The Story Begins Here: NYU School Campus

Evelyn tilted her chin up and met his eyes, half-expecting to see hostility in them. But she didn't see it and it confused her. Why was he being this way? "No, it's fine," she said, looking away. "Just....just put me down here and I'll walk."

Jake stopped walking and set Evelyn down onto the ground. He shoved his hands into his pockets and continued walking alongside Evelyn to the dorms.

Evelyn stumbled a bit on her feet, feeling exhausted all of a sudden like she seemed to nowadays for no real reason. She caught herself and trudged beside Jake toward the dorm building.

Halfway there, she reached out a hand and slipped her cold fingers over his wrist buried inside his jacket pocket. She pulled him to a halt. "Wait. While I still have the nerve to do this, can we talk?"

Jake ignored the goosebumps shooting up on his arms, and tilted his head. "Talk about what?" He asked.

Evelyn opened her mouth and then paused, not sure where to start. She settled with, "Why are..." She licked her cold, dry lips. "You should be pissed at me. Raving furious, even. Why aren't you? You should have just ditched me back there and walked on. Why didn't you?" It came out as a soft plea more than a question. He was baffling her! She couldn't work out why it was like nothing ugly had happened between them at all. It shouldn't feel that way. She knew she'd hurt him. There should be at least a distance.

Jacob let out a long sigh and pulled out his phone turning on the flashlight he shone the light down to his knuckles on his left hand, where long red scars had formed.

"I was so angry, so just torn up inside I destoryed my room. Broke my window, a mirror... Lola she came over on Wednesday again and spent ten minutes pulling glass shards from my hand. I was so just angry I couldn't even breathe." Jake confessed to her.

Jake turned the light off his phone and let his hand drop to his side, "It killed me it, it tore me in half but I didn't want to show you, I was trying so hard to keep myself together in front of you. I honestly hadn't expected to see you at the basketball game, let alone punch that guy."Jake's breath came out in little huffs of fog.

"Its just, I saw you and said to myself. "Jake ignore her, she broke your heart don't pay attention just focus on something else." Then I hear someone say how that guy wanted to hit you and I, I lose it. Its like I don't want you getting hurt, its only been two days no matter how hard I try to tell myself to make these feelings go away I can't and next thing I know I'm hopping over chairs and beating guys up." Jake paused for a moment.

"I hate, I hate that you have such a hold over my feelings. I hate that any defense I'm trying to build against you can be broken so easily. " Jake's voice faltered.

Evelyn had been staring up at him throughout this. She looked down at her feet for a moment and then up at him again. "You have it all wrong, Jake" she said softly, reaching out and squeezing his arm through his hoodie. He felt cold. They were both freezing. But if they moved, that'd be the end of the conversation.

"I don't have a hold on you. But you don't realize it because the way you see me is all wrong." She bit her lip and felt her heart start aching all over again, that old resentment coming back. "You see me as a filling for the hole Rachel left. And that's why you don't want to let go. That's why you treat me exactly like you would her, because the real Rachel is no longer the girl she is in your memory. I only realized this when Lola told me you were acting like you used to back when you were with her before she hurt you. Everything you did, the cute gestures, the letters, it wasn't aimed at me, it was aimed at the role I was playing. When you talked to me about her a few times, I could tell my hunch was right. I was just your second chance at her and I guess it doesn't hurt that i look like her a bit either."

Evelyn gave a small, bitter laugh and stepped away from him, tucking her hands in her pockets. "Everything you say just fits into that. When you invited me to see Spain over summer, I wondered why you were so persistent. Turned out you needed me to fill in again, this time for Lola and Seth's absence. And I don't want to be that stand-in for you."

Jacob hadn't even thought he was holding Evelyn to the same light as Rachel or trying to replace Rachel in his life.

Rachel had used him, and he knew whenever he talked to her he realized after all of the crap she put him through, that there really hadn't been anything there.

So was it the same with him and Evelyn? Was he thinking there was something there when there really had been nothing at all? It would explain why they didn't get along at all or whenever they tried they'd just end up fighting.

So Lola, Seth and even Rachel had been right. That he had been using Evelyn too to replace the hole Rachel had left in him.

After a few moments of silence Jake finally looked at Evelyn, "I'm sorry, I'm sorry if I made you feel like you had to be someone you weren't. This was my fault. I shouldn't have even...I'm just sorry I really am. For making your life hell here and just creating such a huge mess for you to have to clean up."

"You always were good at making a mess out of things weren't you Jake?"

Jacob raised an eyebrow, he knew that wasn't Evelyn, "Who said that?" Jake asked scanning the area.


