More than Anything

Brielle

    I take a quick shower, and then start getting ready for the day. Everly is still asleep, so I have the bathroom to myself. I pull my hair into a loose braid, and get into my uniform. I hate the fact that we have to wear uniforms, but I can't change the rules.
    I look in the mirror and sigh. I look like a mess, a vampire even. I have deep circles under my eyes, and strands of hair are already falling out of the braid. At least people won't look at me as much. If I'm not attention-grabbing, people won't notice me as much. Perfect.
    I step out of the bathroom and almost jump when I see Everly standing outside of the door, hands on her hips. She's giving me one of her 'death glares' and it's quite annoying. I want to comment on how awful she looks, but her pitch black hair isn't messy at all (How is that possible? That's totally unfair). She doesn't look nearly as bad as I do. I might as well say it: She doesn't look bad at all. It pains me to think so.
Everly smirks and pushes past me, her hair bouncing as she walks. I sigh, deciding not to start a fight so early in the day. Soon enough, we'll be at each other's throats. That's how it always goes. We're always fighting, and we never take a break. I'm going to give myself this one morning. Then, we'll fight.
    I walk through the double doors to the dining hall and keep my head low as I walk between the tables. The noises of the dining hall fill my ears, and I fight the urge to cover them with my hands. My heart races as I pass the students sitting at the tables. I can feel their gaze (it's like a sixth sense). Everyone's eyes roll over me, searching for flaws. There's so many; people just haven't found them yet. I'm being picked apart, piece by piece as people search for something about me to hate. That's just how it goes, and there's no escaping it. In a way, it's my destiny.
    Once I grab my food, I join Millie at a table, far away from the other students. She grunts a hello as she shovels food into her mouth. She must've woken up late, as well.
"Hey, Millie," I say, as I bring a spoonful of cereal to my mouth. She doesn't say anything, so I just continue eating my food. Clearly, this morning isn't the best time for conversation.
The other students are all laughing, and talking amongst themselves. I catch a few guys sneaking glances at me, and wish that I could just disappear. Then I wouldn't have to deal with all of the attention.
The double doors creak as they swing open, revealing Everly Johnson. Her black hair reaches her shoulders, and somehow looks even better than it did this morning. How does she do it? How does she always best me?
    I guess because she actually puts effort into her appearance. I practically roll out of bed and go around looking the way I woke up. I don't need people's eyes on me, but Everly must love the attention. Why else would she do theater? It's all for the attention and applause, I assume.
    I would never get up on the stage. I've never even tried singing before, but I doubt I'm any good. Everly, on the other hand has the 'voice of an angel.' That's what everyone says. I've never heard her sing, and I never want to. It's just another way she's better than me. She might as well be the next Simon Snow. I'd gladly give up the title, but it'll stay with me until I leave this terrible school.
    "Brie," Millie says urgently, tapping my shoulder.
    I turn my attention to her, letting all thoughts of Everly slip from my mind. "What is it?"
    She sighs, rolling her eyes. "We're going to be late for class!"
    I stand, quickly grabbing my bag that holds all of my supplies. Most of the students are already gone. How did I not notice? Millie and I run to our first class of the day: Greek.
    Greek is one of my favorite classes, I think. Now that I know so many words in the language, I can babble on and on, and no one will know what I'm saying. Unless they went to Watford. But I'll be out of here soon enough, and I can speak Greek in front of whatever Normals I meet at Uni. They'll be impressed, I believe.
    Most people hate Greek because of how difficult it is to learn. I do a lot of studying during my free time, so I've become very good at each of my subjects. Especially Greek and Magic Words, since I find them the most interesting. People think that Greek is pointless, but I don't think it is. It can help with my spells and make me more powerful because of that. You can't be a powerful mage unless you learn how to use words to form spells correctly, even if you're supposedly the most powerful mage. Simon Snow had more power than any known mage, but he couldn't use it correctly. Therefore, was he actually powerful?
Everly is in most of my classes. We sit as far away from each other as possible, but she can't keep her eyes off of me and I can't keep my eyes off of her. We constantly throw each other glares from across the room, trying to make the 'looks can kill' saying real. If looks could kill, I'd certainly be dead by now. And so would she.
"Did you wake up on the wrong side of the bed this morning?" Everly's cool voice cuts through everyone else's in the hall. I should just ignore her and head back to our room, but I'm in the mood for a fight, I think.
I stop, and turn to face her. I try to think up some snarky remark or something, but I've run out of ideas. I just sit there.
