AN: Hey guys! So, I know I've always loved Rece, but there's not that much out there. It's so sad. I will fix it, though! Most of my writing's gonna be about them. They're just so cute! *squeals* Anyway, this chapter is dark. Really dark. I tried not to be too graphic, but it still kinda is.. Whoops. Anyways, this is my first fic, so read, review, enjoy!

Oh, yeah, almost forgot, I don't own Shake it Up. I'm not affiliated with it, even. Well, except for the 181 Rece/Zendella pics on my phone and this fic. Well maybe that doesn't count. Whatever.


Ba-dum.

There she is.

Ba-dum.

Cold, still, frozen.

Ba-dum.

I can't see her yet.

Ba-dum.

Ty doesn't think I should see her at all.

Ba-dum.

But what does he know?

Ba-dum.

I can't let her down.

Ba-dum.

Not after all she's done for me.

Ba-dum.

And what I didn't give her.

Ba-dum.

Mom's hand slips into mine.

Ba-dum.

She's pulling, tugging me to my feet.

Ba-dum.

Maybe Ty is right.

Ba-dum.

She was my best friend.

Ba-dum.

And she's in that coffin.

Ba-dum.

Mom pulls me down the aisle.

Ba-dum.

Up the steps.

Ba-dum.

I close my eyes.

Ba-dum.

Mom lets go.

Ba-dum.

My eyes flutter open.

Ba-dum.

Ba-dum.

Ba-dum.

I'm speechless. She's pale and perfect but there's no trace of my best friend. She's empty.

Ba-dum.

I barely hear the muted whispers.

Ba-dum.

They tickle my ears.

Ba-dum.

They're so faint.

Ba-dum.

All I really hear these days is my heartbeat.

Ba-dum.

Everything else is almost gone.

Ba-dum.

The doctor said I was in shock.

Ba-dum.

That this is normal.

Ba-dum.

She had been my best friend for years.

Ba-dum.

We had told each other everything.

Ba-dum.

How is my heart so slow and steady when my head is racing like this?

Ba-dum.

I refocus, my eyes on the sandy lid of the coffin.

Ba-dum.

My eyes travel down to rest on her face.

Ba-dum, ba-dum, ba-dum.

Her eyes are open.

Ba-dum, ba-dum, ba-dum.

They were closed before.

Ba-dum, ba-dum, ba-dum.

There's something wrong with them.

Ba-dum, ba-dum, ba-dum.

The iris's tinged with red, little flares around the pupil.

Ba-dum, ba-dum, ba-dum.

And they're resting on me.

Ba-dum, ba-dum, ba-dum.

And it chills me to the bone.

Ba-dum, ba-dum, ba-dum.

I'm bolting down the steps.

Ba-dum, ba-dum, ba-dum.

The people rise like a wave.

Ba-dum, ba-dum, ba-dum.

They try to stop me.

Ba-dum, ba-dum, ba-dum.

I force my way through them.

Ba-dum, ba-dum, ba-dum.

They can't catch me.

Ba-dum, ba-dum, ba-dum.

I'm out the doors.

Ba-dum, ba-dum, ba-dum.

Sprinting down the street.

Ba-dum, ba-dum, ba-dum.

My feet jerk my body around a corner.

Ba-dum, ba-dum, ba-dum.

My body can't keep up.

Ba-dum, ba-dum, ba-dum.

I fall. My knee's all bloody now.

Ba-dum, ba-dum, ba-dum.

I don't care.

Ba-dum, ba-dum, ba-dum.

I'm up again, continuing on the same path. Away.

Ba-dum, ba-dum, ba-dum.

What just happened?

Ba-dum, ba-dum, ba-dum.

She can't be alive, she was dead.

Ba-dum, ba-dum, ba-dum.

But she was alive.

Ba-dum, ba-dum, ba-dum.

And she looked at me.

Ba-dum, ba-dum, ba-dum.

I don't understand.

Ba-dum, ba-dum, ba-dum.

I don't understand anything.

Ba-dum, ba-dum.

I'm crying.

Ba-dum, ba-dum.

I can't run anymore.

Ba-dum, ba-dum.

I'm stumbling along a street.

Ba-dum, ba-dum.

People are watching me.

Ba-dum, ba-dum.

They point and whisper and stare.

Ba-dum, ba-dum.

But they don't come near.

Ba-dum, ba-dum.

The street looks familiar.

Ba-dum, ba-dum.

I turn in a circle.

Ba-dum, ba-dum.

My eyes land on a yellow-green dumpster.

Tucked into an alley.

The word love graffitied above it.

Uneven asphalt below it.

Black flecks everywhere.

Neon police tape in the entrance.

Ba-dum, ba-dum, ba-dum.

No.

