Angel

Chapter 2

 I can't be the only one who has woken up the morning after they move houses and has forgotten where they are. It took what felt like forever to shake off the disorientation and get ready for the day, which only consisted of Joey showing me around Hadleigh.

"Hey." He said with a grin as I opened the door. I smiled back at him and grabbed my bag. Joey looked me up and down and raised his eyebrows. I looked down at myself and back at him. I wasn't wearing anything super revealing; just pair of jean shorts and a cropped halter top.

"What?" I asked. He shook his head.

"Just admiring your fashion choice." My cheeks burned.

"That bad? I can change." I blurted. Joey was taken aback by surprise.

"No no, you don't have to. I'm sorry. I only meant to compliment you." Relief flooded through me and I relaxed a bit. "Shall we then?" He added. I nodded.

Joey and I walked into the heart of town, which turned out to just be a park with little shops and stores surrounding it, including the diner. Along the way he had pointed out certain oddities and introduced me to some of the residents.

"And this is the heart of Hadleigh. There's really not much more to the town than this besides the schools, the church, and all the abandoned buildings we've got mixed in with the woods. Not to mention the nearest hospital is in Oakridge."

As I looked around and listened to what Joey was saying, I noticed a group of people sitting in the gazebo. There were three of them, and they looked to be around the same age as Joey and me. Two looked like they were in a conversation while the third seemed to be sitting on the ledge. I tapped Joey's shoulder and subtly pointed at the gazebo.

"Hey Joey, who are they?" I asked. Joey looked in the direction I was pointing and his lips thinned.

"That would be my sister, her boyfriend, and the worst human being in the whole town." As if they heard us talking, one of the two talking looked over in our direction and waved at Joey. He looked at me and sighed. "Come on."

As we got closer, I noticed the person on the ledge was reading an old book and smoking a cigarette. He had strikingly white hair and was in a short-sleeve shirt and a pair of jeans. It looked like he had a few rings on his fingers, but I couldn't see his face. The person who waved us over looked almost exactly like Joey, but dressed in a gothic style and had darker hair. The boy next to her, who I assumed was her boyfriend, was dressed similar to the guy on the ledge, but had dark brown hair and no tattoos.

"Hey Joe! And who's this?" The girl asked.

"This is Nik, she's new in town. Nik, this is my sister Vix, her boyfriend Cooper, and over there is Will." The way he said the white-haired boy's name seemed like a bad tasting drink. At the sound of his name, Will looked up and at me. He looked angelic, and I nearly forgot how to breathe. The left side of his lip had a ring in, and his ear had rings going up the length of it. No doubt the other ear was pierced as well. His eyes were grey, but they were cold, unlike Joey's who's eyes were full of warmth. Keeping his eyes on me, Will took a drag of his cigarette. There was something terrifying about him.

"Nik huh? Like short for Nicole?" I nearly missed Vix's question.

"What? Oh no actually. It's short for Nicosia." I said, scratching the back of my head in embarrassment.

"The capital of Cyprus." Everyone turned to look at Will, who was still looking at me. I only nodded in confirmation. "Are you Greek or did your parents obsess over geography?"

I dropped my hand and stared at him. He sounded like he was sneering at me and I suddenly felt angry, rather than feeling sheepish. Vix looked back at me with concern while Joey stepped slightly in front of me.