:._+ Eddy in Time: ._+

Chapter One

Of course, they both had tried to coax her out, but she'd stayed firm. She didn't have a lock on her bedroom door, but she didn't need one. Her parents wouldn't just barge into her room. She didn't want to see them. There was no way she could face them knowing she was a failure and a loser.

Her father was a world-renowned scientist, and she struggled to pass high school science. She had tried to take an interest in it and get better at it but nothing had worked. She had been a member of the science club at school but had quickly dropped out. Of course, she didn't dare tell her father she had dropped out. He'd been so happy when she'd joined. She led him to believe she was still going. In reality, she was just going to the movies.

Her father was a man of few words. He didn't say much and almost never yelled. She only remembered seeing him lose his temper a few times. That meant she had learned to judge his moods by his body language and facial expressions. She knew when he was disappointed in her.

Of course, she gave him every reason to be disappointed in her. He was disappointed in grades, the fact she tended to get in trouble, and that she was dating a boy he didn't like.

Sometimes she wished he would just yell at her. It couldn't be as bad as just having those large brown eyes watching her and judging her. It hurt so bad and burned her to the core.

Of course, she knew her father loved her. He always told her so, and they usually hung out a lot when she was younger. When she was younger she was a very big daddy's girl. In fact, it seemed like she and her mother were the only ones he showed much emotion with.

She remembered when she was pretty small, like around five she was convinced the boogieman was in her closet.

Winter would lie in her room listening to the sounds of the city. The noise of the traffic in the street would sometimes echo through the apartment. The light from the street would illuminate the room and make shadows dance across her room. Sometimes she'd wonder if the shadows were alive.

It was in those moments that she would hear something in her closet. She could hear growing behind the wooden door. Her father would come in and check the closet very carefully with a P.E.K meter. Seeing nothing register on the device had calmed her nerves. Each time she thought she heard the creature he would check the closet. After a while, it disappeared and she stopped hearing it.

The teenager was so lost in her thoughts she almost didn't hear the light tapping at her bedroom window. It was only when the taping got a bit louder than Winter noticed. She lifted her head and gave a little smile at the sight of her boyfriend. Oscar was standing on the fire escape outside her window smiling at her.

Winter quickly jumped up and rushed over to the window. She opened it and allowed him in.

"Are you nuts?" she asked. "My Dad will kill you if he catches you in my room."

Truth be told Oscar had sneaked in this way a few times before, and they had never gotten caught. They were always taking a risk though. Neither one of her parents slept very much or heavily. Of course, they were never up to anything in there. They did make out a bit sex wasn't on the table. Winter wasn't ready for that and wasn't sure when she would be.

"I'm on my way to a party and wanted to know if you wanted to come," Oscar said, wanting to get to the point very quickly.

"A party?" Winter asked, surprised by the invite.

Oscar knew going to parties really wasn't her thing. It was usually too loud and people were doing things she wasn't interested in. She didn't drink or do drugs, so she always had a boring time. Well, she did smoke a bit of pot from time to time if Oscar was doing it but nothing that would make her a regular user. Even he only smoked it at parties.