They're split apart
"I'll miss you."
"I'll miss you too."
And they don't reunite
"I don't want this to be the end."
"It won't be."
Until it's too late
It was impossible. L couldn't be dead. He just couldn't. Any minute now, he would wake up and yell "Fooled you!" But he didn't. The impossible had happened.
Starring:
Massie Block
Massie moaned. This was going to be a long year.
L
"Look, I have to go. The English teacher's giving me the evil eye."
Alicia Rivera
"L's dead, and we never even kissed!" Massie moaned.
"So kiss him now." Alicia said, oozing duh.
"Ew, gross. I don't want to kiss a dead guy, even if he is cute."
Dylan Marvil
"There's a lunch involved? Can I have it?"
Kristen Gregory
"Massie, I've organized a suicide watch."
Claire Lyons
Claire offered Massie a gummy worm.
"Sugar will help you, Massie."
C
"Massie! Fancy running into you here! How's high school treating you?"
A
A patted Massie on the back, trying to console her.
"Massie, I'm sorry about L." he said. Massie only cried harder.
Z
"I've done this a hundred times before." Z thought to himself. He turned the ignition, put the car in reverse, and…crashed into the ditch across the street from his house.
J
"Who will I be donut boy to now?!?!?!?!?"
Dragon Pictures Presents
The Alliance: The Last Stand
Coming soon to theaters everywhere
The Library, 1500 hours, the last day of summer
Massie looked L in the eyes. "I'll miss you. Good luck at AMSA."
"I'll miss you too." L said. "Good luck at PA."
"Thanks. I'll text you on the first day there."
"I'll be waiting." L moved towards the exit.
"L, wait!" Massie said.
"What?"
"I don't want this to be the end."
"It won't be." L turned, and left Massie alone.
Phillips Academy, 0800 hours, 1st day of school
Massie moved with a strange persistence. Her goal of the minute was to find the Pretty Committee.
They were near the bell tower, where they had agreed to meet on the first day. A was with them. Massie smiled. The more Alliance members, the merrier.
"Hey, I missed you guys! How was your vacation?" Massie asked, shifting her Dentyne Ice to the side of her mouth.
"You know how." Claire said.
"Abysmally dull." A said.
"Loco." Alicia said.
"Fattening." Dylan said.
"Same old stay-home summer." Kristen lamented.
"Guys, we should head to Assembly." Claire said, as the school bell began to ring.
"Kuh-laire, boarding students don't have to go to Assembly." Massie rolled her eyes.
"Well, where do we go?"
"Our dorms. We have an hour of free time before our classes."
"I'm in Dorm 10. You?"
"10." Massie said.
"10," the rest of the PC confirmed.
"11, the boys' dorm is just down the hall." A blushed crimson.
Massie laughed. "Don't get any ideas…" she warned.
"As if." A said.
"What, does boy blood taste better than girl blood?" Alicia asked.
"Or is it less fattening?" Dylan asked.
The jokes about A's vampiric appearance made a whooshing noise as they flew over his head.
"Dyl, how was your summer fattening? You haven't gained a pound." Claire said.
"All I could eat in Italy was pasta, not to mention the tomato sauce." Dylan said.
"Eugch, do you know how many calories pasta has? I am definitely never going to Italy." Alicia said.
"It's not actually that bad. I checked." Dylan said.
Dorm 10, 0830 hours, still the 1st day
Claire looked at the HUGE walk-in closets in their dorm and decided that she would share the dresser with Kristen. Her stuff would look shabby hanging. She took the clothes in her black Hawaiian-print polycarbonate suitcases out of their vacuum-sealed plastic bags and put them, still folded, into the drawers. Massie, Alicia, and Dylan, meanwhile, hung their designer clothes in the closets. Massie set her jewelry tree on top of the textbooks on her nightstand.
"Now it feels like home," she said.
Alicia placed a photo of her and her cousins, Isobel, Celia, and Nina, on a beach in Spain on top of the textbooks on her nightstand. She smiled.
Dylan placed a bunch of scented candles on her nightstand and in the closet. "Home sweet home," she said after sniffing a vanilla one.
Kristen placed her first soccer trophy on her nightstand and put the textbooks into her Kate Spade tote.
Claire put the books in her white canvas L.L. Bean tote and placed a photo of her family on the nightstand in their place. It had been taken by a standing camera a week before she left for Phillips.
