Shadow in Darkness

Prologue

A cold chill hung in the air as a boy shifted in his chair, trying, and failing, to get comfortable. His sharp hip bones dug into the plastic chair in an uncomfortable position and a frown was set on his usual chipper expression. He was tired. It was his last class of the day and it seemed to be going on agonizingly long. He just wanted it to be over so he could go home and sleep, and maybe eat if he had enough money on him. He feared he didn't.

The boy, Alec, stared at his professor with droopy eyes and fought the lull of sleep that was begging for him to close his eyes. The burning and itching of his contacts didn't help his eyes stay open.

He wasn't listening to what his professor was saying anymore, her words fuzzy in his ears as he subconsciously drowned her out, trying to fight the weariness. He tried to focus on her features and things in the room like her dark hair that was pulled up in to a knotted bun on the top of her head that looked painfully tight, or how the black dress pants she wore were far too tight in comparison to the loose, grey, woolen sweater she was wearing. She was too old to be able to pull that off.

Alec's ears pulsed painfully as she spat into her microphone. He looked over at her small podium where she stood, it's mahogany wood clashing against the oak flooring. He looked at what she had on the projector. He didn't understand it. Alec sighed a deep and long sigh as his gaze dropped to his desk, reading the rude words and drawings on it that hadn't been erased even though they were only in pencil. He would have to ask Marisol for her notes, if she was even talking any, that was.

Just as Alec had finally lost his battle with his drowsiness, his eyelids slipping closed and his head slowly slipping off the hand that was supporting his head, he was awoken by commotion of people around him packing away their things sloppily and leaving the torturous room in haste, seemingly just as tired as he was.

Alec rubbed the sleep out of his eyes and moved to follow the others' lead and pack his things away in his old, worn down book bag. He lazily slung the bag over his shoulder and trudged out of the spacious room. As he walked out, the chilly Washington air hit him like a slap to the face as sharp gusts of wind pushed past his face. He let out an involuntarily shudder as he pulled his jacket tighter around himself before picking up his pace to get home faster. He hated winter.

His plans of not freezing were foiled as a small blonde, who seemed immune to the cold in her white ripped jeans, light blue crop top, and only a thin black cardigan to keep her warm waltzed up to him with a bright smile on her face, blocking his way and forcing him to halt.

"Alec!" she smiled, her eyes wide and cheerful as she awaited his response.

"Yeah?" He asked, slowly nodding his head solemnly as his eyebrows knitted together in confusion. The girl was familiar, but he didn't think he'd ever formally met her.

Her eyes lit up at the conformation that she'd gotten the right person and her smile widened. "Good," she said, "I'm a friend of Mari's at Omega Kappa," she informed him, shaking her head and pulling her short hair back and then pulling a lock of it away from her mouth when it twisted around her. "Anyway, we're throwing a party in celebration of Alina's twentieth birthday, and you're invited!" She said.

Alec's frown deepened as he stared at the girl, intimidated by her enthusiasm. He pulled up his burgundy scarf before replying. "I think I'm okay." He furrowed his brows in annoyance, hoping that she wouldn't push any further because of his unpopularity, anxiety, and how much of a pushover he tended to be.

However, she had other things in mind as she raised her eyebrows in mock surprise. "You're letting this one-time opportunity go? Just like that? You do know how nice Alina is for inviting you, right? Mari practically—no, not practically, she did beg Alina to invite you," she stated in an unbelieving tone.