Apart

Chapter 4-Evan's P.O.V.

The bus ride

The bus came, and we got on. I was still holding onto Charlie's hand, and Andrew was just behind us.
There were a lot of people on already. Most of which were staring at me: at us. There was one that caught my attention more than the others. A girl.
She was pretty, in a 'not trying' sort of way. Her hair was down and messy, and she seemed to just not care. But that wasn't what really struck me.
It was her eyes. The girl had the most stunning eyes. They reminded me of honey. Golden, sparkling. Sweet.
My key was boiling. My stomach was filled with butterflies, my heart felt light.
No way. I'm not ready.
I shook it off, and the three of us found seats, and sat down. I couldn't stop thinking about her. I glanced across at her on occasion, but that was once or twice before Charlie noticed. After that, I tried my hardest not to look, but it was incredibly difficult. On occasion, I'd still glance across to look at her-it was one of these moments that lead me to notice that she'd tied her hair up.
This girl seemed perfect. And she was supposed to be...

The bus ride was over before I knew it, and the girl was gone. She basically ran off, and her friend had to chase after her. I hope I get a chance to talk to her...

The three of us had to head to the office to get timetables. Andrew basically disappeared as soon as he'd gotten his stuff—we just figured he'd make a friend, get them to show him around. Charlie waited with me until I got mine, and then left me at the office. I was lucky enough that a teacher came along to show me where to go—otherwise I would have been in the office for ages.

He said that he was the guidance teacher for my house. We were Ivy House, and Miss Morell was the other guidance teacher for the house.

Mr. Jones brought me along to my new class—registration class, that is—and opened the door. I took one step in, and could immediately feel everyone's eyes on me. But, more interestingly, I could see that the girl from the bus was there.

Mr. Jones seemed to be talking to her—he was asking if she could be my guide? Oh no.

Her name was Avery, and I was immediately interested in her.

The bell for the end of registration went a few minutes after I sat down, and I stood up. I turned to Avery, to introduce myself. "Hi, I'm—"
Avery placed one hand on my shoulder and pushed me back down into my seat. "Show me your timetable."
I handed it to her, and she placed it on the desk, before taking a pen out. She seemed to be putting little marks on it.

I watched, and waited for an explanation. When it didn't seem like I would get one, I asked. "What are you doing?"

"I'm marking what classes of mine you're in."
"And what did you just write?"
"What we're doing for lunch."
"We?"
"Well, you're new," she paused. "I doubt you want to sit with your siblings—unless that girl was your girlfriend and the boy was your friend—so I'm inviting you to sit with me."
"My... girlfriend?" I snorted. "My sister. She held my hand because I was nervous."
Avery handed me my timetable. "Come on. We've got to get to class. We have Miss Oliver."
I glanced down at the sheet of paper, and saw the teacher's name written down under period one, right below the word Music.
I didn't know why the fact that Avery took music shocked me—she just didn't seem like that kind of girl, I guess.
She had already started heading towards the door when I followed after her.
I finally finished my original sentence, as we were leaving the classroom.
"I'm Evan."
"I know."
"You're Avery?"
She answered with a simple nod. "Now, speed up your pace. Class is at the other-side of the school, and we're already 5 minutes late."
I followed her suggestion—or demand—and the two of us walked in silence.
I had so many questions, but she didn't seem interested. Maybe I'd try asking more later, more than just her name.
A few minutes later, we arrived at the classroom. Avery walked straight in, so I took that as a cue to follow her. She brought me across to who I assumed was Miss Oliver, and introduced me.
"You're late."
"Yeah. I am. No surprise there, but I've got a reason," Avery said, rolling her eyes. "Meet Aaron, he's new, and I need to leave early to bring him to his next class."
"It's Evan, actually," I corrected.
"Whatever."
Miss Oliver just pointed towards a free corner in the room. "Then you can find out what he does."
Avery sighed, before looking at me. "Go on."
I moved across to the corner, and sat down. Only now, did I notice that there were people staring. However, they weren't staring at me as much as my 'well-mannered' guide. She walked across, after arguing with Miss Oliver, and sat down.
"Well? What do you do?" Avery asked, not even looking at me. She was scrolling through her phone.
"What do you mean, what do I do?"
"Instruments. What do you play?"
Oh. That made sense. "I play piano." I held back the whole 'singing' thing. I played guitar too—but piano and voice go together much better.
"You need two instruments."
"oh." I paused. I was so going to regret this. "I sing. Does that count?"
She nodded. "You're stuck with me for a while, then. I'm guitar and voice." That was all I could hear clearly, but I'm pretty sure she mumbled "would rather do drums still."
Avery put her phone away. "What are you waiting for?"
"Should I have music?"
She pulled something out of her bag, and chucked it on the desk behind me. "You can do the same songs as me."
I nodded. Okay, that didn't seem too bad. Not too bad at all.