Kristen unpacked into her half of the dresser. She and Claire were the first ones ready for classes. Massie was second, Dylan was third, and Alicia was last. They went down the hall to the boys' dorm to get A and go to class.
A was waiting outside. "I checked, and I only have Math, Lunch, and English with all of you guys. I have French, Art, and History with Massie and Claire, CS and Geography with Alicia and Phys. Ed. with Kristen. We have double English and then double Math first, then Lunch, and then we part."
"Gotcha. Come on." Massie towed him behind her as she ran out through the courtyard.
"I know where all the classes are," A panted. "To get to the Humanities building, we turn left here, then right, then left again, and we're there."
The PC followed A's lead, and found themselves in their English class.
Dorm 10, 1900 hours
Massie stretched out on her bed. She remembered that she was supposed to IM L when her phone rang. It was J, of all people.
"I miss you! Who will I be donut boy to now?!?!?!" J asked.
"You'll find someone." Massie hung up. Her Mac beeped, announcing an IM.
NERD_XYZ: Massie, it's me, L. How's life?
MASSIEKUR: High school sucks *10.
NERD_XYZ: So does Windows. What else is new? And about your screen name, is it a mangling of manicure or massacre?
MASSIEKUR: Manicure, duh. And r u nuts? I 3 Windows!
NERD_XYZ: Why?
MASSIEKUR: It's so hackable, it has such crappy antivirus software…what's not 2 3?
NERD_XYZ: Ha-ha-ha, funny. G2G, text u l8r?
MASSIEKUR: Bye. TTYL.
NERD_XYZ has signed off.
Massie signed off IM, and turned to face the PC.
"What?" she asked.
"Well, I think you should really talk to someone other than L sometimes." Alicia said.
Massie lobbed a Jimmy Choo high heel at her.
Z's house, 0830 hours
Z's cellphone rang, startling him out of his daydream. It was L calling.
"So, did it work?" Z asked.
"No," L sighed. Through the speakers, it sounded like someone crumpling tinfoil.
"Sucks to be you. It worked for me." Z said.
Z and L had planned to pretend to be sick to skive off a day of school that involved a Calculus exam. It had worked for Z, but L hadn't been so lucky.
"What did you do?" Z asked.
"Alarm clock rings, I punch the off button and roll over. Secondary alarm-Mom-comes in. I tell her I feel awful. Puffy red eyes, swollen nose, bunch of tissues in the trashcan, the works. She's not buying it. I tell her I can't go to school like this, she says I'm a crappy liar, and now I'm stuck at school."
"Dude, you under-did it! You should have fake-retched and/or spouted fake barf all over the floor."
"Well, thanks for the tip. I'll try harder next time. Look, I have to go. The English teacher's giving me the evil eye."
"Ms. Kimbell? That sucks. Talk to you later." Z hung up. He turned back to his computer. What could he do today? The answer came almost at once: visit Massie. It was technically visiting day at Phillips, so…
But he couldn't take his old crap heap-Massie would never let him live it down. Should he take his father's old Mercedes-Benz, or his mom's Lexus which she had no use for? The Mercedes.
Z grabbed the keys from the secret compartment in the top left-hand drawer of his father's desk and walked out the door. He got into the Mercedes, and put the key in. Then, he had a small internal debate-the typical angel-and-devil should I or shouldn't I? He went with the of-course-you-should point of view, as usual.
"I've done this a hundred times before." Z thought to himself. He turned the ignition, put the car in reverse, and…crashed into the ditch across the street from his house. His first thought was to check for broken bones. Nothing broken. Lucky him. His second thought was I'd better get the car out of here. He drove forward, and somehow, miraculously, drove the Mercedes out of the ditch.
Z parked the car in the spot he had found it, and returned to the house. He put the keys back and went back to his room. He should just stick to texting Massie in the future…
Phillips Academy, Dorm 10, 0800 hours
Massie stood impatiently while Kristen fiddled with her Mac, setting up a video chat with L. Finally, Kristen stood back and said "Chat away, Massie."
Massie pulled the swivel chair up to the computer. L's face appeared on the screen.
"You look awful." Massie said.
"Just practicing pretending to be sick. Got any tips?"
"Of course. Ketchup diluted with warm water for fake vomit, glass of hot water to dunk the thermometer in, and cold water for fake-clammy hands. Got that?" Massie asked.
"Yep. How do you know all this stuff?" L asked.
