Reeve

This was it.

My last, first day of high school. Hopefully.

I lowered my head and lightly placed my cheek sideways on the black steering wheel so I was facing the window, careful not to put too much pressure on the horn. I didn't want to scare the frail, already-anxious freshmen walking past my car. Their eyes darted around rapidly, nervously taking in their surroundings of their new home for the next four years.

Or six, in my case.

I sighed. I wasn't looking forward to repeating the twelfth grade for a third time. Of course, it wasn't my fault that I had been forced to stop attending school.

Pushing away the butterflies that were wildly bouncing off the walls of my stomach, I tried to concentrate on something else. Within seconds, my thoughts automatically shifted to Haven, as they usually did.

Because I was two years older than her, I had always been two grades higher. But this year, that was going to change.

My heart raced at the thought of possibly being in the same classes as her. I was excited; after nine long, grueling years, I was going to see her again.

At least one good thing would come from being back in school.

"Are read goons?"

Huh?

My head shot up as I tried to identify the muffled voice.

Brody rapped his knuckles against the frame of my car, laughing and pointing at my alarmed expression. Rolling my eyes, I pressed the button that lowered the window.

"I said, 'are you ready to go inside?'"

Letting out a final, shaky breath, I nodded and composed myself. "As ready as I'll ever be, I guess."

We walked across the parking lot - or, at least, we tried. Crowds of people surrounded us, each trying to get their turn in catching up with Brody.

"Hey, B-man! How was your summer?"

"Bro! Nice to see you again!"

"'Sup, Mr. Basketball Captain!"

Brody smiled and exchanged a round of high-fives and handshakes with all of them. I stood behind, awkwardly smiling at my shoes and trying to act nonchalant. But in reality, I wanted nothing more than to crawl back into my car and drive away.

I felt out of place - most of these people had grown up together since childhood, whereas I hardly knew or remembered any of them.

"Hi, Brody," a voice purred from the distance.

The crowd immediately parted and a tall, blonde girl walked through. I saw Brody take a big gulp as his eyes traveled to the top of her low-cut yellow shirt, then down to her revealing mini skirt.

I involuntarily shivered while thinking about how cold she must be with her lack of clothes.

A few gasps erupted from the crowd when the girl stopped in front of us and linked her arm through Brody's. She tilted her head back and batted her long eyelashes at him.

"Hey, P." Brody gave her a small, composed smile, but his ears immediately turned into a bright shade of red when he looked down at their interlocked arms.

"Hey, B," she said, giggling and covering her mouth with her free hand. She looked up again, but this time, straight in my direction. Her sharp green eyes bore holes into mine, and I broke eye contact first.

"Who's your friend?" she asked.

"Oh, that's Reeve. He's one of my best friends. Reeve, Priscilla. Priscilla, Reeve."

"Any friend of Brody's is a friend of mine," Priscilla said while holding her hand out to me. She held it up to my face with her palm facing downward, as if she expected me to kiss the top it. "Although, I have to say, I haven't seen you around before. Are you new?"

Awkwardly, I angled my hand and shook hers. She gave me a confused look, clasping our hands together for a few seconds longer than I would've liked. "Yeah, I guess you could say I'm new."

Priscilla stared deeply into my eyes while cocking her head to the side. Several seconds passed by, and no one said a word.

Jeez. Does this girl not blink?

From the way she was looking at me, I felt like a specimen being observed under a scientist's microscope. I looked over to Brody, silently pleading for him to do something - anything.

Brody cleared his throat. "Well, P, we should go. We were just about to head in." He nodded his head in my direction and untangled his arm from hers. "I gotta show this noob around the school."

"Aw, leaving so soon?" she asked. From my peripheral vision, I could tell she was still looking at me. "Stay a little longer with me. I can be your tour guide and show you around... and then some." She winked.

I shifted my weight from one foot to the other and looked towards the school office, suddenly overwhelmed with the desire to get away.

"I actually have to pick up my schedule. But thanks for the offer, Priscilla. It was nice to meet you."

She pouted, jutting out her lower lip in an exaggerated manner, and stomped her foot. "Fine. But I'll see you soon. And yeah, it's always nice to meet me."

Wow.

Brody and I walked away, but I could still feel Priscilla's intense gaze on the back of my neck. I shuddered.

"Man, what just happened?" I asked when we were out of earshot. "Who was that?"

Brody shook his head. "She's... nice, once you get to know her. She was my friend back in elementary school - one of the first friends I made after you left."

"You like her?"

"Nah, it's not like that."

"I'm not blind, Bro. I saw the way you looked at her. Your ears went through five shades of pink before settling on bright red."

"Couldn't help it, man. Her clothes were just..." He trailed off and ran his fingers through his hair.

He paused, then took a deep breath. Shaking his head as if he was pushing away the mental image of Priscilla, he continued, "She wasn't always like this, though. I'm not sure what happened, but the summer before high school started, she changed. She became more distant and started dressing like that." He gestured over to where she was still standing. "She turned... weird."

"I see."

"Do you like her?"

I did a double take at his question. "What?"

"Dude, I'm not blind either. I saw her checking you out."

"Well, did you also see me squirming to get away?"

He laughed. "Yeah, I did."

After a pause, he whistled. "Man, you really can get any girl you want. That much hasn't changed."

"But I only want her," I replied, shifting my thoughts back to Haven.

"You finally gonna talk to her today?" Brody asked while picking up our schedules from the office.

"I hope so," I said as we looked down to compare our lists.

"We have Chemistry, lunch, Calculus, and AP European History together," Brody cheered triumphantly.

"Jeez. I have to spend two-thirds of my day with you? I knew coming back here would be a mistake."

"You love it, boo." He playfully nudged my shoulder with his.

"Don't make me gag. Anyways, I need to check out my locker before class. Where's locker ninety-eight?"

Brody nodded in a general direction down the hall. "Somewhere there. I think."

"Thanks. You're so helpful. What would I do without you?" I said flatly, making sure my words dripped with sarcasm.

Brody stuck his middle finger in the air, then gave me a salute. "I'll save you a seat. The chemistry building is all the way over there, so you better hurry. The bell's going to ring soon, and Ms. Fern will hang your ass if you're late."

"Will do."

I took off in a light jog in search of my locker. Busy scanning the numbers on the walls, I paid little attention to the space in front of me.

89, 91, 95...

My locker must be near. I quickly rounded the corner and --

Ran straight into a girl.

Her head ricocheted off of my chest and she fell to the floor like a limp rag doll. I stumbled too, trying to catch my balance before I could fall.

Crap!

The girl hastily got to her knees and faced the other direction, reaching out her hands cautiously and feeling around the floor.

My God. Did I just run into a blind girl? I'm such an idiot!

I looked around and saw a calculus textbook, which had flown in the opposite direction of her. I bent down to pick it up, but unfortunately, she reached for it at the same time. Her head knocked against mine, and we both groaned in pain.

Double crap!

"Ouch!" she cried out with a gasp, cradling her head with her hands.

Today was not off to a great start.

"Sorry, I was trying to help!" I explained, hoping she would forgive me.

I was still contemplating whether or not to reach for her book a second time when the girl looked up.

I let out a sigh of relief when her eyes focused on my face - she wasn't blind. A pair of rich caramel eyes stared straight into mine. They were familiar and warm, and almost immediately, a flood of memories and emotions rushed to me.

Even if it had been nine years ago since I had last seen them, I knew I could never forget those eyes.

It was her.

Haven.