The Five, first chapter, prologue?

Crowded halls. Teachers preparing their lessons in the lounge. A sudden buzz of voices, the escalating noise level throwing off their concentration. A young man running late for his practice, ramming into people, making them exclaim in surprise, but he has no time to offer an apology. Can’t get kicked off the team, not my fault, she was drunk again. Breath sawing in and out of tired lungs, the squeak of sneakers on polished wood, boys running from one side of a basketball court to another as he quietly slips through the door. Their coach, frowning at the late arrival, wondering if his team is fast enough to win the coming match. A cheerleader, who should be in class by now, watching her boyfriend train. Gawd, I hadn’t noticed the captain had gotten so buff. She turns away from the boy she came to see to admire the muscles glistening with sweat of the young man running next to him. Her friend, annoyed, waits by the door. Always has to be about her, thinks she’s irresistible. We all know she’ll drop him soon as she sees someone cuter, so why play the charade? A boy with glasses watches the brunette in her short cheerleading outfit, wearing an enamored look. She knows he’s there. He knows she’ll never take a second look at him, but envious thoughts fly through his mind anyway. Maybe she’ll break up with her boyfriend. Maybe he’ll cheat on her, and then I’ll be there to comfort her. A nondescript student jostles him, his books fall on the floor. Sorrry, man , but I’m in a hurry right now. Worry because he’s been summoned to the principal’s office. Ignoring the reprimanding stare boring into his back, he hurries across the hall, towards the door that will let him out into the parking lot, which he’ll cross to get to the administration building. He winces as he sees the steadily falling rain through the glass panes of the door. Always rains here. Forgot to bring an umbrella or a raincoat. Have to run. He grimaces. Before he reaches the doors, he has to swerve to avoid a girl, standing still in front of them. His eyes pass over her. Pretty. Maybe he’ll have a few classes with her.
Already his mind has turned to something else.
But somehow he is called to look at her again. She is wet, soaked. Her knee-length coat sticks to her skin. One end of the scarf she is wearing in her hair is plastered to her neck. Her ash blond hair is long and loose, thin tendrils drip water to the already wet floor.

Drip. Drip. Drip.

Suddenly he can hear the sound of each drop of water exploding as it meets the ceramic tiles. There is silence in his head, and nothing else is important save the girl that does not even meet his eyes. Instead, she stares ahead, and her expression is void of feeling. For a moment he stands, watching her. She does not move, and he does not dare. He feels the stirring of fear in the deep reaches of his mind. The girl is unnatural. At his thought, her head suddenly turns to meet his gaze. Her eyes are deep and troubled. Somewhere in their depths, without conscious thought, he notes madness and rage. A tremble runs down his spine. Her eyes are blue, and yet they are grey… He cannot tell their precise hue, and somehow it bothers him. Everything about this girl bothers him, suddenly. He would take a few steps back if he could, to be beyond the range of her disturbing gaze. But his feet do not obey him, and as panic starts to crowd his mind, she blinks. Long, dusky eyelashes lazily curtain her blue irises and their wide pupils. For an instant he is released from her eyes. He stumbles back, the noise of the hall comes crashing back into his confused brain. Without conscious thought, he drops his gaze to the floor, rushes past her, pushing the doors open with his hand. Finds himself standing in cold rain, melted snow that beats down upon his head, his shoulders. He throws the hood of his sweater over his head, starts running towards the neon lights that mark the administration in the semi-darkness of the storm. While he is running, he shakes his head, still gripped by a fear he cannot explain.

She stands in the hall. The wind that blew through the doors as the boy opened it made her shiver. She draws her wet coat tighter about her torso. Her eyes do not rove over the herds of teens rushing to classes. She stares ahead, and no one takes notice of her. Not yet. She knows it will be over soon. She closes her eyes. Thoughts pound inside her head. She hears someone come through the gym door. Hey, she’s new. Pretty. I like blondes. Nice curves. I’ll say hi when I see her at lunch. She opens her eyes. Finds the basketball team captain looking at her with an appreciative gleam in his eyes. The young woman grits her teeth at the images seething through his teenage mind. And tries to remember the music of falling rain, as the sound of a thousand thoughts fill her head.