so loudly that I was certain it was about to explode.
I remembered almost everything. The guy from my nightmare was named Gideon. I remembered him introducing himself, asking for a ride, and then chasing me in the forest—and I remembered him killing me. But I couldn’t picture his face at all. The Gideon from my nightmare was still a mystery.
“Excuse me,” the guy said, and I immediately pulled away from him and looked up.
I was shaking. “I am so…so sorry.”
“Do I know you?” he asked.
The guy in front of me looked just as inhuman as Tristan, only Tristan’s opposite. From his black jeans to his dark plaid shirt, everything about him looked unnatural.
The difference between his attractiveness and Tristan’s was that when I looked at Tristan, I felt free and happy, but when I looked at the guy in front of me, his cold eyes sent my flight instinct into overdrive. “No. No, you don’t,” I answered awkwardly and then hurried past him down the hall.
I finally slowed down, but I kept on walking, smiling and waving at the people who passed by me, until the world around me spun in circles. The faces in the hall dissolved, becoming unfocused images.
I might have kept on walking if Sarah hadn’t spotted me and pulled me back to reality. The moment she spoke, the morning bell rang.
“Where are you off to?” she asked.
“I was just…out for a walk.” I wanted to tell her about my nightmare, but I didn’t want her to make fun of me for getting spooked because of a bad dream.
“I can’t wait for tonight. The concert is going to be awesome.”
“What concert?”
Her brow furrowed. “You forgot? You bought the tickets!”
I had forgotten all about it. We’d made plans last month to go see one of the hottest bands in the country. They were coming to town to play to a sold-out crowd. I gave her an apologetic look.
“You are coming. Jake and I have a plan to sneak you out of your house.”
I smiled. “Of course I’m going, especially if you can actually sneak me out.”
When we entered the classroom, Sarah found her desk. I breathed in deeply before walking back to Tristan and sitting down. He smiled at me before he turned toward the board to pay attention to Mr. Bernard, our history and English Literature teacher, who just then clapped for silence.
“I’m going to divide you into groups for our Titanic memorabilia speech, which if you all remember, is this week.” Mr. Bernard said.
One of the students murmured, “Oh, no.”
“Speeches are due before the week is over,” Mr. Bernard finished.
“Mr. Silas, you and Miss Cells will be group one,” Mr. Bernard said, looking at Tristan and me.
“Miss Tate, you and Mr. Duran are—” Mr. Bernard was interrupted by the sound of the door as it busted open. Everyone looked toward the noise.
Standing in the doorway was the guy I bumped into. The moment I saw him, my heart dropped. I prayed he was lost and wasn’t in our class. Frankly, I didn’t understand my uneasiness upon seeing him. He gave me bad vibes, but on the other hand, he was totally hot.
“You must be Mr. Chase,” Mr. Bernard said, and the boy walked toward him.
“I am,” he answered. He looked around the classroom, and his gaze stopped on Tristan.
To my surprise, Tristan looked like he knew the boy because he gave him a half-hearted smile.
“You’re late,” Mr. Bernard said, and the boy looked at the clock on the wall.
“I was actually here before the bell rang.” His eyes moved to mine. “Miss Cells can vouch for me.” I froze at the mention of my name. I wondered how he knew my name, but then I remembered I was known pretty much everywhere—the price of being famous. “She bumped into me and ran off.”
Someone please shoot me now. A few people chuckled. Jake cast a backward glance at me and grinned.
“You’re excused this time, Mr. Chase. Find a seat. I’ll assign you to a group.”
“Mr. Chase can join Jake and me,” Danny volunteered. I wasn’t surprised.
“It’s Gideon,” the boy said. “Gideon Chase.”
“What?” I blurted out in surprise at the mention of his name, and then all eyes turned to me.
Gideon? His name was actually Gideon? Why Gideon?
“Miss Cells, are you all right?” My outburst had obviously startled Mr. Bernard. Gideon stood beside him, confused, but the moment his eyes met mine, he smiled as if he knew why I was scared.
“I—I’m sorry, I didn’t—” I looked down