It had been two weeks since the incident. Fears have tried to make it's way in her life again. Trying to remind her the reason she slept with the lights on was because she was scared of the dark. The whole situation made Winter uneasy, but she was sure she wasn't crazy.

Maybe it wasn't the darkness she was so afraid of, maybe it was what could be found inside of it. The eyes glued behind her back. Knowing there was someone or something there but she couldn't grasp it with her human eyes.

She remembered the worry in her moms eyes when she finally got back home that night. Sadness dancing around in circles and making themselves known. Winter knew mother was never the type to let her walls down. She knew mother was never the type to express her feelings. Mother was more of the type to suppress it. When she felt her moms arms around her it made her think about the past. Winter didn't get kisses or hear her mom say 'I love you' to her, and hugs wasn't her thing. So when Winter saw the guilt in her eyes she understood. Her sweet mother knew what went down.

Winter thought that the absence of her stepfather would make her more happy. She thought that life was supposed to be more exciting. No liquor spilled on the floor anymore. No more bad smells everywhere in the house and no more cleaning every 5 minutes. Winter really thought it was going to be okay at that point, yet it wasn't.

Had her fears not been in the way she would have made progress. Every step she would go forward could be counted, but now everything is just going behind. The sleepless nights were increasing and the pile of work too. Maybe that was her own fault. If she hadn't been so lazy and did what she was supposed to do, than maybe there wouldn't have been so much work left to do. So she was the one to blame - but when was she not?

The rainy weather made Winter look around her. Raindrops dripping down the trees, the blue sky being replaced with a grey one. The weather matched her mood today she thought. Winter blocked out the sound around her and tried to focus on her homework, but she failed. Next time she should go to a library where she can actually get work done, and not a cafe where half of her town went.

The world that usually was loud lower it's volume. Winter didn't want to admit it too herself. Because one being in denial was her thing, and second she like to ignore her issues and pass them off as not a big deal. Even when it was a big deal. She really wanted to just forget about it and not put her energy in it, but she felt it again.

Eyes glued on her, being watched like a prey. It reminded her of how the big world always seemed smaller with herself in it. It reminded her of how being safe in society was much harder said than done. Winter was too distracted with her surrounding that she hadn't noticed the guy sitting in front of her.

He looked far too perfect to be real. A beanie that covered his hair, but she could see small pieces of hair sticking out of it. His long silver earrings reached his neck. She also noticed that his side profile was just too perfect. Maybe she had been staring for too long because he looked up at her with raised eyebrows.

"Pictures last longer love." His light green eyes made her speechless.

"I-I'm sorry I-" His laughter cut her off.

"I'm joking, I didn't mean to sound so cocky. That's very unlike me sorry." He send a grin her way and her heart beated faster.

"Well why not start over? I'm Rev short for Revick." Revick stretched his hand out so she could shake it, and she did.

"I'm Winter." She said and closed her eyes in embarrassment.

"Well that's an unusual name." He laughed and pulled his beanie off his head. "But I guess there is nothing wrong with being original." Rev smiled again and she was sure the whole room got brighter.

"Did you parents tell you why they named you after a season?" Rev asked her and took a sip of his coffee.

Winter laughed and thought about it. "My mom likes snow and Christmas. So I guess the vibes."

Rev nodded his head along. "It's always the vibes man."

Winter got surprised when she saw Brian sit down next to her and take a sip from her drink. He kissed her forehead and stared in front of him. It grew quiet and she didn't know what to say. She never was a person that could make a conversation easily. She always needed a push.

"Oh I didn't know you would be here." Winter glanced at Brian and back at Rev.

Brian locked his eyes with Rev and chuckled. "You think you can just come and go as you please?" He asked him annoyed out of nowhere.

"Can you drop it already?" The guy that had been smiling the whole time had a frown on his face.

"Whatever." Brian seemed too busy with what was going on in the back of the coffee shop.

She saw her two other friends with other people, talking and having fun. Chris and Andrea were communicating with other people, something she could never do on her own. Today was an accomplishment since she talked to someone, but she could feel how they would expect her to be with people they were familiar with but she wasn't. It already made her tired to think about it.

"You already know each other?" Winter asked Rev and Brian, completely ignoring the people in the back.

The looked at each other and turned there heads, making sure that they didn't have to look at each other any longer. It was pretty tense and she didn't know what to do about it.

"We met some years ago no big deal love." Rev told her and looked at his phone to see how late it was.

"Love?" Brian asked out loud making sure he heard it right.

"Yeah, isn't she lovely?" He asked him with raised eyebrows and a grin on his face.

Brian was at this point annoyed. Honestly it's crazy how seeing him would have been enough for Brian to want to kill someone. The rest of the group joined them and she could feel the stares already. Even the words that never left there lips, sadly she could hear that too.

Telling her how she isn't supposed to leave home without them. Telling her how she should stay close to them. Winter did know that they got more protective of her but it made her feel more like a burden rather than a person. She wasn't invited to any parties anymore because she was bad luck. Not many people understand the mystery behind the girl with the mask. They didn't understand why she was always closed off. Winter didn't want to be the party pooper. She didn't want to be the one labelled as no-fun. So when she see her friends going out without her and making plans without telling her she tries not to be angry about it. Because maybe they are right, maybe she is bad luck.

"What are you doing here?" Chris asked her with raised eyebrows.

"To do my homework but I guess I'm going back home." She told them and tried to grab her stuff, but Rev grabbed her arm.

"Wait why are you going home? We just met each other and I honestly already like you." He told her and she didn't know what it was about him that made her want to stay. Maybe it was the way he smiled and looked at her, whatever it was she just sat back down and smiled at him.

"You're straightforward." Winter told him while smiling.

"I can be worse." He laughed and took another sip from his coffee. "But I hope we can be good friends."

