Evelyn

Chapter 1

/Evelyn's Pov/

I set my bag down in Room 308 and looked out the window and only saw a seemingly endless forest. I had a room to myself on the top floor and it was decently sized. There was a window seat and a big chair that looked like it could fit five people that was sat in front of a fireplace which was already lit, making the room feel extra cozy. I can't believe I was in the middle of nowhere Colorado and a thousand miles from home, but I always take every opportunity I'm given, so when my best friend, Ellie, offered for me to spend our last two years in high school at a boarding school in Colorado, I couldn't pass up the offer. Also, me and El had been friends since middle school and the thought of not seeing her for 2 years seemed unbearable. I laid on my bed and tried to sleep since it was already after midnight and we had classes tomorrow. 

I felt like I had barely closed my eyes before the huge bell was ringing outside, signalling we had breakfast for an hour and then classes started. I tossed and turned all night, not being able to relax in the deadly silence. Growing up in Los Angeles, I had become used to the constant sounds of traffic and out here in the middle of nowhere, I swear if you listened hard enough you could hear everybody in this school breathe. I missed my parents although they didn't seem to be too upset with me leaving. They had practically shoved me onto the plane. I still had two more years of school left and I had a feeling these were going to be the fastest two years of my life. 

I rolled over in bed, to see that the sun was rising and made the whole campus look completely different than how it had last night when we arrived. Last night, it had been raining, but now there wasn't  a single cloud in the sky. I quickly threw on some jeans and a sweater and brushed my teeth, leaving my hair down and walked to Ellie's room. I knocked on the door, since she had a roommate, and she told me to come in through the door. I walked in to see her sitting on top of her bed, painting her toenails and her roommate buried under her blankets, still sleeping. "How did you sleep last night?" she asked, as I sat on her bed. "Alright, it's really quiet out here." I said, picking at her blanket. "Yeah, a lot different from home. How did you score a room without a roommate?" she asked, fanning her toenails, as she moved on to her fingers. "I don't know, but it's nice. How's your roommate?" I asked, lowering my voice, since she was right across the room. "She's fine, we have some differences, but it's all good." she said, smiling. "Differences." I heard her roommate mumble under her blankets and I turned towards her as she lifted the covers. "Hi, I'm Lailah." "Evelyn, nice to meet you." I smiled. I noticed she had a nose piercing and a few tattoos on her arms, something I knew Ellie despised. "I'm gonna skip on breakfast, if you wanna go to the dining hall without me." El said, as she put the cap back on her polish. "I was just about to go down there." Lailah said, already dressed and standing by the door. "Here, we can walk together." she said, opening the door for me. "Actually, maybe I'll-" El started to say but Lailah stopped her. "We'll be fine, don't worry El." she said, as we walked out. I thought it was weird that they just met and she was already calling her El. 

"So you're from Los Angeles?" Lailah asked as we started walking down the stairs. "Yeah, I lived there my whole life. What about you?" I asked, as we reached the dining hall. "Oh, I've been all over the place." she said, but didn't elaborate. "Wise advice: don't eat the sausage. I'm not sure it's actually meat." she said, as we walked to counter. I grabbed a muffin and a cup of fruit, before filling my cup with water. "Wow, you are such an extravagant eater." she said, sarcastically as she piled her tray with french toast sticks, scrambled eggs, and a pile of gravy with what I'm assuming had biscuits underneath. "Yeah, I'm not a big morning person." I said, as I stood by her, hoping she'd let me sit with her. "Come sit with us." she said, as if I had another choice that wasn't eating by myself. She led me to a table with three other guys. All of them had tattoos and piercings and when I sat down, one of them looked up and my brain felt fuzzy. It was like the weirdest version of deja vu and I recognized him like I had known him from my childhood, but I don't think that I've ever seen him before. "Hey, I'm Evelyn." I said as I sat down and turned away from the guy. "I'm Chase." said the one with shoulder length black hair. "Jax." the guy with the most tattoos said, smiling at me. "And that's Samuel." Lailah said after he didn't introduce himself. He looked extremely interested in his fruit salad. Samuel. I've never known a Samuel, but at the same time, it was like there was a little crack in my brain that knew him. "So what classes do you have?" Jax asked, twirling his apple around the table. "English, History, Algebra, and Religion." I said. "What about you guys?" I asked, picking at my muffin. "Same as you, maybe we'll have some classes at the same time." Chase said, smirking at me. I slightly blushed and was thankful for the bell ringing. I tossed my barely eaten muffin away and turned to walk to the door. "Thanks for letting me sit with you guys." I smiled as I walked out with Jax and Chase on either side of me, with Samuel and Lailah slightly trailing behind. "No problem doll, see you later." Jax smirked and touched my shoulder before walking away with them. There was something about Samuel and Lailah, they seemed different and not just because of their tattoos. Honestly, all four of them seemed different and my brain was still feeling fuzzy after meeting Samuel. I didn't have time to think about it as the first bell rang. 

I quickly walked to the Algebra hall and sat towards the back of the classroom as a guy sat down beside me. "Hey, I'm Malachi, but you can call me Mal." he said, smiling at me. "Hi, I'm Evelyn, nice to meet you." I smiled back, glad to make a friend who wasn't as intimidating as Jax and Lailah. He had smooth brown hair, that was pushed back off his forehead and a green jacket that matched his eyes almost perfectly. He looked really cool and I wondered how I had been so lucky to have made 5-ish friends on the first day. We both dozed off during our teacher's lecture and when the bell rang, he waved goodbye and I walked the opposite direction towards the English section. Unlike a lot of people, I actually really liked reading and writing and I was excited for class. I walked into the classroom to see a beautiful man sitting in the corner, it was almost as if he was glowing and I felt how I did this morning when I saw Samuel, but this time it was ten million times stronger. It was as if there was a magnet between us as I felt my legs move their way towards him. "Hi, is this seat taken?" I asked, trying not to lose myself in his amazing brown eyes. He looked up at me and his eyes widened and slightly sparkled, before he mumbled a "no" and looked the other way.  The bell rang and I sat down. I listened to the teacher talk about our first unit and took notes, all while I could feel the mystery man's eyes on me. I turned to him towards the end of class and he quickly looked away. I didn't understand why he was staring at me and when we met, I saw something flicker in his eyes, like he had seen me before. There was something so familiar about him.