Monday morning came and I felt a lot better. So much so, I was already awake before my alarm at 06:55. Poking a leg out from under the bedcovers I decided it far was too cold to get out of bed yet. November had arrived and, looking out of my window, I saw it had brought with it the snow. A flurry of snowflakes were blowing about on the other side of the glass. The tops of the trees visible from my position still had some of their leaves on which were now coated in a glittery white chrysalis. I wasn't sure whether I was glad for the end of the torrential showers or worried about the drop in temperature. Even in the middle of winter, Ebony made sure I showed as much skin as possible.

Rolling out of bed, I hopped across my cold dark wood flooring to my wardrobe, pulling out a simple navy blue vest and a flowery, high waisted skirt. I didn't care what Ebony thought, I was wearing tights today - and thick ones at that.

I had changed, washed and was applying my makeup when my mum came to check I was awake.

"Oh," she sounded surprised when she poked her head around my door, "you're up. Have you seen the weather?" She was grinning from ear to ear, he green eyes squinting.

"Yeah," I said, "looks...cold."

"I can take you to school today, I have the day off."

I stared at her sceptically - I knew how bad her driving was in the snow. "Promise you won't kill me?"

She laughed, pinky promising, then left me to continue getting ready. I fixed my hair with a little mousse, letting my natural beach waves fall down to just above my elbows, then jumped up, grabbing my cardigan and running out of my room.

I hated mornings where I wasn't rushing around. I wandered around the house, checking the clock every few minutes to see if it was time to leave. Mum had made me a cup of tea in the Starbucks mug I had stolen in my first week of living in Belleville and I happily sat at the kitchen table, sipping it and savouring the warmth. She threw a bowl of Fruit Loops in my direction and told me that I 'must eat breakfast, most important meal blah, blah, blah...'. I smirked a little inside - Ebony would freak if she knew I was eating Fruit Loops; she couldn't have her flier gaining weight; poor Megan and Louise wouldn't be able to support me otherwise. Not that I would ever be too heavy to lose my role in the squad, I was five foot tall and a tiny 92lbs.

The snow outside the window had picked up speed. It was no longer drifting down delicately, but whipping across the glass and leaving long trails of water. Snow wasn't typical for this time of year so I came to the conclusion that the cold was out to ruin my good mood.

I finished my cereal, drained my cup and rushed out of the kitchen to stand by the door, Mum following me a few minutes later. I eyed her thick winter trousers and fleece jealously, wishing I could dress in my lazy day clothes and stay warm.

Once out of the door, I spotted the footprints my dad had made not an hour earlier - they were already filled in with snow. And not surprisingly, either. My mum and I shared a quick glance which clearly said, "should we just go back inside?" before leaving the shelter of our porch into the driving hail. We both screamed an identical scream, covering our faces with our arms while we sprinted to the car. I was sure the wind was going to carry me away whilst I was pelleted with ice bullets. I could only see the white of the ground, but I somehow managed to find a door.

I had never been so glad to enter a car - not even when Gerard had rescued me from the rain. Glancing at my mum, I saw she was trying to hold back laughter, staring right at me. I pulled down the sun visor, taking a look at my reflection in the mirror.

"Oh wow," I said, feeling the birds' nest that had replaced my hair. My mum's laughter bubbled over and she let out a snort. I glared playfully at her. "You don't look much better, mother." It was true - her neat, strawberry blonde bun had unraveled itself and was now sticking out at odd angles with wispy strands of hair falling down in front of her face. She glanced in the rearview mirror and pouted.

"Well, at least I don't have to go anywhere today," she smirked at me as I fixed my hair, picking hailstones out of the tangled mess.

I gave her another glare before tapping the clock on the dashboard, putting a stop to my mother's bullying. She leant forwards, unable to put the key in the ignition. I rolled my eyes; and she promised not to kill me...

My mother's driving was, in short, diabolical. How she ever got her licence is beyond me. How my dad lets her drive is beyond me. How I'm still alive is beyond me...