"Ya always were a softie Jake, yet you guys always seemed to pick on me for that." The voice called out then from behind Jake.

Jacob turned and was met by smug blue eyes and his jaw dropped. "You--"

"Yup surprised to see me, I know Lola was surprised to hear from me too. I figured, I could come back to the city you both ran me out of, really wasn't fair was it?" Ryder said coldly glaring at Jake.

Jake stepped back standing in front of Evelyn, "What are you doing back here?"

"What I can't come visit? My mother does live here ya know. Plus I've been in contact with Rachel, she told me you were seeing someone new. Didn't think it would be her clone." Ryder's eyes fell on Evelyn behind Jake and a slow smile crept onto his lips.


Jake grit his teeth at Ryder and lunged at him. Ryder grabbed Jake's arms and both of them grunted.

"Oh Jake you were always so easy to rile, and as much as you thought of yourself a fighter. If there was one thing you never used was your brain." Ryder taunted him.

"Fuck you! What are you doing here?!" Jake growled.

"Very simple. You took something I wanted from me, so I'm here to return the favor." Ryder said headbutting Jake.

Jake's head jerked back and he moaned, seeing stars and as he regained his posture to strike Ryder.

Ryder had pulled out a knife and dug it into Jake's side.

"Ahh!" Jake cried out falling to his knees as Ryder twisted the knife inside of him and then ripped it out.

Jake lay crumpled on the ground and Ryder just smiled cruelly and fled from the scene.

"Ahh!" Jake let out another anguished scream clutching to his bleeding side, his heart raced as his open wound burned from contact with the icy surface.

"Help me!" Jake yelled.

For a second, amidst the blurry snowfall, Evelyn wasn't sure what the hell had just happened. She just saw the blond guy run off but then a horrible yell came from Jake. And that really didn't sound right.

She dropped to her knees beside him, and spotted red blossoming through his hoodie. "Oh my God..." For a second, she blanked, and then she fumbled in her pocket for her phone and pulled it out furiously typing in 911.

With the phone to her ear, she pushed at Jake's shoulder. "Lie down. Have to slow the blood from reaching this." She spoke hastily into the phone when a woman answered, giving her details.

Evelyn hung up and stowed her phone away.

Jake had been laying in the snow clutching to his side, it felt like someone had lit the skin there on fire.

"It hurts, Evelyn it hurts so much." Jake whimpered, his breaths coming out in pants as his heart raced.

He felt a shooting pain shock him through his body and the pain was excruciating as he let out another tortured scream.

Evelyn was desperately trying to think of any first aid for this situation. Damn New York and its creepy people. Ash Creek didn't have a lot of stabbing until it was invaded by the stupid New Yorkers.

She tried to calm herself though. Jake was already panicking. In the snow, who knew when the ambulance would get here?

"It'll be okay," she said as soothingly as she could, moving closer to him and pressing down hard on his wound with both hands. That was pretty much the only thing she knew to do. Slow down the blood. She looked down at her hands and saw them covered in blood.

Her heart picked up in fear. Calm down, Ev. You're not helping anyone.

Evelyn reached down with one hand and wet it in the snow so it turned cold. Then she returned it to Jake's side to hopefully numb his wound. "You're all right, Jake. It's gonna be okay," she continued chanting gently. The snow was now stained bright pink. Evelyn continued pressing down on his wound, not knowing it was helping at all.

Eventually, through the snow, she saw flashing lights on the road.

The paramedics had arrived after what had seemed like a long time to Jacob, they had gotten any vital information they could from Evelyn and the two paramedics lifted Jake onto the gurney and wheeled him inside the ambulance.

Whatever people had been on campus that weren't at the game were gathered around the ambulance trying to catch a glimpse at who they were taking away.


The campus security had cleared the scene and was making kids go back inside the dorms.

Jake's eyes had been fluttering inside the ambulance and finally he felt himself drift into darkness as they rushed him to the hospital.

[[Jake and Evelyn to the [You must be registered and logged in to see this link.]]]

[[Seth, Antonio, James and Evelyn from [You must be registered and logged in to see this link.]]]

Antonio's head was spinning for a minute he lay there in the snow for a second so his brain could catch up to the rest of him. He sat up and shook his head, then grabbed a huge pile of snow and dropped it on top of Seth's head, "WHOOOOOO FOR THE UNDERDOG!!" Antonio hollered.

***

James let Evelyn lead him to a bench on the quad, it was a pretty cold night to be out. He really hoped that this would be a short conversation. They both sat next to each other and he rubbed his hands up and down on his arms to warm them, "So what is it you have to say to me that couldn't have been said inside with heat?"

