...
Sophomore Year
The drive to the precinct was long and it made Geb feel uneasy. He spent the entire time formulating what he was going to say. He couldn't say the truth and he couldn't tell the wrong lie. When his dad and him arrived, they went up the elevator and onto the second floor. As if it couldn't get any worse, just at the end of the hall stood Kayla. She was walking directly towards them but hesitated a little when she saw them. Geb looked away from her not even wanting their eyes to meet, he continued to walk.
At some point, they would have to walk past each other and he dreaded that. Ever since Nina died, she had done everything to blame him. She was convinced it was his fault. Because of this he was truly scared. Kayla must've said something that made him look completely guilty.
Kayla despised him and he never bothered to ask why. He never wanted to. When he walked passed her it was as if he could feel every inch of her hate towards him. He wished he could tell her that he didn't do it and the only thing he should be blamed for is leaving her. Kayla's parents trailed after her not too long after, looking worried.
He entered the interrogation room and waited for several minutes. He tapped his finger on the table and sighed, mentally replaying all the lies he was prepared to tell. By the time the detective entered the room he was already sweating and playing with his fingers.
The detective set a few papers down on the table and circled him before he sat back down again.
"I take it that you and Nina have been dating for quite the while?" he asked Geb. "How long have you guys known each other?"
"Since the fourth grade," he answered.
"Were you with her the night she was murdered?"
He nodded, "We went to a spot out by the mountains. She suggested that we take the back roads so we get there faster."
"Who's we?" he asked.
"My friends Seth Carrion and Anthony Jimenez," he answered.
"Was this her idea? Or someone else's?"
"This was her idea. She said that she wanted to hang out, I didn't think there's anything else to it."
"Can you tell us more about the night she was murdered? What did you guys do? How was she acting? Did she look tired? Did she say something that may have been out of the contrary?"
"When we found our spot, Seth and I started a fire. We talked, she drank , but when it started getting late I told her it was time we leave and she got angry. She refused to go. I tried to calm her down and get her to talk to me but...she got violent. She was scared, I've never seen her act like that. Like as if it was the end for her. I thought it was because she was drunk but then she started mumbling these words saying that "he's" going to hurt her and that "he" knows where she lives. When I reached for her she turned her back on us and ran away. That was the last time I saw her."
"Do you by any chance happen to know who this "he" is?" he asked.
Geb didn't know what to say. If he said yes, then he would have to explain how the man looks like - which he didn't know. But he could say that Nina had always been talking about a guy but she would never tell him how he looked like or who he was. That would have them looking in the other direction. If he said he didn't know how the guy looked like, they would have to start from nothing. Which, he hoped, would take more time and derail the investigation towards them.
After he finished thinking it through, he looked up from his hand and back at the detective, "I don't know who he is."
They continued to talk for a few more hours. He was being asked questions about her overall being and how she acted at school.
Eventually, he made it home late at night.
When he walked in his room, he walked towards his phone and immediately saw four messages from Seth and Anthony. As he read them through he found out that Detective Reyes questioned them before he questioned him. He just hoped they didn't blow up the only chance of being cleared as suspects.
–
"For five hours," Anthony informed as he rested on a seat in an empty classroom. He was talking to Matías while he tried his best to get comfortable. "Your brother was asking questions we didn't even think about. I didn't know what to say."
"Yeah," he sighed. "He's unpredictable."
Anthony hung his head, "He was asking me questions about Aaron. I guess he talked to them too."
"He did?"
"Yeah. Aaron and Nina had something going on during the time she was with Geb."
"Wait," Matías was suddenly wrapped up in an idea. "What if that's who we talk to?"
"I don't follow..."
"We talk to the people closest to Nina. The people who actually - "
He stopped talking when the front door of the classroom opened. Kayla walked in and set her things down before she spoke, "I want in."
They looked at each other before looking back at her. "In on what?"
"On whatever you guys are doing," she said waving her finger around, "I'm not dumb. I've been watching you guys for days now."
Matías was the first to admit they were in on something. He just didn't have the energy to argue back in forth with her. "You're no help."
"I'm no help?" she questioned as she crossed her hands and raised her brow. "I've known Nina ever since I was little. I know things about her you guys wouldn't even imagine. Has she even told you guys about the intruder who broke into her home?"
