Turn Away | c.h

Chapter 1 - An Encounter

I ran for my life, sifting through the tall, intimidating trees as I tried to free myself from his view. But in the end it was no use because he was everywhere at once- escaping him was impossible.

Glancing behind me, I saw the shadow grow closer and closer, its dark twisted hands reaching out to grasp me. But i rejected it off, my body growing more tired by the second. I wasn't going to last much longer.

The leaves and branches crunched under each step I took, only making my path easier to track. Suddenly, my ankle gave way and i fell to the forrest floor. Without a second thought, I tried to find my balance and move back to my feet, but the second I gained stability, the dark shadow pushed me down. I could no longer breathe, and my body was struck by fear.

"Please!" I shouted, gasping for air as the darkness overcame me.

"Please, don't!"

And thats when I saw a pair of brown eyes staring back at mine, wide and fearsome as if they were shadowing my emotions. I stared into them, feeling a tight grasp around my waist.

"Help me!" i shouted to the brown eyes, trying to hold onto anything around me. The man only shook his head, suddenly becoming visible to my eyes. I watched in fear as the man grew taller, hovering over me as his hands moved around my neck and eyes widened.

"Don't fight it, Stella," his voice echoed through the woods as he stared down at me. "It'll only make it worse."

Suddenly, my eyes opened, my body flying up as I gasped for air. I hunched over, pushing the duvet off my legs as I pulled them up to my chest. Sweat covered my shivering body, my hair pushed back and damp in my evidence of fear. I let out a shaky breath, finally catching a rhythmic breathing pattern as i sat in the complete dark.

"It was a dream," I whispered, briefly closing my eyes. "Just a dream."

It took me a few minutes to regain my strength, my body exhausted from the nightmare.

I slowly got up, pushing my hair back as I stood on my own two feet. Almost loosing my balance, I placed my hand on the wall, balancing out myself. I felt absolutely drained.

My alarm began buzzing, the annoying tone sending a shiver down my spine- ugh, school. Turning it off, I walked over to my cupboard and grabbed out a pair of black skinny jeans and a baggy jumper. I tiredly pulled my pyjamas off, letting them drop to the floor.

I almost jumped out of my skin as I heard a noise from outside of my window, causing me to turn around instantly. The window was wide open, curtains blowing gently in the wind. Slowly, I made my way to the window, eyebrows furrowing as I tried to remember if I'd kept the windows open or shut last night.

I came to the conclusion I must've been crazily sleep deprived and I'd accidentally left the window open- I mean, that was the only answer that made sense. I tugged the window shut before I changed into my clothes, walking over to my door as I tugged on my jumper.

The morning routine was the usual- getting ready in an empty house, eating alone, and leaving five minutes before the bus came. The bus ran late as usual, filled with annoying middle school students who were gloating about the fact they had their first sip of alcohol, or about that girl who totally sent a picture of their tits to them. I plugged my music in and looked out the window, letting out an exhausted sigh.

º º º

I rushed into home room five minutes late, my form teacher giving me the silent evils as clumsily walked through the door.

"Sorry I'm late, bus was late again." I said, offering him an attempted convincing grin. Mr. Cam nodded, gesturing to my usual spot.

"Take a seat, Miss Brooks."

I sat down, piling my books down on the table and adjusting my jumper. Mr. Cam stood, walking to the door as it was pushed open.

I silently watched as an unfamiliar boy walked into the class, a black hoodie over his head. The teacher didn't tell us we had a new kid in our class? He's severely unreliable, but he was one of the most understanding and kindest teachers there was- I guess the two kind of evened each other out.

"Alright, pets," he spoke up, causing a few people to laugh at the back- Mr. Cam always referred to us as his pets, much to a lot of the other teachers and parents dismay.

"I forgot to tell you guys as usual, but we've got a new kid in our home room." He said, gesturing to the boy, who's face still hadn't been revealed. I curiously watched, resting my head in my hand as I watched him slowly turn, looking up.

"This is Calum Hood who's transferred from... Canberra, is it?" Mr. Cam asked, glancing at Calum for reassurance. He nodded, moving his hands to his hoodie and tugging it off.

I could've sworn my heart stopped the second I saw those familiar brown eyes. He looked out to us, gaze moving around each excited expression staring back at him. I sat in complete stillness, my body stiffening. Those eyes... His hands, lips... He was the one who'd been haunting my dreams for months now.

His eyes met mine, suddenly causing a chill to run down my spine. I shakily breathed out as a hint of a smirk crossed his soft lips, his jaw muscles clenching as he refused to break our overwhelming eye contact. I couldn't pull my eyes away from his, it was as if I was being pulled to him- I was drawn to him out of utter fascination.

Who was he? And why wasn't he a stranger to me?

Everything seemed to blur around us, his gaze growing even more intimidating and frightening. And before I even had a second to myself to digest the entirety of this encounter, the bell sounded through the school.

I pulled my eyes away from him, shakily grabbing my books as I stood up. Calum still stood in the same place, hands moving into his pockets as he watched me gather my things in an uncoordinated matter. Managing to compose myself, I made my way to the door, avoiding his gaze completely.

But before I could make it out unnoticed, he moved beside me, walking out the door by my side. I swallowed deeply, keeping my head down. But it became impossible to ignore him as his hand grazed my arm. I looked up at him, trying to wipe the panic-stricken look from my face. Instead, I offered him a small smile.

He grinned, brown eyes piercing straight through mine. I could feel my heartbeat quicken just looking up at him. What did he want with me?

"Hey," he spoke, voice low and controlled. I looked down at his hand as he moved it out ahead of himself, offering a handshake to me. "I'm Calum."

I glanced back up at him, slowly moving my hand to his as my mouth parted.

"Um- hi- Stella- sorry, I mean, my name is Stella." I rambled over my words, swallowing down the lump in my throat as I looked up at him. Calum let out a chuckled, gently taking my hand and shaking it. I pulled away the second he let go, a smile still on his lips.

"Beautiful name-"

"I have to go," I spoke quickly, taking a couple of steps back before clumsy bumping into someone else.

"Fucking hell, watch it." The arrogant bastard barked at me, pushing me off of him. I turned to look at him, feeling my cheeks flush from embarrassment. Calum softly laughed, adjusting the straps of his bag over his shoulder.

I looked back over at him, looking into his eyes once more, before turning around and pushing my way through the crowd of people, to get to my first class.

••••

That was so bad, yikes
Oh well hope you guys like the first chap so far,, I'm gonna clear a bit up in the next chapter so stay tuuuuuned

Love y'all