Ba-dum, ba-dum, ba-dum.

Not here.

Ba-dum, ba-dum, ba-dum.

Anywhere else.

Ba-dum, ba-dum, ba-dum.

The people are gone now.

Ba-dum, ba-dum, ba-dum.

I cross the street dazedly.

Ba-dum, ba-dum, ba-dum.

My hand caresses a brick.

Ba-dum, ba-dum, ba-dum.

It all floods back.


We had been shopping, I think. She had wanted me to grab food from Inside-Out Burger while she hit up my favorite shop on 37th Street. I had waved her on her way and picked up the usual. I expected her to take half an hour longer than usual, fussing over what the perfect birthday gift was. She was always like that about shopping, and even more about birthday gifts. She'd texted me to meet her at the corner of Toulade and 37th. I had agreed and decided to shop around the area, keeping an eye out for the redhead. I picked out some cute accessories, spending a little more than I should. Before I overdrew my card again, I pulled myself out to the corner and texted Cece.

'Hey, are you almost done?'

Before I had put my phone away, there was a reply.

'Paying. Got lunch?'

I typed an affirmative and tucked my phone away. She'd be here in five if I knew her. And I did. But I remember that I waited a while and she never showed. I began to get worried. If she was hungry, she would have been here when she said. I texted her asking where she was, but no reply ever came. After a few minutes of looking, my phone clutched tightly in my hands, I decided to check for her at the store. Maybe her phone died, that's why she didn't reply. Maybe she had gotten held up at that store she liked, the one with the cute male clerk. It was on the way back. I was sure I'd run into her at either, or maybe on the way. So I headed out, glancing in stores along the way. No sign of her. Eventually I landed in front of the hole-in-the-wall shop, pushing open the door. The owner greeted me halfheartedly, and I rushed over, questioning him about my best friend. He told me she had been there and pointed me in the direction she had gone. I thanked him profusely and hurried out, darting into the other store. The hot clerk also confirmed her presence, saying she hadn't bought anything. I resisted the urge to smack him, took a deep breath, and continued. The clouds above were getting darker, and I really wanted to get back to her house before it rained. Then I could actually get lunch. I paused next to a dumpster around the corner, an obvious landmark, and called her. Leaning on the wall with one hand on a deformed brick and the phone on speaker, I sighed as it rang over and over and over with no answer. Sighing, I almost put away my phone before I heard a noise. It sounded like Cece's ringtone. Muffled and faint but still there. And it sounded like it was coming from the dumpster. I turned just as it rang for the last time. Clumsily, I jabbed at the screen until I was calling her again. A few seconds later, the noise started up again, emanating from the depths of the dumpster. Cautiously, heart pounding, I pulled the lid up.

And that's when my heart took over, pounding out an unquestionable staccato. I didn't know what to do. I always knew what to do. But this was an exception.

I had found her.

She was in there.

Dead.

I remember every detail. She was lying on her back, head tilted back and to the side. Her eyes were closed and her face slack. Death had probably brought it to her, because Cece always had an expression on her face. Her arms were wide open, palms up. One leg was bent, leaning heavily on the straight one. It had probably been upright while she was alive.

And then there were the holes. They were everywhere. They littered her cheek, her jaw, her neck, her collarbone, her arms, her wrists, her palms, her waist, even her ankle. It was like someone had taken a poker to her. Blood was congealing in and around the holes, dark reminders that she was dead. It had washed over her, covering the multicolored garbage below her.

She had been murdered in the dumpster.

I was fumbling with my phone, calling Cece's mom. She picked up after a few rings, giving me a cheery, "Hey Rocky, what's up?"

My heart was pounding, steady and loud. I barely heard her question, and it took a few seconds to register.

"Rocky?"

I took a deep breath. "Cece. Corner of Toulade Boulevard and 37th Street," I whispered. She sucked in a sharp breath, releasing it slowly.

"Is she okay?"

That question made me catch my breath, and I stood there, eyes on my best friend's still face, silent. My heart pounded a slow rhythm in my chest, and I thought in shock. Cece was dead. Dead. As in no returns. She's not going to come back.

I didn't notice anything. The line went dead, my screen went dark, cars began to pull up, but all I could do was stare. Her mom tugged me away, her hands gentle as she ushered me into the passenger seat of her cop car. I complied quietly, watching numbly as they went about their work, not even flinching as they lifted her covered body from its bloody home. I couldn't feel, I can't feel, I just sat like a stone as they loaded her onto the ambulance. My gaze broke and I looked down at my lap. Something broke when I saw her, and I don't know if it can be fixed.


I'm crumpled against the wall.

Ba-dum.

My face is wet.

Ba-dum.

My shirt is soaked.

Ba-dum.

I shouldn't be crying.

