Disclaimer: Characters belong to Ally Carter. Song lyrics belong to The Afters.
Chapter 10
Macey picked up a pink flyer.
Roseville High presents Tina Walters, gorgeous model, amazing actress, and perfect student, in the drama production of-
Macey tore the paper up.
Who the hell does Tina think she is? She's fake. Gorgeous model my ass. More like a sloth on Jimmy-Choos. Oh wait! Those are fake too!
At the bottom of the flyer had been a tiny asterisk.
Cammie Morgan will be the lead actress.
Macey threw the torn flyer down, and stormed down the hallway.
Walters, I'm going to stuff your surgically-enhanced breasts down your throat, so I never hear that screechy voice again.
::
Bex came to school the next day, hand in hand with Grant. They hadn't exactly made up and gotten back together, but they were good friends.
Josh came up to her with his 'posse'.
"What happened to not working up poor Grantary, here?" he said, smiling smugly.
Bex pushed him away. "Fuck off, Abrams. We're just friends."
Josh smirked. "Isn't that what they all say?"
Grant stepped forward, towering over Josh. "She asked you to go."
Josh sneered at them. "What? Go to my car? Yeah, I'll meet you there, babe. We can get it on, just like old times," he said, winking at Bex.
Bex lunged forward, hoping to give the jerk a black eye. Grant held her back, as he had never been an advocate for violence.
"Aw, babe. I know you want me. I want you too. Why don't we go off into my car so we can-"
Josh went flying across the hall, slamming into one of the lockers.
Grant stormed over to him, and placed a foot on his chest.
"You don't fucking talk to her like that, got it?"
Josh meekly nodded, a small trickle of blood escaping his mouth.
The intercom was heard from above.
"Mr. Harris, would you please come to the office? Thank you."
Josh's eyes widened, and people began flooding the halls.
Bex vaguely remembered the name 'Harris'.
Harris. Harris. Harris.
Bex turned to look back at Josh, and saw his friends helping up.
Harris. Harris. Harris.
More people flooded the halls, engulfing Bex.
Harris. Harris. Harris.
Josh was gone.
::
Nick was absolutely convinced that Tina Walters was a psychopath. It was like girls in Roseville had never seen a living male before.
Other than Zach Goode, of course.
Nick was walking towards the cafeteria, when Tina dashed in front of him. She hurriedly pulled her shirt down, further exposing her breasts.
God, what's in these girls' heads? Not all guys care about boobs!
"Hey, Nick," she purred, almost causing him to regurgitate his breakfast.
"Hi, Tina."
She placed a hand on his arm. "So… I was thinking that we could head out-"
Macey exited the cafeteria, and Nick saw her, locking eyes. Her eyes darted to his left, where Tina was standing, with a hand tracing up and down his arm.
Her eyes narrowed, and Nick thought he saw a tear fall.
No. That can't be. Macey doesn't cry.
Nick roughly pushed Tina's hand off him, and she toppled over.
"Nick! Help me up!"
Nick turned back, his rudeness getting the better of his manners. He did something that he'd never done before.
"Get up yourself."
He ran off in the other direction, eyes darting around, looking for the dark hair he had come to know and love.
::
"Mr. Harris, would you please come to the office? Thank you."
Liz stopped, her head and heart freezing over, and she began shaking.
Jonas, who had been walking with her, held her in his arms, pulling her to the side.
Under normal circumstances, Liz would've kissed the Einstein out of him.
But this was anything other than a normal circumstance.
She opened her mouth to say something. "He stabbed me," she said, her voice hoarse and horribly soft.
The four girls looked at the girl, who was shivering and trembling. She was dying, and dying fast. "Who? Who did this to you?"
Her eyes were opening and closing quickly, and her breathing was rapid. "Harris. Jo-"
Courtney slumped over, her body convulsed, and then lay still.
Liz opened her mouth, but her voice failed her.
Jonas whispered into her ear, asking if she was okay. She merely nodded.
"What's wrong, Liz?"
"Nothing. It's nothing, really."
Jonas looked at her skeptically, but Liz flashed him a reassuring smile.
Liz was still shaking on the inside. Her brain screamed for help, her bones shook, and her heart trembled.
Harris. Harris. Harris.
He was here.
And he was alive.
That scared Liz. It wasn't the kind of scared most people were used to. It wasn't stage-fright, when the trembling girl on the edge of the stage would be hiding behind the deep red curtains. It wasn't nervousness, when the popular football player would be shivering as he approached the girl of his dreams. It wasn't anxiety, when it was the final, nail-biting minute of a crucial, season-ending football game, and the home team was oh-so-close to scoring.
It was fear. It was the fear of dying.
Liz had always known that this boy, this killer, was out there somewhere.
She knew what he looked like, vaguely. But he knew who she was. He knew her name, her friends, her family.
He could kill them at any moment, and no one would suspect him. He would escape, and return again.
Now he was back. He was here, in the same building.
::
December in Roseville was typical. Snow usually began falling from the skies on the 4th, and little kindergarteners would run around town, making innocent snow angels.
When the 10th came around, you would find about two feet of snow piled at your front door, with no means of getting out. More snow for the little ones, right?
High schoolers loved it. They would get out of school two weeks early, so half of Roseville was probably off in the Caribbean sun or on the coast of Italy.
Zach pulled Cammie towards him, wrapping his arms around her waist and rest his head upon hers, watching the tiny snowflakes fall.
"Is it beautiful?"
"You see the snow every year, Cam."
Cammie turned in Zach's arms, facing him. "But this is the first time I've seen them with you."
She leaned to kiss him lightly, for just a second, but it was enough for Zach.
Zach had once been that guy who would kiss any random girl that he deemed 'hot'. They would kiss for hours and hours, and he wouldn't feel a thing. When it came the Cammie, a mere second kiss had his head spinning in circles, turning into mush.
He blamed Cammie for everything.
He became bad boy gone rogue. He was a sap, a hunch-over for love. He couldn't get enough of it. Everything that was important to him before, it had sunk down to the bottom. Football? Yes, he was still the star quarterback, and he played even better than before.
Why? Anyone else on the field, in the stadiums, or even the entire town could answer that.
It was love. Zach was in so deep, he didn't know a way out of it. Not that he wanted to.
Cammie Morgan. My best friend turned girlfriend. My rock turned stone.
The girl I love.
::
If love is an ocean wide
We'll swim in the tears we cry
They'll see us through to the other side
We're gonna make it
When love is a raging sea
You can hold on to me
We'll find a way tonight
Love is an ocean wide
~Ocean Wide (The Afters)
::
A/N: There goes Chapter 10.
Sorry, I was one day late.
Reason? Weddings suck. They take up such a long time. And the music at the reception gives you and enormous headache.
God, I'm never going to get married.
Hope you guys liked this one.
Harris. Harris. Harris. Who is he?
The mystery had jumped in, it really has.
Getting to know you guys:
Who do like better? One Direction or Justin Bieber?
Mine has to be One Direction. Directioners all the way, right? AND WHO HAS SEEN THE 1D MOVIE? Tell me that wasn't the best movie ever. I loved it.
Please review! I want to know your opinions, and get to know you guys better.
I love you guys, oh-so-very much.
~ilovemesomecupcakes