This is my first story, and I hope you like it! :) R&R

-Winnifred

I woke up on the first day of school with a pit in my stomach and dark circles under my eyes. I was so nervous that I had hardly slept the night before, and the six a.m. wakeup call wasn't helping me feel any more awake. I rolled out of bed, becoming completely aware of the soreness in my muscles from head to toe. I groaned, remembering the grueling bar workout Madame had put my class through last night at dance. I was not looking forward to rehearsal later that night.

"Selah!" my mom called to me from her room, pulling me out of my tired daze.

"Yeah?" I yelled back in response. I paused a few seconds, waiting for her to answer, before yelling again, "Mom!" I heard footsteps out in the hall, and then my mom popped her head into my room.

"Just checking to see that you were awake," she said with a smile, and retreated back out into the hall. I rolled my eyes; my mom always did weird things like that out of nowhere. I grabbed a towel and headed towards my bathroom, rubbing my aching neck absently. I turned the shower on and stood in front of the mirror while I waited for the water to warm up. My auburn hair was frizzy and tangled from being slept on, my freckled skin was unusually pale, and my big brown eyes seemed droopy and tired. I sighed, wishing for some coffee.

After I finished showering and dressing, I put on a bit of makeup and dried my hair in an attempt to make myself look more awake than I was. I headed downstairs into my kitchen, where my mom was waiting with a thermos of hot coffee. She handed it to me and I took a big gulp, grateful that she had thought to make me some. It burned my mouth and the back of my throat on the way down, but I didn't care. I needed to wake up.

"You almost ready?" my mom asked as she poured herself a cup. "Your bus should be here in a few minutes."

"Yeah," I replied, looking around my kitchen. It wasn't very big, but it was comfortable and fit my mom and me nicely. There were a few dishes in the sink, and the counter could have used some disinfectant spray, but other than that it was clean. I heard a low rumbling coming from the street, and I realized that my bus was rounding the corner. I grabbed my orange backpack and put my coffee in the sink.

"Bye honey!" my mom gurgled through a mouthful of coffee.

"By mom," I smiled, shaking my head on my way out the door.

It was unusually cold for September, and the sky was cloudy and dark. I shuddered a bit against the brisk air, thinking that the dismal weather perfectly represented my mood when it came to going back to school. I boarded my bus, and was immediately hit with the familiar stench of cigarettes and body odor. I was one of the last stops, and I was always welcomed with a combination of odd scents.

"Morning," I said to the bus driver in an attempt to be cheerful.

"Mmph," he grunted in return. I sighed and plopped down in a seat. Riding the bus was definitely not the highlight of my days in school. The driver closed the doors and the bus jolted forward in the direction of my school. We were only a few blocks away when the bus slowed to a stop. I looked up, curious as to why we weren't moving. This wasn't a usual stop on the bus route.

The doors opened and a tall boy entered the bus. Almost everyone stopped what they were doing to stare at him. He had sharp blue eyes, and black hair that curled at the tips. He was wearing black boots, and a shirt to match that made him seem even more intimidating than he already was. And boy, was he intimidating. He glanced around the bus, as if deciding where to sit, when his gaze rested on me. With a glint in his eye, he strolled over to my seat and sat down right next to me, without saying a word. He stared straight ahead, and wore an expression that was somehow serious yet amused at the same time. His long eyelashes cast shadows on his cheekbones, and he was biting the inside of his cheek. He turned his head to raise his eyebrows at me, and I realized that I had been staring at him. What a great way to make a first impression. I looked away quickly, and I somehow knew that he was smirking at the back of my head.

The bus came to a stop in front of the school, and he was the first one off the bus. I swung my book bag onto my back and hurried out. There were groups of people gathered here and there outside, and I glanced around until I spotted some of my friends. I headed over to them, eager to see what their schedules looked like.

"Hey!" I said excitedly, making my way into the circle they were crowded in.

"Oh, hey Selah," my friend, Jemma, replied. She was decked out in high wasted shorts and a chiffon blouse. Jemma had always had the best style out of my group of friends.

"Let me see your schedule," one of my other friends, Faye, said to me. I rummaged around in my backpack before pulling it out and handing it to her. Her hair was curled and she looked fantastic. I was suddenly feeling self-conscious about my Dr. Martins and plain shirt.

"I have bio and civics with you," Faye said, hanging my schedule to Jemma, "plus lunch."

"And we have geometry and civics together," Jemma began, handing my schedule back to me. " Plus lunch." She added, smiling at Faye.

"Awesome," I replied to both of them as the bell rang, "I'll see you then!" I headed off in the direction of my homeroom, secretly wondering if I had any classes with the boy from the bus.

After homeroom, I organized my books in my locker, not really caring if I was late to first period. Finally satisfied with the way it looked, I grabbed the books I needed and shoved them into my backpack before slamming my locker shut. When I did, someone tapped my shoulder. I turned to my right, expecting to see someone there, but there was no one. Confused, I looked around, until I heard laughter behind me.

"Gotcha!" My best friend, Ryan laughed. We had been friends since preschool, and tapping my shoulder then ducking behind me had always been one of his favorite tricks to play on me. Somehow, I always fell for it.

"Come on," he said, still smiling, "You're going to be late for first period."

"What class do you have?" I asked him, wondering what his schedule was like.

"Geometry, same as you." He replied. I shrugged and we headed down the hallway together.

The day went by in a blur, and there was no sign of the boy from the bus, not even at lunch. I found that odd only because I went to such a small school, but most likely I just didn't notice him when I passed him in the hallway. Most likely. After the ninth period bell rang, I rushed out to my bus. I had dance at four, and I wanted to get home quickly to get a head start on my homework.

I sat in my usual seat on the bus and watched for the black-haired boy I had seen earlier. Two minutes passed, then five. He didn't get on the bus. Finally, the driver started it up and pulled out of the school parking lot. I leaned back against my seat and half closed my eyes. Probably the boy had realized what a dump the bus was and decided to walk home. That's what I would do if I lived close enough, no question.

I got off the bus at my stop, my mind on homework. I was trying to figure out how much time I had to start it before I had to leave for ballet. According to my calculations, I didn't have much. I started up my driveway, so concentrated on the bio assignment I had to do that I barely noticed the person standing on my porch. I stopped dead in my tracks as I realized who I was looking at. It was the black- haired boy from the bus.

After a quick internal debate, I decided to confront him instead of running away. It probably wasn't the smartest choice, but I was curious.

"Can I… uh, help you?" I asked him as I walked up my porch steps. He turned, as if he was just now realizing that I was there, and smiled.

"What's your name?" he asked me in the most nonchalant tone of voice. I must have looked taken aback, because then he said, "I'm Uriah." I studied him for a second, before replying,

"Selah."

"Interesting name," he mused. I raised my eyebrows, but said nothing. "Come here." He commanded gently, as if he was luring a cat.

"What?" I exclaimed, extremely curious as to why this stranger was summoning me on my own front porch.

"I said, come here." His voice was calm and almost soothing. Giving in to his charm for reasons I could not explain, I walked over to where he stood. He pulled a black pen out of his pocket and took my arm. Slowly and carefully, he drew a strange design on my wrist. At first the touch of the pen stung, and then it began to burn. I wanted to cry out, but somehow I remained silent. After he finished drawing, he kept hold of my wrist and didn't move for a moment. I looked up at him, and his beautiful blue eyes were the last thing I saw before I blacked out.