Across the Hall (G.N.D. Sequel)

1

Five years later

Evan's POV

"I know all of you are feeling very lazy with it being your senior year, but there is still work to be done! You can't slack off now just because you can see the finish line! Especially because you can see the finish line..." I preach to the room full of sleepy-eyed seniors before me. First day of the year is always like this, especially teaching seniors.

I get a few disinterested nods and mumbles, but that's all I can get from the teens. I nod and sigh hard, wishing it wasn't so hard to pull a response from at least one of them.

"If you haven't already figured it out, my name is Ms. Johnson. This is your syllabus for the class, I kept it as short as possible, so please read over it." I tell them as I hand out a stack to each row of students.

After everything that happened a few years ago, I went back to my maiden name. I couldn't stand to keep the last name of the man who broke me, nor did I feel comfortable given the whole "Lexi's mom is psycho" situation. So now, I am Ms. Johnson and no one is the wiser. Moving to a new area was the best thing for me after the nasty divorce Scott and I struggled through.

I came here, found a nice little place, a new teaching job with staff and students who had no idea who I was, and basically started my life over. There have been many challenges, but nothing I haven't been able to overcome thus far.

Overall, I can't complain. Things could have gone so much worse for me than they did.

* * *

Lexi's POV

"Babe?! Have you seen my keys?!" My voice echos down the hallway of our hardly-furnished apartment.

"Nope. Can you go more than a week without losing those stupid things?" My girlfriend grins from the doorway, pulling her messy hair into a bun.

"Obviously not!" I groan, throwing around the few pillows on our couch. "Please help me find them. I have to be at that meeting in like... five minutes." I frown, checking my watch.

Her hazel eyes roll and she assists me in my search for my car keys.

"Lexi, you should seriously consider investing in a key holder. You literally lose them all the time!" She hisses as she pulls them from between the couch cushions.

"Bitch at me later, I have to go-" when I reach for the keys, she jerks them away and I cut my eyes at her.

She grins and taps her lips with her finger, "I don't give stuff up so easily, you know that."

I smirk and grab her neck, pulling her into me and meshing our lips together. "Love you, I'll see you in a few hours, hopefully."

I take my keys and leave the apartment at that, rushing to make it to my meeting with the board.

After graduation, my life felt like it was on a downhill slope. I lost the woman I was crazy about, had hardly any friends, my mom and stepdad both had it out for me... things were not looking up for me in even the slightest.

That all did a 180 degree turn when I met Mia last year. I bumped into her (quite literally) on campus one day, and we hit it off. We have similar backgrounds and interests, and one thing led to another. Now we are happily dating and just got an apartment together... away from my mother.

My relationship with my mother improved a little in the time since I came out (against my will, might I add), but there is still a lot of tension between us.

Graduation night was easily one of the worst nights of my life. I lost Evan and I was convinced my life was over. My mother ripped me to shreds, calling me more names than I'd ever even heard of. She put me into therapy, and I had no choice but to comply since I was living under her roof... well, Mike's roof.