They shook their head no and Anthony sighed. Kayla was Nina's friend but she wasn't their friend. They only talked a handful of times but the last time they ever spoke was when he tried to calm her down when she and Geb argued. It didn't end well.
"Plus," she began again. "You guys are probably doing a better job than the police themselves."
He looked up at her brown eyes. He hated to admit that she was right. Kayla was an asset to whatever they were doing. "You're in."
...
Junior Year
"Mr. Hyde?" the woman at the front desk called out to a very busy principal, "Riley Matthews is here to see you."
"Thanks, Betty," he said and gave out a gesture. He figured it would be nice to be distracted from the matters he was dealing with, "Let her in."
She stepped back from the door and let Riley enter not too long after.
Riley muttered a 'thank you' to the woman and smiled at him before she took her seat on a chair in front of his. "I was hoping I could talk to you about something."
"And what would that be?" his fingers left his keyboard and his attention turned to hers before he waited for her response. For a single second, Riley realized that he was actually handsome for his age. Not that she would date him, just that he wasn't so bad to look at.
She reached into her pocket and pulled out a folded piece of paper, "I didn't know our school had a newspaper," Riley told him.
Hyde reached for it as soon as Riley extended her hand, he smiled once he saw it. "This was back when I was in your grade," he informed as he took the paper. Riley watched as his face lit up when he saw the pictures on the front cover. "This was the year after I moved here."
"I found it in an old room just a few doors from here. I just happened to walk by it and I saw it." That last part was a complete lie. She had just finished arguing with Geb once she saw it.
"Was this what you wanted to speak with me about?" he asked her and Riley nodded.
"Now if you turn it around," she guided and he did so. "You can see a picture of you."
He smiled, "Oh man!" he was a little embarrassed. "I'm sure there are other things you wanted to talk about, right?"
She nodded, "I want to revive it."
"The picture?" he asked rather confused.
She shook her head no, "I want to revive the newspaper...just differently"
His lips turned into a flat line.
"I mean think about it. There's a school dance on the way, a football game coming up, so many important things that some students miss out on."
Before he could say anything in response, a notification on his computer popped up. "I'll see what I can do, but this won't go anywhere if you don't have anything to fund it with. Or people to work by at your side."
"I'll think of something, I promise."
"Very well," he nodded. "I'll need the room to myself so if - "
"I also wanted to make it my senior project," she informed. "The newspaper will be distributed electronically."
He was surprised with her thinking. "I'll see what I can do," was all he could tell her on such short notice.
–
Lucas didn't sleep the night before. Instead, he spent hours reading the letters his mom exchanged with Harper's mom. He drank coffee to keep himself up and at times he would shower with cold water.
The letter in his hand talked about the relationship between their moms. Harper's mom was named Regina after her mom died, but in a different letter, Lucas' mom - Megan - calls Regina her aunt. He knew this meant they were related, cousins maybe. He searched multiple boxes trying to find a picture of them or some kind but he found nothing. It wasn't until he opened a different letter when the picture slipped out. It was them together at the school he was attending now.
Megan was carrying Regina bridal style as they posed for a picture.
This picture was taken the same year his dad and her mom started to date.
"So why did you two break up?" he asked himself.
–
"And just why are we here?" Josh asked Riley as he slumped onto the couch cushions during their break from class. He looked at the familiar faces but stopped when he saw Maya's, they stared at each other for a quick second before they went back to Riley's.
Riley took note of what she saw. There was something clearly still going on between them, she really hoped that somewhere between their staring exchanges lied a reasonable amount of feelings towards the other. She dismissed the thought and explained why she invited them here. "There's an old room just down that hallway that is completely empty, well minus the spider webs, dust, and the old equipment. The point is, I found something," she took out the folded school newspaper from her back pocket and handed it to Farkle. Once it was in his hand's everyone turned their heads towards him and stared at it.
"Oh my God, that's Hyde," Maya laughed. "He was such a twig back then."
"Is that a beard?" questioned Josh as he observed it from his seat, which wasn't too close to the rest of the group. "Yee, who knew?"
"The picture's not the point," Riley chimed in but everyone was too focused on making fun of their principal. "Guys." They didn't listen to her. "Guys," she said clapping her hands. "I want to revive the school's newspaper."
"Revive it?" questioned Isadora. "How would you do that?"
"Hyde said if I can come up with a way to fundraise for it, he would consider it. And I have an idea but if it works and he lets me publish the first very school newspaper since it was shut down, I'll need your guy's help."
