Courtney's P.O.V. – Chapter 2

I kick the stone on the pavement and my head flashes to the ground in an instant at the noise as I walk to school, hands in pockets and not looking at all like Courtney Jones should be when she's about to get learn something – grumpy.

Nothing. I haven't heard anything of him for the past month. I've looked on the internet and tried to see if there was absolutely anything but nothing ever shows up. I feel like it's my fault no one has seen him for ages, I feel like it's my fault that I was out there, I feel like it's my fault that he's still out there, somewhere, more or less waiting for someone to come and help him, and I, once again, feel like it's my fault that no one actually has. Every second of every day I'm told by Gwen and Bridgette that it isn't really my fault, but let's just generally admit it – it's my fault. I lost him and I didn't do anything to help him, and that's MY fault.

It's not like I meant to lose him. If I did, I would have probably done it in a much better way. I would probably have given him up in a flash to the police (another police force, not his parents), and collected a good bit of money for it. I wouldn't have let him get kidnapped by total strangers, who probably aren't smart enough to actually think of my plan and are probably not dumb enough to give him up to the law.

I've checked everywhere in the city. I've even been out of the city, and there's nothing. I'm starting to panic that I'll forget absolutely everything I've learnt from all my studying for the past 13 years because I've not been revising enough. Every single second of every day after school and before school is just looking for Duncan. I'm beginning to feel like I should just give up full stop. He could probably have escaped them by now – he's Duncan, after all – but he would have come back by now if he did. He would have found me by now, and he probably would have found his parents would by now. Not that he cares for them much.

I look up and see the school gates in a distance. I stop and look at them for a moment and generally think what would be different he was here. The rattle of the wheels of his skateboard against the pavement, the shouting, him pushing people to the ground and laughing and tens of kids lying on the ground, knocked over. And none of it's here – I just hear the impatient roar of the car's engines, waiting to get a good spot in the car park, the children standing up perfectly straight and laughing with happiness.

Yeah, the world really has taken a turn for the worst without him here. Imagine about half a year ago I would have immediately agreed that the world was a better place without that punk, and here I am now, so badly wishing and so badly hoping that he will appear. And then, the general disappointment that always hits of knowing that he will not appear.

Maybe he just hates me. Maybe he really doesn't have feelings for me, and this whole thing was set up to amuse him, along with my kidnapping a few months back. Maybe this is just a stupid game for him to play so he can later rub it in my face that I fell for him and he outsmarted me. Maybe he's away, studying or something, so that when I get into one of the best schools, he'll be there, saying that a criminal outsmarted me when I was younger. I just know this will happen.

Why did I ever on earth think…he was Duncan after all…

No. I won't fall for it. Not this time. Duncan Rivers I will not fall for your stupid tricks and stupid games, because Courtney Jones is smarter than that.

Ugh, I think, pacing up to the school gates, this world really is a better place without him.

Chris McLean's P.O.V

"I'm bored," I complain impatiently to my niece, standing next to her locker in her school. "This is so boring. Why can't we put printers on our head? Or drive go-karts into class? Why can't we shred all the textbooks? Why can't we hire a galactic monster to destroy a classroom? Why on earth can't we ask Chef Hatchet to annoy some sixteen year olds?"

"First, we don't have enough printers, and you'd probably break every single one of them. Second, where are you going to get these go-karts, and how are you going to bring them into my school? Where do you hire galactic monsters? Who is Chef Hatchet? And last but not least, DON'T YOU HAVE A JOB?!" she screams at me, angrily. "I've got stuff to do. Places to be. I don't need you constantly tagging along to every single place I have to go. It's starting to really be annoying. One of my best friend's boyfriends got kidnapped and I really don't need a star tagging along and distracting the whole search."

"Wait, so what happened again? Did Muncan die or something? Where was his funeral? Why wasn't I invited? What was the reception like? Did you eat cake?"

"No, Duncan didn't die, he's just gone missing. And he's been missing for a month or so, and it's not really something you can keep avoiding in your everyday life. And it really doesn't help that he's nowhere in the city."

I burst into absolute laugher. "LOL! LOL! Didn't that happen to Courtney, not Duncan you idiot! Oh, we obviously know who didn't get the brains in the family!"

She looks at me as if she's tired of what I just said, her expression changes and she literally face palms herself, "It happened to both of them and that's why it's so bad. I'm not sure you got the brains either. I think you were the one that actually got nothing."

"I got my smile, and my amazing ability to act, which I may remind you, you lack completely and my ability to walk with several printers on my head. Ha-ha! I inherited something after all."

She mutters something that I can't completely catch but it's something along the lines of 'why can't', 'normal' and 'uncle.'

Sometimes I think Gwen doesn't really grasp the reality of these kinds of situations. Duncan's probably away, skipping in pixie land playing Candy Crush Saga, which we both always play – I always beat him at it because he really sucks at it. The main problem with Gwen is that I help her out a lot, and she doesn't even realise it. I've helped her learn how to wear a printer on her head successfully, and although she isn't as good as me, she soon got it. I taught her how to write an autobiography, and although it really wasn't as interesting as mine, she wrote something. I should get an award for my work towards Family and Education. I don't understand why I don't get one, because a) she's my family and b) I'm educating her.

I remember the newspaper I read about five weeks ago, and Duncan and Courtney's story in the headlines and how stupid I thought it was because it wasn't clearly as important as the story on the back page about Chris McLean hosting a new show. Now thinking about it, it got quite a lot of publicity for such a story. I wonder how much publicity this one will get once they found about it. Just like that couple winning the lottery twice recently. I hold my own lottery and I always win, so I must be really lucky. Some people say I'm a bit biased, but I'm really not. I draw out the ticket that says Chris McLean on the back, and if that's bias, well, yeah, I guess I'm biased.

"You know where I think Duncan is? I think he's probably not in this country. It seems too suspicious to kidnap Duncan and not take him out of this country," I say to Gwen, who still has her head stuck in her locker. She turns and looks at me in general surprise and eyes me up and down.

"Are you being serious about that?"

"Yeah. They've probably kidnapped him and took him to the vampire land or something. Or he might be dead. I'm saying dead."

"I think you're on to something. Maybe he isn't in the city," she says, smiling at the thought. "We should leave the country. I don't know how or when, but he probably isn't here-" Gwen starts.

"No, I still think he's dead, 'cause if he went into vampire land he's probably dead."

She looks at me, "He's not in vampire land, idiot. And he's not dead. He's somewhere, but that place just isn't here."

A/N - (This isn't counted as my word goal) Hi, this is my Camp NaNoWriMo project, and this, believe it or not, is the longest chapter I've ever written. I'm aiming for 30,000 words, so updates will occur, no breaks, every day.