Something was staring at me. The world was an unclear swirl of dullness and I felt someone or something’s cold eyes staring right at me. It was like the world was on fire. My heart started pounding as quick as a drum and I couldn’t make sense of where I was. I didn’t even know who I was at that moment when I felt its cold, painful stare.
I snapped out of the dream and for a split second, I still felt as if someone’s eyes were locked on me. The feeling went away, and I sighed with relief. It was just a dream. I heard a faint tick, tick. I looked over at my alarm clock that read 2:37 a.m. Five more hours, I thought. I relaxed and sank my head into my pillow, but I still felt as if something was hiding in the darkness of my room.
I woke to my alarm clock screaming at me. I jumped out of bed and went straight to my bathroom. My fiery red hair was wild and my eyes looked tired.
“You look too much like Dad.” I said to myself out loud. My dad had red hair, just like mine, and the same oval shaped face. Even though I looked exhausted, my eyes still looked like two pieces of crystal. Just like my dad, I have electric blue eyes. Electric blue eyes are rare nowadays. As I was examining my face in the mirror, the weirdest thing happened. My eyes seemed to change colors for a fraction of a second. I blinked rapidly and stepped back, startled. Everything seemed to be normal. Wow, I thought to myself, I’m so exhausted I’m seeing things.
Once I was ready, I went downstairs. Noticing his picture on the wall, I thought about my dad’s disappearance as I stomped down the stairs. After all these years it still bugged me. One morning, when I was 12, my dad came into my room and told me he would be right back. I remembered that it was super early in the morning. Without telling us where he was going, he left. After three hours had passed and he still wasn’t home, we started to worry. Mom called the cops and this whole investigation occurred, but they still never found him after 2 weeks had passed. It still bothered me to this day, even after three years. I walked into the kitchen. My mom was washing dishes at the sink. She turned and smiled at me.
  “Lucy Lynn Aurora Adaire, what happened to you?” She plopped a plate in the sink. “You look like you didn’t sleep at all.”
I grinned in spite of my exhaustion, “I got a good five hours, Mom. For a 15 year old, that’s pretty good.”
She laughed. “Get going! You'll be late.”
As I walked out the door, I still felt as if someone's cold, hard eyes were fixed directly on me. I tried to blame this feeling on my tiredness, but I couldn’t. I knew someone or something was looking at me. I didn't know what to do, so I just ran to school.
I’ve always hated this school. Preston High school is the kind of high school where you always feel like you’re not good enough or you’re just worthless. Everyone at this school is too competitive and none of the teachers or staff were supportive. I was greeted by my best friend, Maria Rosequist. She and my dad had always been close before he disappeared. She always stuck with me after he vanished. That’s why she was my best friend. Gosh, I wish I looked like her. She was so beautiful. She wasn’t quite 5’9” like me, but she was pretty close to my height. Her long, hip-length golden blonde hair was the thing I was most jealous of. Maria’s heart shaped face fit beautifully with her naturally rosy cheeks. But her most beautiful, her most incredible feature was her eyes. She had these amazing gray, doe eyes that could mesmerize you in a second. It was almost as if those eyes could put you in a trance, or completely control you.
“Hey, Lucy Lynn!” Maria said with extreme cheerfulness. She suddenly stopped, and her gray eyes looked suspicious all of a sudden. “What happened to you?”
“Nothing,” I returned quickly. “I’m fine.”
She pushed her golden blonde hair out of her face, with that suspicious look still in her eyes.
I knew what she was about to do. She did this all the time. Maria could analyze someone just by looking at them. The weirdest thing is, she was always right. She approached me and stared right at me, her gray eyes swirling.
I stared right into her beautiful doe eyes. I could see my reflection in those stormy gray eyes. But my reflection wasn't doing what I was doing. To my horror, I realized that my reflection in her eyes wasn't me. That’s not you I’m thinking, That's not you. I repeated the thought a thousand times in my mind. That's not you. That's not you. That's not- My frantic thoughts were interrupted by the shrill screaming of the bell. Maria put her hand on my shoulder, and with a sympathetic look, she walked off to class.
I didn't want to go to class. My heart started beating so fast it could have burst. Why is this happening to me? I thought to myself. Why today? Why right now? I was terrified. So, so terrified. Things started swirling around me and I felt as if I was going to fall over. People stared at me having a breakdown in the halls. I haven’t had a breakdown like this since my dad disappeared. They're all staring at you . . .  I thought. That girl in her eyes was not you . . . . I ran to the girls bathroom. I had to gain self-control.