They all looked at each other not knowing why she would need their help.
"Can you guys help me out with it?" They looked unsure. Especially Josh and Maya. "I'll convince him to let this be our senior project. All five of us. Please," she begged. "Pretty please?"
"I don't see why not," Isadora agreed.
"Yeah. It wouldn't be that hard, would it?"
"Yes!" Riley cheered. "And it'll be done electronically which means you two will be doing a lot of coding. Farkle, you'll need to create an app." He nodded and Riley looked at Maya, "Is there not a single hint of excitement you have for this? It's a great idea."
"It is, Riley, but...I don't know if it's for me. What would I even do?"
"You'll be the designer, my co-writer, you can be the one who does the student interviews," Riley tried her best to convince her. "Please?"
"Ooh, what would Farkle and I do...besides the coding?" Isadora asked.
"You guys have the most important job: graphic designers, you'll also be the ones who are in charge of collecting the data. Like how many people read it and other things."
"And what would I do if I decide to join this...club?" Josh asked, seeing everyone was already tasked with a job.
"You're the school's best photographer, you'll be doing the same job you would normally do for the yearbook. But, since you're only one person I was hoping maybe you could let Maya help you out?"
"Oh," their eyes went to each other for a quick second and then returned to her. "Um, yeah, I guess," he stammered. "That wouldn't be a bad idea."
"Good. So we're settled?" After receiving a couple nods they all began to stand up but then sat back down when Farkle asked if Riley would be able to gain access to any computers.
"Actually Farkle, I was hoping maybe you would be able to help with that," she began. "Your dad must own hundreds of them, think he could be generous enough to lend us some?"
"I can try to talk to him," Farkle informed. "We'll see what he says."
...
Sophomore Year
"I didn't know you could drive?" Riley said as she watched Geb park her car in front of her home. She watched as he lowered the window and winked at her through his sunglasses.
"Are you ready?" he asked as his eyes trailed down to the cleavage she was exposing. Riley wore a white lace beach cover-up dress with her hair in two braids.
"Yeah," she opened the door to the car but then stopped. "I almost forgot the picnic basket. I'll be right back." She closed the door and Geb lowered his sunglasses in order to get a clear view as she walked away, a smirk forming on his lips.
When she returned to him with the basket in her hand Geb started the car and drove.
–
"When you said we were going somewhere quiet," Riley began as she stared at the view in front of her. "I didn't think we'd drive all the way over here."
Geb got out the car and walked towards her, "I told you I wanted us to be alone, didn't I?" His gaze went up to his craftsman style cabin about the size of any big house and then to Riley's, the look of amazement suit her features well.
"Geb this house is huge. Who's is it?"
"It's mine. Well, not yet. When I'm 18 I'm gonna live here," he gestured to the place in front of them. "Do you like it?"
"Yes," she answered. "I do. It's a really pretty house."
He took out his keys from his pocket and walked towards the door. After opening it Riley was the first to walk in, she was still mesmerized by the house or "cabin"- in his words. It was a perfect representation of beauty is hidden. She placed the basket on the kitchen counter and when she turned around Geb was nowhere to be seen. Then she heard a splash. She figured he had already jumped in the swimming pool.
She walked through the glass door and saw Geb's discarded shirt on the floor as well as his sandals. As she searched for him in the pool she saw the jacuzzi as well as the treehouse on the right of the yard. Up ahead was a big mountain range that was endless with a sunset that made it even more beautiful. Geb rose from the water and smiled at her.
"You didn't even wait for me," she said to him.
He laughed, "Sorry, I got too excited." They stood there smiling at each other. "Are you coming in?"
"Yeah, just let me put my phone away." When Riley returned from inside the cabin Geb watched as she peeled off her cover-up. She wore a white bikini revealing her toned stomach. He realized he was having his thoughts about her again, but the effect she had on him was enough. He didn't stop staring until her eyes landed on him and just then he whistled at her. Like a catcall.
She stepped down the stairs to the pool with a smile from ear to ear as he swam to her. He reached her in a handful of seconds, his body standing just in front of her, close to her and she didn't mind. She smiled at him before her eyes trailed down to his broad shoulders and eventually his chiseled physique.
He smiled when he noticed where her eyes were going. She looked at him the way he looked at her. He took a step closer to her and placed his hand on her chin, his blue eyes fixated on her brown ones. Just as their lips were centimeters apart Riley had splashed water on him. He did the same to her and eventually picked her up, sending the both of them down into the water.