When Winter built her walls, she did it to not let anyone in. When she closed herself off and when she didn't speak much to others. She always was scared of new people, because you never know how they turn out to be like. You don't know if that is really how they are or if it's just all an act. Winter was scared to accept someone else as a friend, but it made her realise. He was the first person to actually treat her like her own person. He wanted to be friends without knowing much about her. It made her smile, maybe strangers that ended up as friends could make a good story.

"I hope so too." She told him and for once a grin could be seen on her face.

"I can't believe you're flirting in front of my salade but anyway let's go home." Andrea told her and tried to grab her stuff. Brian tried to make her stand up form her seat and leave it behind. Chris just watched while his lips remained in a thin line. Eyes just watching everyone without saying a word.

"Why do you all want her to go home so fast?" Winter could see how everyone froze on the spot. How there eyes widened. It was so clear that they didn't except Rev to ask something like that. Yet it was such an innocent question, it wasn't like he was asking her something inappropriate. To him it could look like we where all overreacting and Winter thought the same. She was in fact overreacting but how could she not, with them always telling her what to do and what not. She was starting to be afraid of disappointing them.

Rev stood up and removed Brian's arm that was whrapped around Winter. "Can you all chill?" He asked them with raised eyebrows. "I'm pretty sure Winter doesn't want to go." Rev told them and plastered a smile on his face when he glanced at Winter.

"You met her like what? 10 minutes ago? You should not be talking as if you know her." Chris spoke up with irritation obviously present in his voice.

Revick chuckled raised his eyebrows. "For someone that does know her, you don't seem to care too much about what she wants." Chris was about to punch Rev in the face but Winter stopped him. Winter was never a fan of violence, in fact she despises it. It always takes her back to her memories that was supposed to be buried under a pile of clothes.

"Okay I'm going home please stop." She told them and attempted to grab her stuff, but right before she could do something she felt off.

The room felt off. The feelings where back again. She knew the feeling of being watched. Winter knew that most of the time instincts can be right. So maybe she wasn't crazy for thinking she was being watched maybe even followed. She looked around the room to find pair of eyes watching her, but she couldn't find any.

"Let's go." Chris was this time the one to grab her arm and but before he could walk out, she could hear Rev calling for her name. She turned around and he slipped a small piece of paper in her pockets and winked at her. She rolled her eyes but couldn't fight the smile forming on her lips.

Outside it was pretty late already. She didn't know that time passed by that quickly. It was quiet between them but Brian was the first one to speak up this time.

"When we all got in to collage I tried to forget the 'issues' that we all had. I tried to move on and not be over protective, like seriously I'm trying. But I can't help it Winter." He wasn't looking Winter in the eyes. Something Brian did when he didn't want to reveal himself. He knew the eyes are the window to your soul.

"You may not like what I'm doing or what we are doing, but just know it's because we are worried." Winter stopped in her tracks and glanced at Brian.

Everyone had an own version of the story, but the outcome stayed the same. She remembered the summer before collage started. The way all the sunny days weren't so sunny after all. The way the blue sky made her skin crawl. The way there wasn't an end to her tears. She wondered why they always brought it up while she wanted to forget. She didn't want to remember anything. Ignoring everything won't help at all and she was well aware of that. Yet she didn't have a choice.

"I don't want to talk about it. Why bring it up? It's in the past and it should stay there." Winter walked away from them but Andrea grabbed her arm.

"How can you act like nothing happened?" Andrea had a look of disbelief all over her face and Winter was panicking. Andrea had the same look on her face that summer. The memories came rushing in and Winter could feel how a part of her tried to slip away, but she didn't want to give in. She had cried enough.

"I-I'm tired Andrea let's just drop it." She removed Andrea's hand that were on her arm and tried to walk away again. But this time Chris had something to say. His eyes that always looked like a calm ocean, looked like a tsunami.

"Why won't you just talk to us?" His voice replaced the silent neighbourhood they were in with his scream. "Why can't you just open up to us? You think you're the only one with troubles? We all are dealing with things Winter you can't be selfish like that. At least if you don't want talk to us than find someone you can talk to. Keeping it all in won't help you in anyway."

It was maybe the way he said it that made her feel so guilty. Or the way he was putting the blame on her and calling her selfish. Winter could be many things but she was not selfish. One of the many reasons why she didn't want to talk about it, because she didn't want anyone to worry about her. She knew that they have there own problems that is why she didn't want to bother them. So her heart broke a little when those words left his lips.

She chuckled in disbelief. "Than don't."

"What?" Brian asked her confused.

"If I'm worrying everyone so much than stop worrying. I don't want to talk about it so don't force me too. It's not my fault that your looking too much into things. I was just talking to a nice guy I met at a freaking cafe. Why did you feel like pulling a Zayn on him?" Her frustration got out but it was meant to stay inside. "You know what never mind." She told them and walked away from them.

There she was walking home at night with stars judging her in many ways. It was just winter being the unlucky person again, just her making bad decisions as usual. She knew that they were right about how keeping it all in won't help, but that's her way of coping. They should understand that remembering hurts too much. Bringing up memories that were better off forgotten should be a crime. She didn't want to go trough it all again. The emotions were better of somewhere in a bottle across the ocean. Maybe drowning herself in secrets won't ever work in her favour but that's what she did. Drowning and hoping she could save herself but she wasn't even sure if she wanted to be saved.

She didn't want anyone's help just to prove their own point. She wasn't the girl with problems or at least she didn't want to be. Winter knew that giving in would make them right about her, and she didn't want them to be right about her.

Winter was deep in thought but still could feel the eyes glued on her back. She turned around to see if there was anyone there but no one was. When she saw the small lights she saw in the forest she looked around again. There he was the man with long black hair, and dark eyes that could look right through your soul.