After her fourth class of the day, Sora realized that she was going to have to do some serious studying when she got home, since she was unable to pay attention to anything her professors said. She tried once again to focus, but her eyes drifted over to the window as her mind replayed the morning's conversation. It didn't help that Drake was sitting in front of her, either.

After Mo and Katie told her what the article was about, she refused to help. She assured both of them that she had no idea who the perpetrators were, and she didn't feel the least bit guilty in doing so. Katie seemed ready to believe her as she always did, but Mo was not.

His eyes darted over her face suspiciously. It was as if he was suspecting a different answer. His eyes bore into hers, more serious than usual. Suddenly in one swift move, he closed the space between them and drew his lips up to her ear, whispering a fervent message to her.

I will find out who it was, you can be sure of that , she heard his words in her mind for the millionth time. She shook her head, hoping to rid it of the memory. Mo was the one guy she didn't care to go up against, he was also the one person she would never have on her side. At least not completely.

A few memories of them playing together as they grew up filtered in. She remembered they had once laughed under sunny blue skies. Quickly, she closed her eyes to make them disappear, and a familiar bitter taste immediately crept across the tip of her tongue.

When the bell rang signaling the lunch break, Sora was startled. She had spent the last few hours sitting at her desk doing nothing but thinking, she hadn't even moved at all. She was surprised she hadn't forgotten to breathe all together, while the time had gone by abnormally fast. She bent to shove all of her books in her bag, and when she raised her head, all she saw was black.

She was staring right into Drake's eyes. He had turned in his chair and slumped his elbows across her desk. A massive and sudden feeling of fear washed over her. She jumped off her chair and took a step back, dropping all of her books on the ground.

"Is everything okay?" a voice called out.

Sora turned and saw Alicia standing by the door. She was the only other lingering classmate, aside from Sora and Drake. Sora was never more grateful to see her than at that moment. "Wait up," she said as she grabbed her lunch money and flew to the door.

Drake didn't even move when she passed beside him, but when her hand accidentally brushed his bare arm she felt another electric jolt. She jumped in alarm, freezing at her spot and stared at him.

He was now on his feet with his hand stretched out to grab her, his eyes disturbingly cold. Before he could touch her again, she slapped his raised hand, feeling another brief jolt.

"Leave me alone," she screamed. She was as surprised by her reaction as Drake seemed to be. She felt her cheeks flaming to red and decided it was the perfect time to start running the other way.

Walking down the hall, she couldn't help but wonder what was wrong with him, he was getting creepier by the minute, and the fact that he was now living right next door didn't help matters, either. Something deep inside screamed to her that she must stay away from him. It manifested in that irrational fear she felt every time she gazed into his eyes. But on the other hand, she wanted to know if he was the one. Not the one in the romantic sense like Katie thought, but the one who pulled her from the fire.

When she and Alicia finally reached the cafeteria, Sora immediately spotted Katie at the beginning of a long line. She grabbed Alicia by the hand and jostled past half the school to stand next to Katie. The majority of students didn't even notice her, but the ones who did, weren't so happy about it. She accepted the insults with a smile, it felt more normal than anything else lately.

Katie ignored the angry whispers and pointed stares as she turned to greet Sora. "Where were you?" she asked, and then her eyes dropped to Alicia. Sora could see that she wasn't too thrilled to have a new member join their lunch group, but Sora felt she owed Alicia a favor for saving her from Drake.

Alicia looked nervous behind her big glasses and started shifting her feet. Sora put two firm hands on her shoulders, and she stopped. "It would have been longer if Alicia hadn't come to pick me up," she said and smiled.

Katie's eyes narrowed as she mulled it all over, but then she shrugged and flipped her hair with one hand like everything was cool. Sora knew she would get the 'don't trust that girl' lecture later.

They paid for their food and settled into a back table by an open window. Sora stared outside, noting the sun was now shining brightly and she could now make out her town at the bottom of the hill. When her attention finally drifted back to her lunch, she noticed that Katie was distracted by another table.

"I wonder which class he is in?" she said, and Sora followed her gaze.

She felt a knot in her stomach the moment she realized who Katie was referring to. "Ours," she thought it was Alicia who spoke, but in fact she was the one who had answered.