"Stop gawking," she says. "And close your mouth."
I shut my mouth that I didn't even know was hanging open, and glare at her. It's all I can do, really. I can't think of anything else.
"Aren't you going to say something?" she asks, seeming almost hurt that I haven't responded to anything she's said. I wish I could kill her, here and now. It wouldn't really solve anything, but it would at least feel good for a moment.
"Don't waste my time, Taylor."
I roll my eyes. "Oh, please! If you had something better to do, you wouldn't be here."
"I have a date with Asher," she says, and my heart sinks.
She knows just what to say to make my blood boil. I could punch her. I could punch her perfect nose, make her a little less perfect. The hallway isn't the best place to do it, though. Once we reach the courtyard, no one can stop me. At least, not until I've already broken her nose.
She smirks. "I just stood him up."
It takes everything in me not to punch her. It's taking everything just to control the magic that is boiling over. I never lose control of my magic. I don't really know what that feels like, but now I do. It's cold, and terrifying. I shiver, unable to stop myself.
Everly laughs, and hits me with her shoulder. We're in the courtyard now. There are students everywhere, but none of them are watching, thankfully. I fight to control myself, but I feel like I'm going to burst. I don't know what's going on, exactly. I've always taught myself to not let my emotions get to me.
Everly shoulders me again (I hate that I didn't expect it) and I fall to the ground. She just laughs, and I want to kill her. I'm not sure wouldn't if I weren't trying so hard to keep from exploding.
"What's wrong, Snow?"
I hate it when she calls me that. She's just doing it to get under my skin. And it's working. I don't want to be the next Simon Snow. I won't be, but Everly won't stop calling me that. I wouldn't be surprised if she walked up to me one day and called me 'Simon.' She's already started calling me 'Snow.'
"Everly, stop," I say, trying to warn her. I move away from her on the ground, not bothering to stand. There's no point, is there? I need to focus on not losing control.
"Get up." She closes the distance between us, and my heart begins to race. I immediately back away (I probably look really pathetic right now).
I look up into her dark blue eyes, wishing that she would just stop. She doesn't. She just watches me expectantly, a smirk on her face.
Another wave of magic rises to the surface. I'm not sure that I'm not glowing. I look down at my arm, and see that a bluish glow is surrounding the skin on my arm. Not good.
Everly's eyes widen. She's afraid. Why is she afraid? She wanted this. She wanted to get under my skin, and here we are. I'm about to explode, and she gets to watch.
"Brielle," she says, gently.
I can't hold back the gasp that escapes me. She never speaks to me like this, with her 'kind voice.' It's quite nice, really. It's soft and comforting. Beautiful, even. I didn't know she had it in her to sound like this. Her voice is always cold and unwelcoming. Now, I feel as if she isn't my mortal enemy.
This must be some trick. She's just trying to throw me off. That's all. She wants to confuse me with her 'kind voice.' I'm not sure why, exactly. But it must be so that she can make things worse for me. All she wants is to ruin my life. Since the beginning of our time at Watford, she's wanted to make me suffer. That will never end.
  "It's scary to have no control over something, and having to watch from the sidelines. But, you do have control over this. It might not feel like it, but you do."
She kneels down next to me, and puts her hands on my shoulders. I look into her eyes and see the worry hidden behind them. The usual hatred is gone, no where to be found. It's amazing how quickly that changed.
"Just breathe." She breathes deeply, providing an example of what I should do. I follow what she does, and take a deep breath. My heart is still racing, but I'm beginning to gain control over my magic again, I think.
Everly smiles. "You're doing great."
Why is she helping me? Doesn't she want me to lose control? It would only make everything worse for me, and that's what she wants. She wants me to suffer. So, why help me?
After a few moments, I no longer feel like I'm going to explode. I have control over my magic again. I don't understand how I let my emotions get to me like that. I thought I learned how to feel emotions without them affecting my magic. I had to learn it. My magic is like Simon Snow's was, and if I don't learn to control my emotions, I'll be just like him. I can't allow that to happen. I am not Simon Snow. I'm Brielle Taylor.
Everly notices that I'm alright now, and any signs of her caring about me vanish. "I recommend not doing that again," she sneers.
I'll never understand her, I realize. I don't even know why she started hating me in the first place. It kind of just happened, and it's never going to change. We'll always be at each other's throats. Maybe not killing each other, but still fighting. It's part of my life, part of my routine. It's something I can count on every day, something that will never change as the rest of the world changes around me. At least I can rely on Everly to always hate me.