Beacon of Secrets

First Day of Hell

Little by little, all the students began trickling in, filling up the hallways.

Andrew walked in, looking around slowly as he mentally labeled everyone. It wasn't something he necessarily enjoyed, but he felt it was a necessary thing.

As he looked for his locker, he bumped into a few individuals, but being that he was fairly tall, he was able to push past fairly easily. Once he found it, he placed his stuff inside and took the necessary supplies with him to class.

• • •

Ashley would be best described as predictable. Most of the time she'd wear baggy-t shirts or sweaters, jeans, and converse or vans. Of course whilst sometimes she'd use the occasional booties or make changes to her outfit, it wasn't very common.

She made her way to bathroom, looking at herself in the mirror. It was like she didn't even know who that was; her reflection was not her own. She shook her head gently before walking out and walking in to her first period.

• • •

Zachary walked in late to his first class as usual, murmuring a quick "I'm sorry," as per usual as well. It took him awhile to realize where his new seat was; it was near a blonde, the same blonde from the day before. He thought long and hard, but the name wouldn't return to him. Finally, it hit him. "Juliet," he whispered to himself as a few people turned to look at him, including her; he smiled, shaking his head before turning his attention towards the teacher.

• • •

Skylar took awhile to get to class, she just couldn't seem to find the right classroom. When she managed to find it, all she could do was sit at her seat, staring out the window. It was almost like she was waiting for something, yet she had no idea what for.

Effy was in that same class with Skylar, which was a fair accomplishment. Being only a sophomore, and a year younger than her sister, she was in advanced classes, but so was she. Everything was a competition. There was no 1st or 2nd place; there was only win or lose, and she didn't like losing.

• • •

As the bell rang for lunch, they all hurried out of the classrooms.

Ashley sat alone at a table, but her peace and quiet didn't last long as Stiles hurried over and quickly sat down without asking.
"Hey!" He said cheerfully
"Wow, you're... enthusiastic"
"It's part of my charm," he joked with a fake smirk as he leaned back in his chair, arms folded. Ash chuckled softly nodding her head, "yeah, sure. I can totally see that; you're emitting coolness all over the place," she said as she rolled her eyes playfully which earned a scoff from him.
"I take offense to that," he said, grasping his chest as he gasped dramatically, pretending to hold back tears. He looked at her with a smile before looking down at her, noticing she had no lunch.
"You want some fries?" He asked, pushing his tray towards her.
"Uh, sure," she murmured as she took one and slowly put it in her mouth, "thanks," she whispered as she pushed the tray back towards him.
"That's it? Oh, come on! Eat them"
"Nah, it's okay, they're yours"
"It's not like I'm gonna eat them all, go ahead. Eat some more." He said
"No, I'm fine. Really."

The argument was interrupted by Andrew sitting down at the table. "Sorry to interrupt, I had nowhere else to sit," he apologized softly.
"It's cool," she said as she moved her stuff closer to herself to make more room for him. "I'm Ashley, you can call me Ash," she said with a smile and an outstretched hand. He shook her hand gently, "Andrew," he whispered.
"Stiles," said Stiles, "nice to meet you, Andrew. You're new too, right?"
"Uh, yeah," he responded
"Ash is too. What do you guys think about Beacon Hills so far?"
"Awful"
"Terrible"
"Woah there, give the old town a chance. You just got here and are already hating on it. Geez." He said with a shake of his head and a chuckle.

"Is that..." Ashley trailed off, "Sky! C'mere!" She called out to her cousin who quickly jogged over, tackling her in a tight hug.
"Ash! I've missed you so much. Your mom told me you were in town but I wasn't sure if I'd get to see you and I really miss you and I have to tell you so much it's all been so different after what happened and everything is just so.... oh, uh, hey," Skylar stopped as she realized the presence of the others and that she was rambling, "I'm sorry"
"It's okay," they all said in unison before Ashley giggled, "This is my cousin, Skylar, I call her Sky."
"Hey," she said softly as she sat down, "we really have to catch up."

After another few minutes Effy and Juliet joined the group. Juliet attempted to make conversation while Effy simply sat quietly poking at her food.
"You're, Effy, right?" Andrew asked after getting a good look at her. "We met yesterday, I believe"
Effy simply nodded her head and continued poking at her food before simply getting up, throwing it in the garbage and walking away.
Ash, Andrew, Sky, and Stiles all exchanged strange looks but all decided to remain silent as well.
It was awhile before Ash broke the silence, "Is she okay?"
"She's fine," Juliet muttered through clenched teeth, "she's fine."

Their conversation carried on awhile longer, Juliet remaining silent for awhile before joining back in. Zack came over and simply jumped into the conversation.

For awhile, everything seemed normal; little did they know that would soon change.