag and slid out my beautiful distraction, "Misery" by Stephen King, possibly the most epic psychological horror writer on the face of this Earth. I opened up to my spot and engulfed myself into the mind of Paul Sheldon, a lost writer who was being held captive by his insane "biggest fan." Ugh, Annie Wilkes seriously gives me the chills.

My head shot up as we stopped in front of a house we had never stopped by before. Must be a new kid. I studied the house with its Spanish style roof and columns; it reminded me of a house me and my mother lived in when I was younger with my now-deceased aunt. I stared at the door, waiting for the mystery kid to appear; it seemed like we sat there for an eternity. As I heard the driver put the bus back into drive to leave, the front door slammed open and a tall, built, (extremely handsome, might I add) guy ran out, looking like a mess with undone hair and papers scattered in his hands, unorganized.

"Wait!! Wait!" he exclaimed as he ran onto the bus, out of breath. When he noticed everyone's eyes were on him, he shot a smirk and said, "I mean, the party just arrived. Now.." he glanced down at the bus driver's name tag, "Patty, you wouldn't want to deprive these poor students of a party, now would you?" As I stifled a laugh, he winked at Patty and slumped himself down next to me. Everyone on the bus was laughing as Patty grunted and pulled away from the curb and back onto the road.

I kept my eyes averted from the mystery guy. I mean, did he have to sit by me? I am possibly the most awkward human being to ever touch this Earth. The last time I talked to another person my age, I basically stumbled my way through a whole sentence of gibberish before they turned and walked away, eyeing me weirdly like I was from another planet. I must've sounded like I was.

"I put two bullets in my gun. One for me, and one for you. Oh darling, it will be so beautiful." My head shot around to meet eyes with the mystery man, holding a steady smirk on his face.

"Excuse me?" I asked. He chuckled and pointed down towards my book resting in my lap.

"Sorry, you must not be to that part yet. Stephen King fan?"

"More like fanatic." I said shyly, fiddling with the corner of the book, avoiding his eyes. Suddenly, I felt a hand reach under my chin and gently lift my face up so that I was looking straight into beautiful, dark brown eyes. I felt my leg start to shake and tried to move away but he took his hand and moved the hair from in front of my eyes.

"Don't hide your face, hun. Your eyes are to die for." He let go of my chin and stuck out his hand. "Jake Atkins. Newly departed from a tiny town called Sanger. You ever heard of it?" I quickly shook my head no. "Yeah, no one ever does." I grasped his hand and began to shake it but he lifted it and rested it against his lips, sending a chill up my spine. I could not believe this was even happening.

"Um, Karoline Lee. Lived in Los Angeles my, um, whole life." He released my hand and nodded.

"You like it here?" he asked. I shrugged.

"I have never known anything different so yeah I guess so. What about Sanger? You like it?" I returned the question.

"Well, with its abundance of movie theatres and bowling theatres, there is no place better." my mouth dropped.

"Seriously?! That's so cool, all of our movie theatres are always packed! It's useless to even try going." He started laughing hysterically.

"I am totally joking. The nearest movie theatre is around 30 minutes away. I like Sanger and all, theres just nothing really to do and no one new to meet. Everyone already knows everyone else." He shrugged and then began organizing his scattered papers. For the remainder of the ride, I completely avoided eye contact. I've never even touched another boys hand, much less have one kiss my hand or call my eyes to die for. It didn't help that he was basically drop-dead gorgeous. Once I finally saw the school in view, I suppressed a sigh of relief. The most human interaction I had gotten this year was once when my Chemistry teacher tried to call on me but I just stared blankly until he gave up and moved onto his next victim. So, yeah, this was a stretch for me. Before the bus was even at a complete stop, I flung my bag over my shoulder and rushed past Jake towards the doors to be greeted by refreshing morning air. As I began walking towards my locker, I glanced over my shoulder and saw mystery- I mean Jake running in my direction.

"Wait Karoline! Hold up!" As he got closer, he held out a paper to me which I grabbed and looked at carefully. "Any chance I have a class with you?" I looked through the classes, hoping the universe was on my side. I forced a smile...

"All of them." He grinned.