"Oh, Eva, you'll love it in Paris. A new city, new sights, a new class to make friends. It's like a fresh start." Her mother explained, running a gentle hand down her back.

Eva shook her head. "I don't want a fresh start. A whole lot of things could go wrong. It could end up being worse in Paris." She exclaimed, shaking away her mother's touch. "I want to stay in Brussels!"

Her mother frowned. "I know, Evaelle, but your father needs this. We need this. Please keep an open mind, dear."

She gently placed her hand on her daughter's cheek, leaning in and placing a gentle kiss on her forehead. "I love you, Eva."

"... I love you too."

"Eva! Eva, open your eyes!"

"Wake up, honey, we're here. Oh, Félix, this city is gorgeous."

The noise in the front of the car was enough to stir the teen, who had been fast asleep in the back, leaning on her pillow pressed to the window as she dreamt. Evaelle lifted her head with a drowsy effort, propping herself up on her elbow as she blinked her dark brown eyes in confusion at her parents' fuss. Her hair was wild and sticking up on one side, while the other, the side that had been pressed to her pillow, was flattened against her head.

She gave a slight yawn, before speaking in a hoarse morning voice. "Why are you so loud? What time is it?" She grumbled, sitting up and stretching in her seat. Her neck had become stiff from her odd sleeping position and her tail bone was sore from bearing her weight for around 3 hours.

"Evaelle, look out your window." Her mother insisted. Although she was easily 20 years older than Eva, her butterscotch eyes were sparkling with child-like excitement as she kept her gaze glued to the scenery outside.

Eva followed her mother's gaze, and blinked in surprise. Laid out in front of her was the skyline of Paris. Hundreds of buildings sprawled out across the horizon, ranging from small flower shops to skyscrapers reaching towards the dark sky beginning to lighten in the east. Not many cars were rolling on the roads and very few apartment complexes were lite, but many of the business buildings, churches, and bridges were still glowing in the pre-dawn morning. In the distance, Evaelle could see the dark silhouette of the famous Eiffel Tower sleeping with the rest of the citizens.

"Isn't this fantastic, girls? Wait 'til you see our apartment, baby." Eva's dad said, looking at his daughter through the rear view mirror. "It's very simple but it's spacious, and there's lots of blank canvases for us to put our own touches on. Sounds fun, right?"

Eva sighed as she watched the stars slowly disappear in the sky, drowned out by the sun inching slowly into view. "Fun is painting back in Brussels, dad. This isn't Brussels; this isn't home." She explained, her voice almost longing.

To be fair, she had never felt quite at home in Brussels either. She seemed to either disappear in the crowd or stick out wherever she went, but at least back in Belgium there was a sense of normalcy. Here, it was completely new, and to Eva it was terrifying. She wondered if the kids in Paris could smell fear.

"No, it's not Brussels, it's Paris. I mean, you've always wanted to come here. This is the home of the Renaissance! All great painters lived here."

Eva rolled her eyes. "The Renaissance was in Italy."

"Well, don't they have famous paintings here too?" Her mother inquired.

That seemed to give the teen a burst of energy. She let out a short laugh. "Well, at the Louvre, there's the Mona Lisa, Venus de Milo, Psyche Revived by Cupid's Kiss, The Raft of the Medusa, The Intervention of the Sabine Women, Death-"

"Whoa, okay, Evaelle, you don't have to recite the whole gallery to us." Her mother giggled, and Eva couldn't help but follow in suit. Even the mention of art put her at ease and made the knots in her stomach loosen.

"Well the walls of your room are completely blank, hon. You can completely decorate them with anything that huge imagination of your's can muster." Her dad promised.

Eva's eyes shimmered with excitement. "Really?"

"Yep. This weekend, we'll go supply shopping. I promise we'll make this work, Evaelle." He assured her gently. "We're almost there. What time does her school start, Kloe?"

Instantly, all joy was wiped from Eva's face, and the butterflies in her stomach erupted once more. "What?"

"We have about two hours. We should be good." Kloe answered her husband.

"Wait, you're making me go to school today? Not even one day to catch my breath?" Eva demanded, more in fear than anger.