Ba-dum.

I haven't been crying.

Ba-dum.

Not the day I saw her.

Ba-dum.

But a week later, I'm bawling my eyes out like a little girl hurt by the big bad world.

Ba-dum.

And maybe I am.

Ba-dum.

I know I'm hurt.

Ba-dum.

But I didn't know I was wounded this badly.

Ba-dum.

There's a hole in my chest.

Ba-dum.

I can feel it growing.

Ba-dum.

Someone's walking towards me.

Ba-dum.

I can see their black flats hitting the ground.

Ba-dum.

It's steady and hypnotic.

Ba-dum.

They're close now.

Ba-dum.

Too close.

Ba-dum.

I turn away.

Ba-dum.

My hands hold my weight while my sandals struggle to gain traction.

Ba-dum.

They're behind me now.

Ba-dum.

I'm on my feet.

Ba-dum.

Before I run, I hear a voice as clear as day, and it cuts me to the bone.

Ba-dum.

"Rocky?" she whispers.

Ba-dum, ba-dum, ba-dum.

I turn slowly.

Ba-dum, ba-dum, ba-dum.

My eyes rest on her feet first.

Ba-dum, ba-dum, ba-dum.

Black flats.

Ba-dum, ba-dum, ba-dum.

They travel up.

Ba-dum, ba-dum, ba-dum.

White tights.

Ba-dum, ba-dum, ba-dum.

I wipe my eyes.

Ba-dum, ba-dum, ba-dum.

Black pencil skirt.

Ba-dum, ba-dum, ba-dum.

Higher.

Ba-dum, ba-dum, ba-dum.

Thick silver belt.

Ba-dum, ba-dum, ba-dum.

A bell rings dimly in the back of my head.

Ba-dum, ba-dum, ba-dum.

White and gray button-up flannel.

Ba-dum, ba-dum, ba-dum.

Black blazer.

I can't look any higher than the collarbone.

Ba-dum, ba-dum, ba-dum.

It's her.

Ba-dum, ba-dum, ba-dum.

I chose the outfit.

Ba-dum, ba-dum, ba-dum.

It's her style.

Ba-dum, ba-dum, ba-dum.

Not the usual for a corpse.

Ba-dum, ba-dum, ba-dum.

Nobody complained.

Ba-dum, ba-dum, ba-dum.

Not that I can hear much these days.

Ba-dum, ba-dum, ba-dum.

But I can hear her.

Ba-dum, ba-dum, ba-dum.

I must be hallucinating.

Ba-dum, ba-dum, ba-dum.

She's dead.

Ba-dum, ba-dum, ba-dum.

I look up.

Ba-dum, ba-dum, ba-dum.

Pale lips, pink cheeks, perfect skin.

And those eyes.

Brown and caring, but there's something different. The red. I can't get over it. It's not her.

She's changed.

I don't know how or why, but this isn't quite my Cece.

"Breathe, Rocky."

I comply immediately, and my heart picks up its alarming tempo like it had never paused.

Ba-dum, ba-dum, ba-dum.

"Cece?" It's the first thing I've said all week.

Ba-dum, ba-dum, ba-dum.

"Yeah."

Ba-dum, ba-dum, ba-dum.

I'm hallucinating, I'm definitely going crazy. The doctor said that it might happen.

Ba-dum, ba-dum.

I take a breath and meet her eyes again.

"Look, I know you're wondering how-"

Ba-dum, ba-dum.

I envelop her in a hug.

Ba-dum, ba-dum.

It feels like she's right here.

Ba-dum, ba-dum.

But she pushes me away.

Ba-dum, ba-dum.

Her eyes are wide.

Ba-dum, ba-dum.

They're all red.

Ba-dum, ba-dum.

Something's wrong.

Ba-dum, ba-dum, ba-dum.

Her hands are covering her face.

Ba-dum, ba-dum, ba-dum.

Over her mouth and nose.

Ba-dum, ba-dum, ba-dum.

Her eyes flicker over me.

Ba-dum, ba-dum, ba-dum.

She gives me a longing look before turning and sprinting off.

Ba-dum, ba-dum, ba-dum.

She can run a lot faster than I thought.

Ba-dum, ba-dum, ba-dum.

I can't get that look she gave me out of my mind.

Ba-dum, ba-dum, ba-dum.

It was almost predatory.


AN: Ooh, suspense. Yeah, I'm sure you've figured it out by now. But I'm not telling! Yet. God, I feel like there's so many errors with this. Grr. Oh well. My editor (ShinyRissy) loved it, so I'll try to update ASAP, so... Review!

And I promise I'll try to finish it! I'm super proud of myself for finishing a chapter, so maybe I can be extra proud for finishing a story. Reviews always help. :)