–
"So..." Aaron was the first to break the silence as he stared at the three standing figures in front of him. Kayla was sandwiched in between Anthony and Matías, he was finding it really hard to just sit there. "We're not gonna talk?"
"We are," she nodded and stared at him.
"Can we talk?" he asked noticing that the silence was extremely awkward.
"What did you know about Nina?" Anthony blurted out as soon as Aaron finished his sentence.
Kayla and Matías turned their heads to him at the same time. They agreed to bring it on discreetly and he had done the complete opposite.
"I didn't know much," he answered and looked at his hands. It was like the questions brought a whole new wave of emotions on him.
"It's okay," Kayla tried to reassure him. While doing so she stood in front of Aaron and he couldn't see the exact moment Matías slapped the back of Anthony's head. "We shouldn't have brought him here."
He looked up at them, "You guys wanna know about Nina, don't you?"
They didn't say yes or no.
"I wanna help."
"What do you know?" she asked him.
"I know that she knew something was gonna happen to her," he told them and watched as he got their interest like that. "She sent me this."
Matías grabbed his phone as soon as he extended it to them.
You were a good friend
They looked at each other and exchanged looks.
This just got a whole lot more complicated.
–
As soon as Aaron and Kayla walked out the room together, Anthony was first to question if it was a great idea having her in on what they were doing. He didn't feel like it was a smart idea, he feared that she would get too attached.
"You didn't tell her about the pills, right?" Matías asked him and he shook his head no.
"I don't think I plan on doing so."
He nodded because he understood. There were things they needed to do to protect Kayla from reaching her breaking point.
"I just don't know," Anthony expressed his disapproval. "It doesn't feel right."
Matías kept his gaze out the window. They were focused on Kayla and Aaron who seemed to share a hug before he walked off. "Disapprove or not...she's gonna get the answers we need."
–
The sun had set and the moon had risen. Geb checked his phone from the corner of the pool where Riley sat with her feet in the water and the picnic basket to the side of her. The time read 9:27 pm.
"You should really eat your sandwich," she began as she finished hers. "It's really good."
He chuckled, "Hand me mine, please."
They ate their sandwiches and talked. For the time being, he would occasionally stare into her eyes and smile. The way the moonlight shined on her features and how she concentrated on the stain in her hand warmed him.
After they were finished eating, Geb stood in front of her as he placed himself between her feet. She still sat on the concrete while he was in the pool. "Hi," he said.
"Hey," she smiled.
"There's this really pretty girl," he began and she smiled.
"Really?" Riley asked him pretending not to know that this was one of his little games. "What's her name?"
"…her name is Riley Matthews."
"She sounds pretty."
"She is pretty," he said with absolute confidence. "And the thing is I've been crushing on her ever since the sixth grade when she kicked a soccer ball straight at my stomach."
Riley laughed, "Well she didn't mean to."
"Whether she did or whether she didn't, she blew me away - literally," he leaned into her lips, "And now, she's standing here in front of me…looking the most beautiful she's ever been…"
He stepped back as Riley slipped into the pool and when she did he pressed his forehead against hers, his chest touching her as well, "…and I really want to kiss her."
"So what's stopping you?" As soon as she said that his lips came into contact with hers. It wasn't one of those pecks on the lips, it was a kiss with passion. Their tongues battled with each other until eventually Riley caved and let him take control. She felt his hands travel beneath the water and to her waist. He pressed her close to him many times, hardly trying to let go of the one thing he's wanted for many years. Their legs were intertwined with each other so she could easily feel him growing against her. "I probably taste like ham," she muttered under her breath as they pulled away.
Geb breathed against her, shaking his head no. "I hate it that I have you take you home."
"We'll see each other Monday," she told him.
"Why not tomorrow?"
"Because I can't. I'm hanging out with Maya and Matías."
"I didn't know he was your friend," he told her. Long before he remembered hating him because he always made Riley smile and laugh as they passed him through the hallways.
"I met him in the eighth grade, he's like a brother to me," she checked the time on his phone. "We should really get going…"
"Ugh," he joked and she laughed. "There's a bathroom down the hall," he pointed towards the doors, "It's the first door to the right."
