T i m e l e s s {book one}

➖chapter twenty-four➖

"Sorry, I followed you outside. Figured I couldn't do much worse in school than I am now, so why not ditch?"

She glances up at the guy before offering him a small smile. "I'm pretty horrible company. My mood has been the same all week."

"Rough, eh? I feel ya. When life gives you lemons, add them to vodka," he remarks with a smirk.

"Yes, well, I've drank a lot recently, so I'm not going to be downing alcohol anytime soon," Davina replies. Probably a lie.

"Ah, I see. Well, lassie, my suggestion would be to go to the gym. Get your frustrations out on a punching bag, or a person, if you can find one willing enough to get hit."

"Maybe. I don't know, I was actually thinking of just ditching this town," she sighs. "It's filling with too many bad memories."

"Does it have something to do with whoever gave you the necklace you keep touching?" When Davina looks at him in surprise, the guy just shrugs. "I'm an observant guy."

"I can see that," she replies. "Uh, yeah. If the guy who gave me this was still around, my mood would definitely be better."

"Family or lover?" Davina narrows her eyes at him, causing the guy to raise his hands in innocence. "Don't shoot me, I'm just nosey."

"He was my boyfriend," she murmurs quietly.

"Bad breakup?"

"If you consider him dying a bad breakup, then yes. It was the worst one imaginable," Davina admits. She then chuckles humorlessly. "I can't believe I'm spilling my sorrows to a stranger."

"Better than to a bottle of alcohol," he comments, making her chuckle lightly. "Listen, any time you need someone to complain to, I'm the guy you can call."

"And who might this guy be?"

"Declan O'Connell," he answers and holds out his hand for Davina, which she shakes.

"Davina Claire. So...basically, you want to be my personal therapist?"

"If you put it that way, sure. Most people just call them friends," he grins.

"Heh, right." The two quickly exchange numbers before Davina smiles at him. "Well, it was nice to meet you, Declan. I guess I'll see you around?"

"Definitely," he responds, giving a small wave before going back in the school.

———————————————————————————————————

Davina's leaning against a locker as she watches cheerleaders stretch for the invitational. Caroline and Elena were dressed in their uniforms, which looked a bit too short for them.

"The uniform still fits," Caroline comments to Elena. "You look fantastic. We are totally going to kick Grove Hill's ass."

"Yeah, should be fun," Elena replies, not really paying attention. Davina's phone suddenly beeps from a text alert. She chuckles when the message she received was from Declan. He was at the cheerleading invitational as well.

"Wow, the competition's bigger than last year," Caroline observes as she glances around. "I'm going to go stretch. You gonna find a seat, D?"

"Uh, yeah, I'll make my way in the gym," Davina nods and starts heading there. She never will understand the point of cheerleading. Anyone can cheer, and it's just as motivational even when there aren't any cool flips. When she enters the gym, Davina sighs at the sight of all the people. She was really hoping to be antisocial, so she made her way to an empty corner of the room.