"Duh, I fake sickness on MCAS days ALL the time!" Massie said.
"No wonder you're so confident!" L said. "Hey, listen, are all of you there?"
"All minus A, C, Z, and J. A is in the dorm down the hall. Should I get this into the common room?" Massie asked.
"That would be nice." L said. "I want to talk to A."
Massie sent A a text. MEET US IN CR IN 10 MINS. Then, with help from Kristen and Claire, she carried the computer down a flight of stairs to the common room.
A was waiting for them there.
"What's this about?" he asked.
"Long story short, I was having a video chat with L and he wanted to talk to you." Massie said.
"Awesome! I need to tell him something hilarious that happened in History today."
"Great." Massie left A and L to chat, and wandered off to another corner of the common room.
After a few minutes, the clear-up-because-classes-will-start-soon bell rang, and Massie terminated the link and shoved the PowerBook into her bag.
Z's house, 0800 hours
Z's cellphone vibrated. Because he was sitting on it, he shot maybe three inches into the air. L was calling again.
"So, did it work this time?"
"Yeah." L sneezed.
"You don't have to do the sick act with me; I know you're not sick." Z said.
There was no answer but an outburst of yowling, screeching noises and L swearing.
"Sorry, cat nearly mauled me," L said when he got back on the line. "Get OFF, you stupid cat!" There was another yowling noise, and silence.
"Now, about the continuation of the fake sick act with me…" Z said.
"That was purely accidental, I swear." L coughed. "That too."
"L, you sound awful. Are you sure you should be leaving the house at all today?"
"I swear, I feel absolutely fine." L said.
"OK, see you in what, like ten minutes or something?" Z asked.
"See you." L said. He hung up. Z hung up too, and went outside to wait for L to show up.
L's old Honda pulled up in Z's driveway. L got out. He looked worse than he sounded.
"L, I really think you should have stayed at home." Z said.
"What are you, my conscience? I feel absolutely fine!"
"On your own head be it." Z muttered.
"So…whose car are we going in? Mine or yours?" L asked.
"Neither. I've decided to 'borrow' my mom's Lexus that she never drives anyway." Z said.
"Are you sure she won't blow her top?"
"No worse than Dad when he found out that I crashed his precious Mercedes-Benz into a ditch on my other 'sick' day."
"Is it a coincidence that we skive off school on Massie's visiting days?" L asked.
"Nope." Z grinned. He slid into the driver's seat, and L got in next to him.
"Seatbelts?" L asked.
"Sure, whatever. I have no use for them, but you do what you like." Z said.
L barely had time to fasten his seatbelt. Z backed out of the driveway and drove down the street, definitely breaking the speed limit. L would have interfered, but there was no stopping Z when he was in his little "happy place". Sometimes L wondered if Z ever left his "happy place".
They arrived at Phillips Academy in record time, though L could have sworn Z broke all the speed limits. Z parked his car in the "visitors" spot, and got out. He and L looked around. Massie wasn't in the courtyard, or in the parking lot.
"What number did she say her dorm was?" Z asked.
"Ten. The Moore Building." L supplied.
"Gotcha. Come on."
"Are you sure about this?" L asked.
"As sure as I ever am about anything bad I do." Z said.
"Um, you haven't done any bad things before this year. Who are you and what have you done with my friend?" L asked.
"The real Z is tied up in a closet somewhere, and I won't let him out until college." Z joked.
Meanwhile, in Dorm 10…
Massie was stretched out on her bed when someone knocked on the door. She jumped up and opened it.
The girl standing before her couldn't have been C, could it? But it was. Same reddish-brown hair, same blue-green eyes, same purple hoodie.
"C?" Massie asked.
"Massie! Fancy running into you here! How's high school treating you?" C asked.
"Fine, fine. What are you doing here?"
"I just got in, a few days late, and this is my assigned dorm." C plunked her stuff down on the empty bed beside Massie's. She noticed Massie's schedule. "Hey, all our classes are together! Sweet!"
Massie moaned. This was going to be a long year.
There was another knock on the door. Massie opened it to see Z and L.
"Guys, what the hell are you doing here? I wasn't expecting to see you."
"What's the point of being friends if we can't pop in and surprise you?" L asked. He sneezed. He looked even worse than he had during their video chat.
"L, I really think you should have stayed home." Z said.
"I heard you the first time. Unless you are my new conscience, SHUT UP!" L playfully punched Z's arm.