Katie turned and looked at her with interest and a small smile was on her lips. "He looks," she paused to think as she stabbed her fork at her salad, "yummy."

Sora hoped that she was talking about the salad, but she wasn't that naïve.

"His name is Drake Harrison, he just moved here from the Highlands." This time it really was Alicia who spoke. Katie took in what she said, and surprised Sora by actually striking up a conversation with Alicia.

After a dreadful lunch break with Drake as the main topic of conversation, the rest of Sora's day was considerably easier. No more 'I know what you did last summer' moments with Mo or scary looks from Drake. She was glad to finally leave all the madness behind and just go for a run around the school's track. The rhythmic pounding of her feet on the gravel, helped soothe her mind. She stopped once her lungs were about to burst. Surprisingly, the run cleared her head and all of her troubles vanished, that is until she saw the charred forest on the way home.

***

When she returned home, Kiba was anxiously awaiting his walk. Even though she was tired, Sora was eager to walk with her dog because once she stopped moving, dark thoughts haunted her. They were almost back home when Kiba paused to sniff out something. Sora leaned her back against a tree, happy to rest her tired legs. Her heart was racing, but she soon realized that it wasn't from her exertions. Her pulse quickened as she felt the all too familiar weight settle in her chest. The same burden that had plagued her the last couple of days. She turned to see Drake strolling to the dumpster with a stack of boxes.

Her first instinct was to run, but then she realized Drake hadn't spotted her. Sora quickly ducked behind the tree she was leaning on, and carefully watched him from the shadows. Drake tossed his trash and strode with confidence to his front door without turning around. Once he was gone, Sora let out the breath she had been holding. This is stalking, she thought, and frowned. She wasn't a weak coward forced to hide, she was strong, and she would stand her ground. She made up her mind to go talk to him, but before she could move out into the open, a woman came out Drake's front door.

She had long, warm brown hair that fell into soft curls that hugged her body. Her eyes were the same beautiful color and were watching Drake intently. Sora paused, mesmerized by her beauty. She looked like she had just stepped out of a painting. Sora realized that she kind of looked like Drake. She could only stare as she watched her fluid movements. The mysterious woman had a swiftness about her, and she moved with such grace, unlike anything Sora had seen before.

Then Sora heard her voice. "You can take a break now. Your father will get the rest of them." Her voice floated to Sora's ears like a soft breeze on a perfect spring day. It was bliss. Her soft tones filled Sora with peace, and she finally felt calm.

The woman, who Sora assumed was Drake's mother, reached her hand out and clasped Drake's. She smiled at his touch, and Sora felt her own lips smiling, too. As they turned to enter the house, Sora managed to hear their last words. "Soon, my son, you will find him soon," the woman said to him.

Sora felt the hairs on her arms prickle, and she braced herself.

***

That night, Sora was restless, fighting with her covers, desperately trying to fall asleep. She was afraid that if she closed her eyes her dreams would be worse than ever.

After spending a few hours torturing herself, she decided it was time for a late night snack. She sneaked downstairs and grabbed a carton of milk and a few biscuits to tame her nerves.

Sora was munching calmly, feeling somewhat better, when the sound of Kiba rousing outside, brought her to her feet. She raced outside to check on him. Once there, she found Kiba wide awake and alert. "Why are you up so late, buddy?" she asked as she stroked his ears. Then she heard what had put Kiba on alert, it was the sound of a door.

She rose to her feet and walked towards the sound. It was too late for anyone to be awake, well, anyone beside her and Kiba. She was afraid that it was a burglar or something even worse. She refused to even consider the scarier options. "Damn you Katie and your creepy shows," she muttered as she crept around her home to the street. When she reached the end of her front yard, Sora realized the noise was coming from next door.

It's Drake, she immediately thought and wished she had brought Kiba with her. Even though it was pitch dark, she could just make out Drake's face with the help of the light glowing next to his front door.

He was leaving his house. Sora watched him until he was out of her sight, making sure he didn't notice her lurking in the darkness. After a few anxious moments, Sora cautiously slipped back up to her room. She flopped down on her bed, not bothering to pile on her covers. Surprisingly, she drifted immediately off into a dreamless sleep. Right before she fell asleep, she murmured quietly, "Things are getting weird."