Seth poked his head out of the mound of snow, choking and laughing so hard it hurt to breathe. He reached out and grabbed Antonio's legs, tugging him downwards onto his back. "TIMBER!"

Evelyn glanced up momentarily, frowning at the echoed word, but couldn't see where it came from. She turned to James again, hugging her arms around her wool cardigan. "If someone we know had overheard us in there, I'd be stabbed by five different people," she informed him.

She straightened. "Okay, this will sound crazy but...do you remember the night of the bonfire?" She didn't know exactly what James had been doing so she needed him to fill in the gaps. "Did you take a drink from Ashlee?"

Antonio toppled down onto his back falling next to Seth on his back and he burst out laughing. This honestly felt better than studying any day. He reached over and blew some snow into Seth's face.

James had looked to see where the voice had come from, but couldn't really tell since it was pretty dark. He looked at Evelyn and wondered why she was asking what he did at the bonfire, "Yeah well I was watching you guys fight, then I went to go find Luke and on my way to find him I walked past Ashlee and I took a drink from her and it made me sick, but why do you need to know that?" James asked her.

Seth responded by getting to his feet and kicking snow on Antonio, burying him in a cold grave. He punched the air. "BOO YEAHHH!" He pointed mockingly at the mound of snow. "Who's the man? I AM!" He raised both fists in victory.

***

"You saw Alexis after that?" Evelyn asked quietly. And you decided you liked her?"

Antonio lay under his snow pile already regretting coming outside after that remark, he almost didn't want to dig himself out but he didn't want to get sick either, Antonio dug himself out and reached out and grabbed Seth's leg pulling him down into the snow.

***

"Okay seriously Luke was asking me the same thing a few days ago? Really why is this so important?!" James asked growing frustrated with why everyone seemed to be questioning his feelings for her.

Seth wobbled and gave a yell and then fell forward, landing on Antonio's grave. "Fuck!" He paused and then reached down and pulled Antonio's head facefirst into the snow. "Die, bitch!"

***

"He...." Evelyn paled. Oh no, trust quiet, instinctive Luke to put together the clues the other boys were too thick to!

She swallowed. "What did Luke say about you liking her?"

"Help!" Antonio's cries for help came out muffled as Seth smushed his head into the snow and he flailed about everywhere.

***

"He said, the same thing. That I saw her and started to like her just like that. I mean he said more but that was pretty much the general message of our whole conversation, that I had no reason to like her." James said annoyed.

Seth started laughing. He couldn't help it. This was classic Antonio. Seth pulled him back out of the snow. "Come on, Tigger! You gonna let me bury you without retaliation? You chicken?"

***

"Do you?" Evelyn asked, keeping her voice nonchalant, but some part of her was a bit curious as to how James would answer. She tilted her head up, trying to read the eyes she could normally decipher like an open book. Did the potion affect James' heart or as it like Seth's was, on an upper level so that when the potion drained, they didn't remember it at all?

Antonio took a second to take in some much needed breaths that weren't snow, he then flicked his eyes at Seth and tackled him, "ITS TIGER BITCH! TIGGER IS DEAD!" Antonio hollered burying Seth under a large pile of snow.

***

"Do I what? Do I like her of course I do! If I didn't like her I wouldn't be trying this hard to try and get her to go to that stupid formal with me." James felt like he was stating the obvious here. "Ev why do you need to know this again?" He asked running his hands through his hair.

Seth continued laughing like a maniac even while buried two feet under. He choked and pushed his way up in the snow dune, poking his brilliant blond, and wet, hair out. He pulled a face at Antonio. "Oooh, the big kitty grew into its claws? Congrats, did you learn to purr yet?" he asked mockingly.

***

Evelyn felt a flash of guilt again. "I meant, do you have a reason to like her?"

"No but I did learn to roar." Antonio grinned, then shoved Seth back under his dune again and jumped up and placed one foot on top of the snow dune, "I CLAIM THIS LAND IN THE NAME OF THE TIGGERS!!" He shouted like a conqueror of the new world.

***

"Yeah, she's nice. She took care of me when I wasn't feeling good that night. I mean she could have just lumped me off with the other drunken idiots but she didn't, plus she's beautiful." James told Evelyn.

Seth reached out a hand, holding his breath, and grabbed Antonio's foot. He tugged hard and yanked Antonio under into the mound of snow, yanking himself out to freedom. "I TAKE LIBERTY OR I GIVE YOU DEATH!"

He rolled away and scrambled to his feet.

***

Evelyn had a hard time believing Alexis taking care of sick James. "Took care of you?" she asked, disbelief in her tone. She couldn't help it.