Riley walked out of the bathroom with shorts, sandals and a flowy top. Her hair was grabbed up in a bun and free from her shoulders. She made her way through the hallway and into the living room where Geb waited for her, but before she could she found an open room with something that caught her attention. She peeked her head through before entering the room.
On the walls of the room were over a dozen guns displayed on the walls as well as on the counters. She was overwhelmed. Before she could leave the room Geb had joined her, "There's a safe with ammo, in case you want to see it." He stood there leaning against the door with his hands crossed.
Riley flinched at his voice and quickly turned around to face him, "I-I'm sorry, I didn't mean to. The door was open and I just walked in."
He smiled, "No, don't worry about it. My dad and I like to hunt and we often go out to do it."
She turned back to see the guns and eventually a picture of him and his dad after a hunt. Geb stood just above a dead deer. "You and your dad do this."
He nodded, "We don't do it as much. With the remains of the deer, we give it to a local food bank."
"I didn't know you could shoot a gun," she informed him. "What's the name of this one?" She said as she touched a long gun.
"Just a simple shotgun - " he advised her but stopped when Riley interrupted him.
"Say hello to my little friend," she played around as she pulled the gun from its place.
"Hey, Riley be careful with that. If you fire it that way you'll go flying backward from the recoil."
"Oh," she said aware of the impact and damage it can cause her. She slowly settled the gun back into its place and walked to him. "I think we should go now."
He smiled at her and gestured for her to leave the room first. "Maybe one day I'll show you how to shoot a gun, you know, the proper way."
...
Junior Year
"Remind me why I said yes to this?" asked Matías as he set aside a whole bunch of dried grass. Anthony invited him on a hike and he agreed because he would have time away from home. He didn't know it would just be the two of them.
They had been hanging out for quite some time but he never expected that Anthony would be the first to want to hang out with him alone. Last year didn't end on a good note for the two, after all.
"You said yes because you wanted this," he informed and climbed over a fallen tree trunk. "Plus, thought we could lay off the studying for a change."
He nodded and climbed over the trunk. He landed on his feet but just then a sharp pain vibrated through his foot.
Letting out a light groan, he leaned on the trunk and raised his foot.
"Wh-what happened?" Anthony said as he turned back to look at him.
"My foot," he responded. "Something hurts."
Anthony bent down on one knee and examined his foot. It looked fine to him and it didn't seem like he broke it or anything close to that. "It's fine. You're not used to this kind of thing."
Matías glared at him before he continued on with his hike.
"Our bench is just a few minutes from here," he informed. "Haven't been there since May."
"I," he began before he turned to him. "...don't care."
He chuckled and passed him before he walked down the hill. They walked for a few more minutes before Anthony finally found the river. "C'mon. Let's get in."
He didn't hesitate to kick off his shoes before his hands went to his shirt. As soon as it had come off him, Matías eyes trailed down to the noticeable scare just below his rib cage. He didn't say anything about it.
The scar was a reminder of a primary reason of why they stopped being friends.
"I don't know," he said as he looked towards the river. "I don't do cold water."
"C'mon," his shorts were off now. "You wouldn't wanna wait for me, now would you?"
Anthony was wearing nothing but his boxer briefs. Without the clothes, he had a decent physique. His muscles were evident and his structured abs were noticeable too.
Meanwhile, Matías was the complete opposite. He was never the athletic type and at times he felt intimidated by it. For someone who hadn't played sports ever since he was in the sixth grade, he was pretty decent too. His body was nowhere near someone with a belly, but he wasn't a full on six pack either.
"I guess not," he responded and watched as Anthony jumped in. He came back out and wiped the water from his face.
"Are you coming in or not?" he asked as he pushed himself back. The water was cold but nothing he wasn't used to.
Normally it took a while to convince him of something like this, but this time it was different. He quickly stripped himself of his clothes and made his way in. The water was way too cold for him.
At one point he stepped back, but that changed once Anthony pulled on him.
Time passed by fast that that day, but they didn't mind. They enjoyed it.
At one point he stopped to stare at him, to take in the time they had back then.
What would happen if he gave their friendship another try?
It's not like he had anything more to lose.
Writers Note: Thank you guys so much for reading. This will be the last update for a while now until the 4th of January. Only like four more chapters after this one and you guys find out who killed Nina. Aghhhh! It's coming so soon. And then there is another story that is coming out next month.
Have a nice Christmas and celebrate the New Year because a new chapter in your lives is gonna start soon.
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