A Fog overtakes the sleepy town of Endor Hills as a white SUV sits in the deserted parking of Thebas High School. The SUV makes a little fog of its own, primarily from the friction coming from within. Two teens are engrossed with each other, pleasure emanating from the SUV. Neither teen is aware of the darkness about to descend upon them.

In fact, neither noticed that sinister silhouette loomed closer and closer to the car.

With a resounding smack, the teens parted lips and stared at each other. The teen boy, David Gilbert, frowned at the girl. David's dark eyes seem especially bored at the moment. The girl, Annalise, looks out of the window; a look of bewilderment is written on her face. She turned back to the boy and explained that she heard something outside the car.

"You're crazy." David says as he sighs and throws himself back in his seat, "You brought me all the way out here to tell me that something's out here. Are we going to make out or are you going to annoy me all night?"

"You're a complete ass." She says peering out of the window, "I want to go home."

David knows that the next words he says can affect the entire night. He sighs with frustration before whining, "Come on. I'm sorry."

"You know, I really don't understand why I even-"

As the girl is about to finish her sentence, a huge black bird suddenly crashes into the window of the car, causing both teens to jump.

"My window! What in the Hell is that?" David asks staring at the crack in his windshield, "Is that a bird. Don't birds sleep?"

"You're not a complete idiot." She says as she stares at the windshield, "I guess people will have to stop thinking you only think with your dick."

David sneers at her and looks around, "What in the Hell is going on?" He asks.

"And there goes the smart." She says with a sigh, "Maybe we could get you hooked-on-"

Before she could say another word, the door to the SUV is ripped off and slides across the wet concrete. David quickly hops out of the driver's side of the SUV. He looks around the parking lot of the school for the assailant. He cautiously makes his way to her and reaches down to help her. He immediately hear what sounds like footsteps but a bit softer. The steps pick up and sound like two people running at the same time. The footsteps go quiet as the sound of someone clamoring over the room of the SUV can be heard. David stands in time to see a large shadow bearing down upon him.

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Two things are always certain.

There's always a beautiful girl stuck between two unbelievably beautiful men.

Also true is that the world will never ever be how it should.

The world at large isn't as devastating and dark as people would have you believe, especially living in a small sector in Salem, specifically the small town of Endor Hills. Of course, my viewpoint is that of a sixteen year-old male. With friends and consistency. Though I find myself wavering, trying to find something real to hold onto these days.

Unfortunately, at sixteen, no one told me that things wouldn't be consistent for much longer. The only truly consistent thing in my life is my best friends.

Eva Gentry and Charlotte Foster.

Eva is a wispy enchantress with flowing dirty blonde hair and smoldering dark eyes. She could almost certainly be found jogging through her neighborhood at any time. I don't know who she is kidding, she's always been thin.

Charlotte is beautiful girl with short chestnut hair and long legs. A cheerleader at heart, though she bears no resemblance to anyone that's ever been called such a thing. She is much the same in terms of being thin and a cheerleader, but her soul is one of an artist. In all honesty, she detests cheerleaders but continues to serve the squad after her Mother and Father split up.

On that front, I could relate to her. My Father left us, my Mother and Grandmother, a little while ago. He took my older Brother with him. Despite living in town he rarely visits. He's usually out of town on business and that suits me just fine.

My name is Perry Bennett and my only real achievement in this world is my ties are to the Salem witches. But that only goes so far.

To describe myself, I couldn't even start without saying that I'm basically an average-sized guy, but in a healthy way. I was never good at working out and keeping track of working out but my metabolism usually handles all of that for me. Unlike my two friends, I happen to be African American and male. My eyes have been described as dark and somewhat mischievous. I've always liked the term 'abysses'. I'll also accept the term 'spirited'. My skin, though darker than most you'll find in Salem, is only a dark honey color.

It is with this knowledge that I start my story fully.

News travels fast in any high school, even more so here. After arriving for the first day of school at Thebas High School, Eva, Charlotte and I are greeted by the police tape and one hell of a mob. We quickly fight our way to the front of the group, only realizing afterward that we should have stayed in the back of the crowd.

The word was that David Gilbert and Annalise Carrolton were attacked in the parking lot overnight, as evidenced by the bits and pieces of Anna that were strewn about. The gruesome sight brought many questions with it but the case had been ruled an animal attack. After we were unceremoniously told to leave, we all headed inside.

"Poor Annalise." Eva said softly.

"Yeah. Who knew being a total hoebag would get her killed...this quick." I said as we made it to my locker. I opened the locker under their gaze, "Oh come on, you were totally thinking it."

"And that comment wouldn't have anything to do with David?" Eva asked leaning on the locker beside mine. I glared at her, "He's an ass. You deserve so much better."

"I agree." Charlotte nods, "He's a closet case with a horrible attitude and Annalise was a total slut."

"Char!" Eva warned.

"But-" Charlotte said quickly, "She didn't deserve to die. God rest her soul."