"I actually agree with Z." Massie said. "You look really sick."
"Fine. If I feel awful tomorrow, I'm not going to go to school, even if I have a test that I can't make up later." L said.
"I think you shouldn't have come today. I'm not saying I didn't want you to come, but you look really awful. I think you should go home and relax for once in your life."
"And I think I'm going to ignore you. Hi, C! What are you doing here?"
"I just got here, and this was my assigned dorm!" C was ecstatic. Massie couldn't blame her. The more Alliance members, the merrier, as she had said before.
L sneezed again. "Look, I really have to leave," Z said. "I have, erm, homework. L, come on."
They left. Massie was alone again (well, technically she was surrounded by the Pretty Committee and C, but without L and Z, she felt alone).
Z's house, 1000 hours
"Z, what the heck was that about?" L asked.
"I really think you should go home. You look totally awful." Z pulled up into the driveway and let L out. He got out himself.
"Bye, L. See you whenever. At school, or the next time we decide to skive it off…" Z trailed off.
"Bye." L said, unlocking his car and getting in. He drove more carefully than Z, a fact Z noticed.
"WUSS!" Z yelled at the car. "You drive like an old lady!"
L stuck his head out the open window. "Shut up! At least I don't drive like a lunatic!"
Dorm 10, 1200 hours
Massie rolled her eyes. Alicia was holding them up by going through all the outfits in her closet, trying them on, and then chucking them out. She'd been doing this for hours, and Massie was royally pissed off by now.
As Alicia emerged from the bathroom wearing her latest ensemble-a navy blue RL blazer, with matching RL cords and a pale blue RL tank, Massie grabbed her and pulled her and the rest of the Pretty Committee out the door. If they didn't hurry, they'd miss watching and mocking the LBRs having their Visiting Day.
Visiting day came once every month, and the PC had made sure their parents would stay away. Having Alliance members over was cool, but having parents come-social suicide.
Dorm 10, 1300 hours, the next day
Massie was shocked out of a pleasant daydream when her Blackberry Storm rang. It was Z.
"What?"
"Massie, I need your help. Something is seriously wrong with L." Z sounded like he was panicking, which wasn't a good sign. Z usually kept his head when everyone around was losing theirs.
"What is it?"
"Well, he didn't eat lunch…"
"That's not like L."
"And now he's collapsed in the middle of class and it doesn't look as if he's breathing."
"Crap. Which teacher?"
"Ms. Kimbell. Is that really important?"
"No, I just felt like knowing."
She hung up. L's time was running out, and she needed the remainder of the Alliance for this. The PC and C were in the dorm already, but she'd have to go get A. She sent him a text.
EMERGENCY MEETING OF REMAINING ALLIANCE MEMBERS IN CR IN 5 MINS. B THERE OR L DIES.
He was there.
"L's going to die?" he asked.
"Apparently. Something's wrong with him. I mean, really wrong."
"What?"
"I have no idea. I just found out."
A gulped. "What happened?"
"He didn't finish his lunch…"
"Wait, there's a lunch involved? Can I have it?" Dylan asked.
"Pig! All you can think about is your stomach!" Massie said. "This is the life of the other consul of the Alliance we are talking about here, and all you can think about is yourself!"
"Sorry for being born." Dylan muttered.
"And then he collapsed in the middle of English class, and he seems to be either dead or in a coma. Hopefully, he's in a coma."
A pulled out his laptop and began typing an email to the school principal.
"Now is not the time to complain to the principal!" Massie screeched.
"I'm writing an email to get us out of classes for as long as necessary." A explained.
"Your excuse?"
"One of our friends has a life-threatening illness and we have to see him."
"That's the truth, dingus."
"Exactly." A said.
Massie's Blackberry buzzed. She looked at it and saw a text from Z.
COMING 2 PICKUP THE REST OF THE ALLIANCE. B READY IN 30 MINS. TAKING U 2 SEE L.
Massie fired back a CU IN ½ HOUR, then faced the rest of the Alliance.
"Z's picking us up in like half an hour, so be ready," she said, biting back tears.
Massie led the PC up to their dorm. "ALICIA, I want you to be ready in fifteen minutes. No more choosing, trying, chucking. That will not work."
Alicia picked up a red RL top and paired it with her favorite Sevens, an RL blazer, and some blood-red Prada wedge heels.
Massie smiled. "Ah-proved."
