Chapter 2.

The next morning, at 7:30 a.m, Amy reached over and turned off her alarm clock only a few seconds before it was to go off. Sitting up in bed, she yawned and stretched her limbs. She then began tip-toeing around her room to get dressed. Conrad was snoring loudly in the livingroom, having fallen asleep on the couch while watching porn on the TV. That much was clear to her without having to check.

She dressed in a pair of light grey skinny jeans, with a white belt and matching converse sneakers. With a shear long sleeved white button up blouse and a grey tank-top underneath it, to complement the rest of her outfit, she actually looked quite beautiful even to herself. However, this was her work outfit for the day, and she had no intention of walking around that way at school. Her signature baggy hoodie was her final piece of clothing. It took away from her outfit substantially as it hid any curves or feminine appeal she had altogether. It was a deep shade of black in contrast to her perfectly white shoes and almost white, grey jeans. She decided to leave her hair down for the day, and its pale blonde also contrasted dramatically with her hoodie. Looking over her makeup in the bathroom mirror she told herself, 'This is as good as it's going to get,' then she took off headed for the bus stop.

After taking her designated seat on the bus, with her headphones in, she leaned her head against the cold window. Amy watched the trees and thin dirt driveways pass by. Her bus ride to school was usually about forty-five minutes long. She liked to pretend nobody else existed on the bus, as most everyone avoided sitting with her anyway. After years of her sitting alone it became common knowledge not to sit by "the weird girl." Most people would feel like an outcast in this situation, but Amy was just happy to be alone with her thoughts.

That day the bus happened to stop at a driveway that it would normally pass by. She was singing Fireflights song, Stand Up, under her breath amongst the loud children and adolescents chattering, when HE sat next to her. Her body tensed and she lost her voice altogether as she took in his presence. Her face burned bright red when she met his gaze. His medium length, perfectly emo styled black hair and porcelain skin were both mesmerizingly flawless. He didnt seem to have a freckle or a blemish, nor dry skin on his perfectly shaped lips. He was like an airbrushed model in a magazine. His eyes were such a piercingly electric shade of blue, that she felt Narcissus himself had stepped onto the school bus by accident. She looked away from him almost immediately and was in shock for a brief moment. Closing her eyes, she softly began to sing again to a new song by Panic at the Disco.

(P.O.V Change \= River)

He goes straight to the back of the bus as a few girls giggle and smile at him. Taking a seat next to the only person who wasnt staring at him and whispering back and forth with her friends blatantly, about him. He could hear her singing quietly to herself. For some reason, when their eyes met, she only blushed and looked away from him without a greeting. She didnt bother to strike up a conversation at all, which intrigued him as most people felt his presence alone to be charming. Yet, this girl didnt seem to care that he was there at all. Perhaps the emo style he had chosen for his high school experience was not the perfect choice he thought it'd be. He did stick out like a sore thumb, but not because of his clothing style. It was his unprecedented good looks. The girl next to him was quite small, fragile even, in his eyes. Her body language and clothing suggested that she wanted to be left alone. 'She's quite the cutie.' He thought to himself, as he turned away and pretended to be focused on something else. However, he did enjoy listening to her sing. At first her voice was shy and broken, but it slowly became melodic as she got more comfortable.

As River walks into his fourth, and final, class of the day, he notices several empty seats. There were only ten students in the class, including himself. The students were all spread out over the classroom and none were talking to one another. They seemed perfectly content with not knowing, or trying to get to know each other in a friendly way. Four girls looked up at him as he entered the room, and one was focusing intently on a drawing. They waited in anticipation to see whom he would be sitting next to. Each of them silently prayed that he'd sit by them. There were four other boys as well. Two of them were asleep, one has his nose buried in a book, and the other was cleaning his glasses meticulously.

He took a seat next to the girl who was drawing, as he had recognized her from the bus ride to school. This time, she didnt notice him beside her at all.

"Hey, that's very good." He tells her leaning over his desk to get a better look at it. Her immediate discomfort was evident. She blushed and thanked him in a voice that was practically inaudible. As the teacher entered the classroom, the bell rang and she demanded each of their attention. The shy girl, however, went back to being focused on her drawing.

(P.O.V Change \= Amy)

As the bell rang, ending the day, she sprang up from her seat. Not only did she begin to feel increasingly awkward and in comparison, ugly, while sitting next to the new kid. She was quite excited to go to work. Everything was always so peaceful and quiet there. What she dreaded the most each day, was going home after work.

