Chapter 2 – Olivia Clark

I’ve been in a rush all morning. The headache that has been haunting me since last night, when Dan took me out to that pub, still hasn’t gone away. I enter the school completely stressed out and tired. I walk down the hallway to my locker. To my surprise, Dan is already waiting for me, leaning against my locker. I look behind him and can’t believe who I’m seeing. Eye contact. It’s Chase, Fuck. That’s when it hits both of us. He realizes that I’ve moved across the globe and somehow ended up on his school, as I realize that the following years are going to be the hardest years of my life. As soon as Dan greeted me with a hug, I can see the drastic change in Chase’s expression. He looks furious. He looks like he wants to knock Dan out. His friend Drew is talking to him and I suppose that he also feels the tension in this godforsaken small hallway. I could swear that this hallway was bigger just a few seconds ago. As I look deeper into Chase’s eyes it feels like him and I are the only two people on this planet, besides Dan, and it doesn’t feel quiet like the romance novels I read at home. “Fuck.” That thought leaves my mouth as soon as I think it, but I luckily mutter it quietly enough for Dan to not hear the nervous breakdown that’s brewing up inside me right at this moment. I see him clenching his jaw as he exchanges looks with Dan. I’ve never seen him this angry before, and it’s really freaking me out, because he’s quite the chill guy normally. I’m wondering what he’s thinking. Apparently, Dan doesn’t notice that something is boiling up inside Chase right now. As I try to find a way out of this situation, Dan finally decides to say something. “Bad news. Somebody has already laid an eye on you”, he says in a mocking tone. That’s not what I was expecting to hear in this tense situation, what the hell?! Now I’m really questioning him and how he is able to get around with people when he doesn’t even notice the tensest situations. “It’s not what it looks like, and we need to leave. Now.” That’s all I can say right now. I grab his arm and drag him after me. He seems very dumbfounded but won’t question my sudden nervousness. Maybe he also just doesn’t notice, I really can’t tell which one it is. As we walk down the hall in the opposite direction of Chase, I turn around once more. Bad idea. Bad fucking idea. God, he looks fucking good, even when he’s mad, and looks like he’s almost going to kill someone. He notices me turning around and gestures that he wants to talk to me. No way. But I need to talk to him. Fuck, why is he able to make me feel like this?