I smacked the alarm to the floor, taking a few labored breaths as I tried to gather myself despite the pounding headache. It didn't work. Why...why hadn't I stopped drinking? Tyra had brought me more and more, and I had smiled thankfully each fucking time. I was going to kill her. Then I remembered that I hadn't actually gained any new friends yesterday. It would be stupid of me to get rid of the one I did have.

"Dylan?" Lily asked tentatively. I looked up and saw her standing in the doorway with a glass of water, holding a packet of Advil in the other.

"You are the sweetest brat there is," I said, stretching out my hand toward the relief.

"Should I ask Mom to drive?"

"No, I'll be fine," I said before gulping down the cold water, leaving me feeling a bit better and a great deal fresher. A dry mouth with a taste of stale, old beer wasn't really one of my favorites.

I dragged myself to the shower and stood there, letting the water bring me to life. Unbidden thoughts rushed through my mind, playing the scene over and over again. I hit my head in the wall over and over again, trying not to think about him. He wasn't worth it. I should have listened to Mike. The guy didn't deserve my attention.

After a slightly unsteady drive to school, I found myself inside one of the bathrooms, letting out a piece of yesterday. I noted the bell, shrieking loudly in my sensitive ears. Forcing myself up on my feet, I went out of the booth and flushed my face in more water. Looking at myself I realized resembled a zombie. My eyes red, my skin gray. I thought of skipping class, but that wouldn't be a very promising start of a new year at a new school. I took a deep breath, steadied myself and walked out—out into the busy corridor, filled with people I didn't know, people I couldn't care less about.

"Hey, Dylan!" I heard Tyra's far too happy shriek from the far end. Her happiness wasn't as contagious today, or perhaps I wasn't as receptive. I managed to send her a half-hearted grin and that was apparently enough.

"I'm so sorry Dyl, I don't know what came over me. I won't do that again." She sounded sorry, but I couldn't determine if she was sorry for real or just a little bit sarcastic.

"You're right you won't," I growled, which made her laugh. So, she definitely wasn't sorry. That made me smile for real. Cheeky girl.

"I would beware if I were you," I said, grinning evilly.

"Let's go to class Grumpy-cat." She poked my ribs with a sharp elbow.

"Aouch, care to un-sharpen that one?" I huffed and wrapped my arms protectively around me.

"See, you're the one who should be afraid of me, not the other way around." She wiggled her eyebrows, and I almost forgot about my worries. She was a good distraction. Even so, I just grumbled something un-intelligible, slouched my shoulders in protest and followed her to class. Mornings really weren't for me, especially after a night out, drinking myself senseless.

As we walked into the classroom I noted a few chairs vacant, obviously I wasn't the only one feeling a little sorry for myself this morning. I sat down next to Tyra, opened the tattered book that lay on my desk and flipped the pages mindlessly. A classic, how great... Crime and Punishment, who gives a book like that to teenagers on their first lesson of the day. Someone with a death-wish?

I let my eyes wander through the classroom, noting one or two I'd seen yesterday throughout classes. I recognized Sebastian sitting in the back, his dark hair hiding his eyes. I admitted I was quite intrigued with that boy. He looked so frightened, like he was trying to hide in plain sight. I decided I would find out what kind of guy he was. He reminded me a bit of Jonah, a friend from back home. If he was anything like my old friend, I would cuddle him to pieces when no one was around.

Tyra nudged me, and I shifted my attention toward the teacher who stood silently in front of class, waiting for us to stop talking. She looked pretty intimidating and considering how quickly the voices grew silent my assessment of her couldn't be too far off the mark.

"Read it, consider what it tells you, and write me a decent review. You have until November on this one, but don't fool yourselves – you'll get enough work to keep you busy, I'm sure. So..." and then she started her lesson, completely leaving the subject of the book. I zoned out pretty quickly, once again lost inside my mind with no directions to guide me out of there. I thought of Jonah again, and then my old friends in general. I had left a lot of good things behind, but that was the price I had to pay for my stupidity. I tried to keep my thoughts away from Tobias, but as always, I failed, and a cold shiver ran up my spine.