The Alliance was ready in less than half an hour, but the remaining time was used to find their way out of the dorm and to the parking lot. Z was waiting.
"What kept you?" he asked.
"We're not late!" Massie protested.
"I know. I was just kidding around. Sorry."
"Ugh, whatever. Will everyone fit in the car? And are you even old enough to drive?"
"Yes and yes."
"I don't think we can cram seven people into one four-passenger car." Massie said.
"Desperate times call for desperate measures." Z said. He pressed a button on the dashboard, and the trunk unfolded and merged with the car itself to form a third row of seats. Massie grinned.
"Now we can," she said.
They piled in, and drove off.
Massie tapped Z on the shoulder. "Slow down a tad, you drive like a lunatic."
"Shut up, Wussie Block."
"So, since L is about to die, maybe now would be a good time to tell me how you two became friends? You're total opposites."
"Well, it was in sixth grade…" Z began.
Five years ago
Z walked through the hallways of the AMSA Lower School. He was lost on his way to math class, and he was close to tears. He was so distracted, he nearly bumped into the tallest boy in his class.
"Sorry," Z choked out. "I'm lost, and I'm afraid I'm going to be late for math."
"It's fine. I'm L. Do you need any help?"
"Yeah."
L looked at a map of the school-where did he get that?- and pointed Z in the right direction.
"Thanks." Z said.
Later, at lunch, Z noticed L sitting alone, looking sad. He went over and sat next to him.
"Hey." Z said. "Thanks for the tip this morning."
"No problem." L said.
"Don't you just hate Mr. Brown?" Z asked.
Mr. Brown was their English teacher.
"Yeah. It's not the material, it's the way he teaches, going on and on and on and on…"
"Yeah." Z said. "Look, do you want to be friends?"
"Sure." L said, looking a bit surprised.
"I never had friends before I came here. I was always a 'nerd' at my old school." Z said. He was babbling now. His brain was sending him signals to shut up.
"Same here." L said.
"Just because I like math, and reading, and hate sports, I'm instantly a nerd. Isn't that unfair?"
"Yeah, I mean, I'm a Latin fanatic, but here that doesn't make me a nerd. At my old school it would have."
"You like Latin too? That's weird."
"Why?"
"I'm obsessed with it!"
"Are you on the competition team? I signed up before school started."
"Same. Let's hope we're on the same team."
The bell rang. Z went upstairs to his locker. L had the one right on top of his. He was maybe half a foot taller than Z, so it was fair.
Four years ago
Z saw L get into an argument with two girls. Unfortunately, he picked a fight with the most popular girls in the class. Z was about to step in when L killed the girls. L wheeled around. Z had been there the whole time. He had seen everything. He couldn't be trusted.
"You tell, and you'll meet the same end as them." L warned.
That scared Z into not telling anyone.
Three years ago
Massie and her friends came to the school. They redefined cool, and were on the fast track to success. L "recruited" them to join him, J, T, C and Z, the school's few high honors students. This lasted until Massie and T had one final argument. Massie hit the roof and refused to be in the group anymore. That led to the Alliance, and the rest is history.
Massie almost cried, but kept herself composed. She couldn't look like she'd been insecure. It would not do for the alpha.
They pulled into an empty parking space, and piled out. Z led them determinedly into the building.
Massie had always hated hospitals. They were pure white, had awful lighting, and smelled of medicine and death. She would come to loathe this one, she just knew it.
They reached L's room. L looked so strange and out of place with all the machinery hooked up to him. He was still unconscious, and pale as a ghost. Massie nearly cried at this sad, totally non-alpha version of L. He seemed to have shrunk, but that was probably just an effect of the stuff connected to him.
As Massie entered, his eyelids fluttered. He was waking up.
"Where am I? I feel awful," he said. Then, his eyes fell on Massie.
"Massie, why are you here? And where are we?"
"You just randomly passed out in ELA." Z said. "So you wound up in the hospital. Tough luck, you can't go to school to take the MCAS. You'll just have to make it up later."
"If there is a later." L muttered.
"Well, if you have that morbid outlook on life, there won't be a later." Massie said.
L glared at her.
"In case you haven't noticed, I have a great risk of dying. So, there's a great chance that there won't be a later." L said.
"Oh, come on! You do not have a 'great risk of death'!" Massie said.
"Do too!"
"Do not!"
"I'm the one in the hospital!" L said. "I should know whether or not I'm going to die."