"You guys. I haven't seen him all summer. I think I'm good." I said slamming the locker shut unconsciously, "There was that one time at Byars, but after about an hour, I was fine again."

The girls exchanged nervous glances. After about a minute, I roll my eyes and move past them. I stop only when I see Parker Lansing standing a few feet away. Parker is a good friend of mine and also the ex-boyfriend of Eva. They broke up a short while ago and I'm not entirely sure why.

Parker has always been a jock but with a kind-hearted one...and killer abs. I'm not sure why anyone would leave him. I thought Eva was stark raving mad at first. His hair is cut in a fade and he has almond colored eyes and that mixed with the charming smile made me wonder exactly what about him was so bad. I guess I root for him. He is African American, too, albeit darker than me. But that's not really important.

I knew that if Eva saw him, she would bolt faster than Kim Kardashian when she sees a rich black man.

I turned as Eva was about to turn the corner and pushed her back, "Don't go that way." I say carefully.

"Why?" Eva asks, looking past me.

When their eyes met, I felt the awkwardness tear through the hall. It almost knocked me off my feet. Parker smiles at her and she politely smiles back, waving nervously. He quickly crosses the hall and disappears into the locker room.

"Thank God for athletics." Eva says as she exhaled.

"That's all I've been saying." I say, "Do either of you have classes with me? Please do not tell me I'm going to be braving Mrs. Winters class alone."

They both fish out their class schedules into their hands. They both read them and looked up at me with a grim expression. I take a deep breath. Mrs. Winters is quite the pill. She's literally the desk monster off of the movie 'Monsters Inc.'

"Jason said that he had Mrs. Winters this year. Thank God he's getting his life back together." Eva says with relief, "After last year, I wasn't sure if he'd end up in jail or..." She trails realizing we were there through the whole ordeal.

It's a very long story.

"Well, he's better now, right?" Charlotte asks.

"I guess. Mom and Dad are on pins and needles with him." Eva looked between us, "I'm still really worried about him."

"Well, you have us and we'll keep an eye on him." I say taking her arm in mine. Charlotte takes her other arm and we begin to walk down the hall, "This is a new year! It's Junior year! Nothing can touch us this year."

We only break apart when I had to go to my advanced placement class with Mrs. Winters. I relished the time before class. Mrs. Winters has a reputation of being a real hard-ass. I can't say I am too prepared to deal with her brand of crazy, but I could say that about myself too. But I look on the bright side. At least I'll have one person in my class that I'm not totally loathed.

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I felt so prepared actually going into Mrs. Winter's class. I gave myself a luge pep talk and it worked until I passed the threshold. That confidence was a massive mistake on my part. The fact that her class relies heavily on essays is worrying, though I had gained a reputation as one of the best writers in the school. The year is shaping up to become a disaster. The only consolation in the day is that it is almost over.

That and the good show I tended to get.

A girl named Sherry and her boyfriend have been on-and-off all summer and apparently they are half and half today. Every once and a while, I'd look over to watch them furiously passing a note, which was a very dated notion. Their friends took turns passing it back and forth. I stare at Sherry, who seems to be on the verge of tears.

Sherry isn't an altogether dumb girl. In fact, her GPA is probably higher than mine. She is just a total girl when it came to anything that isn't academic. I guess it doesn't help that her boyfriend, Kevin, is a grade-A asshole.

But I have a type myself.

The majority of the class is spent doing introductions and explaining the curriculum. After the fifth person, I all but lose interest. It isn't until I hear a name I hadn't noticed before that I actually look up from sending Eva a text.

A new student is standing before the class.

The guy is attractive beyond any person I have ever come in contact with. With striking raven hair and bright brown eyes, he seems more graceful than anyone I'd come in contact with, even when he was just standing. He wears a grey v-neck shirt with a black leather jacket with white and brown stripes down the side. He wears all of these things over dark jeans and what looks like an expensive pair of brown patent leather boots. Even with the jacket, I can see that he is lean but muscular. His hair is cut very short and styled in such a way that I could see him modeling at some point.

Apparently his name is Lucas Paschal. He moved to the Hills with his brother and parents recently. His parents had been called away after they arrived to take care of his ailing grandmother. He explains that he moved from Virginia and that he has a few more siblings that don't come around often.

I can almost literally feel the hormones surging through the room. The girls stare at him with wanton lust, a feeling I was getting acquainted with myself.

As Lucas takes his seat, he stares directly at me with a smirk. This small action causes a ripple of disaster to spike through my body. I quickly look away and face forward as Jason Gentry stands in front of the class.

Eva's little Brother hit a growth spike last year. He's further proof that Eva's family hit the jackpot in genetics. Up until last year, he was part of the school's swim team. I always told him that his bright blue eyes reminded me of a merman.

He seems quite a bit more stand-offish than he usually does. He's always been a personable guy until last year. I call it the 'Fall of Gentry'.