The library she worked at was about a mile from the school, and Amy enjoyed walking to work each day. Oddly enough, on her way to work today, she had the strangest feeling that someone was watching her. Each time she would turn around to check though, she found that she was only being needlessly paranoid. She put her headphones in to distract her from this feeling and walked the rest of the way listening to Halestorm's latest album.

After eight hours of work, Amy put away her finished drawing and began to lock up for the night. The night air was cold and Amy fumbled with her keys while locking the door. She could feel it again, someone's eyes on her. When she turned around, there was no one, again. She looked down both ends of the empty sidewalk. 'Maybe I'm loosing my mind, or perhaps Conrad has me entirely too paranoid to cope.'

She began her walk home in silence, as she wrapped her arms around herself for warmth. Feeling uneasy as she passed by a park, she felt tempted to sit on the swings and not go home at all. However, if she didnt hurry she knew she wouldnt have time to clean and cook dinner.

With a sigh, she soon turned onto her driveway, pondering what kind of mood Conrad would be in tonight. She put her headphones away, kicking at a few stones as she made her way down the long winding dirt pathway in the dark. There was a new moon tonight and the entire pathway had an ominous feeling about it. On her left side was thick forest, and on her right and open field. She began to hum softly to herself so as to shake away her nerves. To her left, in the thick treeline something caught her eye. It was large and blacker than the night around her. It moved so quickly and yet when she stopped to get a closer look, she saw nothing but perfect stillness. She hadnt heard any leaves rustle, nor twigs breaking. Any creature that size would've made a definite sound. She began to think she was going mad and tried to dismiss it.

A shiver of discomfort mixed with pure fright ran up her spine and she looked toward the house, afraid to move at all. No crickets nor birds were chirping, no hooting owls nor a single frog croaking. It was dead silent, and nothing moved, not even the trees. It seemed the wind itself was waiting to see what would happen next. The house was roughly one hundred meters away from her. Her heart was beating dangerously fast, and her skin was covered in goosebumps. Then she saw it again, a shadow amongst shadow, moving swiftly and silently through the trees. She took off running toward the house, and to her disbelief she made it to the front door without any problems. Whatever was out there, it wasnt chasing her. Although it did seem to be watching her, or at the very least aware of her presence. As she looked back over the yard, there was nothing, only silence. Her eyebrows pulled together, and she quickly walks through the front door. 'I have definitely got a few screws loose or something..' Even though nervous was a general behavioral trait of hers, today it seemed to be out of hand. Walking into the house, there was the open kitchen to her right, and the living room to her left. On the far side of the kitchen, next to a sliding glass door, was the dining area. To her immediate left was a short hallway leading to her room and it extended out to the right which led to a bathroom and Conrad's bedroom. Standing there in the entry way in shock, she took in the cleaned house. Conrad was relaxing on the sofa watching TV. 'Did he actually clean today? I cant even imagine that...'

"How was work?" He asked her, taking in her shocked expression.

"It was fine. What are you in the mood for tonight?" She asks setting her bag down by the door and kicking off her shoes before heading into the kitchen. In the middle of the kitchen there was a door leading into a walk-in pantry. She began looking through it, as she waited for his answer. However, after a moment of silence she began to wonder if he had heard her question at all. Turning around to go ask him again she jumped in fright. He was standing in the doorway, quietly scrutinizing her. As he cocked his head to the side in contemplation, she cleared her throat nervously. The look in his eyes disturbed her to her very core.

"I want chicken parmesan, mashed potatoes and corn on the cob. Should be some in the freezer out back." He was looking deeply into her eyes as he spoke.

"Yes sir." She picked up a bag of potatoes and looked up at him confused by the intensity of his gaze. He was still standing in the way, staring at her. "I-is there something wrong, sir?"

He pouted a bit, his eyes flickering away from hers as he spoke, "Amanda, you look just like your mother. Did you know that?"

"Yes I know. Is...that a bad thing?" She asked shifting her weight to one leg.

"Of course not, sweetheart. You're beautiful...Very beautiful." His voice was low and his gaze seemed distant, as if he were looking right through her instead of at her. A short moment of silence passed before he finally moved away from the doorway and back to the couch. Making her way outside, she rolled her eyes in exasperation. On the back porch was a second fridge and a deep freezer. She grabbed the corn and chicken and went about cooking dinner and cleaning up after herself as she did. That day went by just like any other, surprisingly without any further strange behavior on Conrad's behalf.

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