A/N: Sup guys? Hoping you are all good! Well now, let me introduce you to my new fic in a long time, and the first written in English: Secrets Can Kill! This time, it's a Bakugan Battle Brawlers fic, mixing romance and suspense/crime. Don't be afraid to read and review, it's always helpful, even when it's to be hard on me (yup, considering I have to exercise my English some more, and how bad it is compared to others). Pairings will be mostly Shun/Alice, but also Dan/Runo, Billy/Julie, Ace/Mira and others to come. I'll develop them through the story though, so don't expect too early for some. The Bakugans will be featured too, but there might be some things not accurate, since I only watched Season 1 + half of New Vestroia. Enjoy!

Summary: Everyone has a dirty little secret, and the female brawlers are no exception. And now someone is using the secrets that Alice, Julie, Mira and Runo possess to manipulate them...in ways that could get them killed.

Disclaimer: I don't own Bakugan Battle Brawlers, sadly. If I did, Alice and Shun would be dating long ago and she would still be there *gross sobbing*

Prologue: Witnesses

3 months ago

Tonight was a rather out-of-ordinary Friday night for Alice Gehabich. Usually, the red-head spent her Fridays revising and doing homework, occasionally cuddling on her living room's couch with hot chocolate and a movie. Yet tonight was different, for there was no more homework to be done, no exams to revise for. This Friday night was Bayview High's annual formal dance; the night marking the end of the girls' junior year, the night where everyone from school would reunite and party all night long. At first, Alice hadn't wanted to go. The next day, she would fly back to Russia with her grandfather for the holidays, and she still had lots of stuff to pack. Of course, the group had decided something else; since it was her last day with them, and they wouldn't see each other for 2 months, they had talked her into coming. After some time, she thought it might be a good idea to end the year on a positive note (plus, she had already been asked out by someone, and hadn't felt like declining).

After all, what could go wrong?

"Oh nothing, just pretty much everything", Alice thought. Okay, maybe not everything, just one thing or two. She was exaggerating a little too much, she realized, that would be normal. This wasn't her usual..."environment", after all. Alice rather enjoyed the silence and calmness, which she didn't get as much as she would have wished for; with Runo Misaki and Julie Makimoto for best friends, tranquility was definitely a luxury she couldn't afford. Even Mira Clay, another best friend of hers, had her mood swings every once on a while. But after so much time, she had grown to have a certain level of tolerance when yells and squeals were involved. Still, tonight was a different matter.

Loud music echoed in the school's gymnasium, reconverted for the occasion into a ball room, and Chris Corner's Nightlife blasted in her ears. "I want to know how to survive in the nightlife...", right Chris, me too. The tune was nice and pretty accurate - although not as true as After Every Party I Die - , but it hurt to have it so near, deafening her. Here and there, projectors sent rays of colorful lights around the room, most of them blinding the teen and making her dizzy. Looking around, she remtarked that she wasn't the only one. Most people moved like zombies, both on the dancefloor and on their seats. Groans, drunk dances and some others keeping themselves from puking, their faces red and slightly puffy. Few were still sane, apparently, considering the amount of punch remaining, and the heavy scent of alcohol in the air. Else, the party might have been considered as enjoyable. In corners of the room, she spotted small groups of girls gossiping, others making-out rather...aggresively, and not always with the opposite sex. Now that's the kind of party Julie likes.

Speaking of her...where was she?

"Hey guys, where's Julie?" she asked to Runo and Mira. The three of them leaned against an improvised bar, Runo and Mira seemed to have trouble staying straight on their seats. Stoned, probably. After dancing on all songs, even the slow ones, and drinking so much punch, they could hardly stand on their heels without risking to trip. The red-head wouldn't have been surprised, had the punch been spiked. Things like that always happened.

"Huh? Oh Julie, hum, dunno," the blunette and other red-head muttered groggily, "probably with Billy". That last part was said in a rather bitter tone. Alice felt bad for the duo. Of all the group, Julie and her had been the only ones with dates, the Australian with her long-time boyfriend Billy Gilbert, and herself with Klaus Von Hertzon, school posh and royalty, all-time drama queen...huh king. She didn't even remember why she had actually accepted his invitation to the dance; probably the puppy eyes he'd made at her. Back then, he hadn't been the first to ask her out, but she prefered to go with someone she knew instead of going with a fan boy of hers. Mira and Runo had fan boys of their own of course, since they were part of the most popular girls at Bayview, but they were too oblivious to their presence. And then, it was hard to digest the fact that your crush was with someone else, or that he didn't exist at all. Runo had a thing for Dan Kuso, one of Bayview's most popular boys, definitely not single, yet she would never admit it. Mira, though, had had a few dates with a certain Baron, who hadn't shown up at the party; what was the point, anyway? Mira only liked him the way you like a brother, a friend. Simply put, nothing too serious. If there was some jealousy amongst the group, they wouldn't let it show. In any case, the girls liked each other way too much to staymad for long because of stupid things.