His best friend had been brutally attacked, not unlike Annalise. However, this victim's throat had been torn out by something else entirely. Even I can tell that while gruesome, the two don't seem related. Jason never truly got over this and had been spiraling since it happened. His last blunder had been getting caught with ecstasy and marijuana. He got community service with it being his first offense as well as couple of weeks in juvie. Eva says he's been nothing but confrontational since he came back home.

I watch as he recites what I can only describe as an "eff you" to the whole of the class.

"I guess it doesn't really matter what I say. Most of you know what happened over the summer break and you know who I am anyways because my sister's popular. Telling you the truth won't change anything. Nobody in this freaking town cares about the truth." Jason said angrily.

"Break out the tissue." Kevin, Sherry's boyfriend, laughs.

"I'm glad you took the time out of your busy schedule of shooting steroids to heckle me." Jason says with a palpable amount of attitude.

With a swift movement, Sloane is out of his seat and headed towards Jason. Before I could even think, I jump to my feet and wedge myself between them. Mrs. Winters joins me, telling Jason that he needs to go to the principal's office.

He brushes past us and grabs his bag before storming out of the room.

As he was leaving, she says, "That, students, is an example of why pride and drugs comes before a fall."

Her comment makes my blood boil. I've known this kid since he was knee high to a grasshopper. He's never been a bad person and his pain is driving him to act out. Instead of being a horrible teacher nee person, she should be trying to help.

And she's not witty. That wasn't witty.

Without thinking, I say, "And I guess even a degree doesn't make a good teacher." It was a stupid comment that gained me nothing but a distasteful look from Mrs. Winters and a small rumbling from the rest of the class.

I can't say I regret it.

"Well, Mr. Bennett, you may join him in the principal's office."

"Gladly." I say grabbing my backpack and marching out of the room but I stopped at the door, "Oh, and Mrs. Winters? You're looking a bit worn around the eyes, I do hope you got some rest over the summer." I say as I slam the door

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As I round the corner to the principal's office, I see that Jason has already arrived and is sitting on the bench outside the principal's office. The Principal's receptionist gives us a disapproving look to which I smiled defiantly at her.

My Mother will no doubt be notified but I'm not exactly shaking in my very fashionable sneakers.

I walk over and take a seat beside Jason. He gives me a quick look before looking back down at his shoes. I chuckle and sit my backpack down beside us.

"Quite a show. I mean, I don't have roses to throw at your feet..."

"I don't need a lecture." Jason says angrily. I can tell that he is trying to contain whatever anger he has. It shows through. I feel horrible for him but he doesn't need a soft shoulder right now.

"Of course you don't. Who does, right?" I ask. When I don't get a response, I nod and continue, "Eva is worried. Your parents are on edge. You are super angry, that much is apparent."

He looks as if something I say hits him but he quickly shrugs it off.

"I think I've always been fairly up front with you. I never treated you like a kid because we're close in age and not really related. So, it's in that spirit that I want to give you some advice." I say as my eyes landed on him again, "Cut the crap."

He stares at me, shock apparent on his face.

"I get it. Angry teenage guy but you're smart. The average idiot would say something to the kin of 'drugs'll do that' but people who know loss can spot it a mile away." I try to temper my own voice. If he senses anything other than a helpful and sincere tone, he'll shut down. I stare at him before finishing, "To be a little cliché, you are not alone. I'm not just Eva's friend, you know that right?"

"So, if Eva wasn't your friend, you'd be my friend? You can honestly say that?" Jason asks.

"If Eva wasn't my friend, I'd hit on you," I say with a chuckle, "No, really, you're like my little Brother. No matter how many alternate worlds we come up with, I know and love you. " I say pulling him into a hug.

The door opens and the Principal, a portly Hispanic man in a tweed suit, ushers Jason into his office. I smiled and stand, grabbing my backpack. There's no way I want to meet with him. The man gives me the complete and honest creeps. As I am about to move as far away from the office as I can, I notice that Lucas is standing at the corner, staring at me.

His eyes seem to bore right through me. I feel uneasy for several seconds before he moves towards me. I feel this overwhelming urge to run in the opposite direction, as well as an undeniable urge run to him. There is something so unnatural about him...

"Nice speech." Lucas says with a golf clap. His smirk is unnerving in more ways than one, "Too bad all that was a lie."

Anger forces the words out, "And how do you know that?" I ask.

"Call it intuition." His eyes jumped with some kind of joy, "Don't get me wrong, lying to him was a noble effort. But what happens when it comes down to it?"

"Comes down to it? Who are you again?" I ask.

He moves in close, "I think you know who I am." He says as he leans in close, "Don't worry. I'll keep this between us." He says as he turns and walks away from me.

I stand there, watching him walk away. When he's gotten a few feet away, he turns and chuckles, shaking his head. He leaves me standing in the hallway as the bell rings and students clamor into the hallway.

"Jerk."

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  I hope you guys are enjoying the story so far! If you enjoyed the story, please don't forget to vote and comment. See you in the next part.