Massie rolled her eyes. "I'll talk to you again tomorrow, hopefully when you're less depressed."
"Bye."
Same time, same place, one week later
Massie tentatively poked her head into L's room before entering.
"Hey. How are you?"
"They figured out what's wrong with me." L said.
"What?" Alicia asked, shoving Massie into the room and entering herself.
"Read the chart thingy."
Massie grabbed the chart before Alicia could reach it.
"Linden Matthews? Your name is Linden?" Alicia asked. L shot her a death glare.
"Diagnosis: brain tumor? Oh, L!" Massie almost burst into tears.
"Well, there's some good news." L said.
"What?"
"It's benign, so it's not going to kill me, at least not for a while. But they can't remove it without removing a fair chunk of my brain with it."
"Oh. How are you?"
"As comfortable as I can be when my body feels like it's slowly being eaten away."
"Ouch." Claire said, wincing.
"They're going to run a few tests, and then they'll let me out."
"That's great. See you later." Massie said.
Dorm 10, 2000 hours, Halloween night
Massie pirouetted for the Pretty Committee plus C. She was dressed as a French maid-what a cliché- complete with grey feather duster. She looked appropriately cute, as Alicia pointed out. Alicia, meanwhile, was dressed as an elf, in a sparkly green top and matching miniskirt. She was wearing green Prada wedge heels, and had a green headband in her hair. Kristen was dressed as a vampire, Dylan was a princess, and Claire was Hannah Montana. C was dressed as what looked like a seriously overgrown German shepherd, but what she swore was a werewolf.
A knocked on the door. He was dressed as Albert Einstein.
"Nice hair," Massie snorted, pirouetting again.
"Nice feather duster." A retorted.
Massie's cell buzzed. "Hey, it's L!"
"What does it say, what does it say????" Alicia hopped up and down
Massie read the text. It said: THEY LET ME OUT. CU SOON .
"What does he mean, see you soon?" A asked. The answer was immediate.
There was a knock at the door. Massie opened it. L stood there, blushing slightly.
"Did I interrupt something? Fall cleaning?" he joked, upon noticing Massie's costume.
Now it was Massie's turn to blush. "Not really."
"Nice hair, A. What did you do to it?" L asked.
"Van de Graff generator in Physics class, plus some white hair dye. It should wash off, in about a month." A said.
"I remember that!" L grinned. "My hair stuck out like crazy, but you should have seen Z's! He looked like a porcupine."
Massie suppressed a loud and unladylike snort at the thought.
"What are you doing here, though?" Alicia asked.
"What, a guy can't visit his friend on Halloween?" L asked.
"I notice you said friend, singular. Do you mean Massie?" Claire said.
"Did I say friend? I meant friends." L said.
"Suuuuure you did." Dylan said, oozing sarcasm.
Now that Massie got a good look at L, he still looked awful. He was so thin that his skin seemed stretched over his skeleton, and every bone and joint jutted out painfully. He was white as a ghost, which Massie thought was appropriate, seeing as this was Halloween night.
"So, what are you guys planning to do?" L asked.
"Well, we were going to TP the clock tower," Massie began.
"Then, we were planning to spray whipped cream over all of the teachers' cars," Claire chimed in.
"And then, we were going to hide in the bushes and chuck water balloons at everyone who comes out of the building," Dylan said.
"Ooh, we were also going to write 'We love you, Mr. McCraig' on our English teacher's car in soap." Alicia said.
"And then we were going to suck people's blood-at least, A and I were." Kristen said.
"And, for a grand finale, we'd show up at the dace and spray Silly String all over the band geeks." C chimed in.
"Well, you seem to have a fun evening planned out-mind if I join in?" L asked.
"Feel free." Massie said, grabbing a giant L.L. Bean duffel bag off her bed and hefting it over her shoulder. She led the Alliance minus J and Z out of the dorm and out of the building.
Clock Tower, Phillips Academy, Halloween night
L crouched behind the bushes surrounding the base of the tower, and waited for the bell to stop chiming the hour. When it did, he gave Massie and the rest of the group the signal; they could TP it all they wanted. Massie pulled out several rolls of toilet paper, and tossed one to each member of the group, including L. Then, she gave one simple command: "Go nuts with it."
Each person TP'ed a different part of the tower: L , Massie, and Alicia did the tower itself; Kristen, Dylan, and Claire did the trees; and A and C did the bushes behind which L had been hiding only moments before.
