And Introducing Blake

"Hey there," he said, grinning at everyone in turn and making sure not to miss a single one, "I'm Blake."

I say everyone, but that's a lie. The truth is that Blake fucking Hyde made sure to smile at every single one of the girls in the group, sparing every last one of the guys the sight of his fucking grin beaming at them full blast. But of course, I wasn't a guy this time.

Blake turned to me last, and just like with Rachel I felt his gaze linger for a second longer on me than it had with everyone else. I felt his eyes piercing me, staring deep into me, and the feeling was unsettlingly similar to what I had felt the first time I met him.

Blake Hyde was a nightmare to me through all four years of college. Somehow the fates kept on pushing us together and giving him more and more opportunities to torment me. He wasn't just a bully he was a torturer, so proficient by the end of it that he knew every last one of my buttons and just how to push them.

And all of that started right here in this group in this moment. Well actually back in my other life it started an hour later when we were well into the depths of our introductory phase and he had a chance to get close enough to sense, as he would eventually put it, the 'weakness baked into my spine.'

In this new life he noticed me right away, beaming that fucking smile at me and turning those eyes I knew were so cruel onto me and I tried to meet it but even still I turned away, flushing with hate and more than a little fear at the memories of how he'd once treated me.

"Heya Blake!" girl-Kim said, her voice just as bubbly if not more than before, "Glad you could make it here! We're so happy to have you as part of our group!"

"Yep!" boy-Kim said, "If you just want to take a seat then Kim and I-"

"I'm Kim too!" she interrupted, "We're kind of your leaders for frosh week, but that doesn't mean we can't be friends too!"

She giggled and there was a moment of silence before boy-Kim finally continued, "Like I was saying if you just want to take a seat, Kim and I will just finish the last-minute prep and then we can move on to the real fun."

"Yeah," girl-Kim said, "It's going to be real fun!"

I plucked at the grass in front of me, watching out of the corner of my eye as the Kim's moved off to a huddle far enough away from the group so they couldn't be heard. From out of the corner of my eye as well I saw Blake settle down into the gaggle of girls on the other side, a low level of noise coming from over there which was countered by the silence on this side of the group.

It struck me then that there was a sort of Yin-Yang thing going on here. Blake as the only guy among the girls and me as the only girl among the guys. Not that I was really a girl, mind you, but the impression was still there visually and the contrast, their noise to our silence, was really telling.

I looked up, staring around at the faces which triggered some dull recognition in the back of my mind. I didn't have a name for any of them outside of Blake, Rachel, and Eddie.

Scanning each face in turn I tried to remember but had nothing significant. Not on the guy side and certainly not among the girls who had never even tried to talk to me, not once.

As I looked my eyes fell on Rachel, lingering on her for a moment while she was distracted by someone else. Her blonde hair was beautifully shimmering in the light of the sun and there was a dusting of freckles across the bridge of her nose, a memory maybe of a summer spent out in the sun. She was uniquely beautiful, but it was the memory of her that hit more deeply for me. A nostalgic kick of opportunity lost, of heartbreak and hope that came before it. Of chances and paths not taken but even now, in this new body, surely out of my reach.

And when she moved quickly I reacted, turning away the moment she caught my eye. Turning too quick and not thinking as I came eye to eye with Blake instead and the memories grew darker and more sinister. Because this body presented new opportunities to him as well, and ones I didn't even want to begin to think about.

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