"Well, the alternative is staying home and unpacking all day." Her dad pointed out.

"Honestly, Eva, it's not that bad. It's a chance to make some friends! You'll be fine." Her mother comforted her from the passenger's seat.

~~~~~

Evaelle looked out the window, where her reflection stared back at her, her hair still disheveled, her lips chapped from the night's sleep, and the white's of her eyes red from having to stay up until midnight to finish up the move. "Sure." She whispered, her throat beginning to burn already. She had a feeling that this car ride was going to be the highlight of her day.

Eva stared in the side mirror of her car, frowning sadly as she took in her appearance. Her deep brown skin shone with oil, since she hadn't been able to wash her face; she had only been able rub it with her arm to make it less noticable. All her stuff to do her hair was still in the moving van, which was being unpacked as she stood there, but there was no time to fix the stiff, curly mass on her head. All she could do was try and run her fingers through it, to get it evenly distributed on her head, which only made it frizzy and stringy in some spots. Her clothes were hardly 'first day of school' material, being they were the sweatpants and tanktop she had worn in the car. She also had to wear a jean jacket to hide the fact that her bra was visible through the thin material of her shirt. On top of that, her hands and arms were extremely dry, and even though her arms weren't visible, it made her extremely uncomfortable.

She sniffed slightly, urging herself not to cry. That would only make her face puffy and her eyes red.

"Okay, Eva, we managed to get you a notebook and pencil. Will that do for now?" Her mother asked, holding out the supplies behind her.

Eva didn't answer, but only turned, grabbing notebook and stuffed the pencil in her jacket's pocket, zipping it up so it wouldn't fall out. "Thanks mom, but... did you manage to find my toothbrush?" She asked hopefully.

Her mother frowned. "Well, no, we haven't gotten to any of the bathroom boxes... oh, I got it!" She exclaimed, digging into the purse the was slung on her shoulder. She lifted out a sad looking pack of gum, and handed it to Eva. "That should do for now."

Evaelle frowned, shaking her head. "That's really nasty, mom."

"I know, Eva, just work with us for today, okay? Tomorrow will be better. I promise." When Eva didn't reply, and only looked down at her running shoes. Her mother bent down to her daughter's height, lifting her head up with her finger's gently. "I promise Paris will work for us, Evaelle. Just give it time. If today is horrible, just remember that it can only get better."

Eva gave a slight nod. "Yes, mother."

Kloe smiled and placed a kiss on her daughter's forehead. "Thank you, honey. Have a fantastic day." She stated, before walking back to the moving van to help her husband unpack.

Evaelle watched her go, her feet rooted to the ground as her stomach did a somersault in her abdomen. Was she really going to school looking like her dresser threw up on her or like she got caught in a tornado? She bit her lip, squeezing the notebook against her chest.

As if she didn't already have trouble making friends. Now, it seemed to be near impossible.

As she stood, frozen by her own thoughts, she almost didn't notice another girl around her age walk by. Eva blinked, her eyes following the girl down the street. If she was Eva's age, maybe she was heading to Eva's new school.

Of course, there was probably more than one secondary school in a city as large as Paris.

Eva decided to risk it, taking a deep breath and forcing her tremoring legs to move, taking one step, then another. She moved down the street slowly, keeping a wide berth between herself and the red-headed girl, who seemed to be engulfed in her phone as she walked. Eva reached in the pack of gum her mother gave her, popping two pieces in her mouth, before shoving the rest in the pocket of her sweat pants. She had to make this work.

She had to.

Evaelle kept her distance enough to remain out of the girl's perception until they arrived at a bustling campus, where the girl disappeared into the crowd. Collège Françoise Dupont. That sounded about right to Eva.

She tried to take small steps, to avoid moving too fast. Kids all around were laughing, talking, writing in journals, and skateboarding down the sidewalk. The bell in the school rang out across the schoolyard, beckoning the students inside. Eva looked up at the building, her heart beating faster and faster. So many times, she had entered her school back in Brussels. No one noticed her after a while. She could only pray it would stay that way in Paris.

Please, Eva thought to herself, let me get one break today. Just let me go unnoticed.