Her worst performances were in the snow. Ever since I was I old enough to understand my surroundings, I have dreaded the frozen white precipitation that falls from the sky. Every winter would be a new near-death experience. However, back in England we only ever hit grassy fields and muddy ditches; New Jersey was an entirely different story, filled with concrete and buildings and streetlights. You know, the stuff that kill drivers.

"Brake now, Mum!" I barked the order to her as the lights ahead of us changed to red.

"But I'm nowhere near -"

"Brake now!"

She did as she was told with a little more force than I intended. The back of the car swung out and we skidded to a halt just before colliding with the car waiting at the lights. We were both sitting bolt upright in fright, my mum's knuckles turning white as she gripped the wheel and mine as I gripped the seat.

"Mum," I wheezed, "please ask dad to teach you how to drive in the snow." Or you could ask dad to teach you how to drive...

We arrived at the school with no problems, although as I was stepping out into the now gently falling snow, I couldn't help but expect a phone call in a few hours to say my mum had crashed into someone's house. I waved her off then hurried inside before the hail started again.

"Evie!" Taylor beamed as I entered home room. I noticed there was significantly less people than usual sitting at the desks. Even Miss Collins was missing.

"Hey Taylor!" I skipped over to her and thumped into my seat.

"How you feeling?" She asked, finishing off a text and putting her phone on the table.

"Much, much better than yesterday. I slept until like, five. You?" I continued smiling at her as I lied.

"Same," she said, "Charlotte isn't though." I gave her a look to continue. "I haven't seen her yet, but she text me saying she was dying."

I laughed, "well, she was wasted before we even got there."

"Yeah," Taylor pondered. "So, what happened with you and Dean then?"

"What do you mean?"

"I heard you slapped him," she stared at me expectantly.

"Oh -" damnit "- yeah, h-he was just being to forward. You know, all I wanted to do was dance."

"Yeah, I totally saw that," Taylor agreed, I mentally sighed in relief, "it was fucking funny though. The way you just totally ignored him when he was clinging to your back."

"Haha, yeah," I mumbled. I remembered Taylor laughing at my attempts to shake Dean off.

"So, shopping this Saturday?"

And that's when normal conversation resumed.

When the bell rang, I involuntarily made a grimace once I realised my next class, which Taylor caught and questioned. I waved it off as nothing and said my goodbyes, watching the back of her blonde head bob away in the opposite direction. Once she was safely away, I let my bad mood show and stomped my way to the French classroom, seriously considering skipping it.

Before I could make my mind up, I had reached my class and Mr Boucher had spotted me through the strip of glass on the wooden door. Silently cursing myself, I pushed my way into the classroom. My eyes instantly fell on the back of the room where the familiar black mop of hair was nowhere to be seen. I thanked my lucky stars that he wasn't there to stare at me making my way to my seat, then hurried to my desk as my plump, balding French teacher snapped at me to stop loitering.

For the rest of the lesson, I felt Gerard's absence. Every time a shadow passed the doorway I looked up expectantly, but he didn't show. I decided, just as Boucher asked me to pay attention for the fifth time, that if Gerard wasn't going to show his face at school, I would just have to go to his house tonight. It may have seemed a little stalker-like, but I needed to talk to him; he couldn't just kiss me and tell me to fuck off.

I held that thought in my head as I left the classroom and started walking towards my second class, but something stopped me. Turning on my heel, I saw I hadn't imagined it. He was strolling up the corridor towards the French room, but as soon as he saw me he made a swift turn and started heading back to the doors. I wasn't going to let him run away from me again, so I chased him. I knew that students would be staring and wondering why Evie McCullagh was chasing Gerard Way, but at that moment I didn't care - I could deal with the consequences later. He quickly sidestepped into another corridor, trying to shake me off, but I followed him. He slipped through a door to the outside with me still pursuing him. He'd led me outside to what looked like the back of the gym. I didn't go here very often and nor did the teachers, judging by the number of cigarette butts scattered on the concrete floor (smoking was prohibited on school premises). As I looked up, I saw Gerard had stopped and was now facing me, a whole cigarette hanging from between his lips and he battled with his lighter. Once he had successfully managed a flame, he slid the lighter back into his jacket pocket and looked at me. I stared at him; I knew he smoked, I could smell it every time I was near him, but I'd never actually seen him do it before.