It's in the past, I told myself, but somehow I doubted it was true. He would be back. I knew it. It was just a matter of time before he found us again.

The morning went by pretty quickly and after a painful hour of History—struggling to listen to the monotone voice if Mr. Sheffield without falling asleep—we took off toward the cafeteria. I hadn't seen Zach yet which was a relief, sharing art class with him later would be bad enough. I stopped that thought, determined to think about anything but him.

"You seem a little out of it today Dyl, still pissed about yesterday?" Tyra asked as we took our seats at the same table as yesterday. I knew what she meant, and she was right in a way, but not in the way she thought.

"No, I'm not pissed that you made my night a blast, I needed those drinks," I said, ruffling her hair just as I would my sister's .She squealed, flattening her strands with a horrified expression written across her face.

"Oh no you didn't!" she joked, clearly not angry for real.

"Oh yes I did!" I grinned. Nothing better to cure the grumpy me than letting me play the bad big brother, or friend in this case.

She threw a piece of pasta on me, and I gaped. Really? A food fight? I tossed it back, hitting her cheek. She giggled and threw another one, but it passed by me as I dodged to the left. I raised an eyebrow when I saw Tyra's eyes bulge, locked at something behind me. I turned around and saw Zach staring at us, a piece of pasta resting at his feet. What the... why him?

"I'm sorry Zach!" Tyra said, her voice fragile, not even resembling the voice she usually used. She looked embarrassed, but also like she truly meant the apology. I couldn't really understand why, it was an accident, and why be sorry for something like that. It wasn't as if she hurt him or something. It would have made more sense if she had looked afraid. My eyes wanted to return to the guy, but I refused to oblige. I needed to ignore him for the sake of my sanity.

I saw how Tyra began to relax, and her eyes returned to me. I craned my neck and saw him walking toward an empty table. Returning to Tyra, I started to pat her back. Even if I didn't really understand, I could see that there was something more to this than a piece of overcooked pasta.

"What happened?" I asked, leaving the question wide open.

I looked deep into her eyes and saw a completely different girl before me. One who wasn't carefree, one who wasn't happy.

"I can't tell you. He doesn't want people to know," she said, a tear trembling at the corner of her eye.

Her words pained me, I didn't know why, but for some reason I had become involved. Involved in the world that was Zach, and the guy didn't even know it.

Pathetic.

"...and you don't want to know," she added. If only she knew how wrong she was. She had just given me the perfect reason to peer past Zach's mask. She knew there was something beyond it, and now I wanted to know as well. In fact, I was growing desperate to know more about him. He was someone with a secret, just like I was. Did that make it okay? No, probably not. Probably it made things even more complicated and even less rational. She had been right that first day. I should stay away.

I was just about to leave when my phone vibrated in my pocket.

I didn't recognize the number, and the warning bells rang loudly in my head. Even so, I was stupid enough to open the message. It was a photo. Of me. My insides wanted to get rid of the food I just ate, but I forced myself to look closer. It was a photo taken outside Chester High. I breathed out in relief. At least it was an old photo and not a new one. I didn't know if I could handle things if Tobias had found me again. We had even changed our last name to cover our tracks. It had to be enough.

"Dylan, what's wrong?" Tyra asked, worry written clear across her face.

I closed the screen and put the phone back inside my jeans. "Nothing."

She didn't look convinced. "Are you sure?"

"Tyra," I said in warning. Sometimes she didn't know when to stop.

"Alright, I'll butt out of it. I'm sorry."

"It's okay. I'm okay."

"Okay."

"Okay." I could still see that she wasn't letting it go, but I had no intention of telling her about my past—at least not yet. I didn't want another person to worry about me. Mom did that more than enough, already.