Forever Dark: Book 1 of the Forever Dark Series

Chapter 2 - Faith

My last class was tenth-grade English with Mr. Heap. Most kids called him “Mr. Creep,” but I never did. It was hard to be mean to a guy who gave me straight A's. He always told me how much he enjoyed my creative writing assignments, even if they were “a little dark.”

Mr. Heap was pudgy, in his late fifties, with one of those annoying haircuts that was bald on top and long on the sides, as if that could make up for what was missing. His thick, round glasses gave him an owlish look.

“All right, people!” he said. “I've got an announcement: Due to the problems this class has been having with staying focused, I've been forced to reevaluate the seating arrangement. Starting today, everyone will be seated in alphabetical order.”

The class groaned.

The Swenson sisters rolled their eyes and sighed louder than most. Kim and Vicki were identical twins. Rich, thin, and impossibly gorgeous, they were the leaders of the Blonde Squad. It wasn't the biggest group in school, but it was the most exclusive. Only the prettiest, blondest girls were allowed to join, even though half of them got their color out of a bottle.

Naomi and I so wanted to be members. A few months ago, I'd invited Kim and Vicki to my Sweet Sixteen. The result had been an epic fail when Kim said, “OMG! Sorry, Cindy, but there's no way. We're having our own party.”

“And it's so not a birthday party,” Vicki added. “How does anyone even get born on Halloween, anyway? Kuh-reepy!”

No one else showed up either, except Naomi. It was beyond humiliating. I ate half my cake and cried all weekend, vowing next year would be different.

Mr. Heap called my last name—Trent—and it turned out that my new desk was Kim's old one in the back of the room. I took it, thinking the change wouldn't be so bad. The only problem was the twins were now sitting up front, giving me the evil eye as if I'd stolen Kim's seat on purpose.

Mr. Heap finished calling names. “Vance, Varney, and last, but not least, Weldon.”

Oh my God, I was going to have to sit next to Faith Weldon.

My ex-BFF was Gothed-out as usual with midnight blue contacts, black eyeliner, and blue eyeshadow. Her hair was an unnatural shade of black with cobalt blue streaks that framed her heart-shaped face. Faith's skin was naturally pale, but she'd made it even whiter with makeup. Dark red lipstick completed her sexy vampire look. When she sat down, her huge boobs practically fell out of her vintage black dress. It was about as low-cut as you could get without being sent home.

I kept my eyes on Mr. Heap to avoid looking in Faith's direction. But I smelled her cheap hairspray and incense, and it was enough to set off another panic attack. I'd been having them ever since my birthday, but hadn't told anyone. Not Naomi, not my parents. They'd overreact and think something worse was going on.

The attacks didn't always make sense. Like now—a look, a sound, even a smell could send me into one, leave me scrambling to make a connection. The feelings ranged from vague unease to full-blown terror, raw fear screaming down every nerve. I'd sometimes be scared so bad I'd shiver, the little blonde hairs on my arms rising to some nameless threat. Like someone—some thing—was watching me.

I tried to focus on Scott, but there was no stopping the attack. I shut my eyes, white-knuckling my desk. Pain flooded in, shattered memories of a million years ago in seventh grade when Faith and I had promised we were gonna be Best Friends Forever. Only “forever” lasted six months.

Faith's dad had run off with a twenty-year-old stripper and she'd started doing the whole Goth thing to compensate. I was having a bad year myself, and Faith was willing to be my friend when I didn't have any. But she didn't talk me into being Goth, I was already dark. I just needed the confidence to dress how I felt.