"You know you'll be in the shit with Ebony now, right?" He said, blowing smoke into the still winter air.

I shrugged. "I wasn't going to let you get away this time." I was out of breath and my words came out between panting.

"Indeed. But if you are planning on making your serial-killer-esque image full time, I would work on your stamina. For a cheerleader, you're pretty unfit."

"Haha, funny guy," I scowled at him. He shrugged.

"So, what are you so desperate to see me about?"

I stared at him as his eyes stared back from under his heavy black fringe, glinting in the weak November sunshine. "Why are you avoiding me?"

He shrugged his leather clad shoulders for a second time, dropping his spent cigarette on the floor. I watched it fall from his hand and then lifted my eyes back up to his face, which held no emotion. "You're dangerous."

"I'm dangerous?" I arched an eyebrow, placing a hand on my hip in a 'what the fuck are you taking about?' manner.

He nodded and started his explanation, "well, for starters, you're a fucking cheerleader. Your type have been making my life hell since I started at this fucking school -" I began to interrupt, to remind him that I wasn't here when he started this school, but he spoke over me "- and I should naturally hate you, as you should naturally hate me. But then, neither one of us hates the other, right? It's all fucked up. And then the other night, with your fucking mind games -"

"Woah, woah, woah! Mind games?"

"Yes, mind games. I mean, I don't like you, not by a long shot, but then I'm kissing you for no reason. All because you said something I thought no-one would ever say. You sure know how to work people's heads, don't you?"

His chirpy, sarcastic attitude had dropped and his eyes were hard once again. I stared back at him. I wasn't trying to mess with his head. I was just telling the truth. I worried about him, as much as it pained me to admit. He had been somewhat of a fascination since my inception at Belleville High, but now I found myself caring about him. It was wrong. Very wrong. I cared about his opinions, like when he suggested I was a whore, and I enjoyed his company. And however much he tried to deny it, I knew he cared about me too. The concern in his voice when he met me before the party on Saturday, warning me to be careful of Dean, and then when he'd picked me up that night, drunken and bloody. As much as he tried to look past it, it was unavoidable - we were slowly becoming friends.

"I don't play mind games," I mumbled, dropping my gaze to the cold concrete floor. I heard him scoff in humourless laughter and sighed. "I'm late for my class."

Maybe he didn't care. Maybe he just didn't like people to suffer. I mentally laughed at myself as I made my way back through the corridor, this was Gerard Way! Of course he wanted people to suffer; he wanted everyone to pay for the pain he had been caused.

I arrived at my lesson with conflicting thoughts buzzing around my head. I muttered an apology for being late to my teacher, who, luckily was kind and understanding, and dropped down into my seat. Someone who wasn't so kind and understanding was the girl sat next to me.

"Where the hell have you been?" Charlotte hissed into my ear. I glanced at her from the corner of my eye; she looked terrible. The layers of foundation she had used in an attempt to conceal her dark circles and pimples that were probably a result from too much alcohol had failed miserably. She looked like a hungover, pimply mess - something she was, I reminded myself.

"I-I left my books back in my other classroom," I faltered, staring at her innocently.

"You smell of smoke," she pointed out, "you don't smoke."

I silently cursed Gerard for his addiction, then continued with my lies. "N-no, I walked past some kids smoking on the...the front steps this morning," my voice trailed off. Charlotte stared at me sceptically through her bloodshot eyes, but dropped the conservation nonetheless.

That was Charlotte dealt with, now I just had to hope that word hadn't gotten round to Ebony about me sprinting down the corridor after Gerard Way.

Notes

Yaaay! I updated! Sorry for the wait - I started this story for NaNoWriMo but had to stop half way through due to deadlines, so up until now I've had everything already written and just in need of a few tweaks. But now I've caught up where I left off and I'm having to actually write something XD

If this chapter confuses you, good! Evie doesn't really know what to think, so her thoughts are all jumbled. That's why there are so many contradictions. Good writing right there...LOL! I lie; I just didn't really know where to take this chapter ;)