Her.

so much for never seeing her again, i guess.

I wake up to the high pitched chirping of birds and the faint blaring of my alarm clock. My eyesight is glazed over from having just woken up, and I can barely make out my mother's shape.

"Amelia, did you sleep in your clothes again?"

I raise a hand to protect my eyes from the light and reply rather monotonously, "Really? I didn't notice."

She sighs, "Amelia you know it's not good for you."

I roll my eyes, "I'll be fine. "

She eyes me.

I pull a hand over my face, "I'll remember to put my pajamas on tonight." She sighs in defeat and tiptoes out of the room. I sit up and glance at my alarm clock, which reads 6:45. I will my body to get out of bed and I trudge to the bathroom. Once I comb my thick, brown hair out and brush my teeth I head back to my room and shut the door. I throw on black sweatpants, a flannel, and combat boots.

The mirror that stands in the corner of my bedroom grips my reflection and I stare at it. Would today be the day that Nathan decides I am too masculine? That I dress for girls and not guys? Or will he give me another warning? My hands reach for my arms and rake at the cloth. Waves of anxiety hit me like a million knives all sinking into my skin at once. I feel sweat multiply and take over my forehead. I grip my arms and sink into the wall. I probably would've began screaming if I hadn't seen my alarm clock, reading 7:18.

I tear off my clothes and put on skinny jeans and a sweater paired with ankle boots. I stare at my reflection and feel my body tense up. The jeans hug my curves in all the right places, and I hate it. I stand there and choked on my own sob, only moving to pick up my backpack. 7:25. Nathan would approve. I shake my head in disgust and leave. I jog down the stairs and into the kitchen. I grab a banana from the basket at the center of the stone island and turn on my heel, headed for the door.

"Honey, aren't you going to have something else?" I turn around to see my mom walking into the kitchen.

"No, it's the first day and I'm gonna be late."

"Hon, you should wear a coat, it's cold this time of year." She walks past me and to the front door, retrieving a winter coat from the adjacent hanger. She placed it in my arms and gave me a smile like honey.

I throw it over my shoulders, "Thanks mom." And with that I leave through the front door and head towards the sidewalk.

I sigh in disappointment as the high school crawls into my field of vision. School means people, and people means Nathan, and Nathan means him breathing down my neck. I walk across the bustling parking lot and onto the sidewalk. Masses of bodies rush in front, behind, and past me. I slip through the massive glass doors and into the main hall, whilst getting shoved at least three times.

I spot the back of a familiar head of dark, curly hair and rush over to them. Just as I come to a stop they turn around and grin in a way that makes my heart skip a beat. Her hazel eyes sparkle as they glide over me, causing me to return her smile.

She wraps me into a hug, "Ames! I haven't seen you in forever!"

I give her a sheepish smile, "It's been two weeks Eris." My arms jitter back as I feel them grasp for longevity in the embrace. I want to keep smiling, and I want to keep feeling safe, but just as I relax I see a familiar set of piercing blue eyes that make me shudder.

Nathan struts over, a smirk climbing its way onto his mouth as he slips his arm around Eris and pulls her close. He glares at me as he tickles her and a pang of immense guilt finds its way onto my shoulders.

"Nate, stop," Eris chokes out between giggles. I turn my head away from his gaze, and I focus on opening my locker. Nate. I used to call him that, before I came out and before he decided he was Jesus on earth, coming to cleanse the wicked and help the sick. The thought of calling him that now fills me with disgust.

I fling my backpack into the cold metal space and pick out a few items for class. I slam my locker shut and turn towards Eris, who is leafing through papers, hoping she'll glance up at me with her beautiful hazel eyes. I shake my head, and Nathan's eyes dart to me, and his glare only intensifies.

Eris glances up at me from her class schedule, "Ames, you okay?"

"Oh yeah, no, I'm fine." What a lie. "School hasn't even started and I already hate it."

She laughs, "It really do be like that sometimes." Her laugh sounded like bells and I smile in return. "What do you have first period?"

"Maybe American Lit.? I can't remember."

She laughs a second time as she begins to walk away, "Good, hopefully, I'll see you there." She and Nathan are suddenly gone and have merged with the mass of students and I'm alone again. I sigh and sift out my class schedule from the binder in my arms. The slot for first period read American Literature, and I exhale in relief.

The thing is, Eris and I aren't even technically friends, we just know each other through Nathan. I used to have a group that I hung out with, but Nathan was intent that I didn't hang with "those kinds of people" and I could either stop hanging out with them or be outed to everyone. And in my small, conservative town, being gay isn't a good thing. Eris is like my small rebellion, along with girls that walk through the coffee shop, against Nathan and all the forces driving against me. I figure that if I'm still checking out girls than nothing they do is really working.

Soon, if enough, I'm standing in front of my classroom door, and part of me wants to bash my head in, but a more immense part wants to glare at Nathan while I sit down. I choose the latter.

The second I walk in the door, my heart skips a beat and all the air in my lungs is suddenly gone. A mop of blue sits in the corner, staring out of the stained window. Melting chocolate eyes flicker to me and smile, and suddenly I feel all the blood in my body sprint to my cheeks.

I feel as though thousands of arms have grabbed and rooted me where I stand. I don't move until I feel someone come up behind me. There were two empty seats in the room, one at the front next to Eris and one next to her.

I immediately begin walking towards Eris and slide into the seat next to her. I glance back at her, only to find pools of dark brown watching my every move. In desperation to ignore her, I open my textbook and begin skimming through the pages.

Eris' eyes flicker towards me, "Ames class hasn't even started and you're already reading? Jesus."

I scoff, "I'll have you know it makes it easier to not pay attention in class later, you need to think long-term."

She shrugs in return, "Fair enough." She raises her eyebrows, "However, we won't be paying attention whether we read ahead or not."

"Fair enough," I say, attempting to mimic her voice. She chuckles in return, and I feel tiny weights fall off of my shoulders.

But they crawl right back up when I see Nathan get up and go to the back of the room, only to slide into the seat next to her. I watch his face morph into flirt mode, and he start talking her ear off from the looks of it. He makes large gestures and even tries to reach his arm around her waist, which she rejects. I quickly glance at Eris, who's thankfully scrolling through her phone. Anger begins brewing in my stomach because one, he's 'supposedly' dating Eris, and two, she's- I don't know what she is.

I feel a sense of ease as I see her visibly ignore his efforts, which, to my amusement, puts a massive scowl on his face. I even see her flip him off to continue staring out the window, which fills my chest with pride.

Class goes on like normal, and in a way, I'm glad Eris didn't notice, because deep down, I know that Nathan will break her heart, and I won't be able to hold myself back when that happens.

A/N:

Thank you so much for reading! Please vote and comment for I would love to hear your thoughts :)

This one is a bit short but next update we'll have more Rain and Amelia action I promise! It might seem like a filler chapter but I assure you it isn't, I really want to focus on establishing Amelia's anxieties and the way she views the world right now so things may be slow

Thank you again for reading, and see you next week!

- Forest