Lone Dancer - Mistwater Chronicles #3

Chapter One

I often feel like the odd one out - I'm a mix of my parents, but if you didn't know that we were all a family you would assume that Landon and I were my father's kids and Cassandra and Evan were our mother's.

My phone buzzes in my hand then, several sharp vibrations that snap me out of my reverie. I unlock it, seeing Eve texting me several times.

Eve Winters, 11:42 AM

Get over here now!!!

Eve Winters, 11:43 AM

Seriously, it's important!!

Eve Winters, 11:43 AM

Besides, Adam is here, and if he can make it you sure as hell can!!

Me, 11:44 AM

Will you PLEASE calm down? I'll ask my dad and see what he says. No promises, you annoying little child!

"Hey Dad?" I say, moving closer to him. He turns to face me, eyebrows raised. "Uh...Eve said she's having a crisis? Is it okay if I go over there?"

"Sure. Just make sure your mother doesn't see you," he replies, winking at me. I smile back and edge my way around my family, taking great care to close the door as softly as possible so my mom doesn't freak out.

Walking out my house, I take a right and head toward my best friend's house. She only lives a block and a half down the street from me, so it takes me only a few minutes to get to Eve's pale green home.

Alessandra, her fifteen-year-old sister, unlocks the door when I knock and informs me that Eve is in her room. Nodding to her, I brush by her and the twins on the way to Eve's room. James and Caitlyn, only twelve, are in the middle of a screaming match over the remote to the television, and as I walk into Eve's room, I hear Allie already trying to handle it as usual.

"Hey Viv," Eve greets me blandly, her attention focused on the Gossip Girl marathon that's on her TV. "Are they at it over the remote again?"

"You know it," I reply, amused.

Evelyn Winters has been my best friend for as long as I could remember. Currently, her long black curls are pulled up into a giant bun on top of her head. Brown skin stands out against her sky blue comforter, long legs dangling off the edge of the bed. Perhaps my favorite thing about her besides her lack of filter is the shape of her eyes, cat-like and revealing depths of chocolate brown beneath. She's also tall for a girl, reaching a 5'9 that towers over my 5'5.

Eve's super into orchestra, and she's been receiving violin, and cello lessons ever since she was a little girl. Adam - our other best friend - and I wouldn't be surprised if she got into Julliard, she's so good at it. Her beloved cello is propped against the wall, and I spy her violin case right underneath it. She must have been practicing earlier as usual; it's one of her favorite things to do.

And sitting sprawled on Eve's dark blue beanbag chair is, of course, Adam Hart. Adam and Eve - ha, yes, we've all made the countless jokes about their names already - had been friends for forever, mostly due to the pair living directly across the street from each other. The three of us officially became friends in first grade, when we were placed at the same table and got to talking about things.

Adam is a really good lacrosse player, something my mom loves to discuss whenever he's over. Everybody likes Adam, because he's funny and is an all-around good guy, something I got to experience for a year and a half when he was my boyfriend. Somehow, it didn't get awkward when we called it quits, mostly because he'd been my friend since before I could write properly, and why on Earth would you want to throw that away?