**This is the first scene I wrote in Chase's POV. I'll do more eventually, and they'll be based on what most people wanted to see from his POV. I have no idea how many I'll end up doing; it'll depend on the interest I get in the chapters I think. Hope you like this glimpse inside his head! It isn't edited, so forgive me if I screwed up somewhere.**

I sat in my corner of the classroom, watching as students trickled in. My attention was caught by a girl who was on crutches, since I hadn’t seen her before. She had long dark brown hair, but I couldn’t see her eyes as she went to the seat in the other back corner of the room. She sat down and leaned back, closing her eyes and shoving her hands into the pocket of the hoodie that was too big for her.

            I was curious in spite of myself. Who was this girl? Where had she been for the first and a half of classes? Why was she on crutches? She didn’t have a cast on either leg, so I knew she didn’t have a broken bone. I turned my attention away from her as more people came in, but I kept her in my periphery vision. I saw as a girl that obviously knew her sat beside her, but they didn’t speak. And I saw when she recognized a guy at the front of the room. A slightly haunted expression flickered over her face before she turned away from him. I felt her eyes land on me, but I didn’t turn to look at her.

            The teacher came in and the class came to attention. I’d quickly decided that Mr. Ross wasn’t a total douche, and I liked him as much as I ever liked any teacher. My opinion was solidified when he didn’t say anything more than “Welcome back”, to the new girl. Obviously, she wasn’t actually new. My curiosity intensified, and for once I wished I actually talked to someone at the school so I could learn about her.

            Mr. Ross told us to work on our projects, and then he surprised me by pairing me with the new girl, whose name I learned was Dana. I got out of my chair and moved over to her, sitting in the seat her friend had vacated. I looked over and met her eyes for the first time. They were hazel and would have been very pretty if it wasn’t for the blank expression in them. But as I watched, they changed slightly and I saw intense pain enter them followed quickly by recognition. I knew it was because she saw the same thing in me, and something inside me loosened at the thought. Here was someone who had suffered as well, maybe more than I had.

            Without a word, I took some papers out of my bag and handed them to her. She took them and started reading them while I sat back and did pretty much nothing for the rest of the class. When the bell rang, she handed the papers back to me and struggled to her feet. I had to stop myself from reaching out and helping her, which shocked me. Touching of any sort was abhorrent to me, so me wanting to help her was definitely unusual.

            I waited until she was safely out of the way before I stood up and slung my bag over my shoulder. She left the classroom and stopped by her friend who was waiting just outside the door. I saw the guy she had recognized earlier go up behind her and place a hand on her shoulder. Part of me wanted to go and rip his hand off of her, but before I could move, she had shrugged the hand off and started moving away.

            “Dana, wait. Please talk to me,” the guy pleaded.

            She shook her head. “I can’t,” she whispered, and then left as quickly as she could.

            I saw the guy start to go after her, but Dana’s friend stopped him with a hand on his arm. “Adam, don’t. She needs more time before she talks to you.”

            “It’s been six months, Cindy. I don’t understand why she won’t talk to me.”

            “I know she has her reasons, though I don’t know what they are. But if you push her, she’ll only pull away more.”

            “I never should have let her convince me to stop visiting her at the hospital,” Adam said dejectedly.

            “It wouldn’t have mattered,” Cindy replied. “She hasn’t changed since she got out.”

            I walked by them then, so I didn’t hear anything else. I went to my next class, but I barely paid attention as I thought about what could have happened to Dana. I knew it was something serious and that she’d been in the hospital for a little while at least, but I didn’t know anything else.

            The rest of the day passed without incident, and I was pleasantly surprised to find that Dana was in my last class as well. I sat next to her and she looked up when I set my binder on the desk. When I didn’t say anything, she shrugged and we spent the class silently once again.

            This time when the bell rang, I grabbed her bag before she could. I waited until she got to her feet and had her crutches in order, and then I handed the bag to her and walked away, a little embarrassed that I’d given in to my desire to help her.

            I got into my car and drove home, arriving before either Bev or Carson were home. I went directly to my room and worked on my homework until Bev called me out for dinner. She asked how my day was and wasn’t bothered when my only answer was to shrug. Carson got home just as she was setting dinner on the table, and we ate together in relative peace.

            I did the dishes after dinner like I always did, then went to change into my jogging pants and hoodie. I tugged my shoes on at the front door and walked out. I started at a steady jog, but once I reached the park, I increased my speed. Trees flew by in a blur as my feet pounded into the ground. My breathing sped up and I revelled in the feel of my body responding when I poured on the speed.

            I reached the other side of the park and slowed to a jog once again, heading back home. I walked back into the house and right to the shower, where I rinsed all the sweat off of me. I changed into a pair of pyjama bottoms and a fresh t-shirt, pulling it on quickly so I could avoid looking at the scars that covered the left side of my chest. I wandered out to the living room, where Bev was sitting and reading a book. I knew Carson was downstairs, but I didn’t feel like watching TV with him right now. Instead, I grabbed a book for myself and sat on the chair opposite of where Bev was sitting. She offered me a brief smile before returning to her book.

            When I grew tired, I stood up and put my book back. I hesitated in the doorway for a moment. “Good night,” I mumbled.

            Bev glanced up and smiled once more. “Good night Chase. See you in the morning.”

            I nodded and went to my room. I climbed into bed and as I drifted off to sleep, an image of Dana floated into my mind. I decided that maybe having one friend wouldn’t be so horrible, and I fell asleep with that thought running through my mind.