"Hey guys" a bubbly voice said from behind them. The girls turned. There was Julie Makimoto, cheerleader and insatiable shopaholic, standing right in front of them with a grin too big for her face spread on her lips. At least someone here looked satisfied with what she saw. Julie was radiant in her baby pink shiny dress and assorted shoes. Alice always felt a tad nervous when she was with her. Julie was a natural beauty, just like her, yet she often found her charms inferior to hers. God knew if she actually had any charm. Right now, she felt a bit self-conscious in her green gown, and she could tell Mira and Runo, respectively clad in black and white, felt the same.

"Julie! Where were you? We were worried sick about you". Instantly, the silver-haired teen was showered with questions she didn't bother to answer. She simply stood, a smile still on her face, a mischievous gleam in her eyes. After a moment she finally decided to talk.

"Don't worry, buddies, I'm good! In fact, good is too small a word to describe what I just lived! Remember that motel near the school I told you about, at the beginning of the year?"

The girls nodded. Julie's smile seemed to become wider - if that was possible.

"Well...Billy and I went there and...well, you could say that we then let nature's laws take over."

The reaction she got from her friends was priceless, and she wished she had her camera right now. They looked at her with wide eyes, their mouths dropping to the floor. She had expected this kind of thing, after all. You don't often hear a friend confessing about her first time.

"OMG JULIE MAKIMOTO WHY DIDN'T YOU TELL US BEFORE? HOW WAS IT?" The drunken state was over, and they practically yelled at the glowing girl. A few heads turned in their direction, but they ignored them. Most of the squeals were covered by loud music.

"Sorry girls, but I didn't know before! And you heard me, it was indescribable! AMAZING is an euphemism! I just hope you'll get to experience that soon, right, Alice?"

The mood seemed to darken again, at the last part. Runo and Mira sulked a bit, Alice felt her cheeks heating up. She didn't felt that way towards Klaus, Julie couldn't possibly insinuate that...

"By the way, where is Klaus? Isn't it disrespectful to abandon his date?" She didn't miss the sarcasm in her voice. Julie, like many others, hated him.

"Oh, who cares? I didn't even plan on coming with him!" Alice replied. That was rude, but it was true. In the end, Klaus had only danced a few slows with her, and it wasn't exactly fun; most of the time, he'd talked about his money, his family, his money, his plans for the future...and his money. Then he'd disappeared. She quickly scanned the room, only to find him banging on the boys' restroom, his face a greenish shade. She frowned when she saw this.

"How romantic," Mira remarked beside her. Alice nodded. Oh boy, what a disastrous night. Now she really wanted to get out of here.

"I don't know about you, but I really want to go home. I'll say goodbye and come back, okay?"

The rest of the group nodded. The atmosphere was rather gloomy. She could tell from their faces, seeing the sadness in their reassuring smiles and eyes. Alice herself wanted to cry. She quickly rubbed her eyes, not wanting to ruin everything.

She started to make her way towards a sick Klaus when she heard the scream.

Alarmed, she snapped up her head, her eyess going straight to the spot where her friends remained. They looked alarmed too, and upon seeing her expression they all nodded.

Others were looking everywhere too, taken aback by the sudden sound. So they hadn't been the only ones to hear it.

"The door!" Runo yelled. They stood up, running to the door as fast as they could, not caring about the way their heels made them run slowly. Mira went for it first, leading the others, and pushed the door. The quartet sped up outside, and they got out just in time to witness the scene right in front of them

The body lay on the ground, choking to death. Red flowers opened and spread on various part of her dress. Her face was pale, eyes watery. A knife lay beside the victim. Further , a shadow sped away, dressed in black.

The girls stared, both at the body and the one who'd committed it.

Behind them, a voice called: "Don't just stay there like idiots! Come on, call the police! Help her!"

It was too late anyway. No one could save her.

Before she faded into darkness, Alice heard a scream filling her ears, louder than any pop song.

So, any thoughts on this first chapter? Please review! And, friendly reminder that this is just the beginning, secrets are coming soon. But I still have some doubts about the secrets our four friends will have. Here is a list of secrets they could have, please choose your 4 favourite secrets to help me out! :

-I'm obsessed with stealing

-I'm pregnant, etc…

-I have a sickness that might kill me

-I cheated in a test/exam

-I cheated on my boyfriend

-I love someone I shouldn't like (teacher/student implied relationship)

-I'm a drug addict/dealer

-I murdered someone