When I peered in the door I saw no one, so I slammed the door and locked it, breathing heavily.
Stop freaking out. You’re imagining it. I told myself over and over again.
Even though I told myself this I didn't believe it. I grabbed a paper towel and rushed over to the sink to moisten it. “Breathe, Lucy Lynn, breathe.” I told myself out loud. I knew something was wrong with this day since the second I woke up at 2:37 a.m. I turned on the faucet but stopped when I saw the mirror. My reflection was staring at me. My reflection had a smug look on its face and it's eyes were blazing with a look of insanity I can't describe. It was as if my electric blue eyes were actually snapping with electricity. I tried moving, praying that my reflection would move with me, but it still stood there, with a smug look on its face and it's eyes still snapping with electricity.
“What do you want?” I managed to say with obvious fear in my voice.
My reflection laughed. Suddenly all of the mirrors shattered except for the one my reflection was in. A cold chill went down my spine, and the hairs on my arms stood straight up. I tried to make a run for it out to door, but when I reached the door it was locked. I wanted to scream but I couldn’t open my mouth. Her shrill, demonic laughter filled my ears, causing me to shake with complete terror. I ran back to the unshattered mirror and my reflection was no longer me. I was absolutely horrified. “This can’t be . . .” I whispered, still stricken with panic.
It was a girl, whose face and arms were horribly burned. You could still make out a face even though her face was scorched, but her facial features were horrific. Her eyes were two pieces of cold, hard ice, yet they were snapping with electricity. It was the only feature that stood out, because her face was charred, as black as coals. She had a look of vengeance on her face. Was she a demon? That was the only thing I could label her as. A demon. Suddenly the ground around me started to crumble. The wallpaper on the walls started curling upwards.
I was frantic. Confused, yet frantic. The demon kept on laughing.
“WHAT DO YOU WANT?” I managed to scream in spite of my franticness.
She didn’t say a word. But she stepped to the side. Behind her, I saw a man. He seemed familiar for some reason. I squinted, and I almost screamed when I realized who it was. It was my father. He had a look of pure terror in his eyes. His electric blue eyes, so much like mine, had a look of fear in them that could kill someone if they looked at him too long. He started to run towards me, but he stopped, frozen. Then he vanished in a cloud of dust.
“DAD!” I screamed. I stared right at the mirror. I quickly realized I was staring right back at the demon. “What do you want?” I managed to say a third time. She finally spoke in a chilling, demonic voice that struck fear in my heart.
“The fire was too hot. I couldn’t get out.” I looked at her, frantic and confused.
“You died in a fire?” I croaked, my whole body shaking.
“Yes. My whole house, engulfed in flames. It was early morning, no later than 3:00 a.m.” Her eyes blazed with anger. “2:37 to be exact.”
Suddenly reality hit me. “My dad . . .” my voice trailed off and I looked down. I remembered him leaving so early in the morning. I remembered him not telling me where he went. My dad killed her. I thought. My dad. I suddenly looked up, with tears in my eyes.
“It wasn’t my fault. It couldn’t have been his fault either. I’m sure my dad didn’t mean to. Please, let me and my father go. I’m sorry.”
She hesitated for a moment. Then, out of nowhere, she just screamed. It was ear-piercing and sharp and shrill. The mirror shattered into thousand of pieces and I blacked out.
When I woke, I was lying in the middle of the gymnasium in the high school. I sat up, startled. It was dark outside. I looked all around me, and I realized there was someone laying right next to me. It was a man. His hair a fiery red color and his face oval-shaped. My eyes filled with tears when I realized who it was.
“Dad?” I whispered. He jolted awake. His electric blue eyes were panic-stricken. He sprung upward just as I did and looked around. “Dad,” I said, “You’re safe now. It’s okay.”
He breathed out, his breath shaky. “Lucy Lynn, I’m-” I cut him off.
“You don’t have to apologize. Everything is okay now.” I hugged him ever so tightly, tears streaming down my face. I suddenly stopped. I was still confused about one thing.
“Dad, what happened to the demon woman in the mirror? She said you killed her.” His eyes suddenly looked pained.
“I did. I mean, I didn’t, but something made me do it. I can still see it. Those gray eyes. Mesmerizing.” He stood up and walked towards the glass door with me. He looked down at his watch. “2:36 a.m. We’d better get home. I have a lot to explain to your mother.”
2:36, I thought. I looked at the door. Instead of my reflection, I saw a girl with hip-length blonde hair and a heart shaped face staring at me, grinning like a cat.