just dive in [reed bishop spin-off] ✔️

two

— t w o —

"WAKE UP!" LEXIE SCREECHED, and Oliver barely had time to open bleary eyes before she launched herself at him. "Time to wake up, Oli!"

He rolled across the bed with a groan and was about to tell her to get lost before he remembered what day it was. Bright and early on Monday morning, it was the first day of the school year. It was never a particularly happy day for anyone but what made it so much worse for Oliver was that he was returning to Woodway High School. Whether Brooks had kept his word or not, Oliver had managed to spend the last week of his summer avoiding everyone else from his past and hadn't made the mistake of taking Lexie outside or stepping foot inside Juniper's again.

Today, he didn't think it would be possible that he could stay hidden for much longer. A new student in the last year of school was bound to draw attention and it was a toss-up as to how Reed would react to his return. He'd either completely ignore his existence or make it his mission to make Oliver's life a living hell, and he couldn't decide which one he'd rather have. Any sane person would choose the former — when Reed wanted you to suffer, you suffered — but at least the latter would be some kind of acknowledgment. Maybe if Oliver was really lucky, Reed would have forgotten what happened that night.

Yeah, right. He didn't know who he was trying to kid.

"Lexie, stop it," he mumbled sleepily, when she began grabbing fistfuls of his dark hair and tugging. And not gently at that. "I'm awake, okay?"

"Are you sure?" she giggled.

Oliver sat up with a yawn and pulled Lexie down into his lap, pinning her arms by her side before she actually managed to pull any of his hair out. He glanced outside his window to see heavy rainfall streaking the windows and blurring his view of a grey sky. Oliver was willing to take that as an omen of how terrible today would be and considered faking ill just to avoid the entire thing. It was the coward's way out, but Oliver knew all too well how much of a coward he could be when the situation warranted it.

Instead, he dragged himself out of bed and at her demands, spun a squealing Lexie in the air a couple of times before setting her down. "Again, again!" she exclaimed in delight, raising her arms in an implore to be picked up. "Do it again, Oli!"

"Not now," he said, nudging her towards the door. It was her first day at her new school and he hoped someone would be brushing her tangled hair first. "Go get ready and maybe I'll do it later."

It felt wrong putting on his Woodway uniform after so long. The new set his parents had ordered all fit perfectly, the red tie knotted around his neck and the plain black jumper along with the basic shirt and trousers. He glanced in the mirror at the finished ensemble before leaving his room and ran self-conscious fingers through his messy black hair. His mismatched eyes stared back at him and it occurred to him that he wouldn't just be the new kid, he'd be the new kid with the freaky eyes.

Great, he thought with a sigh. Not like it would be the first time he'd played this role.

Oliver didn't have his driving licence yet so he was stuck catching the tram to school. It was as unpleasant an experience as always — being crammed in too close to strangers and having to touch the poles covered in an unbelievable amount of germs to stop himself falling over. Woodway was exactly how he remembered it, towering oaks framing the entrance to the main building and everything on the campus modernised. They had the money from the rich students paying for attendance here and they made sure to use it to keep up the gleaming appearance of perfection.

He didn't have to hunt the reception down in the huge school, because he remembered where it was. "Hi," he said, to the lady at the computer. "I'm new here today. Oliver Sterling," he added, as she began scanning the screen for his name.