When the TP had dwindled down to nothing, the group stood back and admired their work.
"To the parking lot!" Massie yelled.
Staff Parking lot, Phillips Academy, Halloween night
Massie tossed Alicia the remaining can of whipped cream, as well as a bar of soap. "You get to do McCraig's car. Go wild." Then, she turned to her Bio teacher's car, and sprayed the whipped cream, pausing only when L sprayed some in her mouth. She retaliated by spraying his entire face. L licked most of it off, leaving only a white mask around his eyes. Massie giggled.
When the last can was empty, everyone crowded around Alicia's masterpiece-the thing that had once been Mr. McCraig's green Honda Accord. She had written "We you, Mr. McCraig!" in large letters on the hood in soap, and covered the rest with a layer of whipped cream. It looked like a snowdrift.
Massie grinned, and led the group to the bushes outside the main building, where the Halloween Dance was taking place.
The Bushes outside the Main Building, Halloween night
"Remember the dance last year at AMSA?" Massie asked.
"Vaguely," L said. "Didn't you break up with me, take Z to the dance to piss me off, then make up with me during the last few minutes?"
"Basically." Massie grinned at the flashback.
L focused his attention on the entrance to the building. "First target exiting the doors. Fire in three, two , one…NOW!" Everyone threw their water balloons. They exploded upon impact, drenching the couple.
"Hey, isn't that Shona Greene with Rodney Davies?" Massie asked. "They're in my Bio class," she explained to L. "Biggest LBRs ever."
Shona's already sheer sea-foam green dress was now completely see-through and plastered to her body. Her beehive hairdo was a sodden mess, and her mascara was running down her face. Rodney's black hair was plastered flat to his skull, giving him the appearance of a vampire more than of Harry Potter. Except vampires didn't wear glasses. However, a well-shot balloon by Massie knocked the dorky frames off his face. He scrambled around trying to find them. A car drove over them, crushing them into oblivion.
"I can't tell if he's wet or if he's crying," Massie said.
"He's just wet." Alicia assured her.
"Ok. Now, everyone, the grand finale." Massie passed out the cans of Silly String, and grabbed one for herself. Then, she ditched the empty, unmonogrammed bag. "I'm making sure I won't be blamed," she explained to L.
"We go in, we make a beeline towards the band geeks, and we spray them." L said. "Am I right?"
"Exactly." Massie said. "Let's go."
They entered the building and made a beeline for the dance. Once in the room where the dance was taking place, they made a beeline for the band geeks. Massie stopped in her tracks, and the rest plowed into her.
"What?" L asked, looking at where Massie was pointing.
"Him. S. He's back." Massie was spluttering so badly, she couldn't talk in complete sentences. Sure enough, sitting in the front row was S, the little saboteur from the previous year. Massie turned and ran, not caring who she slammed into on her way to the door. If S was here, she was as good as dead.
L followed her, and the rest of the Alliance followed him. They finally caught up with her in her dorm.
"L, A- I want to have a private conversation with the girls. Bye, L, see you soon." Massie said. L took the hint and left. A lingered in the doorway for a few seconds. "Just so you know, before we ran, we spray S, and the rest of the geeks," he said.
Massie lifted her pink, blotchy face from the pillows. "Leave me alone for two minutes, okay?"
A took the hint and bolted.
Massie turned to the Pretty Committee and C. "Six words: I. Am. As. Good. As. Dead."
"One word: Gulp." Claire said.
"Seriously, if S could sabotage us last year, who knows if he'll try again this year?" Massie asked.
"Mass, I don' t think he even knew you were here." Alicia said. "Relax for once, dammit!"
Massie visibly relaxed. "OK, I believe you," she said.
Alicia grinned. Massie had too much faith in her. Little did she know that Alicia was secretly spilling her secrets to S. Alicia and S had secretly been an "item" since last year. It was love at first sight. But Massie didn't know, and she wouldn't, not if Alicia could help it.
Phillips Academy Grounds, Thanksgiving Day
Massie rubbed her mittenless hands together to stay warm and looked up at the sky. A single snowflake fluttered down, followed by more.
"It's snowing!" she yelled. Someone shoved a handful of snow down the back of her collar. She swore, turned around, and saw L grinning at her.
"Happy Thanksgiving, Mass," he said.
"You could have just said hi," Massie bristled.
"Yeah, but this seemed like more fun." L smiled. Massie noticed that he looked better-less pale, less thin.
"Everything's about fun with you, isn't it?" she joked.
"Pretty much, yeah." L said.
"Hello, Linden." Alicia had snuck up behind them. L rolled his ocean-blue eyes. "You'll never let me live my embarrassing name down, will you?" he asked.
"Never." Alicia grinned evilly.
Massie rolled her amber eyes. "L, why don't we just go for a walk around the campus?"
"Sounds great." They set off at a brisk pace so as not to get too cold. When they were on their second circle around the main building, L suddenly stopped dead.
"What's wrong?" Massie asked. L didn't answer. Instead, he collapsed face-first into the snow. Massie screamed, pulled out her Blackberry, and dialed 911.
"What's your emergency?"
"I was walking with my boyfriend around the Phillips Academy Campus, and he just suddenly collapsed! I don't think he's breathing!" Massie was frantic.
"We'll be right there."
A few minutes later, an ambulance pulled into the parking lot, and L was loaded into the back. Massie clambered in after him.
MGH, L's room
L was in the same exact room as last time, hooked up to the same exact machinery. His eyelids fluttered. He opened his eyes, and blinked a couple times to focus.
"Massie, why am I back here?" he asked.
"You just collapsed while we were walking. I didn't know what else to do."
"You saved my life, pretty much."
"Yeah."
A nurse came over just then.
"You'll have to leave," she said unceremoniously to Massie. Massie left without argument.
L's room, the day before December break
L was conscious but looking awful when Massie came to wish him a happy holiday. She was going on a cruise with her parents that left the very next day. L's skin was pale and waxy, and stretched tight over his bones. He was obviously going into a downward spiral.
"L, you have to fight this," she whispered. "The Alliance needs you. AMSA needs you. I need you."
"Massie, I'd fight it if I could. I just have to submit to it and let it kill me. I'm sorry. I'll miss you." L said, his voice soft and weak.
"Linden, you have to at least try." Alicia said.
"Yeah. The real L wouldn't just surrender." Kristen said.
"At least try, for Pete's sake." Dylan said. Only Claire remained silent. A lone tear streaked down her cheek.
"I can't. I have no energy left. But before I die, Massie, I want you to know this; I'll always be there for you. Maybe not in body, but in spirit. I love you." L said. Then, his eyes closed, and the heart and brain wave monitor readings flatlined with a loud, obnoxious, endless beep.
Massie blinked. She blinked again. This had to be some kind of joke. It was impossible. L couldn't be dead. He just couldn't. Any minute now, he would wake up and yell "Fooled you!" But he didn't. The impossible had happened. Massie threw herself over L's body and sobbed.
"L's dead, and we never even kissed!" Massie moaned.
"So kiss him now." Alicia said, oozing duh.
"Ew, gross. I don't want to kiss a dead guy, even if he is cute."
Dorm 10, Phillips Academy, the day before December break
Kristen poked her head into Massie's blanket tent. "Massie, I've organized a suicide watch," she said.
"A what?"
"You're depressed about L dying, and I'm worried you're going to kill yourself."
Massie let out a short barklike laugh. "Call it off. I'm not going to kill myself yet. It won't bring L back anyway."
Kristen left Massie alone, but was replaced by Claire.
Claire offered Massie a gummy worm.
"Sugar will help you, Massie," she said. "At least try."
Massie accepted the gummy worm and ate it. It didn't help at all. She was still sad.
A replaced Claire.
A patted Massie on the back, trying to console her.
"Massie, I'm sorry about L." he said. Massie only cried harder.
She understood the full implications of L's death. She would never get to see him again. She would never get to enjoy one of his jokes. And she would never get to tell him how awesome he was again.
Epilogue
Massie walked through the still and silent graveyard. She paused at L's headstone, and placed a bundle of flowers on it. She whispered, tears running down her face, "L, I love you."
She looked at her wrist. The twin pink scars stood out, perfect parallel lines, an eternal reminder of her failure to kill herself. Maybe it was time to try again. Nobody would see her until she died.
Massie pulled the rhinestone M pin out of the lapel of her blazer and gouged a deep cut. Then another. A third, all following the scars. Blood gushed out and pooled around her wrist, staining her sleeve permanently. She didn't care. She wouldn't need it where she was going.
Her last conscious thought was I'll see you soon, L. Then, she succumbed to the black vortex of death.